evilelf

Has Cruise Critic gotten rid of their "ports of call forum"? I can't seem to find it any more.

Really, everyone keeps talking about table mates, I don't see online where I can uncheck the "table mates" box, I'm traveling with a whole group is there someone I can call to make sure we sit together? I was gonna leave it up to our travel agent but I like to double check for myself

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If you have a group you want sitting together, just call Carnival and give them the booking number for each person/cabin. They will then "link" them together, and you will be seated together (or in multiple tables next to each other, depending upon the size of your group). We've done this many times.

I've sailed on the Norwegian Gem, I haven't sailed on my carnival ship yet, but here are a few things I've noticed off the bat:

 

Cabin size/price - CCL cabins seem HUGE compared to NCL and they are much cheaper.

 

Dining - There seems to be many more free options on Carnival then NCL. I found the food on NCL to be very good though. I LOVED freestyle dining, we never had to wait more then a couple of minutes for a table for 2. They post wait times in the hallways so you know what you're in for at each venue. The fact that Carnival could make me sit at a table with strangers is appalling. I do not want to be forced to sit and talk to strangers during meals.

 

Alcohol - You CANNOT bring a bottle of wine in NCL without paying a corkage fee regardless of where you drink it. Yes even if you drink it in your room you still have to pay

 

Clientele - I was on the Gem the week of April 27th 2013. There was a good mix of people, a few couples in their mid 20s like us, a few families and a few older people. We kept mostly to our selves though so I may not be a reliable witness...

 

Staff - they were excellent, very friendly and the whole "washy washy" hand sanitizer thing is hilarious. My steward was incredible, he greeted us by name on day 1, had my egg crate thing in place, always had ice for us, he knew more about what we might want or need then we did lol.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Please realize that freestyle dining is a newer concept in the cruising industry. Most cruise lines, including Carnival, offer this type of dining if that is what you prefer. But they also offer assigned tables for 2-10 people if that is more to your liking. Many people find that large assigned tables offer an easy way to become acquainted with other people, and offers many topics to discuss during your meal. You can make new friends, and share experience with them. Smaller tables allow you to spend time alone if that is what you prefer. More important, assigned tables allow the wait staff to get to know you more personally. By the second day, they will know you by name and the drinks you like. So while you might think the idea of sitting with strangers is appalling, many others continue to love the idea.

I was on the ship in May 1980, on my (first) honeymoon. 1st cruise, and I loved it!

We are scheduled on the Carnival Paradise on March 18. Last March when we were on the Carnival Splendor, we brought some sod on board for our dog, Duncan. It worked great in the supplied litter box. We just got a call from Carnival telling us sod is no longer permitted, according to the USDA. Just a warning to others who have brought sod on board.

We recently returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Carnival Splendor. My wife had her service dog (Duncan) with her. One thing no one seems to tell you (including Carnival) which we found out the hard way...In Mexico, a rabies certificate is only good for 1 year, even though it is good for 3 years in the U.S.

We faxed Carnival all of the paperwork 10 days before the cruise. I called them to make sure everything was good for Duncan, and they said yes.

When we got to the ship, we again had to show them all of Duncans paperwork, and again we were told everything was in order.

On the third day of the cruise we arrived at the first port, Puerto Vallarta. We waited until late afternoon to leave the ship (it was in port until 10:00pm). As my wife inserted her sail-and-sign card into the computer to leave the ship, it set off bells. Literally, loud clanging bells. We were informed my wife was barred from leaving the ship, and we had to go back up to Guest Services.

At Guest Services, we asked why we were barred from leaving the ship. They checked in the computer, and told us the Mexican Government wouldn't let us leave the ship, because Duncan's rabies vaccination was not up to date. We again pulled out the form and showed them it was good for another 1 1/2 years, and they told us the certificate was only good for 1 year in Mexico.

My complaint is that Carnival should have notified us of this as soon as they knew about it. If we had been notified in the 10-day period between when we faxed in the paperwork and when the ship sailed, we easily could have gotten another rabies shot for Duncan. If we had been notified when we arrived at the ship, we could have left to find a local vet before the ship sailed. If we had even been notified of the problem while on the ship, we could have called ahead to a vet in Puerto Vallarta to have him meet us at the ship to give Duncan a shot. But Carnival made absolute no effort to notify us of the problem.

Guest Services was very apologetic, and offered to call ahead to the other 2 ports to see if there would be a problem. We instructed that if there were any problems, they should contact a vet to meet the ship. Fortunately, we had no problem at the other 2 ports (Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas).

When we returned from the cruise, I sent an email to Carnival Guest Care about this problem (and 1 other, where my wife slipped on Debarcation day, and after 6 phone calls to the medical center over a 1 hour period, no medical personnel, or anyone, showed up to check her out). I told them how much we enjoyed the cruise, but were disappointed in these 2 incidents. Carnival sent me back an email blaming us for the problems.

Regarding not being able to get off the ship in Mexico with Duncan, they reminded me that we were instructed to go to the Department of Agriculture website, for the regulations on service dogs. But I had done that. The Dept. of Agriculture site said we had to have a valid rabies certificate, which we did. It didn't state the certificate was good for only 1 year.

Regarding my wife slipping on the ship, not even an apology! All they said was we should have filled out the proper paperwork before leaving the ship. And for our "future knowledge", we should have called Guest Services for that. Silly me, I thought by calling the Medical Center 6 TIMES and waiting for nearly an hour, maybe THEY should have sent someone to us. We couldn't wait any longer (and it seemed like just some bad bruises, with nothing broken), so we finally left the ship.

I've been on many Carnival cruises, and enjoyed them all. These 2 incidents on the ship would not have stopped me from traveling again with Carnival. But the attitude of Carnival Corporation did. Carnival is not the only cruise line out there. In the future I will spend my hard-earned money on a company that appreciates their customers, and treats their complaints with respect.

By the way, I know you wizard-of-roz! I'm Richard from the Mail Depot!!