Mum2Mercury

That sounds a bit like a recipe for disaster -- too easy to mix up. Of course, now that I say it, I realize I too have those same colors, but one of mine's solid, while the other's polka-dot and has a skirt. Not too easy to mix up.

I have a tiny cloth bag (like the size of a deck of cards) that holds my magnetic cruise hooks. I pack it in my checked luggage, as I don't need it until I get to my room. I bring two types of hooks, and I find them both useful: - The hooks are ideal for keeping our hats up on the wall. - The clamps keep our paperwork up off the desk /dresser. We also each bring a small (2x4") dollar store plastic bin, which we each keep by our side of the bed -- the clamps keep them on the wall. We both keep our Ship ID in our bin; I drop my earrings and Chapstick into mine.

Our bags have been beating us to the room. We're always in the first boarding group, regular rooms /not suites. Thanks, I love to see pictures of the food! How was the cheesecake? I'm a bit of a cheesecake snob. Thanks for the pictures -- these are the first I've seen of Hideaway Beach. I wonder if it's always windy or if it was so bad because of that storm. Was the coconut shrimp included or extra cost? I cruise mainly to eat shrimp (not really, but not completely joking either). LOVE the Brazino, and it's supposed to be a sustainable fish -- good /better than other fish for the environment somehow. I'd love to know more about this. We favor the mid-sized ships -- Mariner, Freedom, Liberty, Independence -- and would like to see more of them added to the fleet. I'm okay with sitting alone most of the time. I wish they'd build in more ocean-front bar seating in Windjammer like they have on Grandeur. Ideal for the solo diner. Hey, I'm past 50, and I've barely slowed down -- yes, I'm about 1/3 gray and have orthopedic inserts in my shoes, but I'm not slowing down yet. Don't go scarin' the young folks.

A better idea!

If you're boarding for a B2B you'll have documents for two cruises. I agree that losing a 12-pack of soda wouldn't ruin my trip, and I could run it back to the car, if I really cared.

We booked a low-cost, last-minute cruise about 5 weeks out. Wasn't a difficulty for us because 1) we're retired, 2) we are close enough to drive to the port, 3) we didn't plan any excursions or other specialty items for that cruise -- just being onboard was enough.

I looked at the menu online and added up a couple meals I myself might choose. I only went over $20 if I added in the $12 ice cream sundae. If the numbers aren't working out for you, I'd consider dinner at Playmakers and dessert at Windjammer. Can't go wrong that way.

I always email ahead of time and request a mattress topper -- it's not much, but it helps a bit.

I'm just surprised. I mean, if you said one of the older, smaller ships didn't have Freestyle machines, I wouldn't think twice -- but Liberty is a mid-sized ship. Maybe I don't understand what's involved, but it seems to me that a Freestyle machine could be brought in on a dolly and set up in a couple hours -- I mean, around here most fast food joints have them. In my imagination, it'd require 2-3 men and 2-3 hours of work -- they could install it while passengers are being loaded onto the ship. But what does a high school teacher know about these things? My imagination could be solidly wrong. If you have just one empty bottle (okay, maybe a couple -- they're easy to lose), you can refill it over and over again. The ship's water is purified just like bottled water. I like the little powdered "sticks" of drink mix ... they're what I use at home, and they can't spill. My daughter strongly prefers the bottles with liquid flavor. Either way, you know what's in your beverage. I do really like the ship's lemonade, but I asked a WIndjammer staffer to let me see the back of the container he was mixing up, and it's Nestle's brand -- chock full of sugar. The rule is 12 per stateroom. The reality is that the terminal staff don't really know who's with whom. I've seen loads of people walking together, each of them toting a 12-pack of soda.

No, I don't remember anyone saying, "Stop this." I like having a big, insulated cup, but it's not a necessity.

Since we have an 8-hour drive ahead of us, we always want to disembark quickly and start driving. Even if this weren't my reality, staying on the ship doesn't particularly sound appealing /worth money. All the ship's amenities would be closed. After breakfast we could sit by the pool, but we wouldn't have a shower in which to clean up afterward. No, if I had a late flight, I'd rather do something around town.

Bummer, but -- no -- you don't have a case against them. They're crystal clear -- on the website, in the app, in the cruise documentation -- about what documentation you must provide.

Nah, I just know what I've seen. I don't believe teens would've overwhelmed the place. I remember when JR's was free, and it didn't happen then. We used to go to one at the beach years ago. Not sure if it's still operating. Agree.

Freestyle Coke machines? Is that what you mean? I can't believe Liberty doesn't have them ... they even had them on Grandeur. Are you sure this is a fact? - You're allowed to carry on twelve sodas (or other non-alcoholic beverages). You're also allowed to carry on a standard-sized bottle of wine. - For a B2B, you can bring double this amount. If this sounds difficult, consider some type of rolling carry-on. - I like to bring those little tear-open packets of powder that make into lemonade or other flavors. Unlike bottles of liquid, they're not a leak-hazard. They weigh nothing /take up no space. I bring them because I'm low-carb and don't like to "drink my calories", and with those I know what I'm getting. - The water onboard is perfectly safe, and you can get a cup in multiple places any time of day. - You might want to bring your water bottle to keep some water in your room. - If you're a milk drinker, cartons are available at breakfast. You can bring 1-2 back to your room. - If you're a juice drinker, it's available at breakfast but not always lunch and dinner ... so consider bringing a water bottle to fill with juice for later in the day. - When you stop at the islands, no one's going to fuss at you for returning with 2-3 sodas (or other non-alcoholic beverages). And if you do NONE of these, you'll still have all the water, tea (iced or hot), lemonade, sometimes fruit punch, and plain coffee you want. If you don't spend a single penny, you won't dehydrate.

I noted that drinks on Coco Cay were about $1 more than drinks on the ship. This must be why. I don't understand why Royal wants to sail so heavily to the Bahamas -- well, yeah, I do: location. When we last visited, we did not feel safe being herded through the bottleneck that exists between the dock and the island. Too crowded, people pushing -- if one person had fallen, it could've been a disaster. If anyone had needed medical attention, no one could've reached him. Except for Coco Cay, it's not a great island stop.

I don't like being lied to -- I can stay salty about it for a long, long time. Royal lied when they started charging a fee for Johnny Rockets years ago. They said the fee was to prevent teens from hanging out in the place all day /keeping families from finding seats. I never saw that -- not even close. They just wanted to justify a fee for a burger joint, and once they started it as "all you can eat for $4.99", they just kept the concept of "all you can eat". I agree they'd get more business if they'd sell JUST french fries to go, etc. Now the place is a ghost town -- not worth the real estate it takes up. I wonder if they have an X-number of years contract with Johnny Rockets?

I've always had 10:30 at Port Canaveral. I don't know if the port sets that time, or if the ship sets that time.

Mine too. Gotta start the boy out right! Put him on a good path, you know.

My will-be-then 3 year old grandson has never had a milkshake. I'm planning to introduce him to STRAWBERRY.

Are Johnny Rockets staff included in tip sharing? Or is it appropriate to tip when having (no-cost) breakfast?

Except a milkshake, right?

I'm years away from SS, but I'd like to know the answer to this question! The comments about mailing-a-check vs. direct-deposit make perfect sense.

That is true, but cruises are not often affected by hurricanes -- doesn't mean it's not possible. Things to know: - If you must fly to your departure port, you are more likely to be affected by a hurricane. The real danger is in whether you can reach the ship. - Your captain has the authority to skip or change a port of call for the safety of the ship. Once you're on the ship, you're not going to be affected by the hurricane. - It's possible that in an extreme situation you could return to port a day early /stay an extra day -- again, for the safety of the ship. This is not common. If you have a job (or children or pets) to get back to, this could affect you.

Late August? You're likely to have fewer kids than in summer /on holidays, but more kids than September or October. Even parents who are fine with taking their kids out of school balk at missing the first couple weeks -- but not all school systems will be back in the classroom. Consider, too, that more and more kids are in non-traditional year-round classrooms, and more are homeschooled or enrolled in online classes. Personally, we like September, October and early November best. The weather is perfect, and the ticket prices are at their lowest. You're likely to encounter fewer kids on an 8-day cruise. You're either sailing or disembarking on a weekday, and that cuts into two different weeks. Couple in your travel, and that's just not a choice parents tend to make once their kids are in high school. And most people with kids this age don't have unlimited vacation -- so you're likely to encounter a slightly older crowd on an 8-day cruise. Consider, too, that kids tend to stick to the kids' clubs or the main pool. That leaves a lot of real estate for you. In theory, kids should not be running around "all hours of the night". The ship has a curfew (extremely late, in my opinion -- we always gave our kids a much earlier curfew), but it's not strictly enforced. Finally, one of my favorite sayings is, Don't bleed until you get shot. That is, Don't start worrying 'bout things that haven't happened yet. Something similar is in the Bible: Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Or, today's troubles are enough; don't go worrying over what might happen tomorrow. People on this board tend to complain about kids' behavior onboard -- yet I've not seen most of what they describe -- maybe because I don't cruise summer or holidays. We ONCE had a group of kids who were knocking on our door, waking us up, but when my husband jumped up and snatched the door open, they were shocked and fell all over themselves apologizing -- they thought they were knocking on a friend's door /pranking a friend. Not okay, but they stopped immediately. And ONCE I took my then-young children out to the pool for a late-night swim, and we encountered a group of boys who were doing flips into the (shallow) pool off the handrails -- very unsafe. I asked them to stop, saying I was afraid they'd be hurt, and when they just laughed, I went to security. That stopped it. But in 20 years of cruising, those are my only personal examples of kids engaging in bad behavior.

Yes, exactly the example I gave above. We were caught in an absolute downpour in Cozumel, and my sandals stayed soaked for about a day ... but I had my Vans for daytime wear. Interesting, but would only work if you're bringing a newspaper on board. I can't think of anything you could get onboard that'd work. In college I was so poor that I sometimes wore holes in the bottom of my shoes and cut cardboard to make them last a little longer, but that's a different story.