arlodog

Is there a possibility that she will go on another cruise with you in the future?  If so, cancel her and take the FCC.  You will still get the port taxes back either way, but will loose whatever you paid for her fare otherwise. 

You should be able to go to guest services and request additional keys for the rooms.  They won't really care where everyone sleeps as long as the kids behave themselves.  

I would recommend contacting King David.  You can find out about him on trip advisor--e is consistently highly rated. Here is his website:   https://www.kingdavidbelizetours.com

We have gone with him 3 times and each time he has shown us different things to see and experience.  Great guy who is very passionate about what he does! 

We have been with David 3 times.  He is the best!  When we went to the cave tubing he had people who carried our tubes for us so he could teach us about the different plants and birds we saw along the walk. Most of the other groups had to carry their own tubes through the jungle. 

David will take great care of you! 

We also went with King David to the zoo.  Highly recommend him!  You can add on some of the interactions when you are there.  We went into the cage and were able to be with their jaguar. (we were protected by the cage in the enclosure)  Looking back it probably wasn't the safest thing to do...they definitely don't have the same liability laws as we do here in the States.  Something we will never forget!  

He also took us to see the howler monkeys in the jungle.  Another great memory!  

They were serving full sized Corona when we were there in November.  We sat right by the stairs going into the water.  There was sandy beach all along the waterfront.  The water was beautiful and a gradual slope into the water.  I didn't get up and wander around--just saw the kayaks and boats available down the beach a way.  It was only about 80 degrees the day we were there--we just enjoy watching the waves and sitting on the beach.  A quick walk across the walkway to the bathrooms--the perfect spot for us!  The music is not loud.  Like someone else described, kind of a soothing jazz.  Depending on the crowd; I am sure you could get a party vibe going on.  The day we were there was pretty chill. 

I'm so sorry for you and your family.  I'm sure you are all crushed, but look at the silver lining.  You didn't get on board and then get sick. 

28 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

The only thing is they wouldn’t have the MDR menu to choose from (unless Grand Suite or higher)

That is true, but it would be a lot easier than ordering food to go from the MDR and carrying it through the ship!

They do have room service available too for a charge.  You could order enough for all for the one charge, just make sure you tip appropriately! 

We also went to Krazy Lobster after hearing about it on CC.  Highly recommend!  Taxi is $8 each way.  Prices are fair and food was really good. My DH got a massage for $20 (he tipped an additional $10) and said it was wonderful.  They do have a deal for buckets of beers if you are interested.  There are a lot of beach vendors, but they will respect a polite no thanks.  Water was clear and no seaweed thanks to the barriers.  Had a great time! Thanks for the recommendation.  We will go back with our whole family next year! 

Just off Symphony today.  You can't use it at Starbucks, Bionic Bar or Rising tide bar (I think that is the name of the bar that goes up a couple of floors). You can use them at any other bar.  I don't know about Johnny Rockets but we used it at the sports bar while watching a football game.  FYI: The diamond lounge was open on Symphony, but we didn't go into it. 

All you can do at this point is call around to your local labs and ask their turnaround time on the PCR test.  You are correct that you can't sail without a negative PCR for your child.   RCCL will repeat a rapid test at the pier before boarding.  But you still must show your negative PCR test. They are just trying to make sure that they aren't letting anyone on board with COVID.   I would be stressed too--the timeframe is very tight! 

Thanks to all who answered.  I appreciate it.  We vowed after our last trip to make sure we had adequate cell coverage this time.  Not easy when you don't speak the language and get lost!  We walked in circles in Rome and later found out we were just one street off where our hotel was located.

Thanks for the answer.  I appreciate it.  If nothing else we can switch out our sim card if we have problems. 

Hi everyone:

We did a med cruise about 7 years ago but didn't have international coverage at the time and in Rome we couldn't find free wifi widely available.  I just switched to Google Fi as my provider and we are going this fall on a Med cruise (if COVID doesn't derail these plans)   I know here in the states they use the towers for T-mobile/Sprint usually.  Does anyone have any experience with cell coverage in the Med ports?  I know the maps show coverage, but was interested in actual feedback from people who have experienced it recently.  We want to be able to use google maps and translate.   I know I can buy a sim card if necessary, but hoping to avoid it if at all possible that we have good coverage.  I have read that they have had a big push for Wifi in the EU.  Hopefully that will help! 

Thanks!  

We have stayed both inside and outside the Haven area.  We much prefer being inside the Haven area.  It's just so much more convenient for all the amenities.  We would find ourselves not wanting to walk to the Haven area for a drink and just going to a nearby bar instead.  Your mileage may vary, but I would vote for inside the Haven area. 

I cancelled and re-booked our Bliss cruise today scheduled for Jan 21 to take advantage of the gratuities promo.  Our price dropped $70pp and we got the gratuities covered.  Not a bad deal...if cruises are going by then. 

We also split our tours with people from our roll call.  We had never done this before, but it was a lot of fun.  We were able to have private tours in all the ports for small groups.  One of the members of the roll call made arrangements for a walking food tour in Valencia which was wonderful.  You learn the history of the town and then we learned all about tapas and how to order from a variety of restaurants.  We usually google walking food tours in most ports of call now after this experience.  

On 5/28/2020 at 9:52 AM, jsn55 said:

What a lovely story!  The age of 3 is magical for sure.

Yes it is.  If for some reason she wasn't singing in the halls we were always asked what was wrong and if she was ok.  It really was fun to watch the staff interact with her!  Great memories for us. 

We have been blessed to sail in Haven rooms on most of our cruises on NCL. We have become quite spoiled by the experience.  We are pretty low maintenance people and really just tell them to skip most of the afternoon snacks and just bring us a platter of cheese and crackers that we can enjoy with a glass of wine before dinner.  We do like a bowl of M&M's though... We like the Haven for the relaxed atmosphere and level of service from all the staff not just the Butler.  

We did have a DOS when we had our grand daughter with us who was 3 at the time.  Each evening our Butler would bring her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or spaghetti and we would feed her in the room and drop her off at the kids area so we could then go and enjoy dinner and a show.  Then my husband would pick her up and take her to the haven restaurant for a scoop of ice cream before bed. It wasn't just the butler who spoiled her that cruise.  All the Haven staff took great care of her and waited for her every morning and evening to come through the lounge area.  She gave out lots of hugs to the crew that sailing when they talked about missing their own kids/family.  She usually came down the hall singing and skipping--the crew loved her!   

Hi everyone:

I just wanted to let everyone know that some vendors are offering refunds, even if they don't have to. 

We had a cruise booked 7/31/20 on RCCL to Alaska.  We had booked all of our excursions prior to the COVID 19 crisis.  It was to be a 3rd cruise to Alaska, so we were familiar with the ports and knew we needed to book asap to ensure that what we wanted to do would be available. 

We booked with Jayleen's in Juneau for a whale watching tour.  10 years ago we were able to go with Harv & Marv's (her Dad Jay, was a co- owner at the time) and we had a wonderful time with him.  He actually talked about her on our tour; and how she was a photographer too.  When I contacted her to cancel she offered a refund even though it was supposed to be a non-refundable deposit of $60.  We asked her to keep it and we will plan on booking with her in the future.  I am sure that the cancellations of all the cruises this summer is devastating to these small business owners.  I appreciate her offering, but know that unless your boat is paid off,  just keeping up maintenance and insurance is no small expense for these business owners. 

In Skagway we booked with Dyea Dave.  No deposit with him, but did have railroad tickets booked directly with Whitepass and Yukon railway.  Again, no problem to get a refund on a non-refundable ticket.  They replied within 24 hours of inquiry and said it will take 2-3 business days to credit back to our card. 

The only thing we were not able to cancel was a hotel reservation for 1 night in Seattle booked on Hotwire.  I knew the risk when I booked it.  Again, this was before COVID but it is always a risk with these sites.  We did have insurance and we have been able to move it to another cruise I just booked for January 2021.  Hopefully we will be able to go again to Alaska.  Just wanted to let everyone know that the vendors we booked with went out of their way to do the right thing, even if they didn't have to based on the unique circumstances we are all facing right now. 

I would also suggest King David Castillo.  He will customize your tour and would make it for a fun day with your kids.  The area around the cruise port isn't particularly unsafe, but it is a poor country.  The zoo is really a fun experience and very different than zoo's in the US.  It is more of an animal sanctuary for animals injured in the wild or abused.  We have toured with him 3 times in Belize and it is always a great experience.  He took us to the market so we could try fresh fruits and also local restaurants so we could try the local foods.   Highly recommend him!   

There are vendors who will sell you a tour at the pier.  We booked with Marva Shaw at know Jamaica tours.  She customized a tour for us in Falmouth.  We were picked up right outside the gates to the pier.  We saw Rose Hall and went into Montego Bay.  We made stops along the way at a fruit stand and jerk shack for lunch.  Fun day!

We have also done the walking food tour in Falmouth.  They meet you inside the gates and you walk through town and make stops along the way to sample various foods, learn about the spices they cook with ect...  I don't know how adventurous your 11 year old is....There is a lot of history in Falmouth, but also a lot of poverty.  We never felt unsafe with the guide, but it is an eye opening experience in the true poverty in Jamaica.  

We sailed Costa once about 15 years ago when they first came to the US market.  We went because of the cost.  I didn't mind it, but both of my kids and husband said they would rather not cruise than go back on a Costa ship.  A true 1st world problem. 

It is very European in it's food.  The buffet had some dishes that we were not used to.  At the time we sailed my kids were teens and they were not open to "new" experiences.  That may have colored our feelings about the ship.   Announcements are in multiple languages--which takes a lot longer to get through.  The food is different; not necessarily bad, but not always like the US mass market lines.   I would encourage everyone to try some new lines.  Different is not always bad.  At least you are on a vacation!   

Yes, you do want to be first off the ship to get your car or I have heard there is a wait.  It was really easy to drive yourself around though.  Not much to the town and highly recommend spending the few dollars on Murray's guide.  It follows mile markers up the Highway so you know what you are looking at and a bit of the history. I see the price has risen to $5.95.  http://*****/  Still a bargain!