Moviela

My brother in law was cruising with a total of 16 family members when a Russian passenger took offense to their ethnicity and connected a blow to one of the cousins. The cousin was a pro boxer and put the attacker to bed and turned off the lights in the dining room. Every member of the family was told by security to remain in their rooms. In the morning they were put ashore in Puerto Rico. The other group was also put ashore with the suspect in handcuffs. The line (wasn't a Carnival brand) had a zero tolerance policy for any physical altercation. No refunds, find your own way home. My brother in law said he didn't even get to see the fight, but he enjoyed a few days in Puerto Rico.

I give up. Where the hell are you getting butter?

Your opinion like that of several others assumes facts not in evidence. The restart plans were extensive and gave adequate thought to staffing levels, provisions, environmental compliance, port availability, and facilities to manage any Covid related issues. Obviously no line could mobilize thousands of workers at the drop of a hat. The start was ramped up slowly, with reduced capacity to accommodate the resources available. The plan included time for government agencies to do their work. What has happened is the contracts are ending for people who have been at sea for 9 months, and are entitled to the leave they have earned. Their replacements were hired and paperwork submitted in a timely manner for US Department of State to issue visas to those individuals. The lifting of Covid restrictions worldwide has released a torrent of pent up demand for visas. Americans are spoiled, as there are few countries we need a visa for travel there, and those that do have reasonable visa fees. If you are a citizen in most Asian countries the burden to get a US visa is very high. It is now nigh on to impossible to receive any visa in a normal processing time. Carnival is not operating all ships at full capacity, and has moved certain crew to assist ships with higher load factors. It is expected that the visas will be issued over the next few weeks allows the Cucina and Chef's Table to resume. Some have suggested that some ships might be mothballed until staffing issues resolve. Imagine you had a cruise planned for a ship that was taken out of service. I sense several thousand people will be disappointed. By keeping all ships working only 14 per voyage will miss The Chef's Table, and several dozen diners will miss Cucina. All ships will continue to generate revenue. If you ask me that is pretty good management. As I read the financials of several cruise corporations Carnival management shines very brightly.

A lot of people seem to think Carnival is making cutbacks to either save money or nickel and dime folks for formally free offerings. The problem with Cucina is a "staffing issue." The cause of the "staffing issue" is the US State Department slow rolling the visa approvals for experienced staff members.

The important things to remember here is that the name on the reservation and drivers license must match in every detail. You don't need an enhanced or real ID version at this time. If you are using your birth certificate the name must also match. If it does not, you need a marriage license, adoption or legal name change document to back it up. Make sure your date of birth matches on your documents and Carnival booking. One last piece of advice, don't leave the country without a passport unless you like to do a hand stand while jumping rope to get a dispensation from foreign authorities should something go sideways.

When you set foot in Cuba remember to set your watch back 60 years.

You only need a 3 month validity for travel to Canada. Go and have a good time. Consider a renewal on your return. They seem to be slow walking passports. It can take 2 months.

This the explanation for time adjustments on sailings that stop first in Cabo. For sailings that stop first in PV it is more complicated. When you board, ships time is Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7.) We leave Saturday and sail all day Sunday and arrive Monday in Cabo. The ship remains on PDT all during the time in Cabo. Take note that Cabo is an hour later (UTC-6), so be careful because your phone will probably change the time it displays. My advice is keep your watch on ships time to avoid missing the boat. Sailing away from Cabo at 2 am Tuesday morning ships time adjusts one hour forward to UTC-6. Your ships time will be synchronized to Mazatlán time which is also UTC-6. Leaving Mazatlán we arrive in Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday, Ships time remains at UTC-6, however, time in PV is UTC-5! Oh my, they are an hour ahead of ships time. Again keep a sharp eye on your watch and ignore the clock on your phone. PV is your last chance to stock up on Mexican Vanilla. (it's a thing, like the ducks) Sailing away from PV at 2 am Thursday ships time rolls back one hour to UTC-7. It will remain on PDT for the rest of the voyage.

Sometimes the links when attached to a specific journey are sold out they don't show a price. They continue to show the excursion as advertising.

I just wish they would make the ice machines available to pax. I needed ice and was told the steward was off duty. Room service quoted an hour.

You must be booking tasty balconies or suites. Not much chance of an upgrade there.

The casino has spa coupons to hand out to the worthy. Not knowing if I am worthy, I just ask. They had several 20% discount cards, a few 50% and my wife got a $200. comp from one of the casino raffles .

I have spent a lot of time on location in Rome. A two day visit is enough. I'd rather in Paris or the Dalmatian coast for ten days. Even Barcelona is a place that a weeks stay would be better than Rome. I would take the cruise and if possible change your flight to spend a few days in Portugal. Lots of culture and things to see. Rent a car see where the road takes you.

The scanner optical recognition has problem with spelling of names and reading passport numbers, but thankfully the app now allows you to edit the information for passport or Global Entry. If fully vaccinated you do not need to test before entry, nor quarantine for ten days. You do need to register details 72 hours prior to sailing, and get your QR code before they will let you in the terminal. I would also print out the permission from Canada in case your phone dies or refuses to connect when they want to see it.

I think door slamming is a Swedish problem. That right. Assa Abloy is the company that makes the door locks on millions of hospitality doors. These door locks made in Sweden have a specification that will close the door firmly in case of fire, and for security to be sure the latch is firm. You don't want to leave your room with the latch sitting on the strike rather than in it. The mechanicals bind a bit, so the force needed to insure a proper latch will slam the door. Kabang. Every time. The only solution is to stay and supervise the closing. Every time. No matter what. Violators should subject the deck to group punishment, starting with push-ups.

I don't agree with that at all. There was no "rush" to return to sailing. It was well planned and executed. Proper staffing was in place for the reduced passenger capacity. People were hired to add to staff as capacity was allowed to increase. Several adverse conditions have affected the industry that are totally out of control of Carnival. Among them machinations of government making rules about protocols for covid prevention impacting the ability to bring workers aboard. Compound this with air travel restrictions and habitual flight cancellations. A recent problem is workers are hired and fail to show up or give notice they will not be joining the crew. There is also serious disruptions to getting provisions aboard the ship. Shortages of certain commodities like meat, eggs, dairy, breads, spices, liquor, paper products are common. Some items like meat even when available is not the same level of quality as before. Life as we know it is limited and difficult to know when the "fog will lift."

That is exactly the reason I ask mail to be placed inside or slipped under the door.

There were four cams on Panorama. A Forward cam, and aft cam, one on lido, one on the sports deck. All were working last week.

I have often thought those who wish to jump the line could make a $100 ea donation to St. Jude. I would not mind waiting for those people.

I sailed Panorama two weeks ago and had none of the problems you mentioned, in fact none at all. I am feeling lucky. I am a late night person and often like dining a midnight and beyond. On the cruise ship that lifestyle is not possible except for soft serve and pizza (there is no such thing as bad pizza) that takes too long. Roaches are unacceptable, but are often brought in by passengers. I hope they were cleared on sight and never returned. I found any issue with the cabin was responded to quickly and resolved as fast. I agree the dining room staffing is not acceptable. While I have no issue with slow service (I'm retired) but not serving people in order is inexcusable and usually fixed on the spot with a whisper in the maître d's ear. Advice for next time. The scrub as I recall is a hand full of coarse mineral salt you scrub yourself with. It would last me all week. The whole spa deal is overpriced and under valued. The same company ran the spa where I worked and were dismissed for the hard sell of expensive products annoying guests. I hope you enjoy the music, shows, comedy, and port visits. The Dome was actually designed as a sea port, a terminal for an abandoned Disney Sea project, so the city put the Spruce Goose in there. Carnival did an excellent job of designing the current interior structure, and for several magical weeks in 2020 was a wonderful place to embark. The magic died with covid and now the necessary protocols to inspect paperwork slows the whole process down. My next cruise is in a fortnight and I will have a smile on my face for a straight 7 days.

I like the spring loaded can cozy. It will adjust to smaller and larger than 12 oz drink cans, it packs flat, and can be used as a mouse pad in a pinch. I don't know why, but we have received a nice gift on every sailing from blue card on. Favorites are the speaker, headphones, wood box stationary kit, Teves cups, blanket, and all time favorite an automatic night light.

Carnival policy is that clothing is not optional in all saunas. Some ships have a tiny sauna in the locker rooms, and it might be look the other way day sometimes, policy is you must be clothed.

Well, they don't "fall under" National Parks, Agriculture, or the Postal Service either. While the U.S. Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime security, it relies on TSA’s support to screen passengers, vet maritime transportation workers, inspect credentials at maritime facilities and safely connect people and goods to vessels.

Here is a five cent civics lesson for you: TSA was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to oversee security in all modes of transportation and completed federalization of security operations by the end of 2002. TSA became part of the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003, making up a quarter of the DHS workforce. TSA’s scope includes commercial and general aviation; mass transit systems; freight and passenger rail; highways, pipelines and ports.

Sorry, no pocket knives. Source is @AskTSA on Twitter.