SeeUsCruise

Wow! Amazing photos - thanks for sharing!

A couple of years ago, we were on a 2-night cruise out of Port Canaveral and the first night there was a big Florida State game. Playmakers was packed with folks wearing their FSU gear and the game wasn't being played on any of the screens. Such a bummer! The biggest game wasn't on even with the majority of cruisers being from Florida. As others have mentioned, I wouldn't bet on college football being shown much.

Awesome video! The guacamole making looked fun...and yummy! 

19 hours ago, njasmine said:

That looks beautiful.  I priced them and man they are expensive.  I have a question do you think the helicopter tickets will be available to purchase at the port

I think I saw some kiosks folks were at, but I don't recall specifically what excursions they were for.

Our cruise added the helicopter/dog-sledding a little later than the others. There was only one option and we never saw it go on sale. We ended up booking through Alaska Shore Excursions since they had several options in Juneau and the price was lower. It was an amazing experience!

We were on Harmony of the Seas in June 2022 during Tropical Storm Alex. In the screenshot below, you can see the blue dot is where we were. It really only affected us during one evening. Most outside areas were closed, but we could walk around and explore still, which many others were doing too. The side overhang was a very popular spot! I was grateful we were on one of the largest ships at sea - I would have not felt so great on a smaller ship.

We've been to Skagway, Juneau and Victoria (sorry, haven't been to Sitka).

In Skagway, we did the train out and back. We booked this through the ship. It was incredible. We spent most of our time standing outside the train car but also enjoyed being able to go back inside and relax in our seats. It's a few hours and what you see going up is what you see going back...our kids appreciated being able to go back to our seats and lounge off and on. 

In Juneau, we did the Glacier Helicopter Tour and Dog-sledding. We booked this through Alaska Shore Excursions...they have multiple offerings in each of the stops. This was very pricey, but one of those once-in-a-lifetime-you're-in-Alaska-so-you-have-to-do-it-experiences. The helicopter portion was about 15 minutes each way.

In Juneau, we did a whale watching tour. We booked this through the ship. This was the very last day of our cruise and we wished we would have cancelled it. We had already seen whales from the ship multiple times throughout the cruise, so there wasn't as much surprise and thrill at this point and our kids got bored after following the same whale family for over an hour. Not to be a downer and we may have thought differently if this perhaps was our first stop versus our last.

Can't help with the actual decision, but we did the Dog Sledding and Glacier Helicopter tour in Juneau (to the Herbert Glacier) and the White Pass Train in Skagway. We booked the Dog-sledding/Helicopter through Alaska Shore Excursions and the Train through the ship. Both were amazing and not to be missed. Happy to answer any questions you have about them.

We did a whale tour in Vancouver on the very last day of our cruise and wished we would have cancelled. We had already seen many whales from the ship and it was quite the long day for our kids (11, 8). They were bored and it was a lot of sitting around for a few moments of sightings. If you haven't seen any, they will make sure you do (although not guaranteed). We were on a larger boat with two stories and saw other smaller boats with less people, so your experience may vary depending on that.

We went in March and the Windjammer was a must for its elevated offerings only on embarkation day. So much seafood, including lobster, and multiple carving stations. I know you said you're not fans of WJ, but just sharing in case the different offerings were of interest. Of course, if that's not your thing, the place we ate at the most throughout the trip was the Aquadome market. We would grab our food and bring it to the outdoor seating area by the Lime & Coconut and grab a drink there to accompany our meal. We never had a problem finding a spot to eat in that area and we were there during Spring Break.

I second the Windjammer lunch on the first day being awesome!

Also, on our Lobster night in the main dining room, we were offered more lobster for no additional charge. We were tucked away in the back corner, so I couldn't see if there were a lot of empty tables resulting in extra lobster, but we actually had to decline more lobster!

I've seen several posts that you can just grab an arrival time at check-in without completing the rest of the requirements (thanks for the tip!) so I was going to do that for our 4/14 check in since our kids don't get their 2nd vaccine shot until the next day (so vax card not complete yet) AND we haven't gotten our passports back in the mail yet. I'm wondering: is there a time limit that I have to complete the rest of check-in by? I've seen people say "I completed the rest later that day" but I won't be able to do it that fast...I can complete the vax the next day, but not sure when I can complete the passport part and don't want things to become unavailable to update/add and cause more wait at the port. Also, after you select the arrival time, do you hit a submit button? Will it be self-explanatory that our arrival time is confirmed without completing the rest of check-in? Thanks!

We are on RCI Harmony of the Seas departing 5/29 and will arrive in St. Kitts on 6/2. I see nothing on Royal Caribbean's site about any limitations on St. Kitts and that we can fully immerse as vaccinated passengers. We planned on booking a private excursion (all the cruise ship excursions were sold out when we booked) but the official St. Kitt's travel page is confusing. https://www.stkittstourism.kn/travel-requirements We will be testing prior to the cruise but that is more than 3 days before our St. Kitt's day. Do we need another test and a form?

We disembarked on 12/4 and it was so easy. We left the ship around 8:30am with no one else in line, grabbed a porter, went through our own customs line with no one else in it, and were on the road before 9am. We parked in the garage.

We were on this cruise too! We also headed to Maho Beach but it was POURING so much that my husband got out of the van to take a few photos while the rest of us stayed inside...crowded and crazy but I'm glad he got the photos he did. Everyone in our family (group of 12) thought Johnny Rockets was terrible at breakfast too...perhaps we should have tried dinner!

We just got off Oasis with 12 people...we originally had MTD but worried about wait times, so we switched to the late seating (early seating was no longer available) and we had a large 12 person table for all of us. It was really nice...I'm glad we switched (although my kids were definitely tired by the time dinner was over!).

To repeat what others have said, contact RCI and verify that your reservations are still in their system, and explain the situation and have them take over your booking.

 

We had a horrible experience with a TA many years ago that left us, literally, out in the cold, and when we talked with RCI, they explained to us that they actually have policies in place for situations regarding TAs that "disappear." We had to be patient while RCI followed their protocols, and in the end, they came through for us, and they took very good care of us.

 

I know the vast majority of TAs are honest and hardworking professionals who bend over backwards for their clients.

 

Good luck with your situation, and let us know how it turns out.

This is reassuring, thank you.

We have a paid invoice from Royal Caribbean, so we are ok there. While I am glad we have the cruise, I'm still frustrated at the potential loss of our $360 OBC, as well as the $100-200 per room for the 3 other rooms for our family. Thanks for all the replies so far.

Hi! Since we had a group of us from our family for 4 rooms, we decided to book with a travel agent to help coordinate everything for us as a group (we normally book through Costco, but went with a smaller one based off of someone's recommendation). They have been a nightmare, not responding to emails or phone calls unless I send more than 1, telling us to call RCI to make changes and then RCI tells us that has to be done by our Agent, etc.

After not getting an answer for a few days about us moving recently, I looked and found that their website and Facebook pages are shut down. I called RCI and they said they would attempt to contact them separately, but couldn't do much else at this point since we are supposed to be working with our travel agent to do everything...how can I do that if they are no longer in business?

We booked this 10th anniversary cruise with our family over 1.5 years ago and JUST paid the balance. We were supposed to receive a large onboard credit from the agency, but I'm afraid that us, and all our family, are out of luck...do you think that's the case? What if they did shut down? Is there any way to get the onboard credit we were promised?

I'm so upset. :(

My son was quite a bit younger than your kids, but we did go on the Dream last January. It was so nice escaping the cold...and I live in Florida! Castaway Cay was our absolute favorite part of the entire trip.

If you're looking for a review, I posted mine on my blog, with a bunch of photos and some videos - maybe there are some tips in there for you: http://www.thephotographerswife.com/disney-dream-bahamas-cruise-trip-report-day-1/

Just don't read the last day...I was pregnant and got really sick! Yuck!

I love jamberry and have considered becoming a consultant too! I'm still perfecting my application but just did French tips for our upcoming trip to Italy and cruise. They look great. I am horrible with nail polish (and biting) so they work great for me. Only problem is I have a hard time on the little bitty toenails and getting them to stick.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

It's definitely worth it for the discount alone haha! I've seen some people mention that they use a little nail glue to get them to stay on little toenails. I have little toenails too, so sometimes I will use a nail wrap on my large toe and then a coordinating nail lacquer on the rest of my toes. :)

how do they last when you go swimming every day?

That's a question that gets asked a lot. The adhesive on the nail wraps is pressure and heat sensitive, so it actually creates a waterproof seal if they are applied correctly. :)

We did Halloween on Carnival once...but those Disney photos make me want to do one again (but not on Carnival haha).

I had horribly short nails because I bit them so bad and always had to bring "nail supplies" on cruises and vacations to fix them every day - any type of polish I tried wouldn't last and didn't stop me from biting. I tried Jamberry and was able to have nice nails for my entire vacation and have actually stopped biting for good. That was enough to have me hooked and I actually started selling them and became a consultant so I could get them for a discount (or free). I recommend them! :D

Thank you for sharing We have stayed in the Family Deluxe OV stateroom on the Dream and love it, although we had one window (huge), we didn't miss not having a balcony. At the time I did not even know about this room you had until after we returned. The next time we sail with Disney, and we plan to be on the Fantasy, I am definitely going to book this room. It kind of looks like a mini suite.

 

Question: I see that you had a connecting door. Did you hear much noise from next door? When I checked on line, I did not see any of these cabins that did not have a connecting door and usually we try to avoid any stateroom that has one due to noise from neighbors.

 

Also, how was the view of the ocean was there any obstructions or could you look right down at the water?

There was absolutely no noise from the connecting room, so either there was no one there, they were never in their room, or the noise is blocked out that well.

There were no obstructions directly out, but there is a ledge right below, so you just couldn't look straight down. Here are a few photos from my phone that shows the ledge.