travelbuddies

Thanks for your awesome review, we board next week. Lala in all of the pics with your hair down your hair looks fabulous even in the wind. I have a similar style/cut and usually look a mess. What is your secret? Please be specific I will purchase your recommended products for my upcoming cruise. My hair looks good for about 5 minutes and terrible in all my pics.

I called RC this morning and they do offer this for most ships on most sailings. I will be on the 9/18 FOS and it will be available for that cruise. I can purchase it as soon as I get onboard. I am cancelling my premium drink package (because I don't drink enough to make it worth while) and doing this. Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed your review and pictures. Thanks for doing the review.

Do the cocktails include frozen drinks on drink card?

I received a reply From CC that they are aware of the problems and working on a fix.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Hey Tony O thanks for sharing.

Others are having problems with the CC App:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2397656

 

Try using Tapatalk.

Thanks Bob, nice knowing we can always count on you. Glad to see it's not my LG phone.

$99 NCL Sky Sept 5 4 nighter. Includes Open Bar (no service charge on this ship). I was beginning to think this thread was good and dead

Amazing find...If I lived in Florida I might have to book it. Glad you are still reporting. Thanks

We live in Jacksonville. Easy drive to three ports......Six hours to S.florida. We are retired. DH is Fl. Native. I have been in FL. since 1968. We get military. Senior.Resident. sometimes casino rates. On Carnival. Princess Platinum. HAL. NCR. Several cruises. My husband says we have more sea days than most sailors.

 

Love this thread but...............Still have to find a place for much loved dog. Still have to work around Dr. Appointments. Family gatherings. Birthdays of Grand Child.

 

STill.................the cruise we booked a week from sailing on the Carnival Dream, after a family misunderstanding of which we wanted NO part in it.........so we left town..........was at a great price and one of the best cruises we ever took. We were in an inside on Upper level..........next to an elevator.......I liked it. I am not much of a sleeper. In that cabin, we had to have phone call to wake us up. IT is true some sleep well in an inside. cabin. DH has a bit of claustrophobia. Still remember just packing up and getting out of town.

when we got home.....issue was solved. Meanwhile we had been sailing the Caribbean. That was PRE Dog.

 

Great thread. Great advice. BOOKING as early as you is a huge price saver for me.

Have you tried dog vacay? https://dogvacay.com/?sid=001&cid=372&mktid=0135405&aid=001&mkwid=s3Dl4Ajm7|pcrid|59262587635|pkw|dogvacay|pmt|b|phttp://www.bringfido.com/resource/search/?csrfmiddlewaretoken=Ft2CSx408gGdMMJMc90ZmT6xm4lXZBgu&within=&term=Jacksonville%2C+FL%2C+USdv|c|slid||&gclid=Cj0KEQjw6am-BRCTk4WZhLfd4-oBEiQA3ydA3u_lwG-KE39DngJTgHtAw7jq4nEOf5uSDPRL2d6H7nUaAl7o8P8HAQ or http://www.bringfido.com/resource/search/?csrfmiddlewaretoken=Ft2CSx408gGdMMJMc90ZmT6xm4lXZBgu&within=&term=Jacksonville%2C+FL%2C+US

We tip over the 18% in cash to room service, anyone who brings us a drink at bars & pool, spa & specialty restaurants. Also tip the attendant who set up chairs on Labadee. Stateroom attendant & anyone who goes out of their way to provide service over & above what one might expect. Crew & staff seem

to appreciate it very much. We bring $100 ones and $100th fives. Is appreciate the other suggestions & will get some from guest services on our next cruise & leave a little extra for an exceptional waiter & asst waiter at guest services on our sea pass to see how it works out for us.

Sounds like the only solution is to do both ships, maybe a B2B?

Hitting the like button!

NKTM Waterproof Pouch Dry Bag Fanny Pack with Waist Strap Keep Your Cellphone Cash Safe and Dry Perfect for Boating Swimming Snorkeling Kayaking Beach

I bought this waterproof bag from amazon. Works great and keeps everything dry. I line it with wrapping paper so you can't see through it.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Cellphone-Swimming-Snorkeling-Guarantee/dp/B01DM3TBHE/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1471827406&sr=8-13&keywords=water+proof+fanny+pack+for+snorkeling

May is the best time to come down, Snowbirds are gone, weather is great and the prices drop

If we get a quick sale I probably start looking for my new place in May. Saw some great prices on July too. Realtor says I will be paying high vacation rates if I don't lease for a year & should have signed a lease a year out. DH doesn't really want to rent & is hoping to move from our house to new house. Yikes I don't want to be homeless or forced to take something I don't love. Any ideas on short term or month to month leasing would be helpful.

E-mail the link to me please

We moved to Florida 13 years ago, and have enjoyed it. The regret is only that our sons live up north. Once you hire the moving truck to bring down what you need, another box or two doesn't matter. Most of our furniture we bought down here, but there were some pieces that came with us.

 

You won't miss the cold winters!

Thanks I can't wait to get out of Misery I mean Missouri. No kids or grandkids so it's easy for me to move on & out of the snow. dh has a great group of golf buddies he will miss. I said tell em to come on down for a visit. We probably won't buy a house till we sell our house so there is no way to tell what we will need. The resale shop that was going to sell all my big pieces just went out of business and I am afraid of the Craig's list killer so I am looking for plan B.

I guess if we get sloshed in the lounge you will need those water shoes:p:D

chuckle, chuckle, the Queen's feet must be protected from rocky beaches and after foot surgery the King a/k/a the captain had to buy water shoes this year for Labadee. And excuse me it's not if it's when...ha!

And I believe the reference is to a private joke between close personal friends.

I am practicing on our Freedom cruise trying to get down to one large bag so we won't need a van (or tractor trailer) to fit my luggage for Harmony he, he! Hmmm we will have more space in the JS and SWA does allow me 2 free bags, a carry on+ purse. I usually bring 13 pair of shoes. I'm down to flip flops, water shoes, tennis shoes, 2 walk sandals, and 4 dressy sandals for evening. Making progress, ha!⚓🚢🌴

Susan, it's been awhile. :) Great news that you are moving to Florida! (Other than the move itself, of course, lol!)

Still working out logistics. I want to bring a smile and dh wants to bring a truckload. Our house goes on the market April 1st, 2017. I have already picked out my Margaritaville pool raft with canopy to shade my face and cup holder for something tall & cool.

Double points only started about 2 years ago. So for 3 years even thought I was paying double I was getting single points and the first 7 cruises I didn't travel solo. Diamonds in December helped too. I did that twice.

I have had the pleasure of sailing with travelgoddess1 and am adding you and marionmom to my list of hope to meet on future cruises. Girl you are living my dream. We are moving to FL next year. Can't wait for the adventure to begin.⚓🚢🌴

That is why I don't do FCC or take the OBC on the cruise I am on. I book an actual cruise and tell them to leave the OBC on the new booking, not give it to me on the current cruise.

 

Accomplishes a few things - still get the OBC for booking onboard, lower deposit. But most of all, I can move or change that cruise to whatever I want and I don't lose any deposit, or lose my OBC or hit any penalties. I don't need the OBC on the cruise I am on so I always have them leave it on the cruise I am booking. Much easier to make changes that way.

 

If I have to put add'l deposit on it when I move it, I don't care, have to pay it as some point anyway. Big thing to me is I CAN cancel w/o penalty and I can move the cruise to whatever I want to w/o any penalty.Is that prior to final payment? How many days prior to sailing?[/b]

Glad it has been rescinded. I wasn't feeling very appreciated. :-)

For what it's worth...Breaking news from my fb group (this is a closed group so I will not mention names)

"Great news cruisers: Royal does care about their members - and they listen! The balcony/suite discount remains - so you can ignore the prior announcement below.

Referring to this announcement: As of September 1, 2016 balcony and suite discounts will only apply to sailing's booked more than six months out.

And how do you know this

I'm the admin of this group - I'm informed by Royal of announcements"

People keep mentioning that a lot of regular cruisers book before the 6 month time period so it doesn't matter. It does matter because if you request a price change within that 6 month period (when a lot of price drops may occur) you will lose your balcony discount if you reprice (according to what is being said).

 

So it affects more than people who book with less than 6 months until sailing.

 

It really affects anyone who is eligible for a balcony discount due to C&A level.

Due to the generous D+ balcony/suite discount we routinely add a week creating a b2b or upgrade our cabin within two months of sailing. The recent decision will diminish this opportunity for us.

I read a lot about the beach being rocky. That's not gonna go well with my newly walking child lol. Is there a certain part that is sandy with no rocks but still has amenties- bathrooms, food, chairs?

 

Thanks

We just ordered aqua shoes/water shoes from Amazon. Work great in rocky waters. Wear sandals or flip flops & bring aqua shoes in a zip lock bag so you have a place for your wet sandy shoes & you won't track the sand on to the ship and into the cabin.

Hello all.

 

In Fort Lauderdale, is there any good store to buy those big clips that hold the towel attached to a chair? I haven't seen those here in Finland so I thought if I could get few in there before our cruise.

 

Thanks for any answer :)

I've seen them at Publix on 17th street the last two years.

Yup. As long as there are four or more days left in your cruise, you can buy for the rest of the cruise.

 

:)

Have you ever been offered a drink card onboard? Can you tell me how it works. I don't think it's always available but I see people talking about purchasing them sometimes.

I believe the 500ml bottles are around $2 each.

Thanks, $4 or $6 a day sounds good to me!

Anyone can get a glass of tap water with or without ice for free from any bar or restaurant. I took the poster's question as asking for bottled water.

I drink a lot of water all day and night. Usually I just pick one up at windjammer or park cafe. One morning I left the bathroom door open, filled my glass from the bathroom sink to take my dramamine. Set the glass down before taking the pill & flipped on the light. The water was brown.:eek: No more bathroom sink water for me! The Evian package is large warm water. Too heavy for me to carry around. $19 a day + tax + tip I think is a ridiculous amount to spend for a few 50 cent bottles of water a day. Do you know how much the bar charges for a bottle of cold water? I think two or three a day from the bar might be the best way to go.

Can I get a cold bottle of water at any bar with the 3 drinks loaded on my card at happy hour?