cruisingguy007

When you call, they will see what you see (price wise). Do a mock booking for what you want and price the difference, if you like it, then call and a agent will take the payment for the change if your rate allows for it, sometimes there can be fee to change but if you're simply upgrading, they may do it with no quibble. The phone waits were horrible before, not sure now but when you call, select the option to book a cruise, should get you through quicker. Good luck! 

What are you trying to manage specifically? Their UI is great IMO and I find their site to be very user friendly. I like their booking engine too.  

36 minutes ago, tbjl24 said:

Same experience we had on Thanksgiving. Thought it would be a cool to experience a holiday outside of the normal way we've done forever. We found ourselves missing the traditions of home. Probably won't ever sail Thanksgiving again nor try xmas. 

 

I think a news year eve cruise could be fun, however. 

 

Edit to add the dining room had "Thanksgiving" dinner....it was anything but. They tried, I don't know if it's not in their wheelhouse or mass preparing Turkey and trimmings is super difficult....but it wasn't good.

Interesting, thanks for chiming in. We are trying Thanksgiving next year and were wondering if it was something special. I think I will miss some of the traditions/food of home but not the driving to visit family, shopping, cooking and cleaning. I can see how some would just like to escape the hassles of the Holidays, but at the same time, those hassles are what make it special and sharing those with friends/family. I think I'd miss a lot of the hoopla, even the endless Christmas music in stores lol, if it weren't there. I can see both sides and figure it will be nice to try at least once to see how it is but wouldn't do it every year, or both in any one year. Appreciate you sharing your experience.       

I'd have taken the money, the Bahamian Maritime Authority is just an empty office with a desk and a few chairs where people send checks. Good luck lol.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x892f7dabde0720e1%3A0x4dfbbc1b6360fcad!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNWznM73eq6d56WpH09wbUQTi7E-jesDBucpHdZ%3Dw284-h160-k-no!5sBahamian Maritime Authority - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNWznM73eq6d56WpH09wbUQTi7E-jesDBucpHdZ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUrcXbuYD4AhW7j4kEHSjGDWwQoip6BAhnEAM

16 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

Now is that not a REALLY HELPFUL suggestion. OP has there son and is looking for a little help and this is your offer ? Really 

What else can you really do but be honest? You going to Pay Pal OP some money? Because Carnival sure isn't going to give OP money for another vacation on top of a refund, a free cruise and incidentals. I think we can all empathize with the OP's plight but it's a bit ridiculous when you really think about what is being asked here. This is not how things work. 

Based on all the threads and complaints we've seen here, maybe Carnival should just ban them from being able to have bacon. Make a few examples "NO BACON FOR YOU" out loud and it may keep everyone else in line. Put a bacon block on the sign and sail for the dining room and put some wanted type posters up in the buffet area to alert service staff handing out bacon. That should get their goat and live in infamy, they'll tell, or forewarn rather, their friends about it. 😄

2 hours ago, charliesdad63 said:

So I just booked Freedom for 6/2. Any chances I'm going? LOL

Are they really still taking bookings or are you just trying to jump in front of this to get some FCC of some sort? I remember some folks doing this when covid was hitting and complaining when a few cruises actually sailed lol. One person in particular booked a bunch of these and was bragging about racking up all the FCC they received. Ironically, that same person often laments openly on why they don't receive cruise deals/offers lol. Coincidence or causation? Who knows.  

No. Not currently. You can still on your own but they will bill you if a violation fine is assessed on them. It's like $800 IIRC, someone on another sub forum here got hit with it for disembarking early.  

28 minutes ago, Virga said:

 

Then why are we giving him a hard time about insurance and telling him that's what insurance was for?  To my knowledge, no standard insurance policy would have put him up in Florida at current last minute rates for the length of his cruise, they'd have said that Carnival's refund made him whole there, covered the cost of his flight change fees and told him to go home, right? 

That's how the world works. What's the problem? 

7 minutes ago, Virga said:

If he HAD booked standard travel insurance, what exactly would have been covered?  In my - admittedly very limited - experience with using trip insurance, policies are similarly restricted to the cost you paid, not the value of what you had booked.  If the carrier provides you that 'full' refund, what exactly does the trip insurance cover?  

 

I guess my question is, say I'm convinced and want to purchase the kind of policy that will make sure I still get to have a $2000 vacation if the '$500' cruise I booked during mid-plague-promotions is cancelled abruptly - what kind of policy coverage am I looking for?  What kind of insurance covers the VALUE of a trip, not the cost paid?

None, the point of insurance isn't to profit off of it or to guarantee you a higher value vacation, it's to make you whole, cover you in emergencies/medical and help cover things like your car breaking down on the way, flights cancelled, luggage lost etc. Yes, you are limited to what you paid to cover a trip but the medical benefits/coverage is why most get it (myself included). You can add riders for addition coverage with some policies,  but you'd pay a lot more for it and I'm not aware of any that will let you declare something is of higher value than you paid unless specifically declared in the policy.  

3 hours ago, Yankeegirl49 said:

They gave you your money back and a free cruise, they did all they needed to. This is literally the point of having insurance no matter who it's on or what effort was made. 

This! Some folks got some nerve. Sheesh. 

4 hours ago, 1kaper said:

 

There are certainly worse ports. 
 

Im in the same situation. Not semi retired but my job is more flexible. I do realize it isn’t ideal for everyone. 

3 day weekend for a lot of folks too, all win for lots of folks. I'd be pumped to get this compensation package. Heck, I'd consider myself blessed..lol.  It's like a bonus cruise! I'd pay extra for this. 😁 

26 minutes ago, icft said:

Oh! I often keep late hours and sleep through the CD announcements, but I did say "except drink or gamble." That's our thing and I did say we enjoy ourselves. But for those who just want to party?

 

You can have a poker game in your room in the assisted living facility with a few of the live guys, but it is still a nursing home. 😁

LOL. Fair point. Though, the night club is open pretty late and they used to keep the casino bar open until super late also. I do think that was a major mistake to close/convert that on certain ships. I imagine it was a old head who decided to replace one of the most happening places on the ship late night, it makes zero sense in their efforts to attract the younger subset. Cruising can be so much more than a geriatric targeted market. The potential that they have is enormous but it goes ignored. I suspect that one day cruising will target a younger demographic, even if targeted to specific times or shorter cruises.

The potential and untapped market potential is huge, though not everyone wants to float around eating and playing bingo/trivia. 😆 There is a room for both and it behooves the lines to dig in to a market they have ignored. Once these folks figure out how awesome cruising can be? Forgetaboutit! It's the ultimate market for these very folks. A moving party that goes to awesome places and a one stop shop? Ding! Ding! Ding! Winner!

In fact, if they could manage two day cruises that depart on Fri evening/night from major ports and return Sunday evenings, it would be off the chains! They could potentially disrupt an entire market of huge spend. Trust me, I would have done exactly this in my time/prime. The stigma of "old people cruises" is hugely limiting. Some will spend in two days what others spend in 7. I've personally seen folks blow grands in just a night. If you only have two days, two days it is. 😄     

2 hours ago, icft said:

Carnival folks really don't have any room to talk. Try sleeping past 9am through all the CD announcements. Try finding anything to do except drink or gamble after 11pm. Try finding food after 10 or 11pm.

 

Hey! I'm all over the Carnival deals and we really enjoy ourselves, but they keep nursing home hours.

Not true, I've slept through plenty. Heck, I didn't even make it to sea day brunch for multiple trips lol. That's with the old hours. Lunch was breakfast. They also used to have a late night buffet, sure it's been cut but I see them bringing that back when staffing is back. I've stayed out until 4-5am on a Carnival ship, no sleepy line unless you opt in to that. I will concede that they have changed the product but hope it's temporary and I can cut them some slack in the meantime. Happy to have the opportunity to sail as free as I want to be and hope it's only looking up from here! People love to knock Carnival but I quite enjoy their normal product, their altered product isn't bad either, all things considered. Even AI's are limited right now, tons of folks complaining about limited dining and early closures. It can be mitigated on Carnival if you are willing to pay for it, plus the reduced fares allow wiggle room for just those exact expenses. #GoteamCarnival!  

3 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

Karen? Is that you?😝😝😝

It's Ken!! Get it right! 😁

3 minutes ago, JRG said:

 

@Chengpk you may be reading just a bit too much into the use of drydock vs wetdock,  I get the jist of what the author is saying....

 

    ....You just can't go in and pick up another smokestack (whale tail, funnel) from the shipyard,  the burned out sections need to be scrapped and the surfaces that are contaminated need to be scrubbed and re-painted and the section needs to be re-fabricated.     

 

In this environment with labor and resource shortages it will take months and it will be out of commission for some time.   That is going to be a big problem for the cruising pipeline and that is the big issue here.

 

 

Wait, can't Carnival just roll on down to the pick-n-pull and snag a whale-tail and grab some duct tape from Harbor Freight to git-her-done? 😁

All this speculation hinges on cosmetic damages being the crux of the problem, that may very well not be the case at all when they really get in there and take a good look. You raise a good point though, even if it is mostly cosmetic, it may still take a while to return to service.     

7 minutes ago, RED318is said:

It seems strange to me that they are sending Conquest to pick up the passengers instead of Liberty. Conquest is losing 4 days of sailing while Liberty could just lose 3. I suspect that the Conquest sailing that is cancelled and the one that is shortened had a much lower occupancy that tomorrow's Liberty sailing. Liberty is a few cabins smaller, but I wouldn't expect that to be an issue as I expect a few people on Freedom will fly back from Grand Turk.

It's awesome for the folks on the Freedom, why fly back? Carnival hooked them up nicely IMO. I'd be pretty stoked if I were on that sailing and got a refund, OBC and another cruise comped. 

54 minutes ago, airlinerob said:

The Conquest is being sent to Grand Turk to rescue the passengers.  The Conquest sailing for tomorrow has been cancelled.

 

robert 

Seems like Carnival is doing the right thing all around and taking the classy route and offering nice compensation. Thanks for the update and info. 

1 hour ago, markp9114 said:

I just received the email. Cruise is officially cancelled. Argh. Was so looking forward to this vacation. But safety first

 

Seems very fair and even generous. Pretty much a free cruise! Sweet

2 hours ago, Ilovesailaway said:

plus 8% today

down 25% for the month

and 54% for the year

I will keep an eye on it but I can't imagine the news about the Freedom and the Magic will bolster the recent modest gains.

Don't forget about stock buybacks, most people forget about that. Mind the buybacks and beware of leverage. Fire is dangerous.  

5 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Maybe they can do with bacon like the do with the havana area. You pay a little more and that allows you to have bacon every day. Maybe give you a wristband or have it imbedded on your card.

A "BIP" wristband, Bacon important person. 😄

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

And, for the Escape, most of the delays were caused by the difficulty in getting to and getting steel into the places that needed it.  For flames to be that high up the funnel, the fire was in the funnel, not down lower like an engine room fire.  There is little of a structural nature inside the funnel, which is why they can make them out of fiberglass.  I have the feeling that the central portion of the funnel is steel, which is why the damage seems to stop abruptly where the wing attaches to the central funnel.

Hopefully, you're right. Carnival could certainly use a break right now. They keep getting kicked while they're trying to get up. 

8 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

The ships Carnival has built these days have short, fat, ugly funnels. I'm not sure the tops are interchangeable. Maybe with some high temp duct tape an artistic license they can improvise something.

 

 

Hey, it worked on the Glory when it was rear ended. 

The Norwegian Escape was supposed to be a small "scrape" and be "insignificant" and we saw how that turned out. Hopefully, these predictions are correct on this one but fire tends to ruin things you can't see. Hoping for the best.  

44 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

There are plenty of staffing issues. If they  cant even staff their pay restaurants I doubt they care or are concerned about diamond parties for a 5 day cruise. Just one more reason to not worry about status/cruise levels and their importance or lack there of on Carnival. While newer Carnival  Cruisers are getting half off deals or free cruise cabins diamond and platinum members are getting a free extra 30 cent  bottle of water and a luggage tag. Laughable.....

Hey now, I got suites booked for my next two cruises, I better have my two bottles of water and free laundry or I'm never sailing Carnival again, never mind that I got a great rate and saved enough to by tons of water bottles and do lots of laundry. I need to feel special dang-it. I guess I should call and speak to a manger about those luggage tags you mentioned also. 😁