Miller_KC

  7 minutes ago, Miller_KC said:

No they just go to the Platinum window at guest services and they will be escorted to the next tender.  If it still works the same way, unlike the priority boarding,  they will be able to take a couple of guests with them.  No priority for the return tender.

Just in Grand Caymen. They don't do it this way anymore. Platinums get a letter telling them where and when to meet for tickets.

Sorry about the out dated information.  We have avoided tenders on our last few cruises.

No they just go to the Platinum window at guest services and they will be escorted to the next tender.  If it still works the same way, unlike the priority boarding,  they will be able to take a couple of guests with them.  No priority for the return tender.

So, there are decks under those balconies?

Jr Suite balconies are over the Lido deck but that drop is only 1 deck.

Can you or someone elaborate? I don't see them in my shore excursions, so do you purchase them in advance on the ship? Where, at shore excursions? Can you do this as soon as you board? And if you do rent one in advance, then when you get there it is first come, first serve? Is there someone monitoring to be sure people who are in them actually rented them? We just aren't morning people so I know we won't be over there first thing, so if I rent one I want to be sure when I get there I will actually have one. And are they all together in one general location? Sorry for all the questions, just our first time at HMC and trying to figure out how it all works.

We rented once we got to the island. I don't know if they reserve them on board. There is a support bar that holds the clamshell open that an attendant will install for you. Select and shell this isn't up and it becomes yours.

They are traditionally the back row of chairs and mostly along the crowded end of the beach, near the tenders. I did see people move theirs, or have theirs moved down to the quieter end of the beach.

There is very little airflow through them but they are built in a way that you can put something a few inches tall under the back edget and it becomes livable.

There are several areas in the quieter end of the beach where you can move chairs into the trees, but there is not much open area with shade.

I was at HMC in August, the biggest change I noticed (from 9 months prior) was they had built little boarding huts for getting back on the ship. In the past you waited on long lines in the hot sun to get on the tender. You know go thru these huts, where there is water spraying you and you are not directly in the sun. it also made the wait to get back on the tender seem not as long as you make your way thru. It was a more pleasant way to end the day. Will be back next month and looking forward to it

That is GREAT. The only negative I had for HMC was the wait in the sun for a tender. I'll get to see for myself by this time next week.

I believe there are more excursions available than a couple of years ago. Most just involve going around the island by various methods but swimming with stingrays was added since the first time we were there.

All of my luggage is now purple and so apparently is a lot of other peoples. Twice I've had people try to take my bag insisting it was theirs. Did you have a luggage tag inside your suitcase ? The ones on the outside tend to get ripped off.

I haven't lost a bag but twice the Carnival tag was torn off, so I had to go to the luggage mound by the pursers desk and find mine. After that I always put on 2 tags. That was back with they gave you tags with elastic cords. Now I can hardly get the tags off.

I do not like Carnival's booking engine at all. It limits the view you get and only shows one class of cabins and only a few at a time. If you call Carnival and the PVP looks, suddenly there are cabins available in places the booking engine told you were sold out. Try calling before giving up. A good PVP will be able to give you a lot more information.

The staff where you claim your luggage are not carnival employees they are dockworkers. And I also now buy cheap and brightly colored luggage. I have a bright orange one now there's no mistaking that when it comes around a carousel at the airport

Oh No! I hope we don't travel together anytime soon. I just bought 2 bright "Tangerine" bags for the same reason. :D At least mine has Tie Dye fleece ribbons on the handles.

No, they areare not expecting a fog delay and it only applies if you have a noon or before check in.

 

What time are you originally scheduled to check in? If you are priority you can ignore it.

Whatever the reason it doesn't seem to be port specific. I got the same email for Sunday, the Conquest out of Port Everglades. Sitting in the hotel lobby or sitting in the port, same difference. Once I have to leave our hotel room we will head to the port. Maybe I can get a late checkout.

That is what is baffling. It has been almost 36 hours and I am still getting the same error message.

 

I remedied it by having the husband register and do some surveys. Got the GCs I needed and my cruise is now good to go.:D

I have seen variations on the Verizon site, once it was a 2 card limit reset every 2 days, the a 5 card limit reset every 5 days. Hopefully 2 can get 2 more at 48 hrs from when you bought the last 2.

How many points/ cruises does it take to turn diamond or platinum? Thanks

 

 

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75 cruise nights for Platinum, 200 for Diamond.

You get free laundry service when you are Platinum. (3 bags on a 7 day cruise) It's always great to get wet swimwear washed and dried. You also don't need to pack as much underwear or socks. It's all washed in hot water and somewhat folded so don't send out anything delicate or special.

Sounds like a lot of stressed people getting ready to relax! We will be boarding the Conquest on the 22nd. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

With all of the color variations from different printers I hope they don't rely too much on specific colors.

I have not seen anyone allowed to pick up stickers for someone else, but my experience is limited.

We always use 3rd party. If Carnival went out of business (unlikely), would their insurance still be good to pay for the cruise they couldn't give you?

Like most others said, 3rd party is cheaper, customizable, and you can get all of your vacation covered, not just the parts paid to Carnival.

Awesome. Perhaps I am mistaken.

You are right, most don't but some do. It depends on what you pay for.

As a new cruiser check out the Welcome Aboard show, The Fun Ashore presentations, the Shopping Ashore presentation, and the Debarkation talk. Do these on your first cruise and you probably won't need to on any later cruises.

Just don't buy the coupon book in the Shopping Ashore talk unless you plan on doing some heavy duty shopping and can use the discount coupons. You will want to buy it because they are really good at selling them. Hurry I only have 5 (hundred) left. You really only get a few dollars of freebies out of them and that's only if you collect the Cariloha spices.

If you get a hard boiled egg, look for the small bowls about the size used for dressing on the side. It keeps your egg from rolling around while you look for a seat but also gives you a place to put all the shells instead of getting them in the rest of your food.

Cozumel is in the Eastern Time Zone but does not observe Daylight Savings Time. During our DST Cozumel will match the Central Time Zone. Outside of DST Cozumel will match the Eastern Time Zone. Ships time will depend on which port you leave from.

Not quite sure what you mean, why? My wife and I use one credit card, no cash, we like the mileage. Why not charge everything and pay it off in cash when you get home. Also what do you mean by YOU and YOU alone. My wife has never filled out one paper for any of our cruises.

You and your wife sharing a credit card is different. The poster is warning about sharing your charging privileges with friends or other family members. That occasionally ends bad.

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

To answer the unmentioned but implied real question you have, No don't worry. You are not missing out on anything with a 12:30-1:00 check-in time. The physical boarding time usually starts in the neighborhood of 11:45. Arriving before that means you will go through the lines then sit and wait until 11:45 or after to board.

During your check-in after 12:30 you will probably hear them still calling zones to board. I would expect by the time you finish checking in your zone number will come up very quickly because the early arrivers will be almost all boarded and you won't have to wait long. That also means that the people who arrived earlier are just now getting boarded and you will board right behind them having the same experience without waiting as long.

That said, I will still be in the bunch that had to sit and wait an hour before boarding just because that's the way I am for most of the reasons already posted.

I just checked the weather and there are supposed to be thunderstorms every day at sea...ugh...I wonder now if I should even book an excursion....

Almost every day I spent in the Caribbean had Thunderstorms forecasted. Only 2 or 3 had enough rain to interrupt our excursions. Usually rained early in the morning, for a short time, or on a different part of the island. I don't worry about the rain forecasts any more.

The rooms I've had on the Dream were comfortable for me and I like it really cool when I sleep, or come back from an excursion. Sometimes people leave their balcony doors open and that can adversely affect their air conditioning an make their rooms humid.

If everything else is similar, including price, I would opt for trying to get a Cove Bay Balcony on the Vista.

The Conquest is not my favorite ship, the music was too loud for my taste the last time I was on it. That said, I have another cruise booked on her next month. To me there variations between the ships are small enough that there is little difference between my least favorite and most favorite.