carohs

Best to have your own VFIP account. Usually emails can only be associated with one account, so you either have to delete his account, associate a different email to his account, or create a new email address for you to create your own VIFP account.

It's very subjective. I actually found myself very bored on CCL. Maybe it's Alaska cruisers, but there weren't that many people participating and the activities offered aren't what I consider "fun." They're more like laugh at yourself doing normally embarrassing things or watching other people do embarrassing things kind of fun. Or Trivia which is meh. The comedians on-board went for some dirty humor rather than intelligent jokes so although funny if drunk, not sober funny. However, I will say the first time I was aware of a CD or the role of the CD is sailing on Carnival. The fun squad is very present and engages with the passengers a lot more frequently. I could see how a shorter Caribbean sailing would be very fun. But it's about the general vibe and what you make of it.

I was lured by the stacks of cash and tried like 5 times when I was able to lift a stack of $10s which unfortunately slipped out of the claw shortly after starting it's path sideways. Ooooh that hurt. So I tried a bunch more times before deciding it wasn't worth it after all. I wish I had known about the variable grip of the claw because that makes so much more sense now!

Hmm just throwing it out there, not sure if it's within the terms but why not get two staterooms, give the adults some extra alone time? Or invite some friends and family along. Any grandparents willing to share a room with the kids? Free cruise in exchange for free babysitting if you catch my drift.

Have you considered going to Hawaii? What category room are you looking at? $5400 doesn't seem that hard to spend on a Suite.

I have no experience with Europe cruises, but on the Jewel this year I was told there were approx 600 kids 2nd week of Apr and the week prior had 800.

No of course not. My humor did not translate very well, sorry.

CN are applied per reservation, not per passenger, so that's incorrect. If you already have the certs on your account, your TA should be able to apply them as a form of payment.

Yup you're right on the first point. I kinda just laughed at myself for that one. But there's netting; plus electronics aren't in our ported luggage so we take that risk. I'd forgotten about the key cards, so yup even less reason for us to need access to staterooms early. And while true that we just don't know, I'm not frustrated at any one particular cruiser, but at the statistical improbability that all the people lounging at the Cafe have a legit reason to be there. Most are able-bodied and more than capable of not contributing to the general chaos that is embarkation day. It's pisses me off when a party of more than 4 hold their plates until their food gets cold struggling to find a place to eat. Or a solo cruiser who is unable to get a drink refill because of the high possibility of losing their seat. But of course we just don't know who is capable of moving, making it impossible for me to demand anyone move. So the last time my kids ended up on the floor near the sports courts eating their pizza which they had no issue with, and we enjoyed the fresh air. But that's not really an option for a lot of people either. It pisses me off, but by now I expect it. We deal with it and move on in the moment, but when I see it posted here I immediately jump to "oh you're one of them." My problem, I know. People who are not sun people who are cruising are beyond my comprehension.

Booked at least 4 months in advance or occurring at least 4 months from today? Because we're past PIF, but if I could use one to prepay gratuities partially I will totally do that.

What's annoying? Trudging your bags all day? That's what porters are for. We selectively keep what we need and can easily carry around the ship; everything else goes to the porters. I really have yet to hear on here anyone experience theft or loss. At worst, some luggage has fallen into the ocean and subsequently retrieved. I'm not sure on NCL, but even if doors are closed they're not locked. I've had success too at getting into the hallway and at least getting my room key even if rooms aren't quite ready. Could you have left your bags just outside of the stateroom? So what I'm hearing is carrying your bags around was too much of an inconvenience to be able to enjoy the ship. Instead you chose to inconvenience your fellow passengers who would have liked to use your table to eat a late lunch. And chilling on the Sun Deck isn't an option because??? Land hotels often don't have check in until 4:00. So 3:30 seems more than reasonable to me. You do you, but none of these arguments is enough for me to decide not to have a good time on the ship and waste my first day of vacation just waiting around.

Thanks for the feedback. Haven't tried Royal yet but if we did, it'd be on the ships that have the amusement rides and such. I found there were things I really enjoyed on CCL (quick service food options breakfast and lunch, afternoon tea) and things that were total misses for us. Lack of variety of entertainment (how much trivia can one really do?) and bad choice in smoking areas namely. I decided to forego CCL for longer cruises but do have a 3n one booked. It actually sounds like RCL and CCL have more in common than not so I might try them too one day.

It doesn't have to be complicated even. "Baby daddy has permission to take Baby on cruise ship XYZ on date." I wonder if a post-it would be sufficient? 🤔😂 Especially with accounts that they barely even look at the letter if they do at all. Given that a passport can't even be issued without both parents' on the birth certificate signature, that should be permission enough (if you get a passport for the child). I mean yeah things can happen in 5 years, but also anytime and there's no time stipulation on said required letter either.

Released today.

I would do the FAS. You save the $15 corkage on each bottle you bring onboard and get a 20% discount if you choose to buy bottles onboard. Since you can get 2 drinks pp, you could both grab a couple beers each before heading to the cabin, giving you 4 and less trips back to the bar. Your DH can drink the beer while you drink the wine. The convenience alone is worth it to not have to worry about after the cruise bill but you do have to assess how much you would be likely to spend without the package. Don't forget about drinks like mimosas which are included but not made with hard liquor. When on vacation it's fun to have an extra drink or two outside the normal so you could very well make more use out of the package than anticipated.

Do you know often I ask if they have Google Pay and I get a dumbfounded look with the response "we have apple pay?" So now I just ask if they have apple pay and use my Android, because I know it's basically the same tech just a different app/wallet.

For sure, put it towards another cruise! So sad to see this one coming to an end. Thanks for another great review! Really felt like I was there with you. Did you have a favorite wine from this trip?

Hi did you go on your cruise in the Spa Cabin yet? I was curious too if the deals onboard are any better/different than pre-booking. Also how does priority Spa appointments work, when anyone can pre-book online?

We have some excursions but mostly renting a car and exploring ourselves. I kinda assumed most good snorkeling spots would have rentals available so I will add this bit of research to my planning.

Will it? Caffeine free and diet....might as well be drinking water...shiverrrr

Hawaii has so many snorkeling options and we'd like to try it out. Would you recommend renting the equipment or buying our own?. It seems that snorkeling equipment is really not that expensive, and if we buy we could use multiple days on the different islands (doing POA) but then it's just one more thing to pack, and add to luggage weight.

Follow up, it looks like on POA Moderno is by the Aloha Cafe. If anyone has experience with this, will they allow us to bring in food from the cafe for the kids if they don't want to order off the kids menu?

That explains it! Thanks 😉

Since we booked an inside we should only have 1 specialty dining for guests 1&2 right? I was able to make the reservation for the four of us at Moderno without getting charged on the app, so is that an IT glitch? I kept it that way so that we could all eat together but have the kids order off the regular kids menu. OTOH, if I somehow have 2 specialty dining per guest 1&2, I'd like to plan/make additional reservations.

Thanks for your thoughts. Smelling smoke in the common areas, especially the pool area, is a deal breaker for us since we cruise with kids who love using the pool. I had heard that the casino smoke permeates in the atrium, so I was already put off this class ship. I understand people have vices but that's just one that shouldn't negatively impact everyone else around them. What was NCL thinking with that ship design?