tree.critter

I booked Firenze for 9/28/24, don’t normally sail summer months and figured the newness and kinks would be ironed out by then.   

3 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

Very nice! Is the itinerary the same all three weeks.

All 3 legs go to Celebration Key, Nassau and Bimini are the two additional ports, the 3 day is just Celebration. Booked only a couple days after announcing dates open for Celebration Key. It’s a 4-3-4 day cruise for only 11 days total. 

Booked a BTBTB same cabin for April 2026 Glory 9/30/23

OK, it is possible to still get a passport fast, it’s not cheap and there’s a couple hoops you have to jump through. I would go to government site, immediately fill in application for new passport, get it sent in right away with the photos you’ll need. Once they give you the acknowledge of receipt of application you can then call with the number. Apply for Urgent passport, it!s a pain but doable. Try calling the number on this link right away, see if you can get an appt without having to send in application first. 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

If anyone in your group is a Cloud 9 Spa fan definitely 100% go with the Magic, much nicer spa. I also like that Half Moon will have fewer people. Like the Vista also but definitely not the spa on there.

On 9/24/2023 at 12:22 AM, Drew B 58 said:

You could always book on a given night and if the MDR menu turns out to be more appealing that night, cancel your reservation…

One thing to note that it’s not a problem to cancel but must be at least 24 hours before or you will be charged $25 per person for the cancellation.  I would prebook Teppanyaki for a couple of meals, as soon as you get on the ships you can see the menus for rest of cruise then keep the one you like and cancel the other. We tried to cancel late in the evening on Mardi Gras after eating at Jiji’s Kitchen. Loved the food there too and there were more items to try and we had already done Teppanyaki once on the cruise. The menu at Teppanyaki is the same every time we’ve gone.

Maybe evaluating the cost vs. profit of all these casino offers they’ve been handing out? 

As the daughter of USN MCPO I had the opportunity to visit a few of the Navy’s ships as a child. It was cool, I had also gone on several local fishing and whale watching trips in So CA. Nothing could compare to the grandeur it felt like when I boarded my first cruise ship, the original M.S. Mardi Gras. The elegant wood carving, formal dining room, elegant meals. Not just the ship but the experience would be nice to bring back too.

Just for info, the $10 Dr. Seuss breakfast includes a filet option that was a good and fun steak option. 

Quest was on Elation last week. 

4 hours ago, hockeyluver said:

LOL  same here !!   

We are booked on our first journey cruise in January 2024, it leaves Miami the same day as the marathon so we booked the 2 day on the same ship to avoid the traffic.   ………  ❤️ 

This is super smart, we ran into worst traffic ever trying to get into Miami on last cruise down there due to Marathon, all 3 cruiselines had late departures that day. ugh.

I went ahead and booked the 10 day Spirit Journey 9/25 to Alaska from Seattle.  I was hoping for a 14 day one also. 

54 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I recently paid the expedite fee, plus fast return shipping, plus paid to have it express mailed in (to the PA office) for my passport renewal.  New passport was mailed out two weeks and one day after being received, total turn-around was less than three weeks.  This was early August.

 

Maybe I got lucky.  Maybe expedited passports renewals are finally actually getting the attention they deserve.

 

Hmm, if you didn't pay for the expedited processing, that might be why it is taking longer - it sounds like you sent it express, and paid for express return, but not expedited processing. 

 

Standard processing is 12-13 weeks, supposedly.

I knew I was pushing the limit, at the time I mailed they said expedite was 7-9 weeks so I definitely paid for expedited service and delivery. I called on Monday since was in the 2 week travel window, she verified the expedited status and told me to keep an eye on update site. No emails but this morning I got tracking number with delivery expected in 2 days. Woo hoo! I am happy, it will be exactly 7 weeks from the day they received. I do suspect mine may have taken longer because there was two passports to renew, we both expired in November. 

Maybe there’s hope for me, I sent in renewal which was received by them 7/7. Would 

have sent sooner but needed on cruise that included Canada stop. Sent for express, and express shipping. Travel date is 9/2/23, just called the two week update line yesterday, still pending so far.

I could do without the Plat/diamond party, they just aren’t the same anymore. Used to have games, ship trivia’s and the video included all the old ships for us old timers to cheer to, now they are all a blip. Let Carnival save the money, offer all the plats a free drink with $20 limit or so and let the diamonds have any 2 drinks up to $20 also, anytime during their cruise. They would avoid all the guests drinks that attend that aren’t this level VIFP, safe all the man hours and prep that goes into this party that just isn’t much fun or appreciated anymore. Or maybe a 50% off a specialty meal. 

I love the journey cruises or anytime over a 7 day or less. The majority of the passengers are experienced and pretty lad back for the most part. I recently did a 10 day Alaska, it wasn’t a journey but had very relaxed journey feel and rarely long lines for anything. Have 2 journey cruises booked for 2024, Hawaii and a stop in South America on southern extended route cruise.  I don’t recall any menus being repeated although I’m not a huge foodie and may not have noticed.

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I just requested mine from my PVP. He told me he would submit the request, but it won’t show until 1-2 days before the cruise. 

I was told this exact same thing about a week ago when I called to have my milestone added to upcoming cruise. Feel better to see this is normal.

I have also cruised Miracle 10 day Alaska out of SF this year and Panorama out of LB for 7 day Mexican Riviera. I loved both cruises, Alaska destination is hard to beat but the ship seemed much less crowded and overall a very “simple” cruise. The Panorama was a lot of fun, enjoyed the ports. Many more food options on larger ship, food quality was basically the same, I mostly do salads so not really a good judge on that.  With 15 family members joining in I would go with the larger ship, there will be more activities to do for different aged groups, and you’ll be able to take a break from them easily when needed too. I liked the Miracle enough to book her for 15 day Hawaii next year and the Panorama with sister again too. 

Got to thinking about this….do you think maybe Carnival figures anyone using the Cheers package won’t notice?! 🤣🤣🤣 

Have used it several times now and LOVE it. Definitely makes boarding and debarking smooth and quick.

On 7/15/2023 at 1:11 PM, angelhelly said:

Where does it show? I got to checkout and for a 7 day cruise, it is $990.38, which is 59.95 a day x7 days + 18% gratuities. Shouldn't it be closer to 891.34?

FWIW I ran the numbers out of curiosity and came up with the same figure as Carnival. Can’t see a reason why you came up with $891 price.

2 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Our cruise in September is sold out.  Also, our cruise in November is already sold out.  These aren't even holiday weeks when kids are out of school. Cruises are selling out a lot now.  If you are wanting to go in 2024, you probably want to book soon.  John Heald had a post about how 2024 is filling up fast.  It looks like prices are going to be higher for the foreseeable future.

My 4/6/24 Hawaii cruise has been sold out for awhile now. We also booked a 12/1/24 journey cruise 3.5 months ago. The same balcony cabin is already $440 pp higher today. Planning as far ahead as is practical is almost always the best deal.

As a customer and a stockholder I don’t mind one bit the up charge for most room service menu items. I have cruised several times since the restart and don’t mind paying a fee to have room service delivered to my lazy butt when in my cabin. I love not seeing all the wasted food left in the halls nowadays.  Optimizing crew hours and running efficiently is not something I mind, Carnival is still the best value for my vacation money. 

22 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

I think OP booked under Early Savers, which has always had very strict rules.  Under the old ES rules, fairly certain it was $100 to change a passenger, but the cancelled cruiser got the remaining deposit back as a Future Cruise Credit.  Not sure what the ES rules are now since I usually book with a casino code.  

Yes, this is exactly what happened. I was expecting the $100 fee, just surprised it has raised to $200. Good news though was they just added to balance due rather than having to come up with payment right away. 

I always book ES rates and usually at least 18-14 months ahead knowing that there is a penalty to change names. Have done it more times than I should admit but the penalty was always $100 until fairly recently. I’m ok with the increase, the price of the cruise has gone up over $900 since booking and we got a nice room so was worth changing.