SoCalKJ

Following! I am taking a Carnival cruise mid August, 2022 and flying to LHR from LAX. I know the protocols are changing frequently, so I'm curious about all the mandatory tests prior to leaving the US, immediately after arriving at LHR and then once again before flying back to the States...there are a LOT of details to stay informed on....would love to hear others' experience...

Hey all...thanks for all the info!!  BFF and I are sailing on the CP 13July sailing...a last minute booking since Carnival canceled our Vista sailing because of mechanical issues.  I've only been on one other Princess cruise back in 2011 and we went through a terrible storm from Vancouver, BC to Long Beach, CA on a 3-day repositioner.  Needless to say, it wasn't the greatest experience (I think I could handle the storm...I'm probably still a little pissed at all the money I donated in the casino! 😮) Anyhoo...I'm really excited for this change of itinerary. Would any of you have any relatively recent "Princess Patters" you can scan and post so I can get a little bit of an idea what kind of daily activities we can enjoy?  Part of me just wants to wait and be surprised, but another part of me is sitting here twiddling my thumbs in overwhelming anticipation for embarkation!  Anyway, thanks in advance.

We were booked on the 13July Vista sailing and were pretty shocked to find it was canceled.  We called our PVP but couldn't find any other availability going out that day or the next (and we were willing to change our flights to wherever else was open...I mean we had to cancel our flights to Houston from LAX anyway, since we had no reason to go anymore).

Anyway, we're now sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess.  It was what fit our schedule. I've been on 24 Carnival cruises and now this will be my 2nd Princess.  Silver lining...refunded $ and a free cruise next year! It's all good.

I’m booked! B2B Maiden Voyage 3-day and the 7-day immediately after! I am SO excited!!

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I'm even LATER to this game, but my amiga got me hooked on cache-ing also earlier this year. I started a private page on that book-face place called Carnival Cache for geocache lovers to post hints, tips and finds...not everyone wants to turn on their phone internationally or run the risk of having to pay ridiculous roaming fees, so having prior knowledge of approximates on board or in port would be fun for those of us who don't mind a little extra scavenger-y challenge.:)

Most of the slots on CCL in the last couple years have been tight, tight, TIGHT! I also noticed that the payouts on certain multi-line machines are much less than similar machines at our local Indian casinos/Vegas. :(

You can deposit cash into the slot machines, but they are a cashless payout: meaning, when you pull your Sign&Sail card out of the machine at the end of your play, any remaining credits will automatically load onto your S&S players balance. You can charge your slot play to your S&S card (Blackjack/other table games at a 3% charge), but any cash-outs must be done at the Casino Cashier Cage.

Voucher sold and as of today, is in Ohio getting ready to win the big one!

The poster never said he was flying into Miami. He wanted some ideas about staying in Miami. I am staying in Miami pre cruise. But I am flying into FLL. I just wanted to poster to know this in the event he was not flying into Miami.

Not only that. But I have flown into Miami, rented a car at the airport, went to a hotel in the area, went out to dinner, then the grocery store and the returned the car to the rental return the next day and taken that same free shuttle. Just wanted to make the poster aware of their options. Nothing more, nothing less.

I appreciate your information, because I'll be flying into FLL but want to stay in Miami pre-cruise also. I won't be renting a car, but will probably utilize Uber to get around where walking ain't an option. I'm usually a La Quinta kinda gal, but I'm just looking into different economical options, also.

Thanks.

Gotcha! That's kinda funny. :)

So....you wanna buy a tournament voucher or what? :D:D:D

It's Carnival-related. But, thanks.:)

I won a seat and can't go. Same thing happened last year, so I sold/transferred my voucher to another member for a reasonable price + priority shipping costs.

If anyone is going and wants my voucher, please email me at robinlle@gmail.com.

It's worth $500, but I know I won't get that...LOL! Highest bidder takes it - the last one went for $60+S&H. I've also emailed last year's transferee (is that a word??:rolleyes:) to assist with verifying my honesty and integrity. :)

This is also cross-posted in the Breeze Roll Call.

Happy Bidding. :)

I wouldn't do this first thing.:eek: The shop is next door to Wet Lizard. Easy to stop in on way to tender. Can't opine on melting of chocolate as ours didn't last through the rest of the cruise:D But IMO it's relatively expensive so you wouldn't be buying a ton. Shop is small and can get crowded. Frankly no need for any "tour". Everything is out in the open with signs.

I'd force myself to NOT EAT the goods...LOL! I would also force myself to make the shop the last stop before heading back to the ship! :)

Did anyone experience any issues with chocolate melting inside the packaging? I'd love to visit when we're there in April, but I worry the heat will ruin it, therefore making transport back to the ship and ultimately back home (to California) a complete waste........:confused:

i just realized that i forgot about the coughing kid incident. I have to back up to dinner on our first night. I mistakenly thought this happened later in the cruise but now that i think about it, it was the first night.

 

So i don't know that i could tell this story without some sort of visual...so obviously i have created one.

 

Here we have a family sitting at the table for 4, with a beautiful view of the jacksonville port out the window. We have mom and dad, little sally who is all of 3 or 4 and then little billy who is probably 8-10.

 

Next to them we have a nice couple, eager to enjoy their dinner.

 

And finally at the end of the row, which - this is the typical setup in the sensation mdr on the fascination if you sit near the windows...you have myself (for the sake of this story, i've chosen jennifer lawrence to represent me) and my husband. Again, this is my story and if i want him to be ryan gosling, he will be.

 

 

notice i didn't include any photos for the little billy's family.

That is for 2 reasons.

 

1. If i were them, i would be embarrassed

2. Because they pretty much were invisible the entire time, and did nothing to stop or apologize for the situation

 

i would also like to make one call out here in regards to the authenticity of this photo. No, i am not apologizing for likening myself or my husband to stupidly good looking actors...but i do feel the need to say that the photo of little billy isn't as accurate as it could be. You see, this is because if you google "boy coughing" you get 99.9% results of a picture of a boy coughing and covering his mouth. This is completely opposite of what little billy must have been taught.

 

Little billy started coughing as soon as we were seated. But it wasn't just a cough into his arm, sleeve, napkin, anything...he would lean back in his chair, kind of roll out of it towards the poor woman sitting to his right, and then cough...open mouth...into the open air. Repeatedly. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the woman next to me, but i imagined she was like...

 

 

so this continues to go on, and we've ordered our dinner and are enjoying our appetizers. Which now, this sparks my memory that they were the stuffed mushrooms, and i wish i had ordered 2. Anyways, back to the story.

 

My husband made eye contact with the dad, who was sitting to the left of little billy. You know that eye contact like...are you going to do something? Something is amiss and you can fix it. You have a booger on your face, how do you not know? Dude, your mom is standing right behind you.

 

 

you know - that eye contact, and still...nothing. I on the other hand, couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone.

 

It was almost like little billy was a limp noodle who couldn't stay upright in his chair, and he just kept getting closer and closer to the poor woman sitting between us. Coughing over and over and over again. Never covering his mouth. His parents never saying anything to him or to any of us.

 

Even the waiters at this point are like

 

so our main entrees are just being delivered, and i am already picturing plastic tenting and hazmat suits because this kids germs are just everywhere at this point. All of a sudden, the poor woman in between us and her husband just get up, mid bite...and leave. They could not take it for another second.

 

Now the one barrier i had between little billy and i...is gone. I look over and see him in all his glory, just limp noodling all over his chair, coughing every 30 seconds or so straight into our shared aerosphere. Little sally doesn't know any better, she's just trying to figure out what happened today that landed her on a boat with 2,000 strangers and chicken tenders for dinner. His parents still oblivious to the carnage their son has caused.

 

We finished our dinner as quickly as possible and got the heck out of dodge. I am usually such an easy going person, i don't care if your kids act up, because they are kids. But at 8, 9, 10 years old, you should know how to cover your mouth. And if you aren't covering your mouth, then as parents, you should really remind your kid - and apologize to those around you who it is affecting. At least. Personally, if my kid had been that sick to where he could not stop coughing throughout an entire dinner service - i would not have brought him on a cruise, or at the very least got room service and kept him holed up there until he was feeling better.

 

So that's the coughing kid incident. It is one that will likely be retold and acted out many a times in our household because, well...we are a-holes like that and laughing about it afterwards keeps us from opening our mouths in public. I can't believe i forgot that was on day 1 - but now i will get back on track...

 

 

the. Most. Hilarious. Illustration. Ever. :d:d

Care to elaborate? Are you talking about onboard purchases, or online?

 

I thought that the entry fee was $500 for the event, unless you won or came in 2nd on a CCL cruise Slot Tournament??

There are people like me who won a seat in the tournament, but can't go. So there's an option I have on my tourney registration paperwork to transfer the seat to someone who wants it. As much as I'd love to have gotten full-value for it, that ain't happening. Or half-value...that would've been awesome too! However for $60 + certified mail costs, I transferred my seat to another CC member here in Kentucky.

I emailed CCL tournament officials and stated my intention to transfer with the specific individual's name, as per the instructions to keep them in the know, and once the money came from the interested party, I raced to the post office and sent them the entry with my signature declaring I was officially transferring my seat.

Hopefully, if this person wins, they'll remember me! :D:D:D:D

Want an entry? There are a few people I think still selling theirs. Do a broader search, because I think there's another thread where a few people still have entries for sale. Deadline for transfers is, if memory serves, the first week of October. Enough time if you connect with NON-FLAKY members who act as fast as you.

...husband and I took a joint birthday cruise on the Imagination out of Long Beach...won a seat for the October tournament, but will not be going (I just sailed out of NOLA in March! :rolleyes: and won't be ready to sail again until my next one in April!)...

...in any event, if anyone wants my seat, email me with an offer (obviously it's worth $500 - but I'm considering all reasonable offers) at robinlle@gmail.com Transfers and seat confirmations need to be finalized by the beginning of October, so there are still a few months...

Hopefully, someone will enjoy this for me! :)

A couple weeks ago on the Imagination out of Long Beach, I won a seat for this tournament sailing out of New Orleans on October 30, 2016 on the Dream. Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate and have my voucher up for grabs. It's worth $500 and while I won't get that much for it, anyone who was planning on grabbing a seat in this particular tournament is welcome to email me with an offer - I have ALL of the information that came with it including voucher transfer/registration information, so if you're interested, please let me know! :)

BTW: as per the back page of the voucher: "...The Grand Final Seat is only valid if confirmed via email at (......) no later than October 2nd, 2016."

Thanks! Bon Voyage!

Yes. Google the USDA Alcohol Burn-Off Chart.

I was hoping to know if/what the chefs were cooking with...not USDA information, but thanks. :)

We don't drink, just asked for soda and it was provided. It was an enjoyable experience.

I'm not concerned about the price of the experience and I'm totally fine with iced tea/water/soft drink options - I think I'm more curious about how much alcohol they use when creating the dishes - I, like others, have an allergic sensitivity and want to know what's being used, what's burned out and what's active inside a glaze, sauce or dessert.

Anyone know this answer?

We take off on the Imagination from Sunday-Thursday 7/10-7/14...

Now that we're barely in the single digits, it's gonna go REALLY SLOW...until we board...then it'll race by! :(

Until the next one next April...gah!

...from the phone in my stateroom.

I realized last year on the Inspiration that while leaving a really brief message on my husband's voicemail that was under a minute, I wasn't charged. I tried again a few times and while every call was logged in my folio, I was not charged for those really short calls...

So...last week on the Dream, I told my husband that I was gonna touch base as often as possible but all the calls would be under a minute! :D

Believe it or not, in 7 days, I only had to pay 3.98 for 2 actual logged minutes! I find this an impossible feat realized since I NEVER SHUT UP!

Keep 'em short and you'll save a ton of money! :)

We're flying in Saturday...any chance y'all could just send the rain our way...we're dyin' in this drought! :(

See y'all Sunday! :)

We are staying one night before (Drury) and one night after (somewhere near the Airport with free shuttle). I'll be depressed after the cruise, but at least I've got an extra day of vacation before it's back to life. :(

SoCalKJ - I am glad you enjoyed your cruise and sorry about the strawberries!

....That's kinda funny. If only it were only about the strawberries! :D

...from the last half-dozen itinerary benefits I'd grown to enjoy...

I sailed this past weekend with my BGF for his 1st cruise - man! Nothing like talking about all the awesome stuff he can expect to enjoy...and then finding it gone/changed/now-for-a-fee/etc...:eek:

* Obviously, bringing your own water isn't an option, but $2.99 pre-purchase for a 12-pack wasn't THAT BIG a deal...so I'm cool with that (and so are my back and neck)!

* Women's steam room was out-of-order - no ETA on it being fixed and no compensation (even a dang strawberry) for the inconvenience.

* Speaking of strawberries...NO chocolate-covered delights anymore for Platinum/above guests on 3-day sailings.

* Lobster on Elegant night is now an extra $20.

* Blackjack Tournament wasn't offered...Slots Tourney was, but not Blackjack.

* Sea Day Trivia was sparse...where there used to be everything from malt-shop oldies, classic rock, motown, movie themes, etc...is now down to Star Wars, Michael Jackson and 80's. All other Trivia was offered during Ensenada day...right in the middle of when most everyone is OFF THE SHIP! Boo!!

* Salmon is no longer an option printed on the Continental Breakfast Room Service Placard...so much for my exciting Bagel. :(

* Several items have been removed from the sandwich station inside the Buffet - however, when I asked why they don't offer the cold turkey wrap (inside the half tortilla), he said they still do. Point being: ask and ye MAY receive.

I have a great time EVERY TIME I sail, but there were an unreasonable amount of out-of-order things (hot chocolate, coffee, steam room) that kinda made it a bummer. I love the Inspiration and she's been an amazing vessel to experience time and time again, but she is older and needs either a complete overhaul or to be retired completely.

Side Note: I want to wish the Husband and family/friends of the lady who passed away Sunday night in the Atrium my prayers of courage, strength, peace and love. We witnessed the last series of attempted CPR compressions, but security and staff had to block the area with sheets so there could remain an obvious sense of privacy and dignity as her spirit set sail. All that we random guests/lookie-loos knew was that this woman was in ill-health and had a trach and wheelchair anyway, but she was feeling a shortness of breath, started to push her wheelchair behind it and somehow collapsed by the glass elevators. May she rest in peace. If only we can all go like that: quickly with minimal suffering - while doing what we love. For me...it's cruising.

Happy Holidays, everyone.