TravelerK

4 hours ago, DoeCO said:

I’m glad you enjoyed your stay there before. I appreciate the information about late meals in Spain and Italy.  I’d read about that in other threads but learning about the tapas in the rooftop bar, is really good information.  I did hear back from the hotel that we can indeed store our luggage there until our room is available.  
~Deb
 

That's good to know.  My flight gets in very early on the 27h.

The rooftop bar also is where the pool is.  The view from the roof is lovely.

Karen

On 5/14/2023 at 8:39 AM, DoeCO said:

We’re staying at Hotel 1898 in Barcelona. Anyone know if we can stash our bags at the hotel before check-in? I think I read that others on this ship are also staying here.

I'm staying at Hotel 1898.  I stayed there a few years ago and really liked it.  I especially like the rooftop bar that serves tapas at a reasonable time (I can't eat late, which is often a problem for me in Spain and Italy).

I'll take a taxi to the cruise terminal; as I recall, it's not far.

Karen

On 5/13/2023 at 12:56 AM, LuvtoCruise50 said:

Online check-in complete! Just 7 more days of school left and 2 post planning and we’re out of here!!! CAN’T WAIT TO BE ON VACATION! After we arrive in NYC, we fly to Paris for a week of driving around Normandy and 3 days in Paris. We’ll come home, pick up the pooch and head to beach through the July 4th week. Where can we go the rest of July? 

How about Canada?  The maritime provinces or the Vancouver area.  One of my dream trips is to someday take a train across Canada, getting off periodically along the way to play tourist.

Karen

Haven't been on here in awhile.  I've been dealing with medical issues.  In March I had radiofrequency ablation treatments in my lower back.  Turns out they did nothing for my back pain, but they seem to have really messed up my "digestive" system.  I've spent the past several weeks working with my gastroenterologist and internist, trying to recover some semblance of normality.  I think I'm moving in the right direction.

I'm still planning on taking this cruise, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the long flight.

Fingers crossed.

Karen

My new passport arrived - earlier than expected.  I am a happy camper.

Now I can start thinking about what all I want to bring with me on the cruise.  Got a brand new suitcase and duffel bag carryon.

Ship looks beautiful.  I am so ready to cruise again.

Karen

5 hours ago, Gbaladad said:

Why don’t you get a driver’s license or a state ID?

I don't know how to drive.  My passport always served me well as my photo ID.  Last week a friend took me to the DMV, and I applied for a non-driver's ID.  So I'll have that as a backup

Karen

15 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

I’m hoping and praying your new passport gets to you in time for the cruise.  My sister recently renewed hers with expedited handling and expedited return, and she received it in 4 weeks.  I hope you’re as lucky as she was!

That sounds great.  They told me 5-7 weeks.  The problem is my situation wasn't treated as a renewal.  Since I lost my previous one, I had to start over with the ton of documentation.  And one of the pieces of documentation was supposed to be an official, unexpired, photo ID.  I don't have any other photo ID; my passport was all I had.  I'm hoping they decide a stupid old lady deserves a break.

One piece of good news:  As expected, my travel insurance denied my claims.  But since I bought and paid for the insurance at the time of booking, Carnival will give me a 75% FCC that I can apply to a couple future cruises.  So I'm not totally out the money.

Karen

6 hours ago, Bily said:

Oh my gosh. That’s horrible. I hope your passport arrives in time. You don’t need anymore bad stuff happening. Good luck. 
 

Thanks.  I had to cancel an October Celebrity cruise because of back problems.  So I haven't been on a ship since my 8 weeks on the Carnival Pride last summer.  I'm going thru serious withdrawal!

Karen

Was supposed to go on a B2B on the Miracle (Hawaii and Mexico).  Flew to LAX, using my passport as my photo ID (I don't have any other photo ID).  Remember seeing the passport in my hotel room the nite before the cruise.  Got to the cruise terminal in Long Beach next day, and my passport was missing.  It has disappeared from the face of the earth.

Was denied boarding.  Managed to fly home (in a complete state of shock - too numb to even swear or cry).  Icing on the cake . . .  Brand new suitcase being used for the first time, arrived home with 2 wheels, instead of 4.

(Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?)

Have applied for new passport, paid for expedited handling (5-7 weeks, instead of 8-11).  Fingers crossed and praying hard that it arrives in time.

Karen

On 1/10/2023 at 8:59 PM, gortfamily said:

Hello, we just booked yesterday.  We need to get our ticket from NY to home in NC at the end of the cruise.  Is there an express public transportation from the cruise ship in Manhattan to any of the airports?  Which is the easiest airport to get to?

Welcome aboard.  Carnival also provides transportation from the cruise terminal to the various airports.  I don't know if it's faster or cheaper than a taxi.

Karen

On 12/20/2022 at 1:35 PM, MNM1011 said:

We just booked.  Can't wait to see the ship and to revisit Barcelona!

By any chance were you recently in Alexandria, Virginia?

On 1/2/2023 at 5:25 PM, lettienets said:

Booked in late Dec and finally got here to check in. Hi! Looking forward to my first cruise since the beginning of covid. 🙄

 

Hello to maryann2 Mary, Froufie Janet, nwcruiselover Nancy and repogirl49 Julie. Have to get used to our old names. It has been awhile!

And TravelerK Karen I think we have met before too. I would like to know about the 1898 Hotel. 

 

Seems like a very small roll call though I understand there are others talking on social media. Looking forward to this TA.

The ship looked beautiful on the Carnival zoom I watched with CEO Christine Duffy.  Lots of European flair. Gelato!

 

To all others, hello! Looking forward to meeting you.

lettienets Lettie or Loretta

Hi Loretta,

Yes, I think we met on another cruise, pre-Covid.

Regarding Hotel 1898:  It's a great location on Las Ramblas.  And if you need an early meal at dinnertime, the rooftop bar is open.  When I stayed here before, I was traveling with a friend.  We got a "privilege" room, which had a terrace and was quite nice.  This time I'm traveling solo and only staying 2 nites, so I just booked a superior room.  The hotel is not cheap, but I think it's worth it.  For the dates I'm staying, they required payment in advance (nonrefundable).  I don't like doing that, in case there's a last minute problem requiring cancellation; but I have to admit it's nice to have the hotel and airfare already paid for.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Karen

On 12/11/2022 at 9:05 PM, LuvtoCruise50 said:

At the moment, we’re planning to fly into Paris and spend a day there before taking the train from Paris to Barcelona. We’ll have a couple of days to see as much of Barcelona as we can before sail day on the 29th. Anyone have any ideas for hotels, and suggestions for getting to the port on the 29th? I thought about staying close to airport, but not sure how that would be for getting to tourist areas. Please share your ideas, I’d love to read them!

I booked 2 nites at Hotel 1898.  I stayed there a few years ago and really liked it.  It's on La Rambla, so a good location.  One of the things I especially like about the hotel is the rooftop bar (and swimming pool, if one is so inclined).  It serves light food and starts serving it early.  I can't eat late, so I often have problems in Spain (and Italy).  The rooftop bar works well for me.  And what a great view!

Karen

Several familiar names.  This is going to be such a fun cruise!

Just booked my hotel in Barcelona.  I've been to Barcelona several times, and each time I've stayed in a different hotel.  Some were OK, and some were good.  But it wasn't until my last hotel that I found one that I now consider my regular go-to hotel - Hotel 1898.

I now have hotels that are "mine" in Venice, Rome, Dublin, and Barcelona.

Karen

4 hours ago, maryann2 said:

 

Hello again Karen and Julie.

I am also booked.

Just spending 1 night in Barcelona this time as visiting family in Helsinki prior to this cruise.

 

Have we been on a cruise together before?  I remember cruising with someone named Mary Ann from Canada.

Karen

My airfare cost more than the cruise.  I fly business class; this old arthritic body just can't manage long flights in coach.  My airfare was over $3,600!  Major ouch!!

Karen

I booked this cruise the first day bookings were accepted.  It will be my 77th cruise on Carnival.  I was going to spend 3 nites pre-cruise in Barcelona, but I discovered that airfare was a lot less expensive if I fly in a day later and just spend 2 days in Barcelona.  

Barcelona is a great city, but beware of pickpockets.  I was a victim when I was there several years ago.

The ship looks so beautiful in the videos.  Can't wait to get aboard.

Karen

8 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Hi K,

What EM said: There are 16 photos of 6216 on cruisedeckplans.com and it is exactly like the cabin in the video (rather the mirror-image left for right) of 6141. No sofa. 

 

Good luck finding the perfect room!

Thanks!  I appreciate all your help.  I also don't like that the balcony doesn't have lounge type chairs, just regular sit-up-straight types of chairs.

22 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Hi again! I watched the rest of the video and thought THAT IS REALLY COOL!

 

No sofa, but if you close the black-out blinds and turn the "verandah" chairs around, you have a semi-separate sitting area as well as the club chair on the desk side. Hey you know, I could stay in this room with my husband! if they would let us but they wouldn't of course. We CAN pack very lightly, as staying in a 19" travel trailer will teach you.

Thanks.  I've seen that video, and there clearly is no sofa.  I'm in cabin 6216.  When I talked to someone at Celebrity, she said that 6216 does have a sofa.  And later I did a live chat with someone else, and she also checked and said that 6216 does have a sofa.  But after seeing the video, I don't really trust what Celebrity is telling me.  

Has anyone stayed in one of the single cabins on the Celebrity Edge?  Do they have sofas?  I'm booked in one, but I definitely need a cabin with a sofa.  I'm trying to decide whether to switch to a "regular" cabin.  

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

You are really adding extra steps.  All you need to do to do it the long way is to go to the Boards page, scroll down to Roll Calls, Click on your line, then your ship, and look for a thread with your dates.  In fact, you don't even need to go to the Boards page, there is a link in the menu bar to 'Find Your Roll Call' and it takes you to the roll call page.  The 'quicker' way is just to click on the Roll Call finder tool and fill in the blanks.  But sometimes the tool doesn't pick up the roll call if the starter used an odd format in the title.  If you are on the page for your cruise line, in the upper left is a link with an orange star next to it to Find Your Roll Call...   EM

Thanks.  There's no roll call finder on the Cruise Critic home page - at least not on the way it shows up when I go to CC.  But when I click on Boards, I now see a Find Your Roll Call.  The print is pretty pale, so I didn't see it before.  That should make it a lot easier.

19 hours ago, Edgemere said:

Has cruise critic changed the way to access roll calls? I cannot believe that for the May 29th Silhouette sailing there has not been one new post or one new passengers signing on in 3 weeks since all the inside and outside cabins have been sold out for a month. Has the format changed?

 

 

They've definitely changed how to access roll calls.  There used to be a way on their home page.  Now I have to click on Boards, then on Help with Forums, then on What is a Roll Call, then on Roll Call Finder.  It  takes a lot longer now.  The roll call that I've been checking on regularly was very active until this change; now it's a long time btwn posts; I suspect people are just giving up.

Hi Karen! This cruise looks great! Anyone else around from the Splendor?

Peggy (&Jim):D

Hi Peggy,

A couple people from the Splendor have shown some interest. I hope we get a lot more.

As of right now, I'm looking to do both the Panama Canal transit and the transpacific. My sister may join me for the Canal transit, but I'll be solo for the cruise to Oz. That will be my 50th milestone, so I'll have a ton of OBC. I think I hear some slot machines calling :p.

Hope to see you again.

Karen

I did Cartagena on a Canal transit a couple yrs ago and loved it.

Don't have my map in front of me. Is Tampa on the Gulf Coast? If so, I would imagine that Jamaica and Grand Cayman wouldn't be part of the itinerary. And then one of the sea days could be cut.

Karen

Did you find that you used the balcony cabin much on the Trans Pacific Deb?

I have a one time upgrade from OV to balcony as my Diamond perk but wondering about it. I do like the 4Ks too.

 

Have checked into using miles for the one way flight back and have enough based on this years levels anyway. Coach is okay if it is free LOL.

I flew back last time using miles too, but I cashed in a bunch and flew business/first class. Wow! I'd previously done the flight in coach. What a difference! I hope to do the same thing this time too.

Can't remember how much time my friend and I spent on our balcony. I like balcony cabins, but I never spend as much time on them as I think I will. If I do the B2B, the cruise to Oz will be my 50 milestone. Since I'll be traveling solo this time, that 50% OBC will be nice. I may have trouble spending it all :rolleyes:!

Karen