Mr. Blonde

Is it wrong and a not responsible thing to do? Yes.

Have I taken them on every cruise I've been on the last five years? Also yes.

17 hours ago, Woody14 said:

So as an average person who enjoys a couple of cocktails during the day, some wine with dinner and and a couple of drinks at the shows, I can see how I could perhaps hit 10 in a day is the 15 drink limit really a big deal?    

Easy for me. I do 6-8 beers by the pool during the day. Two glasses of wine with dinner and then if I go out at night, I'm getting near the limit. Not complaining. 15 is plenty, but I do prefer RC's unlimited package so I don't have to stress about it. 

Following. I'm on the 4/28 sailing. I really wish I could find an updated schedule of ship activities, but I'm having no luck.

I finally got the rejection.

It still looks like we're going to go. My wife offered him an opportunity to fly up to Boston to see his cousin in lieu of the cruise and he's thrilled. So,  all's well that ends well. We're cruising on Thursday!

Thank you for all the info.

Just now, mjkacmom said:

Would the fare for all 10 people be refunded?

No but we can book a cruise at a later date.

5 minutes ago, Marie51 said:

 I have been wondering about getting a medical  exemption for my granddaughter but I’m trying to figure out how it works. It seems kind of silly to book a cruise and then have to wait and wait to find out if you’re actually going to go. Is it not possible to apply for the exemption first and then book a cruise when you find out you’re actually able to go? 

Great question. Probably would speed up the process.

2 minutes ago, CityChickCruising said:

I would keep emailing that email, calling and also message them on Facebook in hopes of hearing back from a 'real person.' The more avenues you take, the more likely you are to receive an answer. Fingers crossed for you, tough situation! 

Thank you, they said definitely do not email again because that "resets" the process. Every time I've called Special needs, they've been super helpful, but they keep telling me I should expect an answer via email "any day now"

Just now, SG65CB said:

 

Sorry to hear about the father's refusal. 

 

You are going to cancel for all 10 people? Maybe a little heartless, but is it an option for the other 9 to go and your stepson stay with his father?

 

If you go with the option to wait until he's 18, make sure you leave time for him to be fully vaccinated. RC requires 14 days after the last dose before you can sail. I'm sure you're very familiar by now with their requirements and FAQs. ☹️

Yes, this is a family thing that we were looking forward to. Other than my stepson, our other four children are all adults with jobs, college, etc, so we rarely all get together for something like this. It would not feel right to be having fun and leaving him out. He'll be 18 in early May, so we would probably reschedule for June.

Just now, 1025cruise said:

The only exemptions for vaccines are for medical reasons. 

Not according to the RC website:

Long story short, we purchased a cruise months ago for a Christmas present for our kids and some of their friends(10 total in group)

My 17 year old stepson is not vaccinated, due to his father not wanting him to be.(religious reason) As per the divorce agreement, my wife and he have to agree on medical decisions for their son. When we were deciding on purchasing the cruise, my wife spoke with her ex, and he hinted that he would relent and let him get vaxxed.

Of course, you know where this is going. It was a battle for months, but he would not agree. I submitted a vax exemption request to special needs a few weeks ago. Got the email back saying it was being processed. I've called several times and spoke with someone and they assured me we would have an answer soon. Now we are SIX days away from the cruise and still no answer. 

My question is why would it take so long? If they're going to deny the request, why would they wait this long? I spoke with RC, and they said we could postpone and cruise in a few months when he's 18 and can get the Vaccine on his own.  We're on pins and needles here and can't even get excited because we don't know if we are going to be cruising next week. 🥺

1 hour ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

At Walgreens, the Red Dot test ID Now is says takes 1 day, but has never taken more than a couple of hours.

See, I didn't think we could choose that one because it doesn't say "PCR" or "Antigen" which is what RC says they require.

None of the CVS or Walgreens locally have rapid antigen tests available. Cruise is next thursday, so it's probably too late to order the proctored one, which I was trying to avoid since I'm taking five children and three of their friend(10 total), so it's pretty expensive.

My obvious fear is we won't get results from CVS in the 1-2 days on the PCR test.  Has anyone heard that it can sometimes take longer than two days?

sailing in late March. He turns 21 in the beginning of March.

20 minutes ago, ryano said:

Try Illinois DPH

 

https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/birth-death-other-records/birth-records/obtain-birth-certificate.html

Thanks, Unfortunately they can't do it because their offices closed in March 2020 and are STILL closed 🙄 so everything takes at least 12 weeks, and that's too long.

We purchased a cruise(christmas present) for our adult kids and their significant others. Long story short, my daughter's boyfriend is estranged from his mess of family and has no contact with his parents. Obviously, he needs a birth certificate. Any idea what the best website is to order one(Illinois)? I see a lot of different ones when I search. I've heard Vitalchek is good, but every time we attempt, we're getting an error message saying 'enter valid date' even though everything is correct. Thanks in advance.

Do they require you to wear masks in bars/clubs?

I'm sure if you search this site you will see that the 15 drink/day limit applies to everyone. It has been reported that if someone has the DOU card in the casino, even those free drinks count towards the 15 drink limit.

 

Personally, I am a fan of the limit. Even in my younger days, when I could party hard with the rest of them, I don't think I ever drank more than 15 drinks a day (even at all-inclusives). To consume more alcohol than that in a day just seems to be dangerous and unsafe.

You're probably correct for the most part, but there are exceptions(Me). On sea days, I can sit by the pool and drink 10-12 beers before 4pm and be completely fine.(I'm also 280 lbs) Then if I want a couple glasses of wine at dinner, I'm nearly at my limit. Kind of sucks for me, but I've learned to pace myself on cruises. I still have a blast, and I'm more of a day drinker than night drinker, because I like waking up early on the ships and working out and it's tough to do that with a hangover.

 

Your music will be the slot machines next door.

 

Perfect for my dancing style.

We were on the Magic in March, and the Alchemy bar was our favorite hangout at night. The drinks, bartenders, along with the live music was good all week.

We're going on the Paradise in October. I just assumed every ship had an Alchemy bar, but I was disappointed to see that the Paradise doesn't. I do see they have something called the "United States Bar". Is that similar to the Alchemy bar? Not so much for the drink menu, but is it similar in "vibe" with the live music and such?

Hi - can you please tell me what the dinner buffet is like in the Lido? Are there lots of options for dinner? Is it generally pretty good? On the other cruises we've been on we've enjoyed dinner in the MDR, but we usually have one or two nights that we just want to stay by the pool or have something low-key.

 

Also - I've seen some references to sea-day brunch in the MDR. Looking for any additional information about that. Thank you!!! :)

We only did the Lido for dinner on the last night, and it was very good. Lots of options, and I honestly thought the food tasted better than the MDR.

You are my spirit animal! I love cruises and beer as much as you.

I hope to be you one day.

It's also funny, that I enjoyed your Magic review back in February, because I was going on the Magic for my honeymoon in March. Now we're booked on the Paradise in October, and you're reviewing that, so I'm looking forward to it. I was on the Paradise in 2012, but I know she's been worked on. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews!

I sail for the Remedy.

 

(Here's the Alchemy Bar menu)

That's the one! Couldn't think of it.

Just booked again. October 4-8, Paradise. So, 182 days!

Unfortunately the sea day on Sunday was nothing but non-stop rain. I woke up at 8:00 to workout in the fitness center, and it was pouring. I think it didn't stop until around 4:00PM. I used this opportunity to get myself acquainted with the blackjack tables. I'm barely above a novice on blackjack. More of a poker player, but I'm not down with Carnival's video poker setup. I've never won much on cruises with blackjack. Usually break even for the most part. That changed on this cruise for the better. My net after the week was +$525 playing strictly the $6 blackjack tables. It could have been better, as I was up +725 on the last day, but got greedy one more time, and lost 200 on the last night.

Overall, if the casino is your thing, the Magic casino is top notch. Tons of slot machines if you like them. Great, friendly dealers, and if you can deal with the cigarette smoke, the casino bar is a cool hangout with the best sports selections on the TVs.

Also on this day, we had our first experience with Guy's burgers. I had previously heard them described as "delicious", "too greasy", and a "heart attack on a bun". I would have to say those are all accurate. :D I liked them, and I love burgers, but I only had them twice on our trip, because they were a bit much. I will say, they seem to be the most popular thing on the ship. The line stays steady just about the whole time they're open, but it moves pretty swiftly.

For dinner on Sunday, we had a salad in the Lido marketplace, and we hung Sunday night at the Red Frog pub, and decided to have some of their $3 appetizers. They aren't great or anything, but for $3, they aren't bad either. The BBQ sliders and the coconut shrimp were my favorite. The grouper fingers were just ok. The Red Frog is a cool hang.

Congrats on your Honeymoon.

 

Magic is our FAVORITE ship, so far.

 

Noticed your beer was almost empty, did you get Cheers?

 

Nice PIC of you's.

 

Following.

Yes we did. It's well worth it. Funny story....leading up to the cruise, my wife was freaking out about the price, because she didn't think it was worth it for her, because she's not a day drinker.

Well, fast forward to the first day, we had several drinks at the deck party, then went to the Red Frog Pub for a few and had a couple at dinner at the MDR. Later that night at the Alchemy, I asked the bartender to give me a count on how many drinks we had left. Keep in mind, we didn't start drinking until around 3:00 that day, and it was now 11:00. The bartender informed me that my wife was on #13 and I was on #11. :'):') So, in all her trepidation, she was drinking me under the table.

But yes, in a nutshell, Cheers is a great deal, IMO. Not just the alcohol, but the coffee bar drinks we would get in the morning and sometimes afternoon, the numerous bottled waters, etc.