MauiWowie57

On 10/7/2023 at 5:36 AM, joetop2467 said:

I am currently on the transfer from Venice to Chioggia. We were very confused as to where to catch it so I thought I’d report while it’s fresh in my mind. If you are at Piazzele Roma you have to get on the People Mover. It costs 1.50 euro each.

Yikes!
We're on a Viking in mid April; we're staying pre cruise at a hotel near city center in Venice; picked it was it's near the "original" cruise terminal, and I'm already completely baffled about how to get to Chiogga. Thanks!

On 9/23/2023 at 10:20 AM, mz-s said:

Likely what they'll do is convert the aft lounge into more staterooms and combine the midship lounge and disco into the Limelight Lounge. They should convert the aft bar to Alchemy - the Ecstasy had that 5 years ago. Not sure why Paradise never got that upgrade.

Not sure either. On Elation they converted that aft lounge into more staterooms...sad, but.. $$$.

On 9/23/2023 at 12:35 PM, Tapi said:

Seeing this makes me wonder if the loyalty program will get “revamped” to make it harder to obtain certain perks and thin out “the herd”. When too many people qualify for perks, they stop being perks.

Possibly! That's where Diamond came from...! When the Vista was launched years ago, they invited all the Plats with a special rate for the TransAtlantic repos. I went. Mistake. When "everyone's Platinum," ....NO ONE is Platinum. Now I stick to the older ships, where, like Tigger, I'm the only one!

12 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

They are struggling to fill their 7 night runs (as evidenced by the last minute cruise discounts).But, if the 7 day runs continue, we are of the same mindset. CCL (thus HAL) will very likely capture revenue wherever possible and that means more ships stopping at HMC. 

 

I didn't realize they were having that bad of a challenge filling the 7 night Carribean trips. Carnival (the cruise line) has finally stopped the insane discounting (I took a 5 day out of Jacksonville, solo;  cabin was $500 and I got $500 OBC!) but I'm still getting offers from HAL for 'free inside rooms," but only on Alaska cruises (there may be some on Caribbean but I wasn't paying attention that closely).

 

HMC is pretty pristine at present. If they built a pier, wonder if that implies (I'd think it does) that they could have multiple ships docked simultaneously. I was just in Grand Turk last week (CCL Mardi Gras) and we had both the Nieu Amsterdam and Mardis Gras there at the pier; "crowded" would have been an understatement. 
 

 

On 3/29/2023 at 6:12 PM, 2LoveBikes said:

I was on HMC last week and although there was no visible construction going on, there is some talk among the workers.  The port I understand is on the other side of the island so it is no easy to see,

That would be nice of them. 

On 11/2/2022 at 4:53 PM, Enggrl said:

We are cruising out of Port Canaveral Terminal 3 in just over a week and I wonder if they will use the 500 seat VIP lounge for D and P guests and not just suites now? 

It's a pretty big lounge. They'd been using it for COVID screening/isolation/further questioning, etc. Like the penalty box in hockey. Thinking that's all over; there should be plenty of room (unless all Dia/Plat/Suites pick the same arrival time; which of course is possible) for all three groups. 

On 11/1/2022 at 6:53 PM, staceyglow said:

All priority is no priority. 

True. I did the first Atlantic crossing of the Vista some years ago; CCL had sent letters to all the Platinums....so we wound up on a ship with something like 65% Diamond/Platinum.  Yes, John Heald (who was onboard as well) told me that. 

*Note to self, don't do that again...*

I think they meant to 'imply' the lounges for Plat/Dia would be available again.

On my last cruise last month, I'd asked the nice folks running check in; who pointed out the obvious, that the lounges were being used for COVID screening. Now that they aren't doing that anymore...the lounges should be ready to return to their original purpose.

Answer hasn't changed...Carnival Cheers doesn't work on HFC, sadly.

I'm intrigued to see what Princess's package does work on Princess Cays? I'd never been to P.C. prior to my Elation cruise out of Jacksonville a few months ago, it's about as close to being a clone of HMC as you can get, without the Capt Morgan pirate ship bar. 

On 11/2/2022 at 10:19 AM, chengkp75 said:

The Bahamas is considered part of the Caribbean Area, and is a Caribbean nation.  Not sure where you thought Freeport was not a Caribbean port.

"Technically" it's in the North Atlantic. But who the heck would want a cruise to the "North Atlantic," - Caribbean sounds so much more tropical. 🙂 

Anyway. 

Point was "we all wanted to go to Puerto Rico." I'm with Soremekun, I love San Juan.  

Sad.

17 hours ago, pzsdd6 said:

Seriously, this is a terrible change. I understand that there may be issues with San Juan, but substituting Nassau. This has to be the most overdone, over visited, over hyped, and most importantly, underwhelming port in the so called Caribbean. I Say Caribbean because this was supposed to be a “Caribbean” cruise. Once again Carnival disappoints.

Why not just make it another sea day and refund the port charges, that way the majority would most likely be happy.

I'd definitely prefer a sea day to Nassau. It's the only port that has a Beach Boys song (Sloop John B which they covered) that, yes, aptly describes it. 

On 10/22/2022 at 11:53 PM, icft said:

Carnival did a very good job of financially planning for covid. But then the CDC declared war on cruise lines. Now there is a high chance of recession. And finally Carnival is toast in the fuel area.

 

It is looking very risky for Carnival and all the cruise lines.

They did; they got through COVID despite the CDC's efforts, only to get hit with inflation/recession/invasion. I don't know how bad a recession would actually be for them - having lived through a few, the pain isn't felt equally throughout the economy. Regarding their financials - well ... darn, I'm still a stockholder, but I expect there's a 50% chance (based on professional financial analysts) 'something' will happen. Most likely scenario is what the airlines have repeatedly done - go into some chapter, discharge obligations, draft up a 'recovery' plan and move forwards. Unless they scuttle all the ships, there's still a viable going concern there, but as we all  know, can't just bleed cash for two years of no sailings and not have long term issues.

On 10/18/2022 at 9:54 PM, jerseygirlinAZ said:

 

 

Agree with all of the above!

I've got a friend that goes by the bank and gets as many $2.00 bills as they'll give him. He uses those for cash tips on cruises because, well, they're a bit unusual. They definitely remember him.

Simply because they won't allow cruises in Oz these days; so no reason for the Spirit to hang around.

Meanwhile...

I'm booked on the Ecstasy for a 17 Mar cruise out of Jax, and wondering when they're going to reassign us to a new cabin, etc...??

I'd have been perfectly happy with either ship!

On 4/14/2019 at 9:54 AM, ScottC4746 said:

What is the official name and/or physical address for the Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal that Holland America departs from?

As in, I live in Jacksonville FL, and will be DRIVING for the first time to a cruise in Ft L., so what do I put into the GPS on the car to get to the Heron Lot?

Interestingly enough, I can't find that ANYWHERE on the internet.

What I'm interested to know, as I have a cruise booked for October, is the probability or possibly of a CCL cancellation ....Not that I want them to, but I'd rather just get it over with sooner vice later.

On 8/18/2021 at 6:21 PM, firefly333 said:

Belize hospital wasnt as advanced as here and so she started a go fund me page for the 20k to 30k to air lift her to usa. She was air lifted and in usa hospital where she died. 

I NEVER travel without trip insurance that includes hospitalization. Having spent 31 years in the USMC, I've seen the "standard of care," practiced worldwide and yes, you don't want to rely on a local hospital to save your life ( much less pay for it). 

I wouldn't bet on a July cruise, simply because (as far as I know?) the CDC hasn't come back with comment on the CLIA Plan. They probably have but I missed it. 

Anyway. I don't see the harm in making a final payment..?.. If you do, and they cancel, it's back to "full refund or FCC with $600 OBC?" (We all wish the OBCs were cumulative, I'd eat Chef's Table every night for two weeks if they were...) 

On 3/16/2021 at 8:22 PM, drvmywifecrzy said:

No dice.  July cruises should be canceled around Tax day

 

But tax day was just cancelled too! 🤣

On 1/16/2021 at 5:00 PM, WhiteOptima said:

Wow!  Your cruise in September is cancelled?  🤦‍♀️ We have an October 31st Panama and I just know it won’t happen and makes me 😞 

There was a blanket cancellation out to April, then "some" cruises out to September - depends on which region/which ship. I was booked on Legend out of Rome in September, but they've  cancelled that particular cruise to re-do the schedule. Legend is going back to doing west coast-Hawaii I think?

On 10/30/2020 at 8:06 PM, TomCruise48 said:

This perk is subject to renewal annually by the board of directors.  It has a long history of being renewed, but with the current situation, there is no guarantee that it will be renewed in the future.

That's been my experience over the past ten years - it doesn't cost them much (and you don't get that much - some OBC depending on cruise length) but ...I did sell out back when it was north of $50 and repurchased it a few months ago at close to $12, so the stock's been a good investment for me. 

On 5/20/2020 at 3:08 PM, a3593 said:

Mine is a big mess. I selected the option of a 100% FCC after my July cruise was cancelled.  I got $300 in FCC and over $1000 refunded. (???) They said its because I asked for it to be done that way. I didn't.  The FCC form doesn't even give you that option.  So now I have to wait until who knows when for the refund to go back to my card and then turn around and call Carnival and give the money right back to them. Its stupid.  And, I had to pay a new deposit for each cabin!  I know this is a minor annoyance; people are dealing with bigger issues today.  But I just thought that the whole process would be easier. 

Very similar to what I went through when my Horizon cruise (that I should have been on right now) got cancelled; I was expecting a lump FCC that I could roll over, but instead...credit card refunds for extras (dining, excursions), some FCC (the $500 non refundable, same as your $300) then a large credit card refund. Mess. 

Seems odd to me that I can't find any information on what's scheduled for the drydock. 

We're booked on the 24 Sept Rome-Rome...Did book flights, but...that's primarily because we had expiring credits from previously cancelled cruise/flights that needed to get used.  

Hope I can roll all this over yet again...as from this thread (and general COVID news) it looks like another rolling wave of cancellations is about to hit? Unless...there's enough vaccine delivered and we all get a pass for getting the shot?

Cruise was cancelled. 

I'd already cancelled once CCL 'invited' me to; I'd thought I'd chosen the FCC option, but when I called to rebook in late 2021, turns out I'll get the 'cancellation penalty' portion in the form of a FCC, and the rest is going back to the credit card.  I still get the $600 OBC.  I'd rather have taken the cruise, but I understand.