xitappers2bx

There's a retractable roof on the Miracle; it's great and allows for the use of the pool deck.  We did Alaska on a HAL ship that is a "sister" to the Spirit class, and the water was definitely too cold to really swim in, BUT having the retractable roof made it possible to use the hot tubs at night and it was pretty comfortable.  On the two days that we weren't in ports, we were able to relax comfortably on the pool deck in summer-ish clothes.

23 hours ago, princessjanee said:

We booked a Ocean Suite on Miracle on deck 6...after looking at some YouTube postings for those cabins we noticed the lifeboats were positioned right below us.  Can someone tell me if the lifeboats will obstruct our views when looking down from our balcony...

I've cruised multiple times in the OS on the Miracle, and you can see the lifeboats below you, but looking out, they absolutely do not obstruct views.  There's not much to look at down (other than an open deck) so you really aren't missing much. 

I've cruised the same ship more than once because it was the closest to me in terms of ports and I prefer doing 8 night itineraries; I've cruised the same 2 ships at least twice each, and this Christmas sailing a different ship for the second time; and then next New Years Eve sailing the same ship on another line that we took to Bermuda.  I like doing the same ships because we generally know the layout of the land, but I also enjoy exploring new ships.  It's really not a good thing or a bad think I think. 

If everyone else mostly follows their check in time, you should not end up standing around and waiting too long.

On 10/23/2019 at 6:52 PM, rcarrosq said:

 

We are platinum with over 22 cruises and booked a last minute cruise in June sailing on the Breeze on Nov 2. We like midship interior cabins and this is what we chose. Today we finally got our cabin assignment. We were given #6495 aft. Seriously? This cabin is darn near the very last cabin on that deck. At this point is there anything we can do? In a cabin so far in the back we will feel every pitch and roll. I was under the impression that our platinum status would help us get a decent cabin. We also requested early dining but are confirmed for late dining. I was told by my TA that we could see the maitre’d in the MDR on the first night to see if it can be changed. It was suggested we grease his palm. Again....seriously? I thought platinum came with some perks. 
 

Has anyone here ever been able to change a guaranteed cabin?

This is one of the difficulties of doing the guarantee cabin, particularly when you have a location you prefer over others (I do too, i'm with you on the mid ship).  Before booking you should have looked and see what interiors were available; I did this a few summers ago on another line, and it ended up working out well, I booked a balcony guarantee category, but liked all the cabins that were available, and figured since it was my first time on that line I'd end up in a less desirable cabin.  I have read from some people that you can call and upgrade to a specific cabin or category that you would prefer, but then you're on the hook for the price difference.  I do think in your case it's probably be better though since you are upset about where the cabin is located so that you can worry less about the location.

Now, I wish I could give you some advice about dinner; we are in a suite and they won't even give us early dining or put us on the waitlist; and I have my TA calling them repeatedly in the hopes they'll just get tired of fielding the calls.  I would not suggest bribing with money to change; it's their job to try and make you happy by moving you, if they can, to early dining.

On 10/22/2019 at 11:38 AM, RobertHemsley said:

Hi All,

 

Me (29) and my girlfriend (27) did our first ever cruise this summer on the Oasis of the seas in the Med and absolutely loved it.

Now that is a giant freaking ship.... My parents are going on the Allure next week and I am dying to hear how crowded it was, because I am dying to go on the Harmony (my name), but hate huge crowds.

On 10/22/2019 at 11:38 AM, RobertHemsley said:

We are looking at booking another cruise but this time as a larger family group on the NCL Escape in the Caribbean as the free at sea offer makes the cruise more than half the price of an RCL equivalent.

This deal is making NCL quite attractive, that is for sure.

On 10/22/2019 at 11:38 AM, RobertHemsley said:

This includes my parents who are in their 60's and my Sister (35) her husband (35) and their two daughters (1 and 4).

 

Looking at photos of the pool and sundecks, and also the layout of the ship. is it really crowded compared to the OTS? Looking at beginning on Feb.

My parents (super loyal RCCLers), myself, and my kiddo had connected staterooms on the Escape to Bermuda.  The ship was close to sold out, and we never thought the ship felt exceptionally crowded.  We always found pool chairs in the shade (we are a very pale people), and could always find a seat.  I am sure if it's a max capacity sailing, it would feel somewhat more crowded, but I think the ship is really well designed in that it never felt overwhelming.

I wonder if the price difference has little to do with the perks and more to do with the fact a balcony is massively more attractive and therefore more expensive than an oceanveiw or a balcony?  I guess it would depend when you're looking, what ship you're looking at, and where it's going.  We only cruise in balcony's and above, but I feel like on NCL the price difference from the OV to the balcony is always pretty decent.  It's probably more about supply and demand than anything else.

Now.... something I did notice that feels a little weird is that *every* sailaway category is sold out for every random cruise i've looked up to see if that was true.  Either I'm really good at picking randomly (I doubt that) or that's where they're "making" this extra dollars.  

Most things will be open; and you'll find some good deals in the spa.  Fortunately it's not super cold up here this week; when we've done this cruise in December it's usually a good day and a half before we get to warmth.   You'll hit good weather within a day--if even that long.

Interesting.... my parents leave on Sunday as well; and they too received an e-mail from their line (not NCL) stating that their check in time has been pushed back due to the Coast Guard.  I imagine it will only push sail away a little back further; fortunately, you'll be on a ship and it wont' really matter 🙂

Something similar to this happened to me on another cruise I have booked on another line; but it was $177 and I was freaking out.  It was a glitch in the finance dept. and when I was panicked it would cancel after final payment date, it didn't.  I think as long as you can access the edocs you are good to go.

On 10/19/2019 at 10:18 PM, B and B Rookie Cannucks said:

my husband is on Coumadin and will require an INR check while we are away.  Can anyone comment on the cost and their experience with this?

I would go directly to Carnival's Special Needs Unit, they will be the only ones who really know if they can meet the INR check needs.  I also would offer to connect them to your husbands' specialist, just so they can double check all would be well.

On 10/21/2019 at 2:39 PM, Nicolek1999 said:

I booked the Carnival Breeze for December 2020. I have paid the deposit and one month of the EasyPay. I was looking into doing the Carnival Mardi Gras. It leaves one day earlier but will Carnival allow me to change it or would I need to cancel it and re-book? Any thoughts on the Carnival Breeze? Is it a good ship? I've done research but not sailing on the newest ship is giving me doubts. It will be my boyfriends and mine first vacation together so I really want him to like it especially since he has never cruised before. I also purchased the travel protection from Carnival. Please and thank you for all the help!

I don't think that not being on the newest ship is something that would give anyone doubts... that would be like saying you won't drive a car once a new model year has come out.  The Breeze is still one of the newest ships out there.

On 10/18/2019 at 1:49 PM, crockea said:

So, we leave for our cruise on Sunday.  I haven't sailed Carnival in over 5 years but have been on over 35 cruises.   So you've done a good deal of waiting in long lines to get onto boats.  For the first time I am experiencing this annoying arrival appointment system. It's actually not annoying at all. It's great not having to stand in endless lines to then sit around and wait until you can board, and then in more lines just waiting to get on. I called as the soonest I could get it online was 1pm.  Quite entitled are we? I have NEVER gotten on a ship that late. Waiting in lines suck, but you can't even get to the rooms until 1:30 so who cares?  Usually we arrive between 11/11:30 and are on board shortly after. I've done nearly as many cruises as you have, across all brands, and have never been on board a ship before 12 noon--even when traveling in a top suite.  Is Carnival really so disorganized that they can't handle cruisers arriving whenever? It's remarkably more civilized and organized.  I am not typically a grumpy cruiser (other than laughable bad burgers on another line)  but this new system sucks.This really isn't something that should ruin a vacation--and if your cruise is this sunday, you could have checked in much earlier; I checked in when my check in opened and got the first time slot.  I'm also in a suite, so it doesn't matter.  I called and was told if I arrive earlier than the 1pm slot we could be turned away. You may end up waiting but you won't be turned away.  Has anyone experienced being turned away because you were early? Why arrive early and up and waiting in crazy lines with everyone else who arrives early?  Makes me feel like I shouldn't known better than to jump back to Carnival again. If that turns you off Carnival, I don't know how you handle getting onboard with other cruiselines where waiting for 90-120 minutes isn't super uncommon.  I hope this isn't a precursor on how the rest of the cruise will be. You'll be on vacation, it'll be what you make it. Trying to get over it but booooo Carnival for starting with a negative. I'd argue waiting in long freaking lines is a bigger negative than walking through security, not having to wait to get the account signed up, not having to wait for boarding numbers, and not having to wait for photos, and then boarding.   Yes, I know I'll be picked on for complaining about this but, really? There are much bigger things to worry about.  This shouldn't be one of them.

 

To piggy back on the OP's question, I'm thinking about booking a Havana cabana cabin; but am worried about there being lots of foot traffic outside of the "patio" area... did anyone think there was a lot of people outside? 

On 9/30/2019 at 6:41 PM, mama_2_boys said:

With cruise the Vineyard do you have to order 3 different types or could you order multiple of the same? 

Granted, it's been two years, but the last time we did it, I was able to order all of the same.  It may have changed (though I am hoping not!)

On 9/1/2019 at 7:35 PM, JC13 said:

Long time Princess cruiser here, but decided to do a 4 day CA to Ensenada cruise, which I am in Ensenada now.  I will sum it up by saying never again!  That's unfortunate, you should at least get to the end of the cruise before deciding never again.  The plus, easy covered parking in structure, easy checkin based on pre scheduled times , easy boarding  and very friendly boarding staff.  Cabin was nice, inside, with a larger bathroom and shower than Princess.  Good pizza.  Now the down side. Requested king bed setup, got twins and had to wait for staff to make change when they had time If having to wait for them was really a deal breaker, will you ever be happy?  They are just as overworked on Carnival as they are on Princess, and doing the best that they can.  no frig in cabin yes, that happens in an inside room, you'd have known that if you did your research though, in cabin safe was not operational and required staff to come out to change the batteries if this ruined a vacation I struggle to imagine the many disappointments in daily life.  The staff also failed to mention only the first cabin key used on the safe will work during the cruise Been on 20ish cruises in 10 years, and it's always been the case on every single cruise line i have ever been on when it wasn't a four number pin.  There is no notes/documentation of this.  While the shower is larger  water goes everywhere in the bathroom definitely not a unique to Carnival problem. No in cabin lighting in closet area, over bed lights not useful for anything but a night light  the tv is the size of a computer monitor at about 18".  Air controls are in the ceiling, walls are not magnetic I have never heard anyone complain about this before, remarkable, and your cabin key is left on the cabin room sign when you first come in.  In cabin dining comes at a fee for certain items and unlike other cruise lines, there is not a blanket charge just for ordering from room service. Dining in general is a mess  1.5 hrs wait time for your time dining, lots of overly drunk passengers, the serenity area was dirty  seating areas unclean, lots of uncaring peronnel are you sure you weren't on royal?, eager to tell you policy but not open to "How can I help you? in all my Carnival cruises i have never met a single employee that would not bend over backwards for me, but maybe someone was having a worse day than you.  On the ship it is difficult to find a quiet area, it clearly is a party ship, but not in a good way.  Cabin next door had yelling and fighting all last night, had to call security.  But live and learn, stay with what you know, even if the product comes from the same corporation.  They clearly have different markets in mind. I usually try and understand why someone posts a negative review when there is very little constructive criticism involved; it sounds like you had an idea that it was going to be a terrible time, and were looking for reasons to be upset.  We live in a hard world, life is hard, people are terrible, and we treat each other like garbage, but if something like having to wait for a bed to be pushed together ruins a vacation, that's really just unfortunate and quite sad.  I would have loved to have been on a cruise this weekend, even if I was marginally inconvenienced. 

On 10/4/2019 at 3:44 PM, Bingotommy said:

I would like to know if I can put up my debit card for my sign and sail account but the last night I’m on the cruise can I go down and pay it off in cash? 

Yes.  You can.  They will put holds on the bank account though--double what you spend (at least, the last time I used a debit card, it was double, that could have changed, it may just be a single hold now).  If you want to use cash, you can open the S&S with your debit card, and once on board, give them cash, and then you have a "credit" that you can spend down.  I do this even when I use my credit cards--and I'm like 12-0 having anything charged on a credit card while on a cruise.  

On 9/28/2019 at 5:29 PM, marshhawk said:

I remember getting my S an S card in the port, and then we turned platinum, and the card was at our cabin.  If you are not FTTF, Diamond or Platinum, where do you get your card?  We are cruising with friends who have a suite, but not sure they can go to their cabin early-so where is their card?

I think it doesn't have anything to do with status so you should be good.  Some cruises we get the S&S card when we check in, some cruises we get them in our door mail slot thingy.  You don't need your card if you're doing things like buying drinks, they give you a print out with the folio number on it, so that's all that is needed.

4 hours ago, Number12 said:

Your question got me wondering.  Who does one call to order water onboard? Is it the same price?

It's been a few years since I've run out of water, but I asked the room steward for a case of water, and I am pretty sure I remember it being the same price as when bought online.  

The safest thing to do is to wait until on board and try and plead your case.  Until this specific post, I have never heard of anyone getting a loophole, regardless if someone is pregnant.  At least on board you'll have the doctors note in hand, but they are really getting quite strict about the package.  And it's a lot of money to potentially blow.

On 8/4/2019 at 1:45 PM, cruisinsusin said:

Heads up to all who may be booked on Delta from Singapore Changi airport or Narita Tokyo airport- after sometime in mid to late Sept.2019, Delta will no longer fly to Singapore and, after sometime in late March 2020, will use a different airport in Japan.  It would be good to check on the status of any current bookings you may have that depart after those time frames and investigate partner airline availability. .

 Delta will just be flying out of Haneda, so I would imagine for that leg, the only thing that would change is the airport.  There are lots of flight options from Haneda to the US; we just recently booked flights and there were lots of good options. 

On 9/27/2019 at 6:03 PM, cparker01 said:

Can anyone tell me if they thought a mini suite is better ( space wise ) versus a standard balcony stateroom?

I have two trips book with a mini suite one on Encore and one on Escape. We last sailed on the Epic in a standard family balcony and it was so tight in a bad way!

Any first handers that a mini suite will be somewhat better?

We've cruised only in mini-suites on NCL, so I can't attest to the difference between a mini-suite and balcony on NCL... but I do know that the mini-suites on the Epic had a stupid amount of storage (enough for two months of clothes and stuff after a summer living in Paris) with room to spare.  The mini-suite on the Escape had a lot of storage, but not as much as the Epic... but my teenager wasn't able to fill all the storage up with her clothes, accessories, and art supplies, which she does quite easily in a balcony stateroom on Carnival without even trying.  

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

Hello, NCL cruisers! We planned our 2020 spring break trip months ago, but we decided over the weekend to change gears. I’ve spent the past couple of days looking into cruises that would work for our dates and budget. For the most part, we like newer, bigger ships (we loved Allure and Harmony). We don’t have much experience with NCL, but prices for the RCCL cruises that interest us are too high. Our priorities are as follows:

RCCL is really insane with their pricing, I have very strong anti-RCCL feelings, so full disclosure.  

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

• We want to visit some new ports, and we will get off the ship in every port. We like a mix of beach days and more adventurous activities (zip lining, ATVs, etc). 

NCL has lots of great adventurous excursions. 

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

• We’d prefer to sail on a relatively new ship with lots of things to do. Fun activities, good shows, quality food options, etc. 

NCL has lots of them... 

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

• We like to lounge near the pool on sea days.

On the NCL Epic to the Med we lounged by the pool all day, every day.  No regrets.  No struggle getting chairs.

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

• We would prefer a mini-suite since we’ll be sailing with our 16yo DD. 

NCL Mini Suites are SO MUCH BETTER than RCCL's Junior Suites (which would be the closest comparison).  SO MUCH STORAGE.  And the soaking tub is also a huge plus.  

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

• Last but not least, cost is a factor. We would love to max out at $4k for the cruise but are willing to go a little higher. 

It makes my head spin how much it would cost for my 15 year old daughter and I to cruise on RCCL... and I really want to do Harmony because that's my name.  I told Royal I should be the namesake... they must not have read my tweets.

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

 

I think I have our choices narrowed down to these two cruises. Both come with all perks. I’ve listed the ports with the number of times we’ve already been. 

 

Epic 4/4-11 from Miami 

Roatán, Bay Islands - never

Harvest Caye - never

Costa Maya - never

Cozumel - twice

$3,675 for 3 of us in a mid-ship mini-suite (MA)

We have cruised most of the major lines (outside of Celebrity), and the NCL Epic is by far my daughter and my favorite ship.  WE LOVED our mini-suite... there was a stupid amount of storage... we were able to pack away two months of clothing and acquired goods from living in Paris all summer, and we had SO MUCH MORE space that we could have filled it with.  The couches were also super comfortable to sleep on (according to the kiddo at least).  

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

Breakaway 4/4-11 from Orlando

Great Stirrup Cay - never

Ocho Rios - never (but have been to Falmouth twice)

George Town - never (have wanted to go for years)

Cozumel - twice

$4,302 for 3 of us in a mid-ship mini-suite (MB)

I have not been on Breakaway, so I can't really comment on this, but we have done the Escape, and while the ship is great and we did love it, we would book the Epic before any other ship (and we did... and then cancelled for a different cruise because I struggled to justify an addition 2200 for airfare to San Juan... and we both are still regretting cancelling).

On 9/24/2019 at 9:28 PM, LisaLisa87 said:

Given our priorities, which of these cruises would you choose??

Hands down, I would pick the Epic.  Which I guess is funny because we were on the Carnival Miracle in the dock next door the day the Epic was christened in NYC and we could not stop making fun of just how ugly it was... and we'd pick it as our first choice ship in a head-to-head with any ship (maybe not HAL, but we were in their Neptune Suites so we had a different sort of experience).

On 9/23/2019 at 11:13 PM, JGB said:

Does any one know if the Splendor is doing its usual route this week or has there been some modification?

After this next cruise I believe she's going to Asia, and then dry dock, and then hanging out in the Pacific.  I follow Lee on IG, and he's been talking a bit about it.  And he's super excited so for anyone going on the trans-pacific, you're in for a wild ride and I am super jealous.  

On 9/24/2019 at 12:38 PM, hawaiissunshine1 said:

I don't anticipate a Havana getting discounted. I'm cool with paying full price. And I'm willing to pay up to $2,000 more to upgrade to a Grand Suite, so I'm not by any means trying to go from a cove balcony to a grand suite for $500. That would put us at about $4,000 for our cabin but it's our honeymoon. Right now it's looking like closer to $3,000 above our current rate. 

$4000 isn't that insane for a grand suite... I paid slightly more than 4k for an ocean suite over Christmas... only you know if it's worth it... for me, that was the only room on the ship with a balcony, and we tend to cruise in suites normally so the price isn't such a huge OMG sort of thing and I am realllly good at justifying spending on a cruise.  It doesn't sound like it's worth it to you, so I wouldn't even stress about it.  Watch the prices, see what happens, and if it doesn't feel right, at least you know you are happy where you are now.