misty57

I have gained as much as 10 lb on our past cruises. Late night pizza, cookies all day long... Lots of deserts and trips to the buffet. We just returned from a 7 night cruise and DH and I were up 1 lb which came off by the next morning!! We had a lot of seafood and sugar free deserts. We went to the gym every morning except the last morning. It can be done and without too much self denial. Just be mindful of what and how much you are eating. We even ordered room service one evening after the evening entertainment. We ordered decaf coffee a cheese plate and fruit:)

Sorry to add another question to the OP's, but what is the average cost for taxi from SEATAC airport to pier 66? We are flying in day before and staying at an airport hotel that has a shuttle, so unable to take cruise line transfer. Is there an airport shuttle that will go to the pier?

If I may ... Slightly different experience I had a couple years back. Kinda a personal situation sorry if I offend anyone with the topic. Being about 49ish year old woman I had the monthly woman's issues. Never knew when or where I would need supplies so I packed many at all times. On the EOS i happened to need more supplies. Went to the promenade nothing to be bought on the ship. They didn't stock b4 leaving the port of Bayonne. Ok went to the medical facility nothing. Panic was setting in and I just kept getting sorry can't help you. I was actually stalking the ladies room asking passengers if I could buy some from them!!! I got no help in all the places I would have expected to. I went to the crown and anchor desk and pleaded case. Thank god the hostess was wonderful she helped me gather product from fellow workers. My cabin attendant also helped out. If not for them I would not have been able to leave my cabin. Returning home I contacted rccl upset about the lack of management skills for keeping such an important item properly stocked. With 3000. + people onboard large percentage of women and what about the possibility of all the young girls that might experience this for their first time?? I got no where with my complaints never acknowledged. I did not expect anything from them except an acknowledgement. The upper management on the ship really cared less. I still love rccl and really that was my only moment I felt livid. Because of a couple nice passengers and a couple wonderful workers my trip was saved. All is well that ends well I guess. Just bad timing.

 

 

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I completely understand what you are saying. I had a similar situation about 10 yrs ago. Had brought lots of supplies but you never know.... I even had a prescription to keep things under control, but anyway... I remember there being a very limited stock in the on board store. I managed to find some in port thank goodness. I am surprised that the medical facility didn't have anything. I am not surprised that you had no response from anyone though. Maybe they did increase their supplies available after you complained though.

You may be able to book it privately if it's not offered through the cruise line .

We had a prepaid reservation for Harbor House and with talk on our roll call about the HH being closed for renovations I called to make sure our reservation still stood. I received a call from Hotel Galvez saying that we have been " upgraded" to the Galvez. They are also giving us tickets to the Mardi Gras entertainment on the Strand for the evening. It sounds ok, but I'm wondering if this is truly an improvement. What are other cruiser's opinion of the Galvez?

 

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[/yes !

Besides the Renovation isn't complete.

Your good attitude toward the adventure will make the difference.

Besides the beach, Seawall and Mardi Gras and other things are worth it.

Mardi Gras parades are on Seawall to downtown all weekend.

 

Enjoy you stay .

 

If you have questions ask

We live here!

 

Thanks! We will be arriving mid afternoon. Where would be the best place to have dinner? The lobby and restaurant at the hotel are closed for a private party.

We had a prepaid reservation for Harbor House and with talk on our roll call about the HH being closed for renovations I called to make sure our reservation still stood. I received a call from Hotel Galvez saying that we have been " upgraded" to the Galvez. They are also giving us tickets to the Mardi Gras entertainment on the Strand for the evening. It sounds ok, but I'm wondering if this is truly an improvement. What are other cruiser's opinion of the Galvez?

We're bringing all our "natural" anti infectives: Thieves (Young Living Essential Oils), Germ Fighter (Plant Therapy), and the like. But I also bought a container of Cavi-Wipes on Amazon after reading another thread about the ineffectiveness of anti-bacterial solutions on viruses. Can't hurt to cover all the bases, can it? Then just be careful of what you touch - hand railings, elevator buttons, serving utensils - and wash hands frequently and thoroughly. Think Howard Hughes. You might look funny, but it's "better to feel good than to look good."

You need gloves to use cavi wipes. It will mess up your hands and nails badly!

I use it daily in our NICU and it is effective, but do not use it on clear plastic or plexiglass type surfaces because it will cause it to have a milky appearance that can not be reversed. I don't think the cruise line would be happy if someone damaged their furnishings .

Hmm. I hope this doesn't happen to us in a few weeks! Will they let you wait in the terminal until boarding? That would be a long afternoon and evening after checking out of your hotel room.

The MDR has a wonderful full sit down breakfast on that last morning....We who usually use the WJ were quite surprised at how wonderful this MDR option worked out for us on our recent Oasis cruise...It wasn't rushed at all and we were even able to leave our carryons in our cabin after asking our cabin steward if this would be ok...one of the easiest disembarks we've ever had. :)

DITTO! We always use the MDR for breakfast since trying it on the Oasis. Much better than WJ IMHO.

Depends most of the bodies I have seen at quest lead me to demand compensation -- at least a little OBC.

Hmmm. My parents always said that nothing good happens after 11pm;)

As others have said, there are excursions with very little walking involved. If your FIL is coming then she will have companionship on the excursions. My DH no longer enjoys the most active excursions either but we still have a good time. Maybe you could help them choose the right excursions. It is a generous gift, and beyond that, you can't control how they spend their time on the ship.

John and Lynnea, thank you for posting your personal experience. It was very helpful. I have a couple further questions if you don't mind:

 

1. the $5000 bill from ship's infirmary (for 6 hours of service?) sounds exorbitant. Did your late MIL truly received very intensive care on board (meaning ICU, advance life support type of care which I did not think any cruise ship could provide) or did you have an explanation from RCCL on how they come with this number?

 

2. Given she was 85, I assume MIL had medicare + supplemental insurance. When you mentioned the primary insurance paid for the hospital /ambulance cost, you meant the supplemental insurance, not Medicare part B or something else?

$5000 would not be out of line for emergency department level care, which would be what this would be considered to be. If you have ever seen an itemized hospital bill it is staggering. The final bill you get is after insurance and contract deductions have been applied.

We didn't take the RCI excursion but took a taxi to and from the resort and paid to view the displays. We walked around and saw them feeding the sharks. Didn't use the water slide . It was interesting and I think it would make a good family vacation, although expensive.

We stayed at Millenium Bostonian last fall. Beautiful hotel and great location.

This thread is getting ready to disappear to old posts and I have the ultimate packing item. Make sure your PASSPORT is with your purse or wallet upon departing for your cruise! Also make sure it does not expire within 6 months of your cruise!!!

 

Have read many post of forgotten passports or expired passports and I cannot imagine the feeling of watching the ship sailing away without me!:eek:

I have had nightmares about that! I always keep ours in the same pocket of the same carry on. No last minute panics for me!

Dinner or lunch at one of the specialty restaurants would be nice.

We always book SW when we can. I don't even look elsewhere. They are the easiest airline to work with.

Do you pack the hand warmers in your checked luggage? I wouldn't want them to activate ahead of time.

I pack a stainless steel bottle for water for DH since we order a bottled water package and thos bottles are huge.. Too big to comfortably carry around .

Always pack extra undies. It came in handy when we were stranded for 3 days after disembarking during Hurricane Sandy! DH never gives me grief about it now:D

I don't think it would be rude, but what some consider ok, others ( from different cultures) may. Just say it with a smile :)

We watch the forecast and change flights if we can. One reason I take 3 weeks vacation for 7 night cruise so I have options on either end of the trip;)

We have only had a poor waiter once in 16 cruises, and even then I didn't give a bad evaluation on the survey. I have had a few cabin attendents that were less than steller, but manage to find a positive comment to make about most who serve us. The service in the MDR is dependent on so many things, including how complicated the diner's orders are. On one cruise we were seated at a large table. One person was upset because the waiter didn't bring out his second order in the right sequence ( according to him:rolleyes:). He berated the poor waiter so badly that he was almost in tears. We made sure to include that in our survey along with a glowing evaluation so maybe it would cancel out that other person's complaint if he filled out the survey and gave our waiter poor marks.

We are totally land locked here ( and currently it is warmer in Alaska than Illinois:eek:) so we have no choice but to fly to ports. If you watch for deals you may be able to make up some of the cost difference. I would take an inside cabin if I had to to afford the travel:)

On formal night we change if we have time before the evening entertainment. DH will not stay in a suit any longer than he has to :D. For me it is all about the shoes! Walking up and down stairs in heels just kills my feet, and I don't want to be dressed in my glitter and glam while DH wears his casual attire. If anyone cares, then :p.

I'm not sure which tier you are trying to reach, but I have taken to using my points for OBC. Keep in mind that you need $5,000 in charges to get $50 in OBC. It also takes a full cc cycle to be posted. I use my card for all purchases (except restaurants and church donation).

We have reservations at Harbor House end of February :eek: I hope they will be open then!