nightfire

You can absolutely use the passport card to fly domestically. It's a federal I.D. You can absolutely use the passport card to embark on a Caribbean cruise or a cruise to Bermuda. Like others have said, the problem comes into play if the OP has to fly back from Bermuda with only a passport card. I second the other poster who related that this is a factor of her risk tolerance. If something goes awry and they need to fly back, the $80 savings for the passport card isn't really worth the hassle, in my opinion. Chances are she will be perfectly fine using only the card. But in the event something goes wrong...

Everyone has their own comfort level. I have both the passport book and passport card. I take both when cruising the Caribbean because if for some reason, I need to fly home- I would need the passport book. Like others, I use the passport book to check in/embarkation and keep it in the safe for the rest of the Caribbean cruise. I always take my passport card with me when I leave the ship at port since I feel more comfortable with an I.D other than my sail pass. Moreover, my family will mostly do boating/water related activities so if it gets wet - no big deal. If I lose it, I have my passport card on board.

I forgot my FLIP FLOPS! I was so irritated. You would think that the ship would have women's flip flops but they were literally sold out of my size (a very common size 8). I ended up getting a very comfortable pair of men's flip flops that are now known as my "Mandals."

Sea sickness medicines absolutely work. I get really bad motion sickness in cars, buses, trains, and boats but have never gotten sick enough to disturb my trip when on medicine. In the US we have a patch available by prescription calls transcopderm. It's easy to use because you only put a new one on every 3 days. It works pretty well for me but gives me dry mouth. There's also an OTC, generic is meclizine, and it's sold as generic, and under the brand names bonine and non drowsy Dramamine. It's a pilll and You have to take it twice a day, but for me it's more effective than the patch with no side effects.

 

No matter what, you have to take these as a preventive. Nothing will relieve sea sickness once it starts. Just have to wait it out. But if you start these meds before the cruise they will prevent the dizziness and nausea.

 

 

 

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I second the meclazine. I get sea sick fairly easily and am a recreational scuba diver. I take Meclazine a day before I board any boat/ship. Once on board, depending on the sea conditions, I may add Zofran to it to prevent nausea. I continue to take these medicines throughout my cruise. While Meclazine is available over the counter in the US, Zofran is only available via prescription. I would never board any vessel without taking these medicines. I have been so ill, that it takes days to fully recover-words cannot describe how dreadful the feeling is. It is necessary to premeditate to prevent the onset in the first place. I cannot stress this enough. And yes, I have tried, ginger, lemon drops, Sea Bands, looking at the horizon, staying in the middle of a vessel, staying with the captain on small boats, etc.

Good luck!!

My mistake, you all. It was a bottle of booze, not wine. Apologies for the confusion.

We got caught bringing some bottles of wine on board. We got called down to the naughty room and they explained that they were taking it but would give it back at the end of the cruise. They did, indeed, return it. Now, we don't bother bringing anything with us anymore. Like others, we just buy the wine package.

Thanks for the information! We are so excited to see beautiful Vancouver (if just for a day) pre-cruise. We plan on making the most of our time there and this was a good start for our research.

We have been cruising for the last 15 years but have never been to Alaska since we prefer the sand and warm water. We are in the initial stages of figuring out which RCL itinerary to take in 2015 and I've got to say that I am feeling overwhelmed by this task. We would like to spend a few days post cruise touring Alaska but need to work out whether or not to do a cruisetour package or go independent. Either way, I can see this is going to take a lot of time to hammer out. I'll keep scouring this board for information. I am always appreciative of the time people take to write their reviews and suggestions.

I am seriously thinking about taking my scale out of the bathroom and putting it right in front of the refrigerator or in the pantry. Either the pain from stubbing my toe will stop me from snacking or its very presence will get me to think about what I'm doing.

I just read Cruising Mickey's post again and I feel the pain. I've been on Weight Watchers since May of 2011 and I've lost and gained the same 5lbs. It's completely my fault. I'm a rule breaker and a rebel at heart and it's doing me absolultely no good. When I track - I have near perfect weeks and I lose the most weight. When I don't track, I sit in the meetings feeling upset for myself for not getting it together. Hang in there and defintely DON'T BE LIKE ME. On the other hand, I went to my WW mtg today and the leader mentioned that it took her 3 years to lose 60 pounds because she was such a bad student. I guess I'm not the only one. I just don't want it to take 3 years. Maybe I could reach my goal by May if I actually try. Lost 1.5 today. Goal for this week: Drink more water and TRACK.

I don't have much time as my cruise departs Feb 19th, but if there's one thing I've learned - isn't 5-10lbs down better than staying the same? To a previous poster, there are some changes with Points Plus besides (perhaps) lowering the daily points. Apparently you can do Simply Filling on a as needed basis during the week when tracking is not working out or just because. Something to think about when we're cruising.