CruiseBride926

I’ve always purchased retin-a from a plastic surgeon’s office and even without insurance I want to say it is only around $60. Definitely under $100. Might be worth checking out when you run out.

1 hour ago, ryano said:

Royal use to have the most comfortable beds Ive ever slept on.  Now, the number one complaint is they are "hard as a rock" even from people that like a firm mattress.  It never ceases to amaze me at how this company is always looking to "fix" things that arent broke.   They must have got these new mattresses at a blowout special.   

I read about the rock hard mattresses and I was still really shocked at how hard they really are. We were on the Anthem earlier this month and it honestly felt like I was sleeping on a table. 

Just now, CruiseBride926 said:

My husband and I just got back from a cruise where we left our 4 and 1 year old with my parents. Honestly I think I was far more stressed and unsure about it while I was planning then I was while on board. They had a blast and so did we. Just really sit and think about they type of vacation you’re envisioning and go from there.

I should also add that we ended up booking a cruise with them after being back home for 2 weeks so clearly my guilt wasn’t 100% absolved but still no regrets 😂

22 hours ago, luisc25 said:

Thanks for the advice; yes we are seriously thinking on leaving her. 
 

My husband and I just got back from a cruise where we left our 4 and 1 year old with my parents. Honestly I think I was far more stressed and unsure about it while I was planning then I was while on board. They had a blast and so did we. Just really sit and think about they type of vacation you’re envisioning and go from there.

22 hours ago, breezy_carol said:

My husband is also self employed, so hard to get him to go longer than 7 days anywhere.

 

Glad it’s not just us. We just got back from a 5 night two weeks ago and I was shocked when he suggested we book another for December. We have a 10 night booked for next year and he only agreed because it happens to work out to include the maximum number of his already planned days off.

4 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Rahul "remembered" my wife even though we had never met him before. He insisted repeatedly. It's an act.

Or just wishful thinking on his part 😂

If this is your first cruise with your little one my only advice is go in with realistic expectations. We’ve gone with our toddler but also have left them home. You’ll have an absolute blast either way just in a different way. The room should be great. We aren’t huge drinkers either but we did enjoy taking a bottle of wine on the balcony and relaxing while our daughter fell asleep.

I really don’t see how anybody did anything wrong here? Your teen was following the rules as he knew them and the employee was doing the same. It’s unfortunate that he was basically punished for something he didn’t know he was doing but the employee was just doing as they were told. Not saying he would do anything to break the rules but what happens if he did and then they find out that an employee literally had just spoken with him face to face and then sent him on his way knowing that he was already going against company policy? An employee shouldn’t have to risk their livelihood because someone’s kid doesn’t want to shop.

I see the issue here but I also don’t think your sister should have to give up having someone to hang out with because it’s what’s best for you. Any chance you can talk her into bringing 2 friends so that they can bunk together and nobody else’s reservations need to be messed with?

38 minutes ago, Danijela said:

I saw someone post Baked Alaska from Wonderland on Yelp but I don't see it on their menu now.  If they did have them it's definitely something I'd order.

 

I also hear great things about their chocolate chip cookies so I'm looking forward to trying those.. 

Baked Alaska wasn’t one of the options when we went to Wonderland but they did have it in the main dining room one night.

Just off the anthem today and the water in the area was very rough.

We leave for a 5 night on Anthem this Saturday. I can see the first half of my cruise planner in the app and it shows a red party and a 70’s party.

2 hours ago, getaway101 said:

So we got an email last night from Royal Up for our 10/20 cruise.  Put in minimum bid for Jr Suite, medium bid for Grand Suite and high bid for owners suite.  They took our minimum bid and we already have the cabin #.  Pretty good location too.  One cabin forward of the hump.  I'm happy.  At the time I booked a Jr Suite was over $1500. more so for $400.  good deal.  We are on three b2b cruises so this is the last one of the three.  Travelling with friends the first two weeks and we have side by side cabins.  I was surprised to hear back a month in advance.  Sure am glad I don't have to check my email everyday while on the first two cruises to see if we got upgraded.

Is your cruise still listed on the RC website? I heard back a month in advance also and I’m assuming it was part of a last minute shuffle right before selling out because it’s been off the site since that day.

27 minutes ago, pisymbol said:

 

Yeah, I have actually come to the conclusion that if he can't use the pools we still have lots to do. So thanks for that.

 

If we do decide to go, I also plan to have him run around naked holding a soggy wet diaper throughout the boat hoping to terrorize some of the folks on this very thread who have said some real dumb things about potty training. Wish me luck!

Haha I think some people forget that toddlers are actual little humans who don’t just auto-train just because you told them to. My daughter was so stubborn and potty training was stressful enough that I sure as heck wasn’t going to add some vacation deadline on top of it. It might not be the ideal situation but I’d rather be changing a diaper while on vacation then home any day 🤷‍♀️😂

10 hours ago, pisymbol said:

Can we not make this thread about how to potty train my son or toddlers in general? It's minimally off topic and frankly, somewhat inappropriate when applied to my son. If my son is potty trained by his third birthday, great. If he isn't, he isn't.

 

I'm more interested in hearing testimonials from those who have been on cruises with children about his age who weren't 100%  potty trained to get an idea on its impact.

Like I mentioned our experience was with carnival but same rules about the pool and stuff so hopefully it’s still helpful. We only used the kids club a couple of times but even without that I don’t feel like we missed out on anything because of her not being potty trained. For excursions we did margaritaville (pool) and two beach days. With all that water we really didn’t miss not being able to use the pool on board. I also made sure to do some research as far as indoor facilities where we were heading so that I knew I’d have a place to change her. Other then that I don’t think it really impacted anything else we did. I think you could make it work and still have a great time.

5 hours ago, pisymbol said:

 

Carnival is pretty much out because we live only an hour away from Cape Liberty.

Cape liberty is our closest port also however we’ve also sailed carnival out of NY and Baltimore. I would take a little longer of a drive for something that would impact my vacation so greatly. We sailed on a carnival ship with my daughter before she was potty trained and she absolutely loved their kids club.

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Challenge yourself to 'Christen' all 4 rooms. 😁

And dont forget the hot tub and dining room table. 😉

Well now I know who to send my husband to when I need help convincing him to book a large suite. 😂

2 minutes ago, Ready2SailAway said:

 

 

btw  What time did that acceptance email arrive?  (I'm assuming they send these out in the middle of the night...)

 

4:27pm EST

Just got our upgrade email for our October 5th Anthem sailing to Bermuda. We were in an obstructed balcony and were given the option to bid on a regular balcony, spacious ocean view balcony, junior suite, and grand suite. I debated on bidding on the regular balcony because the minimum was only $30 but decided that if I’m risking being put in a location I don’t like it should at least be for a different room. I ended up just bidding on the spacious ocean view since it’s just the 2 of us and I’d rather save the money to use for a larger suite when we’re sailing with our kids. Got the congratulations email today after bidding $160 each with a $130 minimum. 

We are doing a port intensive cruise next year with our 2 kids in a junior suite. That’s usually smaller then we’d get when traveling with them but I’d prefer to use the money elsewhere if we’re hardly going to be in the room. That being said I couldn’t budge on the balcony.  It’s just a matter of what do you think you’d miss from booking a junior suite and are those things that will negatively impact your vacation.

37 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

When you have kids, you become a "family", and that's generally how you vacation.....

This is a little different because it’s not like op is deciding whether or not to bring her own 6 month old. She was wondering if it was worth inviting someone with a 6 month old and in her situation it seems like it’s not.

Also my husband and I will be sailing next month without our kids. No regrets. I haven’t slept in a year and I need this 😂

15 minutes ago, 1992cruiser said:

We’ve taken both our kids on cruises once they reached 6 months. The memories I have of them on the cruise are so much clearer in my head than the everyday stuff. 

We loved it and had no problems with either of the kids. We also used the nursery which helped out a lot.  I think you’re getting comments from people that have never taken real young kids on a cruise before vs people that have. 

6-9 months is easier than taking a 2 year old. 

My answer is strictly based on potential germs. If that’s not something you’re concerned about then I definitely agree with this post. The younger/less mobile the baby the easier your life will be. 

My personal opinion is I wouldn’t take a baby who hasn’t at least had their 12 month vaccines on board just because you’re in such close quarters and if there’s anything to spread it will spread quick. Just for future cruises I’d say the sweet spot for us was between 1-2. They’re mobile but not super quick and they’re pretty happy wherever you take them. Mine were also ok with napping in a stroller at that age so while we still tried to keep some routine it didn’t need to be super strict. Taking my oldest at 2 and a half was an entirely different experience and I’m tired just thinking about it haha

Will be sailing on the Anthem for the first time in October and NCL Gem next year so looking forward to your reviews and comparisons.

Mainly maxi dresses but I like to pack a couple of pairs of shorts and a couple of tees just to have the options.