dezertcruzer

I personally have had to use my travel insurance twice for medical reasons, once for a life flight from Grand Turk to Fort Lauderdale, as well as the hospital costs in Grand Turk, and once for medical transfer from Cape Canaveral Hospital to a rehabilitation center here in Arizona,  I NEVER travel without travel insurance!

I am not a Carnival cheerleader, but I have cruised more with Carnival than with any other line.  Why?  Affordability.  My first cruise was in 1995 on the Fascination, and the base fare I paid then was not much less than I'm paying now, 23 plus years later.  In order to keep those  base fares as affordable as possible, the balance of Carnival's earnings has to come from other sources.  The amounts they will be charging are minimal and will help to keep cruising affordable for those who might not be able to afford it if cruise prices were to rise at the same rate as some other types of travel.

I once did a side to side in Miami.  I got a taxi from the first ship, had it stop at the second ship to drop off my luggage, then had it take me to downtown Miami where I spent the day walking around, doing a little shopping, and lunching ay Bayside shopping center before I headed back.  I really enjoyed the day - stress-free and relaxing!

When we did a full transit, we had an aft-facing balcony cabin which gave us a 180 degree view. We spent part of the time wandering the ship and part of the time watching from the comfort of our own balcony. We enjoyed it very much.

We love the Ardastra Gardens Zoo and conservation center. They have a wonderful choreographed flamingo show, and there is an aviary where you can go in with the birds and feed the parrots and other birds. They come and land right on you! You can easily get there yourself in a taxi, or do a Carnival city tour with time at Ardastra Gardens. Very informative about Nassau and enjoyable time at the zoo.

I spent about 24 hours in the infirmary on the Pride about a year ago. Excellent doctors and nurses. I had chest X Rays, blood work every few hours, oxygen, constant monitoring, breathing treatments, antibiotics, and I don't remember what else. It was a little over $1000.00 and Allianz travel insurance reimbursed me very penny of it.

NEVER!!

All you need is one medical evacuation to the tune of $15,000.00 or more like I had last year from Grand Turk to make you wish you had purchased it. We have always purchased travel insurance and will continue to do so. We had excellent service and treatment from Allianz. They made a bad situation so much more tolerable.

Beautiful! Congratulations.

My husband and I always buy travel insurance from Alllianz Global Assistance, both to insure against the possibility of having to cancel for some reason, but also, and most importantly, in case of the need for medical evacuation. We always buy it, but no one ever thinks that they'll be the ones to have to use it.

I recently became ill while on a Pride Journeys cruise and, after excellent care in the ship's infirmary, I had to be debarked to the hospital in Grand Turk where I spent some time. Before we ever arrived in Grand Turk, the ship's doctors contacted Allianz who opened a case for me immediately. Allianz stayed on top of communicating with my husband and the admitting doctor in Grand Turk.

They, Allianz, were the ones who were insistent upon receiving a report from the Grand Turk doctor to determine if I should be evacuated back to the US. Finally it was determined that I needed to be moved, and Allianz handled ALL of the details, including moving me via Lear jet to FLL and then via ground ambulance to Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL. Let me repeat, THEY TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING.

If we always said before that we'd never travel without this insurance, you can bet your bottom dollar that we feel that way even more so than before.

Where's the like button? Have a wonderful cruise!!

Are you sure of the ports on the Magic? Mahogany Bay is about as far WEST as you can get on a western itinerary, not an eastern one.

However, all things said, I would go on the Magic. To me, the ship is much nicer and would have more to offer.

OP = original poster

I did it once. I was by myself and the two ships, Royal Caribbean and Carnival, were quite a distance apart, so I needed to take a taxi. The secret was not to tell the taxi driver where I was going until I was all loaded up and in the car! We went on down the way to the 2nd ship and I gave my bag to the porter. Then I had the driver take me on over to downtown Miami where I paid him and tipped him generously. After picking up a few things and having lunch at Bayside, I took another cab to the second ship. It was a relaxing few hours, and there was minimal waiting in line to check in when I got there. I enjoyed my own personal side to side cruises very much!

Thank you so much! That was exactly what I needed to know!

Does anyone know where the access to the corridors that lead to the Havana cabins is? I can't tell anything from the deck plans. I can see that the corridors are there, but they appear to dead end at both ends, which I know can't be the case. Specifically, I want to be sure that if we book a Havana balcony cabin close to the stern that there is access to the pool area without having to go all the way back to the other end of the corridor.

So what happens if you have excursions that aren't through carnival? That you pay for, at least partially.

In 2008 (?), I think it was, on the Carnival Liberty, we had an excursion planned with Sunny Liston tours in St. Thomas, but, due to Hurricane Ike, we were redirected to the western route. Of course, the excursion vendors and companies are well aware when a scheduled ship doesn't make a port, and this was no difference. By the time we got home and I was able to check e-mails, we already had a cancellation confirmation from Sunny and our deposit had already been credited back to our credit card. We did his tour the next year!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Thank you all for your replies. And it makes sense about being discrete. I just thought that I had seen it on the website and I was going crazy looking for it! I'll print the e-mail.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased some bottled water to have in our cabin on our upcoming Miracle cruise, as well as a beverage gift for my husband. I don't currently have a working printer at home, so I thought I'd print the receipt, or proof of purchase, at work. I have searched and searched on Carnival's website and I can't find where to see what I have already purchased. Can anyone tell me where to go to find it?

Thanks in advance!

Some time ago I changed ships in Miami. I went from an RCI ship to Carnival. As I disembarked, I hailed a taxi, loaded my bags, and had him drive me down to the Carnival ship. There I gave my bags to the porter and tipped him, then had the taxi driver take me to downtown Miami to shop and have some lunch. By the time I went back to check in, I walked right on board. It was an easy, relaxing, enjoyable port day.

SSBRICKNJ, If you look at the live web cam for Port Canaveral right now:

http://www.portcanaveralwebcam.com/

You will see that the Carnival Sunshine is docked at Terminal 5 and the Valor is docked at its usual spot at Terminal 10, the same place it docked when we took our Valor cruise in October and during all the webcam stalking I did before and have done afterwards!

Sorry, I don't remember how much the tolls were. I'm thinking two or three toll booths at about $1.25 to $1.50 each. They have lanes for cash, but no attendants. Make sure you have $5.00 or so in quarters so you can just throw it in the basket! If you rent a car you can have the car rental company activate the sun pass for a small fee, then you don't have to worry about the tolls.

Have a wonderful cruise! Wish I were there!

Why is it obvious that you're Caucasian?

It was obvious to him, who was seeing me there at the table. That's why he was surprised by my fluency with Spanish.

What wonderful stories you all have about the kind and thoughtful personnel aboard the great Carnival ships!

The best thing any Carnival team member ever did for me was to become my husband!

My first cruise was in 1995 aboard the then-new Fascination out of San Juan. I was with my cousin and we were seated at a large table in the main dining room. In those days, the crew members wore name tags with both their first and last names. I am obviously Caucasian, but the first night when our Costa Rican waiter approached, I read his name from his name tag, correctly pronounced, and he was taken aback because no one pronounces it correctly. He asked me if I spoke Spanish and I replied that I do.

That began many hours of conversation between us, both while I was still on the cruise, and then via phone and letters after I came home. This was before common internet availability so we really had to work at maintaining contact, but we found the time and manner to stay in touch and visit each others' homes, with him coming here to Arizona and me going to Costa Rica.

We were married in 1997, in his nephew's garden in Costa Rica, and have a 13-day Carnival Journey cruise planned in 2017 to celebrate our 20 years of marriage!

Thank you, Carnival, for hiring such a lovely, kind person who later became my husband!

lyndamr,

I also have Lupus & Mixed Connective Tissue Disease. I strongly urge you to ask for wheel chair transportation as soon as you arrive at the pier. They will take you through the check-in process and all the way onto the ship. This is a free service they offer. I always extend a generous tip to the person who helps me out. It will take SOOO much stress off your embarkation if you will do this. Do the same to disembark.

Good luck!

Brianna, I am so sorry for your loss. Cherish your memories and know that you will carry him with you for the rest of your life. Please accept my most sincere condolences.