Essiesmom

That looks like an interesting itinerary. If you include Athens, you have three Greek ports. Hard to say what the travel climate will be 5-6 months from now. The latest cruise cancellations were due to the cruise lines being unable to acquire enough staff to operate the ships. The best thing you could do would be to hedge your bets: fly in 2-3 days early, tour Athens and surrounding area. You would have a buffer if flights were delayed, etc. Prepare your expectations, in case some ports are rearranged or cancelled. Ports in Israel have often been cancelled due to unrest in the area. My best advice for your first cruise would be to find one you don’t have to fly to. Now, I realize that isn’t realistic from Vancouver in March, so maybe one with a shorter flight. If you are determined to do that area, develop a plan for independent travel in the area. Cruises are not usually cancelled at the last minute. Covid has been a big speed bump. EM

Laws of what state? Flag state? I’m sure Carnival Corp. already does. Royal Caribbean does also, as has been reported here in the past. And pleased don’t ask for a link. It’s been years. EM

Agree. After TA on HAL, TP on Princess, cruise on Cunard, very disappointed with Carnival Dream TA. Such a lost opportunity. At least I could get in my afternoon nap. EM

I googled it and apparently is was a territorial dispute over a barstool. Or some such thing. EM

I have not heard about a fracas on Sunshine, but I think it is an excellent idea. EM

The OP’s cruise leaves Dover on Sunday. Little late to cancel and move cruise…. EM

If you expanded this to ‘which cruise line’, I think Cunard might be a contender. There is a thread on the Cunard board, started in August 2020, called ‘Where in the World’. As Covid pause entertainment. Post a picture of a Cunard vessel in or from a port, ask for viewers to name the place. Thus far they have identified well over 500 ports visited or sailed by, and there is still a long list of ports visited but no pics submitted. EM

Not clear if you are cruising with baby abs leaving him/her onboard, or leaving the baby at home with grands… EM

Notify special needs you are bringing a CPAP, and tell your steward you need distilled water. And possibly an extension cord, as likely there won’t be an outlet near your bed. EM

I think many aren’t interested in history or art, just want a beach and a bar. Lots of bars in Europe, but the beaches are not what they expect. Also, not comfortable in places where they don’t speak the language. My father was one. When I was stationed in Europe, my mother came to visit twice, but he wouldn’t come. Personally, I feel I can cope anywhere that the use the same alphabet. Or have dual signs, like Beijing and Hong Kong. Tokyo was a little more challenging, but there was always someone appearing to help if you stared too long at the signs…. EM

That’s her job, it might be nice, but not expected. Not like the porters, who also are doing their job, but do expect a tip. EM

They might rearrange your itinerary…. EM

I think we need to know when the flight arrives in Rome, when the ship sails…if you are checking luggage, which affects your time getting from FCO to Civitavecchia…EM

And why not call Princess or your TA and ask.

Beijing will never be better than it is now. It will get bigger, smoggier…. The Great Wall is a travesty, like Dollywood. I was there in 1983, when western tourists were unusual. When we went to the Great Wall it was deserted. Bus parked right by the wall, one tourist place, no restaurants. Other tourists were Chinese or Japanese. Ten years later, 1993, totally different. Beijing seemed to have doubled. Traffic a mess. At the Great Wall you parked a quarter mile away, had to pass through a gauntlet of stalls to get to the road. The area reminded me much of a renaissance festival, with re-enactors everywhere, Chinese gongs ringing, soldiers in Genghis Khan rig on the walls, guns firing. And mobs of people. That was 20 years ago. I can’t imagine how much worse it is now. Do it now. EM

Some of the regular balconies have the symbol for and upper bunk, as well as the sofa bed. If you happen to get one, you might put the boy in the upper and would have no trouble getting out onto the balcony. EM

We were never in a hurry, so just sat around until last call, which was usually between 10-1030. EM

According to cruisedeckplans.com, the largest interiors are square, and only a few forward on deck 14. Also tw huge ones all the way forward on deck 10, but I think they hold five, so probably not bookable for you. EM

Disney might be wishing the same thing. EM

Wonder is an Oasis class ship, so cabins will likely be nearly the same. I checked on cruisedeckplans.com and there are few pics of the HC cabins, probably because she is so new. There are a lot more pics of HC cabins on Mardi Gras. Could be that Carnival cruisers are more motivated to submit their pics to the website. Sooo… If you are not familiar with cruisedeckplans, pull up the website. It is a member site to see most pics, but he makes all of the pics of HC cabins available for non-members to view. Anyway, once on the website, choose cruise line, then ship. The types of cabins will display down the left side. If there are any HC cabins in that category, there will be a place to click on Handicap cabins. Click, and it will list the HC cabins. If there are any pics, there will be a tiny camera icon. Click on that to see the pics. EM

Well, it’s good to see MSC has their full kiddie program back up. In which case, MSC might be a good choice in the Caribbean, as a smaller proportion of the guests will be from the US, so not as crowded over our holidays. EM

Which ship are you on? I am only seeing two ships doing TAs from the UK, Disney Magic, and Celebrity Silhouette. The Bermuda call has been cancelled for Silhouette. I can’t find any info on the board about Disney. EM

I have gathered from previous posters from the UK that pediatricians there seem to much more conservative than we are accustomed to. Moms asking how to sterilize bottles etc. for infants 8 months and older… EM

You might go to the Royal Caribbean board here, go to the top left of the page where it says See posts about and next to that ‘select ship’. That gives you a drop down menu where you can select Freedom, and it will show you threads about that ship. EM

November 19-27 will be heavily booked with families, as many schools have off the entire week of our Thanksgiving holiday, which this year is November 24. Anything leaving November 26 or later will have fewer kids. Many of the mass market lines have times that you can accompany your child to the kids club and stay while he plays. EM