boulders

Quark Expeditions has packages that do that.

Good advice but I have a question. If the other parent is deceased do you need to bring a copy of the death certificate? What if the other parent was never involved, what then? Thanks.

Yes, if the other parent is deceased, you need to bring the death certificate for a minor.

For a minor, if there is another parent listed on their birth certificate, you need to bring proof that the other parent allows you to travel OR that you have sole legal custody. It is unlikely that you will be asked for that, but those who didn't have it have been denied boarding.

Biggest adjustments coming from Disney are the kids clubs not being open full days and the charge after 10 PM (and the lack of kids there) and of course, the soda and tea available for free. If you want a drink other than coffee or water on RCCL, buy the soda package.

The above is not quite true regarding drinks available on RCCL ships. There is tea, coffee, milk, and chocolate milk available at all times for free. Juice, lemonade and iced tea are available in the Windjammer. Some ships have specialty coffee bars where you can get cappuccino etc (for a fee). You can get milkshakes at Johnny Rockets or Ben and Jerry's (for a fee). There are plenty of regular bars around the ship as well. There are probably many more options available. I haven't cruised them since 2011 or been on the Oasis class ships.

I prefer to get the soda card on RCCL - it's not a separate card, it's embedded in your sign and sail card by the way - so that I can get a drink wherever I like around the ship rather than having to schlep up to the pool deck to get a self-serve on Disney.

Almost any ship could give you a very nice honeymoon. It all depends on what you are looking to get out of it. Stick around cruise critic and read, read, read.

If you are interested in Panama Canal cruises, you may be interested in South America cruises too. There are some in March/April 2015 that start in Chile or Brazil and end up in Florida or California. Some of them transit the Canal. The ports would be more interesting than the ports on a cruise that only does the Canal. The one that looks best to me is on Oceania's Regatta. It goes from Brazil, up the Amazon and ends in Florida. Oceania is a little more upscale than the typical cruise line. Holland America's Zaandam does the last long South America cruise of the season on April 1 and goes from Chile to Florida.

I like the suggestion of the Australia-Hawaii cruise. Those also then go from Hawaii to California. Celebrity's Solstice and Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas are beautiful ships that do this route.

A cruise in the South Pacific would be very romantic as well.

wow! good thing I booked it when I did this afternoon! The same cabin (FF) is now $500 more on the same sailing, May 23rd. It was on sale for 24 hours, that is it? Oh, I am so happy I jumped when I did!! :)

Yes, prices go up and down, according to supply and demand. The price probably went up because they sold a couple of cabins in that category. ;)

Your luggage is xrayed at embarkation. Your bags are xrayed every time you get on the ship. You also go through a scanner every time you get on the ship.

"Royal" could mean Royal Caribbean or Royal Princess. But, I don't see any sailings on either which go to Aruba or Curacao. Which line and which ship?

We will be going on our second Christmas cruise this year. The first time, the kids were 15, 12 and 5. I brought several small presents, things I could put in my carryon. We flew, so I didn't want presents in the checked luggage. We were on Royal Caribbean, and they had a small (2 foot) Christmas tree that you could order for your room. Santa also visited on Christmas morning in the ice rink and handed out presents. DS5 got a blanket with the RCCL logo. :confused:

This time we're flying again. The kids are 3 years older. We are celebrating Christmas early, at home. I will take a couple of things for the youngest to open on Christmas morning. We're on HAL, so no Christmas tree in the stateroom. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

The water from the tap is produced through reverse osmosis and is purer than water from your tap at home or bottled water. I would not order water for tea from room service, they will often use the same container for coffee and tea and then it's not cleaned well. So, there's coffee in the hot water.

Just use the water from the tap.

I for one appreciate that the cruise lines have not succumbed to the "Big Gulp" and "Super Size" mentality that seems to be so pervasive in society these days.

 

I am amazed that some people think it is such a big deal that they may have to get up and refill their cup when it runs out?

It is a big deal if you have a couple of small kids, no trays, and you've already had to make 4 runs up to the counters to get food, drinks and maybe desserts.

Agree.

 

Another point to keep in mind is that HAL caters to an older group. HAL is sometimes referred to as the "Hardly Alive Line". I'm not knocking HAL. HAL has a large and loyal following. You might find HAL to be too sedate.

You'll notice that posters that make such references have never been on a HAL ship. HAL does not have belly flop contests or hairy leg contests. If those things appeal to you, then HAL will be too sedate. They do have good service, good food and great itineraries. HAL cruises are an excellent product and value for the money.

I would recommend that you read the reviews of the ships that you are considering.

In my experience, Alaska cruises have a different pattern than other cruises. By the time final payment rolls around, there can be deep discounts, but the balcony and suite cabins are gone. A lot of the cabins get booked up during the wave sales in January. If you want a balcony or suite cabin, book now and watch for sales or promotions. If you are OK with an inside or ocean view and are flexible in your dates, wait until after final payment.

You're about 10 years older than the average Holland America cruiser.

I will be going on my second cruise over Christmas with my kids this year. Our first was on Royal Caribbean. Santa visits their ships on Christmas Day and hands out presents to the kids. There is a special Christmas dinner in the dining room. All ships are decorated for Christmas, and there is a party on New Year's Eve.

Since we fly to port, I don't like to put presents in the luggage, so last time many of the presents were small ones that I or my oldest carried in our hand luggage. This time, the kids decided that they wanted us to celebrate Christmas early, so we will be celebrating the weekend before we leave.

Fares on Royal Caribbean are the same, no matter the age, except for sometimes when there is a discount for 55+.

I would NOT recommend Toronto. It's very frustrating with traffic problems, and it's just a "big city". Unless you want the Theatre experience, but they will have that opportunity in NYC much more than Toronto. IMO, driving from NYC to visit Toronto is like driving from Mexico City to San Diego to grab a Taco.

Toronto's traffic issues are nothing compared to Boston's or NYC's. And it's more interesting and lots more to do than Boston.

There are certainly nice rural places to stay between NYC and Niagara Falls. But it will be chilly at that time of the year and the leaves will be mostly gone. I would recommend renting a car and driving to Niagara Falls rather than taking a train. It makes it easier to cross the border. The real panorama of the falls is on the Canadian side. Most of the hotels are there too.

I'd recommend trip advisor for your research.

We were considering either March or Oct of next year. Venice would be one of the must sees. Will see what I find. So much to consider. We may have other family members coming along if the timings are right. Hopefully they are less picky than my parents and myself lol

There are not many cruise lines that are in the Med in March. Norwegian and MSC are the only kid friendly cruise lines that sail then. Quite a few ships, especially the kid friendly ones, leave at the beginning of October or late September.

 

The "liberal" smoking policies of HAL is a bit of a stretch. I am at the Grand Wailea on Maui right now. The Grand Wailea, a 4 star hotel, like most hotels I am aware of, allows smoking on their balconies.

Smoking on a hotel balcony is illegal in Hawaii. http://hawaii.gov/health/healthy-lifestyles/tobacco/Smoke-Free-Law.htm

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

You may find some better answers on Phuket on the Ports of Call boards.

Hi all,

 

First time poster, first time cruiser.

 

My gf and I will be going on Mariner of the Seas at the end of the year and the ship will be tendered in Phuket. A must do for us is the Phi Phi island speedboat tour. However, the official RC tour costs at least 2x as much as the others I see online.

 

Therefore our options are:

1. Book with RC

2. Book another tour online

3. Book something on the day once we get onshore

 

Our ship is supposed to be tendered by 7am. Most of the tours start around 8:30am and we don't want to book something and miss it just because the process to transfer onshore is delayed or takes too long. If you book a shore excursion through the ship, you will be given a meeting place and time to meet. It would be pretty hard to miss a ship's excursion. If the 8:30 excursion an independent excursion in Phuket, and it's not a private excursion, then you're taking a risk.

 

Does anyone know:

1. The exact location in Phuket which the ship will be tendered. This will not be known until the day you arrive. It depends on sea and traffic conditions.

2. What the process for coming onto shore is, how long it is expected to take and whether the cost is included in the cruise fare The cost is included. How long it takes depends on whether or not the ship needs to be cleared by authorities and how many people want to get off.

3. The operating hours of the transfer vessels They will operate from the time the ship clears until the ship sails.

4. How frequently the transfer vessels operate Depends on many factors, but for getting off the ship, they keep them going as fast as they can. Same thing for embarkation just before sailing.

5. Whether passengers who book shore excursions through RC get priority boarding on the transfer vessels Yes

6. Which tour operator RC uses for its official Phi Phi island tour? I can't answer that question. Has Royal Caribbean been to Phuket before? Generally ships will not allow tour providers to book people who are on the ship. They'd be risking their contract if they did.

 

Any insight to any of the above would be greatly appreciated, including suggestions on which option to go with. I've also emailed RC but judging by the time it took for them to reply to my last email it may take a while before I get a response from them. As you can see from my answers above. Many of the answers to your questions are "It depends". These are operational decisions that are made by the Captain or the authorities, or by other officers or staff onboard. Don't expect Royal Caribbean to give you an answer.

 

Thanks everyone!

Disney has the best service of the mainstream cruise lines. Was there something about Disney that you weren't happy with? What did you like and what didn't you like about your Disney cruise?

Having great service and a waterpark are pretty much mutually exclusive unfortunately.

HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam does an eastern and western Med itinerary. It's 24 nights. I did this cruise with my kids, including a 7 year old, last year. We were pretty exhausted afterwards, but we saw some amazing history.

Complete newbie question here, but we are going on our very first cruise in March 2014 and want to maximize the fun.

 

Our ship leaves at 4:00 p.m. What time should we arrive at the port? Can we (two able-bodied adults) carry our own bags on board or will we be required to check them? You can carry on anything that you could carryon an airplane. They will make you check anything larger than that. I've checked our roll call board and everybody is too busy to meet for breakfast, although everybody is going to be in town. DH doesn't want to miss the boat - I don't want to waste time waiting in line for boarding to even start. I read somewhere that if we show up at 3:00, it's too late to board. :confused: In my world, that's an hour early!This part is like an airplane too, but even more complicated. You have to be checked in 90 minutes beforehand. Unlike air travel, there is no "later cruise" to be put on if you miss yours. Plan on arriving at the port any time between 10:30 a.m. and 2 pm.

 

When the boat docks at 8 a.m., when can we count on being "on time" for excursions? I realize that over 2,000 people off the boats takes some time, but how much? Not everyone gets off the ship. They also don't get off at the same time. You can come and go as you wish. It's like a floating hotel. Also, if the boat leaves again at 5:00, what time do we really need to be back? 4:30 pm(will we have time for multiple excursions? Only short ones how much time do we "really have at port?) No way of knowing until you get there. Ships get delayed. Weather comes in and they leave early. They leave late. Pay attention to the daily newsletter. Pay attention to overhead announcements. There will be a sign that says what the latest time to be on board when you disembark. Don't be late! They will leave without you.

There are fun things to do on the ship. Don't worry about spending all your time off the ship.

Here's info for those in the States http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/insuring-your-vacant-home-1.aspx

Canada http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/vacant-property-alert-1.639126

When I moved in 2009 to a new city, my insurance company (in Minnesota) wanted to increase my insurance rates about 5 fold on my house in the old city. This was despite my having a police officer inspecting the interior of the house for several hours weekly. They gave me about 60 days after I'd moved before they jacked the rates up. The only remedy would have been if I'd had a house sitter. Luckily, I sold the house before the 60 days were up.

This is one issue I've never seen addressed on these boards. Check with your insurance company, or get a house sitter.

I agree with more swim diapers, if you're going to the beach or the splash zone. Definitely the scented bags too.

I would add a formal night outfit, a baby thermometer, and more clothes. Royal Caribbean doesn't have self-serve laundries. 2 outfits per day, including travel days. Unless they give you the all-you-can-stuff bag (which may not come until day 5 or even later, or sometimes never), it would be very expensive to wash the baby's clothes onboard.

Sorry but I don't believe Florida requires a car seat if you're in a taxi..we were just told this from a taxi driver..said they had to be either belted in or sitting on your lap belted in.

Incorrect. Florida seat belt laws are here Particularly, this section

The cost for a seatbelt violation is $30. Below is a summary of the Florida seat belt law. For a child that is not properly restrained the violation is $60.

 

Summary of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws

Seat belt laws apply to all cars, pickup trucks, and vans operated on Florida roads.

All passengers in the front seat must wear a seat belt.

All passengers under 18 must wear a seat belt

 

Florida Child Restraint Requirements

Children 3 and younger must be secured in a federally approved child-restraint seat.

Children 4 through 5 must be secured by either a federally approved child restraint seat or safety belt.

The Driver is responsible for buckling up the child.