Drazil65

San Juan is an amazing city (one of our favs) and it is very easy to do your own thing there. If you like history you can start with the forts (self guided) and then just head into old town and take it all in. If not into the history of the forts etc., then just head straight into old town. There are so many good restaurants to stop at so the choice is yours (we typically stop for lunch at one that has outdoor seating so we can people watch). If you like different foods you should have no problem finding a couple good ones online, we have tried many over the years and never had a bad one. Look up several that all serve maybe a specialty and do your own foodie tour. We also go and wonder through the Santurce neighborhood and enjoy the art and culture (get great pix of the murals). It's nice being on your own time schedule in a place like San Juan and truthfully so much easier to do it on your own. Just make sure you are back to the ship on time. St. Maarten has always been a beach place for us and really do our own thing there as well. Pick a beach and grab a taxi, maybe shop a little on way back. Have fun!

After 20 plus yrs cruising on a few different lines (consistently on CCL & RCCL), we are more in the larger/newer ship camp for most part. We sail differently now compared to the earlier years of cruising (when DS was young and our needs were different). The larger ships do have more people but with more venues the crowds are spread out. We love the options and since we have been to many/most of the current ports CCL visits from east coast ports, its now about the ship experience more than the ports at this point. Unless we are going to Europe and experiencing something a little different than what we can get here, the ship experience can be the main focal point now. We do not sail on smaller/older ships (we will do Sunshine as that is a quick hitter for us to drive to port) as they are just that for us, smaller/older (been there done that) and it shows.

Got it for upcoming cruise in December on MG BUT went to try it on one of our 2024 cruises and it came back as "Max number of orders reached for the day" message for cheers? Maybe they are catching on to glitch?

We bring a little box fan (and ext cord so we have options on where to place it) as shown above just to get the air moving throughout the cabin, works great. Packs flat enough in our checked luggage so space not an issue.

Its 14 days and should have the date listed under your online check-in area.

Just got off the sunshine a couple weeks ago and there was a little corner shelve DH used for his shaving things in the shower. it was small though, we used the body gel and shampoo supplied in the shower so didnt need to bring any. This was in a balcony cabin and SIL and kids had OV on deck 2 with same.

Of all the cabanas we have tried in the past, #9 turned out to be our fav. Convenient to restrooms, the food and bar but far enough away from the very crowded end of the beach. Enjoy!

Every time I put a foot in that car after that, I know the ghost of ”upchuck and bottom blow out” past would forever haunt me. If her insides had chosen violence, that car would never be the same, and I would just have to chuck the deuces. I would’ve even died a little inside, as I was walking home, cuz who in their right minds would ride in it. You are killing me with this story (so true though) this morning, had my own kind of accident when I spit my coffee out while reading this and laughed out loud. Thank you for another chapter of Willdra's cruising journey!

We just got off the Sunshine a couple of weeks ago and I think I saw one in the pizza corner in marketplace area. Do not know price.

iamtrustworthy: Thank you for your additional input on the subject. It has been our experience that many people we know (and relatives) do not have medical coverage outside the country and they always get at least a travel medical policy, Many people do not obtain travel insurance and they are sometimes naïve to the requirements of other countries such as money advanced for admittance. Although we are not old enough to have Medicare, we do have immediate family that have it and I think my MIL said something in the past about her not being covered outside the country. Any way you look at it some type of travel insurance should be on everyone's checklist when traveling.

Thank you for your honest review and positive attitude especially being you are on one of the smallest and oldest ships in the fleet. Being on a 4 day is a little different than your longer cruise crowd but it appears that you are definitely finding more good than not and enjoying the experience. Have fun and will be interested in reading the rest of your thoughts.

The airport stuff sounds like a definite for your mother and you might want to go to the website for the carrier you are using. Look up the info for the special needs/assistance department for your questions and to make arrangements with them. For the ship check with the special needs/assistance area and also maybe look into renting a scooter onboard. There have been many posts regarding same and you could search for those questions and answers pretty quickly on this forum as there may be good ideas and info that would help.

We always use insure my trip (for land and sea vaca) and look for policies with primary medical care (most of them will be secondary payers so you need to weed through and read some of the certificates to make sure it is primary med coverage) as they tend to advance the hospital requirement for admittance if needed. They will generally take care of things directly being the primary medical just make sure you follow claim and notification protocols laid out in requirements. We feel the insurance cost for this is reasonable for the 3 of us and worth having "just in case".

Never did it cuz I need to choose our cabin, always. I guess the only thing I would say is consider all the options it could include and make sure you will be happy no matter what comes up. If there is a chance you could get something that you would consider unacceptable in your mind or never choose on your own for whatever reason, might want to reconsider maybe. Ultimately it boils down to how much you want/need to control your cabin choice and does the monetary consideration outweigh that. Good luck and enjoy!

*Please Note: A 18% gratuity will automatically be added. There will be a $25 fee per person for cancellations made within 24 hours of your scheduled reservation. This has been like this for a little while and the above note/statement is included under the details of the dinner you are choosing (the above was copied from the details of the Teppanyaki dinner description reservation page).

DH very prone to motion sickness in anything that moves 🤥, so always center/middle of ship, balcony. He needs the fresh air if he starts feeling bad and the horizon. Plenty of Bonine and Dramamine (non drowsy) and we always keep ginger ale in cabin as well. He starts the Bonine or Dramamine first thing the morning of embarkation and uses it about every 3-4 hours for the first couple of days. After that, it is as needed throughout the cruise, he keeps the chewable type on him so he can pop one quickly at the first sign but truthfully, he really does not need the pills much after the first couple days (unless bad weather). We also avoid the aft section of the ship if things are rocky (like the MDR) as that seems to be the worst area for rocking/motion. We just prepare a little more and if he does start to feel a little queasy, he just goes to the cabin to lay down for a little bit and its all good.

Mardi Gras family harbor room definitely. You will get the extra space via the family harbor lounge in a more private area for those cabins only. Also, all the bells and whistles and fun things to do on Mardi Gras.

For us, it would be MG in a balcony (or suite), hands down (we always cruise in December and will be on MG this December as its one of our favs). I guess part of it for us takes into consideration that the amount of time spent on the ship outweighs those particular ports. The cruise for us would be more about the actual ship and our activities onboard which MG does not lack. Also, the fact that HMC is a tender port and the time it takes to transport over and back, the crowds on the beach etc. would not make it a more favorable port over another. We have been to all these ports more times than I can count so the itinerary would definitely take a back seat to the ship in this case. Have fun no matter what ship you choose.

Since these cabins are very popular with families they may be keeping a 4 person cabin strictly for 4 people only. I am sure they will not have any problem with filling that particular number in the harbor family area. Have you called to confirm this cabin is not available to a 3 person situation? Also, keep in mind that in some cases if you book a cabin that has a larger people capacity and they have an opportunity in the future to fill it with the capacity for that cabin, you could be moved from it into a different cabin anyway. It has happened in the past, not often but there is always the possibility.

We love it as it has made the process very efficient and stress free.

Also, there are dressing rooms in the gym area as well.

You are doing a great job so far on your review and thank you for the info on the hotel you stayed in, definitely sounds like a good consideration for the future.

Different experiences and expectations for everyone cruising and based on your post here maybe a Disney cruise (much more kid focused) or dont take them at all if you cruise in the future on CCL. You should have the vacation you wish for (while managing expectations of course) and it does not appear you accomplished that this time around. So take it as a life lesson to adjust what didn't work for you going forward as that is within your control.

Then we booked this one, we really wanted to go to St Petersburg… St. Petersburg is by far one of our favorite cities in the world and truly amazing! We have made 2 trips there in our travels over the years and cannot describe how stunning and incredible our experiences were.

The quarter push game was in the arcade on the Mardi Gras. I love to play that game as well and was disappointed when we didn't see it in the casino on MG last December. We found it a couple days into the cruise when we were checking out the arcade to kill some time before dinner, not sure I like the idea of it being in the arcade area BUT at least they still have it. Possible in the same area on Celebration.