wanderlust79

It does seem that should have been the first step. I don't think I have ever encountered goat yogurt on a ship, so I'm thinking it isn't a standard foodstuff. I'm also not sure if the fruits on the ship are organic. All he can do is contact the dietary dept. at Princess and see what they can do. Goat yogurt?

Yep, goat yogurt!!! [emoji238]

Poor guy got sick like 5-10 years ago and his stomach couldn't handle much of anything anymore. He lost about 40 pounds! Anyway, apparently goats milk is easier on digestion, and he found it is one of the few things he can digest. Crazy!

They already booked the cruise and did not research this first? :eek:

Yep! [emoji15] Our mom wanted to bring our whole family together for her 75th birthday, and cruising was her top choice. I think excitement for their first cruise overrode the food concern initially and then it was forgotten once the excitement of booking ended and real life resumed.

They are going to email Princess this week to see what they say--I just thought I'd check beforehand to see if anyone had prior experience/advice. Anyway, we are hoping for a good outcome--we'll see what happens!! [emoji5]️

My family will be heading out on Star Princess in November and my sister's husband has some pretty extreme dietary issues. He gets very sick if he strays at all from the few foods he can eat (goat yogurt, some organic fruits/veg, and occasionally some meat), so they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

He usually goes through 3-5 quarts of goat yogurt each day as his main source of nutrients and then whatever fruits/veg or meat to supplement. Should he request that they carry organic goat yogurt for him? Or should he try to bring his own and request a refrigerated storage solution?

Has anyone else ever had to ask for such extreme accommodations? And if so, was Princess willing/able to meet the need?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!! :)

Before we had kids, we had a beautiful and good-natured coonhound that was our fur baby. He probably would have loved going with us on a cruise. Well at least until he realized he was stuck in a confined space for however many days. And until he realized he couldn't actually go everywhere with us. And I definitely think his excitement to cruise with us would end when he was thrown overboard by passengers who were sick of hearing his baying carry across the whole ship! [emoji38]

Yeah, probably best to leave the furry buddies at home!! [emoji1]

We always deal with business people in a calm, respectful manner.

As my mother taught me-"You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.".

It seems to me that personal responsibility and a respectful outlook can get you far when you travel and in life.

This phrase has been in my head the whole time I've been reading this thread. Having problems on vacation is awful, but having a poor attitude won't fix it, won't make you feel better, and won't make people want to help you!

Love getting a cappuccino from the concierge lounge and then heading to the Windjammer for breakfast. On our last cruise, we stumbled across a really good sweet bread that was delicious with some cream cheese, so that became my favorite morning treat.

This is one of those "mean mommy and daddy" moments. Getting on a tender in Bar Harbor last October they made us put it on him. Clearly, he was not a fan of the life jacket. He perked up once they let us take it off him!

Yeah, gotta love being the mean parents (especially since it happens oh so often when dealing with toddler logic!) [emoji5]️

I didn't even think of having to wear life jackets on a tender. Our cruise has only one port and it is of course a tender! Here's hoping either my little guy ends up liking the life jacket or the tender ride is a short one!! [emoji1]

I wouldn't say we really watch what we eat on a cruise, but we definitely try to stay active. We go to the gym almost every morning for about an hour, make every effort not to set foot in an elevator, and choose somewhat active port activities.

We also cruise with a good friend who is hilarious and has us doubled-over laughing most of the time- that's got to work the abs & burn a few calories, right? :D

Anyway, we typically gain a few pounds per cruise, but drop it within a week or two of cruise detox...

I love this picture too! We are taking our kids (currently 1 & 4 years old) on their first cruise in November and I am pretty sure this is the face at least one of them will be making during the muster drill!!! Thank you for the glimpse into my future! :)

Okay, full disclosure: that is also the face I make when the cruise is over! :D

If it helps, we enjoy running in San Juan. Run up to the fort, and then follow the grass around the perimeter, that's a mile. Then stay along the water (past the other fort) all the way to the bridge (past the beach area and the hotels)- I think it's another mile or two, then we cross to the Condado for another mile. Back to the middle of Old San Juan through one of the main roads. It's pretty nice. Hot. But nice.

 

 

 

It's also pretty close to the run when a half-Iron Man did an even in San Juan.

You read my mind...I've been on google maps planning my runs. We are in San Juan 3 nights before our cruise and the fort looks like an amazing place to run. We are staying at La Concha....very excited.

Running in San Juan is awesome! I only went once (from the Caribe Hilton to El Morro and back) but it remains one of my favorite runs. Hot, but beautiful!!! I hope to make it out when we are back in December.

There was a dinner hosted by the captain and the crew up in the Windjammer. It was pretty cool- we sat with some officers and talked with them the whole time. This isn't the Captain's table- which was held as well- not sure who got invited.

Thanks for the info! That sounds great & we are looking forward to it!

Some of us also need to factor in claustrophobia!! My one an only ocean view was tough and just thought of an inside freaks me out!

Real... Air... Please... [emoji5]️

I cannot make a comparison because we've not sailed on the Royal Princess. But we have sailed on Serenade and really enjoyed it. We thought it was a beautiful ship, a good size, and we were never bored. Not too sure about evening entertainment (other than Quest, which is a pretty fun event) because we usually turn in fairly early, but we have used the billiards room and the movie theater. I think they also probably have the rock climbing wall.

Again, I have not been on the Royal Princess, so can't make any comparisons. I'm sure you'd have an amazing time on either ship!! [emoji5]️

As for the itineraries, they both sound great! Tortola is a pretty awesome stop- you can ferry over to Virgin Gorda, which is beautiful!

Thanks for the review. We'll be on Adventure in December and reading reviews is helping me get through these final months of waiting... [emoji5]️

Didn't eat in the MDR nor WJ for this trip- so you'll have to get info from someone else for the current status. Giovanni's was really great- where we ate the first night using our BOGO D+ coupon. The rest of the week was between a suite dinner (we were in a GS)...

We will also be in a GS. What is the suite dinner??

129 days until I get to see the Star in person!

Favorite: ???????????

Least Favorite: Going so long between cruises that I can't remember my favorite things! :eek:

We feed our girls (5,6 & 8) in the buffet and send them to kids camp so we can enjoy our dinner in the dining room and relax. The last cruise, we brought them to the dining room on the last formal night and they did fairly well but were ready to go by the time we were served our main course to say the least.

That would make dinner so much more relaxing!!! [emoji5]️ Don't think I can get away with it though, as this is a big family cruise for my mom's 75th birthday. We don't all get together often and I'm pretty sure she'll be wanting the whole fam-damily together!! [emoji5]️

Well, I decided to call Princess again to double check any possibility of switching to traditional ~ never hurts to try! The rep was very helpful and said it is worth going on the wait list and that our linked reservations should be kept together if enough space opens for traditional. Now we just have to wait and see! :)

Thanks again for all the input! :)

The Maitre d' might be able to either set you up in Traditional with two tables near each other or make a set reservation (same time each evening) with two tables near each other in Anytime. You would have to have a set time in Anytime as they cannot keep the tables vacant until your group shows up at different times on different evenings.

Excellent advice above. When traveling with grandchildren we always do traditional or in your case do the best to get a set table and same waitstaff.

I definitely like the idea of a set time each night, and even better if we can get the same waitstaff! If we can't get actual traditional dining, it would be nice to be able to have an ATD experience that is somewhat similar. Out of our entire party of 13, only 3 of us have cruised before and I would love the newbies to have that great cruise dining experience in which the waitstaff gets to know you and builds rapport with the guests! :)

I've experienced this several times in Traditional dining. It was great for the parents but unpleasant for people at nearby tables. The kids would have food fights, fighting/pushing/screaming/running around, bang silverware against glasses when they wanted the waitstaff's immediate attention, etc. I'm sure this wouldn't be the case with your kids but every time I've seen this, it wasn't a nice dining experience. :(

 

After boarding, go to the Maitre d' and ask for his help. There'll be a notice in the Patter in your cabin with where he'll be and the times. Have everyone's names and cabin #'s. He will be able to help you.

I was definitely kidding about my little ones at a kids' table. I know there are a lot of kids who can keep it together with good behavior, but it would be our luck to have the table of hooligans; and sadly it would likely be my 4-year-old who would be leading the shenanigans! :eek: When we go out, we usually try to have him seated nice and snug between mom and dad to help motivate him to be a little gentleman (or at least to act mostly human!). :D

And thanks for the tip to see the maitre d'. I will probably make that my first to-do once we board! I typically like to have things all settled as quickly as possible ~ makes for a much more relaxing vacation! :)

Thanks All for the tips! :) I called Princess and it looks like both early seatings for traditional are wait-listed. The customer service rep said that even if something opens up, we might not all be moved to traditional together (even though our reservations are all linked). Oh well! We will stick with anytime and hustle to make reservations as soon as we are on the ship!!

On one cruise a large group arranged for two tables in the anytime DR. At one were all the youth and the other had the adults. They were at the same tables most evenings. They probably arranged for this set up once on board.

Sknight: I like the idea of the kids at one table! I wonder how much I will have to pay an older kid to watch my little ones at the table each evening... :D

If you want to eat together, you should probably do traditional. If some evening you can't make the assigned time, you can take the crowd to the buffet or order room service for everyone. I've done cruises with the little ones, and they don't like to wait to eat, that's for sure. Since the tables only go up to ten-tops, you'll need more than one anyway.

Thank you!! Hopefully traditional will still be available and we can make a switch!

First of all, sorry if this is a common question that has already been answered somewhere. I did a quick search and didn't find a clear answer to put my mind at ease, so I thought I would ask away! :)

Would anytime dining be a good option for a group of 13? We planned on anytime dining, thinking it would be easier to not be tied to a strict schedule, but after reading about ATD waits, I am starting to think it may be pretty rough getting a table that big without a long wait. We will have several kids with us (including an impatient 4-year-old and a toddler) and I am imagining a long wait would not bode well with overstimulated, tired, hungry kiddos.

There is one suite in our group, so would that person be able to make reservations each evening for the entire party of 13? And if so, would that even be reliable?

Okay, I think that is it. Thanks in advance for your input! :)

179 days!

66! In the words of my 4 year old, "Our trip is years and years and years away!", lol

This is so cute! My 4-year-old says, "but that's 100 long!"

Enjoy! We are trying to wait patiently for our Dec 5th adventure on the Adventure! Looking forward to your review... [emoji5]️