Bostwick girl

38 minutes ago, bafinegan said:

WOnder which menu is gone for the Mardi Gras 6 night cruise?

I’ve been trying to find out as well! Posted here, and posted on the Carnival platinum and Diamond Facebook page. Get lots of people following, but nothing so far! Trying to figure out which night to go to Steakhouse!

On Magic end of August and Oct 7, self assist was called first by their muster stations. Platinum/Diamond checked luggage met on deck 3 by 8:30. Both times we went down about 15 minutes early, and they were walking off the ship. Went very smoothly.

We are going on our 3rd cruise since August 30 on Magic Oct 31, so guess you could say we like it! It’s a nice ship, yes a little worn, but that doesn’t bother us. It’s really a good size, enjoy the Ocean Galley area for entertainment, trivia and stuff like that. The non smoking casino on deck 4 is nice, the main casino on deck 5 is much better about smokiness since you have to be actively playing to smoke in there.  The crew is awesome, everyone is so friendly and happy to be working again!  As for kids, we haven’t seen very many on either of these cruises, most likely because of vaccination exemptions. Basically to avoid kids, don’t sail in the summer months.  There’s plenty of areas where you can relax. Serenity is fine.  Enjoy your cruise!

4 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

We had the test at Walgreens listed as Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) on 8/23 for our Magic cruise.  It says on the website results in less than 24 hours but we had ours 30 minutes later.  The lab report actually says it's a NAAT test.

You are exactly correct, it IS a NAAT test. We did it as well, ID NOW. It IS an acceptable test for Carnival. There were 3 of us in the same vehicle for our test. Went very smooth.  Our friend had her test results in 45 minutes, ours took 5 hours. Guess it depends when they actually test the sample.  I would just say when you print out your results to make sure it has all the required information. 
 

Try going into your Cruise Manager for the cruise, find Booking and Order Details. It shows all the details of your cruise: itinerary, balance details, etc.  scroll down to the bottom of that, and on the left side it says view balance details. Click on that and it shows your balance owed. At the bottom of that it says view cancellation details. That tells you what, if anything, it costs you to cancel, and it gives you the option to cancel there.  I didn’t go any farther in my booking since I don’t want to cancel!

We just did this last week. We just called the steakhouse once on board and they combined the reservation, no problem!

Following. We will be on 6 day Magic October 31.

My passport photo was used to get on board in port canaveral Oct 7, but took a new photo in August. As others have said, you use your sail and sign card to get off and back on in ports. The facial recognition comes into play when debarking back at home port. When you enter the baggage area, you get in line for the facial recognition. Once you get scanned, you go get your luggage and out the door. No line to go thru Customs. Was great.

Just back from a 4 day on Magic. This was second since August 30. Everyone’s experience is different, but we found the non smoking casino to be pretty busy every time we went, both the slots and tables. The main casino was much less smoky since you have to be actively playing to smoke. Also had to mention to a few people that they were playing/smoking on the non smoking side. The answer was always “oh I didn’t know”. If you put your card in to play, the no smoking symbol is right next to it. One person was vaping on non smoking. My friend mentioned to them it was a non smoking machine and she said she didn’t know vaping was smoking! 
 

8 hours ago, vwrestler171 said:

The fact that everyone keeps saying that the non-smoking casinos aren't very busy is the very reason that they won't stick around.   

When we were on Magic August 30, the smoke free casino was full most of the time.

Well there goes our January 31 on Liberty! Just changed it last week from February 14 back to January 31 because our friend had a conflict! Oh well, that’s the way it goes. 
 

I haven’t been on board Marci Gras, but have sailed out of Port Canaveral many times. The starboard side if the ship is better, not much to see on the port side, especially as far out the channel as it is from the basin where the other ships tie up. If you’re lucky you might see a sub going in or out of the sub base on port side just before you get outside. On starboard, there are some restaurants and people wave at you, then the last thing is Jetty Park where people go to watch the cruise ships go out, there’s usually a lot of people there. Enjoy your cruise! We’re leaving Thursday on Magic from PC, can’t wait!

As to where on the ship to watch, we always stay on our balcony and watch, but you would enjoy the Lido or above to watch.

Yes, you just play and charge to your account. Just to be sure, I would play for awhile then check your S and S account to be sure it’s coming out of the OBC.

Yes you have to check with the casino host to have your fun play added to your account.

On Magic 8/30 the elegant night was the first sea day night. It was a 5 night.

I’ve been on Elation once late 2019. She’s old, but was still a nice ship.  Carnival had just added the additional balconies so that was the reason we went on her as we prefer balconies. What a huge disappointment! If you’re used to having a balcony room on any Carnival ship, you will be disappointed! The cabin did not even have a sofa, nor did it have a chair., we ended up bringing a chair off the balcony to have a place to sit. We are in our early 70s so can’t exactly sit on the bed and be comfortable!  Wasn’t just that cabin either, we were with 3 other couples and their rooms were the same. I’ve looked at Ecstacy out of Jacksonville, and it’s exactly the same.  From looking at the deck plans, the Ocean View cabins are the same. I suppose if you’re young and don’t spend a lot of time in the room it won’t bother you. I did like the layout of the bathroom much better than the typical carnival bathroom.  To each his own, but just want to make you aware of this in making your decision.

8 hours ago, Mud_Shark said:

Thank you.  Just haven't kept up on all the stuff about vaccine requirements, and not sure where to turn for the most up to date info.   

 

Hopefully another redundant question that all you well-researched cruisers will know, but do cruisers require a Bahama's health visa for any Bahamiam cruise port stops?  Hopefully not, but I cannot readily identify any information that states yes or no definitively.  Cruise departs from Miami.

 

Don

We were in the Bahamas (Bimini) on August 30 cruise. No Bahamas Health Visa required that I know of. We will be back on Magic October 7 to Nassau and Half Moon Cay. Was doing a little research about how things were in Nassau now, and if I remember correctly, it’s no required. 
 

13 hours ago, lharry said:

I can’t seem to find the current Carnical Covid protocols. Trying to decide if I should book or not, depending on what the protocol is. Looks like we have to get a test result within a day of cruising?  Is that the only requirement at this time sailing out of Florida?

if you go to Carnival’s home page, carnival.com, look at the top left hand corner, there’s an UPDATE on health protocols. Click on that and you’ll find all you need to know about the current requirements for cruising, testing, etc.  The new CDC guidelines are testing negative within 48 hours of sailing. This is actually 2 days, I.e. cruising on Thursday, testing on Tuesday, Wednesday or prior to embarkation Thursday morning.  Hope this answers your questions.

32 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

It is interesting.  We too are just days from Diamond and both of us are getting all of the really good offers.  They are mostly casino offers so if you haven’t signed up with the players club you won’t get any of those.  

I am definitely in the Players Club. While I don’t spend much more than $100 per day, I do love to play the slots!  I do get casino offers, mostly for $$ off fare and some cruise cash, just none of those free rooms and stuff like that.

7 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Pretty sad when platinum

benefits are minimal but people like myself who have only have 3 carnival cruises and a red card get offered $10 and $25 VIFP cruise offers while many platinums do not. It’s insulting and backwards  …… 

I wholeheartedly agree with you! I am 14 days from Diamond and it just irks me to no end to see some of these offers. I understand it from a marketing perspective, but loyalty really should be worth more than it is. Doubt that will ever happen tho. They know they have you!

Are you asking about logging in to your VIFP account? If so, you’re probably going to have to call Carnival and ask for Technical Support. I managed to do that one time and they fixed it for me.

27 minutes ago, PC 462 said:

How do you get to one of his coffees?  And when are they? And does he pay for the coffee? OK, forget that last question.

When you go to his Facebook page, he usually has a live video wher he talks about various things, makes announcements. You don’t have to do anything other than click on the video.

Yes, the information is on the top of the home page, Have fun Protocols. If you scroll dow there’s a link to the Return to Sailing FAQs. In there it talks about the different tests and where you can get them.

6 minutes ago, groundloop said:

 

Where did you find that information?  

Carnival sent an email about the home tests being acceptable and provided a link to order from Emed. I think you can find the info on carnivals home page.

I personally will wait till after my cruise to get my booster. Don’t look for trouble and it usually won’t find you!

I think the presentation of the oysters is really cool, but I didn’t like them, but my friend does. I love oysters pretty much any way you cook them, even raw, but those just didn’t do it for me. I usually get the stuffed mushrooms which is very good.  Any of the steaks are usually huge, way too much for me, so the surf and turf is just right. I’m usually too full for dessert, but the cheesecake is really good, easily split between 2. The chocolate sphere is a nice presentation too. It’s very chocolate for sure. 
Can’t really say about the dress code on first night, but if they go by MDR attire, people usually wear what they traveled in.  A few times in the past, we’ve been notified by Steakhouse it was casual night (not first night) and men could wear dress shorts. Hope you enjoy it.