lottathought

I never cared for the lanyard around the neck.

Instead, I opted for a retractable badge reel.

Most any outfit has something that it can be clipped to.

I usually have a belt loop to use.

Worked like a charm.

You can get a hole clipped into your seapass on the ship.

Or you can use one of the waterproof cases.

You can also use this and just tuck the card into a pocket when on excursion.

Here is what I got...but there are many different varieties.

http://www.amazon.com/KEY-BAK-SIDEKICK-PROFESSIONAL-RETRACTING-KEVLAR/dp/B00TS3UT42?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Dress nice for you.

You do not hear this enough anymore...Be who you are.

I am guessing your husband can wear a jacket and tie without breaking the bank.

Stop worrying about keeping up with the Jones and have a good time.

You will hear this a lot of times...... it is true.

Take half of what you plan to wear.

We took our first cruise this year.

We are literally planning on taking 1/3 of what we did for our 2nd cruise next year.

You are not there to impress anybody.

And if you heard nothing else that I said...hear this.

You will not worry so much about what people think about you...when you realize...They aren't.

Hold on.....

I was under the impression that the beverage packages DID cover drinks like this...and coffee's, Red Bull's...etc etc...

Is this not correct?

Granted I will be sailing on a different RCL ship...but I would think that the packages would be the same regardless of ship.

Many thanks to all.

We actually reserved the hotel yesterday. Here is what I am seeing. If you are flying in, Dania beach seems preferred as you want to think about taxi cost. This also pushes up the cost in that area. Since we are driving and taxi cost is not an issue, we booked in Ft Lauderdale itself...near the beach for a much better price. To those that asked...we all have valid passports already, even the 4 yo. As for the cell phones, we do know to turn off international data..and go into plane mode near shore outside of the US...and I am guessing phone and text only works at sea if you have signed up for a package? If I am wrong on that, please let me know. As the phones will also be the cameras, I am thinking we will want them. But I should ask...is it a better to ha e no phone and take a dedicated camera?

Lastly. ..what suggestions does anybody have for what to do in Ft Lauderdale the night before the cruise?

We are a family of 4.

Along with my wife, we have a 4 y/o and a 13 y/o.

We originally looked at a Disney cruise...and will likely take a Disney cruise in the next year or so. We had no idea you need to book so far in advance.

What has also stunned us is the comments about 2-3 months to prepare and people feeling rushed.

We decided that we wanted to get our feet wet and see what cruises are all about this year so we signed up for RCL Independence..going to Cozumel, leaving out March 31. we signed up at the end of January.

I am seriously wondering if I am missing something huge that I should be prepping for.

We have the excursions planned. We did it through the line since this is our first cruise.

We are driving to FL and have the parking reserved.

We do still need to get a hotel room as we are going down a day or two early.

Drink packages....check.

Sunscreen...check.

Bug Spray....check.

New sunglasses...check

Passports...check

Binoculars...check

Luggage...check

Snorkels and mask...check

Waterproof cases for Seapass and ID cards...check

22v-110v adapter...check.....(I do know a device has to be able to handle 220v)

We have to do the papers for boarding still..but I a, planning to handle that a couple of weeks out.

We are simply not paying those rates for a weak internet connect.

I am curious as to if anybody here has opted for the new At&t plan on the ship. It just seems pricey...but perhaps if we went with the 50 min voice plan only per ph. This would allow us to call when we need to reach another family member on the ship. I am guessing a min call would be enough at a time.

Of course this would have to mean that the ship has some repeaters to allow access from any port and deck for this to work.

I have been trying to determine the best way to keep in touch on the ship. I have looked at 2 way radios but keep seeing feedback indicating they will not be a good option on this size ship. Of course if anybody had a brand work well..or had another idea, I would be interested.

I also looked at goTenna but I am not sure how much better it would do with the steel walls.

I have gotten some idea of the tipping rate....but if I am sitting by the pool and want drinks...what is the etiquette if I have the drink package? Are tips built into the package as well? I plan to have a few...daily..am I tipping each time?

So any seasoned cruiser...if there is something that I am just missing, please let me know.

Many Thanks