Vacationdreamer<><

Hey y’all. 
thought I’d share he worked things out and joined us. Three hours to embarkation. 
 

Thank you all. 
I had been pleasantly surprised on carnival in March that the card had a hole.

i have no idea where mine went. But with 6 kids - someone prolly took it out for something. 
 

I’ll grab another one. Thank you all. 
 

so excited. 

Outside Galveston and getting my embarkation bag prepped for the day. I just realized my hole punch is not in my supplies where it’s been for years.

do RCCL already have holes in the cards?  I have to stop at Walmart and can pick up another one, but I’ll skip it if I don’t need it. 
 

Thank you. 

10 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Mineral sunscreens typically do a very bad job at broad spectrum protection, contrary to what they state on the bottle.

oh I’m annoyed by all of this. 
I will definitely be applying real sunscreen before we leave the ship and try to smuggle more of it with us. 
but I will also have this for us. 
 

Do you think these, stupidly expensive, sunscreens be allowed do you think?

19 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

so sorry this cruise isn't turning out as you hoped.  

Thank you.  We will make lemonade.
The frozen kind.
With a little umbrella.

Thank you all. 
I need to figure this out ASAP. 
 

sounds like I should decide if I’d rather just have him be a no show or work quickly to get another person in that spot. 
 

the first is obviously easier. It may be better just to absorb the monies lost Vs putting a friend in there. 

Thank you. 
Who doesn’t love a challenge?

My son just shared he may not be able to join us on our VOTS 5/20-5/25 out of Galveston.  It is work related, not medical, etc.
 

He is the lead on our second stateroom (the room was to be shared with sisters 18, 17, and 13).  DH and I are in connecting room with another child.

Are we toast bc he is the lead, or will we be ok as my DD is 18?

Is there any way we could invite someone in his spot, or is it just too stinking close.  

It is what it is... but I want to make sure if there is something we can do to increase the return on our investment I want to do as much as we can.

We do have insurance, but it isn't cancel for any reason.  It is more medical or emergency based.

Thank you for your help!

Thank you for these answers. 
 

but now I have another question. 
 

there are actually five of us with phones on this trip. (But two don’t care about email, etc.). Will we not all be able to communicate with the RCCL app?  I thought as long as we all had the app we could “text” each other. Thank you. 

1 hour ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

just do one then. My DD and i share. only one can be logged on at any given time but if it is just to chece emails etc you will be fine. 

like one user, one device?

we can just log in, check email, log out?

Thank you. 

The cost is significantly different for me to have three users signed up for internet package vs me having one user with three devices.  Can someone explain how that works?  Is it if I have ONE user with three devices, just one device can be active at a time?  

My husband, daughter, and I want to be able to check in to our emails daily.  In theory, we could just do so with one phone... but I am thinking multiple devices is just easier?  

We dress up no matter what’s listed. My DD’s 18 and 17 can’t wait to wear old prom dresses. ❤ 

I’m not reading all the responses so maybe you have already need this. 
 

I have had Mal de Debarquement Syndrome after a cruise in 2014 and then last month. It’s no joke.  
 

the first time I had an ENT nurse practitioner recommend high dose meclizine for three days and to sleep it off. It worked. I didn’t have that option after this last cruse. It took about 9 days to go away. I’m concerned about my cruise next month.  It’s a terrible feeling.  
 

there is very little info available. 

I love it 

It's great. 

I don't really drink at all, so I didn't need the tree - but I appreciate the flow chart!

43 minutes ago, PrincessArlena&#x27;sDad said:

Thank you!  This is definitely very helpful.

 

We'll have to decide then between the inflatables and the sand.  We also have a beach day at Mahogany beach for this cruise, so I predict their choose PM, but with these photos, we'll see.

When is your trip?  I’ll be there in May and can report if it’s better…?

10 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

beaches different?

My visits to both PM and Nachi Cocum were both disappointing because the sand was so coarse and unpleasant. My kids and I are beach lovers and they wouldn’t play in the sand at all. We typically bury one another and play IN and lie directly ON the sand and it was so painful.  This was disappointing for us. On the north side of the island the sand was soft and welcoming for our typical beach fun.  We spent less than 30 minutes in the sand at PM. This is a very specific need for my family, like good snorkeling or extensive bar could be for others. 

The red bathing suit is from IP and the pink is PM.  It's just different sand.  And they wouldn't play in PM.  

5 hours ago, PrincessArlena&#x27;sDad said:

so is Passion Isle $240 nicer?

For ME, because I know how much more we liked it, it would be worth it. And we have a group of 7. PM was so so disappointing for us.  The beach is my most important piece and it was awful. But YOU said you had a great time there, so you’re likely just fine at PM.  We enjoyed the boat ride to and from the island. 
 

I hope we don’t hate PM as much this time as the first time.  If nothing else, it at least has a pool and it was partially covered by Bank of America rewards. 

This is weird. 
I am 8 weeks out from my cruise. And the rewards populated within 48 hours of ordering them. 

23 minutes ago, PrincessArlena&#x27;sDad said:

it takes a lot longer to get there.

 If your ship offers the cruise I can tell you it was a much nicer beach IMO.  It is the reason I picked a cruise going to Coz, only to find out Royal Caribbean doesn’t partner with them. 😞

19 hours ago, PrincessArlena&#x27;sDad said:

similar situation as you

I ended up booking PM. My kids barely remember it and needing to use stairs was the main turn off to Chank. I spent a long time looking at photos and reviews etc.  I hated the sand at PM last time, but I also hated it at Nachi Cocum. I think it’s the west side of the island has coarse sand. Isla Pasion in the north was nicer but that wasn’t an option with my ship. 

On 3/19/2023 at 8:42 PM, BTSEN5 said:

I called the rewards desk and they said they would show up about 2 weeks before our cruise.

my cruise is 60 days away and they were there today.

I redeemed my points on Saturday and today I opened the website and they had already been linked.  I used them toward an excursion.  I am happy that it was as easy as it was.

Looking into booking either Chank or Playa Mia.  We had a good enough time at PM in 2016, but I am always up for trying something new.

We are a group of 7, we just want to eat, ocean swim, and play in the sand.  The pool and kid area at PM was great when my kids were smaller, but it looks like there is more to explore at Chank.

Can we actually swim in the ocean at Chank without snorkeling?  It sounds like maybe that is much reduced access?

I have credit to book via RCCL but I believe a cabana booked directly would be a better option for us?  Are cabs easy enough to get in the port?  Thank you all for your help!!!!

1 hour ago, renza said:

destinations

This is ironically one of my problems

i wanted to go back to Isla Passion some picked a cruise with Coz. But RCI doesn’t partner with IP do. 
 

I couldn’t find connecting rooms on any other ship out of Galveston for the weeks we were available.  
 

My kids had a blast on valor. It’s more about adverting and maybe not having. 
And me picking like the one ship without freestyle. and the ice show being Tarot cards. 😜  live and learn. 🤣

6 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

Wait, what?  No laser tag?  

What??

this sucks. 
 

I am already so annoyed by this ship and I don’t sail for 8 weeks.