amygirl76

My nine year old daughter and I both had covid last month. Since she isn't vaccinated, RCCL is saying she will need to get a PCR test to board the ship. 

I understand that in the FAQs, etc that her testing requirement should be waived, (we have her pos PCR test plus a letter from her doctor.) But when I check in, it doesn't give an option to explain this or upload any documentation? 

Is this something that opens up when we do the health screening questionnaire closer to the cruise? I just don't want to fly all the way to England and get this wrong. 

Also, can I say how much I love that these forums still exist? I think I've been using them for almost 20 years which is wild! 

Thanks for any advice! 

No problem for checking in at different times.

Enjoy your cruise! :)

Thank you!

We are sailing on the Dawn this weekend and one person in our party is going to arrive to the port much later than the rest of us. Can she check in after us or do we have to all be together to get in our stateroom?

We have a family suite so are able to board first, but she won't be getting in until 2:00 or so.

Thanks!

Great review! Never booked an aft cabin before, the vibration scares me away! :eek:

This was my fourth time in an aft and the first time I ever felt the vibration. I would probably not book one again on the Pride. I've heard some people like it though, haha.

Thank you for your review. While I am not traveling solo with my children I will be on the Pride in November with my 4 & 10 yr old boys. Like you we are a little worried about the 4 yr old and using the camp, but after reading your review we feel a lot better. It was also nice to read how the rest of the crew went above and beyond to enhance your trip. Everything I have read about the Pride is giving me confidence we made the right choice. This will be our first family cruise.

You're going to have so much fun! :D Glad my blog helped!

Enjoyed your review of the Carnival Pride. We're counting down the days for our fourth cruise on the Carnival Pride in February. Glad you both enjoyed your vacation. Loved the towel animals in the cabin. When we were on the Pride in Sept., the crew had decorated the Lido Deck out by the pool with all different towel animals on the lounges, around the pool, all over the place.

They did that when we were on too, but somehow I missed it. Thankfully the cabin animals more than made up for it. Glad you enjoyed it as well!

Thanks for sharing....I am on the Pride 04/15, although a different itinerary, so I was anxious for more info on the ship. :)

It's such a great ship. I really had to scale back my review because it was getting so long, but the ship is beautiful. They have a huge art collection and the ship is decorated in large recreations of some very well known art works. Though the statue of David at David's steakhouse now has a grape leaf over his naughty bits, ha! :p

My only complaint, and it's minor, is that the ship vibrates more than any cruise ship I've been on. I think it's one ship I wouldn't book an aft on again, because the engine vibration was a little much back there. Definitely not noticeable in other areas.

Have so much fun on your cruise!!

We sailed on the Carnival Pride January 10th. Here's my blog all about the trip and the experience of cruising solo with my three year old daughter. :) Some of you were a great help in my preparation, so thank you! :)

http://myspiritedlife.com/2016/01/cruising-alone-with-a-three-year-old/

Embarkation was super easy, got here about 12-15, on ship by 1245, applied our gift cards no line at guest services

 

Bought cheers and now eating on lido deck

 

 

So quick and fast!!

We just got off the Pride today. Hope you have better weather than us! Was dreary the whole time. We missed Freeport completely due to storms.

The ship and staff were amazing though. Still had a wonderful time, just really missed being able to swim, get to the beach, etc.

The price is huge for us. Plus, Carnival is the only cruise line that sends me casino offers - so they take an already reasonable experience and make it downright cheap or even free for me. It's hard to say no.

Having sailed a few other cruise lines, I prefer their product. But not enough to pay the sometimes huge price difference.

I know someone else said people on Carnival can be "trashy" - while I think that's a harsh word, I would say that the demographic tends to be a little more....party oriented? It's pretty easy to escape though, if that's not your style.

Just an update. I emailed Carnival, tweeted Carnival and basically got the same answer - if we got a spot for early dining, we would be notified via email. Otherwise, we were out of luck.

I finally emailed the MD tonight and he responded so swiftly and said he would take care of it for me. :D

Phew, now I can get a little more excited for my vaca! I know, so silly to stress this...but the sit-down meal is one of my favorite parts of cruising. :)

I would think if there is any kind of "priority list" of people who desire to change their assigned dining time, you would be pretty high up on that list because you have a toddler.

 

I hope it all works out for you. :)

Thank you! Emailed them today. I also tweeted Carnival and they said to email the Maitre D a couple of days before too.

Haha, thanks everyone! You've made me feel better. I'm going to send an email too and hope for the best! :)

I'm traveling on Carnival in two weeks. It will just be my three year old daughter and I. I've never been wait listed before, but we are wait listed for early dining and now I'm sort of stressing it. I looked at switching to anytime dining and now that's wait listed too. :/

Late dining isn't an option for us since that's her bed time and she'd be a nightmare, lol. Plus, I really enjoy making friends at dinner during our cruises.

Any thoughts on other options for us besides the Lido deck if we don't end up with early dining? We'll be on the Pride.

Thanks all!

Splurge:

Balcony. Always. I can't do it any other way...especially when we travel with my toddler and she's napping in the cabin. I can still sit outside and have a glass of wine and get some reading in.

FTTF. It makes SUCH a huge difference.

Casino. I love the casino...it's sort of my happy place. My penny slot habit has also gotten us some pretty amazing deals. ;)

Cabanas! If we're in a port with cabanas, I will spend the extra money for one if we're having a beach day.

Scrimp:

We always eat in the main dining room.

We each bring a bottle of wine on board. That and a couple drinks a day is fine for me. Definitely not enough drinking to warrant a drink package.

Excursions. If I do an excursion, I book it myself.

Just booked us on the Victory this May for a five night cruise out of Miami. I received the casino offer and went with a balcony - so our total for two people is $416. Plus I have a $100 OBC.

These deals are too good to pass up. I usually sail RC, but when I get the Carnival Casino offers, I can't say no! :)

If you were to stay near the port in Manhattan I would recommend the Travel Inn on 42nd street. It is Very close to the Pier ( Pier is between 48 and 55th ) and it INCLUDES your overnight indoor parking...that's a 30$ value right there.

 

The hotel is a good 3* with good size, clean rooms. Always great staff and helpful. Even if you show up way before check-in, they will give you a card to park your car already and you can walk to Times Square ( a few blocks ) and enjoy NYC before the check-in.

 

The morning of the cruise is very easy to drive 5 minutes into the port.

 

 

Have fun !

I have been looking at this place. They do charge for parking now though. :/

Thanks for the help! I'll look into Lindbergh for sure. Hadn't heard of that one.

Otherwise, it might be Magens Bay for us. That works too. I think we're the only ship in port, so hopefully that helps with the crowds a bit. :)

I guess my thought process is, the drive to Yonkers is three hours from my house. We're planning to do that first drive at night while my daughter is sleeping, (she is prone to car sickness.)

There is a hotel for $125 that night in a business park area with free parking. If we head there and leave at 9am in the morning, our drive to the cruise port is about 20-25 minutes. Anything over a half an hour can get a little iffy with my daughter, so I felt this might be an option as opposed to an hour drive in the morning.

Again, just brainstorming and asking advice.

Thanks for the input.

More than far out of your way...you'd never even get to NY City without reversing direction and recrossing the Hudson River back to the side you came from.

Sorry, the directions on google maps mentioned the Tappan Zee, so I assumed I'd be crossing it - in retrospect, I think I might just be exiting toward it.

That being said, does Yonkers seem like a viable, closer option for a pre-cruise hotel?

Not sure I like the hour drive from CT, and getting into Manhattan and paying the room charges plus parking could get a little crazy.

Now that I'm looking at it - I'm wondering if it might work to stay at the Hampton Inn in Yonkers. It's a half hour drive to the port, and still avoids the GWB...

We'd take the Tappan Zee most likely to get there, but seeing how it would most likely be at 9 or 10 at night, not a big deal.

Stopping here on our cruise in a couple weeks. Trying to decide what beach would be best for us? We're a party of four - me, my 19 month old daughter, a friend of mine and my Mom. My Mom gets around ok, but does have some mobility issues after two hip replacements.

Which beach do you think would be best for us? I'm super irish, so need shade. I don't mind springing for an umbrella/chairs/cabana rental.

Thanks for any help! I've been googling like crazy, but first hand experience always helps the most! :)

Here are the cars only directions. It should take about an hour. Do not leave Stamford before 9-9:30 am. Take I95 south. At Rye NY there is a cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway South Exit 21 immediately after exit 1 in CT. This cutover involves getting off onto I287 West and following the signs to the Merritt/Hutch. You get off onto a service road, go through a few lights and take the turn for the Hutch south.

 

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($4 toll). Stay on the Henry Hudson to where it ends at the Manhattan Cruiseport. The toll is worth every penny.

 

The are no triucks on this route and you will avoid any traffic issues on the Cross Bronx Expressway or the intersection with I87.

That's a really great idea! I'll be coming from the Providence area. If it was just us, I'd totally make the drive in the AM...but just thinking that will turn into a hell of a day for our daughter.

Thanks for the tip!

We're driving to NY the night before our cruise in a couple weeks. Any recommendations for nearby hotels? We're going to drive over in the morning and park at the cruise port itself.

I'm fine with staying in NJ or something if it will save money. Since we're already paying for the crazy parking, and we'll basically just be needing a place to sleep, I don't need anything fancy. Something like a Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express.

Traveling with my 19 month old, so avoiding traffic is definitely a plus! :)

Only on ships built before 2000 can you bring in a crib, trundle or rollaway.

Can't be done on any ship if it goes over lifeboat capacity.

I totally get why. It just bummed me out. ;) And they're providing the pack n play, so they know she's sleeping in it.