jessencaitly

8 hours ago, Tiger0613 said:

Was the canceled cruise 5 days or less? Had you only paid $250 toward the canceled cruise?  This looks like a future cruise credit of $250 + a random $1 and $300 OBC from a canceled cruise offer.

My canceled cruise was completely paid for. 

When the PVP I spoke to rebooked for me, every bit of it was accounted for on the confirmation I rec'd.

The OBC I had was $200 on a casino promo, plus the $300 cancelation OBC.

I have the confirmation with amounts that I received when I did the rebooking, and now I have this.  I'm baffled how it happened, but not looking the gift horse in the mouth.

After the last round of cancelations, I rebooked to Christmas on the Sunshine.

I owed $900 and had $500 OBC.

I just went in to make a payment, and now I only owe $649,  and I have $800 OBC.

I haven't opened or looked at this since I booked it, and most definitely didn't ask for a price adjustment.

Is this a normal thing? Do they make adjustments without saying anything?

I did print the documents for proof, but I'm going to pay it off at that price and savings!

11 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I'm assuming this is out of Galveston? I love the little ships (even though there are some who aren't fans), but don't have anything booked in the near future. Huh. I might have to rectify that!

We are coming into Jacksonville.

They have announced the Ecstasy can't get in due to fog. Currently anchored 7 miles off shore waiting. 

It's been a very rocky trip with the weather, the crew are saying it was the worst they've seen. Even missed Princess Cay.

I was put on Xarelto 5 weeks ago. It doesn't require the testing that some of the others do, but my Dr said her wants it tested a week before I go, just to make sure and will probably test when I get back. 

Just follow Dr orders until your trip,  as long as you don't have any unusual issues,  you should be good. 

Hopefully all goes well for you!!

I don't think purchasing a bottle for your room has anything to do with your drink package, if you're speaking of Cheers. 

They are two separate purchases, and with Cheers, they count the drinks you get from the bars against your card daily.

They would have no way to track how many times you pour a drink in your room.

10 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

So I've got that going for me, which is nice. 😂 You can tell them that we're wearing casual ish dresses like I would wear to my office job. And even on formal night, we're in the top ~15% of fanciness. 

Actually,  the other couple that's going with us is stoked for formal night (well she is,  lol)

She's calling it prom night,  and is going all out.

This cruise is counting as my honeymoon,  so we'll probably dress up some as well and get some nice photos. 

Sounds like you're having a great time, keep it up!

5 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

I don't know if I'm a good tour guide for rookies, since I mostly drink and avoid the sun, but I'll do my best. 😂 😂 

It's helping them seeing your pictures and stuff too... they're all nervous about everything being all fancy-schmancy. I keep telling them I'm bringing them on Carnival because it's smaller and more fun. 

They're old bikers,  fancy-schmancy isn't going to work lol..

5 hours ago, yankeenurse said:

We will all arrive in Jax the night before. We are staying at the airport Marriott and  Hampton Inn.

There are 17 of us and we are so excited. My daughter-in-law is nervous about the kids going to carnival camp. How can we reassure her that they will be safe?

17 of you? That's going to be awesome I bet!

I haven't brought any kids yet to use the kids camp, but I know people who have, and the kids love it!

She needs to rest assured they are in good hands,  this is what the camp people do.

Depending on the age of the kids,  they will have different activities, and if they have phones they should be able to get set up on the Hub messaging so they can still check in with mom.

9 hours ago, Mliddon said:

We will be on the Christmas Cruise as well.  Any idea if they do anything special for Christmas Day?  Also, we are for Jax if you have any questions about the area for pre-cruise fun!!!!

There's an ugly sweater contest, they have caroling, they do a special show. They've got the Grinch stuff going on too.

It's lots of fun, I love Christmas cruises, and usually everyone is in a great mood so that helps. 

9 hours ago, Mliddon said:

We are headed out over Christmas!!!  Thank you for taking the time to post reviews!!!  We are living vicariously through you this week!!!

Us too! I'm bringing 3 first timers,  so I'm having them follow this as well.

Thanks for the room pics! It's the first time I'll be in an Oceanview room. We are also going to be on the Empress deck, cabin E106

Following as well, we are on her next month for Christmas.

17 hours ago, Thorncroft said:

 

I resent the implication that a new BMW isn't as comfy as granny's old hoopty. 😂

😂 In no way meant to offend 😂 

This is a routine maintenance dry dock. They will probably do a deep clean, fix minor but noticeable issues, refresh the bedding and curtains maybe, things of that nature.

If you are expecting a fully renovated ship after dry dock, you will be disappointed.

You mentioned that if the Ecstasy is bad, your other half will want to cancel the Mardi Gras. 

Comparing the Ecstasy to the Mardi Gras is unfair. Ecstasy is an old girl who has served her time, millions of passengers and, in all actuality, will be nothing compared to what the Mardi Gras will be.

Does that mean we won't be on the Ecstasy for Christmas this year? Nope, we'll be on her, and we'll have a great time with our friends. Next year, we will be on the Mardi Gras and will have a great time as well, and probably ooh and ahh over how wonderful she is.

Not trying to offend you, just trying to say you can't compare these two ships and hope for an equal outcome. 

It's like comparing Grandma's comfy old 70's Buick to a new BMW. 

It's a boat.

Boats have holding tanks, and sometimes they smell. When you have several thousand people putting waste into tanks, it can be unavoidable at times, as they have to have vents. Any ship, out of any port, can get an odor, it's not just the Ecstasy.

(We live on a boat year round, just the two of us, and it gets a smell once in a while.)

It almost sounds like you have made this your focus, instead of going into it planning on having a good time.

There have also been many positive things said about the Ecstasy. We will be on it for Christmas again, and pre-thinking about the possibility of an occasional odor is the last thing we are doing.

Just like running across someone's left behind fart in a store aisle, walk 20 feet, it'll go away.

We usually cruise over Christmas, and I believe someone with us who asked was told they usually take the decorations down the first home port day after New Years.

Just got my 1st Fairy contact as well.

Offer to go from my OV to a balcony...for $625. It was easy to turn down.

I think it depends on the trip too..the ones for our Christmas cruise hasn't sold out at all yet, it opened in February, while it seems like some cruises people say it sells out immediately.

Keep watching, you'll also see a lot of people say they find theirs randomly in the middle of the night, or super early in the morning.

I don't cut any winter flight that close, usually they have been ok, but we have had delays due to storms. 

I would also go in a day early.

We are also going to be on the Ecstasy for Christmas this year. Hopefully the dry dock gets her spruced up.

16 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

First, there are no specialty restaurants on Fantasy class.  And if you think they will prefer to eat at the buffet, pick a larger ship with a larger buffet.  If they want to go to Daytona, the reasonable thing to d would be sail from Port Canaveral or Jacksonville.  Cruises from JAX are on a Fantasy class ship (Ecstasy) and from Port Canaveral, Elation (Fantasy class) and Liberty (Conquest class).  Fantasy class do not have Family Harbor cabins, and I do not believe Liberty does, either.  Ecstasy and Liberty do 4 & 5 night cruises to Bahamas; Liberty does 3 & 4.  Of course, there are other ships sailing from Port Canaveral, if you are no wedded to Carnival...  EM

Thank you, I think I'm looking at JAX and the Ecstasy right now. And I did not know the Fantasy class did not have the Family Harbor, that's helpful.

And while I'm not wedded to Carnival, I think for this group and it being everyone's first time, the Carnival atmosphere and Fantasy class ship size will be perfect.

They're all already being nervous and worried that they won't be "up to par" with the other people on the cruise. No matter what I've said or the videos I've sent them, they seem to have visions of raised pinkys, and formal wear every night!

I will be calling a TA (or 4) today, and seeing what I can come up with.

2 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

As far as ship choice, I wonder how far you and they are from the various ports... will everyone drive or are they willing to fly? I’ve planned for friends and family before and I’m certainly not a travel agent. I just love to do it but if you proceed, I’d front load them with as much information as possible about the whole process (money, gratuities, insurance, excursions, parking and hotel cost an so on) before they ever pay a deposit. I did it again last night around the kitchen table with some friends. We sometimes do an internet search like ‘Carnival Dream Drone’ and watch cool YouTube videos of people flying drones over cruise ships. It really helps to see what a ship’s top deck looks like and then we compare it to other ships we are interested in.

Thank you, that's a cool idea about checking out the videos.

We will all be coming from Washington state to Florida for departure. (Of course, they all want to fly into Orlando, and go to Daytona Beach for a day or two) 

And when I invited them all, I gave them all the info I could think of on what they would be responsible for, and what they could choose to add extra (such as Cheers or specialty restaurants) as well as making a big group chat so everyone could ask questions and I can keep them updated.

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

All of your questions are perfect examples of why you should be consulting with a reputable TA

 

Also, You need to get yourself out of the middle of this.

 

from someone who did exactly as you are planning, I can tell you that everyone wants to sail on this cruise. UNTIL, it's time to put big money down, then folks will start dropping like flies. Just as if you are planning a big party at your house. If you want 20 people, then invite 40.

Next on the agenda is that someone will start complaining because they talked to a friend who had a friend who went on a cruise and the price you are asking them to pay is way too much. That friend of a friend also said they got a better deal on amenities.

Next on the agenda will be pre-cruise parties which everyone will want you to host.

Them will come excursions and are you leading them and others just can't figure things out and what about this..

 

Find a TA that all can work with. The TA can get you the group discounts, the amenities, can handle the billings and the payments and can answer all questions.

The only things they are responsible for is their flight cost and their spending money. I have invited them on this cruise under those conditions.

I'm handling the booking, they're handling the showing up.

But thank you for the advice to use a TA! After much more reading, it seems to be the way to go.

I have been put in charge of booking for a group for 12/2020, since I am the only one who has ever cruised before. So I have some questions and could use some advice from people with experience booking groups. They would prefer to go to the Bahamas, so that's a consideration in picking a ship/itinerary.

Should I use a TA or PVP, right now I don't have either. I've heard you can get better perks using a TA, then again I've heard a PVP is better if issues arise. 

We will need at least 4 cabins, with 2 adults in each and three of the cabins will also have a child in them. If I go with Family Harbor, can the childless cabin be in there too? And we may be adding more people and cabins. (I am clueless about Family Harbor, it was recommended by a friend)

I was planning on mixing the adults around a bit for the Cheers program, we have 4 drinkers, and 4 non-drinkers, or will that be too much hassle to get that many extra room keys? 

And finally, I prefer the Fantasy class ships, as I like the size and ease of getting around. The people who are going with us, while they are hard-working, family people, they are also pretty hardcore bikers. This will be the most exotic vacation any of them will have ever had, and I want to make sure they have a fun time. 

Should I stick to Fantasy class, or go with something else? Most of their dining will probably not be in the MDR after I told them there is a bit of a dress code, and they will appreciate a bit more of the "party" atmosphere, sitting on deck with beers, listening to music, and people watching. I don't see the need for much in the way of a bunch of specialty restaurants, either. Maybe one night as a group.

Any advice appreciated, I just want to give them all the best time ever.