you are encouraged to make payments by cash, check, or Venmo:

Make Checks Payable To: HEART Inclusive Arts Community

Memo/Note: Cruise 2024

(Why to Disability Pride? Long story short... that account doesn't have fees associated with payments. It is very much still managed by and connected directly to HEART.)

You may Make your cruise payments online below:

The total cost of the cruise is $850 per person.

When making payments online, please consider including the processing fees.

You may choose “Monthly” to create an automatic payment schedule. 12 monthly payments would equal $62.50 (plus fees) per month.

Kindly make your first monthly payment by March 29th.

The Details

Itinerary:

Day 1: Charleston - Saturday, October 12. Departs at 4:00 PM

Day 2: Fun Day at Sea

Day 3: Nassau - 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 4: Princess Cays - 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 5: Fun Day at Sea

Day 6: Charleston - Thursday, October 17. Arrives at 8:00 AM.

Before We Board:

All travelers need to show either:

(a) a valid U.S. Passport; or
(b) a valid government-issued Identification Card and birth certificate (original or certified copy)

Once boarded at Charleston, Room Keys act as your ID to re-board from Nassau and Princess Cays

Passports, IDs, and Birth Certificates are not required to get back onboard at port, so
Passports and Birth Certificates can be held in a binder and kept onboard by HEART Staff for safe keeping.
We still recommend keeping IDs on you at all times while at port.

We will schedule a group chat/meeting/info session for HEARTists and their family/support people closer to the time of our vacation to answer all remaining questions and concerns

What is included in this cost:

All included amenities from Carnival, like onboard dining and activities
Lunch off the ship at Nassau and Princess Cays
All taxes, fees, port fees, and required gratuities
Carnival Vacation Protection (insurance)
HEART Group Leaders to make sure everyone is having the most - and safest - fun possible

This only considers the cost of leaders' accommodations in an effort to keep vacation as affordable as possible

What is NOT included in this cost:

Paid excursions on the islands

We will be getting off the boat in Nassau and Princess cays, but this cost does not include additional paid excursions through Carnival like Swimming with Dolphins, Tours, Guided Snorkeling, etc.
Keep in mind, our time at port is very limited and many of these planned excursions take up all of your time off the ship. It would be impossible to do it all anyway.

Upgraded drink packages and non-included dining options

There are more restaurants on-board that offer additional paid dining experiences. Those have not been included in the cost.
Drink packages require everyone in your cabin to pay for the upgrade. So, if you absolutely want a drink package, we'll have to figure that out together after we book.

Souvenirs
Wi-fi access

We advise HEARTists who like to watch videos on their phones/ipads to download them to their devices before leaving. Wi-fi access can cost up to $20 per day, per device.
HEART will have at least one device connected so that we can have contact with the mainland while onboard the ship.

What will be the group leader/mentor to HEARTist ratio?

2-3 HEARTists to each mentor or group leader.

What will the rooming situation be?

There are 3-4 people per cabin, including 1 group leader to each room. All rooms are in the same corridor, at the forward of the ship on Deck 7.

As you all know, we are a leadership team of all women at HEART, so the group leaders being the same gender as the HEARTists does not always happen. But, I'm here to hear your concerns - of any kind - if you have any. Always.

Will rooms have balconies or windows?

We all have interior rooms.

The larger rooms that comfortably fit up to 4 people are mostly located in the interior, and this was the best way to keep us all together.

Our cruise expert/Carnival concierge, Frank, makes the good point that you will likely be spending little time within your room.

Will the HEARTists stay together with their group leader on the ship?

Yes. Just like vacations past, we do things mostly together. If we go anywhere without the WHOLE group, we stay in our smaller groups with our group leaders. We know not everyone wants the same level of supervision and some folks like to be more independent. But, in group settings like this, staying with our leaders and staying in communication is the most important part of staying safe, happy, and healthy.

Will we swim with the dolphins? Or go on other excursions?

No... probably not. Excursions are not included in the cost of the cruise and would require additional fees and planning. Currently, we don't know what the final headcount, groups, dates, etc. will be. Planning an excursion would mean having to get each person in a group to agree to which excursion they all want to do together, and that they are all willing to pay for it. I'm not saying it's impossible... but, that would have to happen in Step 2 of planning.

Safety and Security Concerns, on and off the ship.

We hear you, truly. We are keeping our eyes on all your concerns, too. If you have particular worries about anything, please share them with us. We will happily work on ways to alleviate those concerns and take the precautions needed to keep everyone safe. Here are some plans we already intend to put in place:

Emergency contact info and Airtags on easy-to-spot lanyards for everyone. Yes, the group leaders, too.

This balances the privacy of HEARTists with the need to be prepared in case someone is accidentally separated from their group and leader.

Staying with our group leaders.

Following all rules and safety protocols of the Cruise Ship.

We have not found data specific to cruise ships vs. all waterborne transportation. BUT, our understanding is that there are very few Man Overboard cases per year. And, of those, most can be attributed to intoxication and/or people ignoring safety protocols. We will not be ignoring safety protocols.

We will stay up to date on travel advisories for the area.

The State Department updated their Advisory Level for the Bahamas to Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution. This is related to a spike in violence "primarily affecting the local population" in the areas of New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport) islands (Islands separate from where we will dock).

"In Nassau, practice increased vigilance in the “Over the Hill” area (south of Shirley Street) where gang-on-gang violence has resulted in a high homicide rate primarily affecting the local population."

The actual vacation is still months away, and those advisories can certainly change before then.

We will be back on the ship before nightfall, always. The ship sails away at 5 pm from both ports, so we will be back on board well before nighttime.

Cancellation and Refunds.

Basically, after booking, if we can't cancel and get a refund from Carnival, we can't get a refund back to you. You can find more information on Carnival's FAQ website.