Avery's mom

We will be sailing December 24th with our vaccinated 8 year old, so I can report after we get back. I imagine there are very few people who are in this situation, but I would love to hear from anyone who is. 

Thank you so much for posting & reporting from the Navigator! We're going Christmas week, so I know we won't enjoy the quiet sailing you did:( However, I am very grateful for the Cruise Compasses you posted and all the helpful information.  It's been 3 years since we've cruised, and so much has changed since then. 

I'll plan to bring some sand toys that we can leave behind. Thank you!

 

I thought of another question: Do you bother bringing booster seats? My youngest (age 5) still needs one but the only place that I know we'll be driving is from the airport to the hotel/hotel to the dock. I'm guessing we'll have a hotel van or a uber. As of now we haven't booked any tours that require transportation. What have you done?

We were considering leaving our car seat at home, as were "planning" to only have the car ride to/from the airport/port as you are. We decided to bring it and was really glad we did. FL law requires Uber/Lyft drivers to transport kids who need car seats/boosters in them. You can pay a $10 surcharge each way to have one provided for you, if you select that option in the app.

When we were delayed in FLL (for 2 nights) because of last week's shooting and related delays, we rented a car, drove to the keys, etc...and was really glad we brought our car seat.

As far as sand toys on HMC, I didn't see any that could be used, nor purchased there. We bought a cheap set in Grand Turk for use during the entire cruise. They were a great purchase! We would have liked to pass them along to another family, but didn't know a process to do that. I guess we could have donated them to Club HAL?

We did bring our own flotation device for our 3 year old son, and he wore it in the pool daily. I did see other kids with vests that were brought from home and some wore water wings.

We found HAL to be a great choice for our family, and hope you like them as well!

Hello Helpful HAL Cruisers!

We embark on our first HAL cruise in a month on the Eurodam and took advantage of an upsell to a Neptune Suite. Is there a consensus as to the appropriate tips for the concierge staff in the Neptune Lounge? Naturally, we would adjust this depending on how much we utilize their services. However, it would be helpful to have a ballpark as to what is commonly done.

On Disney, we have tipped anywhere from $20 per concierge when we didn't use them for anything at all, to $200 per concierge when they helped us score a last minute cabana on Castaway Cay.

Does anyone have any advice to guide me? Thanks!

Congratulations! I am very happy for you. Not knowing if you have stayed in an Neptune before, they are wonderful. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I might even call my TA to see if they've heard anything. So far I haven't received a call or an email, so we'll wait and see. Again, congrats! :)

Thank you very much! We have not sailed in a Neptune Suite before, as we have never even sailed HAL before! I have even managed to upgrade us while keeping it a secret from the rest of the family:) We do enjoy suites on other lines, so I know we're in for an enhanced experience, yet am trying to brush up on the perks specific to HAL. Can't wait to see my husband's face when he realizes I was able to arrange it without him knowing!

I hope you're able to arrange one for yourself very soon!

I would like to know the same thing for our New Year's cruise on the Eurodam. We have a VA category verandah and there are many SA Neptune suites available. So, I want to ask the same question too.

We are also on your cruise and took advantage of an upsell offer for a Neptune Suite today. Yes, it was a lot more than we normally upsell for on Disney, however, it is still a fantastic deal considering how much the suite is listed for.

We did use a TA (one we had not used before) and found them to be very helpful with regard to securing a desirable suite.

Hope you're able to snag one as well, if you're still interested!

I would love some verification regarding the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery. It was supposedly closed from January to May 1st for some emissions repairs. We are counting on the nursery being open for our cruise June 10th, so if you could confirm that it has re-opened, I would be eternally grateful.

Thanks!

A nice feature of the OS is a full size dining table inside the stateroom. If you thing you might like room service from the MDR menu one of more evenings, then the OS might be a consideration.

Yes! We love room service and the table would be so handy!

I haven't sailed in either cabin but have found the disadvantage to Deck 10, is the overhang, from Deck 11. For Alaska, I might prefer to stay in the aft cabin where you have the larger balcony. If you plan to have family members or friends over you would lose the mini bar so you will need to ask yourself do you need the extra space. We have been in a JS on the Radiance but Mid ship.

Yes, we are traveling with friends who we would certainly have over to the cabin, as they have no balcony...We have no choice but Deck 10, so either way, we'll have above noise and all that comes with being under Deck 11.

Upgrade for how much????

 

Bill

Bill-WI - $600

There certainly are other things we could do with that money - but we already have drinks and excursions covered - so this would just be a fun splurge. My main concern is giving up that large aft balcony.....and then I will have wasted the $600:(

Hello All!

I have JS 1100 booked on the Radiance for next month. I can upgrade to an Owners Suite - 1062 - in particular and wondered if we were crazy to give up the amazing aft balcony we have - for the bigger OS cabin.

This is my for my hubby's 40th birthday, so I want him to have the best trip. We see photos of the OS, but can't see any of the balcony, and would hate to be squished out there.

We don't care so much about the lounge/drinks/etc...as we have kids and drink packages. Mainly, we want a great cabin and a nice balcony to enjoy the Alaskan surroundings.

WWYD?

Disney Cruise Line offers this as a shore excursion as well. We will be doing this hike in June on our own, however, and we, too, will be watching the clock to make sure that we get up in 2 hours.

I'm wondering the same thing. We purchased a cruise and one of the "bonus inclusions" is the classic beverage package. I'd love to know if I can get the premium by paying the roughly $10 extra once onboard (or even before hand).

You can call Celebrity to upgrade to the Premium Package before you board, if you like.