beachbum53

Nov. 27, 2021, on the Mardi Gras. We'll be celebrating my retirement. We booked this cruise nearly a year ago, before the pandemic hit. Hopefully, it's far enough into the future that there will be a safe and effective vaccination, that masks and social distancing will no longer be required, and that the world will be able to start returning to normal. 

I wonder if anyone at Carnival ever considered auctioning off (or outright selling) certain items from the retired ships to those of us that would like to have a bit of cruise memorabilia. Items such as furniture,  ship's decor (i.e. paintings), etc. The money (or at least a portion of it) could go to St. Jude's. Oh well. Too late now.

We booked our cruise for the Mardi Gras nearly a year ago, before the Corona pandemic hit the U.S. We're booked for Nov. 2021 for the week following Thanksgiving. It will be a pre-retirement celebration for me. My wife wanted to be on the ship to see it decorated for the holidays. We chose a cove balcony cabin, to be closer to the water, as well as the added privacy. This will be our 5th cove balcony. To the OP, and anyone else that hasn't quite decided about which cabin to choose, this video has some very good information, and may be helpful to you.

"Peace of mind policy" for what? There are no guarantees in life. Carnival will do what they can to provide a safe and fun-filled cruise for everyone, whenever cruises start up again. 

2 hours ago, shof515 said:

hopefully TUI, MSC and Costa successfully cruises allows our government and the CDC to change their minds and allows cruises from USA again. I got a bad feeling the CDC will extend the no sail order

Once the CDC gives the okay for cruises to start, I'm wondering if the home port cities will be ready to comply., especially if their cases of Covid-19 are still high. 

I found this information on Carnival's home page in the F.A.Q. section. Hopefully this helps to answer your question. You may have to call Carnival for additional information. 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3668/kw/do children pay full price

After doing some searching on GOOGLE, I found this list of ships (and itineraries) scheduled to start cruising in November 2020. It was provided by the fine folks right here on Cruise Critic.   https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?cl=8&startDate=2020-11   I realize that schedules are subject to change without advanced notice. but, this information may be helpful to some of you. 

There are a few web sites that sell Carnival Cruise and cruise related face masks. I don't think I'm allowed to mention them specifically. Just go to Google and type "Carnival Cruise face masks" in the search bar. 

Why stop with blaming Coca-Cola for causing obesity? Maybe Mexico should include beer consumption too. There are a quite a few people that sport what is typically referred to as a "beer gut". And, might as well target McDonald's too. Their signs proclaim "Billions sold". I'll bet none of their hamburgers or cheeseburgers are low calorie. I'm in total agreement with TNcruising2's comments on this. 

As to how well a magnet or magnets will stick to the door depends on the strength of the magnet. It's a good idea to bring some Command strips with you, just in case your magnets won't stick. 

richbum, if you're not able to get gift cards for the Build-A-Bear on the ship, there is another option. Let the grandkids put the charge on your on board account. Or, if they have their own on board accounts, just go to Guest Services some time prior to Debarkation Day and pay for the charges yourself. 

If social distancing while going from one deck to another is of such great concern to people,  take the stairs. Leave the elevators for those that have some sort of physical disability and can't use the stairs. 

5 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Nope. Did it onboard during the second day. It was handled accordingly as one would expect. You should have escalated.

Oh well. Maybe the person at Guest Services just didn't want to take the time to contact Carnival. Too late to worry about it now. It wasn't a huge amount. Only $50.00. And, I was able to have applied to the next cruise after that. 

23 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Been there. Guest services CAN help you. They just have to fax/email head office and you'll need to follow-up.

Perhaps that can only be done before the ship departs the home port, but not after it has sailed away. We didn't discover that we were missing some OBC until we had been on our cruise for about three days. We had to wait until we got back home. I called our PVP and got everything straightened out. Too late for the cruise we were on, but at least it was transferable to our next cruise. 

13 minutes ago, mom says said:

However that will only work if the vaccine is 100% effective- something that is highly unlikely. And then there is the situation with those who, for medical reasons, cannot receive the vaccine. In their case, a negative COVID test would be their only option.

At some point within the next few months, either with or without a vaccine, each individual will have to decide whether or not to take a chance to go somewhere on a vacation, especially a cruise. Some will say "What if I contract norovirus?" or "What if I contract Covid 19?" Others will say "What if I don't?" We all can't live in a bubble forever. 

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

And that would only mean that they were not infected as of a few days before the cruise — ignoring what contacts they may have had during those few days - including while traveling to the port.

Well then, maybe the best solution is for no one to book a cruise for the next 12 months. With any luck, there will be an effective vaccination by next July or August, and those who wish to do so can get vaccinated prior to going on a cruise, and no testing will be required. 

5 hours ago, rjrice1 said:

Missing cruising a lot.  Do feel more and more will be canceled.

Was wondering if cruise lines are going to "encourage" everyone to get a 

covid test 72 hrs prior to cruising or having them do it to 

all screening prior to boarding.  (even children over 2 yrs old)

If so will they add this to the cost of cruising.  

I would not mind getting one, I do get a test weekly for my job.

Screening passengers before boarding on Embarkation Day would not be very practical. If the average cruise has approximately 3,000 guests, and everyone gets tested prior to boarding, that could easily delay departure for a few hours. There isn't enough seating in the cruise terminals for everyone or enough space to allow for social distancing inside. It would be better (if it's required) for everyone to be tested a few days before their cruise.  

On 8/17/2020 at 3:56 PM, Bases5 said:

I have pre-paid my gratuities for many years now.  However with all this OBC I have collected I'm thinking  I will use it instead of pre paying.

My question is how does Carnival bill this to your account. Do they charge your S&S daily  or I time at the beginning or 1 time at the end

I was just curious.  I know pre pay shows up as a debit/credit on your S&S about day 2 

Be sure to print off your cruise documents about a week before your cruise and check to see if all of your OBC is listed. Once you get on the ship, if there's anything (like OBC) that's not listed,  Guest Services won't be able to help you, and you'll have to wait until you get back home to have the issue resolved. We found this out a couple of cruises ago. 

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

A touch above Coney Island, perhaps - but not quite Robert Moses State Park.

I've never been to either of those locations, so unfortunately, the comparisons are lost on me. And, I'll bet neither of those locations have a CO beach. 

57 minutes ago, homer2005 said:

I'm 72 years old.  Cant wait to ride it.

 

I can't wait to ride it either. I may grow older, but I'll never grow up. 😉

1 minute ago, St.Pete said:

I'm quite sure he was joking.  

 

 I hope so. I'd pity the person that was stuck on the ride and had to use the restroom . 

12 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

If it is a sea day,  they have to wait until they get to port.

 

That doesn't sound quite right. What if the ship can't get to a port for several hours? There would have to be some sort of contingency plan to rescue a stuck passenger while the ship is at sea.

Orient Beach, St. Martin.

I know the Mardi Gras is scheduled to set sail in Feb. 2021. I wonder when Carnival will let us know how much they'll be charging to ride on the Bolt. 

11 hours ago, chipmaster said:

Now this must be one popular destination, any guesses 😉

 

 

Well, at least they're maintaining social distancing. 😁