Essiesmom

Unless he booked with a special solo fare, the fare shouldn’t change, only taxes and fees added. EM

It sounds as though you haven’t yet booked your cruise. Thus, I suggest you not book until you are making good strides in your recovery. Just in case things don’t progress as anticipated. That said, are you traveling alone? Or with family/friends? I like buffets, but usually eat dinner in the MDR (main dining room). I traveled solo for many cruises, and with my sister for many. We always liked a table of others to chat with at dinner. You might find you enjoy that. There are occasional things that show up on the menu in the MDR that are not offered at the buffet. The menu for dinner is always posted outside the MDR by midday, and can be accessed. In the Carnival Hub app on your phone or tablet (no Wi-Fi purchase needed). You might make a point of checking it. Breakfast and lunch, too. With such a small capacity, you will be wanting to eat more than three or four times a day. The buffet has long hours, and there is always some place to get food, even if it is room service during the night. You could graze the buffet multiple times and also try the MDR. And don’t be shy about mixing up the menu. If there are more apps than you feel comfortable ordering, wait and order on for dessert. The cold fruit soups are good for this…. EM

I suggest you do some reading on the boards here for the major cruise lines. There are usually threads from people who tested positive onboard, or after returning home. Not every cruise line stocks the anti-virals. EM

Please note that the OP has not said anything about NCL. So, as far as short cruises go, there is much more choice out of LA than San Diego, and at much more reasonable rates. How old are your own children? What would they require of a cruise? I assume you have taken them on your other cruises so you know what they liked at various ages. I think I would book a short cruise on the smallest ship - that you can get an accessible cabin on. The ports may not be exciting, but this is an experiment, and if it doesn’t work well, you will be off soon, and know what to do different the next time. EM

I have sailed Divina twice and Seaside once. I realize Seashore is an improved version of Seaside, but I thought Seaside was great. I would do Divina first, with the short drive to Port Canaveral. If you find you like MSC, then take on the drive to Miami. If your wife likes to dress up, don’t limit it to formal nights. On our four MSC cruises, with perhaps more than 40% non-North American guests, ladies from those other places tended to dress more smartly every night than on most of our other cruises. EM

There is no PM function for members on Cruise Critic. PM is only available to moderators. EM

Upper bunks. EM

Fold out couch. The bunk sofa came on later classes of ship. Now, someone may come along and say there are now some bunk sofas. EM

People on the MSC board who have come over from the Haven find they prefer the Yacht Club. EM

I had no trouble pulling up the Singapore cruises on Westerdam on cruise timetables.com. It appears the only port in Thailand is Phuket. EM

There have been discussions on two of the boards I follow recently. There is one currently on page 4 of the HAL board called Best Tracker for airline bags…or something close to that. It has a good discussion on the Apple and android options. There is another thread on the Celebrity board. You could also ask on the Cruise photo and technology board. EM

There is about 20sf difference and it about 2. Ft deeper, you can see the difference in the desk area with an extre shelf rack. When I get on my laptop I can post pictures. EM

So you missed Dawes Glacier and sped to Juneau. How much time did that give you in Juneau? There is a glacier outside of Juneau : Mendenhall Glacier. By taking the bus there and hiking, you can get closer than the ship would have to Dawes. Or did you do whale watching instead…. You have to weigh your priorities. EM

Will this be your first cruise ever, or first cruise after surgery? There are posters time to time who have cruised after bariatric surgery, with varying success. Once you have figured out how Cruise Critic works, and how to use the search function, you might try asking on the Carnival board here, and on the Disabled Cruising board here. Seem such questions are not as frequent as they were when such surgery first became popular. With such a small capacity you will be eating frequently and there will be many places on the ship to get food. You can bring protein supplements onboard as long as they are in cans. EM

What is his developmental age, and how does he handle strange situations, and crowds? I don’t think food will be an issue, just let the staff know the first night. I would choose a short cruise first, on the smallest ship available. Have you cruised before? Plus size people manage in the less than roomy showers, but even a small shower stool takes up most of the space in the shower (I tried one on Princess). If you haven’t cruised before, I suggest you try one and observe things with an eye to how your uncle would handle it. It sounds as though you would be in the role of caregiver, which can be a 24/7 job…. EM

At the top of the page for this forum there are a host of pinned topics. Read through them. EM

Age limits are dictated by the excursion provider and their insurance, not Celebrity. EM

We were t much for dessert other than ice cream. But often there are more starters that we want, as well as salads…that we have been known to order something from the starters as dessert. EM

I’m not gluten free, but I do notice notations on the menus. A few years ago, and I can’t remember what line I was on but probably Carnival or Celebrity…I noticed a breaded item on the menu that was listed as gluten free. I asked the waitress about it, and she said that several years back they had decided everything breaded would be done with gluten free breadcrumbs. I found it quite interesting. EM

I believe that was added for the Asian market. EM

You need to ask this on the board here for your cruise line, and/or on the Italy board. Under ports of call. EM

You go to the roll call forums, choose Celebrity, then Apex, look for a thread with your dates, and join by making a reply on the thread. EM

That depends on the port. And group A01 still boards after suite guests. EM

One caution: if not booking Aurea or Yacht Club on Divina, do not book any cabin labeled ‘junior’. They are very small. Fine if you are sailing solo, but couples might find them cramped. EM

And a reminder, if you secure your account with a credit card, be sure it has no foreign transaction fee, as the account goes through a bank in France. EM