ZanziBarred

Wow, I didn't know that. That sounds a bit off, I wonder why. I would imagine that this cruise would have the most returning guests. Hmm, the more you know! ;)

It was San Sebastian weekend so that could have been the reason, but there are those that get there so early with the intention of trying to say they were the first one onboard.

why do i doubt that if i have been given a time when the majority of the people get to the port i will get on faster

Because everyone ignores the email and tries to be the first aboard at 11am or noon - which leaves little to no lines at 2pm-3pm.

But you should ignore the email. That's what Cruise Critic wants me to tell you.

As we walked out of the terminal building, we realized that many people were going into the building to board the ship. I have never seen this before, is it usual around 10:45?

Oh yeah. Our last time out of San Juan we exited the port area at 8:30am and there were people already arriving.

I have heard at some of the other ports some people arrive as early as 7am.

I will only say that sometimes there is a legitimate reason that the e-mail is sent out (inspections, wedding party, Chamber/Travel Agents visit of the ship, etc.). Of course, there will always be passengers who will choose to ignore it and get to the port early and then complain about having to wait to board. If there does turn out to be a delay...you were advised accordingly.

 

If the ship isn't ready to board, it does not matter if you purchased FITF or not. Your cruise starts as soon as you are processed in the port and your have your room key in hand.

You said it nicer than I did. :-)

Can anyone who has sailed with Carnival since the change in the Past Guest Party answer this question:

 

QUESTION:

 

With free drink coupon (good on the last night after 5 PM), can it be used either at dinner for a non-alcoholic drink (soda) or specialty coffee or can you use it at the Specialty Coffee shop?

 

MARAPRINCE

Yes, same as previous coupon except can be redeemed at any bar/beverage location after 5PM on final evening versus during just the MDR brunch.

I would have to agree with you on this one. The cruise starts once you take with the embarkation picture, which in my experience has always been right before walking onto the gangway to board the ship. If you didn't get lunch, oh well.

 

By the same logic, does the cruise ship own you a refund if you don't eat lunch on a port day? What about if you eat in the steakhouse instead of the MDR, do you get a refund for the MDR meal?

 

To me, the worse time to arrive is probably around 11am. By that point, there are a number of people checked in, but boarding hasn't started yet so there is a huge line ahead of you waiting to board. I would think by 12:30 or 1 that would start to clear out.

I think it comes down to that heated opinionated topic of "when does the cruise really begin?" Does it start at check-in? Boarding? 90 minutes before departure? At departure? Everyone differs I guess - which is why some believe if they don't get lunch they are getting jipped.

Your pay for 7 days which means noon on sailing including lunch, why should you not board by noon. Do you think they will issue credits for missed lunch cause they do stop the buffet after 2 i believe.

So, just curious, what would you do if you did not board until after 2 due to one of many issues that could and has happened in the past (customs inspection of crew ran long, a repair project took longer than expected, fog delayed the ship from docking from previous cruise until later in the day)?

Thank you for this thread.

So, is it correct that for me to look/find if the FTTF is available, I need to log in to my CCL site and then go under excursions under Miami since my cruise is leaving out of Miami?

Thank you so much!

That is correct. Best of luck to you in getting.

(Make sure to tell your friends I was helpful. Some see my replies as "snarky").

I'm booked on Pride in August and I'm debating getting the Cheers program for my wife and I. I think we may come up just short of making it "worth it" but it will probably be close. I'm considering it for the ease of knowing I don't "have" to watch how much we're drinking per day and the "sticker shock" of the tab at the end of the cruise. My sticking point is Half Moon Cay. The first post of this thread says you can use the Cheers program on HMC, but my PVP said you can't. I found that odd because RCI and NCL both allow beverage packages to be used on private islands (not sure about other lines though). So can someone who's had the Cheers package on Half Moon Cay recently tell me how their experience with it was? Were you able to use it or not? Thanks!

You can not use Cheers! on Half Moon Cay.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1106/kw/cheers

https://www.goccl.com/~/media/Files/Irman/bookccl/shipboard_knowledge/My_Awesome_Bar_Program.pdf

Smokers are regulated to certain areas of the ship and are to dispose of their cigarettes in the receptacles provided. And we are criticizing the person who hangs his shorts out on the balcony for breaking the rules because they might catch on fire from a improperly disposed of cigarette? What exactly am I missing here?

I have found the gift shops can greatly vary by ship. For example, on the Pride, the gift shop has anything and everything you could want. Every day they were different t-shirts out for sale. On our Valor cruise just a few months ago, they had nothing in the store, other than some trinkets, toiletries, alcohol, and cigarettes. Not even any t-shirts.

I cannot speak to Texas but San Juan is very different from Miami, Tampa and Port Canaveral.

That's because San Juan is the best. If I could afford an additional $1,000 per cruise I would go out of San Juan every time. Probably the best regular cruise itinerary CCL offers.

The apps are an interesting thing. I think they want to expose the attendees to something different.

I agree. Seems like they are going fancy high society with the appetizers (or Hors d'Oeuvres) when a large majority of its guests think of appetizers as boneless wings and fried green beans from the Applebees.

You've got to be kidding me??? :eek: CC members at best maybe make up 1% of a cruise.

It was sarcasm. :-)

My point being, Cruise Critic (and probably a majority of its members) thinks it is bigger than it actually is and due to its size should have the ability to force cruise lines to change policies.

Have some of you ever been on a cruise? We arrive when we please and have never had to stand out in the hot sun or wait in any long lines to embark. Never happened.

So because it has never happened to you, it has never happened to anyone? Awesome reasoning!

There have been posts here about people being forced to wait outside in the hot Florida sun because the lines at security were so long or the port facility was at capacity (I believe it was Miami?) that they could not enter and had to wait outside until boarding started. I personally have had the pleasure of waiting outside in the rain in Baltimore in November because the line at security was so backed up it went outside the building.

Your formal nights will be Tuesday (Sea Day) and Thursday (St. Lucia).

New room service menu. Almost all freebie items remained but additional items available for purchase.

Going out of San Juan - the Liquor and Beverage Policy is rarely enforced. Feel free to shop in the liquor store in the pier after check-in and carry on your items. If security happens to "tag" your alcohol, you can easily remove the tag in the gangway before you reach the table on the ship.

IMO, no reason to kill yourself trying to be the first there. The area around the port is small and gets very congested with people arriving and leaving at the same time. We did this the first time we went, got there at 11AM, and it was a zoo. Nobody providing directions, no clue where to go. Last time we got there around 3PM, easy as pie, dropped off luggage and on the ship in 20 minutes (10 of that in liquor store) after being dropped off.

So many different answers! I don't think anyone is lying, I am sure Carnival is exhibiting more of their inconsistent consistencies.

That, and OP said recent, which some believe recent to be 9-10 months ago, before receipt-gate went into effect, hence the multiple answers. That type of thing always happens on here especially after a procedure change.

Very, very true. Every bit of your post is true.

 

Common courtesies like holding open a door, saying thank you, and saying please are very rare on cruises out of the Northeast, especially cruises out of NY/NJ where it's every person for themselves.

Yes, the northeast is a different beast. I have actually had the pleasure of being knocked over by someone rushing through the chute to get on the ship before others.

Nope. The Spring 2016 - Spring 2017 rollouts just happened for a majority ships and thanks to the "dancing of the ships" it was quite unpredictable.

My estimate would be not at least for another year (2016) and that would be for Spring 2017-Spring 2018.

Any thoughts about the new York sailings

In my experiences, it is like Miami. Not a majority of locals (NYC being locals here) - mostly people coming in from out of the area. We met people from Saratoga Springs and Albany during our cruise, which is 2-3 hours away by vehicle.

Probably not as much "fly-in" cruisers as out of Florida. Mostly drivers from the tri-state area and PA, MA, NH, VT, ME.

I'm getting the BB on my next cruise on Magic for my kids. Does this mean they will each have to sign their own slips each time they get a soda?

Yes or no.

Old San Juan is nice, but I would recommend staying in Coronado or Isla Verde. Nice beach and ocean front properties and only a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the cruise port. We stayed at the InterContinental and had such a great time there we currently making plans to go back and stay there for a week next year.

Norfolk will never get a full-time ship. Not enough customer demand to full a ship every week year round.

It might have been a possibility had Carnival pulled out of Baltimore.

New Orleans is the most unique Port of Departure in respect that cruisers stay twice as long & spend nearly 3X more per day pre/post cruise then any other home port in the NA market....

I'm surprised by this. I would have thought it was San Juan.

I think that carnival is inching toward giving people actual times to board like Disney does.. They are doing some voluntary emails now, but within a year or so they will announce that they are now going to give actual boarding times for people to make for a better boarding process.

I think the boarding process works fine as is. 2,000 people being processed like cattle pushing and shoving their way though the chute and to the front just to be one of the first at the trough.

And then don't forget coming back here and writing a trip report describing how embarkation was the worst experience ever because they had to wait in line for an hour to get past security and it ruined their entire cruise.