Jareds_mommytoo

1 hour ago, susannahclair said:

Thanks for the tips and information! I wasn't aware of the laundry deal, and that seems great.

 

One additional question: are shorts/leggings/jeans ever okay for kids in the MDR (not on Gala nights)? I have a 10yo son who lives in athletic wear and a 12yo daughter who despises skirts/dresses and lives in jeans or leggings. I'm trying to determine if they just need to eat at the buffet most nights. Might not be worth the fight. 😉 

 

Thanks again!

Shorts no, my daughter wears lululemon leggings to dinner no issues, im sure she wore them one gala night to with a longer shirt and belt ( shes 14 this year) she also lives in her Birkenstocks, no issues with them at dinner either

On 2/19/2019 at 10:21 AM, Apple5 said:

Note, however, that non-alcoholic beer is not included in the Quench beverage package even though we enquired at one bar and were told it was, we were charged a massive $7.99 for a bottle in the Lido Market and Customer Services would not remove the charge (and it wasn't very nice either).

According to their website it is 

On 3/15/2019 at 12:30 PM, Mosh and Me said:

Do you know if smoothies are included in the Quench Beverage Package? I am sailing on the Zuiderdam soon.

2 minutes ago, kaiiak said:

We are a family of 4 traveling to the Caribbean in April as well. I just purchased the laundry package. $49 is so cheap and I figure by mid-week we can each send a few things to be laundered (underwear/shorts/tees).  I am only packing one gala night outfit and figure the second gala night we can either do the lido or room service.  I am separating my clothes into categories: pool/beach days, resort wear that I can wear for day or night on ship, and the odds and ends (pj, workout gym outfit, gala).  Packing cubes are also helpful - my husband is cube crazy right now!  

We sent out 2 bags a day last cruise lol

19 minutes ago, kdakda said:

I cannot stress how wonderful the unlimited laundry for $7/day is ($49 for a week).    It will cut your packing by half, if not more.   Dry cleaning isn't included, but clothes were returned in less than 24 hrs, perfectly pressed and on hangers or folded.   

 

And you can come home with clean laundry to

2 hours ago, susannahclair said:

We are cruising next week for the first time over Spring Break with our two tweens. Would anyone mind sharing their family packing list for a Caribbean cruise? I don't want to overpack, but I am feeling overwhelmed thinking about all the things we will need for on and off ship (casual daily clothes x8! gala nights! swimwear! multiple pairs of shoes for everyone! something for cool nights!) Do kids really need to wear slacks (boy) and dress/skirt (girl) for the average MDR dinner? Any tips would be most welcome. Thank you!

There are not 8 gala nights on a week cruise,  We travel with a 17 & 14 yr old, all in carry on ( even for our two week panama cruise) our daughter, 3 pairs of capris, 2 dresses, 2 bathing suits a cover up, 3 pairs of shorts, 5 shirts, underwear, sock, dressy sandals flipflops. She wears a pair of pants on the plane, runners, t-shirt under a lond sleeve cardigan and a rain jacket. 

My son 4 pairs of shorts, 4 -t-shirts, one dress shirt, 2 bathing suits, one pair of pants, underwear,  socksdark pair of canvas shoes, flipflops, he wears runners, pants, t-shirt short sleeve button up shirt rain proof jacket. You can send out laundry, we find the $49 for a week a great value for 4 of us

Thank you, we are already fighting with out teen about how many shoes hes bringing lol 

34 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I am no child and I love roasted and fried Brussel Sprouts, had them last night as a side at a local resort hotel. We also have a great BBQ joint that makes the best roasted sprouts as a side dish.

We have a place here that deep frys them, adds bacon, fried peppers and a hint of Creole seasoning at the end she orders that as her dinner 

5 minutes ago, 1964IceCreamLady said:

 Vegetarian?  Otherwise, the candied bacon that comes out on a clothesline is a show-stopper!  

 

(OR: the kitchen will still know how to cook the Brussels sprouts so maybe contact them beforehand and make a special request....?)

LOL she is just a weird child who loves roasted Brussel sproutsBrussel sprouts

My child is going to be so sad the  Brussel sprouts are gone, those were the only thing she was looking forward to, when we told her she had to come for a family dinner lol

Dinsey, we have done HAL ( meh food after disney) and carnival 

2 minutes ago, simplyrubies said:

Do you want to get off at a port? That'll be a $20 pp charge please. Is it a very desirable port that you booked your entire vacation around? Let's slide that number up to $45 pp! 😉 

Dont we already pay port fees 

1 minute ago, whogo said:

Wedding food? Banquet food? I have never been to a banquet or wedding that offered a choice of three soups, three salads, six main dishes, a cheese plate, a fruit plate and ten or so desserts.

I asked quality not selection 

8 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

Wow!  Ours is early in August but I am so excited!  I have never seen wild life on the ships that I have sailed on except for a really large sea turtle and flying fish.  I was going to tell my friends I saw a giraffe in the water since I kept complaining that I had to make up seeing wildlife in the water,  on my last cruise and that night when I got to dinner there was a bobble head giraffe in my water glass so I could say I saw wildlife in the water.  I hope all that changes with this trip!

One of our longer cruises we pulled the kids put of school, my daughters science teacher gave her an independent assignment, she had to write about animals she saw, we seriously didnt see anything except birds amd lizards that trip, the cruise director kept seeing her and every time she was doing homework so he stole all her books and didnt give them back until the end of the cruise, and wrote her teacher a note lol 

3 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

Thank you Jared's mommy!

It was the second to last week, the ocean was like glass it was so calm. We seen lots of wild life even had a mom and baby orca playing in the ships wake one afternoon 

5 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

You need to compare apples to apples. We don't dine in mass market chains who operate under the same conditions as HAL ships, so how can anyone compare?

So i should tell her a prison or other institution? 😜

5 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

Going to Alaska in August and I expect it to be cold, so I can't wait to use the thermal suite pass.  So excited for this cruise!

We went late August, except for right in tracys arm, it was actually very hot, warmer there then the interior of British Columbia, ( which is very warm);

4 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

What land-based restaurants crank out on average 2000 meals, three times a day from a confined-space galley food prep setting, using ingredients shipped in from remote locations, after passing management's inspection requirements for food safety, and delivered onboard  after remote transits only every few weeks?

And that describes the food how? someone ask what the food quality was like and i was  trying to give a reference 

2 minutes ago, Lido deck main said:

Oh Boy,

I think you will get mixed bag of responses.  I have been to both Cheesecake Factory and The Keg, (Lived in Vancouver my whole life).  For me, in my opinion,  I think the MDR is very nice ambiance it is better than both Cheescake Factory and The Keg.  I am trying to liken it to something here, all I can think of right now is a fine hotel dining room but decorated much more, some main dining room ceilings have Chihuly Glass “sculptures”.  Very nice ambiance but not too stuffy.  I think for a family, great treat for mom and dad, and kids get to eat more formally without feeling out of place.

I was more trying to describe the food, not the space though  

Do you think they will get a lot more food compaints now? Before on a cruise of something wasn’t cooked well, i woukd just order something else. On land if a steak or something isnt cooked well i send it back.

I was trying describe the food quality of the main dining room so someone, i would was thinking like the Cheesecake Factory quality. Not quite the KEG in canada .  

1 hour ago, I like vacation said:

 

I was looking at the soda card this morning.  The information states that you "purchase a pre-paid fountain soda beverage card for $25 and receive $50 toward fountain soda purchases".   Does this mean soda cans are not included?

Only soda from the bartender guns

Do you mean the quench package, we got it our last cruise. It was a great value

Where are these cheaper cruise lines? Our HAL cruise was $2000-$3000 cheaper then carnival, RCCL and Norwegian, same dates ( or with in a day or 2) similar itinerary   

24 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

The thing is that both seem to be uniformly uneven in their application onboard. Different bar managers and staff seem to have different understandings of the concepts/policy. While you may be able to easily upgrade on one ship on another they may make it as hard as possible, or just downright refuse.  Similarly on one ship they may count ALL beverages and on another only alcoholic ones. Heck it can vary from sailing to sailing by all reports. This is one area that Seattle could easily address, but somehow seems to not, which leads to consumer frustration and dissatisfaction. 

 

I'm hopeful the the previous posters email from corporate points to them adopting a more consistent policy!

At leastbwith a copy of the letter i can bring it with me if i have an issue now. And a contact person