happymanitee

Congratulations! Sounds like a great upgrade!

It looks like everyone prefers the Belize,Roatan,Cozumel route, but I really enjoyed Jamaica/Grand Cayman/Cozumel. In Jamaica, I've done Dunn's River Falls once and gone to a resort with resortforaday once. In Grand Cayman, we did a stingray tour with Native Way, which I highly recommend.

But, I'll be going on the Roatan/Costa Maya/Cozumel route over Thanksgiving, so I might have a different opinion after that

From last cruise in Feb, I was in a Family stateroom for a 6 day cruise on FoS. Everyone in my family got 12 points instead of 6. Not sure why but not complaining.

Had that ever happened to anyone?

 

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This happened to me. We stayed in room 9500 on Liberty OTS. It is a Family Oceanview, not a Suite, but they gave me double-points. It was a 7-nighter, so I got 14 points.

Then, I took another cruise 5 months later. This was a 5-night in a JR suite, so I was supposed to get 10 points. Well, they did give me 10 points, but they also must have realized their mistake because they took away 7 points. So, my total only increased by 3 points after that cruise. So, don't be surprised if those extra points disappear after your next cruise.

I was a little sad because those extra points would have put me in the next category. But, it's not like I actually earned them, so oh well..

Great... thanks for quick reply!

Sorry for asking this.. I'm sure the answer is already out there somewhere, but when I tried to search for it, there are SOO many gratuity posts that it was hard to look through them all.

Is the automatic gratuity per day or per night? The website says a gratuity of $13.50 is added daily. So, for a 7-night cruise, is that $13.50 X 7 = $94.50/person? Or if it truly added daily, then there are 8 days on the cruise. If so, then it would be $13.50 X 8= $108/person.

I've always prepaid gratuities before, so I never really paid attention. But, this time, I'm paying onboard and I want to plan ahead.

Here is a list of rules from my FCC:

Redeemable towards cruise fare only. Guest is responsible for taxes and fees where applicable. Not valid on Complimentary, Incentive bookings, or Charter sailings

One certificate per person, per booking, and valid only for the person noted on this certificate.

If credit is applied to a booking of lesser value, the difference will be issued as a new Future Cruise Certificate.

Cruise must be taken by 12/16/2017.

Valid only for the cruise brand shown above.

As are all requests for reservations, the offered space is subject to availability, and from time to time, itineraries may be altered or services on a specific ship may be discontinued. Certain restrictions apply

Non-transferable and may not be redeemed for cash.

So, I don't think it can be used for OBC

(Edited to add that my original cruise was on 11/14/16, so I had a little over a year to use it)

We have stayed in connecting rooms a few times. It is SO nice to have two bathrooms. When you first board the ship, the connecting door will be locked and you have to request for it to be unlocked. Then, after that, you can leave it open all you want.

For a long time, I thought you had to buy insurance through the cruise line. For a family of 5, the insurance was over $500. It just didn't seem to make financial sense to purchase it when it costs so much. But, then I learned (from this board) that I could insure our whole family for around $100 and get even better coverage than the cruise line offers. So, now, I do buy insurance.

I think people may not realize how inexpensive coverage can be if they shop around.

I'm not sure if it is the same on every ship, but on my upcoming sailing the "Evian bottled water package" is listed under the drink package options. The cost is $34 for a 12-pack and $69 for a 24 pack. The bottles are 1-liter bottles.

I, personally have brought a case of water onboard before. I put it in a duffle bag and the bag did get sent to the naughty room. I am one of the few people that I've ever heard of that got caught with a case of water. But, even then, it wasn't a big deal. I just went down there and got it. When I told them it was just water, they just told me to take the bag. They didn't even check or ask me to sign anything. I will probably try again on my next cruise.

For me, I just don't like those big 1-liter bottles. I stash them in my bag for excursions and those bottles are just too big.

In st. Maarten, I recommend Captain Bob Soualiga tours. We had an amazing day with him.

Can you also bring champagne or proseco?

The title of this post is triggering a bad memory for me.

My family and I were flying from Dayton to San Juan, PR for a cruise on Adventure in June 2015. Our flight was supposed to leave at 6:00am the day before the cruise (Friday morning). Because it was such an early flight, I had to get my family up around 3:30 am to drive to the airport, park, and get checked in. We boarded the plane on time and I began to relax in my seat as the plane pulled away from the gate. As we neared the runway, I drifted off to sleep. Then, I felt my children kicking my seat (they were sitting behind me) and generally being noisy. I woke up to turn around and yell at them, when I realized we were at the terminal.

"oh, did we already land in Chicago for our connecting flight? I can't believe I slept through the whole flight.. what time is it?"

Well, it was 7am. I had been asleep for an hour and the plane never took off. We were still in Dayton. The plane was on the runway when a warning light came on and we returned to the gate. Our connecting flight was supposed to leave Chicago by 8am, so it was obvious that we would not be making that flight. We were held captive on the plane for another hour before they finally let us leave the plane. It was now 8am and I needed to make other arrangements to get to San Juan.

I waited patiently in the long line that had formed at the customer service desk until it was finally my turn.

Me: I need another flight to San Juan, PR

lady: we don't have anymore flights to PR. I can get you there on Monday.

me: umm... Monday is unacceptable. We are going on a cruise that leaves tomorrow.

lady (in the sweetest, sing-songy voice): 'ALWAYS FLY THE DAY BEFORE'.

at that moment, I wanted to jump over the counter and strangle her, but I calmly said, "yes, I know. It IS the day before. I need to be there by tomorrow afternoon, but you are telling me that you can't get me there until Monday'.

lady: yes, sorry. That is the next flight we have.

I'll spare you the rest of the details, but eventually, we got on a flight leaving Saturday morning on a different airline out of a different airport. It was a mess. And, when we showed up at that airport, someone pulled the fire alarm and the whole airport had to be evacuated. That evacuation caused our flight to be late and we almost missed our connection again. But, we did make it by running through the airport as fast as we could and yelling at them to hold the doors open just as they were closing them.

Overall, it was so stressful, that I had a hard time shifting into vacation mode after that.

I'm not sure what lesson is to be learned here. I mean, I did book the flights a day ahead and that almost wasn't enough. Dayton isn't a very big airport, so I guess that is why they didn't have more flights that could accommodate us. I now live in Dallas, so I am closer to a much bigger airport.

Anyway, just thought I would share. I can still hear her voice as she lectured me about flying the day before. I mean, did she really think that was a helpful thing to say in that moment? It just angered me that she was telling me there was nothing she could do and just hoping I would go away and come back on Monday. When, obviously, there was something she could do since she eventually put us on a different airline out of Cincinnati. Also, it was the third time we had problems with that particular airline. And, yes- it was the last time we had problems with them because we never flew them again.

Now, that I'm in Texas, I love being able to just drive to Galveston. But, even then, I drive down the day before, because you never really know what could happen. And, I just don't want to be stressed out like that ever again. It is so much more relaxing to take your time driving, check into a hotel for a good night's sleep, wake up and enjoy a nice breakfast, and then leisurely head to the pier.

Not to be one of those over protective parents but I'm antsy about letting them loose with strangers. How monitored are the kids programs? I'm guessing all of you felt pretty comfortable with the staff or you wouldn't have let them go. It's just because of past experience, you never know who has access and what can happen! I guess that's true of anywhere but :eek:

I feel very comfortable with the kids Club staff. They always have more than 1 counselor in there with the kids and they are always having a great time. My 8-year old daughter is very social and always seems to know every kid on the ship by the end of the week. My 11-year old son is very shy and doesn't like social situations and he still loves going in there. He begs to be there every minute they are open.

Now, as for your 12 year old, it's a little different. My oldest turned 12 last year and she was disappointed with the teen club. But, she really loved the kids club too and was upset about aging out. Your 12-year old won't have that comparison so that might help. The teen club. just doesn't have much structure. She spent more time hanging out with us. But, by the end of the week, she had met a few friends too.

We bought the internet package for 2 devices so we could text with the oldest onboard. Technically, I don't think you can text, but we both have iPhones so we iMessaged using the wifi. She was instructed to tell me where she was and who she was with. She was not allowed to go to anyone's room or bring anyone to her room- public areas only. It did make me nervous, but it turned out fine. We will be cruising again this fall, so we'll see if she likes it better now that she knows what to expect.

Do you mind sharing what excursions you took on the ABC islands? I will be going there next year and am always looking for good ideas.

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My son is 11 and he wears pants and a short-sleeved polo on casual nights. On formal nights, he wears a dress shirt with pants. He still doesn't wear a tie or jacket.

I've never really noticed any boys his age wearing shorts, but I don't really pay attention to what others are wearing. I did, however see a whole family of boys wearing tuxes once. They looked nice, but I'm not buying/renting a tux for that one occasion. We only cruise once a year and have no other reasons to dress that nice.

We were on Liberty of the seas for the season finale last summer. No, the ship did not show it. And, we couldn't watch it on our tablets using The HBO app. Somehow, HBO could tell we were no longer in the US and wouldn't allow streaming, We just had to wait until we got back to watch.

We will be on that cruise with you. My kids are 13, 11, and 9. I usually don't book ship excursions, but I did for Roatan this time.

i booked Maya Chan resort in Costa Maya, Maya Key (through the ship) for Roatan, and we are going to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. In Roatan, I wanted to do Little French Key, but I read that the number one complaint is that you just don't have enough time to do everything there. And, since Roatan is a short day, I chose Maya Key because it is right by the port.

I have also been to Mr.Sanchos in Cozumel and we had a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed all of the water floats. But, we only spent about an hour on them, so I figured they wouldn't really miss them if we booked Nachi instead.

I did this on Liberty, so it probably works the same way. There was an announcement about Tender tickets in the Cruise Compass the day before. I think the announcement said they would be handing out tickets at 8am on a certain deck. If you show up with printed confirmation of your excursion, they will give you an early ticket. Only one person in your party has to go get the tickets.

My tour guide said they wouldn't wait for late arrivals, so I made sure to get off early. But, then, we did wait around awhile for a couple who was a no-show...so I guess they were just bluffing.

I just paid off my cruise early because I'm trying to get the frequent flyer points from my credit card. I plan on using those points to book our airfare for the cruise.

... just another reason why someone might pay early.

Or, you could sail on Freedom of the Seas if you aren't going until May 2018 or later. I like Freedom Class better than Adventure of the Seas, but I've never been on Jewel or that class, so I can't compare that one.

Onboard... I just wear my Seapass card on a lanyard and I don't carry a purse at all. Of course, some will tell you that wearing a lanyard is also out of fashion. But, I don't care. My lanyard is sparkly and I love it.

On excursions, I have to carry a big beach bag because we usually go to the beach. Plus, I'm a mom of 3 kids, so I have to have extra sunscreen- all the towels, their goggles, some water bottles, and all that other stuff that moms carry.

I book 2 rooms, but I have found that the website will no longer let me book 2 rooms at the same time. It will let me get as far as choosing my cabins and then it kicks me out. If I try to book 1 at a time, I don't have a problem.

Even when we drive, I like to drive down the day before. I live near Dallas, so it is a 5 hour drive to Galveston. But, I have had it take almost 7 hours due to traffic. Plus, if there is a major accident, it could take even longer. I don't want to be stressed and worried about the clock on my way down there. It is much nicer drive down the day before, get a good night's sleep and wake up rested and ready to cruise!

Yes, last summer I booked a cruise with Next Cruise for this June on Adventure out of San Juan. But, I ended up having to cancel it because I couldn't afford the airfare. At least I live in Texas, so we can drive to Galveston. But, I was looking forward to visiting the ABC islands. For now, I'll just have to wait until I can earn enough rewards points to get us all there.

In June 2015, we were supposed to fly into San Juan a day before our cruise. We were already in the runway when a warning light came on and they taxied us back to the terminal and sent the plane to maintenance. We tried to rebook our flights, but they kept telling us not to worry. The flight would be delayed, but we would still make our connection. Finally, after an hour or so, they told us the flight was cancelled.

So, we asked to get a different flight, but there were no more flight to San Juan that day even though it was still early in the morning. In fact, there were no flights to SJU until 2 more days. After much complaining, they finally got us out on a different airline from a different airport the next morning ( day of the cruise).

The next morning, we were trying to check in our luggage when the fire alarm sounded. They evacuated the airport. I was sure we would miss our connection again and I was in a panic. Finally, they said it was a false alarm and let us through. After RUNNING in flip flops with 3 kids in tow through the Atlanta airport, we made our connecting flight just as they were closing the doors.

So, we made it in time for the cruise. But, it was hard for me to de-stress after that. Thankfully, the rest of the week was amazing!

So, that is my story about almost missing a cruise.