kimberlym322

I think it depends on where you get them from. The places I go to for bushels of crabs and crab cakes, the crabs come right off the local waters of Maryland and Virginia fresh every morning and afternoon. I guess I am just lucky to live on the water to be able to get them fresh like that!

No they do not. But if my memory serves me correct it is not a long walk from the ship to the end of the pier.

Does anyone know if they are still doing the Captains reception on the 2nd night? If so do you know about what time it starts? I am on a 8 night cruise do they have 2 formal nights still on a 8 night cruise?

Carnival must be paying the state to be able to do that. I know in 2018 they (Carnival) did not open the casino until day 2 once we were out of the bay and into international waters.

You have to be in international waters for it to open. From Baltimore to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay it takes about 7 to 10 hours. From Baltimore to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is 3 hours alone...then the rest of the time is from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel.

I love my TA. She has helped a lot in a few situations I have had over the years. So I guess it is a matter of if you want to or not. I would suggest calling your car insurance company to see if they offer travel insurance. Nationwide offers travel insurance....last time I checked it was like 20.00 for a year I believe.

My sister was 44 and 45 when I did it for her and she loved it. It just drove her crazy trying to figure out what was in the box both years. It is just something fun to do to get out of the oh by the way don't want to see the joy/surprise/reaction you will have for years to come in video or photos, but we are taking a cruise. Kids don't stay kids forever to enjoy the joy/surprise on their face for a surprise like that. Basically your idea would just be toss the kids Christmas gifts under the tree unwrapped and say merry Christmas here's your gifts, your too old for the wrapping paper shenanigans! Let a child be a child and have fun...this makes them creative as adults and will be able to have fun with their kids when they have them.

This is an easy one. You can tell the granddaughter that she is getting the passport for ID reasons because she is not old enough to get a state issued ID and it is always good to have an ID and it will make it easier later in life when she is ready to travel. That is what a friend of mine did for her daughter when she went to get a passport for her to surprise her with a trip to Europe for 3 weeks. This way you will have more time to surprise her with the trip for Christmas or birthday. IF you can put her off telling her until Christmas or her birthday you can do the following: If her birthday is between Dec. 26th and the time you leave turn it into a fun combined gift (I did this for my sisters 46th Christmas/45th birthday...she opened her birthday present and Christmas presents together.). With it being my sisters 45th birthday gift and her 46th Christmas present...the cruise...I got her 45 things that she would need on the cruise. First I gave her a letter that basically said Merry 46th Christmas happy 45th birthday to find out what your birthday present is you have to open all your Christmas gifts. The stuff ranged from new tooth brush to makeup to sun glasses. I wrapped everything by itself and in each one I put a funny little note in there...like with toothbrush I put something like...its never good to have bad breath, then I gave her a thing of deodorant with a note that said now that you don't have bad breath your pits wont smell either. Each gift was numbered so she would open it in order. The 46th gift was was a letter telling her something like now that you have opened your 45 gifts put them in your luggage so you don't lose the stuff, you will need them on Feb. X when you take your first cruise for your 45th birthday. I put everything in a BIG box wrapped up and as soon as the Christmas tree was put up I put the box under the tree. Everyday for a little over a month I would mess with her that she would have to wait however many more days until Christmas before she could open the box. It drove her crazy because she wanted to know what was in the box because she hates surprises. Her sons would yell at her if she even tried to pick the box up. This went over so much that she went and locked herself in her bedroom and cried for 10 minutes that I would do something like that for her. It was all in fun...I did it for her 46th birthday/47th Christmas also when I surprised her with a trip to TX to see family there. But there is also so many other ways to do it also.

In theory a No Sail list would be a great idea. HOWEVER for it to work a lot of things would have to be looked at and changed across the board on all cruise lines. All cruise lines would have to use the same operating system that they are all hooked to, they would have to keep up with each person on the list because of name changes, names being spelled wrong to get around the list, the fact that there is not just one person in the world with a name (I had 2 other girls in my high school with the same name as me), people move and can get around the list and such. Choice Hotels has a National DO NOT RENT LIST and people get around it all the time. So even though a NO SAIL list sounds like a great idea it would not work out.

Do both. Use the points credit cards for big things....like gas, grocery shopping...things like that. Then do the change with small buys like going to McDonalds for lunch, running in to the store to get a candy bar or such. Also look at your bank for Christmas club and vacation club. Use coupons and your bonus cards at stores....whatever you save using them put away also. I save in so many ways that way I have more money for vacation.

I guess living in a tourist town to me 18.00 is cheap for a meal a person. 550.00 for 6 to me is on the cheap side because of where I live...for 3 of us to eat a few weeks ago it was 400.00! But I understand where you are coming from.

The best fabric store I found was in Martinique. But all islands have a fabric store somewhere, just ask a local if they know where one is. Our drivers when we did privet tours knew where to find them. Romney Mannion in St Kitts has hand stamped fabric. Jam/jelly and Tea I got in Antiqua. But again with them you can go to any grocery store and see what they have to get them....I even brought extract back to bake with that is not offered in the USA. Spices again on the privet tour I get the driver to stop at a local grocery store. I could live in the grocery stores on the islands, they have so much different things from chips and cookies to cake mixes and so on. When I went to a store on St Kitts, my mom was yelling at me because I was buying too much stuff...but then yelled back on the ship because I didn't buy enough of this chips or that candy or cookies (i was like hello you were yelling that I was buying too much!), I spent so much time in there the driver was like your cutting it close to the time you want to be back to the ship. If you go to the grocery store don't be shocked if some of the spices are in plastic bags. I always get small things of spice for my nephew because I don't know what he will like, then after a week he yells at me that I didn't get him enough. You can get them sometimes at the stores at the pier.

I would have to disagree with you to a point. On all the islands the one that I found most expensive to eat was St. Martin....That cost for 2 of us 80.00, it was small portions and to me food was subpar. For me the other islands most I paid was 15.00 a person, the food on those islands were great, good portion size. I really think the cost of food all depends on where you go. We like to eat off the "beaten path" so to speak, where the locals would go to eat.

I use to say the same thing. However, I figured out how to have fun without breaking the bank. I save change...you just have to get in the mind set that change is NOT money until you turn it into paper money. On January 1st I start a new. I have developed money charts for change for the year. Each day I put x amount away in a jar (on take the weeks total and get change on Friday and put in the jar). If I go into the store and the bill is say 10.17....I give them 11.00 and the other .83 in the change jar. My first cruise in 2016 everything from the cruise it's self to spending money to money to cover the excursions was paid for using change. The bank liked to of killed me when I carted 1200.00 (just the cruise part) in the bank for them to count but it was a good laugh.

I would say St Thomas for window shopping and beach. I myself did not find the excursions all that on that island.