Itchy&Scratchy

that's exactly what we do.

please don't do it. And in the future, don't remove gratuities if you are satisfied with the service provided. It has nothing to do with you being frugal. I am as frugal as it gets, but I don't stiff people on the tips they have earned.

aren't you like some super duper diamond member or something like that? With all the cruises you have done, you must have a VIP status by now. Her attitude and demeanor were abhorrent, and I hope somebody explained to her how unprofessional she was. I am glad you got your dinner at the end of it all, but I am sad a supervisor screwed up so badly. Not some "lowly" first time assistant waiter, but a supervisor!!!

unvaxxed kids had to test a day before coming back to the US in November.

well, a grocery store was not available on Coco Cay... Not that I would want to buy anchovy paste and then drop it into water. At home we buy koi fish food for ponds (but they don't like it).

here is our packing list for a cruise with a kid: Passports, covid vaccine cards, negative tests, wallet, credit card, cash, printouts Masks + lanyards Medications (stomach, echinacea, cough, ibuprofen, prescriptions, diarrhea, laxative, cold, vitamins, zinc, thermometer, all of children’s meds, afrin), bandaids and first aid (our kid is always getting some kind of a small trauma) Lysol wipes (we wipe everything in the cabin and on the plane) SPF lotion and spray Swimming suits, trunks, rashguard, sunhats, beach bags Sunglasses Swim ring, floaties, swim vest, nose clip and goggles Water masks Sand toys Shoes: flip flops or crocs, sandals, sneakers, proper, water shoes Charging cables, laptop(?), phones, tablet and tablet holder Truvia, thermos cup, water bottle, zip lock bags for snacks Shorts, underwear, pjs, t-shirts, pants Toothbrushes, hair brush, cosmetics, always pads and tampons I like Essie's mom's suggestion to have toiletries in duplicate in case some of you have to quarantine in a different cabin.

I'd say the opposite - I would assume that they would probably just use one of the vehicles they use to take people to the car rental place (other people's experience with catching covid onboard) to take you home instead.

if you want to snorkel some more, there was a ton of colorful fish right behind the rocks in the first beach section of the Chill island: but it was extremely crowded (2 ships in port) and very windy and cold, so we moved to the Breezy bay area - next to the day beds and the Snack Shack. The water was shallow and still, and there was no wind. We loved it. We fed some fish in the water with hot dog and hamburger buns.

gotcha. We will be wearing it indoors at all times, unless eating at MDR or buffet.

Snack Shack's funnel cakes are a must! We had 2 each. We also loved the chicken sandwiches and mozzarella sticks. Cold grilled veggies were also good. Enjoy! Hint: if you want more of a still water - South beach or the Breezy Bay of the Chill island.

speaking of which.... Are there a lot of Ukrainian crew members? Do they need anything besides additional cash tips if they mention anything?

I hope you feel better very soon! And @ReneeFLL as well! I am usually very miserable even with mere colds. My dad was extremely sick with covid in 2020, and my mom was pretty sick as well.

out of curiosity - had you been wearing a mask indoors during the previous cruising weeks?

my kid had a cold 3 weeks ago and is having one now as well. Both times his sore throat/nasal congestion lasted 4+ days. His last cold ended on day 6. He is on day 4 of his second cold now, still with sore throat and a ton of snot. So, the part with the sore throat and snot last more than a few hours during a cold as well. P.S. Yes, he got tested for covid and strep both times - negative for both.

Thanks. Something tells me that the cruise staff who work for "minimum wage" may not have the latest and greatest in phone technology. P.S. My mom is still using my old Galaxy S5. She too worked a minimum wage job until her retirement several years ago.

11 am was the EARLIEST available time for both Harmony and Allure cruises.

how does it work? I have a fairly new Samsung Galaxy S20 and it takes sim cards.

it doesn't take me "a few hours" to pack up a family of 3 for the trip home. An hour max. Plus, we were done with all the beach activities by about 3 pm and had to go back to the ship for the kid's antigen test anyway. Since I tend to have horrible stress induced migraines in the first 1-3 days of the cruise, I would be inclined to choose a cruise with a sea day as day 2. However, I don't choose cruises based on the timing of the stops - they can change at any time anyway, and we are not flexible on timing (limited to school breaks only). The funnel cakes were awesome. We all had 2 each. I had one while floating in the ocean (on a floatie)... Paradise.

OP, you have got to talk to your daughter and discuss HER expectations. Total strangers' expectations may be quite off. 🙂 I would assume that she may want you to spend time with him during his naps and some of the evening activities (like productions, comedy shows, etc.), and also help out when you all go ashore.

you may want to ask here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/131-cozumel/ instead. We liked Playa Palankar because it was not AI, it was quiet, had a nice beach with nice sand for the kiddo to play with, and the water was nice and shallow. Also, a very good mango margarita. That was before the pandemic. Are you going to take a taxi? do you have a car seat (I recommend a Cosco Scenera NEXT)?

oh, yeah, sim cards take up A LOT OF SPACE. What an unreasonable gift!