sherezada

Forgot to mention the airlines. #1 (MCO) is with Southwest, #2 (MLB) is with American. American has 3 other non-stop flights to MCO that would make it on time- maybe they could rebook me on one of those if anything happens?

We just came back from the Symphony. I had no problem bringing my 9 year old down to the 6-8 so he could be with his sister and his cousin (both 6). However, I seem to remember them stating that they were more hesitant to do the other way around (move kids up a level). It doesn't hurt to ask, though.

P.S. From my kids' feedback, it seems the higher the group the more boring it gets. The 3-5 group is definitely the funnest.

Welcome to the club! We are local and have no flights to catch, yet we ALWAYS self-disembark because it is just so darn easy and stress free. Once you do it the first time, you are hooked.

Thank you, and thanks for your input. Your insight gave me the confidence to give this a try :)

It is always nice when someone comes back and reports.

 

I was wondering if you and your family found it stressful?

 

Would you do it again?

 

 

 

Thanks

Yes, absolutely we would! It was by far the easiest, smoothest and fastest disembark we’ve ever experienced. Hubby even said he wants to do self disembark every time from now on, even if we don’t have an early flight.

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To the original poster, the family pictures are lovely:D….what a beautiful family!

Thank you! I feel very blessed :)

If this product really is temporary (the reviews suggest it is) I would love to try it! How is your hair when you get out of the shower and air dry? With the professional treatment my hair was pretty good and I would just run and electric heated brush through it a few times and be ready

Thank you :)

When I get out of the shower it still doesn't show any kind of curl pattern (hence why I'm afraid about the permanency). I basically blow my hairdryer loosely around my entire head until it's almost fully dry. By then it dries straight but not completely smooth. I then do a final blow-dry by sections to get the full smoothness.

This was a tip from my momma (RIP): recycle the zippered bedsheet bags to store wet clothes. Has worked every time for us.

OP here, back from our cruise to happily report that we made it! Kept our bags inside the stateroom (BTW loved not having to waste time the last day pre-packing before dinner), packed while the family was sleeping, went to breakfast at around 5:45 am, got our cruise photos by around 6:20 am, walked out with our bags and breezed through customs, got an Uber at 6:37 and were at the gate by 7:30 am- with plenty of time to make our 8:45 am flight.

OP here, back from our cruise to report. I also went ahead and did an at-home, Brazilian blowout-like treatment (the product name is Uncurly) and it was a game changer! I was in shock with how much less time it took to dry and style. It also helped me keep my vibrant red hair color in place the entire cruise (it's usually significantly faded by the 2nd wash) and it stayed straight through everything! Beach, sweat, Caribbean humidity...Usually the moment I set foot in my home country Puerto Rico my hair instantly becomes a puff ball- not this time! Didn't even get the little baby hair curlies I usually get. And it feels sooo soft!

The negatives: it does feel a bit limp at the top, though I'm sure that can be fixed with some volumizing powder. I had to cut a bunch of it cut off because I apparently messed up my ends (probably overdid the flat iron while applying the treatment). And, although it says it is temporary and should wash out in around 3 months, I fear I might have permanently destroyed my curls, which means I'll be back to going through that awful top-curly, bottom straight phase that will force me to have to blow dry straight forever. But overall I'm still glad I did it. I got to enjoy my cruise much more and relax while still feeling good about myself.

The before

The after:

After a day at the beach in St Marteen (granted I didn't dip my head in the water- but it was hot!)

In PR

In the cruise

Engaged on Enchantment.

Honeymooned on Adventure.

Just off Harmony celebrating our 10th aniversary.

gnDtovz7uR4

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There is a Starbucks at the Boardwalk, and Cafe Promenade also has specialty coffee (Seattle Best). Both are at additional charge.

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I have thick, long, curly, unruly hair. I blow dry it and pull it straight with my Chi. (flat iron). It only takes me 20 minutes at the most. Not sure I understand what you are asking. Is it that you want to save time or you don't want to go through the work. Kindly explain.

Thank you for your answer. I don't mind the work, I wanted to know if there were some time-saving tricks. Wow, I am impressed with your skills! I have mid-back length naturally curly hair and it takes me at least 45 minutes just to blow-dry straight. I'm a bit afraid of flat irons, since I messed up my curl pattern with one a few months ago (which is why my top half is curly and bottom half is straight, making air-dry really not an option now). Do you wash your hair every day during the cruise? Do you have any tips on how to make blow drying faster?

Here's my dilemma: after a day at a port/beach/pool, coming back all sweaty, etc, and having hair that doesn't behave air-dried I usually spend a good amount of time washing my hair and blow drying it so I can look presentable for dinner time. Why do I want to look presentable? Because we tend to take advantage of the photo booths every night (we get the photo package). These are our yearly "family photo sessions" so they are important to me, and I don't want to be in a bun in all these pictures.

My question is, do you have any tips/tricks on how to make styling/prepping time faster? Do you wear wigs, fake ponytails? Do you not dip your head in the water some days so you don't have to wash/style that night? Other?

P.S. Please, I don't need to hear how cruises are supposed to be relaxing and you wouldn't be putting this kind of effort. I'm looking for advice on how to ease my situation, not avoid it, so if you don't have this problem or it's not something you can relate to feel free to move along and/or keep your snarky comments to yourself. (Sorry not trying to sound mean, but it really seems like some people in this board get a thrill out of making sarcastic comments on as many threads as possible).

I love formal nights! Th opportunities to dress up on my regular life are very seldom, so I look forward to primping up and feeling like a million bucks. No one is forced to dress up, it is SUGGESTED attire, so I don't see how a 2nd formal night is detrimental to anyone.

Sailed Harmony last May - such a wonderful ship we're doing it again this August. We didn't pre-purchase the photo package chose to just do it onboard, with that said, my advise on the photo stations is go early and review what you want and decide what you want during the quieter daytime hours towards the end of the cruise... All in all, when we went on the last night, we knew what we wanted and were helped in a matter of 10 minutes.

 

Have a great time!

Thank you. Do you remember how much you paid on board for the package?

Sailing on Harmony in August and debating on whether to purchase the Photo Package or not. Usually when we do we try to take advantage of it, hitting as many photo stations as we can, every night. Given the large amount of people on the ship, I'm wondering if lines for the photo stations would be humongous and therefore we'd be wasting half our nights just waiting in lines. Any insight/tips?

Mirage is the Latin Band...

 

 

 

 

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Yup, that's them! OMG, can't believe we're gonna have a reunion. LOL!

I was sitting in a near empty

 

 

Ahh, Boleros is my favorite place! If you get a chance, could you post a photo of the latin band? I have a feeling it's the same band from my last cruise on the Anthem.

Ok great. I was just perusing today’s compass, ( will post it soon) and there is no karaoke listed for today at all. However they did announce more activities will be added today.

I found a Compass for our itinerary (Eastern) and found it on day 2! I have high hopes. I'm excited :D

I know there are many Karaoke events however I do not know just yet if they are with a live band. Check back and I will try to find out and report what I find out. Again I apologize upfront if I fail but I will try to find out most questions.

Thank you SeaDog67. I'm just now backreading this thread and noticed you are posting the daily compasses, so I'll browse through them to see if I find anything. It's usually listed something different than karaoke, I think. Probably open mic or singing contest or something :-)

Do you know if there are any live bands doing a "Karaoke night" or Open mic night on the ship? I was on the Allure a few years back and one of the bands had a night where passengers could come sing with them. It was wonderful! Hoping I can have the same experience again when I hop on the Harmony in August.

FY42EWliTxI

Rent a car, put the bags in the trunk and go where you want for the day - Everglades tour, beach, water taxi, etc. www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area tourist info. You can also pay to store your bags at the FLL airport if you do not want to rent a car.

 

Or check into day rates at a hotel - splash in the pool, lunch, shopping, etc.

 

www.resortpass.com is another option for resorts offering day passes (tip them to store your bags) while you enjoy their facilities.

 

Have you looked at flights from MIA and PBI in addition to FLL?

 

Good luck! ;)

Could I also use the luggage valet program to not have to tow them while we tour the town? How is that charged? Per bag? We'll have 3. Might be cheaper to go the rental car route.

Can you make an 8:45 flight - maybe. You need to be at FLL for check-in by about 7:15 or so, to allow time to get through TSA, etc. With the port only a 10-15 minute cab ride away, that means off the ship, with bags and clear of customs/immigration before 7:00.

 

Possible - maybe. Likely - doubtful. Do you want to spend your cruise worried about making your flight home? :confused: I would look for a flight closer to 11:00 or later and sleep in, enjoy one last breakfast in the MDR, and leave the ship about 9:00.

 

Your call - good luck (you'll need it for the early flight!) :)

Thank you. We have TSA Pre, so I think that would save us some time. I also did a quote with a transportation service and when I put in my flight time of 8:45 am they stated they would pick me up at 7:15, which sounds doable to me?

If not, our next option would be leaving at 6:45 pm.Husband is dreading having to figure out what to do all that time with 2 kids and bags on tow.

Thank you for providing me some guidance on what terms to use to search (as you can see, I didn't use those terms in my question, so I would have never found them). And thank you for reminding me of how harsh these boards can be. I will refrain from asking anything else, as I'm sure every question has already been answered throughout the many years of this board. It will sure make for a boring board though.