jsglow

Lemme also jump in here @Ferry_Watcher while I've got you. We've got our tickets purchased for the Cantrail bus (purchased directly from Amtrak as the 'no train' substitute) departing King St. Station to Pacific Central Station on our way up to Vancouver. If you would be so kind, could you walk us through the 'non standard' boarding process. Do we simply walk up to the normal Amtrak counter and begin the check-in process there? Do we board like 30 minutes before the bus departs and just sit in the lovely waiting room until called? Any guidance/advice for that morning is appreciated. For what it's worth, we'll either be Ubering or getting a ride from our son down to King St. On the other end, we'll be staying overnight at the Barclay Hotel. So I'm assuming a cab over from Pacific Central and then either a cab or a nice 20 minute walk the following morning to the ship? TY in advance for your always fantastic guidance.

Fully vaxxed means the full initial series (2 shots for Moderna, for example) completed more than 14 days before the cruise. Full stop.

NO. It's a 5 night cruise. Debarkation morning doesn't count. Cruising always counts the overnights onboard. A 7 day cruise literally spans briefly into the 8th day.

Told you guys the announcement would be by close of business today.🤑

Certainly well within the 'reasonable' realm.

Carnival has sent out erroneous emails in the past when their computers went nuts. It's not impossible that the tech guys are working on the software right now.

Carnival will go one of two ways.... match the protocol immediately or alternatively try to 'one up' and go straight to 6 or 7 days. Announcement by close of business tomorrow I'll wager.

St. Kitts is still routinely part of the 8 day Eastern itinerary out of Miami and Port Canaveral. The OP is correct that islands further south along the Leewards and Windwards are only offered on some longer Journeys cruises. It's a real shame. Carnival needs to get a ship home ported in San Juan again. Perhaps when some of these 'new builds' arrive or after Sunshine gets booted from Charleston. Their itineraries are somewhat tired and predictable; perfect for the blue/red cards but increasingly less interesting for seasoned travelers. And one can see that they earn a nice premium on Journeys cruises so there is demand. Now there are other CCL lines that offer the destinations so perhaps that's what the Corp. wants folks to consider.

Wow, a real 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' scenario. We've never been faced with that serious a situation for a cruise but we have beaten the weather out of Midway once or twice. Once I dashed to the airport as a storm was closing in and got wheels up just before the airport closed. I developed the route myself (the computer wasn't even offering it) and called my suggestion in to the nice SWA Customer Service guy. 'Nice job there Mr. jsglow. Gotcha all ticketed.' It was a long day of connections but I arrived at my destination safely. Domestically, if they can get you airborne they can get you to major destinations most of the time. But none of that EVER works if you simply run out of time. We NEVER fly to a cruise the same day. In your case, it was still possible to drive all the way to south Texas; a last ditch option no doubt.

Absolutely.

Good info about the timing of payment. We recently paid our 90 Paid in Full on a Fall European. Didn't know they wouldn't b e paying our air carrier at the same time.

Yep, just saw that too.

It doesn't exist anymore. And I think Carnival/Southwest's decision was 100% reasonable and appropriate.

OP, I do see that SWA has a one stop flight departing RDU at 5:35a, changing at MDW, and arriving at LGB at 12:55p. If all goes well, you can likely make the ship on time but I would absolutely check with Carnival about their boarding requirements that day. When Southwest has to tweak their flight schedule (as all airlines are needing to do these days) they allow you to tweak their recommendation without penalty or fare increase. You'd need to take this up directly with Southwest but they'll be very accommodating. We all wish you well and good health.

Passport info including # and issuance/expiry dates. Credit card # for onboard accounts. With all that said, I believe you can each do your check-in individually.

At present, the cancelation extends through 7/31. No announcement so far.

Let me give you one other tip if you are arriving from the north via I-710 as many will. Carefully follow the directions directly toward the Queen Mary. It is very well marked on the signage along the way while the CCL cruise port is a lacking. As you complete your journey, you'll pass through a toll booth looking structure where Queen Mary parking will be on the left side and cruise ship parking on the right. This may be where folks pay their parking for QM but as I recall cruise parkers actually get their entry ticket as they enter the parking garage pictured above.

We always avoid if possible. Your neighbors don't even have to be noisy. Normal volume TV can be heard. That said, we understand the risk when we book absolute last minute or arrange a TBD cabin because of an incredible price.

Good deal. For future info, one can just bring their paperwork to the port. I've not used Verifly once in a half dozen post pandemic cruises. Passport, Vax Card, Neg test result. It is literally the first inspection station, even before the metal scanner, and after a 30 second review they stamp your Boarding Pass. Easy peasy.

I have seen it reported on YouTube that other folks have also not gotten the Zoomlink email and that the solution required a phone call to resolve. They are clearly having issues with volume right now. Apparently, once you get through, they are able to fix things. Good luck.

I can give you my VIFP number! 😁

YEP. Get your test. Get your negative result. Put your vax card and test result in with your Passport. AND have a freakin' awesome time!

Let me add once piece of info not yet mentioned. For those without priority (CCL excursions and D&P), go as early as possible to pick up a Tender Boarding tag from the display rack. Lowest numbers get called first and in order. You will need to show it to the staff.

That's entirely correct. It IS possible that your preferred wait staff has all their tables full. We routinely request an excellent waitstaff but once in awhile can't be accommodated. On our two week Pride Journey last Fall we became very friendly with our waiter over the course of two weeks. One night the only remaining table in his section was the 'lousy one' by the pole. We teased him about it while sitting there and if I recall correctly the running joke was that we hadn't properly 'bribed' the delightful hostesses. They got IN on the act and then jokingly asked for their bottle of wine each night as we approached the podium to be seated. All great fun. Journeys are fantastic that way.

Yep, it's never the NUMBER of shots; it's the TIMING of those shots wearing off over time.