irun5k

On 3/9/2023 at 7:43 AM, asalligo said:

 

Yes, we have done exactly this, but to get a leg up we purchased Faster to the Fun when it appeared a week before our cruise. 

I definitely considered that but it seems F2F is sold out for our cruise.  We'll check with the MDR when we get on board though.  I believe when our TA put us on the waitlist we were only able to specify one choice when in a perfect world we would have been able to indicate a second choice of early dining.  So, I have a good amount of hope that we don't be stuck with late dining.

Just a follow up, Carnival emailed me a letter saying they were unable to honor our waitlisted request to move from late dining to any time dining.

I am wondering if we'll have luck changing when on board?  Anyone ever get this sort of a letter in advance of sailing and still have luck changing once on board?

I would imagine that any time dining is the most popular, so maybe we can at least shift from late to early once on board.

Looking at the beverages in the Cruise Planner, the 12 pack of bottled water and soda 6 packs actually seem to be somewhat reasonable deal at $10?  We told our kids they could bring a 6 pack of soda and also figured we'd want some bottled water, but this would be easier than trying to bring that stuff with us while already dealing with luggage, carry ons, and of course our bottle of wine.

Is it possible to buy more of any of these items once you're sailing, or is it only available for purchase prior to sailing?

2 hours ago, dlphn501 said:

A benefit to living in Florida.  Just stay on the ship until they make you leave, lol.  

I've never been one to stick around on debarkation day because me it feels like trying to stay at a restaurant when they're putting the chairs up on the tables.  They clearly want you out, not because they're mean but because they have a job to do.... and they're going to give you an increasing number of stronger hints as time goes on.

24 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

Sounds like you got a good cabin assignment.  What ship is this on?

Celebration.  Just went through check in, earliest check in was 1-1:30 PM.  Was hoping for something a littler earlier because I want to start driving down early enough to have time to deal with a flat tire or a child requiring an excessive number of bathroom stops, etc. which means we'll be there in advance of that time if all goes well.   But, even if we have to wait in the terminal a bit, at least we'll know we're there!

Thanks, good tips everyone.  I did find my cabin number on the printable luggage tags!  11439, seems like a decent assignment.

I'll go ahead and run through the check in process to get an arrival time.  What times are available and what time I should pick is another story!!!  We are driving from Tampa area to Miami, this is actually the first time we aren't going down the night before for a cruise out of South Florida.  I've always been a little worried about having an issue on the drive down but  it does also simplify things a bit.  

If I put down an early time but we arrive later is that a problem?  I am assuming that is better than putting down a later time and arriving earlier?

14 minutes ago, shof515 said:

check in has nothing to do with guarantee cabins

 

you can do the online checkin now and just put birth certificate. then when you get the new passport, you can edit the online checkin with the passport info

Thank you.  When do they normally assign guarantees, and is there a way to see the cabin?  I'm not seeing anything in the cruise planner, but I'm not sure if it is because it just isn't something they show, or hasn't actually been assigned.

Online check in needs to know what documents you're traveling under.  If our renewed passports show up at the last minute we'll use those, otherwise birth certs.  So I am inclined to wait to check in.  However, we are in a guarantee balcony cabin.  Is there any benefit to checking in early?  e.g. are the worst cabins (e.g. most obstructed views, worst decks, etc.) assigned last?  Sorry for the stupid question but it has been a long time since we've sailed on Carnival.

22 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

We absolutely love the salads at Fresh Creations on the serenity (their coconut pineapple vinaigrette dressing is amazing).  When we were on Panorama it was really windy so we ran up, got the salads and brought them down to the buffet dining area.  I'm not exaggerating, like 8 people stopped to ask us where we got them (they look that good).  

I agree, it's tough with kids, but if one person from your party can go pick up the salads, you can take them anywhere the kids want to go.

Thanks, I was wondering about that option.  It would be great if they had to-go boxes or covers for the plates to make transport easier but I can understand their primary goal isn't to operate a "grab-n-go" operation.

Maybe we'll try it.  I'm excited about all the dining options on Celebration but a lot of it seems like I'm going to need to balance the pizza, burgers, chicken sandwiches, BBQ, etc. with something healthy here and there or I'll be in bad shape by the end of the week!

I know there is normally a fairly basic salad bar in the buffet and I've heard there is one in Serenity.  Are there any other options available specifically for a really nice salad?  

Is there anything like the Tutti salad at lunch in the MDR on RCCL?  

I've heard the Serenity salad bar is pretty good but with kids it isn't a feasible lunch option for us.

Thanks!

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

The setup is exactly the same as the Mardi Gras. 

Thanks for the info and it is helpful to know it is identical to Mardi Gras.  I thought it might be but sometimes they change things within the same vessel class.  There are some good YouTube tours, etc. on the thermal suite setup on Mardi Gras.

Has anyone used the thermal suite on Celebration?  I understand there are at least a couple steam room and sauna options as well as the area with the heated loungers.  Is there also a jacuzzi of some sort?

I always used to enjoy the steam room when it was free on cruise ships so I was disappointed when Carnival and RCCL started charging.  However if there is enough value I'm considering purchasing for our upcoming cruise.  Appreciate any insight.

In about a month, we're going to have 2 adults and 2 kids in one of these generously sized rooms that you guys are talking about!   I think we should stop feeding everyone now 🙂. It looks like the second bed will be in the form of a sofa sleeper setup.

I'm not sweating it, we're usually not in room too much.  A few years ago we spent a week in the Smokey Mountains in a NV 200-based camper van we rented so we can handle it.

 I will say on RCCL, odd as it sounds, we can normally get two cabins for the four of us for less than the price of one room.  However demand is up and we didn't book this cruise until last month, so we're happy to be going anywhere.  A single room with quad occupancy on the Celebration was in budget and it looks like a cool ship.

13 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

I can't think of one single reason why I would go on vacation and bring a gift for one of the employees.  Don't do it on land, why would I do it on a cruise?  Seems odd to me.

 

Tip? Sure.   A gift?  Don't understand that.

For most people and in most cases I would agree with you.  Cash is king.

We know we will always sun into Filipino crew members and my wife is Filipino, so in the past we have taken a few store bought goodies (e.g. polvoron)  that are beloved by Filipinos abroad, difficult to find here and impossible to find in the Caribbean.  These were extremely well received.

25 or so years ago we were on a cruise and took a blender (good old days!). Our room steward was fascinated by the "mixing machine" as he called it.  He was the happiest guy on the ship when we gave him the blender at the end of the trip.  Go figure.

I should add that in none of those cases did this reduce the normal cash gratuity that we gave.

Thanks for taking the time to make all these posts.  I followed along since we'll be on the Celebration next month.  Appreciate your approach of just calling everything as you saw it with some rational commentary sprinkled in.  

Looking forward to any final thoughts you might have for future cruisers. Given the speciality dining lead time (reservation wait + usual time being seated, ordering, etc.) we will definitely take your advice and start thinking about dinner long before the first stomach growl.

I am still not sure how we'll approach the shows, we are a family of four and everyone enjoys a good show but Celebration Central sounds like it has issues.  We also enjoy live music so I'm sure we'll stay entertained.

I have not heard of this event, what is it?

We will be on the Celebration.  I am not a coffee snob but figure we might as well get our morning coffee from the best place.

Perhaps a more black and white version of this question- is there anywhere onboard that serves complementary drip coffee, vs. syrup coffee?

9 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I have never gotten a crappy offer like that.  I am paying taxes and gratuities only as a solo on upcoming 8 days cruises, one on Spirit and one on Mardi Gras.  I have unused offers for suites and balconies to Australia, Europe, Alaska and the Caribbean  but my schedule doesn't have that flexibility.   

That is awesome!  Any idea how they price a second guest in the stateroom, e.g. I wonder if they would have to pay a full solo fare.... or maybe the offer allows you to bring a guest?

What does "free" look like?

e.g. the least possible definition I could imagine is, base cruise fare for a 3 nights on their oldest ship during the low of low season, inside cabin, one traveler.  Perhaps sort of premium if you want to bring a guest and of course taxes, fees, tips not included.

Of course it could only get better from there.... if you can bring a second person to occupy the stateroom and with fees and taxes and whatever else they want to add, it is still substantially less that what you'd pay with a normal booking, and it isn't necessarily on their oldest and worst, then it starts to become attractive pretty quickly.

For our cruise in March we're waitlisted for Anytime- when we booked a few weeks ago I could only get Late.

In your experience, is it likely, or not likely that we'll get successfully switched?  Perhaps there is someone I could see onboard?

Early would also work for us but I'm not sure there is an option to put a second preference. With two kids we normally eat between 5-6 PM at home so late will not be good, especially since it sounds like your dining time also impacts other restaurants outside of the MDR.

Thanks

Thank you for the review!  We will be on her in March.  Our last several cruises- 13 years or so-  have been RCCL but this ship convinced me that it was worth sailing Carnival again.

I am looking forward to the number of dining choices, spread across the ship.  As much as I enjoy Oasis class ships, I feel like dining is still predominantly focused around MDR and buffet (and of course $pecialty dining.)

The atrium seems like a mess for shows- I can even see it in the photos.  I am wondering if it is even worth fussing with or if we should just skip the show(s) in that area altogether and stick with whatever is in the real theater?  From the pictures it seems it must be like trying to watch a show from a parking garage under a large building that has the randomly placed support pillars everywhere that you have to dodge.

I also really enjoy live music whether it be a full rock/pop band or just a guy or gal with a. guitar, etc. Anecdotally from what I've read so fare it is pretty common to run into this on the Celebration?

Appreciate any other tips you might have!!  Traveling with our kids, 8 and 15.

One thing not being mentioned- presumably rapid test availability and accuracy should be continuing to improve as well, especially in several more months.... one way to start sailing earlier would be embarkation day tests for everyone getting on board.  

You could potentially exclude those with proof of vaccination since by July that number could be substantial, or err on the side of caution and test everyone.

However, I'm not sure about the crew.  I would think they'd absolutely have to vaccinated and this might not be a possibility in their country- but perhaps the cruise lines could help facilitate this.

Well, after 2 hours of hold time he came back with "yes, my supervisor says that we can start this refund for you."

The whole thing felt very contrived and fake.  He didn't have instant information to cancellation policies for specific sailings?  He could see that they cancelled my sailing but didn't think I qualified for a full refund?  And, the times that he came back on and said he that things were happening in the background were at hard intervals into the call, e.g. miraculously at 90 minutes on the dot he was in contact with a supervisor (he had said it would take 90 minutes.) Seems like icing the kicker....

My guess is that they've told their reps to intentionally slow roll the customers.  Had I hung up any time in the 2 hours, they know I might not call back right away.  If I waited a week or two to call back, and they've got my money (which I'm sure they need- but so do I) for another week or two.  

Either that, or they are completely incompetent.  However even the worst run operation would, day 1- worst case ever- print out a pathetic hard copy of a spreadsheet showing what sailings were affected and what they qualify for and hand it to every agent.

I'm on the phone with RC right now.  They are giving me the complete run around on our March 20 sailing that they cancelled, saying they're "pretty confident" it isn't eligible for conversion into a refund.

I cited that (1) they cancelled the sailing and (2) they sent and email saying I could call to get a refund.  Not enough apparently.  He tried to get me to hang up because they're busy, instead of waiting 90 minutes on hold while he's on hold with another department.    I said I'd wait.

Anyone else get this kind of runaround?  I've seen posts about the long delays in getting refund but wasn't sure if anyone has run into them not wanting to even issue the refund.

12 hours ago, orville99 said:

Already received taxes and fees refunds on two cancelled March and April cruises (Also received the FCCs on both), and full refund on a third one for July that was still outside of final payment date. Now waiting on the refund for the fourth cancellation for May 17 that was cancelled by RCL. If their website is correct, and past history is any judge, we should see that one by the end of the month.

Ah, taxes and fees... so that is probably why my credit card was credited ~$450 the other day even though right now we're still just sitting on the FCC voucher and haven't requested a refund?  If so, that part of the refund took a little under two months.  

I was originally going to keep the vouchers but given the state of affairs now I'm trying to turn everything back into cash vs. vouchers.