Carnival Pride fixed and ready to go 👍

[Joanne G.]

The village of Caernarfon, Wales. Castle in background

[Joanne G.]

On the way to Kinsale - black and white Holstein cows, the best milk producers. I live in southern Wisconsin and see a lot of these 🤣 

[Joanne G.]

Hillsborough Castle and the gardens in the rain.  No photos allowed inside the residence.  It was much smaller and less ostentatious for a royal residence as, say, Buckingham Palace.   It was formerly a private estate, with a long history. Benjamin Franklin stayed here when the owner was the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and it played a role in the Good Friday Peace Agreement of 1998.  

Edited July 29, 2023 by Joanne G.

[ryanpatricksmom]

13 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Sept 10, Dover to Rome. 

Me too!  Also the Mediterranean cruise after that!

[Haljo1935]

Beautiful pictures @Joanne G. thanks for posting

[firstjourney]

Been following your adventurous journey! Minnesota here, will also be on September 10 Dover to Rome. I thought I was going to enjoy another solo cruise but lol looks like my 22 year old grandson will be accompanying me. Something to the effect of making sure grandma doesn't run astray with any wild Spainiards or such...🤣

[Essiesmom]

3 minutes ago, firstjourney said:

Been following your adventurous journey! Minnesota here, will also be on September 10 Dover to Rome. I thought I was going to enjoy another solo cruise but lol looks like my 22 year old grandson will be accompanying me. Something to the effect of making sure grandma doesn't run astray with any wild Spainiards or such...🤣

Don’t you just wish…. EM

[carol louise]

13 hours ago, firstjourney said:

Been following your adventurous journey! Minnesota here, will also be on September 10 Dover to Rome. I thought I was going to enjoy another solo cruise but lol looks like my 22 year old grandson will be accompanying me. Something to the effect of making sure grandma doesn't run astray with any wild Spainiards or such...🤣

Away from his parents, grandson may prove to be more liberal than you knew! 😉

[Joanne G.]

My solo B2B adventure ended with a United Airlines computer system breakdown upon my arrival at Heathrow this morning.   I stood in the line to drop off my bag for over 2 hours, most of the time moving at the speed of the Pride after our first departure from Kiel - meaning not moving at all.  Eventually their computers came back up, I got thru that line, then the security line, then the loooooong hike to the United  gates and arrived at my gate exactly 3 hours after the taxi dropped me off - and exactly when boarding was supposed to start.   But the plane was delayed, for once a good thing. I had a whole 40 minutes to use the restroom and buy a bottle of water.  But I made my flight; I expect some United passengers didn’t this morning. One agent told us the problem was across Europe. 
 

So it was kind of a fitting ending to my B2B cruises. While “dead in the water” in the bag check line, I did get to chatting with a few people nearby, and I shared my cruise story.  None of them had been on a cruise, and I don’t think my story convinced them to try one!  Oh well, their loss. 
 

I am on a bus now from O’Hare, the final leg of my journey home.  It was a memorable vacation.  😃

Edited August 1, 2023 by Joanne G.

[ninjacat123]

On 7/29/2023 at 10:13 PM, firstjourney said:

Been following your adventurous journey! Minnesota here, will also be on September 10 Dover to Rome. I thought I was going to enjoy another solo cruise but lol looks like my 22 year old grandson will be accompanying me. Something to the effect of making sure grandma doesn't run astray with any wild Spainiards or such...🤣

Like "Shirley Valentine"😉

[backbiter]

Yes, that hassle at Heathrow was a fitting ending, but - as with the Pride's problems - things could have been worse! 

Definitely a trip to remember. 

And fair play to Carnival, they have already applied the 25% FCC to our next cruise, on the Legend to Iceland next July. And they have already credited my card with the one-day refund for the 'curtailment' of our Baltic cruise - even though for us it meant an extra 3 days on the ship.

[OneLuckyMom]

15 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

My solo B2B adventure ended with a United Airlines computer system breakdown upon my arrival at Heathrow this morning.   I stood in the line to drop off my bag for over 2 hours, most of the time moving at the speed of the Pride after our first departure from Kiel - meaning not moving at all.  Eventually their computers came back up, I got thru that line, then the security line, then the loooooong hike to the United  gates and arrived at my gate exactly 3 hours after the taxi dropped me off - and exactly when boarding was supposed to start.   But the plane was delayed, for once a good thing. I had a whole 40 minutes to use the restroom and buy a bottle of water.  But I made my flight; I expect some United passengers didn’t this morning. One agent told us the problem was across Europe. 
 

So it was kind of a fitting ending to my B2B cruises. While “dead in the water” in the bag check line, I did get to chatting with a few people nearby, and I shared my cruise story.  None of them had been on a cruise, and I don’t think my story convinced them to try one!  Oh well, their loss. 
 

I am on a bus now from O’Hare, the final leg of my journey home.  It was a memorable vacation.  😃

 

Well, you certainly had an adventure, that's for sure.  Not necessarily a good one at certain points, but an adventure none the less!  Welcome home!

[Haljo1935]

@Joanne G. glad to hear you're finally home and that "excursion " has ended. You maintained an amazingly positive outlook during some difficult situations. Here's hoping your next cruise, while exciting and adventurous, does not require the same level of self control.

[Pentlands]

On 8/1/2023 at 9:08 AM, backbiter said:

Yes, that hassle at Heathrow was a fitting ending, but - as with the Pride's problems - things could have been worse! 

Definitely a trip to remember. 

And fair play to Carnival, they have already applied the 25% FCC to our next cruise, on the Legend to Iceland next July. And they have already credited my card with the one-day refund for the 'curtailment' of our Baltic cruise - even though for us it meant an extra 3 days on the ship.

Yes the Pride could have sunk like the Titanic, but other than that hard to think of anything else that could have been worse both on ship, transfer back to UK or communication since.

[backbiter]

Just read another of Pentlands posts, which went into more detail about his/ her unhappy time on The Pride. I totally sympathise with anyone who had to wait for literally hours at Guest Services and then had to suffer miserable delays at Hamburg airport - not to mention the lack of transfers from the London airport they landed at to Dover. I would have been seriously stressed out and angry.

But to say that the only thing worse than what happened would have been a Titanic-style sinking is to lose all perspective. 

Nobody was hurt.The ship had power at all times, there was running water, aircon, fully-functioning toilets, a fully-functioning kitchen, a $100 credit per room for drinks etc., a refund of one-twelfth of the cruise cost and a 25% FCC, which we received within a couple of days of returning. Yes, mistakes were made getting people home, but this was not a disaster.

Pentlands also mentioned being unaware of how to claim the 25% FCC. The link was somewhat buried in the email sent to passengers on July 20th, so here it is:

https://www.carnival.com/request-forms/reimbursement-form.aspx

[Joanne G.]

1 hour ago, backbiter said:

 . . . Pentlands also mentioned being unaware of how to claim the 25% FCC. The link was somewhat buried in the email sent to passengers on July 20th, so here it is:

https://www.carnival.com/request-forms/reimbursement-form.aspx

Thank you!  I also didn't know how to claim the FCC and missed that link.   I am still unclear on whether it can only be used on a new booking or if it can be applied to an existing booking.   How do you interpret it?   

[backbiter]

19 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Thank you!  I also didn't know how to claim the FCC and missed that link.   I am still unclear on whether it can only be used on a new booking or if it can be applied to an existing booking.   How do you interpret it?   

We used it for an existing booking. Carnival applied it within 3 days.

[pjhootch]

23 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Thank you!  I also didn't know how to claim the FCC and missed that link.   I am still unclear on whether it can only be used on a new booking or if it can be applied to an existing booking.   How do you interpret it?   

 

I called customer service to apply the FCC.  We had FCC for NOT boarding, but instead turning around in Europe and heading home instead of taking the shortened cruise starting on 7/24.  Honestly, Carnival's tech/web leaves so much to be desired that I figured I would screw something up royally trying to deal with a FCC request electronically.  The rules about the FCC are kind of funky.   You can use it towards a new cruise, but not as the deposit.  You can't apply it to port fees or taxes either.  You can apply it to a cruise you already have booked.  The folks in customer services really have the easiest time and for the most part, they can figure out how to get it where you want it the most.  🙂

 

And just to add - I have a buddy still on the Pride who was B2B2B.  She LOVED every second of staying on the ship and took a ton of photos of the ship essentially without any people.  I probably would have loved it too, if I was already boarded when the breakdown occurred. 

[backbiter]

We stayed on at Kiel and loved it, too. We weren't B2Bers but our car was in Dover, and were in no rush to get back.The ship was quiet, but didn't feel totally empty other than on Serenity, as the weather wasn't the best. Obviously it was quiet, but not eerily so, with some 700 passengers and 1000 crew.  All activities and shows continued, although the shops and casino were shut until we set sail. The atmosphere was great, with a real sense of community as well as people just making the most of an unusual situation. The stewards and waiters had more time to chat with fewer people to serve and cabins to service.

[stobe1]

On 7/31/2023 at 7:28 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Like "Shirley Valentine"😉

Must have been marvellous olives. 

 

Hello wall.

[HeinBloed]

How the story continues:
 

 

[momofthre3]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:01 PM, momofthre3 said:

Our family was on the cruise when the ship went down.  We were one of the many that chose to leave.  A crew can practice for many things, however this situation rarely happens.  I will say that the logistics had to be overwhelming.  The responsibility Carnival took in getting its passengers by bus and plane back to Dover was impressive.  Did it go smoothly.  No.  Were many involved with delay of planes they were booked on by Carnival? Yes, part of our family included.   However Carnival DID take on the huge job and for what it is worth the did a great job.  I have not been a Carnival fan, however with Frankie as the Cruise Director and the way Carnival handled this situation I am very much a fan of the Carnival European cruises.

Oops!  Your correct.  I should have said when the ship broke down or engine failed......