cyntil8ing

Thank you. I see my concerns are well founded.😃 Here are my results from last year. I was on Escape in September, and Carnival Magic in late August. Big difference!

This has been the most through "live" I have ever seen! Thank you for all your efforts. I'll be boarding this cruise in four weeks and this is just so helpful. One thing I don't think you've posted about is internet. With such a photo-heavy thread, can you write about what access level you have, and how it's performing? Speed tests would really be welcome. On our Escape cruise last year, we upgraded to the unlimited premium and it was so slow that I am hesitant to pay for the upgrade.

Port of Baltimore post on Twitter:

I can highly recommend Heidi Cowan with Bermuda Byways Tours (https://www.bermudabyways.com). I have used her twice, once in a shared tour with random people, all were from the same ship, and once privately when we traveled with my kids and parents. She customized the private tour so we saw all new stuff. The only repeat, and it was one I was happy to do, was the fish sandwich lunch.

My first NCL cruise last year introduced me to the Waterfront. I can't count the hours I spent there. It was more comfortable than my balcony, not to mention, drink service! It's definitely unique to NCL. I've done 40+ cruises on other lines and never experienced anything similar. Can't wait to return in a few weeks.

My family and I will be on this cruise too. It is my second NCL, but my husband and son's first. My daughter and I did the New England / Canada cruise last September that ended floating in the Hudson for two days due to a hurricane, so we had FCCs to use. Unfortunately, my daughter can't join us. We will be in Club Balcony cabins. We've done the Celebrity Bermuda run four times, the most recent being 2014. I am looking forward to returning to Bermuda to see what has changed. We were booked on Carnival Magic to Bermuda from Norfolk last August, but another hurricane sent us to the Bahamas instead. We booked earlier in the season, but still after school ended this year. Hoping for no storms! We chose NCL over Celebrity for a couple of reasons, the biggest probably just trying something new for my guys. I really enjoyed leaving from Manhattan last year. Daughter and I took Amtrak up from Maryland the night before, wandered around the city for the evening, and experienced probably the best sail away ever. I loved sailing down the Hudson and past the Statue of Liberty. With Bayonne, we just make the four hour drive on departure day. I don't think I ever posted on the roll call. I'll go find it now. Probably copy/paste this post there. lol.

You can see it. Barely. Here's a photo of Anthem from 2021 from Liberty State Park.

Carnival went a bit further! https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-jubilee-floats-out-and-reveals-texas-star-bow

The fifth construction worker's body was recovered yesterday. There is still one more to be found. The ship is expected to be removed next week. The temporary deep water channel will close to facilitate that. The target for opening the channel is the end of the month. Opening the channel does not mean cruises will restart immediately. When Carnival will resume cruises is an open question. I have a cruise from Baltimore scheduled for August. I assume it will be open by then.

Yes, but minors’ accounts will show their parents points until they are 18. My kids are 17 and 20. They both show my status. The 20 year old shows their points. The 17 year old shows my points. Saturday, when he turns 18, his points will drop to his own. It’s weird, and doesn’t make sense, but that’s how it shows in the app and the web site. I think everyone should always show their own earned points,

Every person, minor or adult, earns the points for their own accommodations. Minors share their parents’ points and status. At 18, they revert to their own earned points, but keep their parents’ status.

How about logon.com? There might be a button to log off?

Try logoff.com

My kids were 16 and 18 on our Carnival Pride European cruise in 2022. When registering my 16 year old, the group leader said the 18 year old was welcome to attend. I was surprised by this, but I am sure it's because the number of teens was so low. The 18 year old wasn't interested. She had finished her first year of college and didn't want to hang out with high school kids. I am hoping this flexibility remains the case for our Carnival Pride Greenland cruise this summer. My son turns 18 next month, but will be going into his senior year in high school. I am hoping he will be allowed if he wants to go.

It's been a few years, but we went on a catamaran tour that we found on Viator. It was a fun day. The hotel was nice. No crowds at all (but it was in August) The beach swimming area was small; the pool was large. Lunch was buffet and was fine, nothing special. I am glad we went that day, but wouldn't plan on doing it again. Here are a few photos.

We used Flagship Amsterdam (https://flagshipamsterdam.com/). Lots of availability. They also accepted walk-ups. We did have to have reservations for Anne Frank Haus and Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank tickets go on sale 6 weeks ahead. The introductory tours sell out quickly, like within an hour or two. So if you want to go, put the on sale date on your calendar. I bought the Van Gogh tickets at the same time.

Our canal cruise, which left from the Anne Frank Museum, was an hour. We then spent about 90 minutes in the Anne Frank Museum, not including the introduction, which was an additional 30 minutes. It took about 20 minutes to get to the Van Gogh Museum, where we spent about 90 minutes and didn’t feel rushed. I would shoot for two of those three. We passed on lunch, and instead ate hot dogs from a cart. It was a rush, but it was an awesome day.

Same for Apex 12/21/24. I keep checking because it is my husband’s birthday the day we board, and we want reservations for Eden.

That must have been way back. Our first cruise in 2009 earned 2 points for a Concierge cabin. The current points system came about in 2013. We cruise too many different lines to earn high tier anywhere. Our five cruises last year were on four different lines. Our three cruises this year are on three different lines. Depending on cruise and cabin choices, we might get to Elite Plus in 2025, but it's really not important to us.

If you have medical insurance that covers you outside of the country (unlike Medicare) you might consider evacuation coverage. Most times, travel insurance benefits are secondary to your own medical insurance anyway. We have an annual family policy from Medjet Assist, which will transport us to our hospital of choice. It also covers us in the US, any time we are more than 150 miles from home and need a hospital.

Different cruise lines have different rules. I have been booking my kids in their own shared cabin since they were 13 and 15. We have done this on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. I was pretty surprised when I had to book my husband with my 18 year old son in our next door cabins this summer. I have no comment on who will be sleeping where.

My son applied for a new passport (his first adult 10 year one) on 1/16, regular service, and according to USPS Informed Delivery it will arrive today. Happy to no longer have to take kids to apply in person every five years.

It was way back in 2015, before Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but our stay at El Conquistador was fabulous. It is on the eastern side of the island in Fajardo. We chose it to visit the nearby bioluminescent bay but our tour was unfortunately canceled. We did day trips to El Yunque and Cueva Ventana. The resort has its own private island that you take a ferry to. There is also a water park on site. https://www.conquistadorresort.com/ Our photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2P9Y6TjaprksfEvr5 The following year, we headed south to Ponce, where we stayed at Hilton resort. It was nice too.

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong. We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

I've since upgraded to the fancy-schmancy version with the charging glass and base, though I leave them at home for week long cruises, but my previous brush charged via usb. It was a pain, because I don't have usb outlets in my bathroom. I did once forget to charge before leaving home, but guess what -- the brush works manually too! So glad I upgraded.