Tenamarie123

This is such an unprecedented situation that there is no way for any of these companies, state governments, local officials, etc. to get all of it "right".  We are all going to have to have a little more patience and unfortunately have to have expectations of things getting royally screwed up for us in one way or another.  I'm sorry OP that this happened to you and probably many more people who were supposed to be sailing yesterday/today. Can they do things better going forward?  Yes, everything will be a learning experience for sure....

Will we be able for forgive Carnival and all of the other companies that are going to make mistakes through all of this? That will be up to each of us to decide...

We were on the Magic last week for NYE cruise.  We met a guy that was on his second leg of his B2B and said they led them all to the MDR and the custom agents came on board and cleared them for their second half.

13 minutes ago, Tnlynch81 said:

Before your cruise I would call Carnival and see if you can get a confirmation of your reservations over the phone. Print out the original email showing they had availability at 6 and bring it with you. When you get on the ship go to the steakhouse or guest services and explain the situation. I bet you they will make sure you get in at the date and time you want.

It looks like I was never charged for the reservation and they still have availability so I will just go ahead and make the reservation now.  Thank you all for your help and advice..

So looking back through my emails with them in March, they told me 6:00 was available instead of 5:30 so I said that would be fine and asked them to send me a confirmation email, they did not. So all this time I assumed we had reservations and we don't, lol.  Oh well...

So I've booked a reservation for the steakhouse, cheers package, interntet package for 2 of 5 of us and none of this shows up in my cruise planner or cruise manager. Am I looking in the wrong spot?

You guys rock!! I have saved a total so far of $500 on our upcoming December cruise in a matter of 4 days!  Thank you all so much for posting codes and the thorough instructions on how to set up the Allstate account, etc. This site has been invaluable in information, opinions, suggestions and cost savings. You all are so appreciated!!

2 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

This is definitely the way to go.  I the last two posters have given you excellent advice.  

 

Here are a few things to consider. Some of this is a repeat of what other have said:

• It is most likely too late to get third party CFAR coverage, but:
  • CFAR is more expensive,
  • It covers less than 100% (typically 75% from a third party) and
  • You probably do not need it
• A medical emergency with your FIL will be a covered reason for trip cancellation and interruption under most policies. Be sure you understand the applicable terms and conditions of the policy you select.  Pitfalls to look out for include:
  • Is your FIL considered a non traveling family member.   This should be a YES under most, if not all policies.
  • Does the pre-existing conditions clause pertain to non traveling family members?  Make sure it is NO for your policy.
  • Would you be able to travel on the day your purchase the policy? 
  • Is your FIL expected to get worse?  This can be the tricky one for your situation.
  • If your FIL takes a turn for the worse, under what conditions will the policy pay out and what documentation will they require?  For example, some policies may want a doctor's certification that you or your husband need to be there to provide care.
• If you can't find a policy that works, then you can often purchase cruise line insurance up to final payment date with CFAR coverage.  Overall coverage will often be less and premiums will usually be higher than third party coverage.  But if your primary issue is CFAR, this might be your best or only option. A lot depends on the cruise line.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out.

I called and the agent made sure to check for a policy that did not check for pre-existing conditions for non-traveling family members.  Very glad I was provided great information from you all.  Thanks again!

Thank you all for your in-depth replies on this subject, I truly appreciate it and now I will definitely be calling to talk with someone before purchasing any policy.

Our cruise is at the end of December and my final payment is due on October 15th.  My husband and 3 kids (22, 19, 14) will be traveling. I've been looking into purchasing travel insurance through a third party.  Should I purchase insurance before I make my final payment or after?  Do most of the policies cover cancellations for any reason (FIL is ill and concerned if something happens right before our cruise)?  TIA for your help with these questions..

Going on the Magic at the end of December and need to book a room for two different nights as we are flying into Ft. Lauderdale the night before and staying in Ft. Lauderdale the night we return, with an early flight home in the morning.  Does anyone have any hotels that they can recommend?  Would like to stay within walking distance to the beach and restaurants.  Would like a pool and free shuttle to the airport as there will be 5 of us.  It will be my dh, myself and my 3 older kids (21, 19, 15).  Thank you in advance!!

I have the offer on my Blue Cash Preferred card but not my Delta Skymiles which is a bummer as I use the Skymiles for everything.

Just wanted to tell you that I absolutely loved your review!!  I looked so forward to reading updates each day.  Your attention to detail is amazing and your way of writing is fantastic.  You have actually inspired me to do more traveling in general. All of your detailed moments and the awesome pictures of your excursions and your fun times on the ship have really gotten me super excited for our NYE cruise on the Magic this year.  Thank you so much for all of your time and effort you've put into this review.  I know it's partly the fun of re-living your vacation but it is also a lot of work and effort and it is very much appreciated and definitely not in vain.  I feel like I'm living vicariously through you until our upcoming cruise.  Cheers to you and all of your exciting new adventures to come.  Please bring us along for the ride!

35 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

And you might have to ask your room steward what it is....They don't do them on HAL or Princess either (both in Carnival family of lines) but I suspect if you had a young child and the steward knew how to make some, they might...EM

We were on the HAL Nieuw Statendam in February and they were doing them then. We loved them!

Awesome review!!! Going on the Magic in December...maybe with some luck Donkey will be the CD :).

Loving this so far.  The "grump" face made me LOL!  Kids can be tough at that age. We're sailing the Magic in December so can't wait to hear the rest of your review 🙂

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Both NYE cruises we did steakhouse that night.  Carnival cruises on NYE rock!  Like Caribbean and Times Square combined, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you for getting me even more excited 🙂 !  We are very much looking forward to ringing in the new year on a cruise!!  This will be my family's first, my second.  Super excited. Going to be a blast!

1 hour ago, coevan said:

any day of the year, the Steakhouse blows away the MDR. The party is on the Lido Deck, later in the evening.  

Okay good, thank you for reassuring me!!

We will be cruising on the Magic during the week after Christmas.  We will be celebrating NYE on the ship.  For those of you who have done this, do you recommend eating dinner that night in the MDR, I'm assuming they have party favors in there, etc. or make reservations which, I have already done to the Steakhouse?  Want to be where the fun is, lol.  It will be me, my husband and our 3 kids (21, 19, 15).  TIA