Considering moving my Panorama cruise date, need advice, thanks!

[LaRue1975]

I am booked on the Panorama for the Sailibration cruise March 5th but considering moving it to the April 23rd departure, I have put a cabin on hold for that cruise. This is presuming I can switch dates without penalty, the original cruise was booked February 2020 pre-Covid so it shouldn’t be a problem and the cost is the same. For the March departure I have a Cove balcony in an excellent location and I held a forward balcony on the Lido deck for the April cruise. We haven’t cruised since 2008 but I have big plans for cruising in our retirement. Our return has already been delayed two years,  I am not a fan of masking but I am tired of waiting and don’t want to cancel another cruise. 
 

Plusses for moving to April are a slim chance the mask mandate will go away but we will have easy access to plenty of  outdoor space where we will spend a lot of time mask free. I know we also will appreciate the close proximity to the dining and bars on the upper decks. The view should be great from the much higher deck, the weather should definitely be warmer and a better chance the Panorama will return to the regular itinerary. Because of the Sailibration the March cruise will most likely be more crowded.  
 

The plusses for sticking with March are the Sailibration but I am unsure how elaborate that will be under the current circumstances, it certainly doesn’t feel as special as the day I booked it two years ago. The Cove Balcony, it’s in a quiet location and doesn’t have a life boat above, we definitely want try one but Long Beach is our home port so there will be plenty of opportunity in the future for that. The biggest plus is I have to do absolutely nothing if I stick to the plan, it is paid in full, specialty dining and excursions booked. Just thinking of calling Carnival, waiting on hold and hoping I get someone who knows what to do is a bit stressful, lol! 
 

I have cabin 2306 in March and 10212 in April, if anyone has any tips or advice I need help deciding, thank you! 

[cruisingguy007]

Have you contacted carnival about changing dates? I'm in a similar boat and attempted to change a date by a week and upgrade (at a much higher rate) from a 4-day to a 7-day but was told I'd have to pay a $50 fee per head. Very frustrating but that was some time ago and I'm hoping Carnival is more amenable to changes in the current environment. I need to move the dates, cancel all together or just roll with what I got and make the best of it. Interested to hear how others have fared recently. 

 

Another plus of moving your dates is that the weather may be a bit warmer towards the end of April than the beginning of March. Good chance it can even be pleasant on the first/last days    

[LaRue1975]

47 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Have you contacted carnival about changing dates? I'm in a similar boat and attempted to change a date by a week and upgrade (at a much higher rate) from a 4-day to a 7-day but was told I'd have to pay a $50 fee per head. Very frustrating but that was some time ago and I'm hoping Carnival is more amenable to changes in the current environment. I need to move the dates, cancel all together or just roll with what I got and make the best of it. Interested to hear how others have fared recently. 

 

Another plus of moving your dates is that the weather may be a bit warmer towards the end of April than the beginning of March. Good chance it can even be pleasant on the first/last days    

No, I have not called yet, don’t want to go through all that unless I am sure I want to make the change. Because I booked before the Covid cancellations and then protocols I think they will wave the change fee but sometimes it depends on who answers the phone at Carnival. If I decide to do it I will probably pay the change fee if I have to, the deck 10 balcony upgrade is worth that. 
 

The weather will definitely be warmer, I booked March because of the Sailibration and would not have otherwise. The week in April works really well for us and the price is right,  I am definitely leaning that way but have a few days to decide. I did ask the hubby and he thinks we should postpone another year but I’m not doing that! :))

[firefly333]

33 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

No, I have not called yet, don’t want to go through all that unless I am sure I want to make the change. Because I booked before the Covid cancellations and then protocols I think they will wave the change fee but sometimes it depends on who answers the phone at Carnival. If I decide to do it I will probably pay the change fee if I have to, the deck 10 balcony upgrade is worth that. 
 

The weather will definitely be warmer, I booked March because of the Sailibration and would not have otherwise. The week in April works really well for us and the price is right,  I am definitely leaning that way but have a few days to decide. I did ask the hubby and he thinks we should postpone another year but I’m not doing that! :))

Usually moving without extra fee depends on if the protocols are out for march 2022 or not. I think they might be but I'm not sure. Once the protocols are out you can say you cant meet them in march and they will waive fees if you push. You have to wait until the protocols are released for that month usually. .. I agree make up you mind first what you want to do. 

 

I would make the same decision of a regular balcony over a cove during covid and pick a balcony closer to the pool deck which is maskless. As is the pool in the aft where I spent time relaxing. 

 

I very much doubt protocols will relax from march to april. Carnival is choosing to be more strict. For instance rcl has areas of fully vaccinated where you can be maskless in the theater and casino but carnival has chosen the masks are required. They clamped down after that death of that OK lady who when they sent her to the hospital in Belize she later died. After the lawyers sued masks became stricter on carnival. They are protecting themselves. 

[LaRue1975]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Usually moving without extra fee depends on if the protocols are out for march 2022 or not. I think they might be but I'm not sure. Once the protocols are out you can say you cant meet them in march and they will waive fees if you push. You have to wait until the protocols are released for that month usually. .. I agree make up you mind first what you want to do. 

 

I would make the same decision of a regular balcony over a cove during covid and pick a balcony closer to the pool deck which is maskless. As is the pool in the aft where I spent time relaxing. 

 

I very much doubt protocols will relax from march to april. Carnival is choosing to be more strict. For instance rcl has areas of fully vaccinated where you can be maskless in the theater and casino but carnival has chosen the masks are required. They clamped down after that death of that OK lady who when they sent her to the hospital in Belize she later died. After the lawyers sued masks became stricter on carnival. They are protecting themselves. 

Thank you, they extended the protocols through March 31st a few weeks ago and I am thinking I should make the switch before they extend them through April as that would make my excuse mute. I think we would definitely be better off in the upper decks during the mask mandate so I first looked to upgrade the original cruise but there’s not much available and the price is double. I was pleasantly surprised to find the lido balcony for the same price on a sailing we could do this morning so I put it on hold. Our anniversary is  April 3rd so at least it would be in the same month!

 

Thanks for your input, I am probably going to pull the trigger on the switch but give myself a little more time to be sure.  Even though I believe masking is annoying and useless I don’t blame Carnival either, it’s their boat so they get to make the rules. They do definitely make a lot of people feel protected though, just trying to find a way to comply and still enjoy a relaxing, fun vacation! 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by LaRue1975

[LaRue1975]

A quick update, I called Carnival today and was able to switch to the April 23rd cruise. The funds were transferred and I owe a grand total of $27, yay! I only waited on hold about 5 minutes and the agent was very knowledgeable, it was taken care of in about 10 minutes. I was not assessed the $50 per person change fee because the Covid protocols are in place for my original cruise, so they are not charging the change fee for cruises through March 31, 2022 at this time. 
 

 I am happy with my decision, thanks for the input and Happy Sailing!