live2vayk

Our check in was uneventful. We were in the waiting area to board by about 11:15. I was hopeful that since there were no passengers (I don't believe anyhow) disembarking that morning that we would be able to get on quickly. Not the case. We didn't end up boarding until about 12:15. BUT, once we boarded we were able to go right to our cabin. We ended up with an inside on deck 12 forward. The cabin was cozy. No sitting area. We had a small ottoman that could be used for storage or a seat. The beds were seperated as I requested. We had a fridge with a mini bar, the closet was decent size and the bathroom was actually very well done I thought. The shower was plenty big enough with a shower head that could be removed, glass shower door, and even a little bar to put your foot on to shave. Big plus. There was plenty of storage under the sink.

Sometimes, not always.

We booked, as I always do, our flight for the day before. Sometimes I will book two days before. This time for work reasons we just did the day before. We were set to get to FL on Thursday, for a Friday sail away. Well, we didn't make it on Thursday. For reasons unrelated to Hermine, our very first flight was delayed out of VT. Ironic since I was more worried about the second leg and Hermine. Our gate attendants said the flight delay we had was not related to the hurricane. We did finally make it out, but we were so delayed we missed our connection in Laguardia. There was nothing going out that night, so we ended up staying at the Airport Inn near the airport, and we rebooked on a flight for the next morning.

Sometime in the middle of the night, my text notification went off, and yup, sure enough, that flight was delayed. This time probably due to Hermine, I never did confirm that. We were flying into FLL and planned on taking a shuttle to MIA. For us, for reasons I can't explain, it is usually less expensive by a lot to fly into FLL and shuttle over to MIA. So, I got on the phone, called the airline for rebook options and to my delight, we were able to be rebooked on a flight directly to MIA at no extra cost, at a better time than the first one we had rebooked. YAY! Now, just to get on that plane... at this point I am feeling very determined not to miss this short cruise!!

We arrived at the airport, all was a go and our flight was on! We landed in MIA around 10 am. I had already cancelled our shuttle from FLL, but had no plans on how we would get from MIA to the port. I figured we would just take a taxi. We ended up having to check our bags as the over head bins were full, so we had to go to baggage claim. Low and behold, there were NCL reps right near our baggage claim. I told them we didn't yet have transportation to the port arranged and they said for $16.00 each they had a bus leaving in about 15 minutes. SOLD! So we boarded the bus. I kid you not, there were a total of 4 of us on this bus. It was a huge charter bus and it carried 4 of us to the port. At this point, I was just so happy to be on our way to the port!!

Because the Getaway was out of commission for a bit for the Olympics, there was a very quick two night cruise offered once it returned to the US. I noticed it several months back and jumped at the chance to try this class of ship with NCL. Since it was such a quick cruise, I booked and inside GTY knowing we wouldn't be in the cabin much. My husband didn't want to go, and my kids both just started back to school, so I called up a friend and we booked.

I took several pictures and will attempt to post some as I go!

I got a notice on my door late the first day of an RCCL cruise once that stated since I had missed the Muster I must report to guest services to attend a make up drill. But I did attend muster! I am a rule follower. And they had scanned my card. I never did find out how I made the naughty list. But I explained to guest services that I was at the drill. They marked me as attended. I didn't have to retake.

Egads! You can keep the singing and dancing waiters on Carnival. I don't need the waiter to be my best friend or my entertainment. Just want them to, er, be my waiter.

 

 

I so agree! I like Carnival and Royal, but I don't enjoy the wait staff having to sing and dance/entertain. I was just on NCL Getaway (loved this ship by the way) and commented to my friend that one of the things I most enjoyed is the dining experience. The wait staff did their job and there was no nonsense involved. To each their own!

I am just back from a quick sailing on the Getaway. Literally just got off the ship yesterday. I had an inside room on deck 12. I took this trip with a friend. I said I would have no issue with this room with my husband and our two teenage daughters. My friend said no way would that room work for her with her husband and son. So, the long and short of it is you won't know until you experience it for yourself. But the good news is that you have the right expectations going in!

I honestly believe it won't be a big deal. The ship was wonderful with lots of things to see and do. You won't be in your room a ton. I have several pictures. When my kids wake up I can have them show me how to post them. ;)

I just can't wrap my head around the cancel for any reason need. I did book a policy with that for a teenage daughter going on an abroad trip. I had concerns she might not get on the plane. But if I have booked a cruise for us, I am sure I am going. I can't imagine a scenario where the day before sailing I would just change my mind.

 

But as someone here just said, everyone needs different assurances.

I pay extra for "Cancel for any reason". Not because on a whim I might change my mind, but because my elderly father lives with me and depends on me. He is generally able to care for himself with someone checking in on him, but things happen. Last fall I had a trip (land based) booked for my husband and myself. A few weeks before we were to depart, my Dad fell and broke his wrist. Now, that event is not covered under regular travel insurance, but I could use my "cancel for any reason" policy, and I did just that. He was not able to do basic things for himself for several weeks, so we ended up cancelling. I was sure glad I bought that policy!

Since loyalty membership is free, how can it not be "worth it"?:confused:

I take that to mean are they worth sailing on one line in order to add up the loyalty points to advance the levels. To some it is, others it is not.

The title of this thread cracked me up!! But honestly, the whole "loyalty" thing is so lost on me.... I love trying new lines, and have loved something on all of them. I have a goal to sail on all the mass lines at least once.

We often sail with some friends of ours, and for their comfort and enjoyment, they need consistency. For that reason they need to be loyal to one line. The things I love about trying new lines and having new experiences, they hate! LOL! They are the folks who go to the same restaurants, shop at the same places, and find it difficult to be out of "routine". Now that I think about it, not sure how we are friends with them, but we are! We love them. So when we are with them, it is always RCCL, their choice. And only because that is the first line they cruised with, if they had first cruised with another line, they would be loyal to them I think. It is just the way some folks roll. Nothing wrong with it, but I can't have it!! And frankly, the cruise lines "loyalty" programs do not make it worth it to me to give up the adventure of trying new lines/experiences/places.

Happy sailing all!

We're a family of 4(mum,dad and 2 boys aged 11&13) planning our 1st cruise for summer 17.

After some research and good advice on this forum we've narrowed it down to 4 options.

-NCL Epic 7nt W Mediterranean

-NCL Star 7nt E Mediterranean

-RCI Freedom 7nt W Mediterranean

-RCI Jewel 7nt E Mediterranean

 

Route-wise i would prefer the e med as its somewhere I've never been

Boat wise we prefer the bigger boats sailing the w med as we're drawn to the extra facilities.

 

So whats would everyone choose?

I think they would all be just fine, but my kids vote for Freedom of the Seas. They like the things that are available to kids on this ship.

I am a bit late writing this up, but I did keep some notes! My husband, our two teen daughters and my niece sailed in Independence of the Seas on April 18th. This was April break for the kids, and the cruise vacation was picked by my oldest daughter as what she wanted for her graduation from high school. She has another month, but we started the celebration early.

We flew SouthWest into FLL the day prior, and stayed at the Holiday Inn on West State Road 84. When we arrived at the airport, we walked out to the area where hotel shuttles pick you up, and I had not even called yet and the hotel shuttle pulled up and had room for us. What luck! A great way to begin our vacation. I have stayed at this property in the past, I like it because it is close to the airport and the cruise port, and it is across the road from a strip mall that has a grocery store and a few places to eat. It offers a free breakfast, and is clean and comfortable.

The kids were tired from traveling, so we ordered pizza for them in the room, and my husband and I crossed the street. (really a two lane highway, but it is doable to cross) We needed to pick up a few last minute items, and we decided to get a bite to eat. I had read online about a tavern with good food called Slackers located in the strip mall. I told my husband I wanted to try it, and he gave me the "are you crazy?" look. And I don't blame him.... from the outside this place looks like a total dive. I wouldn't have wanted to try it either if I had not read good things about it. He agreed, we went in, and as soon as we were inside we had to laugh. It is totally not what you would expect on the inside by the looks of the outside. Hard to explain, but it is a nice family restaurant/sports bar. We had nachos and a french dip and a couple of beers. The food was really good, and the price was very reasonable.

I had prearranged a van to pick us up at the hotel the next morning at 10 am. Once again, we came down stairs and no sooner did we get to the door than our transportation pulled up! I wish I had kept the information on them, but I can't find it. Anyway, he was great, had us to the port by about 10:30 and pulled right up to where we leave our bags off. Total with tip was $40.00, a good deal for 5 of us I think.

Check in was uneventful, we were ushered to the platinum waiting area. We did have a bit of a wait, which I expected getting there early that we would. They began letting us on the ship at a bit after 11, and we went to the windjammer for lunch. We wanted to go to Johnny Rockets, the boarding edition of the cruise compass said it opened at Noon, but when we got there they told us that it was not going to open until 1 pm. No big deal, the windjammer was fine.

This is the first cruise were we did two cabins. Usually it is just four of us, and we just do one cabin. But with my niece we needed two cabins. My husband and I had a balcony and the kids had an inside right across the hall from us. I think this is what we will do from now on! It was lovely. We were on deck 8 mid ship, and our room steward was excellent.

A word about the ship, we have been on Freedom and Liberty, so we knew the layout. I believe this ship was recently in dry dock, not certain what was done, but it looked great. Clean, and the decor was pleasing. The kids missed having a soda machine with all the flavor options, but it wasn't a big deal. But I was surprised they have not added this to this ship yet.

We had really good weather this trip. The first day was a sea day, the kids enjoyed all the things to do on the ship, we won a trivia game, and had a lovely dinner. We used my time dining, but most nights we had the same table and waitstaff. They were wonderful. The food in the MDR was fine. Nothing over the top, but it was good.

The second day was the private Island of Labadee. A beautiful island. We did the zipline. A bit pricey for what it is. You blink and it is over and it was $100 each. But the kids loved it. We did the zip line in the morning, then we went back to the ship to put our swim suits on and went to the windjammer for lunch. It was a ghost town in there, so easy to navigate and get a table. Then we went back to the island to enjoy the beach for a bit. A few things that would have been helpful for me to know about the zipline: You can wear any shoes that are attached to your feet. Meaning they say no flip flops, but sandals that have a strap are OK. However I did see people wearing flip flops and they were not turned away. If you don't have anyone to leave your things with, you must pay $8 for a locker rental. Shorts/T shirts are best to wear as you need to wear a harness. The entire experience is pretty quick. You do a small test run, then they drive you to the launch pad on the side of a mountain, and once you launch, it is over in about a minute.

The next day was Falmouth, Jamaica. We got up early and went to use the free wifi (I bought things too) at Margaritaville. Then we met our tour group to take the Chukka horse riding tour. The kids enjoyed this excursion. We rode horses through a plantation type place, then along the beautiful coastline, then they have you go into the ocean. Before you do the ocean ride part, you get off the horse as they change the saddle for a foam pad. During this time you can buy souveniers and/or lunch. They serve a jerk chicken with rice for $10 per plate that is pretty good. This excursion took the rest of the day because the bus ride was at least 45 minutes one way. But it was nice to see the island on the way to and from.

We then had one last sea day to relax and begin packing. :(

A few notes:

My husband and I enjoy a few drinks per day when on vacation, usually a couple of beers and I like to have a glass of wine with dinner. We did not buy any package, as for us it doesn't make sense. Especially with the kids with us, we just don't drink as much as we might if we didn't have them along. Also we each had some drink coupons for being platinum. My last cruise on RCCL was in February of this year, and on that voyage they offered a one day special drink package on the last sea day. We were thinking we might do that if they offer, but they didn't on this voyage. In fact, there were very few drink specials at all. I was looking for the half price margarita specials they sometimes do, never saw one.

The kids really enjoyed the pizza in the promenade. It was your basic frozen pizza, but late at night it hit the spot for them. They also enjoyed the soft serve machine on the pool deck, but it was not open very often, and one day it was not working at all. Once the kids had waited in line for several minutes, and when they got to the front a crew member told them "closed" and shut it down and wouldn't let them get any. That made for some sad teens.....

We didn't do all of the shows, but we did go to an Elton John impersonator that show was very good. We went to the comedian, he was OK. We attended the marriage game show, always good for some laughs...

All in all, we had a good vacation. The kids enjoyed it, and that was the goal! We are 5 points away from Emerald, but I am in no hurry to get there. I like RCCL, but the reward program doesn't have enough teeth in it for me not to sail on other lines. Next up I have two cruises booked on Celebrity, I have not sailed on them yet. Still in the RCI family I realize, but I am guessing it has it's own feel. I am looking forward to trying it out!

If I can answer any questions I am happy to do so!

Happy sailing!

This is of course such a personal decision, but we did not cruise when our kids were babes. They stayed with Grandparents. We took them when they were around 6 or so. I love my kids to death, but I don't expect fellow cruise passengers to feel the same and I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the cabin for naps or the possibility of melt downs. And there is no way I would ever bring a stroller on a cruise ship. But I have no issue with those who chose to cruise with babes. It just wasn't something I felt comfortable doing.

On huge ships there are likely several people in any given sailing being notified of things like a death of a loved one when sailing---surely you do not expect that staff will hunt down and personally deliver messages to each and every one?

Not at all!! It sounded to me like the message the OP was speaking of never made it at all, not even a v/m on the cabin phone.

Thanks for the information YadaYadaJodi, very helpful!

Point is, reaching the ship is not reliable. email and phone are more reliable, and best case, have all three options available. I don't think 'research' is going to yield any better answers.

And that is my point, I can't imagine why there can't be a reliable way to reach someone on a ship by means other than their cell phone. Again, I understand why folks wouldn't want to bother to find another way. It is worth it to me to spend a bit of time on it.

Have a good day!

Research? Check your email or your phone for texts. My friend's son was taken to the ER and her mother could not reach the ship by phone. Use texts or email.

Lol! Yes research, another lost art.... I understand yours, and others positions on this, and I respect it. I am sure most are reading my original post and thinking, "this nut case needs to get with the times!" And I understand that, I really do! I just am so connected 24/7 for work that one of the things I love about a cruise is the ability not to touch my phone. Other than "true" vacations where I am actually away from home, I have my work phone (can't use it personally as it has sensitive information on it), a tablet w/ 4G and of course bluetooth for my car as I am in my car a lot. I can be reached multiple ways at any given time. Now, when I am on a cruise I certainly can, and have taken my phone out every few days to check emails when we are in a port with free wifi. (no free minutes for me) However, if I need to be reached quickly, I would love to know that there is a reliable way for that to happen that is not related to my cell phone. Seems simple enough.

And to CB at Sea, the need to connect with family during times of tragedy is not always about what one might be able to do, it is a matter of the family back home needing to put closure to delivering the information. I was at sea back in the day when we didn't even have a cell phone (and I am only 44 by the way...) and my Mom died. My family back home just needed the peace of mind of letting me know. And the ship was able to assist me in getting home fast.

To each their own. My brother, only a few years older than me doesn't even own any type of cell phone. I still have a land line, at times I seriously consider getting rid of my cell phone. I honestly don't use it much.

My BIL and SIL took a cruise on Liberty on April 3-10 of 2016. On April 6th a relative passed away. My in-laws' son called the ship and left a message telling them of the death with whoever answers the ships phones. In-laws never received the message. Found out when they came back home.

 

This should be brought to someones attention. Fellow CCers who should be contacted and how?

 

Thanks in advance for you help.

 

Traudi

Thank you for sharing this! I gave ship information to family for a cruise I am taking with my immediate family next week. I put my cell phone in the safe and I don't touch it for the week, so I need another way to be contacted in case of an emergency. Knowing this, I will do a bit more research about how to relay important messages on the ship if need be. If I need to get home from the next port stop I want that information ahead of time to make arrangements!

Just realized that some cruises have a BOGO and free gratuities.

 

I tried to find out if this was for new bookings only but didn't see it.

We booked in April 2015 for Sept 2016. We did get BOGO but not free gratuities so I was curious if it would apply.

 

Would I have to rebook at the new price to get it? Really would be feasible to me as the cruise is now $700 more.

As a rule of thumb, they will reprice the entire sailing, so it wouldn't make sense for you if it is now $700 more, but hey, it might be worth a quick call. The worst they can say is no. It seems all cruise lines pay for their sales with increased pricing. I am not complaining mind you, I will choose to pay it or not, but I never get too excited about any "sales" anymore with any line. Once in a great while it works out great, most of the time it is just a new pricing that is inflated over what I paid, with some benefits that are basically included in the new pricing.

Good luck!

My problem is a 3 Bears kinda thing...early seating is too early, late seating...too late. I have put in a request for 6:30 to 7:00, but with 18 people linked its going to be a challenge for them...I said we'd take any configuration of tables but in the same area.

 

She sent my request to the ship. So we'll see...

I realize each ship might be different but my experience with a group of 10 on BOS with MTD was not favorable. Because I had a large group I made reservations ahead of time. When we boarded I went right to the dining room to confirm. They told me that my reservations would not be honored because my group was too big. I ended up with a set 6 pm reservation. Which made MTD totally useless for us. RCI needs to figure out how to accommodate all size groups with MTD.

Exclusiveescapetours.com

I should elaborate: On our roll call (not sure if it is still accessible?) someone did a lot of research on an excursion. Originally, our excursion was going to be with White Sands Charters. Something came up, and they could not provide the excursion, so the above company stepped in and made a deal with us. $50.00 each. So in their brochure the cost is not $50.00, but that is what we paid. In any event, they did a great job and I would not hesitate to use them again and pay the regular rate.

I had done some prior research, and we walked down the beach and bought a snorkel/swim with sting rays excursion with lunch for $50.00 that had been recommended. We very much enjoyed this! Very small group. 6 of us total.

 

Could you give the name of the company for future reference?

TIA:D

Exclusiveescapetours.com

It's nice to hear that, even though it was a Spring Break cruise, you didn't have a terrible cruise. Feeling "older" in your 40's is definitely not something I would expect on a Princess cruise but then I have never yet done a Caribbean cruise. I do expect to do so but I don't get to retire for another few months. After that... :D

My friend and I got many a good chuckle from the spring breakers. We were college roomies at one time, so it brought back some memories... They didn't really impact my cruise, the only thing they did was save me some $$. I could not for the life of me get bar service, the kids were lined up rows thick at most of the bars, so I only had a few cocktails on this cruise! LOL!

Thanks for the review.

 

I suspect you would really like the Royal or Regal Princess. The buffet is huge and wide open. IMHO, the best at sea and I've been on several lines. The showers are larger and have hand-held shower heads. The hair dryer is larger and better. There's a dedicated running track. There's interactive TV with hundreds of shows and movies on demand... for free. The Alfredo's restaurant (free) has the absolutely best pizza at sea (personal-sized pizza rather than by the slice) as well as other goodies.

I did some prior research, and knew that these two ships were the newer Princess ships. When the time and itinerary is right, I definitely want to sail on one, they sound fabulous!!

A bit of background, I have had somewhere around 13 cruises, mostly on RCI, so still a newbie by many accounts. I have enjoyed all the cruises I have taken, and I don’t really have a preference for a particular line. I have mostly been on RCI only because if I travel with my sister in law, or some friends of ours, they are loyal royal. I am not. Variety is more important to me. So, I have a goal to try all of the mass lines. So far, from my vantage point, they are all more alike than they are different. I sometimes travel with my husband and our two children, and sometimes I travel with friends. This time it was myself, and my college roommate from many moons ago.

This was my first Princess experience. For reasons I can’t explain, I thought that this line would prove to me that there are some lines that are superior lines. I didn’t really come away with that idea being validated. However, I did very much enjoy Princess, and will certainly cruise with them again. And, I do realize it isn’t fair to compare any line with just one voyage under the belt. Two voyages on the same line are often night and day in comparison.

At any rate, on to the review of this sailing:

So I think it is very safe to say this isn’t considered a “typical” Princess sailing. (very likely another reason why it didn’t deliver the experience I expected.) This was a 5 night sailing on Emerald Princess, leaving FLL and sailing to Princess Cays and Grand Turk. It was also the peak of spring break, and many, many young adults (and I use “adult” very loosely here) were on board. I am only 44, but I felt WAY old on this sailing. Which I think from all the research I have done, is not the norm on Princess.

Embarkation: A breeze, but only because my friend had some status with Princess, so we got to skip the long line and pretty much get right on board. I usually am up and ready to get the port by 11, but on this voyage we didn’t arrive until closer to Noon. We got right on the ship, and the room was ready! That is something I am not used to, and I LOVED being able to check out the room and leave my carryon items. AND, our luggage was delivered right away. We were all settled in and unpacked before muster! A first for me.

Another small thing I really liked, is they provided us with maps of the ship that are little fold up paper maps with a cardboard front and back to keep it protected. It was great to have in my pocket. When I was sitting in my lounge chair I could pull it out and refer to it. A small, but nice touch.

I also appreciated their ap, Princess at Sea. I was able to do all kinds of things on that ap. I usually turn my cell phone off and toss it in the safe for the voyage. This time I decided to try the ap, and I really liked it. I can’t compare it, as I have not an ap yet on any other line.

Muster was interesting. You still have to bring your life vest on Princess, I have not done that for a long time on other lines. And they took a lot longer to go through the process than I expected. It was made a little better by sitting in a lounge instead of being packed like sardines on the deck, but we sat there for about 40 minutes, and couldn’t hear half of what was said.

The Emerald Princess is a beautiful ship in my opinion. It was clean, and the décor was pleasing and beautiful. The only thing that drove me nuts about this ship was the lay out of the Horizon Court buffet. What a nightmare it was getting in and out of there! But the food was fine, and there are lots of other options. The pizza was very good, there were several excellent choices at the International Café, and we attended a PUB lunch that was complimentary in the Salty Dog on one day, so our exposure to the buffet was limited. We ate at the MDR each night, and the service and food was very good. We shared a table with others most nights, and enjoyed the company of meeting new folks.

I did not enjoy the shows on this voyage. There was a hypnotist, who was not to my liking for entertainment value, and there was a comedian that was sort of funny, but mostly just kept cracking up at himself. The CD was a bit of a snore as well. Nice man, but not very engaging IMO. One thing that I really did enjoy was movies under the stars. This concept is excellent. They put soft coverings on the lounge chairs, offer blankets, and have popcorn available. We saw a couple of recent releases and I really liked this option. I don’t have time for movies when I am home running from work to my kids various activities and such, so this was something that I appreciated being able to do. They also had some other good entertainment on the screen, like Elton John, and Bon Jovi. That is of course my opinion, but I liked what they had going on the screen. I made my usual donation at the casino, as far as casinos go, this one was not any better/worse than any other ship casinos IMO.

Our cabin seemed bigger than I am used to for an inside. I book all over the map as far as room type. It depends on the itinerary and cost as to whether or not I am going to spring for a balcony or suite. I went with an inside this voyage. The room was plenty big enough for two with plenty of storage. I much preferred the layout of this cabin over any other ship inside that I have had. And the beds, my word the beds…. I have never slept in a more comfortable bed on a cruise ship in my life! A big thumbs up for the beds. Two very nice oversized pillows, super comfy bedding, and the mattress was perfect. I wanted to bring it home with me.

Our room steward was excellent. Perfectly attentive. The only thing that I did not enjoy with our cabin was the shower. On most, if not all of my cruises to date, the shower nozzle has a way to lift it up and down, or totally off so that with limited space, you can take the shower nozzle in hand. That makes things so much easier. This one did not offer that convenience. Not a huge deal, but shaving was an adventure in this shower. I am glad I am somewhat flexible and short!

This voyage stopped at the Princess private Island, Princess Cays, and at Grand Turk. Princess Cays was your typical private island. A very nice beach area, with lunch served and a bit of local shopping. We had to take a tender to the beach. This was pretty much just a wonderful, lazy beach day for us. Weather was beautiful. They offered plenty of activities, but we were content to lounge under the shade of a palm tree and nap, and read.

The other stop was Grand Turk. I can’t comment on the actual island, as we did an excursion that left right from the beach. So we didn’t venture into Grand Turk itself. The ship docked here, so it was easy to get off and on. As soon as you depart the pier, there is a Jimmy Buffet restaurant, and shops. Also there is a beach right at the pier area. Along the beach there all kinds of companies selling excursions. I had done some prior research, and we walked down the beach and bought a snorkel/swim with sting rays excursion with lunch for $50.00 that had been recommended. We very much enjoyed this! Very small group. 6 of us total. We were well taken care of. I am glad we did the excursion, the beach was way too crowded for my liking. There was a Carnival ship that arrived a few hours after we did which made for a very busy day at the beach.

A few more random thoughts: I am unsure if it was just my cabin, but the hairdryer they provided was a little better than horrid. I am glad I brought one. I wish there had been more trivia, we did this one afternoon and it was fun, but I didn’t see that they offered much in the way of trivia. The jogging track on this ship was pitiful. Very, very small. I used it once. Then I just settled on walking the promenade on deck 7. The gym is not well designed in that there are cabins directly underneath, so they do not allow people to use treadmills until 8 am. By then I want to be done with my exercise! That was a bummer. Walking the promenade and doing all stairs instead of the elevator was good enough for this sailing.

All in all, this was just what I wanted, a nice relaxing vacation. I will definitely sail on Princess again, I am interested to see what a longer voyage not during spring break would be like. For now, I am going to give Celebrity a try next spring. I am happy to try and answer any questions should anyone have any.

Happy Sailing!

I would be surprised and shock if a Royal Captain allowed a small boat to approach and transfer passengers. It is very complicated to do this, yes the harbor pilots are put on and off ships but they are professional with years of experience.

 

From a liability standpoint it would seem to be grounds to remove a captain.

I did it in reverse. We were on Explorer of the Seas in 2005, and we were supposed to be docking in Grand Cayman. Captain decided it was to rough, so it was announced we would not make our stop. BUT, the night before I got the call no one wants to get, my Mother had passed away. I had flights booked home for my husband and I out of Grand Cayman. When I found out they were not making the stop, I went right to guests services, who told us to get our things, a small boat was on the way to get us. We exited from a very low deck with our things into a very small boat who brought us to the port agent. I can hardly even remember the gang plank from the ship to the small boat, but my husband said he was not keen on using it, but we made it.

100s of people were on their balconies wondeirng what in heck was going on! Waving to us. It was all surreal. I will tell you this, thank goodness I had purchased insurance! Our flights were covered, and we were refunded for the portion of the trip that we were unable to be on.

It is subjective of course, but I have done an inside with my two teen age daughters and my husband. We didn't mind it at all. Yes, close quarters, but it is family, we don't have any problems. I book balcony rooms when the price is right, but I will not pay a lot more for a balcony, it just isn't worth it to me. Some ships have family inside rooms for a bit more money, you can perhaps have a bit more elbow room.... something to check on. As far as the Pullman beds, I cruised 3 to an inside with my sisters, the Pullman beds can be used for adults, no problem. Maybe not a tall/large adult, but it worked just fine for us! My teens actually prefer the Pullmans. They have their own reading light as do the other beds so they can be in their own little world up there. I am unsure if all ships have little lights up by the Pullman beds, but so far that has been the case for us.

Whatever works out, I hope you and your family have a great time!