Daisydaisy20

Great info! Thank you.

Won't have time for a mani/pedi before I fly to FLL for my cruise. Would prefer to have these services on land and have other services on the ship. The rest of my family wants to see a movie the night before we board. Staying at Spring Hill Suites FLL Airport and Cruise Port. Will have a car. Any suggestions of a good location for a nail salon and theater?

I don't recommend taking the tube with 50# of luggage. I have done cab and private car to and from Heathrow. I think the cab fare was about 55-60 pounds recently, although I stayed in the Marble Arch area, which is closer to Heathrow than you'll be staying. I've used the tube extensively in the city, though, and there are lots of stairs, corridors, turnstiles, and other travelers. You will see people with large bags on the trains, and it's certainly doable, but I can't imagine it would be fun after a long flight.

The war rooms are excellent. I highly recommend them, especially given your teaching career. You will be glad you went.

My third recommendation is for an all-day city tour from a fabulous tour guide, Harry Norman (londonstours.com). I've done a city tour with Harry twice, and he wowwed me both times. Each tour is customized according to your interests. Let him know ahead of time what you'd like to see, and he'll make it happen. He is witty, engaged, and knowledgable. You can pepper him with questions all day long, and he'll tell you everything you want to know about London. He will pick you up at your hotel around 9:30 and drive you all over the city in his minivan. He has a parking permit that allows you easy access to all sites. You can stop to explore, take pictures, go inside, or he will just whiz you by for a good look if you have other places on your list. You'll enjoy lunch in a pub with him, followed by a full afternoon of exploring. He did an excellent job of organizing our interests geographically so we spent the maximum amount of time seeing the city and a minimum of time sitting in London's horrible traffic. (Booking on the weekend is a good option to avoid traffic.) There are no strangers in the van with you -- your tour is just for you -- although I suppose you could connect with other passengers on your cruise via Cruise Critic and agree to share the tour. We saw so many things we never would have had time to get to had we not booked with Harry. For my second tour with him, I booked for the day after we landed in order for my travel companion, who had never been to London, to get an overview and choose the things he wanted to see in more detail for the rest of the trip. Harry had excellent recommendations for us about the best days and times to go to various attractions.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Another consideration is how big they are physically. My 13 year old is taller and more fit than most adult men. If the children are mentally mature and responsible as well as physically mature, I would feel comfortable letting them explore for limited time periods.

laurspag, thanks for posting your lovely pix.

No one will be more surprised than I was, but Lands End starfish leggings have become my favorites. Bought them to wear around the house and have ended up liking them better than Spanx (tight but flattering with a thick waistband) and Eileen Fisher ($$$ and not as fitted).

I think your tip was fair. I wouldn't base a tip for an optional service on how much I wanted to spend (how much my wallet was feeling the drain of the rest of the trip), although sounds like you didn't in the end.

I have a couple of friends who like to give me a hard time about cruising. one in particular is very status conscious and likes to drop things like "last time we were in Paris" into conversations. I take my vacations according to what suits my family and me. I also like to travel several times a year rather than taking fewer more glamorous trips. To each his own. I'm not embarrassed about cruising, and I don't take trips to impress the neighbors.

My family and I like to dress appropriately, but we don't do tuxes and gowns. We occasionally have the opportunity to dress up for events at home and like the freedom of not traveling with formal attire and all the accoutrements. I love seeing those who dress to the nines, though. They are usually the ones having the most fun! The only objections I have in the MDR are tank tops, t-shirts, and shorts on anyone old enough to have a driver's license. Oh, and I don't want to see strangers in their bathrobes in the buffet, ever!

Skin79 BB cream, from Korea but available on the internet. I use the gold and it is SPF 25. They offer a sample pack for you to try the various formulas and find the right one for you.

I have boys. When they were younger, I let them wear khaki shorts and solid color polos with sneakers. Shirts tucked in, with a belt. I think the previous comment about children in clean clothes is a good one. Also, I agree with no swim trunks or cargo pants. I would add no athletic wear. On Carnival, you will see kids in every type of attire.

We have no trouble. We just keep walking and say "No Thanks"

Amazing how well this worked last time. If the photographer's too aggressive and you end up posing, don't go look at the photo displays later.

I have not worn one, but I do like them for younger children who want to carry their card around on the ship but aren't great at keeping up with things.

I agree with others that your expenses will be highly variable depending on whether you drink alcohol or sodas, shop, dine in specialty restaurants, use the internet, etc. I cruised Carnival a couple of years ago and their extras are very predictable. If you read CC, you will have a good idea what you will pay for. They don't slam you with mystery fees.

I have a suggestion for saving for tips. I set aside my 1s and 5s starting several weeks before any trip. Take them out of your wallet and put them somewhere else every few days. When you're ready to travel, you won't have to worry about the lump sum or making sure you have enough small bills to cover the whole trip.