TomCruise48

On 9/28/2021 at 11:20 AM, mac_tlc said:

Is it Mike Szywajkowski? 

On-board now with 750 other guests. CD is Mike S.

2 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

We did not have any concerns.  The air conditioning worked just fine and when the curtains were closed it was very dark.

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I'm trying to understand why with so many of these types of cabins with the extra space are still available compared to other categories in a similar price range.

Same situation here.  We booked our CVS rapid antigen test 13 days in advance as Plan A and are using the proctored Binax AG as the Plan B backup.  We also had to book at a CVS 45 minutes away, but that wasn't an issue for us.

On 9/14/2021 at 7:46 PM, JessyCruises said:

Here are photos from Cabin #3 - a forward Spacious Oceanview 10506 (4M).  Not as large as the last one (10510), but still larger than a normal ocean view and plenty of open space!

Thank you for "taking us along" on your B2B2B.  We are thinking about booking a B2B on the Odyssey in the near future and have found that the Spacious Oceanview appears to be the only type of cabin in our price range that has the same cabin number available for both cruises. 

How did you enjoy this cabin?  Any concerns?  We are concerned that the air conditioning may not be able to keep up with the heat from the sunlight impinging on the slanted window.  How well do the curtains work to block the sunlight?  Thanks in advance.

4 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

Sailing Odyssey on Nov 28th.. and just moved our room to a spacious outside view.. 11th deck!

Can't wait to see the ship and larger room (and if anyone has been in one of the spacious outside rooms, I'd love pictures!) I'm prime in the casino so I'lll be sure to stop by to say hi to Chris!

See Post #366 on page 14

Ordered a 3 pack from Optum 2 days after you did.  Tracking it on Fedex.  It was picked up in Hayward, CA yesterday, is now in Memphis, and scheduled for delivery tomorrow.  They must have messed up your order.  You still should have plenty of time with your reorder.

See this video where both iPhone and Android phones were used:

2 hours ago, Vibe said:

I ordered my tests on the 8th from Optum through the link on Royal Caribbean website, received an email confirmation that it would arrive in the 9th or 10th. It is now the 11th not received, no shipping information.  I called Optum after a 20 minute wait the representative said that it has not been shipped yet, it is in "packing" and does not.know when it will be shipped.

Royal Caribbean may want to rethink this partnership

Ordered our tests direct from Optum late in the day on the 9th without going through RCCL link.  Received shipping notice on the 11th with scheduled delivery on the 13th.  This shipment shows up in our Fedex app.

4 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

So there is a requirement from the CDC that kids must be tested twice before boarding?  I tried searching on cdc.gov but I can't find that.  Do you have a link?  Thanks.

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/covid19-operations-manual-cso.html#screening-of-embarking-passengers

20 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

Why would RCI require kids to be tested within 3 days before they arrive when they are just going to test them before boarding anyway?  The rapid PCR test at check-in would be the most definitive and accurate test, so why would they need anything else?

These are not from RCL, but rather the requirements (technically recommendations for Florida departures due to ruling on lawsuit) from the CDC August 27 update that is to become effective on September 13.

My take on this is that the pre-cruise testing is an attempt to prevent an infected person from traveling to the port and possibly infecting others during travel or at the port. 

6 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

 

 

 

It appears that RCI amended their policy "again"  Kids will get complimentary rapid PCR tests.  I don't remember seeing this yesterday:

 

This is the same wording as yesterday.  The complimentary testing for 2 - 11 year old children is in addition to the required pre-cruise testing PCR test 3 or fewer days before the cruise.

Have done several B2B's on Carnival and never linked them.  Ship always knew that we were B2B.

Liars Club has been on Carnival for several years.  It is usually held in the Main Showroom.  It is similar to the old TV program To Tell the Truth.  The panel is given an unusual word to explain/define and only one panelist has the correct answer.  The audience votes on who is telling the truth.  With a good group of panelists, it can be quite entertaining.

3 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

does Carnival's Fly To The Fun extend beyond the US border?  

Have used it to fly from/to US for European cruises.

The Liquid Lounge concept was first introduced when the Destiny was converted to the Sunshine and in spite of all the bad reviews and complaints this was continued on all of the Vista class ships.  The idea was to be able to have more flexibility in the use of the venue.  For the shows, the center area on the main floor is set up with chairs with about the same legroom as a budget airline.  They originally tried to use it as a late hours night club by removing the chairs to create a dance floor, but as such, it had all the ambiance of a high school gymnasium.  There is little or no slope in the front area that was to serve as a dance floor, so it is difficult to see over those sitting in front of you. 

The sight lines are poor for about 80% of the available seats, and there are fewer seats compared to the older design that had 3 levels and no bar.  As others have mentioned, there is nowhere to put a drink glass.

We often sail with a couple of firefighters, and they say this venue would never pass code on land.  The signs for the emergency exits in the front are difficult to see due to bad sight lines, and in the event of an evacuation, people would be pushing the chairs every which way blocking means of egress.

There was a similar post on this board several months ago where the refund GC's were sent to a wrong address.  If my memory is correct, the poster was able to have Carnival cancel and reissue the cards.  As others have said, all of my GC refunds arrived via Fedex.  We have had 9 cruises cancelled that were paid with GC's and it has been a real problem getting things straightened out.  Carnival kept saying the GC's were sent to our TA, but that was not correct.  They use a 3rd party to reissue the cards, and I think that most of our problems were between Carnival and the third party.

I am thinking that based on the dates in your post that Carnival and/or their third party processor has not yet sent out your cards, since it usually took us months to receive our refund GC's.  I'm guessing that Carnival's system shows the date when the request was sent to their processor, but there is nothing in place to close the loop to show when the processor actually sent out the cards.

1 hour ago, RumpunchGirl said:

 I wonder if it's the same on Panorama. 

We were on Panorama just before Covid hit.  There is a stairway in the Havana area on this ship as well.  If my memory is correct, it is on the port side.  

13 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

The information for onboard credit says it cannot be used for gratuities. 

I have used non-refundable OBC on at least 25 Carnival cruises to either fully or partially cover gratuities.  If Carnival denies using OBC to cover gratuities, it will backfire for them.  A lot of angry guests will then remove the gratuities and the crew will be punished.

18 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

When did that start?  Have never paid for popcorn.  

The first time that we were on the Liberty in 2007 there was a charge for popcorn.  All cruises after that one, the popcorn was free.

24 minutes ago, cmptrwiz said:

I received my stock OBC after about 3 weeks.  The weird thing was we are doing a B2B and we got $100 for the first 7 days and $150 for the next 8 days?  I'm not complaining we just usually get $100 each 7 days.

They have been doing this for the past few years.  If the B2B adds to 14 days or more, they apply a total of $250, which is the OBC for a 14 day or more cruise.  You need include both booking numbers in your request so that they realize that you are doing B2B.  I always point out B2B as part of my request.

Carnival no longer has onboard cruise consultants.  In the past they had one person onboard with whom you could book a future cruise and receive onboard credit.  They have eliminated this position and now you have 14 days after your cruise to book a future cruise and receive onboard credit.  

I have had the same issue for a few weeks.  It would log me out while I was actively viewing the boards.  Late last week, I could not even login until I cleared the cookies for the site.  Since then, I've been logged in for 3 days and counting.

Have sailed Carnival, X, and RCCL and enjoyed them all.  Are you comparing price based on the same number of days?  The Horizon ABC cruise is 8 days. Southern route is more expensive than Eastern or Western.

IMO Celebrity caters to an older crowd than Carnival.  Celebrity food is better, but Carnival, especially on the Horizon, has many interesting venue choices for lunch.  We have found that Carnival has the most friendly staff and crew.  As others have suggested, if you do book the Horizon, try to get a Havana cabin where you have exclusive access to a private area.  You will appreciate this on the 4 sea days.  Downside of this class of Carnival ships is that the theater is a disaster with poor sight lines.  Don't pick the Horizon if the production shows are important for your cruise experience.

6 hours ago, regoodwinjr said:

We used the app on the first night on our last 2 cruises for YTD but then went to the desk so we could request the same waitstaff since the app doesn't have that ability.

If I heard JH correctly on today's FB video, the app still will not have the ability to request a specific wait team for YTD.  We do the same thing.  Once we find a wait staff we like at YTD, we request them again by going to the desk.  Even if you make your YTD request in person, the app will still send a notification to your device with the table number when your table is ready.

4 hours ago, crooooze said:

You actually don’t need the Hub app. Just connect your phone or tablet to the ship WiFi and go to this URL:

http://fhma.cclfunhub.com/~/media/files/documents/funtimes.pdf.

Thanks for the tip.  We always carried a paper copy of the Funtimes while in port because it had the contact info for the port agent in case of emergency.  The Hub app will be useless once you are a few hundred yards away from the ship and cannot connect to the ship's WiFi.