prophet0621

Depends entirely on the child and the parents. Children cry, it happens. When the parents ignore it or spend several minutes failing to quiet the child, people get irritated... I know I do. I have grabbed my kids and took them outside from many stores and restaurants when they were little because no one should be forced to listen to them scream or cry except the parents.

We were on the same sailing last week. Opt for Your Time Dining on your next cruise, we were in and out in about 45-60 minutes each day. The worse wait was usually around 7pm and never more than 5 minutes. They gave us a pager and by the time we sat in the bar area, the pager was going off. We even requested the same servers every meal.

We just got off the pride yesterday and weren't so lucky with the Your Time Dining. Each night took 90+ minutes for mostly average food. One night our wait for a table was almost an hour but there were 5 of us that night so I wasn't surprised. Our last two cruises we loved the MDR and had assigned dining, the food and service were amazing even though a bit lengthy. This time with kids and trying to work around Camp Carnival we figured Your Time dining would work out better and mostly it did. Twice we just skipped the MDR and hit the buffet because the food wasn't worth the wait.

Think of it this way-- would let your child walk 1/4 mile to a friend's house unsupervised?

Depends on the kid.

I have a 10 year old daughter who will be going with us on her first cruise this Sunday and I am going to let her check herself out of Camp Carnival if she wishes. I would let her walk 1/4 mile to a friends house unsupervised but sadly the friend likely wouldn't be permitted outside without a leash and biometric locks on the fence.

There are bad people everywhere, there were bad people everywhere when we grew up. It's no different, we're just conditioned with fear to think it's different.

Now my girlfriends 9 year old son will need supervision until he's 32 because he's an incredibly immature boy that has the common sense of broccoli.

Girlfriend and I love Grand Turk. We will be on our third cruise next month and third time in Grand Turk. I don't know what it is about Grand Turk but it's our favorite port.

You will have a BLAST! Just be sure to pack some long sleeve clothes. The public areas are so cold!!! Mitsugirly was on the same cruise as Jamman and posted a great review as did Wrigley80 if you want to check them out too!

Long sleeves?? Cold?? in May?!? If it's above 70 it's AC time. :)

My girlfriend and I went to Freeport 2 years ago and will be going back in June. During our time there we found the straw markets to be the best option. I can't recall the name at the moment but it's a popular spot, just follow the crowd off the ship to the cab stands.

There you will find a commercialized shopping area filled with several jewelry stores, cheap drinks advertised all over, small stands of mass produced wares, and decent Americanized Bahamas food. Off to the side of the maze of shops you will find the straw markets and there things get fun. You will find the best used car salespeople trying to sell their stuff, remember to barter. These people are entertaining, funny, and highly experienced in dealing with dumb tourists. Unless you actually see them making something don't assume it was crafted by them. We found a straw weaved box we were going to get for the kids back home and negotiated the price with my girlfriends much more tanned twin cousin. Stopping in a little souvenir shop (looked like a gutted CVS) around the corner we found the exact same baskets for a couple dollars cheaper and had a great laugh.

We are looking forward to going back and maybe seeing that long lost cousin again.

My girlfriend and I went to the wall with my 15 year old daughter 2 years ago and loved it. I know it was the power snorkeling.

On that particular excursion we had a girl who couldn't swim, a lady who said she didn't realize there would be fish in the water when she booked it and spent much of her time screaming.

Few things are as funny as someone asking if they will fall off the edge of the wall.

I would love to see this as well. Cruising in June with 2 kinds, 8 and 10.

I was hoping Windows phone would have done better but MS botched so many things with the design, roll out, and getting developers on board. More competition is always good for the consumers and this Apple/Android duopoly is getting old. Both bragging about new 'features' that the other has already had and used as a talking point against each other.... now suddenly it's a good idea and an innovation. I would love for Windows 10 to be a more viable option than Windows phone was just to spur more competition and progress.

I work in IT and have users (journalists) on both Android and iPhone. There are no shortages of praises and complaints from both camps. For all it's ease of use and simplicity, the biggest complaint I get from iPhone users in this environment is the hoops they feel they have to jump through for something as simple as getting a document into their computer to edit for a story they have to get out.

For me, I'm an Android guy and 3 things will likely keep me from changing and drive me crazy with my work iPhone.

Keyboard: Stock Android keyboard has come a long way but still mostly sucks. I love being able to change it to something *I* prefer and like better. IOS keyboard is just awful in my opinion and third party keyboards are still too restricted to be viable in IOS.

File explorer/browser: This is soooo useful! Just like Windows Explorer or Finder. I can easily copy anything back and forth just like a USB drive. No bloated software needed.

Home screens: I have every app on my iPhone moved into different folders on a second screen. I don't like all the clutter. I love live wallpaper, and have widgets.

Ultimately, for me, I make my phone work more the way I want it to rather than the phone making me work more how Apple thinks I should.

For both iPhone and Android, their biggest strengths are also their biggest weaknesses depending on who you ask.

I'm getting a drink of the day as soon as I see the waiter. I usually drink beer at home but not on a cruise, there I can have the drinks I wouldn't walk into a bar and order... you know, something with an umbrella in it. :D

It's not just the ladies who like to have options!:D However, on reflection this current list is for B2B cruises, 12 days in total and 3 days in Florida.

Ah, that does change things a bit, I mistakenly thought that was the packing list for 7 days. No offense by my other post and "holy crap!" comment, I'm often accused of packing far too little and have very few options :D

My packing is stereotypical guy packing, especially on vacation. Whatever I can fit in my backpack is what I'm prepared to take, do keep in mind it's not a small school kid backpack, this thing carries my IT tools and at least 2 laptops at work. I could probably fit my girlfriends 8 year old son in it if I squished him hard enough to get the zipper closed, otherwise he can just poke his big head out.

If I can't fit it in that backpack I don't need it and it's not going. It's only a week and vacation clothes don't take up much room. Thin, ugly, comfortable tropical shirts don't require much space, neither do those shorts with pockets, socks, boxers, and hygiene stuff.

Now my girlfriend, being far more practical than I, will pack a bunch of excess stuff she thinks we will need and make me lug around another heavy bag. Admittedly, some of those excess things come in handy but are not essential.

I will wear the button down shirts tucked in, a belt, and nice pants (that's as formal as I get) on elegant/formal night, long enough to eat because she wants to go to the MDR, then as soon as possible I'm back in comfortable vacation clothes. The first year she requested I wear a tie and then let me take it off because I was tugging at it all night trying to get it away from my neck. Does anyone else have that problem? Anything around your neck will drive you absolutely crazy?

To me, the vacation is to relax, a break from the everyday things we deal with the rest of the year so for that week, I don't need and more importantly, I don't want, much.

Depends on the length of sailing, but for a 7 day sailing typically:

 

4 pairs of dress pants, including at least 1 black pair

3 pairs of 'formal' shoes (including 1 black pair)

At least 1 jacket

8 collared shirts (long and short sleeved)

7 polo shirts

4 t shirts

3 pairs of formal shorts

3 pairs of swim shorts

7 pairs of black socks

4 pairs of white socks for trainers

3 pairs of trainers

1 pair water shoes

2 pairs of gym shorts and associated t shirts

2 belts

2 pairs of underwear per day

Sun hat

Flip flops

 

Mmm, this is the start of my packing list for our 2 cruises starting in 11 days time! :D

Holy crap! I thought my girlfriend packs a lot. :D

I've never got one but one our next cruise I will get some for the kids. Usually I memorize enough of the layout to know all the places my girlfriend and I would want to go and she just follows me. Thankfully she doesn't tease me too much when I get us turned around and go in the wrong direction. :)

My cruise rules do reflect my rules at home, so we're good. :) My 10- and 13-year-old kids roam the neighborhood, usually with a pack of friends but they also play "neighborhood tag," which involves hiding from your friends. We know many of our neighbors, but certainly not all of them. Sometimes the 13-year-old walks to the store, where there are even more strangers, none of whom have to pay hundreds of dollars to be near my kids. :eek: I believe that it's a good idea to slowly prepare them for living independent lives, where they'll have to make good decisions without me. Not being overprotective can be one of the hardest jobs a parent has.

Absolutely agree. I, and many of us on here, ran around our neighborhood as kids, things aren't any different now, it's not more dangerous today. Crime is not higher, we simply hear about it more and panic. We learned to be independent and kids today are missing out.

My daughter is 10 and will be going on a cruise with us in June. She will be permitted to sign herself out of Camp Carnival but since I doubt many other kids will be able, I expect her to mostly stay there with friends I hope she makes. I watched other kids on past cruises participate in a scavenger hunt, small groups were trying to locate things on the ship. I thought this was great and I'm excited for her to have this opportunity. I can't shelter her forever and I'm not doing her any favors by trying to.

I couldn't imagine going on a cruise without a balcony. Having a cup of awful room service coffee out on the balcony, watching the water go by or the sights at the port while waking up and trying to be functional.

While my girlfriend is getting ready or I just need away from the crowds of people, I still have my relaxing ocean view.

My girlfriend and I think that relaxing is a big part of vacationing. We leave all our worries at the dock. Don't think about bills, house, cars, jobs, or kids, whatever is happening outside of that ship doesn't matter for the rest of the cruise, everything will still be there when we get back.

We sleep and wake up when we want with the exception of any excursion we booked. We pay little attention to the time and even with late assigned dining, we may or may not go. Doesn't matter

We have no agenda, no rush to do anything or get anywhere. We would spend more time on our balcony if we had drinks in the room so instead we find somewhere quiet with a nice breeze and shade to relax, stare at the ocean and have several drinks, maybe even doze off and take a short nap.

This year we booked with the kids and I'm second guessing before we have to fully pay off the cruise in a couple weeks. There is no relaxing vacation with kids, part of vacationing was to get away from kids and everything else that sucks the life out of us the rest of the year. Not being in parent mode is one of the great things about being away from the kids, and on a cruise ship without phone, email, or social crap we are really separated from things for a brief period of time.

Grand Turk has the best Margaritaville in the Caribbean! Way better than the one in Jamaica. The pool bar is wonderful and I've always had great service when getting drinks and food.

The pool makes all the difference. I like the restaurant itself better in Jamaica, it doesn't feel quite AS tacky and touristy. I usually try to avoid the 'touristy' places but have to go at least once before trying to find a hole in the wall with a more local feel. :)

I can only remember seeing people with either Bud, Coors, or Miller lite, out of curiosity I did a quick search.

http://www.***********/info/carnival-cruise-lines/alcohol-prices-selections.php

If anybody is going to make a comment regarding my alcohol intake on a cruise keep it to yourself because I am going to ignore any sarcastic comments...now to answer the OP question. We are three adults, father in law my other half and myself.

 

Cruise days we generally drink an average of 13 cocktails

Port days we generally drink an average of 13 cocktails we seem to come back more thirsty lol

This describes my last cruise! I definitely got my money's worth and one of those times I'm grateful for a really high tolerance so I'm not a stumbling obnoxious drunk or face down and drooling on the bar before the ship rocks and I fall off the stool. :D

Always a discussion on likes/dislikes of Jack's Shack or comparisons to the Village Bar. In fact, a discussion about this is 8 posts (when I clicked on it) below this one.

My only two cruises have been on Pride and Splendor and I definitely prefer the Pride. Both ships are great and each have their own positives and negatives but to me it really came down to the layout. The Pride is a smaller ship and the layout is pretty straight forward, you can walk from one end of the ship to the other on any main deck.

The Splendor isn't as easy, if you are in the lobby or main lounge on deck 3 and need to get to the MDR on 3 for your assigned time be prepared to take a detour because the galley is between you and the deck 3 MDR. No problem, got up to 4 and walk down? Yes but you have to go through a side passage through the Robusto Cigar bar that at first glance looks like it leads you to some restricted section of the ship where you will never been seen again. So instead be prepared to go up to 5, walk towards aft and then back down to 3. I also recall taking shortcuts that weren't really shortcuts through the photo gallery but I can't recall why. I thought the Splendor had annoying design quirks.

The Splendor is also a much bigger ship and can carry more passengers, to me it felt more crowded even with the additional room.

My girlfriend will always pack extra things we may (and usually do) need but I would be ok with just my backpack.

I can only choose between the Pride and Splendor because they are the only ones my girlfriend and I have cruised on. We both prefer the Pride without any question.

The Splendor is a beautiful ship, a bit too much pink everywhere for my taste, but the layout is absolutely awful. I don't recall the exact details but we kept having to go up to 5 to get anywhere, including to our MDR table on 3 or take a bizarre shortcut on 4 through the bar or go through the photo gallery. It really is a beautiful ship even if someone was drunk when designing the floor plans.

We're going back on the Pride this year and bringing the kids. It's smaller than the Splendor but more direct layout will make it easier for the kids to navigate.

Put me down for the Village Bar. It had more of a 'Caribbean' feel to it, the owner/bartender was friendly and welcoming, the wifi was stronger and the drink/food portions were generous for the price but limited selection compared to Jacks.

I decided when I went on the cruise last year that I wanted to experience more of the 'local' things. I didn't have a single beer on the ship and stuck to the umbrella drinks I can't order here and retain my manhood so I ordered local beers in port. I wanted to find the smaller local places to eat.

The funny thing is that when we first walked up the beach and sat at the bar I thought it was Jacks that I had heard so much about. There was even a dog running around playing in the water and with sea shells. I didn't see the mass appeal of the dog but the bird that kept dive bombing him was awesome! It was almost like they were friends and playing.