Lee Cruiser

Did you request a lounger?

It's the same on Mardi Gras and Celebration, but those rooms had a lounger

We are cruising soon on Jubilee in an extended balcony room. Specifically ours is room 10346. My wife said she read that they aren’t allowing lounge chairs on these balconies on Jubilee. This particular post said they went and requested one, but were denied. The picture they shared showed plenty of depth for one. I know I’ve seen at least one video that did have one. Is this something new? We booked this room specifically because we’ve had it on Celebration and Mardi Gras with loungers. It’s definitely going to be a downer to have that big balcony with just two regular chairs.

Being platinum really doesn't mean that much now anyway. They already took away the best part for us in having your rooms ready upon boarding.

You could also add that they changed from having your stateroom ready upon boarding to just being able to drop your bags off. That's a huge change that they said was because there were too many rooms to have ready upon boarding. That's one of the things that disappointed us the most with the changes as we would go back to our room after eating and unpack and relax during all the chaos of folks waiting in public areas with tons of luggage everywhere.

Well if that is the case, then I wouldn't look for hotels to go down any. Taylor Swift will probably bring in more people overnight that the Saints would. Shocker probably will have to stay further out or pay the higher rates.

What larger ship is Royal bringing and when? We would love to book a larger one. We are booked on a 7 day Royal out of N.O. in January, but it's one the smallest ones.

Would love to see Mardi Gras in N.O., but can N.O. handle a ship that big? I thought I read somewhere that they couldn't bring a ship that large there.

One problem you are experiencing is that it is a Saturday night during football season. Most hotels post higher rates until the NFL schedule comes out. Once the Saints schedule is released, rates should go down as long at the Saints are not playing at home that Sunday. If not, you may want look outside N.O. proper. This part is a quote from my reply to someone else about N.O. hotels: The last three years, we've stayed at Drury Inn on Poydras Street. We love it. It has an included evening meal, nothing extraordinary, but is good and filling. The breakfast is really good. One of the best things we like about it is that it has an attached parking garage. You can park on the level of your room and go directly in the hotel from there. Most hotels have valet or off-site parking. You can watch the price as it typically drops closer to time. We updated our reservation several times back in January and ended up with a rate around $135.

The last three years, we've stayed at Drury Inn on Poydras Street. We love it. It has an included evening meal, nothing extraordinary, but is good and filling. The breakfast is really good. One of the best things we like about it is that it has an attached parking garage. You can park on the level of your room and go directly in the hotel from there. Most hotels have valet or off-site parking. You can watch the price as it typically drops closer to time. We updated our reservation several times back in January and ended up with a rate around $135.

I’ll have to try one of the mixed ones. The orange cocktail on Vista tasted like the old Tang. It must be a Galveston thing because I like the orange juice at other ports.

For those who have sailed on Jubilee. Is the orange juice real orange juice or the nasty orange cocktail like they had on Vista out of Galveston? Yes, I know this is a petty question, but orange juice is something I drink every day. Thanks!

Thanks

Since they moved Cherry on Top, does it still have the ice cream shop with mix-ins?

My wife and I don't drink and we've been on 23 Carnival cruises. Always have a good time. I noticed you are considering a four day cruise. I will say that the least favorite cruise was the one four day cruise. It was a Thursday-Monday weekend wrap around cruise out of New Orleans that many did treat as one long weekend party. Wouldn't do another four day, but have enjoyed the other cruises.

Yes, it was Carnival Celebration out of Miami.

Copied from my reply to another post: Back in September we cruised on Celebration. We are platinum, so we have priority debarkation. We were outside and waiting on our Lyft at 7:45. We were through security at FLL and at our gate by 8:45 for our 11 am flight. We are cruising on Magic this September and we have a 10:15 flight out of FLL on Southwest. However, we will definitely have a backup plan in case there are unforeseen circumstances. We will book another flight with a refundable fare on a different airline. Wouldn't recommend booking a flight this early without a backup plan.

Back in September we cruised on Celebration. We are platinum, so we have priority debarkation. We were outside and waiting on our Lyft at 7:45. We were through security at FLL and at our gate by 8:45 for our 11 am flight. We are cruising on Magic this September and we have a 10:15 flight out of FLL on Southwest. However, we will definitely have a backup plan in case there are unforeseen circumstances. We will book another flight with a refundable fare on a different airline. Wouldn't recommend booking a flight this early without a backup plan.

Just found a different form than the one I've used for years. Going to try it to see what happens. https://www.carnival.com/forms/price-protection

Has anyone had recent experience in submitting price protection forms? I've submitted a price protection request for a September cruise twice and haven't had a response either time. Yes, it was an early saver fare and yes, the new fare was cheaper with the same onboard credit and deposit. Is Carnival still honoring their price protection policy?

Didn't work for us on our January Valor cruise.

That’s what I do if I’m going to use a gift card

Typically you can make changes to your current cruise or change cruises before the final payment due date. According to policy you will be charged a $50 per person to do so.

They have a gathering for just those who are platinum and diamond members, usually on the last sea day. They do offer drinks. On the Excel class ships, they just offer one drink if I remember correctly and then add one drink voucher to your sign and sail card. We rarely go as we don't drink, so it's never been a big deal to us.

My wife and I just completed cruise 24 and have only used that perk once or twice. One of those was at Cucina for lunch one sea day when my wife ordered a soda. We didn't even know until later that the bar staff had given her the soda as her free drink. Another time after that we asked about getting a soda for lunch and was told that we could only get that in the dining room, so I guess it just depends on the ship and who you ask. We liked the gold perk much better because we could use it at the coffee bar for a milk shake or other specialty drink. We don't drink alcohol, so the party means nothing to us. We rarely go to that either.