carohs

I would certainly think the cruise lines pay attention to cruise critic! I hope that they also read all the talk on once daily service and make some adjustments to their changed policy.

What is this widget? I think I might need this.

I'm impatient. The morning of, I'm eating breakfast and then pacing around until I can head to the port. Then I'm seething at the long lines and rolling my eyes at the number of people who seem to have unresolved issues or questions that are best answered by crew once onboard (or by having read cruisecritic) which only serve to delay the rest of us waiting (im)patiently in line. Only to finally (hopefully) find a seat and be irritated that my children are incapable of sitting still and are outwardly showing the same excitement and (im)patience that I'm feeling too. That being said, my check-in glitched and we ended up with different arrival times: What is the best time to arrive, and will NCL have something to say if we all arrive together either at the earlier time or later?

I did too! But I figured out how to change the video settings to speed up the playback so that helped.

Yes, I was definitely annoyed. Yes, I consider it a waste time, even if it is the 10 seconds it takes to sort the mail and dump it. No, it's not guaranteed that what you throw in the recycle bin will in fact be recycled. Do yes, it's a waste of resources. No, I didn't give it a second thought. Only a first. "That's annoying" was my thought. End. Full stop. No, I didn't stay annoyed beyond the time it took to have that thought. Dealt with it, moved on with my life. All of you acting like I can't even acknowledge an emotion I did feel even if it was a second of time, that annoyed me too 😂

I received two of the same brochure just yesterday. I'm definitely annoyed.

Touché Because that's when the popcorn tends to come out.. this particular topic has been relatively drama free. And "shoulds" don't carry as much weight in a thread of how things actually are/have been going (IMO)

Let's not get into all the woulds, coulds, and shoulds of cruising ....

Time to invest in a big Yeti tumbler. Ice will last forever if that's all that's in there. But the room being serviced once a day doesn't make or break my cruise. The bigger issue for me is the couch beds/Pullmans being left out and the lack of towel animals. To say the least, this is not family friendly. Since they often heavily discount the 3rd and 4th passengers, imo they are discouraging families to book, thereby reducing costs another way.

I love my Soda Stream but can't stand club soda from the fountain. Am I weird?

Most likely not the Michelin star, and in any case I'd expect that place to take cc. Street tacos, etc if we get the munchies or happen to smell something delicious. Likewise with souvenirs. I don't want to have to limit what we can do, but also I'm bringing enough cash to cover expenses for 4. I have a purse with a pocket that's really hidden. The only way to lose that would be if the whole purse was lost/stolen. I had also considered breaking up the cash and leaving the majority in the safe on board, and using as needed. We also decided not to book excursions and explore on our own.

OUR DATE DEVIATION PROGRAM Want to spend extra time exploring ashore? We can arrange flights that arrive or depart up to two days before or after your cruise, so you can make the most of your vacation. Below are the program’s Terms and Conditions: Guests can deviate their travel dates by arriving up to two days prior to embarkation and up to two days after disembarkation. Date deviations can be added up to 75 days prior to embarkation for existing reservations. An air credit of $25 per guest per deviation will be applied to your reservation. Adding or removing a date deviation updates the air dates on the original reservation. If the change is made inside the cancelation period, a cancelation fee may apply. Some sailings may not be eligible for date deviation requests.

If you book the BOGO air the general consensus is to request a one day deviation to arrive 1 day before the cruise. You have to do it at least 75 days out though. You get a credit and more peace of mind in case of unfavorable flights.

Do you have a formula you use for estimating expenses?

This. I've been looking at the under $15 glasses included in the package and most of that is borderline undrinkable to me.

We've also raised our kids with what we eat, they have to try it first. DH says he'll give a PBJ if they don't like it, but it's never come to that; there's always at least one part of the meal they'll eat. My kids are now old enough that I've got a solid understanding of what they do and don't like. They're also old enough to understand they don't have to eat what they say they don't like. So sometimes they will say they don't like something they've eaten half a dozen other times, usually around a holiday when they have lots of treats around. Well guess what? They don't get a treat, if they don't finish a meal. I'm not letting them waste food I know they'll eat, and I'm not going to listen to"I'm hungry" later in an attempt to have extra pie or whatever. This applies on the ship too. No way I'm letting my kids fill up on soft serve and then they "don't like" anything at dinner. I've seen parents with some of the pickiest eaters, and typically those kids can be found sometime after the meal with some kind of junk food (nuggets, pizza, chips) and the parent(s) think at least they're eating something. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know why those kids are so "picky".

Ok so getting cash broken into smaller bills on the ship is convenient enough! But how much to pack? $100 per port, $200? I don't like to withdraw/carry that much cash around. Makes me nervous.

Thanks for this! Yeah I remember back in the day my mom would sometimes even have a hard time getting someone to break a $20 even in border city. But also if in one of the first ports, I would have no issues getting change back in pesos since there's a good chance I'll spend those anyway.

Getting closer to sail date and I'm trying to budget/plan how much cash to bring. There's 4 ports Mex Riviera and we're exploring on our own. I know many businesses will take cc but I'm thinking tips, street vendors, or taxis would need cash. I could plan extra and leave in the safe? What do you all do? Then I was thinking maybe if I don't plan enough I could hit a local bank or even get some on the ship. There is an ATM right? The advantage/disadvantage would be the local bank would process the transaction in local currency.

I'm shocked! How picky are your kids? My kids had absolutely no problem eating from the buffet on Spirit. I can't remember what they ate but besides pizza, they often got soup or Caesar salad. One night they had mozz sticks, and I definitely remember seeing mashed taters and pasta options. Oh, and DD did get a grilled cheese once after hearing another cruiser order one, so we did figure out that was an option.

Thanks for the heads up that a policy is now being strictly enforced. But an exception should be treated as that, and not the expected norm. Boo on you for causing a situation that distressed your daughter.

🙄 While technically true, I had hoped to hear of experiences where rooms were assigned before the last second....

Funny story. DD wanted an egg n cheese McGriddle so I ordered the two deal, one with no sausage. I confused the heck out of the drive thru guy, so a girl fixes it and rings me up. I get to the window to pay, my total is too high, so I ask about the deal. Turns out it's $3.49 to add egg and $.79 for cheese. Oooooh okay, no wonder the guy was confused when I ordered only bread. Anyway, she re-enters the order with the deal plus upcharges, and I still saved $2. Good grief!

I'm looking for a place to quietly read a book while watching the ocean pass by, preferably no where near smokers. Maybe something of a weekend getaway. I'm also most likely bringing my kids.

Trying to decide on another cruise. Looks like from LA there's the Miracle, Panorama, and Radiance. What's the difference between the ships? Which do you like?