bus man

Since these are scammers we're speaking of here, I feel no obligation to be nice, kind, civil or polite. They are trying to take away my hard-earned money. I wouldn't be nice to burglars or pickpockets either. :)

I agree with you; I feel no need to be nice to criminals either. But not all telemarketers are scammers. In any case, "just say no" works with either one.

Unfortunately - Tracy Arm is often missed, even in small boats.

I didn't realize that. I guess I got lucky, because on my first (and, to date, only) trip to Alaska, I did a boat out of Juneau, and we got all the way through Tracy Arm without any problem.

I would second the idea of the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman. I went there pre-kids and enjoyed it, so we're going to take our kids (ages 7 and 5) when we cruise there next April. My son did a stingray swim at Disney's private island on our last cruise, and it was the highlight of the cruise for him. So we're going to do Stingray City as well.

On Cozumel, we're planning on visiting Discover Mexico and Chankanaab. We've not been to either one, but from what I've read, they seem like enjoyable, kid-friendly places.

I've done both and I loved them both. They are somewhat different from each other, so if you can do both, that would be ideal. But if you can only do one . . . I would probably lean toward Tracy Arm. Glacier Bay is wide open and expansive, whereas Tracy Arm is a much narrower passage. You get so close to those magnificent cliffs with their many, many plunging waterfall.

I will say, though, IMO the key to Tracy Arm is to go there on a small boat, not a ship. On the small boats, you get so close to the waterfall that you can feel the spray. And you can get very close to the glacier in the back. I was lucky enough to see it calve when I was there, and the sight and sounds took my breath away.

In any case, they're both amazing, so you can't go wrong either way. Have a great trip!

Sandy Toes, I'm appalled that some other mother would make rude comments about your daughter participating in the Barbie thing. I would have told her to MYOB and stay away from us. But I do believe that what goes around comes around, so maybe she'll find herself stuck with a chain smoker on the next balcony, or being berated for dressing inappropriately on formal night, or not able to get a place by the pool because the chair hogs are out in force.

It seems that, for whatever reason, they only offer 4 and 5 night cruises out of Tampa. This of course limits them to the Western Caribbean. Maybe they figure that they already offer longer cruises out of other Florida ports, so there's no need to do it from there. I don't know.

When I sailed out of Tampa in October 2010, it was a 7-night cruise (albeit still to the Western Caribbean). It was the first cruise of the season, and I found out later that it was the only one of the season that was longer than 5 nights.

this is a back up plan as when we return from our cruise there is only one flight out of BWI that day on American to ORD and if the Pride is delayed we won't make it.. so trying to figure out if it will cost the same as a hotel if we needed to get home that same day to just get to DCA and fly out of there.. more options to get home.

Have you looked at Southwest Airlines? They have numerous flights between BWI and Chicago Midway.

Otherwise, if you need to get to DCA, just remember that you can have cheap (relatively) or you can have easy, but you cannot have both.

I was just looking over some older threads, and the Norwegian forum definitely were more excited about hem bringing a ship into Baltimore. The Celebrity Forum would love to see one of their ships cone in, but doubted I would happen.

Both Norwegian and Celebrity have sailed from Baltimore in recent years, but no longer do so. I don't know why either of them left, so I couldn't say if they would be interested in returning.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if Royal Caribbean added a second ship and gave us a wider variety of itineraries. But I would be rather surprised if that were to happen.

The Renn Faire runs the last weekend in August to the Last weekend in October. it only runs on weekends( plus Labor day Monday).

 

it's not that far away from Baltimore in Crownsville. Takes us 20 minuets to get there( same amount of time it takes to get to the pier)

 

I spent all day sunday there volunteering with my husband's command to fundraise.

It's normally about a half-hour from my house to Crownsville. I went to the Renn Fest last month, on its last weekend, and it took 2-1/2 hours! The traffic was backed up all the way to I-97 and Route 3, which is about 6 miles.

Despite that, I had a great time, and I highly recommend it. For anyone out there who is considering this, I would advise you NOT to do it on the same day as your cruise departure. You'll want to spend several hours at the festival, and the traffic can be unpredictable (as I found out). Better to do it the day before your cruise, or the day you arrive back.

I just hope that most people will say thank you but no thank you and then hang up.

 

Keith

I agree. As annoying as telemarketers are, I try to remember that they are human beings who are just trying to do their jobs, as distasteful as those jobs might be. So I will always say "no, thank you." If they persist (which they usually do), I'll say in a firmer tone, "excuse me, I said NO. Thank you." This almost always works, but if it doesn't, I'll then simply hang up.

I got a call like that once. As it happened, I was sitting at my computer when I got the call, so while the recorded voice extolled the virtues of my future cruise, I did a quick Google search. Suffice to say, I hung up before they were done.

I haven't gotten anything like that since then. So I guess I'll just have to content myself with the millions of dollars that I'll soon be receiving by helping that Nigerian ex-dictator move his fortune out of his country. :D

Given the OP's situation, I would probably choose Penn Station over BWI. Not only for the reasons listed, but also because on the return trip, there are more seats available inside the Penn Station waiting area than there are at BWI. Plus, in general, Penn is a larger station and just feels less cramped.

However, just to take the other side for a moment . . . it is a short walk, all on the same level -- no stairs, elevators, ramps, or anything else -- from where the taxi drops off at the BWI station to the northbound platform. (The elevator up, cross the bridge, and elevator back down thing only applies when using the southbound platform.) Though, admittedly, it's a pretty short walk from where the taxis drop at Penn Station as well.

And thank you to both madelinerose and Chesterpeake; over the time I've been on CC, I have benefitted from both of your comments and advice.

I don't think that Will needs it any more. It was probably for a school project back in February.

I suspect you're right, but maybe he'll enjoy seeing the pictures just the same. Besides, it's been said that for every person who asks a question, there are 10 more who wanted to ask the same thing, but didn't. So this is for them! :D

Had you known "the law" you, as a customer of the bank, could have insisted that the goat be removed!

Why? Doesn't the bank, as a private business, have the right to allow animals on its property if it wishes? Not trying to be snarky here, but I'm not aware of a law that would prohibit the bank from allowing a goat on its premises, if it wishes.

Also notice it requires the owner and service animal to be separated.

I didn't see that in there. It says that the dog must be inspected, but it says nothing about where the dog's human is during that time. I would assume that he/she would be right there with the dog.

I find it hard to imagine that Hawaii, or any other state, would be allowed to separate a service dog from his owner, as this would surely be a violation of the ADA.

Well, it's not quite what you're looking for, but it's as close as I've got. The first picture shows the crowd in the Belize City terminal, waiting for the excursions to be sorted out so we could be told which buses to board. The second shot shows people getting on one of the tour buses. I hope this helps.

My wife, kids (ages 7 and 5), and myself would like to visit these two places. Both of these companies offer combo tours, and the cost is similar enough that the difference doesn't matter. Can anyone think of any reason to choose one over the other, or should I just flip a coin?

Please, I'm hoping this thread does not turn into a debate about the relative merits of taking kids out of school for a cruise. Instead, I'm addressing those who have already done it. I'm curious as to which school systems are flexible about it, and willing to work with you (or at least not make it difficult), and which ones are real hard-noses about it.

I've read accounts from some people who have had all sorts of obstacles thrown in their path, even to the point of being threatened with being hauled into truancy court; while others have reported that their school sent them off with nary a second thought. Is this something that is decided on a state-by-state basis? Or is it truly district by district, or even school by school? (No offense to the Texans here, but a lot of the horror stories I've heard have come out of your state.)

For us, we took our son out of kindergarten for a week, and it was no trouble at all. All we had to do was write a short letter to the principal, copying the teacher, stating the dates we would be absent, and the reason. (I told the truth, that we were going on a cruise.) They approved the absences. The teacher gave us the homework for the week ahead of time, and we made sure that our son completed it and turned it in the day he got back.

I'm curious as to what other people's experiences have been, and if there is any kind of correlation as to which states (or districts) are more flexible than others. (We're in Howard County, Maryland.) Thanks!

Well, I made the PowerPoint presentation yesterday at the Family Reunion. Lots of good good questions, which and my brother and SIL answered. Even some siblings I'd never think would go on the cruise asked some good questions.

 

I've posted it on my Microsoft SkyDrive for them to review at any time. I've also sent them the spreadsheet of dates and prices.

 

Now it's just a matter of waiting for them to think about it and review. AND to answer follow up questions.

 

I'm excited!

That's great! Be sure and let us know how it turns out.

My husband and I have often wondered why more people don't hang out on deck 4. On almost all of our walks around that deck on Mariner of the Seas, it felt like an empty ship. It's such a pleasant area.

Agreed. I'll take the Promenade Deck over the top deck any day. I find it much more peaceful and relaxing, and closer to the water to boot. Not to mention, I sunburn easily, so I tend to prefer hanging out in the shade (or indoors) on bright sunny days.

Totally agree! Love the Radiance class size ships!

When the older ships become to old to keep in their fleet, RCCL will have to abandon ports where there are bridges that the ships have to fit under. That includes Baltimore and Tampa as well as others, I'm sure.

 

Mary Anne

That's my concern too: what will happen to Baltimore and Tampa (and probably others that I can't think of) when the Vision and Radiance classes are sold off or retired?

Since I don't see the State of Maryland coughing up the bucks to replace the Key Bridge and the Bay Bridge spans, they may well lose their cruise business altogether . . . or else build a new port near Annapolis, south of the bridges.

Incidentally, all this talk about "small ships" is kind of amusing to me. The Radiance is the LARGEST ship I've been on, and it seemed plenty big to me. But I'll be one-upping my ship size next spring when I sail the Navigator, and I will admit that I'm excited about seeing a Royal Promenade.

You've checked, so I'll take your word for it; but I would have expected that flights to San Juan would have been much more expensive than Fort Lauderdale or Orlando.

Maybe you said and I missed it, but how enthusiastic are your siblings about this trip? If it's "I CAN'T WAIT LET'S GO TOMORROW!!!" then I think a 7 day would be great. But if you're trying to nudge them along, because "Well, I don't know, I guess it could be fun, but I'm just not sure . . ." then I really would recommend reconsidering a 5 day cruise. I know it's short to those of us who love cruising, but for someone who's on the fence, those extra 2 days may be the difference between being willing to give it a shot, and figuring it's just too long to be "trapped" so forget it.

If you decide to stick to your top 2 choices, I would go for the one that had the two sea days interspersed. Personally, I would find 5 port days in a row exhausting. I did 4 in a row once, and honestly I was worn out by the end of it. Because, as has been said already, newbies will feel like they HAVE to get off at each port and go exploring, whether they're tired or not.

If you do decide that you'd be willing to do a shorter cruise, I would suggest a 5 day that includes 2 ports and 2 sea days (1 before and 1 after the ports), so you get a good mix of both. To my knowledge, this would restrict you to doing itineraries out of Florida to the Western Caribbean, which may or may not be a deal breaker for you.

Finally, the sibling who has kids in high school will probably not want to pull his kids out of school for a week. So you would either need to pick a cruise during the week of their spring break, or write them off.

Good luck!

We'd like to visit both Discover Mexico and Chankanaab on our upcoming visit to Cozumel. RCI has a tour to both places, and the description implies that the price includes transportation. Does anyone know if this is at a fixed time, or if you can go from the pier to Discover Mexico, and then from there to Chankanaab, and then from there back to the ship, on your own schedule?

The Discover Mexico website also lists a combo ticket. This one says that it includes admission to both parks and transportation between them. I assume that transfers to and from the ship are your own responsibility. Is the transportation between the two parks done on your own schedule, or at fixed times?

We'll be traveling with two young kids (7.5 and 5.5), so it would make a difference if one or the other of these options would use regular buses for which we would not need booster seats. I am assuming that if we use taxis, we would need to provide booster seats, correct?

Thanks for any information you can provide!

What are we talking about, approximately $25 or $30 for laundry on a seven night cruise? Is that so much money that some folks will not sail on Royal caribbean or Celebrity because they will have to spend $25 or so dollars as opposed to whatever coins and time a shipboard laundry will cost?

 

Such potential passengers are so price conscious, they might not choose Royal Caribbean and Celebrity anyway, even if RCI and Celeb did have shipboard laundry facilties.

Let me guess: you're not traveling with a family.

Looking at RCI's price sheet (helpfully posted earlier in this thread), assume that each member of a 4 person family uses 1 t-shirt, 1 pair of underwear, and 1 pair of socks per day. It doesn't say, but we'll assume that the price listed for "socks" is per pair. Assume that laundry needs to be done after 4 days. And finally, assume that 1 pair of shorts, 1 "good" shirt, and 1 "good" pair of pants is used for that entire time. (Let's hope Junior doesn't spill anything at dinner!) We'll assume that we don't need to wash the pajamas. (I'm just assuming that we'll all dress like "men" so I don't have to figure out the cost for dresses, etc.)

For each person, it works out to be $5.25 per day for the t-shirts, undies, and socks, for a total of $21 for 4 days' worth. Add $10.50 for the pants and good shirt. That's $31.50 per person, or $126 for a family of 4.

One hundred and twenty six dollars. Or, I could shove it all into a single washing machine for $2, plus $2 for detergent, and then $2 for a single dryer load.

Personally, I would rather blow a few minutes loading and unloading clothes into a washer and dryer if I could save $120. YMMV.

It is called vacation. For me I sure don't want to waste it waiting for laundry to wash and dry. JMHO.

Lots of people feel as you do, and I can certainly understand it. But on the other hand, some people (such as myself) would rather do laundry than have to bring twice as many clothes, or pay the fees for the ship to wash my clothes.

The mere presence of a laundry room does not compel you to use it, so you are free to go on enjoying your vacation. But the absence of one denies me my preference in this regard.