thefamilytravelagent

Or just bring some beers from the ship.

I didn't realize we could do that... That would definitely be easier though.

Hello all. We will be on Grand Turk in October and my plan was to either walk, taxi, or golf cart to Governor's Beach for some peace and quiet. We'll bring water and our little Otentik sunshade, but my husband likes to have a few beers on the beach (and I wouldn't mind a drink or two myself;)). So I was wondering if there is a store anywhere between the port and GB that we could stop to grab a 6 pack to throw in my insulated beach bag?

My back-up idea was to just stop at Jack's shack and order a few beers but ask them not to open them. Idk if they'll do that though (bars here in the states won't...). Does anyone know? Thanks in advance.

Bump... :)

Experienced posters know that you can't start a thread and then try to control the resulting discussion. This is an open forum, and others are free to express their point of view.

I asked a very simple question and added the caveat that I didn't want people to start drama so if they couldn't answer the question, don't respond. Everyone except the the person in question, managed to have a civil and helpful conversation. But this woman simply came here to condemn everyone who kindly answered (and me for asking). I do understand that there are many in this group who are here simply to create drama and try to tell everyone how perfect they are. Which is why I tried to let those people know ahead of time that I didn't want their opinions. But some people can't follow simple instructions.

I answered your question. My answer was 18, then I expanded on why.

 

If you're uncomfortable with that answer, you'll have to examine your feelings about the question. You might ask this too: If you were completely certain of your choice, would you have asked the question?

Again, because you seem to be really struggling with 1st grade reading. My question was not "when WOULD you". My question was "when DID you". You said you wouldn't until they are 18. Therfore you did not answer my question. You simply tried to push your judgemental opinions of my parenting on me. Trust me there were quite a few things I was thinking of your parenting when I read that you wouldn't allow your kids to spend a night away from you until they are 18... But I kept them to myself.

Now please, because literally NO ONE here wants your holier than thou helicopter parenting advice, move along. Thanks.

I haven't read through the replies yet but if you could get a picture of the signs by the slides (regarding height and weight requirements) I would greatly appreciate it! :D

We had trouble deciding between harmony or norwegian escape and I'm starting to worry that we made a mistake because I don't think my youngest will be 48" by next year (he's a hair under 46" now). Escape has a couple bigger slides that are 42" so at least he could ride something other than the baby slides. I always have buyers remorse though So it could be that. LOL

Aloha stadium swap meet is great for souvenir shopping if you still have things you need to get before heading home.

Pearl harbor/Arizona memorial is wonderful and I think everyone should do it at least once in their life.

We did a round the island tour on our last day (it was a land vacation and we had rental cars for the week). It was the perfect end to the trip though. I could post our stops at the lookouts and things if you're interested. I think we had to be at the airport at 2 or 3 though so you would have to cut out a few stops. Though we did stop to shop a bit in Haliewa. At many of the stops we saw tour buses so I'm sure there are tours.

Waimanalo Beach was next and is our favorite beach on Oahu. The colors were beautiful and there were only a handful of people there. The surf was a little rougher than other beaches we'd visit but it wasn't concerning and we spent a lot of time in the water. I could have spent all day here.

One more because I love this beach!

You're making me so "homesick". Even though it's not my home. We rented a house on Waimanalo for a week, in May. It was the best week of our lives and truly felt like home. Your photos are bringing back so many wonderful memories.

Wow! A ten hour flight with no IFE! I didn't know anyone did that anymore.:eek:

We just did the same flight...with our 3 small children... :eek:

You ask a question, you get a variety of answers. No point in asking for opinions if you don't want to hear different answers.

I didn't ask "would you put them in their own room?" I very specifically asked "how old were your kids when you left them?" Therefore if you haven't done it, you have no reason to answer. Unless your objective was to try to tell me you're a better parent than me. Which I assume it was...

Disney Dream only does 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas. Disney Fantasy does 1 week caribbean like Harmony will. So that would be the better comparison.

We loved the Fantasy and had a wonderful week. Honestly one of our best weeks ever (second only to our week in Hawaii last year). The food and service was amazing. The kids clubs were great. They got to meet all of their favorite characters and princesses. It was just wonderful. We had one of their family balcony rooms that sleeps 5. It was a bit crowded but the kids were little (4, 6 & 8) So not too bad. Plus having the balcony gave us extra room, and the split bath is nice.

When we started looking at doing another Disney cruise for next year we priced out a room for all 5 of us (about $8500) or 2 smaller rooms next to each other (over $9000). It just seemed like so much money, so I started looking at RCCL and NCL. Once my kids saw the videos with the slides, flowrider, pools, etc, they were hooked. They unanimously voted for Harmony. And when I looked at prices, it saved us quite a bit of money too. $7500 for 2 balcony rooms or $6500 for a balcony room and an interior across the hall.

I honestly think you can't go wrong with either, it just depends what is more important to your family. Disney was perfect for us when the kids were younger but now that they're older, so I think RCCL is a better fit for us.

 

4 to a cabin. :eek:

 

Yah, we did all 5 of us in a cabin on our Disney cruise a few years ago. They were much littler then though so it wasn't too bad. But now that the girls are pre-teens...no thanks. LOL ;)

Yah, I would definitely not be giving them free run of the ship. It would literally just be a place to sleep and shower. I'm just not comfortable with the "see you at curfew" thing until they are a bit older.

 

FWIW, even though our rooms are connecting we still had to book a parent in each room. Hopefully that will be easy enough to change once we get on board.

 

Does anyone know if I will be able to arrange for all 4 of our sea pass cards to open both cabins?

 

 

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That is very strange because we are currently booked with my husband and I in one room and all 3 of our kids in a connecting room. He said because it's a connecting room you don't need an adult in one room.

Hey Renee, looks like Judgy McJudgersons showed up anyway.;)

LOL I figured it was only a matter of time. ;)

I do appreciate all of the feedback from the vast majority of you that weren't judgy. :D

I'm still going to think it over. My husband thinks it's a no-brainer. Save the $800 and let them sleep across the hall. Like someone else commented, they're much further away at home. And it'd only be for sleeping and getting ready. We aren't going to be out drinking or anything while they're sleeping because we'll have our youngest in our room anyway. If we do do it, I'd definitely bring a baby monitor so that we could hear what's going on over there while we're on our balcony or in our room. That was a great idea.

Depends on the maturity and how responsible the kids are. One daughter would have been fine from 12 to 14, but absolutely not appropriate from age 15 to 18. She was one of "those" kids. The other two would have been fine at any age, but not together as they would fight. So, good thing we did not have money to cruise when they were teenagers as it would have been a logistical nightmare.

 

You know your kids. If they are likely to be responsible, rule followers they will be fine as young teens or even tweens. If they are like my daughter was, sleep in the same room, tie a string from her ankle to yours, put a bell on the door and know you still might learn all the security guards first names.

LOL!! This cracked me up. I completely understand. I was probably one of those kids too. ;) But thankfully mine aren't...yet. Haha

That's how old my kids were when we placed them in their own room across the hall. We locked them in at night, and we called to wake them in the morning. They were under strict instructions not to open the door to anyone but us, and to call us at any time if there was a problem. They are two very responsible girls, and it was fine. (After all, the 12 year old was old enough to have a babysitting job at home)

 

I read a tip on CC to use a baby monitor, but I never used one at home so I didn't have one to bring onboard.

That was kinda my thinking. She'll be old enough to babysit. They have been left alone at home before while I run down the road to pick up pizza or something. So they are familiar with not opening the door for anyone, etc. And they are very responsible girls. The baby monitor is a good idea. IDK why I never thought of that.

Not looking for Judgy McJudgersons here. :D

I'm just wondering how old your kids were when you let them have their own room across the hall. And also, were there any issues you encountered.

We currently have connecting balcony rooms booked on Harmony, but it would save us quite a bit of money to have our oldest 2 in a room across the hall. They will be 10 and (barely) 12.

Bumping this because I've been looking into the same boat charters. :)

My votes are as follows:

Grand Cayman- boat tour to sting ray city (and most include some beach time or snorkeling, and lunch too).

Cozumel- a beach club for the day. We chose Nachi Cocom and really loved it. Quiet, beautiful, great food and drinks included.

Costa Maya- either stay on the ship or do a tour to the Mayan ruins. The beaches here aren't good.

Oh my gosh! What gorgeous pics of Antarctica! And those whales following for so long. Just amazing.

We flew to Orlando the same day as our last (only) cruise. It was 7 of us. My parents, my DH and I, and our kids. It was a direct flight (which generally means less likelihood of losing luggage) and we had a private car service that met us at baggage claim and took us right to the port (it's a bit of a drive. 45 mins maybe? I can't remember). We even stopped at a liquor store (at the time DCL allowed us to carry on alcohol). We got right on the ship around noon, without issues. We are contemplating doing the same with our next one because we leave from Ft Lauderdale which is very close to the airport. IDK though. Not sure we want to tempt fate twice. Haha.

My only advice other than what everyone already said, is make sure you're not flying with Spirit or Allegiant, etc. They almost always delay flights.

Good luck, congratulations, and have fun!!

I believe that tree is a plumeria. They were all over in Hawaii. So beautiful.

Loving your review! My 7yr old is reading along with me. He's my fellow little adventurer and is obsessed with all types of animals. We've been loving your pics. Can't wait to see more. :)

I was just wondering what were some of the must-see ports or sights in Alaska. I understand some days aren't "port days", they are "cruising days" so feel free to include those too if they were your favorite. And if a particular excursion made it extra special, please share. :)