majellamom

I tried to set up a roll call, so hopefully you can find it over there! Looking forward to this trip, taking hubby on a quick getaway for his 40th. First time I've been on a Carnival ship in 25 years :)

Wondering if anyone has stayed at Aloft or Le Meridien in downtown Tampa - we are looking for a post-cruise hotel since we fly out the next evening. Having a hard time finding everything on our wishlist (would love a free airport shuttle from a downtown hotel, but alas, I don't think those exist!), and these are currently coming out at the top.

My travel party will include myself and hubby plus our two kids (10 and 8) in one room, and my parents (mid 60s) in another room. Everyone gets around pretty well.

So far, these are my thoughts -

Aloft Pro: $50 less per night

Con: further from public transit

Le Meridien Pro: Close to public transit line, looks like it would be really neat (old courthouse!)

Con: cost a little higher

We are considering using the HART bus to the airport from Marion Transit Center, so Le Meridien being on a bus line would make that easier...but for $50 more for the night, I wonder if we would be better off with the cheaper option and ordering a shuttle to the airport.

But back to the hotels - if you have stayed at one, what is your opinion? Did you find the hotel family friendly? Quiet or noisy? Good location or not? Did you ask them to hold luggage before check in time or after check out time? Staff helpful? Would you recommend the hotel?

Wondering if anyone out there has been to the Flamingo Cultural Center in Punta Gorda. It looks like something that would appeal to my family, but was hoping to find a little more info on it - just a few reviews at trip advisor, but they were all positive.

If you have been, can you tell me about your experience? What was the cost? How long did you spend there? How did you travel there? How long did it take to get from the port to the cultural center?

Thanks!:)

This is what it says on the plan certificate:

"If You have purchased this plan within 15 days of Your initial trip deposit:

the plan exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will be waived (provided You

are not disabled from travel at the time of the plan purchase)."

I read through the whole plan before purchasing, and I didn't see anything else about pre-existing conditions other than this. Guess I will go check out the company's FAQ section! :confused: I hate dealing with insurance!

I just booked a cruise and trip insurance today - but I do have a pre-existing health condition. My understanding is that my health condition will be covered if something happens during the trip, but is there any paperwork that is necessary to fill out? Or does the pre-existing thing just automatically work if you purchase trip insurance right after booking?

I doubt I will need any medical treatment, but want to make sure I am covered just in case!

So, with trip insurance - I am thinking we are going to book the cruise by the end of the week, but probably won't book the airfare for several more months. How do I work that?

Not worried about work related cancelations, as hubby raises cattle and corn with his dad and brother - not much going on in Jan/Feb besides making sure the cows are fed! I guess maybe if hubby's dad or brother get seriously injured, but that should be covered, right? As family reasons?

I'm more worried about medical reasons - hubby has a dangerous job, I have a chronic health condition, my MIL has a chronic health condition. I expect we will all be fine come winter, but there are enough things that could go wrong.

Looking at insuremytrip - it says "If you are taking a cruise, select the first port of arrival as your destination" what does that mean?

What do I need to look for in trip insurance?

General rules to keep cost down:

- keep your options open - be it cruiselines (Norwegian, Carnival, Royal could be competitive), ports (can you leave from Port Canaveral, or even Miami ports?).

- book through a TA - online or even Costco. You will be offered Onboard credits which can be used towards the "mandatory tips" discussed above. OB credit could be sustantial. TA sometimes have "group rates" that are cheaper than listing prices.

- Best deals comes late (within 8 to 12 weeks of departure) -but nowadays you tend to pay more for air tickets last minute too.

Thanks for all the advice - shortly after seeing this reply, I saw that NCL is offering a Kids Sail Free thing for 3rd+ people in cabin, so I am waiting to hear back from a TA recommended by my parents to see if that would be a good option for us. Would love to do HAL, but at $399 per kid before taxes, etc...well, the kids sail free thing is sounding better and better!

Found a fare calculator online that gives average price for flights, and it looks like historically speaking, Ft. Lauderdale might have the cheapest flights, followed by Houston, followed by Tampa - of course I don't know how many stops those would encompass, but at least it gives me an idea of airfare!

Oh, thank you!

I was hoping that $60/person/day wouldn't apply to my 8 and 10 year olds! :)

I am planning our first family cruise - I went on three as a kid, but this is the first I am responsible for booking.

We ideally want to go on a 7 day Western Caribbean on the Ryndam starting Feb 8, 2015 out of Tampa - we are working on a fairly tight budget as we are a one income homeschooling family.

Talked to HAL today and got a room quote for the cheapest quad occupancy available, and it is more than half our total budget - also have to figure out airfare from Denver to Tampa - several airlines (Frontier, Southwest) aren't booking out that far yet, and those that are, are pretty high priced at the moment.

My mom thinks that the price on the Ryndam cruise should come down a little bit in the coming months (she's taken 15 cruises, so she has a better idea than me!) which would make the vacation a little more affordable. I don't feel comfortable booking this far in advance, since I can't even see how much airfare would be. At what point do I need to start worrying?

I noticed that if we book through Discover, we can use cashback bonus towards the cruise (not a great amount, we can get an $80 certificate for $40 of cashback bonus given that we are looking at cheap cabins, but any little bit counts) is this something worth doing? Or is it better to book directly through HAL? Or should I find a travel agent?

I've talked up HAL so much that I think hubby (never cruised before) would be sad if we had to book a different cruise line...I would be sad, too! ;)

Also, what if something major happens in our lives and we have to cancel after we book? Is that possible? Or should we wait for another 4-5 months and try to book then?

So, just starting cruise planning for my family of 4 - do they hold $60/day for kids (3rd and 4th in cabin?) That'd be $1680 in holds...only about $1000 less than total cost for the room we are considering!

Want to make sure that I know what to expect when it is time to sail! :)