Mum2Mercury

Port Canaveral is most convenient /our favorite to sail from. Random thoughts: - Since we drive, we like to stay at the Days Inn in Titusville. It's right off the interstate and about 30 minutes out from the cruise port, which we find to be an acceptable "day of" drive. It costs about $80/night, which includes a very small breakfast. It's clean and safe, which are the two things we value most. Days Inn has an IHOP in the hotel, a Popeye's Chicken in the parking lot, and a Cracker Barrel and a steakhouse across the street. Gas is available nearby too; we always like to leave the car "road ready" so we can leave quickly after the cruise. - An oddity: They have no human beings in the parking deck. They take only credit cards, and you pay going IN /not going OUT. - You'll park first, then wheel your luggage over to the porters; the porters are in the parking deck on the first level. Then you're ready to get in line. - We've always found ample parking, but we do tend to arrive as early as possible. - No stairs or elevators entering the terminal, which is nice, as it allows the crowds to exit more quickly. - Sorry, I've never sailed Adventure, but your terminal number will be included in your Cruise Docs (which come out 30 days before your cruise), and the signage as you approach the port is easy to follow.

I think you've created a narrative in which tipping is the problem, but that doesn't make it a true story. The real problem here is stupidity. Remember that half the population is below average! Not to rub salt in the wound, but this is a case study in why you should use Self-Disembarkation. With wheeled luggage, it's not really difficult for anyone who's able bodied; and your luggage can't be lost /taken by mistake if it's in your own hand. At a glance, I'd say taking the bag was an accident. Keeping it -- now that she fully knows it's not hers -- would be theft. I'd guess it's going to be quite expensive to mail the suitcase -- at least $100. Regardless, what can your sister do about it? Does she even know the name of the South Carolina woman who has it? She could potentially take the woman to small claims court, but that would be difficult and expensive (assuming you live far away). She's really at that woman's mercy. Tacky is practical in this case! Consider that you can buy brightly patterned covers that stretch over suitcases too. Considerably less expensive than new luggage. Respectfully, you WANT lots of shoes.

The line between "WOW" and overwhelming can be hard to determine.

Is 7 night in an OVB guarantee on Indy not an option? That'd be a full week + a lower price. OR, if Indy's only offering short sailings, consider a Back-to-Back; that is, staying onboard for a second trip. We sailed Indy recently and LOVED IT. It does not feel "older" in any way ... it has Playmakers and Fish & Ships, things my husband and I like a lot. Lots for kids to do, and your kids are both old enough for the kids' club. I'm sailing Wonder for the first time soon, but can't give personal opinions at the moment. You'll have to fly? It makes little sense to fly in for less than a week. And you absolutely need a night-before hotel. Thought 1: Prepping for a cruise with small children is absolutely work. Packing is a real chore. If you want to "win her over", do your share. Thought 2: One of the first things you must do on Day 1 is register your kids for the Kids' Club. They'll love it, and that'll give you a break from child care. You can even drop them off to have dinner with their little friends, while you two have a meal to yourselves. Thought 3: Choose your excursions with children carefully. Don't do something that'll be overly taxing. Thought 1: That Kids Sail Free Promotion is available about every other week. My children are adults now, but I think I see it all the time. Thought 2: Having the kids in the same "club" is a worthwhile endeavor. Disagree. We enjoy all sorts of rooms -- depends upon the specific cruise, the length of the cruise, who's traveling with us, etc. When our kids were small, we always sailed in a balcony -- our theory being that it was the cheapest way to get an extra "room". Once they were teens (and our salaries were larger), we started doing connecting rooms. Now that we're empty nesters, we mostly sail in insides. One of the things I like best about how we raised our children is that they appreciate what they have /don't waste time wishing they were doing something more fancy. They are happy /know how to behave at a 5-star oceanfront resort -- but they are also happy camping in a national park. Totally. I'd take 2 extra days over those small benefits 100Xs. Specific thoughts: - Because we have a long drive ahead of us, we always do Self-Disembarkation. We get in line just before 7:00 and are typically in our car headed north around 7:30. Admittedly, it'll be harder with small children. Something I saw on a recent cruise that made me say, "That family's got its act together" -- a father was pulling a collapsable wagon that contained two toddler boys + a couple backpacks, while mom followed (carrying an infant) walked behind watching the boys. I'm sure they used that wagon for beach days too. If I still had small children, I'd totally board with a wagon. - If I had small children again, I'd plan to take them to the MDR maybe 2Xs for dinner. To emphasize nice manners, let them feel they were doing something special. I'd put them in the kids' club so my husband and I could have an alone dinner a couple times. And I'd go to the buffet for most dinners -- easier with small children. - You might consider taking the kids to the MDR for lunches on Sea Days. Still white table cloths and service (and the lessons for children that come with all that), but it's faster. When my girls were young, we practiced at home before a cruise -- talked about sitting quietly, speaking up in a big girl voice when the waiter asks what you want, etc. - On a recent cruise I went to a show alone, and I claimed a seat up in the balcony. After I was seated, I realized I was in the "reserved seating". I looked around and noticed some people I'd spoken to earlier /knew weren't in a suite. They were in the same area. No one was monitoring. And they weren't superior seats. - You might have trouble with seats at the Ice Show or the Comedy Show -- if you try to show up at the last minute. - Free luggage valet? You can drop off your suitcases before boarding, and they go to your room -- no charge. If you want them hauled off the ship, that's no charge as well -- though you then have to search through a sea of all-black luggage to find your stuff. I was going to say the same thing! Disagree. Unless you're booking a year or more out and can snag a really prime aft balcony, I would rather save /let them pick my room. The savings are real. We've never been disappointed in our room. We usually end up mid-ship on Deck 6, which isn't a particularly popular deck, but it's our favorite now because it's only one floor up from the Promenade. We never use room service, but we usually do bring some ziplocks so we can keep cheese and crackers (from the buffet) in our room. You could order a lot of room service with the price difference between a balcony and a suite.

The answer is in the name: GUARANTEE. You're guaranteed a cabin somewhere on the ship -- just no promises about which one. We almost always do guarantees (when it's just us) because we really don't care about the location of our room, and it's a pretty good price break. It's highly unlikely they'd oversell and have no place for you.

I suspect the price difference has to do with the one-week later. Is a holiday involved? Or the difference is in the ship. I'm not familiar with Princess' ships -- how new /big is Jubilee? Wonder is one of Royal's more expensive ships.

Compare it carefully to your original. Has something been changed?

Regardless of how you get your towels, this is the best method for keeping up with them: - Never return them to the towel attendant; rather, EXCHANGE them for fresh towels. - Keep fresh towels in your room (we assign a shelf in the close for towel storage), which means you always have them ready -- even if you go out early /late while the towel station isn't open. - This means your cabin number isn't going in/out of the computer, and that reduces the number of times human error can occur. - On the last day, when you return your towels, take your time and MAKE SURE you have no towels assigned to your cabin.

As always, a picture is worth 1000 words.

True. Your balcony is angled and a touch smaller than the one to its right. If I were you, I'd choose to move to the right /to a balcony that isn't angled. It'd be just a bit larger, but -- more importantly -- you'd have a straight-on view /could look to the left or the right, whereas your balcony's angle gives it more of a favoring-the-left view. Honestly, though, you're in an excellent cabin.

At 5, my kids would've preferred going to Sorrentos for pizza, then hitting the Windjammer and being allowed to pick a plate of desserts.

I'm inclined to agree. Though I myself would rather have the drinks. Okay, but I personally am curious about the cost of free drinks vs. free internet.

What is this "give extra" concept of which you speak? The threshold for Diamond is high -- but not so high that frequent cruisers, especially those who live in Florida, can't reach it. I think AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE are actually in the Diamond category, and now Royal's forced to find ways to deal with the onslaught. You do know that many cocktails actually contain more calories than a typical snack, right? Good thing the rules don't count on a cruise! Wow, those are prime snacks! Maybe I care about this topic after all. I don't miss Honey Stung Chicken, but I'd eat that salad every day of my life and be happy about it. I don't see why they'd cut Ranger cookies; they're dirt-cheap to make. As a language teacher and a person atune to words, I agree about the names. I have encountered a few braggarts. Seriously, what do you think costs Royal more to give? Drinks or internet? I can somewhat relate to the behind-the-scenes cost of alcohol + labor to get it to the customer ... but I'm totally in the dark as to what internet costs to provide. I mean, the system is in place; I don't have any grasp of what it costs to give that service for free to a select group of customers. Nor do I have any concept of how many people onboard are paying for internet; so I have no idea how much revenue they'd give up if they gave free internet.

I was going to say something similar. The only reason they'd offer discounts is if the items aren't selling at "full price". They're trying to offer just to just SOME passengers in an attempt to get that enormous cost from the majority. Thing is, it's just a ridiculous amount of money to spend on upgraded seating for a couple hours. Eh, people who are spending aren't always rich. People who choose not to spend aren't all poor. You'd think RC and Celebrity would know that.

It's cheesesteak -- with onions, peppers and cheese. I thought it was good but not great; the bread could've been better. No au jus. Maybe photographs will help -- I can't make it any easier than this: Here's a picture of Chill Island (not all of Coco Cay) when it first opened. Note that blue loungers (free loungers) surround the little cove. Next is a picture of Chill Island today. Note that many more for-cost cabanas (or beach beds or whatever they're called) have taken the place of the no-cost free loungers. Fewer loungers /less for the non-paying beach-goer.

It's a pleasant place, drinks are available nearby, and you can take a dip when you please.

Yeah, at a guess, I'd say it was someone "sleeping in the wrong room" -- but the person reported to Guest Services (since no follow up was evident), so no further search was necessary.

I was going to ask something similar: What type of pool experience do you want? Do you want a party-type pool with music and an exciting vibe? Or do you want a quiet, relaxing spot where you can read?

Our adult daughter will join us for an upcoming cruise, and I am downright concerned about this. Especially because - They've just upped the daily gratuity while reducing service -- yes, I'm pretty salty over this; I'd have accepted one or the other, but the combination is just wrong. - The steward is receiving gratuity from three people, not just two, so more service should be expected. I have never considered removing or reducing tips before, but I am considering removing my tips (now) and paying after I see whether we get sofa-bed service twice a day. The problem with that is, if I remove /reduce that third person's gratuity, it also affects the people who work in food service.

Royal is adding more for-cost cabanas at the established beaches. Those cabanas reduce the amount of "free beach".

Well, you're right in general, but A FEW ports require an ID in addition to the ship ID. Nassau, Bahamas, for example requires a government ID + your ship's ID to gain access to the dock /the ships. (Not that I'm ever going back to Nassau.) I have no idea what they'd do if you had only the ship ID. My daughter and her husband were out of town, and he dropped his keys in a restaurant parking lot -- he believes they fell out of his pocket while he was securing their toddler in his car seat. His vehicle has the push-to-start feature; his keys were nearby + she had her keys -- so he was able to start the car and drive away. When they stopped, he realized his keys were gone. Because of the Air Tag, they were able to go straight back to his keys. Lost luggage isn't all that common, but the stories are repeated and repeated, and they begin to "feel like more". I've never lost luggage either, but it's not luck -- it's that I only travel with carry ons. It'd take a special kind of stupid to lose luggage out of your own hand.

I like all, especially #3 and 4 ... but I'd rather see a pair with a thinner /more delicate ankle strap. The hemline is fairly long, so that chunkier ankle strap "chops the leg in half". I'd also prefer something in all silver or all gold (with the dress being a solid color, a little bling would be a nice addition), though the cream shoe above is more practical.

I'm not a nurse, but I have the same nails! I do make an effort to "fancy them up" a bit for vacations. A surprising number of my high school students always have long, fancy, professionally-done nails -- and that's not the greatest choice, given that so much of our work is on computer now. Some of these girls literally can't type normally; they have to turn their fingers sideways and use the "hunt and peck method". I've seen some of them "type" using the eraser end of a pencil.

Stinkin' Plantar Fasciitis. I've been dealing with it since I was about 40, and -- through trial and error -- I've created a set of rules. As long as I obey these rules, I have no problems: - Shoes must have a strong arch support - Shoes must have a supportive foot bed /an indent for my heel to fit into /cannot be flat - If we're talking about sandals, the straps need to be "high" /up near my ankle instead of down by the toes I do still wear heels to church, out to dinner or other places where I'll just be walking in and sitting down -- but I wouldn't wear them anywhere I'll be walking. I like Vionics, but they're so expensive. To anyone who's never worn them, they tend to run small! Don't order them over the internet -- at least not your first pair. I also adore Chacos for supportive /walking sandals. Yes! I like little white Keds or Vans (with my orthopedic insert) with a tee-dress. Now I want a pair in soft pink! Lower stilettos? That's a thing?

I'll be on Grandeur in a few weeks, and I'm quite excited! No, it doesn't have the "bells and whistles", but we're looking forward to a quiet, relaxing experience along with good food, fun island stops, and time together.