jinglesmountjoy

I would like to offer some advice to those thinking of Atkins. Carbs are good... just limit them to before 4pm.

Also, for those struggling with weight after 45-50 yrs of age.... ramp up your protein intake. You are likely suffering from sarcopenia which in turn causes your metabolism to slow.

I didn't lose any weight last week :( so I took a look at my food/calorie intake and adjusted my meals and portion sizes and I'm down 3 lbs since Sunday! Woohoo! :) With 45 days to go, I'm hoping I can keep this rate of loss going so I can be below my first goal weight for the cruise.

May I ask what your nutritional goals are? Not so much calories... I'm wondering if you're protein intake is too low with all the resistance training you're doing. How much protein are you getting/day?

Also, have you considered scrapping the 1 hour treadmill for now. Cardio is great for your heart but does nothing for fat burning except burn off some calories. Ask your trainer about High Intensity Interval Training or Burst Training. It will help to boost your HGH levels considerably which leads to accelerated fat loss.

Hi everyone.... we just got off our cruise and it's time to book the next one. I wish I lived close to a port... the airfare kills us. I would like to find something last minute in April as it's my wife's b-day and our anniversary.

Regarding serious weight loss... I'm actually a nutritionist specializing in this area. However, I'm a much better coach than I am a player:eek:. Something you may want to explore is Intermittent Fasting. Wonderfully healthy and easy to follow. You can google it as it is becoming VERY popular or, if you're interested, I've blogged on it before... https://onehealthybugger.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/fasting-is-lasting/

I'm also a big fan of food prep. I do a couple weeks worth of foods and freeze them... awesome for those days when you just don't have time to cook.

Has anyone had experience with booking a future cruise while aboard a ship. I have heard that they will offer deals on future sailings if you book with them. For those who have experience, are the deals substantial or no different that what I can find online with some routine browsing?

Sorry.... just did a search in Aruba forum...found my answer.

I assume taxi's, lounge rentals, etc. accept local currency only?? What are the exchange rates like on ship?

This will be our first time in Bonaire and we would love some info on things to do close to port. We haven't booked an excursion through the ship yet as we aren't sure what may be just off the boat that we can do. Are there any nice beaches close to port? DH loves to snorkel but usually just does so at the beach we decide to go to. Any shopping near port for souvenirs to bring home to the grandchildren? Thanks in advance for the info.

From my checking, the only real beach seems to be Lac Bay... not sure on cab fare.

This will be our first time in Bonaire and we would love some info on things to do close to port. We haven't booked an excursion through the ship yet as we aren't sure what may be just off the boat that we can do. Are there any nice beaches close to port? DH loves to snorkel but usually just does so at the beach we decide to go to. Any shopping near port for souvenirs to bring home to the grandchildren? Thanks in advance for the info.

From my checking, the only real beach seems to be Lac Bay... not sure on cab fare.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thorough review.

Thanks all... I would be fine with a 6 for adults and a 4 for kids. Sounds like we'll be fine.

I'm betting that the paid restaurants take all the top rated service staff. Within 5 years, I'm betting there will be no MDR with a la carte service... just an extensive buffet or family style at best.

We only booked 3 months out and were faced with either late dining or ATD. Not wanting to miss the show, we simply avoided late dining. Now, I'm worried we won't get a table for 10 with ATD and will be split into smaller groups. Any one have experience with ATD and a large group??

I'm on Sunshine this Feb 5 but it wasn't until after I paid that I realized what they had done to it in the reno. They added cabins, took out a pool and a lot of deck space and filled it in with Revenue Generating Options. I have a bad feeling that the crowding is going to be out of control and if so, I will never book the Sunshine again. In addition, I'll be sure to let them know why.

Personally, I wouldn't take the chance... go with the Magic.

I'm sailing on Feb 5th and this will be the smallest ship for us so far. I'm very concerned about CCL's choice to eliminate one pool and a lot of deck space in lieu of paid options. They also added cabins! So on paper, it's a recipe for one heluva crowded deck area...I just hope they haven't gotten too greedy. I'm keeping an open mind however and look forward to your perspective.

For the record... this is essentially what I'll be wearing.

So, the fine print says no flip flops in MDR but I wear leather flip flops with my khakis... How strict are they with this policy? I'm quite presentable... Collared shirt, walking shorts /khakis.

Can I take unopened bottles of beer off the ship when at port? I'm thinking of the CHEERS program and would love to take some of the unused drinks to the beach with us.:confused:

QUESTION: Are tips and Taxes included

A: TIPs are included. TAXES while in US waters (IE embarkement day, key west stops, etc) Will be added onto your S&S Account. The package itself is NOT taxed, you will only pay tax on individual drinks in US waters regardless of when you buy the program.

Tips are NOT included in the cost of the Cheers program. A 15% gratuity is added to the program. Perhaps the original poster meant to say that the gratuities are Pre-paid and therefore, you don't have to concern yourself with them like you do when you pay for your drinks on your SAS card.

It's pretty well documented in these forums that it is plus gratuities. I think for a 7 day cruise with 2 in a room it comes out to around $804 (approximate).

I read this on the "definitive cheers" post and realize now that the statement is quite ambiguous....

"QUESTION: Are tips and Taxes included

A: TIPs are included. TAXES while in US waters (IE embarkement day, key west stops, etc) Will be added onto your S&S Account. The package itself is NOT taxed, you will only pay tax on individual drinks in US waters regardless of when you buy the program."

Tips are not actually included... they are simply Pre-paid.

Man... this keeps getting more and more expensive....:(

I'm pre-purchasing on site and it adds 15%. I seem to have read several places that Gratuities are included in the Cheers package. Anyone have any feedback or experience with this?:confused:

Hi everybody, been lurking around here and I have decided to try IF. I have tried many different ways to lose weight and get healthy. I have already started walking and this just seems so right to me. I am a" start on Monday" kinda girl but I am going to start on Friday!! I have half a bottle of a nice red wine I plan on finishing tomorrow!! I will try the 5/2 and 16/8. Also thinking to buy the eat stop eat book. I really enjoy researching and learning all I can about subjects that I am excited about. I have 40 pounds to lose before my cruise in April so that will be my incentive. Cathy

That's awesome! I think you'll love it. If you don't mind, I'm gong to add you to my contacts list here on the boards. Please keep in touch with me as I'm happy to help in any way as I've done some extensive research on this and love to share it.

Darn... we booked Deck 7 forward... oh well.

Just for the record... NONE of my kids will be wandering the ship beyond midnight. We will likely have an 11pm curfew (or similar) and there will likely be NO wandering alone once dinner hits anyway since we will be at all dinners and shows together. I'm of the opinion that we bubble wrap our kids WAY too much and it's part of the reason why our children are unprepared for life after school these days, why so many of them still live at home at 30 years of age. At some point, you have to have faith in the values you've instilled into them and allow them to make some mistakes and learn from them.

I believe a ship to be safer than most resorts and even than most urban centres. The rules we set (no elevator, no playing in cabin areas, respect for others, etc) aren't for their sake but rather, for the sake of other people and their sanity. Sure, I can think of many bad things that can happen but they're no different than the things that can happen here at home and to fill my head with these things is like deciding not to fly because the plane could crash.

This is only my opinion and it may be wrong... trust me, I've been wrong before.;)

Anyone know which cabins on the Sunshine are new?

Firstly... I'm not a seasoned cruiser and have only done 2 cruises. First was Hawaii on RCL vision class and second was CCL Dream. This Feb will be my third cruise and we selected it based on the extra day and itinerary and price (8 day, southern carib, $2144 for family of four plus $1000 for air).

Secondly, I have NOT sailed nor do I know anyone who has sailed the Sunshine so my concerns and opinions are based only on speculation.

It seems to me that when you shrink the public areas, you're going to have more crowding. The same would hold true if you were to increase the capacity without increasing public areas.

In the case of the Destiny/Sunshine, they did both. They increased capacity by almost 400 and decreased the public areas considerably. Now, I also understand that a business must always be looking for ways to increase revenues. However, I would be lying if I didn't say I was a bit worried about the crowding. I think having to "get there early" to get a chair or seat contradicts what cruising is supposed to be (or once was) all about. That's something I would expect if WalMart ran a cruise line...but then, I wouldn't book a WalMart cruise...lol. I think one general pool is WAY too few. Two would be my minimum with a third for adults only.

Generally speaking, I've seen some changes in cruising since our first cruise. With the increased availability of third party excursion companies, I'm betting they are losing excursion revenues. Also, I believe ships are adding more revenue centres... Paid dining, coffee shops, milkshake stands, etc. I also read that CCL is experimenting with something called "American" dining where it may be more of a "family style" service rather than "a la carte".

From the outside looking in, it seems to me like there is a shift happening where we may see cruising scale down the "all inclusive" side in an attempt at "squeezing" more revenue from the vessel. If I had to venture my own 5 year outlook, I think you will see a more "nickel & dime" approach to cruising with the basic rate to only cover boarding the ship and enjoying basic dining and drinks. A la carte dining will only be available in paid restaurants.

It is what it is... I'm not going to get all bent out of shape until I experience it for myself. If it turns out to be too much "revenue" and not enough "space", I'll simply avoid booking with CCL again and move on. I heard from a local travel agent that one of the VP's of CCL lives in my neighborhood...maybe I'll arrange to bump into him and do some probing...:D