vacationlover16

I am thankful for the little bit there is. Going on a Disney cruise in March and they don't have any at all so I miss them.

I came across St. Greg's information when searching but since it was from last February, I didn't know if it was still relevant if the break-ins were occurring in the places he recommended as well. Just wanted to be sure the info I was getting now was the most up to date.

Thank you both! I will check out both options.

We are heading out on a Disney cruise in March. In another group on social media, there are lots of mention of cars being broken into while parked at the port. We will be driving and are unsure where the best place to park now to try to keep our truck as safe as possible while gone. We currently have a one night stay at the AC Hotel New Orleans French Quarter booked. They don't have a park and cruise option that would allow us to keep our vehicle there. Some are stating DCL passengers can't park at the port and that parking is reserved for Carnival guests only and we will have to park at the convention center. Has anyone cruised recently from New Orleans? What is the parking situation? Where can we park and our vehicle will be secure and monitored. It is only 8 hours from our home so we don't want to pay to fly but also don't want to come out to a window that has been smashed either. I can't tell if folks are overreacting or if we need to really be concerned. We have never worried about our vehicle during our cruises when we have driven.

I agree with your wife! LOL! I just got back from a solo weekend on 1/30. So much fun!

Loving your review as usual! Can't wait to read the Spirit portion as we have a Thanksgiving cruise on her this year and it will be our first time sailing on her. Appreciate all that you and Patti do to bring these reviews to us and bring us along!!!

I think a fairer way is to allow folks the opportunity to book once they pay the deposit and require them to pay for the activity once they book it. IMO, with this set up folks would be more likely to only book what they really plan to do and not reserve things for the "just in case". It would cut out the staying up to midnight to book, the system crashing due to volume and itch the scratch for those who like to plan in advance because they would likely be some of the first to pay their deposit. I agree Disney guests tend to plan far in advance but I think that is because Disney makes things so complicated you almost have to if you want a certain type of vacation. I don't think anyone wants to get up at 7 am to book Genie on their vacation or stay up until midnight to book excursions. I am going on my first DCL cruise in March and I agree this set up is frustrating. It won't ruin my cruise by any means but I also hate that we might have to start our cruise off in a line trying to see if we can add on some things we wanted. I would rather be exploring and enjoying the ship.

We just got off Royal's Independence on 10/7. Our sofa bed was a bed all week. Our steward did make up the bed each day and come and tidy it up in the evenings but he didn't switch it back and forth throughout the day.

Thank you for this update!

We are leaving on Independence on 10/3 but staying in Orlando Sunday night to attend a Halloween party at Magic Kingdom. We have a check in time of 12:30 and had planned to leave Orlando around 11 since the Halloween party is from 4-12. That would allow us to sleep in. I wasn't aware of the launch on 10/3. How early should we leave Orlando Monday morning? Thank you for mentioning this!

Thank you all for your replies! This is helpful. Follow-up question, I have been on Royal before but never with kids. Is this normal or a result of post Covid protocols? On Carnival (pre-Covid) we could take the kids whenever. We have MTD and our reservations aren't until 7:45 most nights. So, if folks are lining up at 7:00 it sounds like we likely won't stand a chance with getting our kids in unless we forego having dinner with them and I don't want to do that every night. We only have one sea day so I am not as worried about day time hours as they will be with us during port days and we will likely spend the sea day doing activities together as a family and with our friends around the ship. But during the evenings we will want some adult time.

Hello! Is Adventure Ocean reservations only or can you drop your kids off at your leisure during the open times? The app notes reservations are required (Independence) due to capacity limits but I wasn't sure if this was old verbiage that hadn't been updated or was actually being enforced. There are 7 kids in our traveling group the week of October 3 and if we need to make reservations we will want to coordinate times as soon as we are able to once on on the ship and I want to let the other parents know so we can be prepared to coordinate. TIA for any info anyone has.

Thanks everyone, I am thinking we will switch to traditional as well.

Great question. I would like to know the same. If I have a 7:45 reservation but still have to wait to be seated we could do the 8:00 traditional dining and go straight to the table.

Thank you. I have only cruised Royal once using MTD and we were seated alone but I didn't put a note when booking. So I didn't do anything differently this time when choosing MTD on the reservation.

Thank you very much! Would we miss entertainment offerings having the late assigned dining?

Hello! We are currently assigned to MTD on a 4 night cruise in October on Independence. However, based on recent reports of long lines even with reservations and the fact that we were only able to obtain 7:45 reservations, I am thinking of calling to see if we can switch to 8:00 fixed dining. The questions I have are as follows: Are the long lines earlier in the evening when MTD first opens or is it the entire time MTD is open? Is Royal seating different parties together during fixed dining or are they seating parties separately? Our 8 and 10 year old children will be sailing with us and we don't usually eat this late. However, 5:30 is too early as we don't want to have to rush from port and want to be able to take our time getting ready for dinner or let the kids enjoy the pools, slides, etc. after getting back onboard. Ideally 6:45/7:00 would be the sweet spot but I am sure that is the desired time for many in MTD and why we were only able to snag 7:45 reservations. Thank you in advance for your help!

OK, great take! ☺️

Ok. We disagree and that’s fine.

Disney actually was requiring testing at the port and we were booked with them first for that very reason. They changed their protocols to follow other lines so we switched to Royal. I was willing to pay the Disney premium because they were testing at the port. Based on what I read, and researched, it wasn't a cluster to do so.

Can't tell if you are being snarky or not. Obviously I don't avoid all other places in life as I noted I have a cruise booked. As a matter of fact, I have been to Disney (X2), St. Louis, Asheville, Savannah, New Orleans, Atlanta, Gulf Shores, Panama City Beach, Smoky Mountains (X3), Charleston, Louisville and Braselton, GA since 2020 on leisure trips/vacations. I have never had Covid either. So believe it or not, there are people who can believe in testing before a cruise who aren't "living in fear holed up at home in Covid Prison". However, I do believe that cruises are a unique type of vacation because of the inability to avoid crowds like you can on land vacations. Also, never said I was worried about everything and everybody. But I do have concerns that folks won't stay home if sick on my cruise....one worry about one subject. 😉

Your definition of being realistic is different than mine. I feel the same if it is the flu, a cold, etc. If sick, you shouldn't cruse. I just would have hoped people would view illness differently now. I am guilty myself. Before, if I was sick I would push through and still go to work. I don't any more. I am more cognizant of how that can impact others along with how it impacts me and my recovery time. I understand people could be exposed during travel the days between testing and arriving at the port. Nothing is 100% effective but it doesn't mean we can't try to mitigate. If people wouldn't sail sick, I guess I don't understand why there is such an issue with testing. Seems folks would want to want to know if they were sick-especially if not showing symptoms. Regardless, I hope you enjoy any upcoming sailings and stay healthy!

Thank you! I am trying! ❤️

I am torn. We have a cruise scheduled in October and won't have to test due to the length (barring no changes). Logistically, it makes our vacation easier as our cruise leaves on a Monday so we would have had to test on a Saturday or Sunday. But it is evident on these boards that folks will still cruise knowing they are ill. I would have hoped if Covid taught us anything it would be how important it is to stay home when sick. I get it, it sucks to miss a vacation due to illness but it is selfish and rude to still travel knowing you are sick. And "stay home if you are scared' is a cop out. It is one thing to be asymptomatic and not know versus having symptoms and knowingly exposing others. I really hope folks will still be responsible and stay home if they are sick. But I am not hopeful and it makes me frustrated, angry and sad.