cyntil8ing

My kids were 16 and 18 on our Carnival Pride European cruise in 2022. When registering my 16 year old, the group leader said the 18 year old was welcome to attend. I was surprised by this, but I am sure it's because the number of teens was so low. The 18 year old wasn't interested. She had finished her first year of college and didn't want to hang out with high school kids. I am hoping this flexibility remains the case for our Carnival Pride Greenland cruise this summer. My son turns 18 next month, but will be going into his senior year in high school. I am hoping he will be allowed if he wants to go.

It's been a few years, but we went on a catamaran tour that we found on Viator. It was a fun day. The hotel was nice. No crowds at all (but it was in August) The beach swimming area was small; the pool was large. Lunch was buffet and was fine, nothing special. I am glad we went that day, but wouldn't plan on doing it again. Here are a few photos.

We used Flagship Amsterdam (https://flagshipamsterdam.com/). Lots of availability. They also accepted walk-ups. We did have to have reservations for Anne Frank Haus and Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank tickets go on sale 6 weeks ahead. The introductory tours sell out quickly, like within an hour or two. So if you want to go, put the on sale date on your calendar. I bought the Van Gogh tickets at the same time.

Our canal cruise, which left from the Anne Frank Museum, was an hour. We then spent about 90 minutes in the Anne Frank Museum, not including the introduction, which was an additional 30 minutes. It took about 20 minutes to get to the Van Gogh Museum, where we spent about 90 minutes and didn’t feel rushed. I would shoot for two of those three. We passed on lunch, and instead ate hot dogs from a cart. It was a rush, but it was an awesome day.

Same for Apex 12/21/24. I keep checking because it is my husband’s birthday the day we board, and we want reservations for Eden.

That must have been way back. Our first cruise in 2009 earned 2 points for a Concierge cabin. The current points system came about in 2013. We cruise too many different lines to earn high tier anywhere. Our five cruises last year were on four different lines. Our three cruises this year are on three different lines. Depending on cruise and cabin choices, we might get to Elite Plus in 2025, but it's really not important to us.

If you have medical insurance that covers you outside of the country (unlike Medicare) you might consider evacuation coverage. Most times, travel insurance benefits are secondary to your own medical insurance anyway. We have an annual family policy from Medjet Assist, which will transport us to our hospital of choice. It also covers us in the US, any time we are more than 150 miles from home and need a hospital.

Different cruise lines have different rules. I have been booking my kids in their own shared cabin since they were 13 and 15. We have done this on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. I was pretty surprised when I had to book my husband with my 18 year old son in our next door cabins this summer. I have no comment on who will be sleeping where.

My son applied for a new passport (his first adult 10 year one) on 1/16, regular service, and according to USPS Informed Delivery it will arrive today. Happy to no longer have to take kids to apply in person every five years.

It was way back in 2015, before Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but our stay at El Conquistador was fabulous. It is on the eastern side of the island in Fajardo. We chose it to visit the nearby bioluminescent bay but our tour was unfortunately canceled. We did day trips to El Yunque and Cueva Ventana. The resort has its own private island that you take a ferry to. There is also a water park on site. https://www.conquistadorresort.com/ Our photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2P9Y6TjaprksfEvr5 The following year, we headed south to Ponce, where we stayed at Hilton resort. It was nice too.

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong. We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

I've since upgraded to the fancy-schmancy version with the charging glass and base, though I leave them at home for week long cruises, but my previous brush charged via usb. It was a pain, because I don't have usb outlets in my bathroom. I did once forget to charge before leaving home, but guess what -- the brush works manually too! So glad I upgraded.

OMG, we were just in St. John last month and we took the cruise line's On Your Own tour. All of the taxis were booked for the cruise line Turtle Bay excursion and no one wanted to deal with just two of us wanting to go to Cinnamon Bay. One of the drivers shouted over to Charlie, asking him if he'd take us and he said yes, so we squeezed in, and had a private taxi after dropping the folks off at Turtle Bay with the other half dozen taxis. I will admit, the verbal history lesson got to be a little much after a time, but he is the sweetest, most kind, lovely man. And how he drives that stick shift up and down those hills while still holding the microphone and talking non-stop is just amazing. After Trunk Bay, the road to Cinnamon Bay gets VERY steep and twisty. A car in front of us couldn't get up the hill and around the turn and kept sliding back towards us. Charlie parked the truck in the middle of the road to prevent other drivers coming up from behind from trying to pass, jumped into the car, threw it into low gear and got it up the hill for the people. Then he jumped back in the truck and we continued on our way. Here's the curve where the car got stuck coming up. The taxi fare to Cinnamon Bay was $11 per person, each way. Trunk Bay is $9. There is a posted fare card in the taxi, which is the open air trucks that hold maybe 12 - 15? Here they are lined up at Trunk Bay. And here's why it's worth the extra few minutes to get to Cinnamon Bay. 😀 Nearly a private beach!

I haven't been on Eclipse, but it looks like the Passport Bar to me, just off the Grand Foyer on Deck 3. The furniture is different than I've seen on other S-class ships, but it's been a while since I've been on one.

The red flag was the payment to the agent instead of to the cruise line. The agent should use your card to pay the cruise line directly. Any other way, as you unfortunately found out, is ripe for trouble. Sorry this happened. Hope you can get some sort of resolution.