gail-s

Yes, we had an amazing travel agent for our honeymoon who took care of everything. Royal had us at a table with other couples who had all gotten married on the same day as us. We had so much fun. We found out less than a month after our trip on the Explorer we were having mini-me, so we stopped cruising for a while. We did a couple of NCL from Boston to Bermuda with my parents because we can drive to the port. Shortly after our last cruise we found a boat (DH had been wanting one forever) and we decided to buy it, so that's been our cruising since 2015. I'm excited to be taking another cruise and thrilled it's on a small boat that we've been on before. It'll be fun. Now if the dang check in would just open 🙃

@CynBeth6 yes! We're staying at a great hotel but I want to get on to the ship and start enjoying the ship. I pulled out our honeymoon album the other day and was laughing at the pictures (1999 the last time we were on Enchantment) I can't wait. I plan on booking the earliest time I can to check in and then just having fun. On our 2nd cruise ever we tried to hit every bar the Explorer had on it our first day - we slept through dinner and had Johnny Rockets at like 11pm when we woke up. 😄 Thankfully you're only young and crazy once 😉

We'll probably see you 😉 I booked SF for 10:45 and the towers at 11:30. We'll probably head to PG, I was thinking 2 sounded like a reasonable time to finish the first location, eat and get to the second.

I'm glad I had read this. I was just trying to book our tickets for SF and it kept kicking back my Mastercard. Of course the Amex went through first try 😆

Thanks for the response. I meant motorized scooter, vespa, moped, aka tiny motorcycle.

Thank you! We're going back on the Enchantment this summer. She was our first cruise experience in 1999. I'm looking forward to it. I have zero desire to be on a gigantic ship with so many people. My 30' fishing boat with just the two of us is more my speed 😉 I appreciate the information about the Park Cafe. I was hoping to stop there for breakfast instead of heading to the buffet with everyone else.

Thanks for sharing your trip information! I'll be on the same trip as CynBeth6. We're staying at the Hotel 1898 so I'll report back how it is after the trip. I seriously need to sit down and book my entrance to Sagreda Familia and Park Guell. We're only in Barcelona for 1 full day and 1 half day, so I'm not booking too too much.

Thanks for asking this! I was coming in to ask the same question. Online they show 2 options but when you go to purchase it they only show 1, the more expensive one. We'll have international plans on our phones as well so we can use them when we're in port. No need to give RCL another $250.

Thanks for asking. We're on the Enchantment this summer which is a much smaller ship. I keep getting emails about discounts on the Internet and the Key. I hadn't decided if I was going to bother with either since we will be in port most of the time (Med cruise) and we'll have the international plan on our phones. If it ends up being cheap enough I might add it just so we can board early. Edit: I checked my latest email. For 2 of us to have the internet they want $251. The Key is $405. Not worth it for us. If it was closer in price I might consider it.

Thanks for responding! These are flooding my FB feed right now but I wasn't sure if they were any good or just typical FB spam.

We have a boat and I have a gazillion pairs of Sperrys, keep in mind they make different styles. I tend to wear the Angelfish style which have great support. I've bought others that looked similar but had no support and were very flat.

I know you posted this quite some time ago, but did you find the Olu Kai fit the same as other brands? I just found a pair on sale and I was thinking of scooping them up but I'm uncertain of the size.

I have 2 herniated cervical discs and learned the hard way if I fall asleep on a plane without supporting my head I can't move when I wake up. I bought a Caldera Releaf Neck Rest. It looks like a soft cervical collar that you velcro around your neck. It helps to make sure that my head doesn't flop around and leave me incapacitated when I wake up. I was worried where the turtl isn't supportive all the way around my head would flop the other direction from the support and I'd be sol. https://calderaintl.com/products/releaf-neck-rest

Okay, off topic but since some of you have the info I figure I'll ask. You mention upgrades at hotels for Amex Platinum members etc. Do you have to ask for them or does the hotel normally upgrade those people on their own? I booked our hotel (Marriott corp) through Amex and supposedly we're eligible for an upgrade when we get to the hotel if it's available. I know the Westin in Nashville "upgraded" us without our asking last summer. The room they gave us was on a corner and it was hotter than the devil the entire time we were there.

I bought my husband a couple of pairs of those Vuori performance joggers and they're amazing. So soft and comfortable. I may buy myself a pair for our trip this summer. In the past, we've flown overnight from Boston to Paris knowing we would be getting off the plane, dropping our bags at the hotel and going on a tour of the city (with 40-70 kids in tow) I typically dress in whatever pants I plan on wearing once we land in Paris and a light t-shirt, zip front sweater and a pashmina type scarf and my shoes for the next day. Once I'm on the plane I pop into the bathroom and change into comfier pants, either leggings or sweatpants. Our friend who ran the trips insisted that everyone be dressed and ready to go once we got out of the airport. There would be no time for changing at the hotel.

Thanks! I actually had 2 of those dresses that I never wore and eventually got rid of. It sounds like a great idea in theory, but I could never make it look good.

Any recommendations for men’s linen pants? DH had a great pair from Banana Republic but now everything is skinny and tapered, not the look he’s going for. Looking for something straight leg and a bit loose so to be actually comfortable.

Has anyone rented a scooter for the day as a way to see Barcelona? We’ll be there for 2 days and planning out the trip. We thought it might be a neat way to get around but having never been there, I’m curious how realistic it is.

I'm sorry no one got back to you earlier. I was struggling with hotels too. I had it down to the Jazz and Hotel 1898. I ended up going with 1898. We'll see how it is this summer. I hope you got some answers, the Barcelona Hotels thread is huge and confusing.

Looking at the prices for the Frecce between the port and Rome there are different options, Base, Economy, Super Economy, etc. I have no problem paying the Base if it means I get a seat and my luggage won't be lost, but has anyone ever done anything else with success? If I know I'm most likely not going to make a change to my trip, I'd think the Economy would be just fine too.

Has anyone ever come across a pattern for something like the Diane Kroe Wear Ever dress? It's a jersey dress that has snaps along the long side so you can wear it multiple ways. I'm tempted to buy one to template it. https://dianekroe.com/en-us/collections/wear-ever-skirt-dress

I love skorts normally, but for the churches on our Med cruise I know they won't fly. I'm 5'8" and my skorts aren't anywhere near my knee. I do not like capris at all either. I tend to wear flats and they look super frumpy to me. I have some capri jeans that are cuffed that are okay, but that's about it. I remember wearing culottes as a kid and the wide legged ones remind me of that. Not my style but great if someone else likes it. I'm waiting to dig my summer clothes out (live in the NE and it's still cold here) to figure out what's coming on our trip and what I need to buy. Our trip is the first week of July so I know it's going to be hot. This should be interesting.

I know I’m my searches I found a bunch of 2 bedroom suites but they were top dollar. Most of the rooms slept 4 max. Do you have AAA or Amex? I try reaching out to one of their travel agents. I wish I had done that instead of trying to do mine alone.

How many pictures do you normally buy? I ordered the 20 just because this time around. My husband and I are travelling alone but it's to celebrate our 50th birthdays. I'm hoping to get at least a few pictures of the two of us together since we hardly ever get those. I get home and toss them in a scrapbook with all of my "stuff" from the cruise.

Now that some of you might be back 😉 has anyone done Sagrada Familia and Park Guell in one day? Which order would you recommend doing them and how long at each location? I was thinking SF in the morning then walking to PG, taking our time there and walking back toward our hotel on La Rambla.