tree.critter

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. 

I just learned that the penalty for name change has increased to $200. Had a change for Journey cruise next year when DH said he could go. Ouch, don’t know when it changed but I’ll be a lot more careful when I book way ahead in the future and just do TBA.

22 minutes ago, esper10 said:

I was never told anything. I don’t even know if this is the problem. I never owed a penny in my life. I’m only guessing. No one yet told me how to solve this since carnival are not talking to me and explaining after the many calls to them I placrd

Several have told you here, it was the chargeback. I am only curious to know now if you paid back the $250 chargeback if they would take you off the list. 

On 5/31/2023 at 10:36 PM, latebuyer said:

It looks like harv and marv are sold out the day i’m there. Is there another tour group people recommend?

I just whale watched with Harv and Marv’s a few days ago while in Juneau. Took the 6 person boat and it was one of the most phenomenal excursions ever. We lost track of how many whales sighted. All Humpbacks but saw 3 pair of mom with babies our of a total 4 pairs that returned from Hawaii for the season. Incredible footage and video, especially of the babies as they were quite playful and were splashing and showing off for us. Send an email to them, ask if you can get on a waiting list for

either one of there 6 or 20 passenger boats, our guide/captain was super knowledgeable and time on the water was actually longer than advertised for our group as it was definitely a whale party that day.

I used to use my PVP exclusively with great success. However it was when we could put a hold on a cabin, she could complete the booking and get credit for it. I have been booking online myself for the last few cruises now. I am upset that Carnival took the revenue stream from their PVP’s. 

Signage?! The signage at Port of Miami sucks!  if you’re driving good luck to get across and figure out where to park after dropping luggage and people off with no way to cut across traffic to find entrance to parking garage.

Took us an extra two trip circles to settle in on what was an extremely stressful port entrance due to marathon event also going the day we went. We also left from one terminal and returned to different terminal. We decided the cruise was great (Horizon) but NEVER doing Miami again, even as FL residents.

3 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

That's why I thought a post it might be useful👍

I print luggage tags for my bags even though I’m not checking them. The room steward could quickly identify that they belonged in that room. I try to avoid them as much as possible when dropping my bags, save the intro for later.

There is one thing I think we can all agree on. Mustering is the one thing I always dreaded pre-covid. Standing in sweltering heat waiting for someone to show up that just didn’t care about others and their drinks more important. On those hot days, waiting…..and waiting are gone now, hopefully forever. It was a horrible way to start a cruise. 

Interesting, for me cruising is better now since I retired during Covid shutdown. Have cruised Carnival 11 times since shutdown, have enjoyed every one of those cruises and the ability to be able to cruise. Mardi Gras (x5) Horizon, Freedom, Panorama, Elation, Dream, and Magic. Yes, some things are different….but my love of cruising wasn’t hampered by mask wearing or vaccine requirements. To me the most important thing is, has been and always will be the crew. They are what makes cruising good for me. Maybe it’s just me but every cruise I meet one or two new crew members that I wind up adding to my FB friends list. If something disappoints me or I find something wrong I have found the CS desk to be the best place to resolve any issues instead of online forums. It is still the best value for my vacation dollar and the whole world has changed, not surprised cruising has changed along with it. 

I’ve had 5 cruises on the Mardi Gras, all in the same spa cove balcony, 5215. It is forward but the ship was so stable we still felt very little motion except on one trip back to port, seas were rough all over and it wasn’t even rocking much then. If you do book midship be careful to avoid staying under the galley if you’re a light sleeper. 

31 minutes ago, HollyHobbie22 said:

Thanks I will call after work. I would not normally think about it because I usually have decided on my room before booking but this is an upgrade to a spa balcony room so I am really considering it since its a girls trip with my mom and sister. I think we would enjoy it.

Note if the 3 of you are sharing a Cloud 9 Spa cabin it will only include the spa for 2 people, the third person will have to pay addition to get spa pass.

Nice timing for me, next cruise in 52 days is 10 day Miracle to Alaska. It will be my first trip to Alaska and traveling with a friend that has helped prepare, she went last year and fell in love. We are flying in early morning, staying at the RUI, touring San Francisco in the afternoon and having supper out. Several others on the cruise next year with us are also at the RUI and will be taking the .7 mile walk to the ship from the hotel.

Booked Harv and Marv’s small boat in Juneau, glad to see nice marks for them. 

My favorite that I’ve gifted is a souvenir deck of cards from my hometown, I also like to put in a duck for the fun for them to keep or hide. 

So May 2, 2024 is first anticipated date to book. Makes me happy, have a 15 day Miracle out of Long Beach 4/6/24 and there’s a few of us that were discussing the possibility of having the Firenze substituting the Miracle since we’re nearly sold out already. Majority conclude we want the smaller ship for our voyage. I do wish she was doing longer cruises though, If I’m going to fly in for a cruise it needs to be a longer voyage. 

 I love the journey cruises, currently have 3 more booked, to Alaska, Hawaii and the Panama canal. in addition to a couple short 5 day cruises just for the fun with friends. Love the atmosphere on the ship and usually a couple extra sea days. The older I get the more I want to travel to relax and see different lands rather than party and have fun. 

Currently we know that the stock OBC is good till July of this year, does anyone know when they will meet again to either extend or remove this benefit? I have been getting confirmation of obc within a couple of days at most over the last couple of years now and really like this benefit. It’s pretty close to paid for the stock itself already.

Best “deal” for me was 4/2014 Dream reposition from Canaveral to NewOrleans. Booked a Cloud 9 Balcony solo and paid supplement at regular early saver rates. While waiting for cruise they had a very short window of no solo supplements, my PVP said yes, I could match new rate. I had well over $1k obc and got a few hundred back in cash at end of cruise that I didn’t spend. Never any special casino or upgrade offers. 

I love check in day for upcoming cruises. It makes it seem so much more real and really puts me in the cruise mode. Have cruised Elation a couple of times and have 2 cruises booked on her later this year, such a fun ship for quick getaway cruises!.