jmckay331

Honestly, it's not rci's responsibility to update you on risks of an area. It is the consumers responsibility to do the research prior to purchase. As for refunds, If you have travel insurance you should be able to get refund. Usually if you get insurance within 7-30 days of booking you can be reimbursed. Not sure why you would have a problem directly from rci unless you booked within the 90 days to cruise window. Two years ago I cancelled and got my deposit refunded with no issue. I realize everyone is different so not trying to belittle your experience. I'm surprised anyone with a pregnancy would be booking the Caribbean right now as Zika has been in the news for months specifically addressing the risks to pregnant women. Heck at this point there are already risks in the southern US. My suggestions since I don't know whole story and I'm a little confused on your timeline...find some travel insurance that has cancel for any reason in policy (USAA -if member, offers this if you buy within 30 days of booking) see which would cost more cost of insurance then canceling or not getting refund when you cancel only you can work out what works best for you. As for Zika risks it is only to the fetus so pregnant women and their spouse should be able to cancel regardless of insurance. Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Not sure what my plan is yet...I do have a Fitbit so will try to at a minimum hit the track. I expect that my plan will get more detailed as I get closer. I want to hit the gym at least on sea days I really expect that port days will be a bust for gym or track but expect I'll get some decent walking while on excursions. I do plan on indulging a bit when it comes to food but not aggressively so. Again if my current goal for between now and cruise works out it won't really be much of a worry just sticking to routine

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Lol mine now says I have 32 dinner reservations for a 10 day cruise for two people...wth.

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Actually, berries are a good source of fiber and therefore the net carbs are lower. They are lower in carbs than other fruits, making them an excellent choice.

Actually they fall into a moderate category not low. The term net carbs is still more of a trend/ marketing ploy in response to the popularity of the Atkins diet from years ago rather than a proven concept. While dietary fibers are better carbs that straight sugar carbs usually they are a small percentage so the research is still out on affect on blood sugar. As a diet in general going low carb isn't the best choice as often it is water weight and unless you stay on the low carb diet you will gain the weight back. This has been proven with most "diets." Any way continuing the fruit discussion...any low or reduced carb recommendation will also include restricting fruits including most berries(not strawberries which are perfect LOL). As for the overall thread of healthy dos and dont's.

Its actually fairly simple expend more calories than you intake.

1. Change you lifestyle rather than "diet"

This doesn't mean if you are overweight in an effort to lose you suddenly start working out 5 days a week and eating a 1200 calorie diet. That would do more harm than good.

2. Exercise

If you don't work out at all then start with walking at a moderate pace once a week for a month, then add an extra day after a few weeks. Preferably some type of strength training as muscle burns more fat than doing cardio all the time.

3. Watch calories not carbs and fats (unless you are diabetic-different rules)

This doesn't mean that you can eat all the carbs and fat you want it just means pay attention to the calories which will naturally have you avoiding certain carbs and fats because they are higher in calories...

4. Have a partner to keep you "honest"

This partner can be a friend, family, stranger, smart app. Whatever helps you. the hardest part especially when starting is honestly starting LOL. Then its knowing the right way to keep up.

5. Know that this is a lifestyle change and not a restriction. We are notorious for making things too restrictive and cheating because its so restrictive or have a "free" day because we did so "good" during the week. BTW that free day almost always negates the entire week because you have to take into account the calories for the week when actually trying to loss weight.

The information below is directly from the Mayo clinic:

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So, in general, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories)

So slow an steady folks and you CAN do it (not effortless). They whole process does take conscious effort when you begin because its often a new way of looking at food. But often what you will find is that you aren't starving you don't deny yourself (just remember if you have a treat you just need to take those calories from somewhere else)

This post got to big...Sorry so Ill get off my soapbox now. Happy trails:):D

Im glad it works for you. I have found its a great way to stay accountable for calorie intake and that it shows you nutrient info which is great when you are watching something specific like carb intake or doing low fat. Im a huge fan of the app after using it.

Just FYI most fruits,especially berries cantaloupe dates oranges and apples are high in sugar so high carbs most are around 21 carbs. Just to compare 1 slice bread has 15g of carbs. So if you are trying to watch carbs then avoid those high sugar fruits. Some good fruits include strawberries .5 g and honeydew melon 10 g and grapes aren't too high at 15g per serving

Sorry hit send instead of return [emoji854]

6. Don't know I tend to stick to complimentary venues

7. Mostly pizza etc. some antipasto don't know if they have salads been awhile and it is complimentary

8. Yes cupcake cupboard is a la carte

9. You can get smoothies as part of beverage package but protein powder costs extra

Hope this helps

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1. Fill out special request form to ask for lactose free diet

2. Yes you can bring protein shakes no restrictions if it's powdered

3. Same on snacks

4. MDR more difficult but again you can ask your waiter about carbs in meal... Sauces will be your big issue so watch that and of course all the bread, rice etc..typical carbs

5. Tons of stuff, a lot of meat, veggie choices it's buffet style so a lot of options

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Another note. There is a wonderful app for tracking food/calorie/exercise its called my fitness pal. In the past when I've used it I've lost over 20 lbs in about 2-3 months. I'm back on it now lol as I obviously need the watchdog and routine. I also like that whenever you exercise its gives you additional calories that you can eat. I actually find that I struggle to eat enough calories. Currently I'm slotted 1500 a day if I don't exercise other than normal household activities. That is having my settings at wanting to lose 2 lbs a week. Of course if I workout all those expended calories get added into my allowed total for the day. So if I work out for 45 minutes and expend 500 calories my new daily total I can eat is 2000. The my fitness pal app will also track nutrients so I can Monitor things like fat, sugar and carbs, vitamins, protein, etc. if I sound like a fan it's because I know it works if you are consistent plus I never feel starved which leads to binge eating. Folks that try to 1200 calories are being unrealistic and actually doing themselves more harm than good and possibly sending their bodies into starvation mode which will result in the body holding onto weight and possibly gaining. Any weight lost will probably be water and muscle weight lose rather than fat. This is especially true for women as our bodies are naturally built to retain body fat. If you have ever dieted and worked out with a male partner then you will know what I'm saying as he drops more weight quicker. So frustrating! That's in large part due to having 50% more muscle mass than a woman of the same general size. So what should woman do...actually weight training is one of the best ways to kick up your metabolism. No you won't get all bulgy because you lift weights. Women will slim down long before they start to build crazy muscles like body builders again that's just how we are built. I'm sorry I rambled on so much I hope this was helpful. Also if you have the fitness app and want to add me as a friend the app I'm jmckay331 like here at yahoo. Friends always help you keep on track and I know I need it. Lol. My goal is 60 lbs this year. At a minimum I want 40 by Christmas.

Small comment, be careful with too much fruit because most fruit has high sugar which can negate some of the positive aspects. People think all the time that while dieting they can have all the fruit they want because it's "healthy" that's not true. Fruit,depending on type , is high on the glycemic index This creates a spike in blood-sugar and an increase in insulin production. Which if you already are overweight leads to fat storage. Long story short increase your vegetable intake...that's the one you can have almost unlimited supply of (within limits). As for fruit just be aware how much sugar is in it. Google it and glycemic index you'll see what I'm talking about.

Going through TA and getting a discounted rate is like when you trade in a car when buying a new car. They may offer more in discount off new car rather than offering more for trade in...it's an accounting thing. While it means the same to the customer ie$500 less, it's better for dealership since they turn around and sell old car and want to make a profit. So for the $360 either as OBC or bill discount it doesn't matter it was money already available to customer so basically TA used the OBC to pay down bill by $360

The way I understand this is that you are given a password to use so while only one device can be connected at a time you can switch between devices. Therefore, yes I believe you could buy for four devices and switch out amongst them. Please correct me if I'm wrong folks[emoji3]

Never use your debit card...I saw that recommendation. Usually cc have some type of protection against fraud or stolen cards and since its credit you aren't out the money while you fix any errors in the bill. With a debit card if anything happens you are out actually cash while trying to fix the problem. Also cc with the new chips are even more secure. As for which one to use on a cruise...that depends, there are so many options now it's depends what you want. I know certain AMEX have a bunch of different options like cash back, airline points, travel discounts, insurance protection etc. cruise lines have cards that offer points for OBC, I saw some others mentioned that folks love for their perks. So honestly once you figure out what perks you want from the card you can narrow down which one to use.

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If you have to fly to the port I suggest booking as soon as possible. Prices tend to go up for holiday travel of all types including cruises. That is not to say there might not be a last minute special but that is more an exception than a rule. I will say that it's almost guaranteed that flight prices will go up. I watched flights for a certain itinerary increase every year as it got closer to December so when it finally came time to book everything I booked as soon as it became available. My current flight same itinerary and seat type is now almost double in price and my cruise price has also gone up. In fact only JS and above are even available right now. So long story short...I recommend for holiday travel that you book early. You can always try to rebook as it gets closer (before final payment) and prices go down but if they don't at least you already have a cabin.

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Stewartmamone1 I really like your excel. I had one similar but like yours better so I'll be transferring my stuff into this new format for my trip. Great list.

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I will say in 25 years of traveling I've only had one bag go missing and that was to Korea. As it was a military move we had a lot of bags for a family of four so the one bag didn't hurt anyone until it showed up a few days later. For upcoming trip I plan on doing two carry-on types. One is the 21 inch and one is about 14 in and fits under the seat(personal item). However they are big enough to fit two weeks worth of travel stuff. My upcoming trip is during holiday travel and I change planes twice one flight is delta and the other two are air New Zealand. I'm too nervous about missing luggage to even attempt to check a bag. However there is the possibility that my first bag will be considered too big for carry on so in that case I will have at least two changes of clothes in smaller bag plus toiletries, jewelry and electronics. I will also have an packed tote that I can pull out to rearrange items so that I would have ended enough for at least a week in the event my checked bag goes missing. Luckily or unluckily depending on how you see it my first flight was already moved to earlier in the day and now will have 14 hour layover in LAX plus three days pre cruise in Sydney so should be enough time for any luggage to find its way to me. I'm still hopeful to only stick with carry on all the way and only check baggage on the return trip after I have shopped. Lol

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Ok that's funny....now I'm not sure if I should wish you a happy cruise or not

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Odd[emoji854] but to each their own. I would actually prefer to hear some type of music most places...but don't think either situation would discourage me from enjoying a cruise or other type of vacation if the itinerary and price were right. I don't like silence except when I'm sleeping. Maybe that makes me the odd one but whatever....[emoji16][emoji41]

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My plan for my cruise at the end of the year is two carry ons... Lots of mix and match and several maxis. I say plan because this will be my first attempt at traveling light. We have several flights to get to our destination and I would prefer not dealing with missing luggage. Yes a have travel insurance and my cc actually has baggage protection also but still a hassle that hopefully can be avoided. I have packing cubes and hope this works out. Planning outfits hasn't been too difficult toiletries are a bit complicated due to airline restrictions but worse comes to worse I'll buy some shampoo and conditioner in Sydney even though it's expensive. My actual packing list looks big but I think it will work out...wish me luck

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If it's like a regular land based spa then there would be gratuity which would go to the staff that cleaned and prepped the area. Use of the thermal suite is classified as a service not an item since its not like you can walk away with it... Just saying

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Well for me the price was $57pp per day before sale and $55.46 pp per day after the sale those prices include the gratuity I'm not even gonna bother re booking for $1.54 per day bigger pain to deal with cc refund than suck up a dollar

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The math on the 20% discount is massively fuzzy...how is it the price went from $57 inclusive of gratuities to $$55.46 a $1.54 discount. How is this 20%? Crazy

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I will submit a ditto for the brew house in anchorage it's great. I wish you luck with managing two excursions per port that is ambitious and you will probably need a vacation after your vacation. But if your like me and the ports are the big draw then go for it. Even with that I don't think I have ever tried two excursions per port or even two tours on the same day for a land based vacation. Alaska is beautiful in the summertime so enjoy yourself.

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Ovation

 

 

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So if those are the on board prices for ovation then I'm glad I pre-purchased mine because for us the premium was $57 pp per night inclusive of gratuity. So overall $570 pp for 10 night cruise

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We return a few weeks ago from a cruise porting in San Juan,PR and sailing to 5 islands (Southern Caribbean).

 

 

 

We prepared well for any Zika-carrying mosquitos...didn't see one of them anywhere.

 

 

 

No doubt there's a threat to pregnant women...but overall...caution is wise but a bit over-hyped.

Not really overhyped as they still don't know long term effects. The major worry is about pregnant women, women trying to get pregnant and the men with them. When the cdc says use a condom with your pregnant wife if you've been exposed I would think it's kind of worrisome. It's easy to get bit without even knowing so if you fall into the category of wanting a baby within the next year I say avoid the worst areas. As for the OP my advice is get those fan bug things...I can't remember what they are called but they actually work pretty good. I used one in the summer in Alaska when staying with my mom. She had I little creek near her house which was swarming with mosquitos and that little fan kept them off me with no smell as for sprays the ones with deep are most effective but the smell may bother you. I fall into the no more babies category even though I'm still in the childbearing category so hopefully no worries here

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