sixb0nes

I just got off the Horizon on August 27th.  We stayed in the Havana area (AFTbalcony).  Aruba was rained out due to tropical storm Franklin so we ended up just walking around the port and doing some shopping.  Originally, we booked day passes to Renaissance Island but the island was closed and we had to cancel.  In the past, we did the Trikes Aruba and that was a great excursion as well as rented a car and drove around the island for the day.  The car rental was with Jay's car rental and we picked up the car at the port.  In Bonaire, we did Woodwind snorkelling which was a good time.

Thank you for the info teknoge3k and Hatteras51.  When I look at google maps, the hotels looked to be located in different locations.  Can you access the ocean suite amenities (pool, beach, etc) if you stay at the Marina section?

On 2/2/2020 at 11:11 AM, teknoge3k said:

You need to book a room for 1 night at the Renaissance Aruba Resort, which is across from the cruise port. When your ship arrives, you can walk across the street and go upstairs at the resort and check in. Then come downstairs and the boat will come into the hotel and pick you up and take you to Renaissance Island. When you get to the island, to the right is Flamingo Beach which is adults only. To the left is Iguana Beach which is family friendly. 

 

At the end of the day it's nice to come back to your hotel room, take a shower and rest before going out into Oranjestad shopping and eating, before returning to your ship.

 

You need to reserve your room in the Ocean Suite towers, NOT the Marina towers. 

Check in is at 4:00 - that wasn't an issue going to Renaissance Island?  Also why does it matter if you rent at Marina towers - is the island not included with that room?

Wemjam, I am glad it worked out for you.  It is nice that carnival is being proactive.  😀

Currently on the Miracle.  Captain announced they were cancelling Cozumel tomorrow and returning to Tampa, arriving sat at approximately 5:00 pm. They are being cautious in case Tampa port is closed.

I would pick the Legend.  Great itinerary - have done it twice.  Plus I like the Spirit class.

We sailed Aug 19th cruise and had a late flight (4:00 pm). We took a tour (SH Happy tours) when we left the ship and wished we hadn't. We sat on a new bus for 45 minutes waiting for them to find more people and then switched to a different bus that was old with limited air conditioner. Tour consisted of touring around Old San Juan to Condado with a stop at the beach, and outside the fort (about 30 minutes total). We were dropped off in Old San Juan for an 1 1/2 then driven to the airport. My original intent was to take my luggage to Barrachina to be held there, explore Old San Juan, grab lunch and then take a cab to the airport. I wish I had stuck with my original plans.

Our cruise is Aug 19th. I booked a river tubing tour with Antours Dominica. They say they are open for business but I was hoping for some feedback from people who might have booked post hurricane.

Wondering if the Miracle has cups or headphones... hoping .... don't need a blanket, I'd use it once or twice a year here in SW FL. I'm sure it's a nice blanket, but not something I would use, like the cups.

Anyone off the Miracle recently that knows?

We received blankets on Feb 3rd Miracle cruise.

We received the blankets on our Feb 3rd cruise on the Miracle.

Those are my exact thoughts. The next time he is cruising with us is at Christmas, so realistically we won't get YTD on that cruise if we wait. I will be cruising without the kids in September, so I may ask on that one for suggestions. Thank you!

 

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We only do YTD dining and my husband does not eat gluten. My son also has allergies to pistachios and cashews. The first day of the cruise we go to the dining room and order meals for that evening. After we have eaten in the MDR, they order for the next night. He can also order for sea brunch the night before it is held (at dinner time). The orders are tied to your folio number so when we check in for our table, we tell them that we have an allergy. All the allergy orders are at the hostess' desk.

We booked thru Carnival's site when we first started cruising but the last 5 cruises or so we have booked with a TA. We get discounts and sometimes OBC and always book/pay in USD. We also have opened a US bank account and put money into it throughout the year (more when exchange is favorable). When we cruise, we withdraw cash to purchase gift cards while on board our cruise to help pay for the next cruise.

We booked the excursion for our Feb 3rd cruise, submitted Shore Excursion Price protection and got it - $49.49 OBC per person. This was done on Nov 19th.

Loving the review! We did this exact itinerary on Conquest last Aug and your review is bringing back fond memories. Aruba was our favorite port as well and if you go back, I highly recommend Trikes Aruba tour.

I also am interested in the statement. Where can I find it?

I am on March 12th cruise and Carnival emailed tonight to say the ship has been fixed and they will operate with the original itinerary.

My wife and I are booked on the Splendor, out of Miami in six days time (from time of posting this). 12th March. We received an e-mail from Carnival informing us of the engine troubles on the Splendor, and that we would receive further info as and when they had it.

 

We subsequently learned that the March 5th cruise set sail out of Miami with a greatly amended itinery, with the destination being Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, with the option given of a full refund, or to undertake the amended cruise with 50% discount, 50% discount on a future booking, and onboard credit. At the time of typing this, we can see on cruisemapper and the Nassau terminal webcam that the Splendor made it to Nassau, albeit slowly, and engineers are looking at the issue.

 

I phoned Carnival, who said that as things stand, our upcoming March 12 cruise is still slated to visit the advertised ports of call - Amber Cove, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. It appears to be a fluid situation though, if the problems cannot be fixed during the current truncated Bahamas cruise, we too could be looking at being offered a full refund, or a discounted amended cruise.

 

We would simply like some clarity - as soon as possible. We have visited Nassau and Freeport before, and have no real desire to re-visit, even at a discount. Certainly, we do not want to be heading there on a ship that would be on its THIRD cruise in a row suffering with a 'serious technical issue'. We simply do not want to take a chance heading out on a compromised Splendor that could easily blow a gasket again - while at sea. We'd be on it wondering if we'd reach Nassau, never mind anything else. If offered - we'd grab the chance to completely cancel. However, we are commited to flying out on Friday 10th to Miami, with a two-night stay in a hotel booked. We also have a hotel booked for one night on the day the cruise arrives back to Miami, and flights home booked for Monday 20th.

 

We really need Carnival to be quick and clear about the current problems being suffered by the Splendor and to make a quick decision about the upcoming March 12 cruise. If the whole thing is cancelled, we are looking to fill in the 'gap' that a cancelled cruise would leave by getting up to Orlando and staying in Universal Studios, or maybe to hire a car and drive through the Keys to Key West.... keeping all our Miami flights and hotels intact.

 

I just have this nagging feeling we will be told between now and Friday 'everything is still as scheduled', then we fly out, get to Miami and once we reach US soil, they then tell us the ship needs some real work done that means it cannot set sail. Just a bad feeling I have. I just wish they'd cancel the March 12 cruise right now, to give the 3,000 people due to travel in currently uncertain circumstances a chance to fix something else up in advance.

 

Of course, maybe my nagging feeling of impending gloom and doom will prove to be unfounded, they'll get the issues fixed during the current stop in Nassau, and everything will be back to normal for the remainder of this current truncated schedule cruise.... and, from a selfish POV, for our cruise on March 12.

 

Watch this space! Fingers X.

We are on the same cruise and are not sure what we will do if the ports are different. Nassau/Freeport is just not that enticing and we are bouncing around different options/possibilities - Disney for one. Maybe book a backup plan just in case. And yes waiting and not knowing is the worse part. Carnival is supposed to send an email today so anxiously waiting for some news.

I cannot find staggered check in for one of my sailings, my PVP checked and doesn't understand why....has anybody else have this problem of trying to choose their staggered check in time only not to have the option of choosing?

This happened for my Splendor cruise (Miami port). We booked and paid in full in Sept for our upcoming March cruise. No check in time even though staggered port. TA called carnival 3 times and was told they were out of times to select. Around a month or so ago, somebody mentioned that they had the same problem on their Splendor cruise and it just showed up one day. Sure enough, I logged in and it was now available to select. I suspect this will happen to you.

We just did the southern in August on the Conquest. Excellent itinerary. In La Romana we did a ziplining excursion thru Carnival which was fun and Aruba we did Trikes Aruba excursion (fantastic!). In Curacao we walked around and did some shopping - I wish we had done an excursion instead but wanted to hit the stores before they closed at 6:00. We ported from 1:00 to 11:00 so it impacted our choices.

We are planning on doing this next week and I have a lot of questions. We have booked on board before but always had all our information in advance - when, where and what ship. This time however we don't have anything set in stone just know we are going next fall on Carnival. I will need 3 maybe 4 rooms, 2 with 4 people in the room and another with either 2 or 5. How much information do I have to give? Should I just put 2 people in each room and add the others later since the deposit is per person? Should I reserve the cheapest room on the ship instead of balconies? If I understand correctly I should just reserve rooms for a 3 day cruise because of the lower deposit? How far out can I book. Do they still give vouchers for family and friends? I assume if I get vouchers instead of actually booking the other rooms if we change to a 7 day cruise I will get the $100 on board credit but the others will still only have the $50 vouchers. I know this sounds complicated but the additional savings can really add up. I am guessing that Carnival frowns on this so I can't just sit down with the agent on the ship and figure this out. Once again thank you CC friends!

I don't know how friends and family vouchers work as I have never used them even when we have booked a 'real' trip. Maybe somebody who has changed their bookings afterwards can shed some light on this.

Was the $50 OBC that the CSR said you would lose from booking on board, or was it attached to the Past Guest Rate.

 

I read your original post to say that you booked a "Past Guest Rate" for a "4 day cruise with $50 OBC". If the Past Guest Rate you originally booked had an additional $50 OBC, changing to Early Saver (unless it comes with OBC) will negate that OBC.

 

You should without question keep your OBC for booking while on board, but changing rates would change any OBC attached to the original rate unless the new rate comes with the same OBC.

The $50 OBC was from booking on board - there was no other OBC incentive for booking past guest rate. From reading on the boards, changing the rate and/or duration would not negate the OBC. I tried to transfer this booking to my TA and even though she knew it could be done, Carnival was putting up road blocks. They would allow her to cancel the bookings and rebook to a 7 day in March 2017 at early saver rate and I went from $50 to $100 OBC. In addition when I rebooked, Carnival had a promo and I received an additional $50 OBC. In the future, when I book on board, I will have it booked under my TA, that way when I go to change it in the future, I will not have any issue with changing the rate or the duration.

Thanks - but I am wondering what if I pre-order the pancakes the night before (for dining room breakfast) but for some reason sleep in or change my mind - or friends invite me to eat elsewhere? don't want to cause extra work or be 'ungrateful' if they have prepared something for me - I guess because I am on vacation I really don't want to have to make commitments as to where and when I will eat? LOL - time to destress and relax!;);) - so might not feel comfortable pre-ordering special stuff!

We pre-ordered one night for dinner and didn't show. I don't think they make it ahead of time but basically make it to order when you show up. I agree about the being on vacation type of thought - I like to eat whenever I am hungry and go with the flow. The thing about the buffet is that there is room for cross contamination and the menu changes - the dining room was a guarantee so we ate there 7 out of 8 nights. As long as you know what your main go to's are - pizza, deli) and ask a lot of questions at the buffet, you can go with the flow and be on 'vacation'. Also if it makes any difference, we do anytime dining so went when we wanted.

GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES - never even thought of that! That is awesome - so if you order for breakfast/seaday brunch - do you have to tell them what time you will be there? How does that work (cold? reheated pancakes? LOL)

We just showed up whenever. We told the hostess that we preordered the night before due to allergy. They keep your order based on your cabin number. I wonder if they do waffles too? He ordered whatever he wanted from the menu for the next day and the majority of the time he received what he ordered but it was substituted if they could not make it gluten free. This usually happened with desserts. He tried to order everything. I give him an A for effort😀. We have been doing the special ordering for awhile as my older son is allergic to cashews and pistachios.

My husband did gluten free on the Conquest in Aug. Like others said we went to the dining room on the first day and ordered for that night. He ordered each night for the following night. He enjoyed most of his meals and agreed that the bread was better toasted. He had some sandwiches from the deli which he did not like - ham/cheese and Ruben and ended up not finishing either. He ordered gluten free pizza and enjoyed it. Did gluten free guy's burger and wished he had just ordered the burger without the bread. We ate in the dining room for breakfast buffet (pancakes ordered the night before) and those were a hit. Most lunches were at the BBQ joint which was really good. Desserts were ice cream, WMCC and some pudding type deserts. He definitely did not go hungry but didn't gain a lb. Me on the other hand had an extra 5. :eek:

What I found was that we ended up eating every night except one in the MDR. I found the flexibility of eating where ever, when ever was lessened as we were worried about eating at the buffet. Overall he enjoyed the experience.

Did you try the free bbq place that is now where the old Fish and Chips was?

 

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My husband and I ate there 3 times during our Aug 20th cruise. Chicken was excellent and so were the beans. I would recommend.

We used our sign and sail card on our Aug 20th cruise, not quarters.