a4ofspades

Super excited that we'll be cruising again soon. For the cherry on top, I would love for them to leave Pepsi behind and go back to Coke. 😬

On 4/2/2021 at 1:14 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Having all pax vaccinated is half the battle.  The other half is getting the crew vaccinated.  That will require specific logistics, especially here in FL where online appt bookings are getting filled up super fast.  e.g. as I type this, 6 hours after the Publix bookings opened up for Mon/Tues, they are all 100% gone (except for two counties at less than 1% availability) - probably almost all gone by 9am, as is usual.

 

It will take some "negotiating" by CLIA and/or the cruise lines individually to get a hold of vaccines (and appropriately trained personnel capable of administering).  I'm sure (I hope?) that stuff is happening in the background, we just aren't seeing it.

 

Well, another bigger "half" of the battle might be finding enough foreign ports willing to take vaccinated cruisers - hopefully that is also starting to open up.

 

Maybe next week we can get some good news from the CDC and industry.  The CDC can claim they took reasonable precautions up until now, but things are finally looking better.  CLIA can claim the pressure they applied recently about re-starting cruising worked, and they are a very good organization for the industry.  And the local FL politicians call put their own spin on how they made it work "for the people and businesses of Florida".

 

We're booked for a cruise in Dec 2021, which I am now fairly sure will go as planned, but I'd gladly hop on a 3 or 4 day cruise in July/Aug/Sept/Oct as our first vacation in 18 months.

Yes, yes and yes!! Florida is a large state and many of the politicians here so not agree with his highness, as evidenced by the "sue" slap which I found amusing. 🙂 RE the vaccinations, I tried the Publix route but the waiting list worked efficiently and quickly, DH is fully vaccinated and I am halfway there. 

We are hopeful for you for December and us for January...so close I an almost see the ship sailing. 🙂 And I too would hop on one Sept/Oct as well!!

15 hours ago, DanvilleCruiser said:

Magic had Cucina as of 2016.  I think the Magic is  scheduled for a dry dock so hopefully it won’t get replaced.  I owe posts here for trying out Cucina upon embarkation.  Best decision of the whole cruise (and the cruise was wonderful).

We are booked again on the Magic next year...I will be disappointed if it is changed but still...have to admit I will be so overjoyed to cruise again they could probably feed me PB&J every meal and I'd smile, LOL. I actually almost cried when I found the little brown bottles of Lysol yesterday while shopping...yes, I am so ready to get back to a little bit of normalcy. 😉 

On 4/2/2021 at 7:34 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

For free, the linguine al dente with fresh littleneck clams in garlic and white wine at lunch was the most amazing food I have ever had on a carnival ship.  Even beats the juvenile lobster tails and prime rib.  Maybe I've just been lucky, but I'm an Italian Food snob and I have been joyfully impressed (think: foodie sigh of joy with every bite).

My thoughts on this subject have been that the quality must vary ship to ship. DH and I first tried this embarkation day on the Magic a few years ago and loved it so much we ate  lunch there for more than half the cruise. On another ship, my step son and his GF ate there since we had raved about it and they thought it was horrible and not quality Italian at all. I know that if clams were offered DH would have ordered them so just asked him and he said no, they were not. So yes, seems to definitely vary ship to ship and we were lucky it was so good. We also tried the Guy BBQ and although others rave, we did not care for it. Again, looking like it's different ship to ship and probably cruise to cruise as staff changes. 

Final Payment was due today for our January cruise out of Port Canaveral. Had difficulty reaching our PVP so spoke with 2 reps today and rescheduled for January 2022. DH has COPD and I spent most of last year doing chemo so I thought waiting was best for us. Also, as other have mentioned, unsure how the ports will be. All of them were going to be new to us so didn't want to miss out on them. Anyway, now we have something to look forward to rather than stress over so it was a good choice for us. 🙂 

On 9/21/2020 at 9:54 PM, mnventure said:

 

 

You won’t be able to get a cash refund. But NCL is now allowing people to sell/transfer their FCC to someone else - one time.


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Wanted to say thanks again...we were able to transfer the funds to my cousin who applied them to her cruise. Super happy 🙂 

10 hours ago, mnventure said:

 

 

You won’t be able to get a cash refund. But NCL is now allowing people to sell/transfer their FCC to someone else - one time.


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Now that is great!!! We have family who cruise so that would be wonderful!! Thank you so much!!!

Just spoke with an NCL rep who informed me we will not be getting a refund only a FCC.

Would love to know if anyone has any idea if this is it or if I have any other recourse. 

Quick backstory: booked a cruise that was canceled in the first covid wave of cancellations in March. Chose to rebook using FCC for July. Saw that was not going to be a go so rebooked for January. DH has COPD so knew it was both risky for him and read about the medical paperwork needed so canceled altogether in June. Was told refund would go on cc within 90 days. That passed last week so called today and was told since we used the FCC back in March vs taking the refund at that time, we are not getting our money back even though I have a cancellation letter that reads "net due" and the rep told me our money would be refunded. So looks to me like I am out of gas and they get to keep our money because I don't see DH being given medical go ahead to said anytime soon and Capital One has been zero help. Does anyone see any other options?? TIA

3 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

Tell Capital One that NCL isn’t disputing with Amex. I’m not sure why, but people disputing with Amex, myself included,  seem to be getting their money back. 

I had a different issue with a different card....2 weeks and I have my money back...going on 2 months with Capital One...I called and told them I want it noted in my account the difference between the customer service I received from their competitor. That and $4 will buy a cup of coffee but made me feel a bit better. 😞 

27 minutes ago, Cruise-Crazy said:

I usually leave the bathroom light on at night. It does not light up the cabin enough to keep me awake. But there are the battery powered nightlight that are pretty cheap. 

Ditto. A slight door opening works well as a nightlight. 

We have sailed out of Tampa twice and prefer it to our closest ports (Port Canaveral and Miami). Much less crowded than Miami and we were able to safely and inexpensively park very close to the port. We will not do that in Miami as there are numerous reports of car damage and theft when not parking right at the Port.

1 minute ago, adamnoone said:

I just filed a dispute with my CC company. Im not waiting 100 days for my 4000 bucks. Their response to this situation is ridiculous. Imagine telling NCL you wouldn't be making final payment until the day of sailing... 

Ditto. I was not about to wait this 10 days or 90 days or whatever other nonsense I'm reading. Called the credit card company, I had a letter sent to me by the person with NCL I spoke to today that specifically says they canceled, and he did the paperwork said I should see the money back on my card in a couple of days.

1 hour ago, teCh0010 said:

So with NCL saying they have 90 days to post back to card do you think that it is a possible to execute a charge back with amex? 90 days is a long time, what happens if they declare bankruptcy before they credit cards back? 

This  is what I am trying to talk to my husband about but he's just not worried at all. I want my money back. 

2 hours ago, susanf31 said:

I just called to get my refund on my 3/22 Encore sailing.  They said the announcement just went out and they have not been briefed yet on how to issue refunds and to call back in 24 hours.

I just called and was told the latest info he had was refund OR 150% credit BUT not until the 20th. Not liking that.

Age 51 and 68, cruising March 30th out of Miami and we received it today. 

Thanks for the info 🙂 

52 minutes ago, Weluv2cruise2gether said:

Thank you!!! I work in an ER and all weekend everyone coming in was so fixed on the whole Covid-19. When we asked about why they aren’t worried about the flu, due to these same statistics, we would just get dumbfounded looks. Yes, no one wants to get sick but as many doctors on all the news channels reported, you need to prepare and have good hand hygiene just like with the flu. 

The news last night made a point of showing the statistics on the flu versus Corona. I think we are putting too much blame on media for the panic and false info...we are doing all that just fine on our own as per usual.

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

We're sailing next month. We have no intention of cancelling right now. 

 

In general, we normally carry an extra week of prescription meds (basically an extra 7-day pill minder) "just in case" we are delayed on the ship or on land returning home. ... may carry an extra two weeks of meds on the cruise next week...

 

And we normally carry a make-up bag of OTC drugs (tylenol, advil, imodium, allergy meds, etc.). Not necessarily because we plan to get sick, but we get a bit too much sun or too much adult beverage or some funky local foods and being able to take a tablet never hurts. 

 

wrt to rubber gloves, what you need to do is wash your hands, washy washy your hands before you actually start eating. 

Yes, this was my first thought...always bring extra meds just in case but will also do an extra 2 weeks at least. That would be my biggest stressor. 

Hubby and I decided to take advantage of the discounts and book a March cruise. We ended up with a GTY on the Sky. I THINK I may have booked a GTY in the past but cannot think how the luggage tags work with this type of booking. I started to print them out and then realized, of course, no cabin is listed. Do they assign a cabin closer to the cruise and change the tags?? I hate the thought of sending on our luggage with no cabin listed. Any and all info is much appreciated. And yes, I know I can call but isn't this so much more informational??? 😉

53 minutes ago, deadmoney said:

I don't think they care if your wearing an Easter bunny outfit as long as your gambling.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

On 1/20/2020 at 7:23 PM, Stacie. said:

I had the breakfast board and it was delicious! 

I had that on one of our last cruises...I had hard boiled eggs and was ready to cut into one but....it went rolling off the table to the feet of the waiter as he was passing by....just like a comedy movie...I think at home I would have been mortified BUT I am much more relaxed on a cruise so just apologized and later laughed about it 😉 

I did some research and saw that one person indicated that when you choose what deck you want, there are options to choose wheelchairs Etc. More research to make sure that's correct I make sure that I do it correctly is in order 😉

On 10/28/2019 at 12:01 PM, ishap said:

Well, I am unfortunately back at work today after getting off of the Horizon yesterday, but in order to help the sting of being back in the office, I figured I would start writing my view of the Carnival Horizon...both the good and the bad.  I will include pics and hopefully some video of a few things.  I warn you now...this won't be written all in one sitting, but rather as multiple pieces in this post as I organize my thoughts, get time over the next few days to type them out, organize my pics, etc.  I hope you all find it informative and it helps you on your journey.

 

 

What a great review!!! Thanks so much for taking the time for so many details and pics. I too will be experiencing the smart elevators for the first time so that video was most helpful. I am wondering though about wheelchair use. Hubby sometimes needs on and we will be bringing his for the first time mostly for use in port. I wonder if there is a way to let the elevator know there will be a wheelchair as well. Anyway, something to research and I love to do research. 🙂 Again, thanks so much for your review!!

We were just offered an upgrade to cabin 2 454 ...we prefer interior usually because we sleep a little better but were considering this if it added more space and a couch so your review was the only thing I found that helped us make a decision. Thanks so much!

I just saw that one...I saw it "got" someone, LOL. I think I need newbies for mine to work.