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We are sailing on the Magic next week, are Platinum, and have not received this letter. Maybe it will be in our cabin.

Looking back over our past 55 cruises on 4 different cruise lines, I'd say we go all the way with booking primarily only balcony cabins or suites, several specialty dinners on each cruise, valet parking when available, but no drink packages or WiFi. These are vacations after all and we don't do less on land vacations either. We do book using great casino offers when possible so that makes it possible to get suites, casino cash or OBC, and free drinks in the casinos.

I think the "no copy" refers to the original CDC card that we received when we got vaccinated by our county health dept. We also have printouts from the county health dept. that shows both of our Moderna vaccinations with dates, type of vaccine, etc. - these are considered okay also because they are from the Florida Shots database, an official government record. We have those because DH put his shortened first name on the CDC card, not his legal name and the name that appears in our Carnival bookings. According to the Carnival protocols, the vaccination documentation must match the booking names exactly.

DH and I sailed on the Koningsdam in Jan. 2020 and mostly loved the ship and our verandah cabin on Deck 4. We were on the ship as I was a contestant for the $50,000 slot tournament. One of the things we didn't like at all was the very small casino - it just didn't fit the size of the ship and the number of passengers. Being there was a casino promotion with lots of casino players it was difficult to find a slot machine most of the time. The space between the machines (back to back) was very tight and made maneuvering difficult. Very annoying.

The other thing we didn't like was the horrendously loud music venues (not the Lincoln Stage). It was so loud we couldn't enjoy the music and singing and had to leave. Also, the two piano players in Billboard were terrible musicians.

We will be sailing on the new Rotterdam three times starting in Dec. so we will see how these things are. I suspect they will be the same, especially a small casino.

Did they have to pay for the Covid test even though they were vaccinated? DH and I are doing a B2B on the Pride in Nov.

Two questions for those who have sailed on Carnival in July.

1) Could Platinums and Diamonds go directly to their cabins after checking in?

2) Please explain the new muster process. Go to assigned muster station to check in with crew and then watch the safety lecture on our cabin TV??

Thanks.

We always do YTD and always get a table for two. We go to dinner early so we don't have to wait around for a table when it gets really busy. We are pretty close to our neighbors, but just a "good evening" is usually the extent of our conversation. 

As I mentioned in my previous post here, our Covid vaccinations are entered in the Florida Department of Health's Florida Shot registry. They sent me printouts of mine and DH's. As outlined in the Carnival protocols, I will bring them and our CDC cards plus the phone number of the health dept. and email addresses of the people there I dealt with in case there are any questions. I also mentioned that DH put his shortened name on the CDC card instead of his legal name and Carnival protocols say that the CDC card and booking names have to match. Thus we are bringing the additional documents in case of a question at terminal check in. Perhaps, many/most state health departments have similar shot registries.

We have our CDC cards plus printouts we received from our county health department that shows our two recorded vaccination shots in the Florida Shots registry (Florida Public Health Department). Also have county health dept. phone number and email of health official there. The reason for all the backup information is that DH put his shortened name on the CDC card (Bill instead of William, not his real name) and according to protocols, name and birth date on CDC card has to match exactly name and birth date on booking and passport. The FL Shots registry has his legal name and birth date that matches that on the booking and his passport.

Carnival protocols (on their website) say "we recommend you have the contact information (phone and email) immediately available of the healthcare provider or clinic site that issued the certificate, in order to validate the vaccination, if needed. A vaccination registry site may also be used."

As a retired library administrator, I love to hear that people missed the HAL libraries and glad there is one on the new Rotterdam. How much more relaxing it is to sit in a comfy chair or lounger with a good book than sit in front of a computer. Libraries have embraced technology wholeheartedly for decades and I supported it because it enhanced our library services and it provided a level playing field for those who cannot afford their own computers or do not have the funds to provide Internet access at their homes. Being retired, I prefer to sit in a comfy chair and read an actual book or on my Kindle (at least until my WiFi goes out sometimes).

Our completed health questionnaires (vaccination info) are on our cruise manager page showing they were completed.

I usually contact the Ocean Players Club website and send an email giving my name, birthdate (have been asked that before), booking number, cabin number, sailing date and ship. I say the purpose is to confirm what I believe are my perks like $$ in Fun Play, free drinks in the casino. Someone gets in contact with me with a week or so. I also print out their response to bring with me. If I received a promo in the mail, I bring that with me. I did run into a problem once when the casino cage people didn't have any record, so I was glad I had the written info with me.

We have three Holland America cruises booked, but also have three Carnival cruises booked so I was reading the posts today from passengers currently sailing on the Carnival Horizon and Vista. What I found disturbing is that there are no menus given to passengers in the dining rooms and the daily Fun Times with all the activities, etc. is no longer on paper. One has to view the menus and the Fun Times on the Carnival Hub on your smart phone. The menus are also posted outside the dining rooms so people can take photos using their smart phones. Well, we don't have a smart phone and have never wanted one or being on the Hub. We have a TracPhone we bought a couple of years ago that we take on long car trips, but otherwise it sits in my purse turned off. Don't tell us to "get with the times" as our choice should be respected and alternatives to see the menus and Fun Times need to be provided to us. Not every passenger on every cruise has a smart phone. There were posts from other future Carnival passengers who asked "what if you don't have a smart phone? " I haven't seen any responses yet.

Carnival said it would check passenger's CDC vaccination cards and that wasn't done at embarkation. I know they aren't requiring vaccination for sailing, but one would think they would want to know how many passengers are actually vaccinated. I also disagree with their self serve buffets.

I did like the idea of the new muster drill process - check in at regular muster station and then watch the information on your cabin TV. Check in at muster station must be done before sailing.

We've had 6 Neptune Suites and our very least favorite was on Deck 4 aft on the Oosterdam. Hated being  so far from the Neptune Lounge, theatre and casino. The suite was much smaller than the regular Neptunes on same deck as Neptune Lounge, but had same amount of furniture and we were always bumping into things. The larger deck didn't make up for the inconvenience at all. Our only Neptune Suite Guarantee (in order to get really cheap casino fare) and we won't be doing that again.

I grew up on one of the Great Lakes and lived across the street from another one for several years. Also lived on the Mississippi River in mid-America. Cruising on the Great Lakes or on any American rivers would be at the bottom of my list of cruising destinations. Looked at some of the river cruises and way more expensive than our usual Caribbean, etc. cruises, tiny ships and no casinos. Boring for us. I guess if you haven't traveled in the US these types of cruises might be interesting.

What a beautiful ship! The Dec. 1st 11-day Rotterdam cruise will be our first cruise post-Covid pause and DH and I are so ready to go! We have two more Rotterdam cruises booked for Feb. and April. Should reach 4 Star Mariner status at the end of the April cruise!

I remember watching this video last year and was so impressed and it brought tears to my eyes. 15 months later we do have hope we will be back, back, back. Dec. 1, 2021 is our first first cruise back, 11 days on the beautiful new Rotterdam - can't wait!! 5 more cruises booked after that in 2022.

Just on the Carnival board and headline about this calls it a win for Florida. This is not a win for Florida or cruise passengers. Who wants to cruise with a bunch of non-vaccinated children and adults? We'll see what happens when the cruises start again. Worst case scenario is Covid erupts and the cruise lines are shut down again. Best case scenario is all non-vaccinated passengers have to prove negative tests upon embarkation, have to wear masks in public places on the ships, and are tested at debarkation. Glad our first cruise isn't until Dec. '21 (11 days on Holland) and our first Carnival cruise isn't until Jan. '22.  

This is not a win for Florida or cruise passengers. Who wants to cruise with a bunch of non-vaccinated children and adults? We'll see what happens when the cruises start again. Worst case scenario is Covid erupts and the cruise lines are shut down again. Best case scenario is all non-vaccinated passengers have to prove negative tests upon embarkation, have to wear masks in public places on the ships, and are tested at debarkation. Glad our first cruise isn't until Dec. '21 (11 days on Holland) and our first Carnival cruise isn't until Jan. '22. 

Sansterre, if you play the slots and want to get your money out, you have to use your room card and set up an account to do that. You don't get the money right out of the machine anymore.

     I miss seeing the ship's fantail as we get close to port. We had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant last week in Ybor City, very close to the Port of Tampa, and alas, no ship fantails in sight😒

     I miss boarding the ship, going to our cabin right away and opening the

door to the balcony to breathe in the salt air.

     I miss the food.

     I miss the casinos.

     I miss the chocolate covered strawberries.

     I miss sitting out on our balcony while at sea and just taking in the vastness of the sea.

     I just miss it all!

We had an obstructed verandah cabin on the Koningsdam, sister ship to Rotterdam, in early 2020 and liked it a lot and not bothered by the obstruction. We were mid-ship, closer to aft. However, we did talk to passengers also in obstructed verandahs on Deck 4 that were closer to the ship's forward and they were bothered by noise from a music venue at night. You might want to be closer to mid-ship if possible.

Crazy for Cats, we used to go to the local public library to print our luggage tags out in color - $.50 a piece, so cheap. We now have a color printer at home. Just a suggestion as you said you print yours out in B&W.

What I was referring to in my previous comment was the Carnival Corporation's Ocean Player's Club. If you Google Carnival Player's Club you get the Player's Club on the Carnival website which is more like a FAQ site. From there you can click on their Player's Club, but it takes you to the site I am used to, the Ocean Player's Club.

I have used the casino VIP telephone number and always had a great response. Very helpful when I was dealing with cancelled casino promo cruises in 2020 and booking new ones. No long waits on hold.

If you go to the Player's Club website it has been my experience to have to complete a form with cruise information and then add your question(s). I have usually heard back within a week or so. I don't recall ever seeing an email address.