soccermommie

Any place convenient to Logan airport or cruise port to buy cases of soda?

You have to check off (and on) the ship by Sea Pass. I could buy that he lost his SeaPass but for him to claim that he got off without it is a BIG red flag. And the let him on???? Something is fishy here.

On one of our early cruises (and it was after 9/11), we actually DID get off the ship at a port without scanning our cards. We waited until later in the day to get off the ship, and when we got to the gangway, no one was there - no security, no ship crew, no one. We waited a bit, looked around for someone and, finally, not realizing it would be a big deal, we just walked right off. We even discussed whether we should 'ding' our own cards before getting off and decided if no one was there to do it, it must not be necessary. Security personnel were quite alarmed when they scanned our cards to reboard because there was no record of us being off ship. They were very unhappy with us, and we had some explaining to do.

DH and I really, really dislike crowds. We've been on all sizes of ships and usually don't have any problem finding a quiet spot away from crowds to hang out. However, our best method of avoiding crowds is to adjust our schedule so that we aren't doing what the crowds are doing.

We usually get up at 6am and walk on deck. After a quick shower, we have breakfast in the buffet. Afterward, we head to the adults-only pool area. Usually, there's only a handful of people - if anyone at all - at the pool at that time. After we enjoy an hour or two at the pool, we're usually ready for a nap in our cabin. We eat a late lunch in order avoid the lunch crowds. In the afternoons, we often find a shady, quiet spot on deck or in the library to read or people watch (from afar). If we can't find a quiet spot, we just go back to the cabin. We rarely do any of the organized daytime activities on board.

We choose anytime dining over assigned seating to avoid crowds and awkward situations with strangers. We arrive as soon as the dining venue opens (when it is generally less crowded), and we always request a table that only accommodates our party. On our last RCCL cruise, we decided to try the buffet at dinnertime rather than the main dining room. I don't think we'll ever go back to the dining room, to be honest. We ate dinner at different times throughout the week and never found the buffet to be crowded. Also, the ambiance was so much more calm and peaceful than the dining room - less people, the lights were dimmed, etc., and we had much more control over the length of the meal.

We do often go to the shows in the evening; however, we arrive early to get our preferred seats - the two closest to the aisle on the very last row of the balcony. We don't feel boxed in, and the crowd isn't as overwhelming.

Sometimes we sail in inside cabins; sometimes in balconies. We like them both, for different reasons. Insides are very dark, so daytime naps are fabulous. Of course, we love being outside and seeing and hearing the ocean on a balcony. We do spend more time reading in our cabin than on deck when we have a balcony, but having a balcony isn't a guarantee for peace and quiet. We've had some very loud, obnoxious balcony neighbors. I would say if your husband dislikes small windowless quarters, a balcony would be a better choice for him to have a place to hang out away from the crowds.

Can you provide more information - like when Vision will start sailing out of New Orleans? Do you have a link to the announcement?

Question....Would the same apply to 1st week? My niece will be entering her 2nd year of college in September 2018 and wife and I want to take her on a cruise that falls the first week of classes.

Speaking as a former university instructor, missing the first week would be inadvisable. First, your niece may be administratively dropped for not showing up the first week of class. Also, your niece may not be able to recover from missing the groundwork that will be laid the first week of class. College courses proceed at a much faster pace than high school classes do, and she'll miss an enormous amount of information by being out an entire week. Also, attendance policies can dictate some harsh consequences for multiple absences, and they may not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. What happens if your niece gets sick later in the semester and needs to miss for that?

My advice as a former university instructor and mom to one college grad and two current college students: don't do it. The reasons are many. College is a huge adjustment for most students - even academically gifted ones. It simply doesn't make sense to add any unnecessary obstacles to what may be an already challenging first semester. Also, college courses move at a much quicker pace and involve much more work than high school courses. Your daughter will miss a great deal of information being out an entire week, and it may prove very difficult to recover from not getting that information firsthand. Even if instructors allow your daughter to turn in work early or late to accommodate the vacation, I dare say they will not have the time nor the inclination to privately teach your daughter the information that he or she taught the other students in the 3 hours of class time (or more, depending on the course) that your daughter will miss. If your daughter takes a typical load of 4 or 5 classes, that's an enormous amount of information to obtain independently, and she would likely have to do some reading or coursework on the cruise in order to keep up. Finally, it very well may not matter whether the instructor is a "hard @ss" or the most lenient person in the world; oftentimes, departmental policy dictates the consequences of absences, and they may be fairly stiff for missing an entire week. Another thing to consider: what if your daughter gets sick and needs to miss due to that? College attendance policies don't necessarily differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. Also, bear in mind that in her first semester of college, your daughter will likely take classes in 4 or 5 different campus departments, meaning she may have that many different attendance policies to which she must adhere.

We booked a private excursion through Lamanai Belize Tours to the Lamanai ruins, and it was fantastic. The ruins are quite a way from the port, involving about an hour van ride as well as a 45 minute boat ride (each way). It's an all-day excursion but well worth it, in our opinion. Our tour group was very small, and we had plenty of time at the ruins. Our guide did an excellent job giving us information about the ruins and also narrating on the van and boat rides. It's an all-day excursion but well worth it, in our opinion. The tour also included an authentic Belizean lunch homemade by the tour company's owners' family.

I believe Carnival also offers a tour to Lamanai if you are more comfortable with ship excursion than private ones.

For us, the proximity to other tables is a much higher priority than the waitstaff or the view. We are quite introverted, and those two tops so close together have proven to be a nightmare for us! We've tried requesting a private, or secluded, table for 2, but found that we would still be seated at those crowded-together tables. Now, we scope out the YTD room on embarkation day and note the table numbers of a few tables that would be preferable to us. When we check in for dinner, we then request one of those specific tables. We prefer to eat when YTD first opens, so we've always been able to get a table we requested.

A room steward's ability matters because the steward is an unavoidable member of the ship staff. Other departments may or may not be needed by a passenger (guest services, room service, main dining room, loyalty ambassador, etc), but every cruise passenger depends on his or her steward in order to have a habitable room - clean towels and washcloths, toilet paper, ice, etc. A less competent steward can cause great frustration and irritation to a guest by not supplying necessary items or services to the passenger, or not doing so in a timely manner.

Almost all of our stewards have been very good to excellent. Out of 30+ cruises, we've had about 5 stinkers, and they really had an impact on our enjoyment of the cruise. (FWIW, we require very little of our room steward. We keep our cabin very neat and tidy, change out our own toilet and facial tissue as needed, and we reuse our towels at least once. We do like ice, but other than that, we just need our towels and washcloths replenished as needed and to have the bed made.) One of the biggest sources of frustration for us is having a room steward that we are always having to dodge to accommodate his or her routine. We are generally out of our cabin from 6am until about noon when we return to take a nap. On one particular cruise, our cabin was the last one on the hall. The room steward was absolutely unable or unwilling to attend to his block of cabins in the order people vacated. He always started at the other end and worked his way in a linear fashion toward our cabin, which meant even though we were the first to have our 'make up room' sign in the door each morning, our cabin was the last to be serviced. Inevitably, our cabin was never done when we returned for a nap. The first couple of days, we wandered the ship, periodically checking back to see if our cabin was done so we could return and take our nap. After that, we would simply change the 'make up room' sign to the 'do not disturb' one and take our nap. A couple of days, he actually knocked on the door (despite the 'do not disturb' sign) and woke us up to tell us he was ready to do our cabin! At night, he followed the same linear routine, even though we told him we had a standing dinner reservation for 5:30pm every night. Needless to say, our cabin was never done when we returned after dinner. We got in the habit of getting the towels and washcloths we needed off of his cart as we passed it on the way to our cabin so we'd know we'd have them.That steward drove us absolutely nuts; we felt like we couldn't really relax and enjoy our cruise because we were always accommodating his routine rather than him working with ours.

Unfortunately, we have another perspective on being near the suites (and the proven, excellent stewards). On our cruise in September, our cabin was the last one before the Royal Family Suite, and our room steward serviced the suite as well. She was one of our stinkers; although, she did make a point to tell us that only the best stewards get the suites. Anyway, her priority was far and away to keep the suite passengers happy, which I suppose is understandable - there were more passengers in that cabin who were paying a higher per person gratuity. I'm sure she hoped to get an additional tip from them as well. She spent the vast majority of her time throughout the day and evening attending to their cabin. If we were in the hallway talking to the steward and one of the suite passengers walked by, the steward would literally drop our conversation to talk to them, inquire about their day and see if they needed anything. It got real old, real fast to feel like we couldn't even get minimal service because she was so focused on the suite.

I think the sunrises and sunsets are among the best shows on the ship. Our typical cruise schedule accommodates my love of sunrises and sunsets and our mutual dislike of crowds. On sea days, we're generally up at 6am and walk on the track for an hour. After a quick shower, we go to the Windjammer for breakfast and then to the Solarium for a bit of sun and relaxation. By 11 or 12, we go back to the cabin for a nap, after which we have a late lunch in the Windjammer. We don't participate in very many of the organized ship activities during the day. In the afternoon, we usually find a quiet spot to sit and read or watch the water. In the evenings, we enjoy the movies on the big screen by the pool or the shows in the theater or sometimes listen to some of the musicians. We aren't foodies, and we no longer enjoy dressing up or the production involved with eating in the main dining room. We've found we prefer to eat dinner in the Windjammer at whatever time best fits with the schedule of our evening events. We don't typically stay up too late. Unless there's a late-night comedy show, we're in bed by 11 or midnight.

I thought the $5 package was just for messaging. Correct me if I am wrong.

Sorry if there was confusion. My responses refer to the social media package, which is what the OP was asking about. The cost of the social media package is $5/day.

Hey, so iMessage worked on the $5 plan? Oh, interesting

To clarify: My responses refer to the $5/day social media package.

Does the $5 package let you upload pictures to FB?

The social media package which is $5/day, not $5 total, allows you to upload to FB.

Does the $5 package let you upload pictures to FB?

Yes. We've only accessed these sites using the social media package: Facebook, Facebook messenger and Instagram, but all worked as they do normally - except for being much slower to post/upload, which is a common issue on a cruise ship.

Hey, so iMessage worked on the $5 plan? Oh, interesting

Yes, our three sons all have iphones, and we had no problem texting them with the social media package on our cruise last July. Our daughter has an android, and we could not text her. We had to communicate with her using facebook messenger.

Can you buy this near the end of the cruise? Would want to confirm travel arrangements, etc, but don't think I'd use it at the start of the cruise.

You can purchase by the day. The social media package does not provide internet access, meaning you cannot access email, check-in for airlines online, etc. so you may need to purchase an internet package rather than the social media package depending on what you need to do to confirm your travel arrangements.

If you just need to send someone a message, and you both are on the same social media sites or have iphones, then you should be fine. The social media package only connects to certain social media sites (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.). We have iphones, and we've found we can also text with others who have iphones through imessage using the social media package. We cannot text our daughter who has an android.

The price for the social media package is per account, not per cabin. Depending on how "connected" you need or want to be, multiple people can use one account - just not at the same time. If someone logs into the account when someone on another device is already logged in, it kicks the person already logged in off.

At $5/day, Hubby and I mainly use the social media package as an inexpensive way to communicate with family back home through either FB messenger or imessage. It isn't necessary for us both to be connected constantly, so we always share an account and just tell family to be sure to message us both in an emergency since we have no idea which of us would be connected at any given time. So far, it's worked great without problems. We even shared the account on one cruise with our teenage son and had no problems.

DH and I always carry on all of our luggage. For us, it's much less of a hassle, especially since our loyalty status allows us access to our cabin upon boarding (as will your FTTF). You can carry on a fairly sizeable piece of luggage. The following is from Carnival's website:

Carry-On Luggage

Guests are encouraged to limit their luggage to two suitcases per guest.For those guests who wish to carry on luggage, it must fit through the security screening machine. When laying flat, it must not exceed 16 inches high x 24 inches wide (40.64cm x 60.96cm); the length of the bag is not a factor. Anything larger, must be checked-in with a curbside porter. We suggest that all luggage be unlocked and have a Carnival luggage tag attached listing the guest's name and stateroom number.

Carnival offers a social media package which is a good, reasonably-priced option for those who like to stay connected but don't need internet access. Your teen would be able to use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. to post images and communicate with friends back home. If the teen has an iphone, our experience has been that imessage works as well, so your teen could also text others who have iphones. You can purchase by the day ($5/day) or buy a package that covers the duration of the cruise ($25 for a 7 day cruise).

On the last cruise with kids, we decided to do this for our teen so he could still be in touch with his friends back home. We bought one day of access to test whether it was fast and reliable enough with the intention to go ahead and buy the package for the remainder of the cruise if he was pleased. He was satisfied with the speed and reliability. Funny thing: our teen decided after the one day of access he'd rather disconnect and enjoy time with the family for the duration of the cruise than be stuck to his phone all week!

When we travel on Carnival without our children, hubby and I purchase the social media package primarily as a reasonably priced means for emergency contact but to also be able to communicate anytime with the kids back at home through imessage and Facebook messenger. The package is only for one device at a time, but it can be shared. When someone else logs in to the account on his/her device, it logs the other person out. We tell the kids if they need to get in touch with us, to be sure to send the message to both of us since we never know who will be logged in when.

We have sailed both Carnival and Royal Caribbean with our 4 children. They have sailed enough that most of them have been in all age groups of the children's programs on both. All of our children preferred Carnival's kids' programs over Royal Caribbean's. YMMV.

We also prefer to have separate spaces from our children as well as an extra bathroom. On our sailings, we found connecting cabins to be a much more reasonably priced option over a family cabin or suite, but that may vary according to when you choose to sail. Connecting cabins are our first preference, but if they aren't available, we've also booked our children in a cabin next door to ours. Once on the ship we get a key card to be able to access their cabin anytime we want, and we check in unannounced frequently. Our children know that having their own cabin is a privilege that will immediately be taken away if they do not abide by curfew, invite others to their cabin, go to someone else's cabin or otherwise misbehave.

We've been on 31 cruises, almost evenly split between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Until recently, our preference leaned heavily toward Royal Caribbean; however, the cutbacks, the constant hawking of 'extras' (additional cost dining venues, spa, etc) and a generalized lack of service (and especially service with a smile) we experienced on our last two Royal cruises have pushed us decidedly toward Carnival for future cruises. The only area where I would say we still prefer Royal over Carnival is in their ship design, layout and decor.

We have not sailed on an Oasis class, but we have sailed on Freedom, Voyager, Radiance and Vision class ships on Royal. We have sailed Magic, Dream, Valor, Elation, Conquest, Freedom and Jubilee on Carnival. These ships range from about 48,000 to 160,000 gross tonnage. We've had cabins in all locations (forward, mid, aft) and from low to high decks, and only in particularly rough seas have we noticed any significant (i.e. nausea-inducing) movement on any of the ships. We aren't prone to seasickness, however.

To address your other specific interests:

Kids' program - all of our 4 children preferred the Carnival program over Royal Caribbean, and they experienced all the age groups of the kids' program.

Great food and service - We're not big foodies, but we've always felt that Carnival's food exceeded Royal's. In fact, we gave up on Royal's main dining room in favor of their buffet 3 cruises ago due to lack of service and food quality. To us, the food selections simply no longer justify the time of the long dinners and effort (packing extra clothes and changing for dinner, planning around evening activities, etc) involved in eating in Royal's dining room. Carnival's buffet has more selections and more variety at breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the week than Royal's. Royal wins in dinnertime ambiance in the buffet; they dim the lights, and it feels much more intimate and romantic.

We also feel that Carnival wins in the availability of free dining venues. We really enjoy Guy's, Pasta Bella, Pizza Pirate and the Blue Iguana Cantina on Carnival. For snacking and quick eats, Carnival's burgers and pizza win hands-down over Royal's. Royal's Cafe Promenade offers small sandwiches (ham and cheese on croissant, etc), cookies and some sweets (macaroons, pound cake, etc), but we find them to be hit or miss in taste and variety is lacking - it's the same thing every day. Also, Carnival has soft-serve available 24/7 and has more machines while Royal Caribbean only offers it during limited hours and may only have 1 or two machines operational during those times. Royal does have scoop ice cream with a small selection of toppings in the buffet in the evening. We have not been particularly impressed with room service on either cruise line, but Royal Caribbean does have some 'hot' items on the breakfast menu.

Fun water features - All the newer (and most recently refurbished older) ships have fun water areas for kids. Be aware that there are height restrictions on Royal's flowrider which may preclude your children from participating (52" to bodyboard and 58" to use the stand up flowboard). The slides and Flowrider on Royal seemed to have more limited times they were open than on Carnival; however, our kids aren't big into water activities, so we don't pay particularly close attention to that. We (parents) much prefer Royal's Solarium pool area over Carnival's Serenity or adult-only pools.

We'd also definitely recommend Victor Bodden in Roatan. We booked a day that included ziplining, interacting with monkeys, sightseeing and a beach, and the excursion was fantastic.

In Belize, we've done a private excursion to the Lamanai Mayan ruins through Lamanai Belize Tours. It is a LONG excursion (several hours) that involves a long van ride and about a 45 minute boat ride BEFORE ever getting to the ruins site. You don't say how long you are in Belize, so be sure to check with the company and your cruise itinerary to make sure your ship will be in port long enough to take the tour. Also, be aware that this is a tender port, so you need to get on the earliest tender possible. One of the things we really liked about this tour was that the tour group consisted of our family of 4 and another family of 6. The small group allowed us to be able to ask our guide questions and spend a lot more time on the ruins.

Lamanai Belize Tours is family owned, and the excursion included a traditional Belizean lunch homemade by the family. The tour does require a bit of walking, but the pathways were pretty level and easy. Unlike many ruins sites, you can still climb these ruins, and the view from the top of the high temple was spectacular. We had two of our sons with us, and they loved this excursion - it was definitely the highlight of that particular cruise. We would highly recommend it if you like ruins. Be sure to take bug spray because the mosquitos are everywhere.

Thanks for your review. I agree with your conclusions. We've been on 30 cruises, pretty evenly split between Royal and Carnival. Historically, we have much preferred Royal. We've noticed cutbacks on both lines through the years; however, lately the cutbacks on Royal are becoming more noticeable than on Carnival. As a result, we haven't enjoyed our last few Royal cruises as much as previous ones, and the scales are starting to tip toward Carnival.

We still prefer the decor, amenities, layout and "feel" of Royal ships over Carnival. We also enjoy the Solarium on Royal more than Serenity on Carnival. I'm not sure that those preferences are enough justify the extra expense on Royal, though.

We were on the Liberty in September for our 30th cruise and had much the same impression. That was fairly disappointing since we love cruising and have historically much preferred Royal over Carnival and Princess. We started cruising in 2002, and we've noticed a decline on all the lines we've sailed in service, food, entertainment, etc. through the years. On our September cruise, however, the decline seemed much more pronounced. On the that cruise, we officially gave up on the main dining room. For us, the quality and variety of items no longer justifies the (ever-increasing) time commitment of the dining room, the need to pack additional clothing and change for dinner, etc. We found we actually enjoyed the ambiance of the Windjammer at night more than the dining room with its hustle and bustle and the irritation of long waits and errors. The Windjammer was much more quiet and intimate, and the waitstaff were much more attentive. Additionally, for us, the quality of food in the Windjammer equaled that of the dining room.

We contemplated canceling our December cruise - also on the Liberty - when we returned home in September, but decided to give them another chance in hopes that it was simply an "off" week. Reviews I've read in the meantime, however, lead me to believe it wasn't an off week but the new norm. Our expectations will likely be lower when we board in 2 weeks given our September experience, but this may very well be Royal's last chance to woo us back. That thought makes me kind of sad.

We swam with the dolphins at Chankanaab in Cozumel. The kids loved it. There was a hard-sell on pictures and videos afterward which got a little annoying, but I wouldn't consider it a deal-breaker. They also have a sea lion show that our kids really enjoyed. They have beach facilities as well.

In Roatan, we booked through Victor Bodden and arranged an entire day that included ziplining, playing with monkeys, sightseeing, going to a beach, etc. That was probably one of our kids' all-time favorite excursions. The whole day was fantastic.

Lay the wet suit on a dry towel. Roll the towel up to squeeze the excess water out of the suit, and then hang the suit on the retractable clothes line in the shower.