margeecruiser

CB: you have been lucky. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. Or, best laid plans of mice and men

If the risk is low, but if it happens, I want to be prepared. FYI, it's happened to us at least twice. Usually we wait 1+ hours

Margee

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I agree sun hats need a chin strap. My hats have a cord in the internal band to make them adjustable fit. The ends are long enough to tie under my chin or just tuck inside.

Margee

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Thanks, Bob

After research on the disabled board, I've decided to bring a small collapsible stool in a duffle with our luggage. I'm not concerned about walking a little ways, just the 2-3 hour standing in the departure/luggage/customs area when we return. Nightmares sited at both Florida and Galveston ports have me spooked.

Margee

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I've just had foot surgery and have a cruise in six weeks. I'll be out of the surgical boot in 3 weeks and good to go, but with a limp. I'm thinking of requesting a wheelchair from the ship, even though I won't need it except for boarding and the dreaded disembark mess getting our luggage and going through customs.

How far in advance do you need to contact special needs to reserve a wheelchair and can you just request one for embark and disembark?

Margee

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Thanks, Lee. Specs it is.

Why don't you 2 come by Rudy and Pacos for a drink on Saturday night? We'll be there about 7:30. We probably won't be drinking Caymus, but we'll find something!!

Hope to see you

We are on the Brilliance TA from Barcelona to Tampa in October. Do you have a T A planned this year?

Margee and Bill

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Wow!! Very cute hats and visors. I'm a hat gal myself and always cruise with 2-3. I gave up trying to find a truest crushable one; they always ended up with wrinkles even my hubby's Tilley. I now just pack our hats (3-4) stacked together, turned upside down, fill around the brims with soft stuff like underwear, pajamas, socks, etc. My bras, folded in half, just fit inside the crown part. Who knew my bra size was the same size as my head[emoji3][emoji3]. My hats travel beautifully and do not have the wrinkles or creases.

Margee

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I've had my local brick and mortar TA go belly up and it was a mess. I was fully paid, but did not have my documents. This was before I began to do all my own documents printing myself. I had to track down the office secretary and after many phone calls, met her at a gas station to get my documents

I am now booked with a big box club's travel site and have had no problems.

The private TA I've been using is in poor health and might retire. Even though I like her, I probably will have to change for all future bookings.

Margee

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Hi, Mary

How about Specs? We were planning taking our son there for their wine. Are the other stores better? They are coming from California and are used to great wine stores. I want to show them Texas is not just a hick town. Our kids think Texas is all Cowboys and country music. I hope to introduce them to the best we have. We did book Rudy and Paco's after your recommendation.

Margee

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Len, you are right I'm trying to change the outcome. It's a private tour, so I'm on my own. If I have trouble this time, I'll just have to eat the $150 (for 2 of us). That's a lot to be out. I'll write a review on Tripadvisor to warn others. It seems to me the vendor has some responsibility for making reasonable connection times. I have a local phone number this time, which I did not have last time.

I was just asking for help from anyone else who may have experienced this issue.

Margee

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We have a Cayman Food tour booked that starts at 11:00 am. Our ship does not begin tendering until 10:30 am. The meeting place is about 4 blocks from the tender docks. This is in Georgetown and there will be several cruise ships there. We booked this tour last fall and we missed the tour because we simply could not get to the starting time in only 30 minutes. We complained and they have extended our tour tickets to our May cruise.

Do you have any suggestions on how to get to this tour in time? We are Diamond Plus on Royal, so we can get priority tendering, but this did not help last time.

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Wow, thanks so much for your help, Cheng. I'm still looking and may go to a retail store, but I'm not sure the sales staff is reliable, either

Margee

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We were on Liberty with the Park Cafe idea on the pool deck. Served roast beef a couple of times, other times it was pork loin or turkey. Just not the same

Margee

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Payitforward: will this device fit the 110 outlet on the desk?

Cheng: will this device (post 104) without surge protection used to charge cameras and iPads cause problems?

Thanks for you help. I want to be safe.

Margee

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We did a vow renewal for our 50th on board the Celebrity Summit. It was perfect. There were only 7 of us, but the room could handle 20-30 easily. The entire package includes cake, flowers, champagne and the ceremony with the Captain officiating. Royal also does these celebrations.

The package is available to purchase before your cruise, but the details are handles by the Event Coordinator onboard.

There is a lot of information on the weddings board. Vow renewals are very similar. Be aware, if you choose to do something on an island, the ship may not be able to dock for some reason

Margee

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I agree with you, Bob. Vintages is our favorite bar. We are not beer drinkers and Vintages is wonderful. We had the wine pairing dinner in there on our last cruise. The wine tenders there are very knowledgeable. They can offer suggestions for your dinner at any dining room and you can buy a bottle or glass to take with you. There are no sommeliers left anywhere else.

Margee

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Thanks, Johnny. I hope they bring on enough Caymus for me! This is a special birthday, so my son asked what I wanted. Of course I said I wanted him to go on this cruise with us. He and his wife have never been to Galveston or the Caribbean before. They plan on some snorkeling and lots of just chilling.

Hope to see you again soon

Margee

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I'd love Celebrity back again for longer cruises. We did a partial Panama Canal years ago when they were here.

Margee

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We have used Vistaprint for "business" cards (I think these were called calling cards in the olden days). We bought a box several years ago for ten bucks and list our names, cruise critic name,

cell number and location. We used their design templates to choose one. Ours says "Professional Wine Taster" on a winery landscape. We give these to our fellow cruisers when we get to the point of exchanging information, which seems to happen every cruise. I've come home every cruise with contact information on scraps of paper that are unreadable.

Best $10 we've spent yet. Great ice breaker too

Margee

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We use Hampton Inn. Free shuttle, across the street from Walmart, covered parking, free breakfast. They have cruise park and cruise fares. They do not have a 2night minimum most of the time. We know to avoid Dickens, Mardi Gras and Bikers weekends

Margee

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We cruise with our adult daughter frequently. We cruise Royal Caribbean and their junior suites are wonderful. They have walk in closets and plenty of storage for three. The activities and food are very good. With 3 in the cabin, we know how to stagger shower times, DD is a very bad morning person, I'm up with the sun. I shower first, do teeth etc, then vacate the bathroom. My hair and makeup is done at the vanity. That's where the hair dryer is anyway. Husband is next, he does bathroom stuff, then dries his hair standing behind me while I do face and hair. DD gets up when she wants to and has the bathroom to herself. We are not really quiet in the morning, we just don't talk to her[emoji57][emoji57].

You need a plan to each have your own schedule and space. I hope you have traveled together before.

Margee

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Be aware the underground and 3-RD tier tours get cancelled often. We've tried 3 times and never made it. If there are heavy rains it floods easily. I think they are concerned about safety issues too.

Good luck!

Margee

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When we boarded for our last cruise that began in Barcelona, there was a wine shop right on the dock before you board. Several little shops with tourists-y type things. The wine selection was not bad. We each got our wine there and had a balcony party to try out what we found. This was a group of CC-ers that met here and formed friendships.

This was a TA, so we had time to have our own private party! Wow, great memories.

Margee

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I admire all the young, strong people who can easily handle their own carry ons. But we are older and plan our trips so we can use porters and have good wheeled luggage.

One of my pet peeves is people who want to self-debarke, but cannot really handle their luggage in the "luggage warehouse ", going through customs, down stairs, etc. It can be dangerous. I saw a little old lady, looked to be all of 90 pounds trying to keep up with her family hauling a huge suitcase that weighed almost as much as she did. It was pitiful and downright dangerous watching her go down the stairs. Strangers were trying to help her, including my husband. Please folks, if you carry on, be able to really handle it yourselves.

Margee

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If you are giving them tips over the automatic amount, I suggest asking them. The exchange rate may change the amount they actually get. That said, we usually tip in US dollars since that is what we have. In Europe that means they get a little less if they convert to euro or pounds. I don't know about the rest of the world

What do you think, Bob?

Margee

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My husband usually tips the bartenders about $1-2 per round. He is comfortable and does this with class and sophistication. Not a bit tacky or awkward. Gee, Steve, I hate to sound rude but your comment hit me hard.

Margee

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