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annlouisem

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Posts posted by annlouisem

    Inside cabin survival tips?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I was in an inside room on the fascination and found the light that came in from under the cabin door enough to break the darkness ( I prefer total darkness to sleep though) The room also had automatic lights under the closets that were sensor triggered when you got out of bed so no need for me to leave the bathroom light on, depending on what ship you are on, the room may have the same thing

     

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    Boarding the Fascination in Barbados

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for your post. How much time did you have in San Juan? Can you remember what time you needed to be back on board?
    Hi, we docked very early but by the time we had gone through the customers procedure it was probably around 10am that we got off (we could have got off earlier but arrived towards the end of our scheduled meet time to be taken off the ship) and back on board time was either 8 or 9 pm, plenty of time to.explore and you can come and go off the ship as many times as you like

     

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    Pre Piad Visa Card For On board Expense Account

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I used a pre paid mastercard on my cruise, my only suggestion is check their t and c's. Ive used 2 different ones on the 2 cruises I've taken, first one had no issues at all with but my latest cruise clearly stated in the t & c that it wasn't recommended due to the way the cruise line puts holds on the card, I chose to use it any way and I'm still waiting for the holds to release ( takes up to 30 days with this particular card)

     

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    Boarding the Fascination in Barbados

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for posting. I will be boarding in Barbados in 12 days! My wife is from Barbados and we opted to board from there so we can stay and visit friends and family at the same time and save $ on airline tickets. We will also cruise with friends who are from Barbados and did this cruise before. You confirmed exactly what they said; embarking, disembarking, muster, and boarding in San Juan was much easier as it is a much smaller group.

     

    Disappointed to hear that the Hub app may not work. Here are the other cons that I'm learning:

    - Because the ship starts from San Juan, there aren't as many nicer cabins available from Barbados (Limited balconies, no suites).

    - We don't usually book the ship's excursions but if you want to, you have to call carnival to do so. They aren't available online from the website.

    - Cabin prices are higher from Barbados.

    - Faster to Fun option is not available from this port.

    - Probably won't have a Roll Call meet n greet. It's possible but smaller group reduces the number of people signing up.

    Hope you have an amazing cruise. We just booked excursions on board and had no issue with availability of what we wanted to do

     

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    Boarding the Fascination in Barbados

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    It's been a month since my cruise and as the post cruise depression fades and the reality of back to work takes over I thought I would share some information on what it is like to board in Barbados, finding information for myself pre cruise was near impossible so hopefully this will be useful for others.

    1, embarkation... There is no set boarding times for passengers joining in Barbados, you can get on any time from the ship being cleared by port officials but must be on by 2pm. When you arrive at the port there is a desk set up just outside the security area where you show your boarding pass and id, you get given a plastic card with a number on it, luggage is taken from you and off you go to board the ship which is just a short walk down the pier (there is also a free shuttle bus if you don't fancy walking). You enter the ship on deck 3 and security scan your boarding pass and take your photo then its up to the sensation dining room on deck 8 to get officially checked in. In the dining room you hand over the plastic number card you were given and in return you receive your sign n sail card along with that days fun times and some other paper work. There are refreshments set out for everyone waiting and senior crew members call you up to complete check in and make sure you have the necessary documents (esta/visa etc) for when the ship arrives in San Juan as it is necessary to go through customs there as it is the first US port of call. You get a star sticker stuck on to your s&s to show you boarded in Barbados and after talking through when and where muster drill takes place and procedures for San Juan you are free to enjoy the ship. We were told our cabins would be ready at 12:30

     

    2, muster drill...this takes place in the palace lounge at 3:30pm. You have to check in with the crew and this is done on deck 8 not deck 9. They tie the muster drill in with a mini orientation where you meet the cd and fun squad and they had a free raffle too. After watching the safety briefing video everyone was called up in muster station order and walked to their respective muster station, very quick and painless and much nicer than the sardine can in the hot sun experience I had on the Glory last year.

     

    3, hub app... if you are planning on using this, think again, due to a glitch in their systems the hub app doesn't work for passengers boarding in Barbados, you can still buy internet packages though.

     

    4, San Juan.... All passengers have to get off the ship when it docks in San Juan. We were all asked to meet between 8:45-9:45am in the Passage to India on deck 9 ensuring we had every thing we needed with us as we would be escorted off the ship and unable to return until they had been cleared to start embarkation of the new passengers starting their cruise that day, we were escorted off the ship on groups and had to wear an 'in transit' sticker to identify us to border protection officers, once through customs we were able to enjoy our day in San Juan after moving our in transit sticker to the back of our passport so that we didn't have to queue with the masses trying to join the ship.

     

    5, San Juan muster... As we had already completed a muster we were given a number of options

    A, stay in cabin

    B, join in the muster drill again

    C, go to the library and be entertained by a magician

    D, go to the piano bar and enjoy entertainment there. Options c and d also offered free drinks and many cocktails were enjoyed while muster drill went on.[emoji3]

     

    6, disembarking... the sad bit that nobody like [emoji26] the night before there was a disembarkation talk at 5:15pm in putting on the ritz lounge where a number of crew members and the cd came to say goodbye and talk about the departure process. On the morning of the dreaded day bags had to be outside the cabin between 7am and 8:45am and we had to be back in the putting on the ritz lounge between 8:30-09:00am where again refreshments were provided while you fill in customs declaration card and wait for customs officials to board and clear you. You have to be out of your cabin by 9:30 am but can stay and enjoy a few more hours on the ship as long as you are off by no later than 1pm. Luggage is stored right in front of security in the port so you don't have to worry about lugging it around all morning if you have time to kill.

     

     

     

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    • Thanks 1

    Carnival Fascination - What deck do you embark and debarkation?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    What deck did you find for embarkation in San Juan? natefish95 showed him boarding on deck 3 on his May 27th cruise. Guess it varies?
    It may have something to do with any damage to the port following the hurricane, I was on the same cruise as nate (but boarded in Barbados) we had to leave the ship while it cleared customs and to get back on were sent up the escalators, past customs and security then back down stairs to board on deck 3. At one point we walked outside upstairs and could see where, if the platforms were attached, you could have got on via deck 7 so im guessing they could be damaged still

     

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    Barbados what to do after we disembark ?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    You can't stay on the ship. They have to clean your cabin & make it ready for the next passengers. And they can't start boarding before everyone is off the ship. And you have to claim your luggage before you can go through customs.
    On an average cruise this may be the case but given that 90% of passengers boarded in San Juan and not barbados, this is a unique cruise, yes you have to leave your cabin but you do not have to leave the ship until 1pm. Customs clearance is done on board as soon as the ship docks

     

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    Barbados what to do after we disembark ?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Hey glittergal, just arrived home from Barbados so can answer some of your original questions... you have to be out of your cabin by 930am, luggage has to be outside your room between 745 and 845 and you have to be processed by immigration between 830 and 9 (ours was done in the putting on the ritz lounge) you can stay on the ship until 1pm and your luggage will be waiting by the customs desk after 10am, we stayed on ship until just before 1pm and our luggage was in a secure area waiting.

     

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    No Sea Days!

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    You're right, that's not doable in one day. That's not the proper order they hit those ports. Barbados is somewhere in the middle. Barbados to San Juan is over 500nm straight-line, so that's more like 600nm with navigation. 24-30 hours cruise time at least.

    Im boarding from Barbados in May and although not a cruise that's had the added port, we go to St Thomas after San Juan then a sea day which is where I guess the itinerary change is for those not getting a sea day

     

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    San Juan

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    This was under my San Juan excursion listing EXCURSION DETAILS

     

    PRINT

    IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

    Please note, due to system limitations, you are unable to book your shore excursions online at this time. However, your being able to book your desired excursions is as important to us as it is to yourself.

    Please look through our choice of online excursions and then contact us directly, on BarbadosSailings@carnival.com, so that we may help coordinate your shore excursion tickets.

    Please be sure to include the following:

    • Full Name, as it appears on your booking
    • Booking #,
    • Sail Date,
    • Port of Call
    • Full Excursion Name.
    • Number of adult tickets
    • Number of children’s tickets

    A representative will contact you within 48 business hours with pricing and a choice of departure times, if applicable.

    These tickets will be charged to your Sail and Sign account when you board your ship and will apply to the same cancellation policies as all online bookings.

    This is for passengers who embark in Barbados. The fascination has 2 embarkation/debarkation ports, a cruise is midway through when passengers get on in Barbados.

     

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    Sofabeds

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I found it really comfortable, I have a memory foam mattress and it was a similar firmness to that, neither too firm nor too soft. Was worried I wouldn't sleep well on it but in fact I slept amazingly all week which never usually happens when I'm away from home

     

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