mikenbon

Last spring we were able to reserve  our dining  time for each evening in advance ( sounds like an oxymoron but it worked). I wasn't able to do that tonight when I did our online check in. Does anyone know if the procedure has changed or if reserving is no longer possible? 
Thanks in advance for the responses. 

14 hours ago, jagsfan said:

And I’d love to know why. 

South Florida people I know took advantage of  it and enjoyed everything except having to disembark. 

Since the hope was future bookings, maybe that didn’t happen often enough. 

 

We didn't book, either. The BVE (Bon Voyage Experience) is still being advertised online by just typing Princess Cruise BVE. If possible to book it out of Seattle, San Francisco, NYC, LA or Fort Lauderdale, it really is worth the $39.

6 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

I thought it looked like a plate of burnt roasted potatoes. Oops! 😳

I wish RCL and other lines allowed guests on embarkation day. We purchased the pass to spend a few hours onboard a Princess ship, enjoyed lunch in the MDR, a tour and group photo. We were onboard ahead of the other guests, but we embarked with a cruiseline staff member, in a different area from the other priority guests. It was a great way to experience for a few hours what a different ship and for us, a different cruiseline was like. 

We've cruised on both lines and love both, for different reasons. Carnival is more budget friendly for us , and we really like the fun vibe of the ship. The crew are friendlier, in my opinion, on Carnival, too. RCL had a better buffet selection for breakfast and lunch, but Carnival has more choices for MDR.  We enjoy the shows on both, and we found the RCL shows to be superior in quality. We've also noticed a lot more kids on Carnival - we cruise in March each year, and there seemed to be a lot more activities for children and families. 
No matter which cruiseline, we have always had a fantastic time, and can't wait gor our next side to side cruises - one on Carnival, followed by another on RCL 

We much prefer the room service coffee over the Lido coffee, so I would start with that. 

We eat breakfast and lunch from the buffets because it's quick and we can choose the bits and bites we want - just a simple cereal and fruit breakfast, and usually salads or other basic lunch. I'd much rather spend the time outside enjoying the sun than sitting in the diningroom or other restaurant. At dinner, we might eat in the buffet one evening per cruise , depending on the evening plans, but generally we enjoy being served in the MDR. 

On 11/15/2019 at 4:15 AM, grandmarnnurse said:

We felt the same exact way about RCCL! The staff was incredibly rude, nothing like the friendly staff of Carnival, and the atmosphere on Carnival was just way more fun. We HATED having to make show reservations BEFORE we cruised! How do you know what your day will be like, and when you felt like going? No, we very gladly returned to Carnival, where we felt like we were coming home. But if I had to choose an alternative cruise line, it would be NCL, because we loved the freedom of Freestyle Cruising, but even with NCL, reservations needed to be made for all shows, including the Comedy Shows. We NEVER got into one comedy show in two cruises with them, as we couldn’t even get reservations! We love going to Comedy shows nearly every night on Carnival WITHOUT reservations! 

Perhaps it was the ship we were on, but we never hound the crew or staff on RCL Adventure of the Seas to be rude at all. They weren't as friendly or as happy as those on a Carnival but everyone we encountered was very pleasant and helpful. 
We didn't need to make reservations for the theatre or comedy either - just walked in and found good seats to enjoy the shows, which we found to be superior to the shows on Carnival. 

As long as she has her cruise documents and necessary ID, she will have no trouble boarding at a different time from you. Enjoy your cruise.

How very sad and traumatic for the family and friends of the deceased, and other passengers on the ship. 

Your capris will be acceptable for any evening. They are so easy to dress up or down with different tops and accessories like a necklace, or other jewellery.

enjoy your cruise.

We've never played mini golf on any cruise, so it might be something fun to do on a sea day on our upcoming  cruise.

We've cruised on Carnival 7 times do far, and a RCL once. We enjoyed it so much that we are cruising both again next Feb/March for a side 2 side cruise. 

On 11/8/2019 at 7:27 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

You roll wet clothes up in a towel and walk on the towel.  Unwind the towel and hang up the clothing.  No dripping, and fast drying.

 

I've done that too on a few cruises and it works really well. 

On 10/14/2019 at 2:16 PM, Oscar13 said:

Another item of note:

If you have prescription medications they MUST be in the original packaging to cross borders.  A day or 2 in a pill container might be okay but anything longer than that must be in a pharmacy issued container with the label on it.

My husband has never had a problem bringing prescription meds in non pharmacy packaging, on any cruise or when we cross the border when flying from Canada to the USA. 

13 hours ago, coevan said:

We made some great friends sitting at a table for 2 with YTD. 

We did too, and we've cruised together for about 5 years since that first dinner when we were seated next to each other. 

We've used it on the Sunshine  and for 2 cruises on the Conquest without any problems. Occasionally I would miss a message if there was lots of noise around, like during a Lido deck party or competition, but honestly, text messages from my hubby or friends aren't THAT urgent on vacation. 😉

1. Price - Carnival cruises fit our vacation budget 

2. Fun vibe - they aren't the wild party ships we were warned about by a TA, but they are definitely fun ships with a much more relaxed feel. Even the crew and staff  seem to be having a lot more fun than their counterparts on RCCL. 

I use Safari on my iPad and iPhone, without any trouble today, and Chrome on our desktop. We didn't have any problem there either  when I checked mid day.  I read on a Facebook page that someone else was having trouble on her laptop, so hopefully all will be fine by tomorrow.

When we went to Paradise Beach, we shared a taxi with a few other people waiting at the taxi stand, and all split the cost. We did the same when we were ready to head back to the ship. We tipped 15% on our food bill - we paid just the $3 entrance fee, not the pass for using the water toys.

I found that Bonine doesn't make me drowsy at all, and it works almost instantly, but Dramamine sure puts me to sleep. Another motion sickness that works great for me is the a Ginger Gravol chewable tablets.

I always find the dining room and theatres too chilly, so I pack 2-3 different colours of sweaters to wear in the evenings. The outside deck can be even cooler at night and breezy so a sweater is a must for me out there too. 

On another, now defunct cruise forum, I became good friends with a few members. I've kept in touch daily, for about 6 yrs, with 2, and I'm finally getting to meet and cruise with one of my online besties next Feb. I can't wait to actually meet her and her family !!!

10 minutes ago, luvcruzing said:

How do we do that if we’re not on Facebook?

The only way to contact him for requests is through his Facebook page. He's me that there are fake email addresses on the internet for him, but only a Facebook message works.

Thank you for sharing your friend's story - how horribly sad for her family. 
Even though my husband and I have no health issues, nor take medications, we always buy health and travel insurance, even when we pop down to Seattle for a weekend getaway from our home in a Canada. Over the years, we have heard of others who didn't purchase insurance and ended up in huge debts for various reasons. In our opinion, spending about $350 CDN for insurance will be worth it.