SHayesShip

I was on this cruise on deck 7 forward next to front elevators. Had a large balcony and I can personally advise that the seas were rough a large portion of our cruise. IMHO it was not the stabilizers but the speed going through large swells. We had 4 other cabins located on Deck 2 and deck 7. My friends in an outside cabin on deck 2 advised it was really cool seeing the wave/water action covering there picture window several nights. The reason we missed Grand Turk was because of high winds/rain and turbulent seas.

I was told by some staff members that they are still tweaking menus little by little. We also had creme brulee (sp) one night.

They must have added it on. We sailed Liberty in January and it wasn't on the menu. I looked specifically for it. :)

FYI, I just got off the 8 day Liberty cruise yesterday 12//6/2014 and had the full American Feast menu and Bitter and Blanc was on the 2nd "formal night".

With the Oasis just coming out of dry dock the main dining rooms have been split into dining areas and are all based on Dynamic dining now.

Not at all. Oasis and Allure both still have the MDR, but they also have several options to choose from that are additional cost.

There is no average. If you pick the cruise line provided insurance the pricing is based strictly on the cost of the cabin. If you get an independent insurance policy outside of the cruise line it can be based on the costs of cabin/hotel/airfare etc total, along with your age and State of residency.

Other items such as what type of coverage and perils you want will also affect the policy costs.

Simple answer is YES. My niece made a booking in Nov 2013 as ES and watched rates constantly and rates never dropped. The cruise is 11/28/2014. Last week for the first time the rate dropped and they have $240 OBC.

BTW, if the taxes are higher you have to pay the new pricing and may not get as much OBC. BTW filling out a form that takes me five minutes is worth $10 so I would definitely apply for re-fare at almost any amount. Why throw away money? Of course I am Scottish and pick up coins off the sidewalk.

Any OBC would be nice to have. It was $30 total for the room. I also noted $50 change in my kids room across the hall. Can I do a request form more than once if it continues to change?

If booked Early Saver this is why it is always wise to take a snapshot of screen with the pricing and save it. More than once a re-fare has been submitted and than turned down because fare was not available by the time that early saver department got around to it. EVERY TIME I have e-mailed the snapshot to them after receiving the initial turn down they have approved the lower rate.

If you did not book Early Saver, check with your TA to see if you are eligible for an upgrade. If the price difference is substantial, maybe you can upgrade for nothing out of pocket.

 

FWIW, I don't book with TA's for this reason, and I used to be one, before 9/11.

 

You have ZERO control over your booking.

 

I book everything right on their website. If I see a price drop, I call. No need to depend on a TA, who may not be available, and then lose it.

 

Not worth it.

 

Carnival's site is very user friendly.

 

Keep us updated on the upgrade, and good luck!!!!!:D

Both ships are really opposite of each other in terms of size, layout and priorities. As an adult I have enjoyed both.

Regarding children and children at heart, the Waterworks on the Sunshine along with the ropes course is a winner in my book. I also prefer the Sunshine's itinerary more.

The FOS does have the wave runner which can be limited because it also gets very busy. I like the ropes course over the wall climbing.

I called the Gifts department directly because I wanted to purchase Cruise Cash for a relative as a gift to use on-board. They advised me that there was no problem and charged my card and credited the cabin. They did not know what was wrong with the website.

St Lucia is also my favorite. Cruising past the Pitons is picture perfect.

We are on the Ruby in December so hopefully it will go as smoothly.

Just got off the Ruby, Quebec City to FLL. There were over 600 Elites. Laundry turnaround was turn in by 9AM and it comes back the next day around 6PM. Never had a delay.

Both HAL and Princess have full and partial transits to the PC. I like the 10/11 day RT from Ft. Lauderdale since I can not take 14-18 days to do the full transit.

My favorite ship for this is the Coral Princess which was built specifically for PC cruises. She is Panamax size and literally only has a few inches left on each side as she goes into the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake where ship disembarks passengers for shore excursions and than turns around and comes back through the locks to pick-up shore excursion people in Colon/Panama City.

Last I went through you could practically touch the canal wall from the balcony.

Yes, this is typical. CCL will only show OBC coming from them. Also, most TA's do not post their OBC until 2-7 days prior to sail date.

Thanks so much. At least now I can see my balance. I notice the OBC promotional credit from Carnival but not the OBC I'm getting from the TA. I do have it in my confirmation from the TA, but am a little concerned it's not showing up on Carnival's docs. Is this typical?

All I know is that when I made my Ruby Princess cruise for December I was able to request the bed pads along with hypoallergenic pillows, and I am not in a suite. However, we are Elite and Platinum but I do not think that has anything to do with it. I am the TA on my own booking but in the booking process whether through Princess directly or through a TA you can pre-order these during the reservation process.

This may have all ready been asked and answered but I am lazy today!

 

Leaving soon on the CB and asked my cruise planner person about gettingg egg crates on the bed. He responded he tried to set it up but that there are all taken on the ship. In addition he stated that he thought Princess was fading them out. Supposedly he was checking into it and going to get back to me. That was 2 days ago.

 

So does this sound plausible?? One that they are all taken and two that they are going away..................??

 

Thanks

I have booked 1 inside cabin in my 11 sailings with princess. I have booked 3 mini-suites and the remainder were Caribe cabins with the large balconies, However, I currently have an Handicapped - OV obstructed cabin booked for the Ruby in December. If a good upgrade offer comes up to a Caribe balcony (This has happened three times (2 comped and the last one paid upgrade) we may consider it however, Mom is recovering from a broken foot and is in a wheelchair.

I was on this "swine cruise" and you are correct in that NO ONE was kicked off. Actually people were allowed to disembark back in Long beach on the way up to San Francisco. There were about 600 who left voluntarily. I stayed on-board, had a blast and got 50% off a future cruise.

To be exact, we boarded in Long Beach on the way to our first port of call, Puerto Vallarta. As we were passing Cabo we pulled into the bay. At that time the captain came on and announced that the CDC notified the ship that if he allowed anyone off in a Mexican port that when we got back to Long Beach that the ship and its passengers would be quarantined for up to 3 days before we could get off the ship. At that time the captain decided to turn-around North and head to San Francisco. People who wanted to get off in Long Beach would get a prorated refund and 50% off a future cruise.

I don't believe that is correct. Many were given the option to disembark in San Francisco, being the cruise turned into a CTN, and many did not wish to continue cruising. They were not "put off". And those people were put on some famous "removed tips" email that lit the internet on fire.

 

Found a AS IT HAPPENED thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=975387&highlight=swine+flu+splendor

My first HAL experience was on the Rotterdam V -87 day "World Cruise" January 1975. At the time this was HAL's flagship. My grandparents gave this to me as a gift from graduating from college. They wanted me to be a world traveler and experience everything that this adventure would and did offer. I had a single outside cabin with 2 portholes that measured only barely more than 100 sq. ft. I was the youngest paying passenger on-board. In my diary notes I advised that the average age on-board was "deceased". However, I had an absolute blast and will take the memories to my grave.

This was also my first cruise/voyage without my parents.

Since that time I have been on 8 other HAL ships. I have cruised many other lines, some are no longer around. I have seen many changes in this time, some good and others not so, but I will always have a fondness in my heart for HAL.

Thank You. I am taking my elderly Mom who has to use a wheelchair a large portion of time and it is difficult to make decisions to far ahead. Depending upon how she feels we can make a decision on the spot knowing there are other options at the pier.

Yes there are independent shore excursion operators waiting right at the exit of the cruise terminal. I took one of their excursions, it was a guided tour of the city, with stops for $20 per person, which you pay at the end of the excursion. I hadn't planned on doing an excursion in San Juan, but was glad I did this. It was totally worth it.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

THANK YOU for all of your hard work in putting this together. I will be on this cruise - 8 day end of Nov/Dec. Several family/friends along with several CC members.

The only port I have not been to is San Juan. Do you know if there are independent shore excursion operators right at the pier that you can hire?

Simple answer is NO. There is no town settlement at or near Princess Cays. Only a few locals live in Princess Cays for security reasons. The people who run the shops are brought in by private boat/car when ships are in port. No outsiders are allowed in or near the complex.

You could always order a second cake for another night!

Oh nooooo you can't do this to me! Next time... Next time I will make it up for my DH by getting a vanilla one. :D

Correct below. What Princess does is takes the commission back from the agent/agency.

The contract allows them to cancel for any reason at all, and I have heard of some lines cracking down (or threatening to crack down) on bookings with bogus addresses. If you are taking a cruise in the US, they will find out eventually, because they will want to see your green card at check-in (since you supposedly reside in the US). At that point you can simply say, oh no, my permanent address is bla-bla-bla, outside the US, and I'm here on a tourist visa. There's not much they can do about it then and there (I doubt you will be denied boarding or that they will recalculate your fare), but they may flag the discrepancy and take a closer look at you the next time you try to book a fare reserved for US/Can residents.

 

I think they would first go after TAs that take such bookings, since they are bigger targets and bound by additional contractual terms.

See inline below in regards to my BTB on Dream.

So I have been reading a lot about B2B as I am doing my first in less then a month, and I have read things that seem to not to apply to all...

 

Of course I want to experience how great its going to be but I have some questions based on what I have read..

 

Do you get to keep your original room key? I collect mine...

YES.

Do you get to take another embarkation photo? ( not a huge deal)

No. We did not go back out into the madness. Escorted through documents check and right back on ship. Never even saw the outer room where people wait to board.

I read that they take a group photo of all B2B?

We had no group photo. Might vary from ship to ship. Don't know.

Some people say they have a gift in their room when doing B2B and others say they have nothing. I don't expect anything but how come the mixed information?

I think this might be upto the Cruise Director. We had a bottle of champagne/strawberries - It said complements of Jamie, our Cruise Director.

I'm looking forward mostly to not having to get off of the ship and having it to myself for a little while!!!!

FYI - They do allow Ensenada as the foreign stop. It is 100 miles south of border. HAL uses it as a service stop for their 15 day Hawaii trips rt from San Diego.

You omitted one little word that makes your statement false. In a closed loop cruise to/from the same US port aboard a foreign flagged ship (like ALL Carnival ships), they are required to stop at a foreign port, but it doesn't have to be a DISTANT foreign port ("distant" being the key word).

 

On the east coast of the US, the closest distant ports are the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), and that's why you'll see repositioning itineraries from one US port to another US port (excluding San Juan) which include one of those 3 islands.

 

Don't know what the closest distant foreign port is on the west coast, but something tells me that Ensenada is not it! :o

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app