Itchy&Scratchy

you are fully vaccinated. Even better than me - my booster was last November.

one can always use a prepaid credit card.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2847168-discovery-princess-obstructed-balcony-cabin-advice-needed-please/#comment-63074875 We were in E502 and E504 on Regal if that helps.

deluxe balcony cabins will have a sofa bed. Obstructed is fine. P.S. My kid absolutely loves pullman beds. Always begs for me to book the cabin with one.

perhaps, you should request a handicap accessible cabin if it's not too late.

in this case choosing to cruise during a school break and NYE at that is a mistake. Try a week later or the first two weeks of December - prices may be a lot cheaper and fewer kids as well. By ship, I'd choose either Apex or Royal Princess. By itinerary, Apex and RP have lovely destinations. We love both ABC islands (Southern Caribbean) and Eastern Caribbean itineraries. However, we love beach destinations now that we travel with a somewhat young child. HAL's itinerary is a very common Western Caribbean. By price, I'd choose Royal Princess, but I would try to get a Deluxe balcony instead, because it would provide a sofa which becomes the 3rd bed. Or HAL because it's over NYE and for only $4.8K for 3. Either way, all three ships/lines provide a great experience for older, quieter crowd. Since your child is only 9 years younger than me, I would estimate you to be between 55 and 70...

well, it IS our experience with Caribbean Princess vs. Regal Princess. Or NCL Jade vs NCL Getaway. Every time we are on an older ship, something happens. Jade broke down completely on day 3 of 10 and we had to go home... We now choose to only cruise in newer ships.

darn, Enchanted doesn't have it....

like Asian type noodles or Italian pastas?

did you find table tennis?

just prop him up with a chair and maybe use the sofa cushions. 🙂

here is what the sofa bed on the Harmony looked like. You can prop the kid up with the chair. That's what we did on the Allure - we decided not to roll the sofa out because it took too much space in an inside cabin (DS was 8). We used extra pillows to make a border on the other Allure sailing when he had a double sofa sleeper all to himself. But he was 11 by then. How old is the child? How mobile? When DS was 5 months old, we traveled with him and just the matt from the pack and play. Not the entire pack and play. He wasn't mobile at that age. Are you flying or driving to the port?

they are lowered when the ship leaves the port of embarkation. The top of the orange boats is then even with the floor of the balcony.

we have always got great service (except for once - on NCL - it was just ok), but we never prepay the gratuities.

nvm

you don't want to do that if you are using A/C. On Discovery E701 and E702 cabins are mini-suites.

yes, you can. Our kid loves the pullman beds, and we were in a regular balcony cabin with a pullman bed - you can easily walk under it. Now in the deluxe balcony room one of the beds is a sofa bed - when it's rolled out, it's much more difficult to get to the balcony without disturbing the sleeping kiddo. You have to climb over the sofa bed when it's rolled out. Please be advised that we've only been in a situation with 3 people on Regal, both in a regular obstructed balcony cabin and deluxe obstructed balcony cabin. Ours was exactly like this from the link you posted: the bed dropped out from the ceiling right next to the balcony. We had no problem walking under it. This was either E502 or E504. in the deluxe cabin for 3 the 3rd bed was a sofa next to the balcony:

I'd probably take E403. We love these balcony cabins on deck 8.

hands down the Southern itinerary on Sky. We are doing this same itinerary in Enchanted in November. I can't wait! I hope Enchanted won't let us down and that we don't get covid. Both ships are so similar that the first time Princess cruiser won't even know or care about them. We've been on Regal a couple of times and loved it (pre-pandemic).

equally lovely, but would choose St Kitts. Been there only once by accident and it was magnificent.

we once ate at a fancy restaurant (locally, not on a cruise)... They insisted on packing up the doggy bag leftovers. When I got home I discovered that there were somebody else's leftovers in the boxes... So sad. I now insist on packing them myself, no matter how nice or fancy the restaurant is. 🙂

Update: I emailed our CVP as well, and she called me back right away. She added the insurance over the phone, and I paid the final balance online. Everything is well.

oh, yes, everything is fine online, except for being unable to add the insurance plan. I think it's because the sailing is booked as a part of Hn Direct Cvp Group (323) 000-0011 24305 Town Center Dr Santa Clarita, CA, 91355-1307 and not my name as usual. Of course, CVP is not answering her phone...

aka, puppy pads in case one has those lying around the house.

lol, 2-4 people in the elevator? You must always be cruising off season. We cruise during school breaks, with an average of 8 average sized people in one.