LaRue1975

2 minutes ago, Ideb said:

6 minutes ago, Ideb said:

 

Thank you for your answer. The first time the price went down, I tried the online form and it said something to the effect of not being eligible but when I called I was able to get the difference in price in onboard credit so rather than bother with trying the form this time, I just called. It's still a while before the final payment is due. 

I think your problem is with the person you talked to today, it is my understanding and it says on the form that OBC is your only option once final payment has been made regardless of the final payment due date. You might want to call again to check if the refund is on your booking and try again if it is not. You should have no problem getting OBC for the difference in the new rate. 
 

My invoice still shows the price I paid when I made final payment and the OBC total for the two adjustments. It doesn’t specify why but the $229 OBC is there. Three of the times the rate change was larger than the price I quoted in my request. I am 4 for 4 so far so I mist be lucky. I do send the price protection request as soon as I notice a price drop, looks like they are having a good Veterans Day Sale. Good luck! 

You need to go online to claim a price drop in an Early Saver rate, here is the link:

https://www.carnival.com/core/requestforms/priceprotection.aspx

Once you make final payment, even if it is before the final payment due date, you get onboard credit. The form is easy to fill out, I have done it four times so far for my daughter’s cabin. Twice before I made the final payment and two after, the final payment deadlines is January 5th, we cruise Easter Week in April. I booked a suite for the hubby and I,  it has only gone up in price since booking. My daughter is up to $229 OBC, this morning it bumped from $109 to $229. 😊

Using the online form is great, I usually receive the confirmations within 30 minutes and a new invoice with the OBC included. When looking at my booking online at Carnival.com the on board credit IS NOT listed so I can see where you are concerned. That’s why doing it online is important, you will receive the new invoice as soon as the new rate is approved. Have a great cruise! 

I got the E-mail and just paid off my cruise a couple of days ago, score! Will make sure I get it for November too. 

Do the cups work with the Cheers program? I presume I will have to pay for the cup. 

Thank you for asking this question, I will be in the same situation next April after a cruise out of Galveston on the Vista. I just booked airfare and our return flight does not leave until 3:45 from Hobby. There are 5 in our party, including our 6 year old grandson so spending 5+ hours at the airport is not enticing. 

Thanks for the replies, I am booking a round trip shuttle so will choose the 11 To 11:30 port departure. I will have the family put out all our bags except backpacks and duffles for valuables the night before. We will leave our rooms at the time required and hang out on the Lido deck for breakfast until last call. We’ll grab our luggage and get out of the way if we have extra time before our shuttle. 

I have scouted Hobby and they have at least one sit down restaurant where we can have a nice lunch after checking our luggage. If I am missing something please chime in, thanks! 

7 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

Right, Cruise Cash is a marketing program designed to make sure people spend a certain amount of money on the ship. (Although I plan some as a convenient way to partially fund our sail and sail account and giving a gift to my family since Carnival sends to note telling them they have a gift.)

I agree but I but it should work well for me this time. I applied for the Carnival credit card when I booked the cruise and received the $200 statement credit on the deposits. We are taking our daughter, SIL and grandson so two cabins. Adding up what we still owe plus shore excursions and Cheers I will need another $200 to $300 in fun points for the $200 Cruise Cash reward. So I will purchase Cruise Cash in that amount which will also qualify me for the $200 CC Reward or Gift Card.

With the kids and 7 year old grandson I am sure I will have no problem getting my onboard account over $500. We’ll have Cheers but we sail out of Galveston so I will be purchasing two or three rounds the first day. First cruise in 12 years plus very first cruise for our grandson, the Vista, Easter Week 2020, can’t wait! 

Thank you for the excellent review! 

12 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

And just remember that 'use it or lose it' is a misnomer... if you use cruise cash and have some left at the end of your cruise, just add it to your casino account, play a few times on the slot machine then cash out. We do it all the time.

This is my plan but I think the odds of me having Cruise Cash left over is worse than the slot machine odds! 

This is awesome, thank you for posting! I sailed on the Holiday in 1998, found my scrapbook to check the date and still have my sail and sign card. So happy to hear she is alive, well and doing good deeds. 

What a great review, thank you! I especially enjoyed the fishbowl story and yeah, I am that mom too, lol! I will be looking forward to your next review, have a wonderful time, cheers! 

I would choose Vista in your situation. IMO the Caribbean itinerary is so much better than the Mexican Riviera, it’s not even close. I understand your desire to see LA, the ports and the brand new Panorama but I wouldn’t do it in August. We have amazingly comfortable weather in SoCal most of the year but it will likely be very hot in July, August and early September. The Mexican ports will be as hot and humid as the Caribbean that time of year also. There is a good possibility the prices will eventually come down on the Panorama, we are pretty excited to have a new ship out here with all the bells and whistles! 

Have a wonderful cruise whatever ever you decide! 

4 hours ago, bnbeyer said:

others

4 hours ago, bnbeyer said:

The others are correct. I did spend quite a bit of money in the casino during my June cruise. I'm quite grateful to Carnival for giving me these free cruises so I don't feel like it went to waste. I definitely will avoid slot machines on future cruises and just stick to the blackjack table. I gotta take advantage of the Elite cruise offer now while I get it, because I don't see me getting it again in future years.

You have the right idea except no need to feel grateful to Carnival. You earned this offer with your slot machine play, winning or losing is not as important as coin cycled through. They make a ton more money on slot players than table players with almost no overhead so that is where the offers go. It is strictly a good business decision for them and you are right to presume that if you stick with the blackjack table you probably will never see another offer as good as this one. You took a chance with your slot play and now they are taking a chance on you, hoping this great offer will bring more casino profit for them.

You still might get some offers that are valuable to you but more important this one is fantastic and you are smart to jump on it and cash out, could bring you almost even with those evil one armed bandits! 😜. Enjoy a wonderful bonus first class cruise with your sister, sounds wonderful to me! 

Thanks for the feedback! I just purchased the toast package for my son and his new bride, they sail on the Legend to Alaska for their honeymoon on the 17th. Couldn’t pass up the chocolate covered strawberries too, I think they will enjoy the surprise! ❤️❤️

Thank you so much for the wonderful report, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I especially enjoyed all the drink pics and descriptions, we have almost the same taste in cocktails, vodka or rum in fruit based drinks. Speaking of drinking, the hubby and I are returning to cruising after a 12 year break, sailing on the Vista in April. This will be our first time using the Cheers program and I am looking forward to it, sure we will be spending plenty of time at the Alchemy Bar, can’t wait! 

We we will be doing the same itinerary on the Vista and your pics of the traffic in Montego Bay totally changed my plans for that stop. I was going to independently book a family all inclusive, we are taking our daughter, SIL and grandson. We have been to Ocho Rios but not Montego Bay, I was surprised how congested it is. I do not want to worry about getting back to the ship in time so I booked a catamaran excursion and then we’ll check out the port side market, that looked great, thank you! 

I am going to start reading your Vista report tonight, cheers! 😎🍸🍹🍸😎

Thank you for all the info on the Dr. Seuss breakfast! We are taking our grandson on his first cruise next April during Easter Week on the Vista.  He will turn 7 the end of April and I chose our last sea day to celebrate his birthday, this is perfect! 

I booked a suite and FFTF but will still be on it the moment I get on board because it is Easter Week. I am so excited for this cruise, first since 2008 and the first time taking the kids and grandson. Now, crossing my fingers airfare will not be sky high when SW finally releases their fares on the 26th! 🤞🤞🤞

Do you wait until boarding to sign up for the breakfast or can you do it ahead of time like Specialty Dining reservations? 

On 8/28/2019 at 4:09 PM, ParrotRob said:

This is 8273 on Legend.  The lounger facing starboard can not be seen from Lido above.  The railing area most definitely can.

 

This is the cabin we had on the Spirit doing the inside passage northbound in 2008, too bad they only do roundtrips now, cruising the Inside passage was amazing! If you can swing an aft wrap it is absolutely perfect for Alaska, the Spirit class ship aft wraps are all suites, best cabins we have ever sailed in. Our friends had the aft wrap on the other side of deck 8 so we could move quickly from one balcony to the other when the naturalist on board spotted wildlife. It truly was our best vacation so far! 

We also did the Caribbean in an aft wrap on the Miracle but as mentioned by others the balcony was too hot except early morning and evening so I won’t book an aft balcony again for the Caribbean. 

To the OP, I just booked a Havana Aft Wrap, deck 6 on the Panorama, we don’t sail until April 2021 for our 45th Anniversary. I think LA to the  Mexican Riviera will be much more comfortable on the balcony than the Caribbean and the Havana pool is only steps away so it should be amazing! Have a great cruise! 

I am excited to read the reviews too! The pics from the deck plans look like the Panorama is so much prettier than the Vista. We are on the port side,  I am thinking with the first four days heading South it would have the best views.

Our last two cruises, the Legend to the Caribbean in 2007 and Spirit to Alaska in 2008 we were in aft wrap suites which are amazing on the Spirit class ships. In Alaska it was perfect, we will have to book another if we go again. In the Caribbean I would not book an aft wrap again, it was too hot and humid during the day. With no shade we could only tolerate being out there in the early morning and evenings so not worth the extra cost. 

I am hoping the Mexican Riviera in April will be good balcony weather, plus we are only an hour from Long Beach, double bonus points!  We are not very interested in the ports, it’s all about the ship and the Havana experience, can’t wait! 

Have a great cruise, please post when you return! 

Thank you for this thread! After reading through it I booked a Havana aft wrap on the Panorama for our 45th Anniversary in April 2021, only 500+ days to go! 😜 I looked at videos and decided on deck 6, it is appears to have the largest wrap cabins and decks.  Add in the CA special they were running yesterday and I was sold! 

We are returning to cruising after a 12 year break, taking our daughter, SIL and grandson on the Vista in April during Easter break. We just retired and the cruise bug has started to bite, hard! Happy cruising! 

Oh my gosh, thank you all so much!! Lot's of great info and we will for sure be on the road and out of Campbell River before 6:00 AM. I would like to make the ferry by 7:45 just in case, it says on the reservation we should check in 60 minutes early but will lose the reservation if not claimed within 30 minute of sailing. This ferry business is new to all in my party. We are sailing on the Carnival Spirit on Wed. July 16th.

We are going to Campbell River to visit my cousin, he and his wife moved there 2 to 3 years ago. They semi-retired from SoCal to Oregon for a decade or so and then bought the house in CR when they were ready to really retire. But now unexpectedly they have decided to move back home to Ventura County and hope to sell the house and return by the end of the year. It is a beautiful large home overlooking the water between CR and Quadra Island and they can watch all the cruise ships sailing in and out of Vancouver cruise by. So if any you are interested there is a hot tip for you. :)

They have a boat chartered to take us on a one day fishing/sightseeing trip to Desolation Sound. I am not sure exactly where that is but it sounds awesome to me. We will be doing some other touring and we plan to take our time on the drive from the airport to CR. Thanks for the tips on the liquor stores and I definitely plan to try your BC wine, yum! Plus we can't arrive on my cousin's doorstep empty handed, that would just be wrong.:eek:

I would love to bring them a few bottles of our local red wines, there are four of us so I believe we could bring 4 through customs. But I can't figure how to get it on the plane, I will not pack it in my checked luggage. Speaking of our wonderful California wines, Putterdude, in an earlier post I think you mentioned Smoking Loon reds, the merlot is my daugter's favorite too and I have several cases I collected for her fall wedding. I can buy it at my local Vons on sale for $5.39 a bottle, wish I could sneak in a few for you.;)

Thanks again Vancouverites, sorry about the novel length reply, can't wait to arrive in your beautiful country, July 13th, only 35 days to go!!:D

Yes you have chosen the correct route and I would recommend the earlier sailing - it is 1 hr and 40 minutes across and another 30 - 45 minutes to get into the city if there is no traffic jam and the Lions Gate bridge isn't back up too much - the bridge is 3 laned - one lane is counter flowed every 15 minutes or so except during rush hour when it will be two laned going with the flow.

 

Here's another possibility - when you come off the ferry take the first exit and head downhill to Marine Drive - this is the very scenic route to the Lions Gate Bridge - you get to see our spectacular skyline and the new Shangri La tower - all 62 storeys of it looming over the downtown core - A closer view of Stanley Park is also possible - this will add about 10 to 15 minutes to your drive - while you could head for the Suspension Bridge - it's only about 15 minutes extra to get there you won't really have much time to enjoy it.

 

Another scenario would be to take Park Drive off of the Lions Gate Bridge causeway and drive around the Park and when you get to the Lost Lagoon turnoff take it and return to Georgia Street and then head for Canada Place - it you still have some time left you could walk a couple of blocks and take in Gastown or head uptown to Pacific Center for any last minute shopping needs.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks Dennis! :D

You are so helpful, we will definitely take the early ferry and the scenic Marine Drive route, that sounds perfect. If we have extra time we will use it to explore on foot and pick up a couple of bottles of wine, can't let that ship get too far out of site! :)

Thanks in advance Putterdude and all the locals, you are so generous to offer your time and expertise. I have scanned through this entire thread and didn't find the exact info I need.

We are flying into Victoria three days before our cruise and renting a car to explore Vancouver Island. We will be staying in Campbell River. My question is in regards to the day we cross over to the mainland and join our cruise. I have made reservations for the Departure Bay (Namaimo) to Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) ferry for the 8:30 AM & 10:40 AM departures, I wasn't sure what time would be best. We will drive to Canada Place, drop off the rental car at the Pan Pacific and join our cruise.

Have I chosen the correct ferry route? Should we take the earlier ferry in order to do some sight seeing on the mainland? It's early but worth it if there are some must see attractions before we cruise. Any suggestions would be appreciated on things we can see and do. I have read about suspension bridges and other things but not sure if they are nearby. Our ship sails at 5:30 PM and we will want to be there in the early afternoon to explore Canada Place and surrounding area. Plus I get nervous if I am not within sight of my ship fairly early, don't want it sailing without me!:eek:

Thanks again so much for your assistance! :D

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great info posted on this thread. I am sailing on the Legend in May and while it took me quite a while to sort through this very long thread I found exactly the info I was looking for. It is worth the time and effort, definitely!:)

I had originally booked the Marriott Westshore but have switched to the Waterside, I am sure by DH and I will love it, can't wait!! The Tampa port looks incredible compared to others we have sailed out of, lot's to do in the area.

Our return flight to CA is not until 6:30 PM but I have learned that Carnival offers a place to check your luggage until 4:00 PM so we will use that service and wander around Channelside for the day, another great tip found from the review pages.

The biggest tip I found was a store called Total Wine and More, we will need to pick up our wine and liquer in Tampa due to the new flight regulations. This store is at 1720 N. Dale Mabry and has just about everything you could want in wine and spirits and great prices too. It looks just like BevMo out here in CA. They have a website and you can pre-order online and pick it up at the front check out counter, which we plan to do via taxi from the airport to hotel. That will save a lot of time and $$ with the meter running on the cab.:)

Thank you again, especially all the locals that take the time to help us cruisers out.:) Hope this post wasn't too long, I just wanted to share some of the awesome tips I have picked up so far.