MrsKChicago

As others have said, if people want to drink to excess, they're going to do it whether they have a drink package or not. And there will always be a few people who don't know their own limits. Better they do it somewhere where they won't be driving and there's help nearby. I was in a bar at an all inclusive resort and a fight broke out, and security had it broken up in about a minute. It managed to not ruin my entire vacation, thankfully ;).

I drink but I'm really past the point in my life where I want to be more than a little tipsy, and with all the free drink promotions out now, I'd probably still choose the drink package on a cruise. It's nice to not have any surprises at the end when cruising is a rare luxury, and on the NCL cruises I've looked at, the other promotions just aren't as appealing to me. Even when I cruised pregnant and wasn't drinking at all, I managed to run up a fair sized bill on mocktails and non-alcoholic beer. There's nothing like a daiquiri by the pool in the middle of the Caribbean, even if it's virgin.

People with actual alcohol problems are concerning, and I hope they can find help, but I just don't see how limiting drink packages​ would solve that. Alcohol abuse is a much bigger problem, and so much more complex. Policing behavior won't fix it.

We won't be in a position to cruise for awhile and every now and then when the cabin fever sets in, I dive into one of your reviews for a bit of escapism. I found them very useful on our Getaway cruise a couple years ago, too.

We have a couple of restaurants in the Chicago area where trains bring your food. The food was mediocre at the one we've visited, but the experience is neat! A little easier of a trip from Ohio, too.

I'm looking forward to reading more about your possible scuba experience in the next review (I'm headed to read that one next). My husband wanted to do a discover scuba session when we were in Cozumel and I went along with it despite being really kind of terrified about the experience. I loved it! Once we were in the water and I realized I wasn't going to just instantly drop dead, it was amazing. I hope you ended up going because it sounds like something you would also love.

Thanks again for the virtual escape from toddler life ;)

Of course, it's the Americans that are the biggest problem in terms of seeing nursing as being totally normal. The rest of the world is a bit up on us in terms of that. So I'd go hang out near people from other cultures, personally, and avoid my fellow Americans.

 

 

 

 

Going forward, consider getting a portable, hand-held, grinder so that baby eats the foods you eat. Don't even have to bother with jarred purees that way. Might as well get baby used to eating what you eat! It's how me and my siblings were raised. I had one, but never used it, because we chose to delay solids to a year. DS went with the 11 month plan, but by then he was capable of biting and chewing properly and didn't NEED purees, so that was simple. :)

 

 

 

"kids ages 3 to 11 (12?)" Lab and Club go *through* 12. 12 years old and 364 days. :)

 

DS, 11, tells me that the kids who are out of control are generally the little ones, and he has to walk, and walk carefully, to avoid them when they come over to the Lab area where he tends to stay.

Thanks for the input on the kids club. I'm thinking more and more about either waiting until T is older, or going with a line that has a more structured kids club.

We skipped purees altogether with my son, he loves real food and does surprisingly well with no teeth. He could be the poster child for Baby Led Weaning, the way he took to it. I love it, I get to actually eat dinner instead of spooning food into him. I plan to go the same route if we have another, but I know some babies just refuse to go along with parental plans. I think someone did give us one of the handheld grinder things, I'll keep it for #2 if I didn't already pass it on to another mom.

Just throwing this out for your consideration. Personally, I think it would be easier to cruise with a 6 or 7 month old than a more active year old baby. Infants sleep more than young toddlers and are less mobile. Also, it would be easier to "discreetly" breastfeed a younger baby as well. Not saying that cruising with a year old is not doable...just giving a little food for thought!!! Hope you have a great cruise!:)

I appreciate the tip. My son is only 7 1/2 months, so I'm definitely a little clueless on the later ages and what it's like to vacation with them.

Oh wow, that does sound a little overwhelming for a 3 year old! I'll look into it, thanks for the heads up.

Good to know about the purees being available if hypothetical #2 doesn't take to table food like my son has :)

Did you find that you were still able to enjoy your trip and relax with a young baby?

Breastfeed anywhere, discreetly of course! It's the natural function of your breast! It's what best for baby.

 

 

I breastfed both of my kids...any and everywhere. No one knew I was feeding....you don't just pop your breast out and have at it, you know!

I wish everyone realized that's what they're for! I don't use a cover, but I'm pretty sneaky. Ninja boobing ;)

Hopefully splitting them up won't be an issue for a couple hours at a time. Maybe they'll enjoy the break!

I was hoping that was the kind of family friendly they'd be. Sometimes it means everyone is understanding, and sometimes it means a ship full of people who don't understand why you won't just think of the children and do that somewhere private :P

We're considering a Disney cruise right around when our little one turns 3. I was set on doing it after 3 for the free Oceaneers club, until someone pointed out that what I spent on babysitting, I'd save on cruise fare for the baby. He wouldn't be in there all the time, just enough for us to go swimming, maybe have a date night, that kind of thing. There may be a little sibling by then, too, so I think we'd be using the babysitting service no matter what. I'm assuming Disney of all lines can put together a good kids club, but can anybody give me any insight into what the under 3 babysitting is like?

Also, in the event that there is a little sibling (probably around a year old, no way am I cruising with a tiny baby), can anyone give me any insight into breastfeeding at sea? I'm used to being legally protected here, but I'm sure both laws and culture are different on the ship and at ports. But I know most other countries think Americans are overly prude, too. I'd rather push the cruise back than deal with having to hide on vacation.

Is there anything else I'm not considering that I should be?

We are 87 days out . . . how will we be notified that a room assignment has been made? Or will we just have to check online frequently on the "vacation summary" tab? We booked on the Dawn for a BX. Kind of nervous about the outcome!

 

 

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I didn't get any notification, I just had to check my vacation summary.

Okay....just to clarify. We are on a cruise this December. It is a big group and a couple of people in the group do not have credit cards. We all have prepaid the DSC and as well prepaid for some other things, excursions, specialty restaurants etc. So technically it is possible that no more money needs to be spent once on the ship. Because the DSC has been prepaid plus a few other things, how much money will these people without credit cards have to put on their accounts. Can they just put down $100 and if and when they spend that much add more to their account?

Thanks.

There may be a minimum deposit that you have to make if you're using cash. For debit for a weeklong cruise, they wanted $300 per cabin. I'm guessing you'd have to call the cruiseline to find out what the cash minimum is.

I purposely pay the DSC just so I can have bath towels for my room. I don't want to slip and fall while showering plus having that and your room made up is nice added bonus.

 

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We had great service from all the staff on our cruise. I would prefer to have that cost just rolled into the cruise fare and given to the staff as an official wage, rather than having it tacked on later, but I think we got our $12/day worth, considering how pampered we were compared to our average land vacation.

It's my understanding that you have to put down a deposit to use cash or a debit card. For a debit card, it's $300 for a 7 day cruise, and if you spend $300, they put another hold on your card for another $300, and so on. For cash, they cut you off if you spend the deposit and you have to deposit more. The service charge comes out daily.

Oh Well. Next time. Wish you guys the best on the trip and the baby.

Thanks! Same to you!

Hi, MrsKChicago,

We are almost in the same situation, my wife will be 5+ months at the time that we arrive in St Marten in late October. If we are going on the same ship, perhaps we could share a tour with you guys with Bernards? We will be on the Allure sailing out on 26th of October.

We'll be on the Getaway, sailing out on the 25th. I think we're in St Maarten on the 28th. Too bad, it would have been fun to have someone to tour with.

We're cruising over Halloween, so I thought I would get into the spirit and decorate accordingly. I ordered a magnetic zombie and skeleton that come with various clothing magnets to dress them up. It'll help me find our cabin, and it will be fun if other passengers change their clothes around. I'll dress them up in their fanciest clothes for formal night. I hope nobody steals them, but I guess it's not the end of the world if they vanish.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FJGF1YA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ENMI378/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My guess would be different types of wine - red, white, or different qualities. I hope you'll both update us after your cruises.

Our first cruise isn't for a couple weeks, but I'm really looking forward to the balcony. First cup of coffee and maybe a pastry in my pajamas in the morning, sunsets (and maybe a sunrise if DH talks me into waking up that early), some quiet reading time if the crowds get to be too much, and watching for marine life. Looks like it might be fun to bring some score cards and watch the neighbors, too ;)

Thanks for the transit time information! Very helpful.

I don't need perfectly super calm waters, just calm enough to feel safe. I'm a decent swimmer, but I haven't done any pregnant swimming, so I have no idea what my buoyancy and such will be like, so I don't want to deal with unpredictable water. I've heard Maho isn't great for actual swimming in that regard.

Did you do tour #2? I haven't completely ruled it out, I just worry about the pace. It does seem to tick all my boxes. Were there lots of opportunities to get food? I'm finding that I need at least a bite every couple hours, and it sounds like you're not allowed to bring food off the ship, so I can't just stash a few emergency granola bars in my bag. Or maybe there's a store on the pier where I can buy a couple granola bars or something before we start.

I don't really mind being talked into things. I've traveled plenty, but it's our first cruise, so packing a whole island into one day is entirely new territory for me!

Thanks for the time tip! I plan to bring a watch and keep it set to Cruise Time :)

I thought about a private tour, but it's just the two of us, and that's a lot of money for two people!

We'll be in St Maarten for 10 hours (8am to 6pm) in late October. I'm trying to sort out a rough idea of what we want to do, and make sure we're not missing out on anything big. I'm also considering doing one of Bernard's tours, but they cover some things we really don't need to spend our time on (we saw more than enough iguanas on our trip through the Yucatan last year, for instance), and I don't want to end up really enamored of a place and then have to move along. I'll be 5 months pregnant when we cruise, so I also want the option of saying "screw this, I'm going back to the ship for a nap." I may be taking this a little slower than average overall.

We want to see both sides of the island, with time in Marigot and Philipsburg to get a snack or light meal (preferably something local, if anyone has recommendations) and do a bit of small souvenir shopping and general wandering. Does 90 minute per town seem like it would work? I'm guessing we should do Philipsburg last so we can shorten or lengthen it and get back to the pier on time.

We also want to check out Maho beach, just long enough for a plane landing or two. I guess we'll have to time this carefully?

And I'd like some swimming beach time at another beach, maybe an hour or two. Preferably with calmer water, if there's some variation from beach to beach. We want to do some shore snorkeling on our cruise, but it sounds like St Thomas is better for that. Any opinions?

I'm considering taxis and buses. What's the transit time like from Philipsburg to Marigot? Basically, we're not afraid of public transportation, but I don't want to waste a lot of vacation time for the sake of saving $30.

Does this sound reasonable? Are we going to be rushing to get this done and get back to the ship nice and early? Or did I not schedule enough activities for our 10 hours? Am I missing any must see things? Thanks!

Unless I missed it (possible, because I don't read every little thing NCL emails me), I didn't get any email that my cabin was assigned and my docs were ready. I just happened to notice both on routine checks online. I'd keep an eye out if I were you instead of waiting to be notified, if you're eager to know.

Our first cruise is still coming up, so I can't judge the quality of the main dining rooms vs the specialty restaurants yet. I want to try the MDR, but I know we're planning at least a couple specialty nights. It's nice to have that romantic date night, and it has the potential to be a good budget friendly option for us. There's nothing on the Getaway that we can't get in Chicago, but most of it is going to be much cheaper on the ship. Moderno is $20/person. If we go to Fogo here, it's over $50 each. It's $26 just for the salad bar. Plus $10-$20 to park, or 2 hours of totally non-romantic time on the bus and train to get there, rather than a 5 minute walk back to our cabin. I can do similar math for some of the other specialties. I also enjoy a dining experience that goes beyond tasty food, like teppenyaki. That's fun no matter where I am, and it sounds like something I'd enjoy as part of my cruise experience. We got some on board credit when we booked, so why not?

We're cruising on the Getaway on October 25, with a balcony guarantee, and I just got assigned cabin 11716 today. It looks like a pretty average balcony to me, but it's our first cruise, so I don't really know. It's nice to know what to expect, I was worried we'd find out at the very last minute.

We have a lodger who we trust, and usually have a live in petsitter for our two dogs, so I'm not too concerned about people knowing we're out of town. Plenty of deterrents to robbing us - and not too much worth stealing ;).

If we're traveling in the US, I'll post a photo to Facebook now and then. Most of my vacation photos are on my real camera, but now and then I'll snap something on my phone and share it. If we're out of the country with wifi, I check in in the evenings but don't do a whole lot of posting. Our upcoming cruise is our first, and I don't know what I'll do. I'm not bringing the computer and not planning to use ship's wifi, and I'm really looking forward to disconnecting (I'm a little too attached to my phone), but I may pop onto port wifi with my phone or use the internet cafe a few times just so I know all is well at home, and since I'll be traveling pregnant, to assure home that all is well with us. It's worth a couple bucks and ten minutes of my vacation to know that the house and the pets are all ok.