hrwi

Maybe some of you misunderstood the question. It is not about ENFORCING naps, I was just asking if they ever happen in a certain range of age. Telling to take a nap may be inappropriate at 14, but at 9 (the other limit of the range) may be ok.

Also consider that telling doesn't mean imposing, but also suggesting. If you see that your kids are tired, you may suggest them to rest at any age.

 

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My 11 year old is my daughter through-and-through. She loves a good nap! ;)

Possibly a cultural difference between the US and Holland. I've never even heard of parents telling their kids that they aren't allowed to work (at all) because grades are more important.

 

I don't want to sound like "when I was a kid.. " but.. When I was 15 I worked a few weeks in a factory during holidays laying boxes on pallets. I learned a lot that school wouldn't and couldn't teach me. Bosses, times, even that I shouldn't be wandering around during breaks because the way they put bubbles in their chocolate bars was a company secret. A side job at 17 lead to another which was nicer, to yet another which was really good, much easier than sending out a letter.

 

Now I'm an employer myself, and look at resumes. For juniors, any work that shows that they've seen more than school gets them extra points. Trying to set up a webshop, being a youth camp leader, cleaning hotel rooms, whatever. Grades are usually not even listed on resumes and I won't ask for them as from experience I don't think they have any predictive value for how an employee will perform in my company.

 

So, IMHO, a parent shouldn't stop a child who wants to work besides studying from doing so.

I agree, I'm super proud of my 14 year old, who shovels and mows lawns for his own money, and it adds up! I'm not sending him out to work, he enjoys the independence it gives him.

When we went to Disneyland last year, we did have "quiet time" every day, after lunch. I didn't care if they slept, I was going to. I'd say my kids (13, 10, and 6 at the time), dozed and/or vegged out, which was fine. I imagine we will be doing something similar.

I would be surprised if they spent more than $20 each. I can't even imagine what they'd spend it on, maybe a milkshake?

I usually roll and use packing cubes.

I can't find the thread where someone answered, but apparently you can get on and off the ship at all hours. Someone was mentioning getting up super early to go take photos, and partiers were coming back on at that time. If I find the thread I'll link you to it!

I'm also headed to Havana in October!

Someone did a writeup of the first sailing which was good and can be found here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2517303

Thanks for the speedy responses! All of my kids are expected to carry their own luggage so they have learned to pack light. ;) We will probably keep our things with us if it's all the same, then. It's only five days so it won't be tons of stuff.

Hopefully this is a quick question.

We will be flying in, and going carry-on only. That is, we will each have a backpack that fits in the airline specs, as well as a "personal item".

When we get to the port though, what happens to carry on vs checked baggage? If we use this "personal item" for things like sunscreen and bathing suits, can we just check the backpacks and head to the pool? What happens to our checked bags then?

Sorry, first-timer, I'm sure this question is a slam-dunk for you all. Thanks!

Is it on every ship? I'll be on Paradise in the fall and my daughter and I would love to go raise our pinkies!

Thank you to everybody who responded to my thread. Our cruise was great I never felt alone the ship family is amazing they knew my birthday was coming up so they celebrated it while onboard. A lot of wonderful people including gentlemen that just enjoyed my company as I did theirs. As a Realtor I made many new contacts which I did not plan to going in. So business, pleasure and keeping the family tradition alive, I am so blessed, thank you all for making me feel I could do this I really appreciate it.

I'm so glad you had a nice time!

Looks like if your 8 year old is over 57 inches, he doesn't need one.

http://www.nj.gov/lps/hts/childseats/childseats_newlaw.html

Uber will give you a carseat for an additional fee (I think it's like $10).

Are you a big reader? I'd definitely hit the library prior!

I might do something like have a daily "date" with just one kid. I find I have really good time with each of my kids on their own - a meal or a mini-golf game?

It's a very young, hip city, I bet uber or lyft would be the way to go. That way you don't have to hail a taxi.

I haven't been to the lighthouse, but I do spend a decent amount of time in Portland, and it's a great city. Very walkable, lots to see. How much time do you have there? Lots of walking parks along the waterfront.

I haven't done it on board, but have done it on Amtrak - and not using the on-board wifi. We downloaded a few hours of shows and it worked like a charm.

Yes I'd love to hear more! I'll be on this trip in October.

Did you book excursions through the ship or on your own? Any issues getting on and off multiple times just to walk around (if you did that, I assume everyone acts like me!) ?

I don't lose money on my credit cards, I make money. I pay my balances in full and receive points on my purchases which I redeem as cash for spending money before a vacation. I have 1 CC that is used for restaurant meals where I get 3% back on restaurant purchases, plus I use it for international travel as it has no international transaction fee. I have 1 local store CC that gives me 10 cents off per gallon of gas and many discounts/cash back on grocery and other items purchased in their store where I do all my grocery shopping. Their discounts add up to much more than 2% off my purchases there. I have 1 department store CC which gives me many discounts/cash back on apparel/other misc purchases that I mainly get there. Again their discounts/cash back add up to much more than 2% off my purchases there. The rest of my purchases such my kids college tuition, utilities, medical expenses, travel, etc go on my double cash back card which gives me 1% at time of purchase and 1% at time of payment. None of these cards have an annual fee. Again I redeem these points as cash for vacation spending money.

 

Not one dime goes to interest payments to the CC companies and I a reaping the rewards in the form of discounts and cash back on my purchases. Plus I get to hang on to my money for an extra month (for those afraid of losing the your interest from the bank by pre-paying:rolleyes:)

 

What doesn't make sense to me is not taking advantage of those opportunities....IMHO that is like throwing free money away. If you have the cash in the bank to pay for your purchase why not take advantage of the freebies given away by the CC company. Purchase with your card, get your discount/cash back, and THEN pay with the money you were going to pay for it with anyways.

 

As for prepaying for a Carnival Cruise I purchase the Carnival Gift Cards when they go on sale with my 2% double cash back credit card. Not only do I get the 10-15% discounted cost of the Gift Cards but I get 2% rewards cash back from my credit card. This way I have the cards available if I come across a deal on Carnival I want to book for the deposit (just started doing this since I just discovered the discounted gift cards). Since the money is already spent I will go ahead and make my purchases with Carnival whenever I am ready to book. No reason to wait to pay it to Carnival as the money has already been spent when I purchased the cards. The money I saved on the discount, plus the money I get back as a reward is much more than any interest I would make leaving the money in the bank. I think of it as investing in my vacation :D. I dare anyone to show me where any of what I do is financially irresponsible;).

I opened the Fun Points card just for this reason! Statement credit and with the extra, a bottle of wine will be waiting in my room. And then the card is going on ice until next time!

I do have a side huslte (;) ) that gives me paypal, and that doesn't earn interest, but it's paying my gratuities so I'll do that now and not have to worry about it. If I could figure out how to transfer paypal to my sign and sail account (and I probably can, just haven't dug that deep yet), I'll do that too.

I have been because you can use paypal online.

So glad to hear it! My first cruise is on Paradise in the fall. Any tips?

For another example, a great lunch sandwich at a tourist-oriented hole in the wall in Vieja was 4 CUC.

 

Any recommendations for great sandwiches? My family is more the "walk a while, eat a sandwich, walk a while more, eat an ice cream" type of family.

Mine is a bit older but ginger chews are great. https://www.amazon.com/Ginger-People-Original-Chewy-Candy/dp/B000LKX4FW/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1499972979&sr=1-4&keywords=GINGER%2BCHEWS&th=1

Excellent!

We submitted 3 (child) renewals on June 29 at a "center" (local post office) with an appointment, and had the new ones 12 days later (july 6). So it included a holiday!

Oh the lobster pound is a good addition to the tour! Definitely the 4 or 5 hour tour.

I think, since the tour includes the historic district of Bar Harbor, you should go for the 5 hours. Then you can be back in town for long enough to get a souvenir/ice cream/ whatever else you might like. Having transportation to see the lighthouse and the other towns will be huge.