moonjelly

Good morning,

would anyone mind providing a link to a RFID card sleeve that you have successfully used in this manner and that can be attached to a bracelet or lanyard?

On 5/1/2019 at 4:29 AM, 6rugrats said:

It says, “affects our beverage packages.”  I’ve never been charged VAT in addition on a single drink.

Hello  everyone!

I am trying to calculate whether the drink package is worth it for us on a Europe itinerary and I wonder if the above is still the case? Do we need to factor in European VAT on individual drink purchases?

On the Windstar site it says, "If you purchased beverages a la carte there is a 15% gratuity for 2022 departures and 18% for 2023 departures added to your purchase."

but does not mention anything about an additional taxes in Europe.

Thank you!

Have you had success calling and receiving calls on your cell phone with the onboard wifi package?

Thank you. This makes so much more sense.😀

In researching  a cruise for this April, 16 night collectors cruise Barcelona to Istanbul, the Windstar agent quoted me unlimited wifi for $35 per person per day, one device connected at a time. I clarified that each of the two people would have to pay but only one could be connected at a time, and the agent said yes.

So $35/day x 2 people x 16 days is

$1,120.00.

Does this allow your phone to make and receive phone calls? Seems like a problem of only having one device at a time hooked up if two people can't receive phone calls.

If only one person at a time can use the wifi, can you just buy one unlimited package even if you have 2 people to a cabin?

Thank you

This random pricing is very discouraging. I am not booking because I can't get the same price as my sister who doesn't spend more onboard, doesn't gamble at all, etc. It just feels bad to be excluded for randomness.

Six of us like to cruise together.  We all went on a cruise together last March. We are looking at a Panorama cruise in February. 

I want to handle the bookings for everyone, but it doesn't seem fair when two of the six have been offered a rate 40% lower than all the others. I don't want to quote different rates for different people. It's like when parents play favorites. All of the kids are resentful of it.

I understand if the casino gives players better rates. There is a reason for that and I don't mind not getting those offers. However the six of us are roughly equal.

Yuck.

Hello,

Is there a minimum number of shares you need to have to qualify?

Thank you🙂

49 minutes ago, medi130 said:

Does carnival accept Walgreens rapid antigen test Binax now? Results back

under an hour. Thanks 

Does Carnival accept all three types of tests offered by Walgreens? This is so confusing. Thank you so much for your help!

Thank you for the news and all the fabulous photos! 

Do you happen to remember if there was a Latin dance night? On our previous carnival cruise one lounge was dedicated to this one  late night event.

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

No. They are not supervised.

Thank you!

We received our free government issued "ihealth" covid 19 rapid antigen test, "FDA emergency use approved tests" in the mail. Does anyone know if these are an approved test for Carnival's purposes? Thank you for any insights.

Hi all, I am posting to this topic to find it easily, as I want to keep updated as things develop and change. Thank you for all your replies to make this less stressful.

On 2/4/2022 at 2:23 PM, brilliantseas said:

I pulled the trigger on the move to Carnival Sunrise this afternoon! A Grand Scenic Ocean View (6K) cabin opened up today and I couldn't resist trying this unique cabin type, as there are only two on the ship, and I believe the Sunshine class is the only class to have this type of room.

 

Look for a "Live from the Carnival Sunshine" thread coming soon for the February 12, 2022 sailing!

brillianseas, will that be "Sunrise" or "Sunshine"? We are sailing on Sunrise in early March, so I am hoping for a certain answer... 🙂

Thank you very much everyone! I greatly appreciate it!

Hi All,

I realize there is no way to tell for sure, but in your experience, does Carnival lower prices after final payment date if a ship is not sold out? Specifically do you think the Jan 13 INSPRIATION four night baja Mexico from Long Beach cruise will see a price reduction after the final payment date of Nov 14?

I am sailing on this cruise booked months ago.

I have 4 sets (cabins) of friends that are thinking about going too and I offered to book for them.

My concern is that I quote the prices and book them today, then the prices go down on the 15th.

Just trying to sensibly play the odds here and get them the best deal, but don't want to delay if it is unnecessary and they are ready to go. I see that this is a judgement call, but would welcome your experienced advice!!

What do you think?

Hi All,

when would you recommend arriving for embarkation in Seattle to avoid the longest lines?

What is the earliest you would recommend?

Do you have any other tips for embarkation? Luggage dropoff, etc?

Thank you for any recent reports from the pier in Seattle!

Hi All,

How early before the main show would you suggest arriving so that 4 people can get a seat together, but so we not wasting undue time sitting in a theater before a show instead of watching the ocean or doing one of the million other wonderful cruise things?

The Ship is Celebrity Solstice. Do they repeat the main show twice a night so those in early dining see one, while the late diners see the other, thus ensuring that most of 4,000 people aren't vying for seats at the same time?

Thank you 😀

thank you, everyone. I appreciate it!

Hi!

I wonder if you can tell me how early embarkation starts in Seattle? May people come early (say 10:30am), check in, then wait in the terminal for groups to be called?

Thank you

Hi All,

how about Solstice out of Seattle?

Anyone care to report on if you can drop off carryons in the cabin when you board?

Hi!

My experience with Princess is that if you have traditional dining at a set time and are not happy with the assigned table mates or the assigned waiter, you can switch to anytime dining, but then cannot switch back.

Is this also true on Celebrity, where if you have assigned late seating dinner and you are not happy with it for some reason, can you switch to Celebrity Select Dining during the cruise?

I do not anticipate that my friends will have any trouble with their assigned late dining, but I want to know if they have this option should something be amiss and they do not like it.

This is for Celebrity Solstice, Alaska.

Thank you,

Julie

Benefits :

1) you can redeem points for cash rather than just apply them to NCL purchases or upgades (although I tell myself it can only be used for cruises 😉. ) this is simpler for me than trying to apply points toward a reservation. I just have the CC company apply the dollar amount to my bill or send me a check and then I book the cabin I want.

2) no annual fee

3) good customer service

Negatives:

1)  they charge foreign transaction fees, a pretty big percentage, imo. I didn't realize this until I purchased airline tickets from Icelandair for 4 people and got hit with, I think, ~$150 foreign transaction fee

2) they no longer give you travel insurance and car rental insurance with your travel purchases. I believe they used to.

When looking at cards for travel benefits,, check out Chase Sapphire. they have a great card. got lots of points for joining up, they have travel insurance included on your travel purchases, you get more $$ from your points if you book excursions, travel, etc. through their card. No foreign transaction fees. Also, it may seem like a small deal, but the card itself is sturdy and metal-like, old school. it has some heft to it. Also good customer service.

Thank you everyone 😀

Hi!

How was your experience with Carnival hair salons? I am thinking of getting cut and color aboard Splendor this week and wanted to hear what you all have to say!

hi nycfa,

thank you for your trip report!

My kids and I loved the trip, as well. What a lot to see in such a short time! We are home now, needing a vacation to recover from our vacation. It was definitely a busy itinerary with a lot to see and do. Amazing!

I am in a bit of hot water, though, so wondered if you might be able to help..

Did you happen to buy the embarkation photo that had the map, itinerary, ship facts around the small photo taken at embarkation?

I was supposed to do so, but when I got home, it saw it was not included in the 20 picture package that I bought. My traveling companion was quite disappointed. If I could get a copy of the surround, I could replace the inset photo with one of ours. If I could get it from the ship, I would, but there is no communication channel to the onboard photographers, so I thought I would see if a fellow cruise-critic member could hep me out and send me a digital version of it.

Thanks!

Julie