Itchy&Scratchy

if it's over, why did I have it 5 weeks ago and my co-workers are sick with Covid now..... If you meant to say that the pandemic was over and Covid is moving to the endemic stage, then you should have said THAT.

is that a regular buffet or some kind of a YC buffet? looks great.

you didn't go to the beach or anything?

When we sail out of Ft Lauderdale, we always fly to/from FLL. When we sail out of Port of Miami, we almost always fly to FLL or from FLL because it's cheaper, but sometimes (rarely) I can find flights that are cheaper to/from MIA or offer a better timing.

very recently... But the boosters are the same - they aren't made any different, they are just rated >40#, so the same seat that had a 30# minimum 2 years ago now has a 40# minimum. Which on one hand I rejoice about because I am a big car seat safety fan, and too often parents stick 3 year old kids into a booster just because they meet the min height and weight limits, but on the other hand - if the kid has exceeded the height min, is very close to the weight min, is of appropriate age, and is mature enough to use a booster properly during travel at all times, and the booster has a good seat belt fit on that particular kid, I would like to use that option for short car rides after traveling by plane. The booster is the same, it fits the kids the same, and it's better to have a 38# kid in a booster in a taxi than completely without one as many parents would choose to do. Some of my friends' kids didn't make it to 40# until they were 8+, however, they were tall and outgrew all harnessed seats by 49" and there weren't any seats that harnessed past that at the time. So, what is a parent to do with a 50" kid who didn't make it to 40# yet? Thankfully, boosters had a 30# min at that time. Ironically, my kid met the old minimums of a Harmony Youth booster at 18 months of age (and he wasn't even off the charts for height or weight).

on Seascape in particular. I read all the threads/reviews about Seascape, and some of them have the daily program scans.

Really? That would be nice. I've seen dailies for Seascape, and it shows the buffet AND MDR closing at 9:30 am.

I would have preferred late morning buffet. On sea days we may wake up around 9:30, when the buffet closes...

My 5 yo was in his Britax Frontier on the plane and his legs were just fine. At 2 their legs may be sticking out straight forward, but a 4 yo's legs should bend, like any other person's legs. @Kesstral - if you are flying on a US airline, it's mandatory for them to allow you to use FAA approved seats. Pretty much every seat on a US market is FAA approved. If you are flying on a Canadian airline, you may want to check their rules. How tall are your kids? Diono Radians are great for travel on one hand because they are narrow and they fold, but on the other hand they are wicked heavy. I had one when DS was still rear facing. You can use a hand truck to haul one (fasten with bungee cords): Or you can stack them two to one hand truck like this: The only way to keep the seats safe is to use them on the plane, especially since they are so dang expensive in Canada. If the worst comes to worst, please check them in at the GATE and in a bag, not with the luggage before security. The ground personnel will through your car seats around just like they do luggage, so beware. If you can borrow somebody's Evenflo Chase/Maestro, Cosco Finale or Harmony Defender for this trip, that would make it easier for you. I wouldn't buy harnessed seats solely for travel so late in the game, unless your kids are very tiny and will use them for years to come. Are both twins the same height? You could bring a car seat for one if needed and a no back booster for the taller one. A very useful board: https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a10635/traveling_with_children Here is my post about traveling with the Britax Frontier on the plane: https://community.babycenter.com/post/a62126569/frontier-90-on-southwest-and-other-questions FYI, Britax Frontier is 19" wide and fits into a 17" plane seat just fine. Slightly uncomfortable to sit next to the wings, but my DH is tall but thin, so it wasn't too bad for him. I am much wider and I now sit next to my kid in the middle seat since he no longer needs a car seat. We strapped the Frontier to a luggage cart in this fashion: However, if your kids are tall enough, you could use a booster for them, which makes traveling much easier. I know they are under 40#, which is the law for booster use in Canada, but not in the US. This is how we traveled with a no back booster: my kid did very well in a no back booster while traveling starting at 4, but he was harnessed at home till almost 7. It is important to use a no back booster with the seat belt guide to ensure a good seat belt fit: This is the one we had: https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/harmony-youth-booster-car-seat-pink-zebra/6000203872666 Harmony Youth booster - in the US it has a 30# min, but in Canada it's 40# min, because it's a Canadian law, however, you will be in the States when using it, so provided your kids are over 40" tall (101 cm) and use the seat belt guide - they should be fine, as long as they are mature enough to sit properly the entire ride. Also, if you do bus transfers and don't use taxis, you can get away with NOT using any car seats or boosters.

that's because we know how BAD MSC customer service is. If they do the bare minimum correctly, the whole board rejoices. I am not trying to be funny here.

same, but we applied for a renewal by mail June 1 and received new passports back August 4. So, 8 weeks as well. Not expedited, because the cruise is in November.

baked goods are less likely to have pests in them than fruits/vegetables/raw meat.

our last Princess cruise was truly geriatric. We usually sail for a week during school holidays, so there are a lot of kids, people our age, their parents, but this was a 10 nighter - everybody was soooo old. My parents are 72 and 75, they tag along to any cruise we invite them too. They like them all and have no preference. P.S. You are not an old geezer.

who are you calling old geezers???? We are not even 50 yet. LOL. We love Princess. Oh, and Princess is our kid's favorite cruise line. He is only 12.

Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - wonderful beach days.

they would on RCI ships. RCI Oasis and Allure Interior cabin for 4 with a double sofa bed:

will depend on your destination. In most Caribbean ports we are able to bring some prepackaged stuff like cereal or bread/muffins. My friends with a very picky eater kid used to bring challah bread, honey packets and hard boiled eggs with them ashore. Don't bring fruits or veggies.

the kiddo is growing and soon his clothes will be as big as his dad's.... so we can't get rid of the suitcases. And what we pack changes over time as the kid ages.... 🙂 we definitely reach the weight limit even before the suitcases are full.

we usually wear our warm clothes and sneakers when we travel to the port since we cruise Thanksgiving week, but - yes, for colder itineraries one may need more. We usually fly Spirit which limits our suitcases to 40# each, but they are usually somewhat empty volume-wise, even at exactly 40#.

we travel as a family of 3, check our luggage in, so we always bring a soft sided 28" roller and a hard sided 28" roller suitcase for 7-10 day cruises. We also have a backpack each with the absolutely necessary stuff as carry-on - meds, electronics, a pair of shorts, swimsuit, trunks, flip flops and a sun hat for each person. My parents bring one 28" soft sided suitcase and 2 school sized backpacks for 1 week cruise. We always pack toiletries into ziplock bags after a spilled shampoo fiasco. On our last trip I was glad I double bagged my nail polish remover because the darn bottle spilled everything.

I know you didn't ask me, but this is what we used: we didn't take it off in the pool or ocean or the shower. Took it off for the night, though.

I get a bunch of cheap magnets at the dollar store. Yes, some walk away - they are cute after all.

we took an Uber and it was about $12.

walk-in for sure. Our son loved that shower! It's huge and fancy. The only problem we had in our room was that the shower door didn't fully close, so while the kid took an hour long shower, basking in all that glorious water spraying from all sides, a ton of it spilled through the crack into the general bathroom area. When we took a shower, we just put a towel on the floor to cover the crack.

it does????? They probably haven't updated that website area in a while. Which is ok. I looked on the CDC website recently (when I had Covid again) and some of that advice was a bit outdated as well. Nobody wore masks at the hotel in April of this year. I know Covid picked up quite a bit in the last several months, but I doubt that policies anywhere have changed to require masks. Especially in Florida.... We will wear masks on the plane and possibly through the airport in November, but definitely not at the hotel. On the ship we may wear them to the theater or other crowded venues. oh, forgot the link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2930782-oasis-april-2-9-2023-a-wonderful-cruise/#comment-65200542 first post is about the EB hotel.