NPCIN

Can Anyone recommend a good shuttle service that runs from MCO or MCO area hotels to Port Canaveral. I've used Cortrans in the past, but they aren't running the days I need due to short staffing. 

I posted earlier in this thread. Update...still no refund for my March 31st cruise. I received another call from my Carnival just yesterday. First time he called wanting to know if he could help me rebook and he could apply my refund as FCC instead of getting the refund. I told him no thank you as nobody is certain when or how cruising will be in the future with new rules and regulations. I was expecting him to give some sort of update yesterday as to refund being applied, but he told me he was calling as he saw I was on the Carnival website and wanted to know if he could help out in any way. I told him that I didn't know why it showed I was on Carnival's website as it has been weeks since I've been on there. I did ask about my refund and he said he was unsure, unprecedented times, etc... and Carnival was working on processing refunds now. 

My cruise date was March 30th. I was notified of my cancellation on March 14th by Carnival. I immediately filled out the online form like many on here with no reply. I was notified by my Carnival agent a few weeks ago "checking up on me" and wondered if I was ready to book my future cruise as he said I had lots of FCC and OBC to use. He caught me off guard as I had filed for the refund. I told him I had filed for the refund and I wasn't ready to book at this time due to the unforeseen future on how long things were going to be impacted as far as travel goes plus I'm sure there will be new rules/ policies for cruising. He said he knew but that I could change my mind on the refund and get the FCC and OBC offered. I told him no thank you and that I'd contact him in the future when I decided to book another cruise. So it makes me think Carnival is having the agents call customers waiting on a refund and get them to rebook instead so they don't have to give the money back.

I haven't received any of the refunds for the cruise, shore excursions, etc.   

Can someone please help me with a question that I have about the preference form I received for my cancelled form? I hate to contact Carnival as I'm sure they are swamped with more pressing matters.

I booked two cabins as my GF and I were sailing with our kids (all minors). We're in one cabin and they're in another next to us. I have two booking numbers as each cabin has it's own booking number. On the form it asks for guests first and last name. For the kids cabin/ booking number... Do I put in one of their names and check the book for all guests since they're the ones in that cabin or put my name since I booked it and its tied to my credit card, email, phone number etc?

My GF and I, our kids, and a group of co-workers are sailing March 30th on the Liberty. I'm not concerned about cruising and I still want to go, but many in our group are now very concerned and want to get together to discuss still going. Like many have mentioned...the biggest concern of our group is getting quarantined on the ship and then later elsewhere for 14 days like the Princess ship in CA. I've told some of them that there's probably less chance of getting it on the ship than at Walmart, Disneyworld, etc. with all the cleaning, employees serving buffet items, etc. being done on the ships. They've all replied that the ships ventilation systems aren't the greatest and can make it worse. The news isn't helping with all the talk about cruise ships even though we've only heard a few mentioned out of the few hundred sailing every day. Was reading news articles today about the new cases where a Walmart employee, Uber driver, teacher, and flight attendant have now tested positive so it spreading into the communities.   

I received this same exact survey as the OP probably about 3 months ago. It's definitely not a post cruise survey as some are speculating.

Carnival (Miami- page) FB page recently posted many photographs of the Paradise after coming out of dry dock.

I sailed on my first Carnival cruise on the Mardi Gras in 1990. Amazing how things have changed. I'd love to see more photographs of her.

I was on the Conquest last week. The shows were as follows:

day 1- welcome aboard show. I didn't attend so I can't comment.

day 2- Epic Rock. It was a decent show. I saw the same exact show on the Sunshine last year though.

day 3- Love and Marriage show. Was good as always. They even had new questions that I'd not heard before.

day 4- Flick. I really liked this show. I think it's one of the better one I've seen over the years.

day 5- 80s Pop. I thought it was ok. Again...I saw this same show on the Sunshine last year.

Not sure about the Splendor, but I was on the Conquest last week and they were serving them on that ship.

A week ago I got to Port Everglades at about 10:20 as my check in time was 11:00. They didn't let anyone inside the building to begin checking in until like 10:30-10:40 to start the check in process. I was on board the ship by 11:40.

I just sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale in the last week. A taxi is $20 total each way. Maybe a 10 minute ride and its always been super easy with no issues in my past experiences.

I just got off the Conquest this past Thursday and it was $3 on my S&S card. I just looked at my printout to confirm the price.

Just off the Conquest on Thursday and I received the speaker.

I'm sorry for stating my invitation said "and guest" as it didn't. I went and looked as I still have some of my invitations that my GF has in scrapbooks. My GF has attended three Platinum and Diamond parties with me and shes not Plat/Diamond. In my experiences...the staff hasn't ever said anything. Obviously, many are being declined from entering from viewing the posts in this thread.

I've always brought a guest with me to the party and haven't ever had any issues getting them in. The invitation has always had my name and mentioned a a guest.

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I saw Johns post asking did they buy one while on the cruise. His post was May 16. It was split fairly even with some people saying yes and some no due to the cost. Many said they saw them only on the first day of the cruise.

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I'm sailing on the Conquest soon and I was wondering if these are still being sold?

Carnival's bread and butter...new guests or past guests? I'd say new guests. Its interesting to speak to the passengers while at dinner on the ship or by following Cruise Critic for years. Many will tell you they spend more money on their first cruise than the others. They tend to spend more on pictures, excursions, etc. Once they've sailed a few times...they may go look at the photographs for something to do, but don't buy them like they did on their first cruise. As far as excursions...if they've been there a few times...they seem to go off on their own to a beach or shopping. I used to book my own excursions to save money, but Carnival and other lines have made that near impossible now with newer contracts they have with the businesses. I went on a horseback excursion recently in San Juan. Its was close to $150 through Carnival. I tried to book it on my own though the same business for $76 and was told as long as a Carnival ship was in port...I had to book with the cruise line per the contract. If Carnival wasn't there that day...it was $76. I think newer cruisers want to have balcony or ocean view cabins. The people who I know who cruise regular seem to not care as much as they have the mentality of "as long as I'm on the ship...who cares" attitude. Sure some will only sail or continue to sail with needing a window or balcony...

Alcohol and the casino are obviously big money makers, but I'm not sure being new or past guests plays into that.

Each time I go on a cruise...the waiting room for platinum and diamond is always jam packed now and usually standing room only by the time your allowed to board. They announced that there was 700+ guests at the last platinum and diamond party I went to on the ship.

On Conquest class ships... Inside cabins 6393 and 7345 are 'technically' 1A cabins but set up similar to balcony. 2 beds on floor CAN be made as a king. Get 6th or 7th floor convenience for cost of 1A. There is also a cabin on deck 8 (8357) in the same location but being under Lido/possible kitchen area worries me.

 

Have stayed in both 6393 and 7345 with no noise issues. Convenient mid-ship location. These cabins are slightly wider than the standard inside cabin.

Normal 1,

I have 7345 booked for a upcoming cruise on the Conquest. You mentioned that this cabin on Conquest ships have 2 beds on the floor and aren't an upper/lower even though they are listed as so. I saw a while back when researching this that someone mentioned that they aren't all set up that way on all the Conquest ships. Did you stay in this cabin on the Conquest?

I was recently on the Sunshine While waiting for debarkation in Port Canaveral, a couple that were Diamond were able able to bring 8 other people with them into the room waiting to leave the ship. The passengers had their sign and sail cards in their had their cards in their were not Platinum or Diamond. It appears it might depend on the ship or staff.

Thanks for the review and advice going on Sunshine in April. I appreciate all info have not been on a cruise in a while and was a little nervous about this ship. Not concerned now. Thanks again

I always sail with the saying "a cruise is better than no cruise at all" in mind while on vacation. Don't sweat the small stuff. There will always be negatives and positives when cruising. With the reviews posted on the boards...you will at times see that someone had a horrible time on the cruise and had many negative things/comments about their cruise and someone else on the same cruise had a great time.

Here are some negatives I found.

I did encounter the sewer smell on the ship in certain areas during the cruise. Oddly one place was in while I was sitting near the stairs in the bar arear in the atrium one night while something was going on there at the time with the CD. Lines would form outside the auditoriums until they would open the doors to the venues and it would congest/clog the areas. The main venue seating area is very small and depending on what is going on...you might not get a seat. Comedy club seating- enough said on the boards time and time again. I think they need to move them to the main room to accommodate everyone who wants to see the show. They have did this on some of the past cruises I've been on. The MDR was very slow for early dining. They have to find a better way to remove the smoke in the casino as the last few cruises I've been on has been horrible. This was the first cruise I didn't gamble as it was just too much for me. If the ship was moving forward...water from the hot tubs would make the mist float in the lido area while trying to watch the dive in movies and make the deck wet too. They always had an employee use a squeegee to remove the water at night where people were walking though.

Positives I found...

Even though the ship was full...it never really seemed that bad except getting off the ship and the comedy club. Never really had to wait but a few minutes for the buffet line. Mongolian was typically 5-20 minutes. Pizza was maybe 10 minutes if they made your own. they did a great job of stocking up on ice cream cones at the machines. Lord knows I ate my fare share of them. For breakfast and lunch we always sat in the Havana area in the rear of the ship as seats were always open. Never really had a hard time finding a deck chair even though chair hogs were present. :) There's so many more to list....

Actually, my biggest gripe with my whole cruise is with the past guest perks with Carnival as I've been Platinum for years now. Also with how things were handled by the staff with this group getting off the ship, pursers desk, etc. I'm also amazed at how some people acted due to they're Platinum or Diamond. This topic is a whole other thread though.

All in all...I'd sail on the Sunshine again with no hesitation. Enjoy your cruise

We have always driven over to the port, friends looking for a shuttle. Do you recall the fee? Did you have to wait for a big bus to fill up to/from?

 

In the past we learned to line up an hour early for comedy club, does that still sound about right?

 

That's a long time to wait for dinner service.:eek: Were u traditional or anytime

Yes, they charged $40 roundtrip per person either paid in cash or credit card when you board the shuttle. I booked with them back in May and the email communication from them is excellent. They use the midsize vans that hold like 14-20 people. I did my research before I booked with them as the last thing I needed was to miss the ship on the day of debarkation or be late for my flight back home. All the reviews I had seen were all excellent reviews and they've been in business for several years. I'm a fan now and will definitely use them again.

An hour prior is more than enough time for the comedy club. I'd say 1/2 hr for the first show and longer for second one. I just hate standing in a line for so long on vacation to see a comedy show...especially when they could hold it in a larger room to accommodate everyone that wants to watch it as they have done this on a few other cruises I've been on in the past. Its not fair that some have to watch or they weren't able to see it due to they got there just before it started when they paid for the same cruise/experience just like everyone else.

Keisha, I had traditional dining. Usually with the table for two you tend to get done at diner a lot sooner than the larger tables as your not waiting on everyone to eat their food before they bring out the next thing to eat. This time on the ship...it was not the case. It did give my girlfriend time to sit and talk (we turn our phones off and put them in the safe and don't turn them back on until the end of the cruise so its "our time"), but I guess I got impatient waiting so long on our food. As people are mentioning on the boards...its probably due to cutbacks as they don't have as many employees taking care of the same amount of passengers and its slowing things down. We found it easier to go to the buffet as some of the items served there are whats served in the dining room. Then you have pizza, deli, Ji Ji, sushi, etc. to chose from also.

If anyone else has any questions...just ask.

Luke I'm not sure if there's an easier or more correct way, but we walked to the far right of the beach area where the whale sculpture is at. We walked along the waterline until we got to a large amount of rocks at the water line and the beach seemed to run out. We then stepped up a embankment (probably three feet) and followed a sandy road to the other side of the island where I heard it was. I'm trying to attach some pictures but it wont let me.