Because_I_Said

42 minutes ago, BaWBarmy said:

I was diagnosed Type 2 on 31st December last year. My cruise in November will be my first since that time.

 

 I changed my diet (less carbs and fat) I watch calories in and out rather than trying to reduce one type of macro, I started walking (and now cycling) every day and have lost 28lb since mid January.

 

That is fantastic! Congratulations!

I try to stay away from real sweets but sometimes you just gotta have something. I've actually found a lot of recipes for desserts that satisfy that sweet tooth while staying diabetic/low carb compliant. Here's one of my favorites (hwc=heavy whipping cream, I use monkfruit as the sweetener):

10 minutes ago, Putter23 said:

Can you let me know some of the drinks you have found?  My Mom will be cruising with us and she is diabetic, Type 2.  She loves her wine, but I’m sure she would also like some other alcoholic drinks...  

TIA

 

Oh girl! Almost all liquors are sugar/carb free.  So it's just a matter of drinking it straight or mixing it with a sugar-free or acceptable sugar-substitute drink. Here are a few I wrote down that interested me. 

Michelob Ultra - 2.5g carb

Long island iced tea - sub diet or zero cola

2 shots vodka, sprite zero, lime

Faux-hito: mint, lime, rum, sprite zero

Spiced rum, zero or diet cola, lime

Any liquor with seltzer water

Pinot noir - 3.8g carbs

I have no idea if the ship has a "zero" cola, but I'm crossing my fingers. 

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You manage your foods at home. Manage it on the ship. It is really not any different. And you don’t need the access desk or the chef to manage food for you. 

 

Order a regular meal. Eat the protein and veg. Don’t eat the carbs on your plate. Don’t pick the chocolate fudge cake. Pick the NSA desserts or ice cream and eat just a little. Stick to sugar free drinks (with a little alcohol). Stay away from the pizza on the buffet. 

 

Keep up up the hard work on the ship. Monitor your tickseeds levels so you know when you have cheated too much. 

LOL! Thank you!

I can tell that you're not diabetic. Is the meat marinated? What seasonings are added to the vegetables? It has been a real eye opener to me to find out how many things have sugar hidden in them. Did you know that lemon-pepper seasoning has sugar in it? Plus there is the fact that sugar hides itself under a lot of different names - maltodextrin and dextrose are probably the 2 most common. It's even in supposedly "sugar-free" foods. A lot of which spike my blood sugar levels. This is one of the reasons I find it difficult to eat at a restaurant. At home, I have control over what goes in and on my food. At a restaurant - or on a cruise - I don't. 

I hope you now understand the challenge that faces a diabetic. It really is more than just "manage it like you do at home". 

Thank you! I did have my account flagged, but I'll definitely contact the Access Office as well. 

I was diagnosed Type 2 diabetic in April of this year. I am on medication and also managing my diabetes with a low-carb diet. I refuse to throw all my hard work to the wind for a vacation, but I also refuse to throw my vacation to the wind for a disease. (Girl has already found some drinks that would be tasty and sugar-free! 🍹🍺🍷)

What tips have my fellow cruisers found for cruising with diabetes? In regards to food, how careful do you have to be about hidden sugars in foods?

During our first cruise, my DD was 12yo. We sailed with another family on Carnival and the rule was that she had to be with someone - even her friend who was 13yo was acceptable. Last year's cruise on NCL (Getaway), she was a new 14yo and had a lot more freedom. She went to the Glow Party and the teen club by herself with no issues as well as back and forth to the cabin.

We paid for the texting function each time and she knew to answer if I called/texted. Having said that, the text functions are not perfect and calls/texts will drop. (I discovered on this last cruise that the trick is to reconnect the app whenever you get where you are going.) Really only you can determine the maturity level of the kids involved and how far you can trust them. 

3 minutes ago, albertamom said:

 

Only one of you needs to book and pay for it (so $599 will cover all 3 of you).  Your picture has a check-mark beside each of your names, so I just wanted to be sure that you knew that.  

I did not so that is great to know. Thanks! And now that you  mention it, I finally see the spot on the description that actually says that. Doh!

On 6/6/2019 at 1:31 PM, Wendy&Grumpy said:

 

"Oceanview Villas at Silver Cove" are now available for online booking. I have confirmed with Shorex that these are only available for those booked in Haven or Suite cabins. (Shown is the pricing for Thanksgiving week 2019 on Breakaway - pricing does vary. :))

 

On 6/6/2019 at 2:30 PM, albertamom said:

I just booked the Oceanview Villa at Silver Cove for our Breakaway cruise in February, and we are not in a suite.  It was the same price that Wendy&Grumpy paid above.  I read an article somewhere online that said a small number would be available for non-suite/haven guests.

The Oceanview Villa is available to book and we are not in a suite or Haven. The price is significantly different though and way out of my comfort zone.

11 hours ago, Birdie And Sue said:

 

 

What the heck does dog boarding have to do with it?

 

If you have questions about a support animal this is relevant. https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

 

 Bwahahaaa!  The OP was making a joke that if their cruise left in 2019 but didn't come back until 2037, they would have excessive dog boarding fees.  Pretty sure they weren't asking about a service animal. Unless they have kids, of course. 🙂

We will be docking in San Juan from 4pm to 10pm. Anything to do at that hour?

15 hours ago, Fouremco said:

 I always carried an old pharmacy pill bottle in my test kit to hold used lancets and test strips. 

This ^^. I've also found an empty water bottle works well too since both the used needles and lancets are capped before disposal. 

On 5/18/2019 at 2:54 AM, Griller said:

Speaking as a diabetic I can easily self select what is suitable and what is not from the menu, what can a Head Waiter do to improve on that?

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Even fast food outlets in many countries now state on their menus the calories in their products, with knowledge of the ingredients this can give more than a hint to diabetics to the glycemic index of them.

But can you (easily self select)? I am also diabetic and on a low carb, no sugar diet. Without seeing the ingredient list (which is generally not located on the menu), I cannot (and most restaurant staff cannot) determine if there is sugar in an item. There are approximately 56 names that sugar hides under any of which can spike my blood sugar levels. You also cannot tell from a restaurant menu what else is added to a dish. For example, I have a friend who adds sugar to her green beans. I would expect green beans to be fine for a diabetic, wouldn't you?

I absolutely depend on my waiter to help me when it comes to determining what foods I can and cannot have at a restaurant. There have certainly been times I have been surprised by an answer. 

Unless something has changed since November, NCL doesn’t use proximity or chip cards... It’s all mag stripe for everything.

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Magnetic hooks!! Work on most walls and in the bathroom.

 

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I wasn't even hanging something heavy. A lightweight sweater, I believe. It was very disappointing.

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I use a USB power hub now. It's smaller than a power strip, and I've never had any problem's getting in through security, ship or plane. Works so well I've bought two of them one for travel and one I use at home.

 

https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-Charger-Desktop-Charging-Technology/dp/B00OQ19QYA/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1534606685&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=usb+power+hub&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Charging-Station-Multiple-Devices-Simultaneously/dp/B0754FDXLQ?crid=UOW15FPIIBEM&keywords=multi+usb+charger&qid=1534681969&sprefix=Multi+usb&sr=8-19&ref=mp_s_a_1_19

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Actually, I bought a holder for the card so that no hole has to be punched. The back is open so hopefully I won't have to take it out to be scanned.

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Thanks!

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Are the cruise badges oriented vertically or horizontally? I am getting a holder/lanyard for mine.

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So basically, L1211 is blowing smoke....................

Not necessarily. It is entirely possible to connect to the ship Wi-Fi from outside of the ship. If you check your Wi-Fi availability right now, I'm sure you'll see that you could potentially connect to internet of places you are not currently in. Same concept.

Being connected to the ship Wi-Fi will also allow them to utilize the ship app. This should give them access to make reservations.

It's all really very logical.

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Generally a beverage package will have a percentage gratuity (15-20%) added based on the value of the package. When you order a drink there will be no charge, but staff should have received a tip based on the package.

 

If you are a moderate drinker, you should not have stiffed anyone by not tipping extra. If you are a heavier drinker you might want to tip occasionally since the weighted amount of the tip would be less in that case.

 

I don't remember if we signed $0 receipts or not. If you sign for a drink you should be able to add a tip via your ship card if you don't want to carry cash. Cash is certainly appreciated though too.

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As others have said, you are covered for all expected tipping for housekeeping and dining room, including buffet and other included dining venues. You don't need to tip any more unless you receive better than expected service. Then give additional tips at your discretion.

 

At bars and lounges, any extra cost drink will have an 18% gratuity added to the cost of the beverage. The bar servers are not part of the gratuities you have already pre-paid.

 

Carnival, as with most American based cruise lines, has a tipping culture. You can either pre-pay, as you have done, or the amount will be added to your on board account on a daily basis. Carnival also allows the gratuities to be removed. This is to provide you the ability to adjust for less that expected service, which is rare. Unfortunately, there are some not so nice people who will remove the gratuities completely and claim they tip personally to only the people they want. I am sure that a few of these people actually do that, but it is the general consensus on these boards that the majority of these people do it for their own personal gain, keeping the tip money for themselves rather than to the service staff who earn it and depend on it for their wages. And then there are the people who remove the gratuities and do not even attempt to make excuses, instead unabashedly admitting they do it because they don't believe in a tipping culture.

 

Please, be kind and gracious to your service staff. They work hard to make you cruise memorable. They take these jobs to be able to make a better life for themselves and their families in their home countries. They all are on lengthy contracts that have them working 7 days per week for 6 to 8 months at a time, away from their family, with little time off. Treat them well - and with the same respect you ask of them.

I want to pick this post up and cuddle it, I love it so hard. :D

I found this thread when looking for information on tipping bartenders when cruising with a beverage package. I'm on Norwegian with an Ultimate Beverage Package. I've seen where bartenders are not included in the pre-paid service charges, but also that the 20% gratuity is automatically tacked on to the price of the drink. So do I need to have cash on hand to tip the bartenders? Or not?

I'm not getting in to the ethics of tipping, just wanting to make sure I don't accidentally stiff someone giving me a service.

We are 77 days out from our Epic cruise and I am not getting the upgrade offer when I log in. Does that mean the TA I booked with is not participating in the program? It is not a big deal for this cruise as we booked the Haven and I do not want to spend more, but we have a cruise in January booked through the same company that I was planning on bidding for an uograde. I will be cancelling and rebooking with someone else if I am not going to get the chance to bid. Thanks!

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I am totally geeking out over the cruising ducks. For those of you who have done/did this, where are some places that you hid the ducks? We'll be on the Norwegian Getaway in October.

That's what we are afraid of. We deliberately avoid our downtown here and Tybee Island beach during the tourist season because we hate the tourist crowds. It just seems so different than when it is just us locals.

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So I've seen several answers regarding the Splash Academy for younger kids, but what about the teen hangout - Entourage?

I wouldn't expect to tip as much as for a younger child since teens are naturally more self sufficient, but it seems those counselors are also offering a direct service.

Has anyone ever tipped the Entourage staff?

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