Janeille

You two have passports? It's only the kids who don't?

 

You'll be fine.

 

(how old are the kids?)

Yes, we both have passports. It’s a closed loop sailing from Ft. Laderdale.

I know it’s technically ok to sail without the kids having passports. Now that we are leaving in 2 days I’m feeling like it’s idiotic to take the kids without a passport.

Thanks for the replies!

One of the reasons we chose this cruise is that our travel agent assureed us we would be fine to travel with the kids birth certificate ony.

Fortunately I am in a position where- if all things were to go absolutely sideways- I would be able to hang out in a hotel with my kids for a week or two until their passport mess was straightened out.

However my anxiety is having its way & I’m worrying about all the what ifs.

Does anyone have advice for me in travelling with kids without passports? My husband and I are both the legal, stated, natural parents of the kids & I’m taking their stamped/embossed/official birth certificates with both parents listed. Any thing else I should think about? We are flying out in 2 daya, so its down to the wire.

My gameplan for my kids spending: ages 14 & 11

Each have the refreshment package.

I have been told by many that I can buy arcade cards that I can put a preset amount on. They have both earned about $50 for this with extra chores.

If this is not an option I may give them cash.

I’m not giving them the optionto spend on their sail pass cards.

just got off Adventure... before the trip, I thought, how bad could it be... wow, it was bad. a number of other things they served in that cafe were rather good (pastries, little sandwiches) -- just stay away from the pizza

I’m imagining spongey crust, super sweet sauce, rubbery flavorless (or overly salty) cheese... it took me a bit to come up with that. I too thought “how bad can pizza really be?”. I’m sailing next week on the allure, I plan on stowing an extra sandwich or something in the room fridge for late night snacks.

But if it's raining while the ship is sinking you'll probably have to go outside. :D

😂 If it’s raining while the ship is sinking at least you’ll already be wet.

We have never cruised before, but we purchased the deluxe package for the adults & the refreshment package for our kids (11 & 14). My husband and I can make it worthwhile with premium liquors & wines. My kids will be happy to have virgin pina coladas, margaritas & coffees- all without me worrying about it. I already know that we are going to have added expenses from sushi, cupcakes, gambling, the spa & souvenirs It was worthwhile to have assigned a fixed cost to this part of the trip.

It seems to be common knowledge that the pizza is generally disappointing on board. That being said, why doesn’t RC do something about it? It seems like a fairly low effort, high impact changeto make.

Tomorrow will be 10 days... I. CANNOT. WAIT.

I plan on watching unattended chairs for 1 drink at the bar. If someone so much as runs by & grabs sunscreen it’s considered taken, otherwise I’m moving in. Fortunately I’m really good at looking totally bewildered when apologizing & that seems to diffuse things quickly. If I’ve really angered the chair hog gods I’ll just call on my husband, who is harmless but can be rather intimidating (tall, muscles, beard & he will just silently stare someone down until they wet their pants). I’m kidding of course, we’ll just send one person out early to stake our claim while the other gets the children moving & fed.

Read it! That was a detailed review! Seemed like a lot of things didn’t go as planned, but you persevered! H

You’d be really upset with my father then. My parents have been married almost 42 years, he’s always called her either “old woman” or “L A R D” spelled out, letter for letter just like that. It obviously works for them, after 42 years of wedded bliss and all. Would I be happy if my hubby called me L A R D? Heck no, because each marriage is different and special in its own way. Lay off the OP, it his marriage, not yours.

 

 

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:') LARD!! That’s too funny! Congrats to them on 42 years! I’ve been married 15 years, I occasionally refer to my husband as “the kids dad”! People might assume something if they overheard that, but we all know what happens when we assume...

I was on the Allure a couple weeks ago, they had two machines.

One was down the entire voyage.

The other was not working much of the time.

You can go to the bars and ask them, they have the basic 4 sodas used for mixers.

That stinks! Especially if someone had just bought the soda package.

I contacted special services on the ship & they are providing us with a liter of distilled water & the needed extension cord. I’ll post a link in my next comment.

I got ahead of myself in the excitement of being able to answer this question. I see you have already contacted RC. Anyway, from my own reading & a friends experience on a RC ship, I have confidence they have resources to provide the extension cord & water.

I contacted special services on the ship & they are providing us with a liter of distilled water & the needed extension cord. I’ll post a link in my next comment.

Thank you!!

I’ve searched, I am not finding this info anywhere. Everyone in my cabin has a drink package (deluxe for adults, refreshment for kids). I understand there are special cups needed for the soda machines, my question is where do we pick up the cups?

Never cruised before, I appreciate you all being so helpful!

I’m loving these updates! Happy anniversary & thanks for sharing your trip!

Thank you so much for the updates! We are first time cruisers & these live updates are #1 in credibly helpful & #2 totally giving me something to focus on!

So glad your wife for her luggage, plus some new things! I hope you enjoy your trip!!

Thank you so much for posting all of this! 18 days & counting until we are experiencing this all for ourselves!

Thank you for such a detailed review! Headed on our families first cruise, on Allure 4/15/18, your review has provided answers to many questions.

Thanks again, Janeille

It doesn’t show as an option in my cruise planner on the Allure. However I do have a reservation booked & haven’t received any notice stating that it would be transferred to another restaurant.

Where did you get that menu? I just pulled up on RCCL site & it’s not the menu shown. I’d prefer this menu!

The only thing I have seen close to this is a teen black light dance, so my daughter now has a white dress. She’ll be able to wear it if there is a white/black light dance or just on a regular evening. I’m very light completed so white looks particularly terrible on me. I didn’t even wear a white dress at my own wedding!

I have a dinner booked for my husband and I at 150 Central Park. While I am eager to try whatever a great chef/sommelier team put together my husband is much more geared towards beer. He likes a variety of beers, he’s certainly not strictly a pale American lager (aka bud light) guy. Has anyone had dinner at 150 & successfully found great beer pairing options? Thanks!

My gosh- I haven’t even considered this! I am someone with a bit of an issue with heights.

(The bartender at the space needle was the kindest, most generous soul keeping my drink topped off while I leaned against the wall, trying to control my crying ). We have an inside balcony & it never occurred to me that this might set my nerves off. 25 days & counting, not much to do about it now!