sharse

I am thinking I'm going to travel light and leave my flashes and most expensive gear at home. I'm planning to bring:

Canon 550D

Canon 50mm 1.4

I'm planning to leave at home:

Canon 5D Mark III

Canon 24-70 2.8

Canon 550 EX

Canon 600 EX-RT

Do you think I'll regret my decision? I want good shots to remember our trip, but nothing so fabulous I'm hoping to sell it for a few thousand. And I surely don't want salt or sand in my good stuff. Am I making a mistake?? :confused:

Which cruise line allows guests to prebook MTD? Avoiding a wait is appealing to me.

My family will be doing the My Time Dining option on Royal Caribbean simply because the early seating was full by the time we booked and we do not want to wait until 8:30 every night. I was able to go online (our cruise is in about 5 weeks) and book a time for the nights that I wished to book, and not book for those I wanted to leave flexible.

I was able to book our time (but not 6:00 pm to 7:00… that was not an option to reserve) and I was also able to specify if I want a table for just us (which I did on the first night) or if I wanted to be seated with others at a larger table (which I did for the other nights.)

I'm assuming it won't be a problem to ask my cabin steward for a few extra pillows onboard the Grandeur?

I will be sailing on the Grandeur… do we have to reserve show tickets in advance, or is this different on different class ships?

- They expect to have a team assess the damage more today while docked in Baltimore and make repairs in May while in Bermuda. Should not impact any sailings except that area will be off limits

My family is booked for the 5/2 sailing so I'm very interested in this. What exactly will be off limits? Thank you!

I'm reading that experiences have varied depending on ship. If you've done it on the Grandeur, did you make reservations? Did you have a lot of flexibility, or only a few times left? Did you have to wait to be seated?

Thanks!

 

OP asked for a factual answer, not your indignation on display.

I think I love you. :o

EEK… we're headed out on this ship in a few weeks. I'll anxiously follow this thread.

I see a forum for Canaveral as a departure port, but my cruise stops here and I would love to get some feedback about what to do/excursions/etc. If I have missed this area of the boards, please forgive me. Thanks!

Our ship returns to port at 7:00am for debarkation. Will we be able to have breakfast on the ship before leaving?

I haven't finished reading the thread so forgive me if you've already said which date you're sailing… we will be on the GOS on May 2 and I have two boys and was also worried there might not be enough kids for them to play with!

Ah … I should have finished reading. Looks like we won't be on the same sailing.

Im about to make my final payment for our cruise in May on the GOS but am having second thoughts. Im worried that there wont be other children on board my DS's age (12). I originally chose the grandeur because of the fantastic price and the port is 2 blocks from my house. As all of you with children know, a bored teenager can make for a miserable vaca for all. Thoughts anyone??

ps. I called an RCI agent but they wouldnt tell me how many other children were on board our sailing:confused:

I haven't finished reading the thread so forgive me if you've already said which date you're sailing… we will be on the GOS on May 2 and I have two boys and was also worried there might not be enough kids for them to play with!

It seems as though everyone has had different experiences with this. Some of you have said that it depends on the port.

So my question is regarding Nassau… what has everyone's experience been there? I'd love to bring a picnic to the beach and just hang out for the day. My TA told me that many times, including Nassau and others, she'll make a sandwich from the food onboard and take it with her in her beach bag and has never had a problem.

Wasn't the teens but the two 11 year olds. Arcade is right outside the kids club and they were watching and it was a staff member that told them they could play the games. They told him that they could not charge anything and he told them that all cards could be used in the arcade they just have a limit on them and they just won't be able to play after they hit their limit.

 

Guess what, no limit if you don't put one on it onboard and they had no idea that it was charging to the room. They thought it was a credit similar to the coupons that you use with your card. We didn't have a talk with any of the kids because we had no idea they could use the cards onboard to charge anything since they did not have permission on the set sail form. I only mentioned it so another might not be onboard thinking their kids cannot charge to the room if they do not give permission on the set sail.

Thanks for this. I guess there are TWO places we have to disable their cards. I have one who just doesn't understand money yet, and if a staff member told him "use your card to play the games" he would think this gave him access, but not understand that it cost MONEY to do so. So thanks for the heads up.

We will be doing the "Anytime Dining" (forgive me for not knowing the proper term) so we'll have different waiters each night. I'm not so worried about that, but rather what can we grab to drink during the day as we're playing around the pool, the rock climbing wall, or just sitting and relaxing. We are not soda drinkers, but I do like my coffee, and my husband loves his specialty Starbucks type drinks (which I realize will be an extra cost.)

I'm mostly concerned with how difficult it will be to stay hydrated with water for all of us, as we do drink a lot of water. Maybe I can bring a 24 ounce water bottle from home (or two?) that we can fill up regularly? Will the crew have any issues with that, thinking we're sneaking alcohol?

We will be on the Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore to the Bahamas in May.

Thanks all for your input!

We (hubby, me, 2 boys 9 and 10) would just love to hang at the beach and veg, and have no interest in the craziness (and expense) of Atlantis. I was interested in something like Sandy Toes, but it looks like that's off the table since the ship docks in the afternoon.

Do you have any suggestions for us and where we might just hang at the beach for a few hours? I envision us having lunch on the ship, wandering for a few hours, and then being back around dinner time. Open to having dinner off the ship that night, but totally flexible on that.

Thanks for any ideas!

First order of business when my kids got their shiny new "charge cards" was to go to the general store and buy them a lanyard to keep the card around their necks (which would be promptly rung for losing the card)..... then I went up stairs (without using priority mode on the elevator, just to be clear), signed them into the kids program where they got FREE LANYARDS. Dang it.

 

Please feel free to improve your experience based on my $20 mistake :)

I'm reading through this thread and realize this is a 4 year old post. Do the kids still get free lanyards in the kids club? We are headed out in May and I was going to buy one beforehand, but if they get one free, I'll gladly take it!

My cruise (RCCL) departs at 4:00pm. Should I expect to be able to board around noon?

Thank you!

Lemonade… my kids will be happy. thanks!

Realizing NOTHING is free, what I mean is, if you do not purchase a beverage package, which beverages are included without an extra charge? It looks like they even charge for bottled water.

I'm assuming I can have water at meals, coffee? Juice with my breakfast?

Thank you!

p.s. I did a search and couldn't find this, so sorry if I've repeated a topic that does already exist.

I'm thinking lanyards will work for us and the kids. I've never purchased one before, however. Do they come with the little plastic holder into which you just slip your card? Or does the cruise line punch a hole in your card so you can attach it, key ring style?

Thanks!