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Kesstral

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About Me

  • Location
    Chilliwack, British Columbia
  • Interests
    Gardening
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Royal
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Alaska

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Thanks for all the comments. I know where to find the advisory stickers on the car seats (I've flown with a carseat before with my eldest), was looking mostly for comments regarding people who have tried it before (possibly not being able to have 2 in a row is interesting). I didn't know the Diono's could fold in half! I was thankfully able to resolve our conundrum. While the rental company we are using to the hotel from LAX didn't offer car seats to book on the return, the rental company across the street does, so we have that booked for less than half the cost of the airport transfer from the cruise line. AND we'll have over 5 hours to drive around and get the kids a proper lunch before our 5pm flight.
  2. My twins are under 40 pounds and I don't think they will grow that much between now and January (one is 31 lbs and the other is 35). It turns out while Enterprise doesn't offer the option to pre-reserve car seats, Hertz right across the street does so I think we will book with them for the return. Works out to almost $200 cheaper than the airport transfer tour for the whole family and we get almost 6 hours to drive around before we need to be at the airport.
  3. I booked the rental with car seats from LAX to San Pedro no problem. Unfortunately can't seem to specifically request car seats when booking FROM San Pedro so we will probably have to do the cruise ship airport transfer tour. My twins use heavy Diono car seats and we're not keen on lugging those onto the plane.
  4. If anyone is interested, I thought I'd post a quick update. I ended up booking the Saxman tour in Ketchikan for our entire family but when we got on the cruise ship there was a letter stating the tour was cancelled due to "operational issues". I was able to take the credit from that tour, plus a discount they offered for the inconvenience, and booked just myself and my daughter on the tour in Haines to Klukwan. My daughter absolutely LOVED it. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, but the displays, artifacts, and artwork were beautiful. The bus driver was so knowledgeable and friendly and talked about the history of the area the entire way there and back. When we got to Ketchikan we took the entire family on the city bus to Totem Bight State Park. The kids loved running around and got to play on the beach for a bit (combination of throwing rocks and looking for clam shells). The ride back was a bit painful as the bus was so far behind schedule that we ended up catching the bus on its way out of town and had to endure the entire loop back to the ship (and we were docked at berth 4 which has no close bus stops in that direction so had to walk from berth 3).
  5. Background: My family is flying Vancouver to LA next year for a week cruise on Navigator of the Seas. We're a family of 5 with a 9 year old and twin 4 year olds (who will be almost 5). Both of my twins still require a car seat (under 40lbs, etc) and I don't expect them to grow too much over the next 4 months. I have a rental car (minivan) booked from LAX, with 2 car seats, for our 2 days pre-cruise (my husband is from the area so we will be visiting family) and we can conveniently drop the rental off at our hotel the morning of our cruise. My issue is getting back to the airport after departure. I was looking to book an airport transfer through the cruise line (our return flight is in the evening so safe there) but since my husband is from LA he has been rolling his eyes at the idea as it will be really boring (and probably will be boring for our twins to be in a bus that long). I can book a rental from the same place we dropped off (and it would be less than half the cost of the cruise transfer) BUT they don't offer car seats when reserving online. So my question, I'm considering flying down with the car seats (using in the plane possibly) so we can use them in the rental before and after the cruise. Has anyone flown with twins in car seats on the plane? Is it worth it? (we'll board early and be last off). The last time I flew with kids my oldest was 3 and we did use a carseat on the plane, but is 2 at once too many? (for reference their current car seats are Diono Radian 3R)
  6. My kids will be 9, 5 and 5 (so not too little) so if there isn't a shuttle I suspect their little legs are going to get them to the self serve ice cream just fine 😉
  7. Thank you for this! I'm traveling with 3 kids and 2 need car seats so figuring out how to get to and from the airport was a challenge. We were planning a rental car from LAX since we'll be in town a few days early to visit family but the drop off seemed complicated. Since we're staying in that hotel looks like it's super easy!
  8. I am expecting an FCC certificate to show up this week and confirmed we could use it on a future sailing that is booked but not fully paid for. We just got off Brilliance to Alaska and were in room 8500 (right at the front of the ship, fantastic room for my family of 5) but the entire week we kept smelling cigarette smoke. I'm extra sensitive to it (I have to hold my breath running through the casino or I will start having a coughing fit) but tried to tough it out during the cruise since I figured it was just smoke from the crew smoking area (which was just a couple decks below next to the helipad at the front). I made a comment to the front desk on the last day that they might want maintenance to check on the ventilation system. The front desk person became very concerned (she said there was no way the smoke from outside should be able to reach the rooms) and said she would alert housekeeping (in case someone was smoking where they shouldn't). Within 15 minutes the head of housekeeping was in our room to check and apologize for the inconvenience. I was really surprised how serious they took my complaint and am impressed that they offered me something.
  9. Yes, it's kinda like when you are shopping at a store or staying at a hotel and you want to connect to their wifi. You will need to log in to connect. This is also how you can switch between devices (I'll be mostly connected on my phone but may need to switch to my notebook if I have a work emergency). It's apparently cheaper to get 1 person with 2 devices.
  10. Thank you for this! I just managed to get a room at Crowne Plaza for my family for next January (not a lot of options when you have 5 people).
  11. My condolences on the loss of your friend. I hope you have a wonderful cruise in her memory! While I'm from the area, I don't have any hotel recommendations but an option might be to look at hotels closer to the airport in Richmond and you can then take the Canada Line right to Waterfront Station (which is next to the cruise ship terminal) if you can't find anything in your budget in downtown. I'm on Brilliance of the Seas in May too (21st) and can't wait!
  12. I'll be taking my kids to Alaska in May (Brilliance of the Seas). We are from southwestern BC and live in the traditional territory of the Stó:lō. My daughter (8yo) has been learning about our local indigenous people in school and she really enjoys it. I'd love to take her on a tour or visit some sites on our trip where she can learn more about the indigenous culture of SW Alaska (Tlingit I believe?). Our port stops are Sitka, Juneau, Haines, and Ketchikan. I visited Totem Bight state park in Ketchikan about a decade ago so I know it's an option, but looking for something maybe more informative/interactive? The cruise line has a tour to Saxman Native Totem Village, anyone have any experience with this tour (ie, is it rushed/crowded?). Other ports/tours we should look at?
  13. I had the May 7th, 2023 sailing booked in 8012 (spacious oceanview) and while I think Brilliance might be a nicer ship overall, I was really looking forward to that specific room. I'm still waiting to see where they shove us on the Brilliance. Hopefully I don't have to wait too long, because I might want to change sailings before all the 5+ rooms fill up.
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