Itchy&Scratchy

MDR was overcooked, over salted, and seemed to be low quality, which they tried to enhance with Salt, MSG, preservatives, etc... 

how DO you determine that the food is full of preservatives and MSG? I have never been able to taste either.... 

Oh, and I am not elderly, but I swell up on all of the cruises (RCI, Princess, NCL) due to all the salt. Even at home my ankles are swollen in the evening.

We've been on Regal twice, and will be sailing on her next year as well. We've never had bad service and no-smiles attitude.

I've never had much luck with OBC or any other savings when booking Princess through a TA. So, we book Princess directly.

1 hour ago, Just love 2 cruise said:

Thank you for the information, I was also thinking it might be noisy next to splash academy. May I ask how old your children are...would they enjoy going to splash academy. Also do you know how much evening child minding costs? I see that it is possible to have a children’s group evening event so the parents could enjoy some time alone and I am not sure if it is an extra charge? 

Since my nephew has not cruised I want their first experience with their young children to be positive and relaxing for all. 

kids are all different. Mine's 7.5 yo, and he refuses to go to the kid's club. He's been cruising since he was 3. A month ago he agreed to go for 2 hours and he enjoyed himself very much, but refused to go back. He has separation anxiety issues, which are getting better with age.... :) Our friends' kids love going to the kids club while cruising.

I do believe kid's club before 10 pm is free, and after 10 pm there is a $6 per hour charge, or something like that. I am not sure how much - I have the papers from the last cruise at home. If I don't forget, I'll look it up tonight. Kid's club on NCL ships is pretty active and hands on, rather than sticking them in front of the video games. If your nephew's kids are more or less social, they'll like the kid's club.

14 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Taxi for up to five is around $72. Uber/Lyft is about $55.00.

I concur.  I asked at the taxi stand at FLL, and they quoted $75 for the 4 of us FLL to POM. But I am very frugal, so we took an uber for $50 instead. Just walked over about 50 feet (this was at the Spirit baggage claim) and asked the Uber driver of the biggest sedan "how much".

we are going to be on the Getaway in 2 days. We got balcony cabins 12884 (us) and 9712 (mom) - they were guarantee cabins, so no choice on the matter. 9712 is a Large balcony cabin. I highly recommend that for a family of 4. The cabin size is the same, but the balcony is larger.

We will be swapping cabins with mom upon arrival. She'll be fine in a cabin with a regular (tiny) balcony in the back, and we will be better off with a larger balcony, forward. I don't like aft balconies.

I wouldn't get anything next to the Splash academy or under the restaurants, arcades, pools, or above the theater, etc.

41 minutes ago, GetMeOutOfMN said:

SenseiB - thanks for the clarification.  And newmexicoNita, I am all for exposure to germs to let bodies build up immunity.  We wash frequently with soap and water, but I figure at a minimum the wipes can prevent against at least some germs and it makes me feel better so I bring them along to the cruises.  I thought 99.99% would have us covered but I guess I have falling for the marketing.  We have been on four cruises and have been fortunate to escape norovirus so far - fingers crossed for next time!

when we cruised before having a kid, we didn't care about it either. As a matter of fact, I got my first rotavirus infection when I was pregnant... Once we started cruising with the kiddo - Lysol wipes for the entire cabin, since kids are not adults and don't have the impulse control not to stick their hands in the mouth all the time.

Our friend was once patient zero on a 10 day cruise... Not fun.

one of our friends cruises with her mom who has type 1. She doesn't have problems with food and desserts on Princess and Celebrity, but we recently went with them on Norwegian Jade, and desserts in MDR were "no sugar added" rather than sugar-free. She was very disappointed.

P.S. Mom is her late 70s and is quite used to handling her type 1...

On 11/9/2018 at 1:58 PM, SoberJulie said:

Good to know! 

Hubby is a type 1 diabetic and needs to carry some type of food/carb with him at all times....so I guess I’ll pack granola bars or something from home. 

 

didn' realize I already replied... :)

We haven't seen any on ABC islands... Honestly, we have been to Jamaica several times already (different beaches), and have never seen any musicians on the beach there either.

On 12/11/2018 at 10:38 PM, LE113 said:

Thanks everyone!! I really appreciate all the info!

you should check out Family Cruises subforum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/ 

and Travel with Children https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a10635/traveling-with-children boards.

Your question comes up ALL THE TIME.... :) Good luck!

how many? If under 4, you are better off with an uber/lyft.

If 4+, you are better off walking out to where ubers/lyfts park and choose a car to your liking - that's what we just did a month ago. When we ordered an uber through the app, they sent a Hyundai Accent, which cannot accommodate 3 adults, 1 kid in a car seat and 3 large suitcases. So, we just walked out to the Ground transportation lot and picked an uber car we could definitely fit in (Nissan Altima).

if you don't need the activities or great entertainment, but do want better food and formal nights - consider Princess (Regal, Royal, Majestic), and try to pick the Southern itinerary (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao)....

We sail with RCI for all the entertainment and activities (but not food), Princess for food, class and relaxation, and so far sailing on Norwegian didn't impress us much in either department, but we are giving it another try next week.

5 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

If I was traveling solo and looking for someone to talk to, I wouldn't pick a husband and wife couple or a group.

 

then you'd miss out on talking to me... :) I can talk for hours and I love it, whereas my hubs won't talk at all. Just because we are sitting together doesn't mean none of us will talk. My DH has had to drag me away from other people many times....

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

My issue with Regal robes are the size.  As a guy who can easily wear 36 “ trousers it is silly that I can hardly close a Regal robe.

I was just about to say it.... I am quite chubby myself (size 14-16), and last year in our very first BALCONY cabin I finally requested and received the ROBE.... Well, I couldn't use it because it wouldn't even come close to closing around me... My DH wears size 36, and I know that I could easily wear his pants, so he wouldn't be able to fit into the robe either (even though he is considered quite athletic and muscular at that size).

23 hours ago, NightOne said:

The closet and balcony doors on NCL are sliding doors vs doors that swing out on Carnival

 

We were on Jade last month, and the closet doors are a-swinging...

1 hour ago, bravestwj said:

I submitted receipts to Guest Relations on 11/26 totaling almost $1800 in out of pocket expense to get home from  Puerto Rico.  I received an email today from NCL that they are processing a check for $1300 (650/person).  I had private travel insurance and will be filing with them for the remainder of out of pocket expense.
 

did you arrange for your own travel from Puerto Rico to FL? Why was it so expensive?

We took the first charter out to Miami, Norwegian paid for our hotel stay in Miami, and the next morning we flew MIA-ATL for $146 pp.

You appear to be from FL.... The other people we met on the way were flying back to Germany and Australia, so I'd understand if their expenses were $1,800 total...

14 minutes ago, PoohUnderstands said:

Interesting, but no one is giving details on the buffet aboard, say, the Grand Princess.  What everyone mentioned about the Royal class buffets (size!) is a very big turnoff to me. I do not like the huge spreadout of the buffet on the Royal.  Does this mean that I might like the buffet on the Grand?

 

Pooh 

 

 

it's not about the size, but about the variety. The variety and quality are so much better on Regal/Royal....

10 hours ago, PATRLR said:

All you folks loving the crepes, get ready to get disappointed.   The Bliss removed crepes from the buffet and moved them down to the sweet shoppe where we get to part with more nickles and dimes if we want to have our crepes. 

Watching them sell like crazy leads me to believe it's only a matter of time before crepes are moved to a chargeable item on any ship where that's possible.

 

well, we wouldn't pay for them... Plus, I don't think we'll be going on Norwegian ever again after our cruise next week, unless there are absolutely no other cruises going at the time we need them and also dirt cheap.

I know this won't be a popular opinion on here, but I don't get the love for the crepes.  For me they tasted like canned pie filling - not my thing.  But each their own 

😀.

that's because you should get them plain and add just a tiny bit of your favorite topping.

8 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Eat more dirt, get sick less. 

norovirus for everyone! Yay!

On ‎12‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 10:53 AM, kearney said:

Thanks everyone... this gives me a place to start. I have really loved sailing Royal and Celebrity... but have wondered what I might be missing... 

great food and free on-demand movies in your cabin.

We have sailed with RCI 4 times and 3 times on Princess. If you decide to give Princess a try, definitely go with the new ship.

Princess is a lot more subdued and more less-active adult oriented than RCI. RCI has a ton of great entertainment and activities for all, but Princess is more like an upscale resort for adults only. There is little to nothing to do with kids, unless they are willing to spend all day in the kid's club. My kid doesn't do kid's club, so he tags along to everything. Thank goodness for tablets...

Princess's entertainment (aside from free on-demand movies on Regal and Royal Princesses, and I think also on Caribbean now) is average.

Royal and Regal Princesses have regular brewed coffee in the buffet.

So, we basically sail on Regal Princess for its food (fabulous!) and on RCI for entertainment and great family activities. We just gave Norwegian a try but it flopped badly, since the ship broke down.

we'll find out next week. Our cabin number is 12884.

Our 7 yo sleeps through anything - a working TV, house alarm, dogs barking, etc., but the noise would bother US. I have to sleep with ear plugs because I am bothered by the smallest noises.

Somebody else on this board said the other day that kids were running in the hallways on deck 12 all hours of the night, but she said she doesn't necessarily blame Splash academy for it.

We always bring a container with us. I put it into the carry-on bag and wipe everything down on the plane and then also in the cruise cabin upon arrival. I leave several wipes for the return flight.

54 minutes ago, Costa canary said:

You Americans and your crispy bacon 🥓😜 A better description for this is over cooked fat , there is almost no meat on it , now what you need to do is find the English bacon section ( although it’s probably Danish ) 3 or 4 slices of that between 2 slices of thick hand cut fresh bread 🍞 maybe some ketchup or even an egg sunny side up and there you have it “a bacon butty” , the best breakfast you can get ( apart from eggs benedict ) 

first of all, ketchup on a bacon sandwich? No, thanks.

Second, it's better to have all that overcooked fat than all those carbs from 2 thick slices of bread. I'll leave my carb allowance for crepes. :)

thank you!

crepes by all means! And don't let the person who is making them put the toppings on your crepe. They overdo it A LOT. I get a plain crepe and add a little bit of apricot jam. DH and DS prefer nutella on theirs.

There was NO salmon at the buffet on Jade.