jsglow

I think this is key and one big reason I believe that some day when CCL's balance sheet is a bit stronger that all the Spirit Class ships (and probably Luminosa) will be in for a 'Moonbeaming' (Sunshining) retrofit. I just don't think Carnival Corp. will be building more sub 85K ton, Panamax vessels from the keel up. And there's a somewhat limited number of them across all lines in the world serving a very valuable role.

I don't think Savannah is a particularly reasonable option from Carnival's perspective in that it's only 2 hours drive from Jacksonville and doesn't provide enough differentiation whereas Charleston was nearly 4 hours away by car . CCL isn't going to line cruise ships up and down the entire east coast to accommodate 'local' traffic. Wilmington or Norfolk? That I could see. Don't know if Wilmington even has a plausible terminal.

None of us know your schedule. We're actually flying into Seattle for a visit and then taking a Cantrail bus across the border the day before our cruise.

Our delightful Lobby Bartender, Joe from Philly (something like 28 years with Carnival) would serve up Mimosas. The reason for this might not be immediately clear for first time B2Bers. They close out the old Folios and the new ones don't launch until about 10:45a. So don't try to sign into the internet until the staff tells you the system is up. (Don't ask me how I know. 🤔)

Even more reason! 😁

So I 'think' I understand your question. Typically B2Bers gather in the dining room while the ship is 100% cleared. Once that process is complete, you'll be briefly escorted down into the terminal privately where you will quickly go through Customs (take your Passport) and immediately reboard the ship. Apart from that quick lap, you don't disembark. All of this is clearly spelled out in a letter you get in your cabin. Now I suppose it's possible to do but you would certainly need to schedule a whole new check-in time and go through the entire process of disembarkation and embarkation if you wanted to leave the ship for a day at Long Beach. Not worth it to simply walk over to the Queen Mary, for example.

I'm blessed to have been to all those places. Bur except for Barbados, none on a Carnival ship.

In the Caribbean, your DL and S&S are always sufficient. Blerk's correct that if you cross the Canadian border from Skagway you'll 100% need your actual Passport. Don't worry, the CD typically makes announcements. One of the things that probably has evolved in the 6 months since I've last sailed is your need to carry your Vax card (or at least a photo of it).

We're actually doing a northbound 'cruise first' later this month. With testing requirements still in place, we view our protocols to be somewhat advantageous. We'll test at our son's home in Seattle before crossing the border and boarding, all within the required 2 days. After that we'll leave Canada and return to the good old USA avoiding any chance at a Canadian government imposed isolation.

GTY cabins are typically assigned somewhere around a month before you sail although that can range very widely literally from to a few days after one books right up until sailing. And on most ships, OVs are the 'safest' possible category as there is very little difference between the cabins. All the OVs are on Deck #1 or #2 and are all pretty equivalent. Any 'bunk bed' cabin would be classified as an Interior (even if it had a porthole) so you won't be assigned to it. No need for worry. Enjoy your cruise.

Interesting. Little occasional glitch then, eh.

For us it's all about the price differential. On the cruise OP has planned and at the price he's mentioned our answer would be a huge 'NO WAY'.

As I mentioned in the other thread, a simple mention to the hostess seating you that you wanted a solo table and the problem would have been resolved instantly.

I'm going to chalk that one up to a possible human error somehow. As you know,the App gives you a choice. We've never had it make a mistake. I'm sure a quick mention to your Hostess as you were about to be seated would have had it corrected immediately.

I just want to say.... @martincathand @Ferry_Watcherare the two very best resources possible up in the Pacific NW. Always massively helpful to those of us that visit. Buy either of you a coffee or beer any day.

We'll make you an honorary Cheese Head with comments like that. Next thing you know you'll be extolling the virtues of our famed Brandy Ol' Fashioned cocktails doncha know.

I'm 99.9% confident that you need to do the ArrivCan and have that finalized within the 72 hours before you board your ship at initial embarkation. I've seen numerous threads on that topic as I research our own situation.

So @martincath, reaching out again for a little ArrCan guidance. We'll be crossing the border by bus (I'm sure you remember our communication on the other thread) the afternoon of 8/19. So our plan is to Covid test in Seattle on the 18th bf we leave town. Concurrently, we'll finalize our ArrCan at the same time for that border crossing. We're doing the One Way Glaciers cruise on Royal departing 8/20 (never setting foot in Canada again once we leave the pier) so I'm under the impression that we DO NOT need to do a second ArrCan 'trip' for embarkation separate from our original border crossing. The Princess website seems to indicate that a 'fresh' ArrCan is necessary for embarkation on seemingly ALL Vancouver departures so I'm a little unclear. If you can shed light that would be great.

So if I can place a call the night before and have a set time in the a.m. I'm okay with that.

Okay good. It's still not as good as the nice knock on the door w my coffee but I guess I'll survive.

I understand and somewhat agree with that sentiment personally but I also understand that Carnival is mostly in the 'vacation' business. Most folks who sail on her ships aren't world travelers interested in exploring new destinations and cultures. They was a good week's vacation at a fair price. Plus by keeping the pax close, Carnival and every other mass market cruise line captures that daily revenue. There are ways to do exactly what you are describing. Just typically not on the mega liners heading out for 5-7 days from the east coast of Florida.

TERRIBLE. We've used the hanging tag Continental breakfast nearly every day on every cruise. It literally serves as our alarm clock, as necessary. For those that know, does the house phone have a wake up call feature?

We sailed on Halloween night last year. Amazing costumes necessitating an extra piece of luggage on an already long 14 night.

Okay Heald just spoke to the issue....... "i’m afraid that’s completely and totally incorrect (answering a guy on FB who pointed out the No Test to Fly situation). The entire cruise industry has to test before going to the Bahamas and we would never say that if it was not 100% completely true. So again I’m not sure where you are getting this information but I can assure you that we would not be doing this if it was not requested and required and enforced by the Bermudan (I think he misspoke there) government. Cheers mate" And after some more back and forth banter...... I’m not going to be able to persuade you that we are telling the truth and that we are working hard with the Bahamian government to change this rule. So please believe whatever you wish and I respectfully will just say that again we and the cruise industry have to follow the rules. Every single cruise ship guest disembarking in the Bahamas regardless of which cruise line must have a pre-cruise Covid test. Those are the rules. Cheers mate and have an absolutely brilliant day and I hope to see you soon Carnival jumped the gun 'thinking' that they could get this Bahamas wrinkle worked out by Thursday. Obviously they can't. And RCCL is letting Carnival get absolutely hammered simply by remaining silent while negotiations continue. Brilliant.

Are we really sure about that Prog? I have a recollection from somewhere in the back of my head that when cruising restarted the Bahamas had this weird hybrid requirement where those flying in didn't need a test but those on a cruise ship DID. This was roughly one year ago when testing first emerged. Now given the fact that the cruise pax were going to have to test anyway it really didn't matter. I do think I recall that the 'compromise' was 2-3 day testing window prior to the cruise; NOT 2-3 days prior to arrival in the Bahamas, something that couldn't work at all. I believe all the lines have that blanket line 'no testing except where required by the local country'. Perhaps RCCL just hasn't owned up to it yet. IF Carnival DID self-impose this without the Bahamas insisting then at the very least it's the worst PR optics I can possibly remember only topping the moronic decision itself. They would have been better off simply sticking with the old protocols for 'safety' reasons and just knowingly faced the booking collapse. I just can't imagine the cluster eff it's going to be at the pier tomorrow. ALL potentially self imposed and uuggee negative pub.