happy cruzer

Yes, it is. Virgin probably got first timers 🙂 . Thanks for sharing.

Hello, Have gotten great advice on the boards here in the past. So thanks in advance! Looking to book for the first time on Virgin and my TA does not book them. So I'm going to DIY. Want to book an outside cabin. About the only thing we are particular about is wine with dinner. We normally carry on wine. Most wine by the glass is just so so (being nice 🙂 ) on the other lines. Do they do wine packages, beverage packages, carry on policy and enforcement? Any info about the booking process and Virgin in general? What does a first time booker need to know? Thanks.

Further reflection... If you book through a third party, they may not care to go after your refund from the airfare. You will may need to do that. But the refund goes to the payer of the ticket i.e. the third party so then you have to get the third party to pass on the refund. So unless the savings are significant it may indeed be worth booking directly. But NCL second passenger flies free is significant in our case so worth the risk. Also open jaw air on various lines or first class tickets at times saves alot, otherwise probably not worth using the third party.

The devil is in the details. Why was the flight cancelled? Weather is the most common and the airline is abit off the hook because they do not control the weather and can't fly per the TSA. So yep you probably will get a big delay. But normally covered by insurance. Mechanical failure, lack of crew, or other things under the airline's control; the airline has the obligation to get you there and may have more options available which might not have a big delay ( but it always can). Typically this reason is not covered by travel insurance except CFA when following the exact procedure for cancelling the cruise. What airline? The bigger airlines have more options that they will use. The smaller ones do not tend to do anything but rebook you on their planes at a later time. Also the compensation for the delay may vary. So the best mitigation is to travel early. Also knowing the options for other flights and having the resources to get on another flight or even drive. Insurance for weather delays. Sounds like "son" in this event did everything right. Glad he made it. He probably will have to deal with the airline for his refund if they cancelled the flight vs. TSA grounding the plan due to weather. Good luck. As an aside, I am in the group that says once you are ticketed and are within a few days of travel should deal directly with the airline. Matter of fact often you have too because the cruise air group many not be taking calls for hours like in major weather delay.

Yes, the wording on the SDP may be more marketing than fact. Since most report getting appetizer, soup and salad just as you mention. It also doesn't mention sides. Nor does it say anything about restaruants that have pizza or pasta courses as well as the appetizers and entrees such as La Cucina. Also there are reports of sharing a voucher. One cruiser advised to just order what you want and most likely it is covered (except multiple entrees). Anyway the more people share the actual experience the better, thanks.

Well, this sounds like another cutback. In past, it has been reported the cruise lines get the bag back to you at not cost to you. Just like the airlines do. No first hand experience on this one. Perhaps you can file an insurance claim to the shipping charge?

Is the lost luggage covered by travel insurance? maybe through your credit card? Luggage gets lost/stolen in lots of ways. Usually it gets found because it does not have much value to anyone but the owner. I don't think Carnival wants anyone's luggage. If it turns up, the line will go to some expense to get it to you. Good luck with the bags turning up.

Agree that it can be frustrating and daunting. The UDP needs to be a bit more straight forward. It should not rely on boarding early to get fairly good times. Luckily so far we have boarded and made reservations first thing and got close to our first choices. But if if happens such that we miss out then we will will vote with our feet and our dollars.,

For all the hand washing and sanitizing people, if you touch anything after you wash your hands like the back of your chair as you are seated, table top, the menu, the silverware, your water glass, your plate to move it, contaminated food or service ware, etc. you are potentially getting the virus. It is great that many do not get it, but it may be luck more than anything>>> Use all the mitigation that you can, but don't be a judger. If a port or ship has the virus then it takes some time to die down. Same as a school or senior center.

Thanks for the review with details and pictures. That "meal" in the main dining room looked pretty sad. With there not being the "always available option" gone, they should be executing on the available option. Not sure I would recommend new cruisers to try RCCL. I used to say don't worry about food, the staff will find a way to make you happy. We are ok so far doing the specialty dining but that is not an option for the entire ship. At the end be sure to let us know what you recommend. Thanks.

Any tips for enjoying a quiet lunch on sea days? on port days? We will have a cove balcony which we probably want to use for lunch once or twice. It looks like a long a haul to get food there.

Agree that the food pricing is not much of a value. True in our opinion of almost all specialty restaurants on the main lines. The lines probably are charging the premium for the real estate and staff that the restaurants use same as the jump in prices to larger cabins. We go mainly for slightly better food and much better dining experience than the included. Not so much to get our money's worth vs. land based options.

This would matter because people have been saying Carnival is greedy when the table limits go up. But if they contract out the casino and get nothing extra of the profits, then it would be contractor maximizing profits? Which is it?

Love reading all your reviews. We tend to hop around, next is CCL then NCL and then RCL. The information you share really helps people. There has been a discussion about sharing the free at sea vouchers and your experience is giving me hope that we will enjoy them.

Here's a bit of experience with Chase Sapphire (not Reserve or Preferred) claim. They use a company called Card Benefits to do their claims. They want you to submit everything online. Read the terms and conditions regarding using your personal info, did not like them so used the email option to file. First, they will want to know why the trip was interrupted from the airline in writing (sometimes you can find that online). They do not cover items that are the airline's fault or that are compensated by the airline. Mostly they cover weather delays. Of course then they want every receipt (very hard in this day of ticketless travel; all we could get were boarding passes). You should keep the original and copy of each item (some of the receipts had faded and were illegible after a couple of months), each time you submit just in case. The entire process is a pain. Lots of time resubmitting the exact same information. Calls to confirm the information was received. It took more than two months to get it verified that they had a complete file. Then two more months waiting on the approval process. Finally, wrote a short cover letter, attached all my correspondence copies, notes from the phone conversations and copies of emails they sent me. Used Fedex to send to their Miami office. In the cover letter, mentioned they had 10 days to respond in writing otherwise the entire package would be forwarded to several regulating agencies. At five days received a check for all amounts except hotel that was paid out of pocket. Phoned back and they sent a second check for that. So as you did traveling, be nice to the people you talk to and don't expect quick results in my experience. We had hotel, transportation and meals to be refunded so hopefully your claim will be easier. Looking forward to the good parts...

Isn't the casino contracted out? Does CCL get any per bet revenue? Thanks.

Thanks for the warning. We normally split our items where ever we dine on land or at sea except at buffets or all you can eat ( which we avoid if possible). Occasionally there is a charge for sharing. If NCL turns out to the be one time that we can't share then we probably will not have a good match going forward with their offer of Free at Sea. Whether the meal is paid for using a dining credit or with cash, should not really matter?? We will see what they say when we sail. Again, thanks for the warning so we are prepared. Enjoy your cruise 🙂

not the same TA, we use one another one. They did not include grats so all good for each of us. If the air turns out to be half price then we are happy vs. the grats.

Sometimes we check a bag with wine, etc. Sometimes we just do carry on. Those checked bags (even rolling) are getting a bit heavy as time goes on. 🙂

The big box TA we use does do the BOGO air. And like all the perks you can cancel at final payment if you like. So we look at the price at final and decide if it is worth taking the chance with the cruise line booking the air. Also it turned out flying one day early was a bit cheaper. The TA took care of getting the quote for BOGO air dev.

There was dancing in the Manhattan Dining Room in the past. I thought I saw it on recent dailies.

The terms and conditions don't mention sides. Are they unlimited? Sharing one credit would be perfect for us. Thanks for all the reports.

Those snails are cute. The staff will love them. Much like a note or card which is a short term gift which is makes people smile.

thanks for the link. I notice that it mentions lunch on sea days. If a venue is open on a port day like Johnny Rockets, isn't it included?

Be careful what you ask for. Right now the Carnival menu has lots of options each night compared to the other major lines. What item specifically are you asking for? They have to please everyone - those who are adventuresome eaters, meat and potatoes, picky, health conscious, those who love spicy food ..... Just asking for change can get unpleasant surprises, what change specifically are you looking for? I would vote more variety in the fish and seafood. Otherwise leave it alone. 🙂