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On 2/9/2020 at 6:50 PM, gmbhardy said:

In October, iMessage worked on the Seaside also.

That's good to hear! We are looking at the Seaside for next fall/winter with our kids! Maybe it will be working then, as well. 👍

So, just in case anyone is still interested in this—we just got off the ship today, and our iMessage worked without a data plan! We were about to purchase the texting plan, and decided to try it first. Good thing we did, because it worked! So we saved $80! 😂🎉 We did not activate our MSC for Me guest messaging, and just texted each other, as well as our family back home. We were also able to use Facebook Messenger on and off randomly.

How crowded was it? From looking at photos, it looks kind of busy... but everyone seems to really like it, so it can't be that crowded? Did you feel like you had enough space?

11 hours ago, Até said:

Most cruise lines have closed the system flaw that allowed certain iphones to send messages over the ships intranet.  I did not test this but suspect Meraviglia has fixed this problem.  The MSC for Me app has a function that allows communication between those on board to message each other over the ship's intranet, without an internet plan.  Messaging people not on the ship will require an internet plan.

Yeah... that sounds about right. I will give it a shot and see what happens. We will use wifi in our ports, but on sea days and Ocean Cay, we may just have to pay a bit to our cell provider.

Someone told me that they were able to use iMessage on the Meraviglia without having an internet plan. From all of my other research, I thought you had to have the internet package to access iMessage. But this person said they were able to message people OFF the ship for free via iMessage. Just trying to plan ahead (we won’t be buying an internet package—all we want to do is message our family once a day to check in, so the package isn’t worth it to us). Worst case scenario we can pay our phone company, but if this is an option, that would be fantastic! Just seems too good to be true...

On 12/31/2019 at 2:33 PM, APDMOM said:

TV Studio and Bar:

 

TIP: This is where you pick up your tender tickets if you visit a tender port like Belize. People seemed to have trouble finding it, but it is the lounge across the way from the pub.

 

Tender tickets? Going on my first MSC cruise next month on the Meraviglia. I’ve tendered on Carnival and RCI before, and we just head down to the deck and board the tenders first come first serve, but it sounds like you have to book a ticket on a tender on MSC? I’m assuming that’s just for your outbound tender (you don’t have to book your return tender)?

Also, thanks for this amazing review! I love to plan for a vacation, and I feel so prepared now! Our cabin is just down the hall from yours—a Fantastica balcony, but on the starboard side, towards the aft. I was really glad to hear that you didn’t have much vibration—that was our only concern with that location.

4 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Most recently we visited a new location Malecon21, near Sulumar and enjoyed it very much and will return in February. I have a review in this thread

...

One ceveat for Costa Maya, depending on the season, sargassum can be a serious problem which if it is present will be a problem at all locations along the bay. Some will do a better job than others at clearing but at its worse can be overwhelming. We have experienced great, seaweed free days and, not so great.

 

Thanks, I'll check out your post! We are going in February, as well! So, hopefully the seaweed is not bad...

On 1/1/2020 at 10:43 AM, c-leg5 said:

 Whilst that is expensive for a 5 minute ride and that is certainly the tourist rate I am OK with that but it seems they are trying to charge $4pp now. I am not OK with $16 for a five minute ride squashed in a taxi for 4.

Can I ask which beach you have gone to using this method? We are looking to do exactly this--take a cheap taxi ride to a nice beach. Getting mixed reviews on beaches. Sounds like you found one you liked?

Thanks for the info/photos! Since we booked fairly close to sailing, it was down to this style balcony or a few cabins with smaller balconies with glass railings, directly across from the elevators, so we stuck with this one, lol. It would be nice to see the water from bed, but that's fine. I'm excited to have breakfast on the balcony! 😁

We booked a particular balcony cabin because the balcony is a bit bigger than the other options in that category, but then I realized that it is showing as having a "metal balustrade." I can't find any images online of what that looks like. Trying to figure out if our view will be obstructed. We haven't paid our final payment just yet, so I can call and switch. Any recommendations?? It's the MSC Meraviglia, Cabin 11257.

51 minutes ago, NewlyMrs.Kilday said:

 

Thanks so much for sharing this info! We are also going on the Navigator with our 2 year old in September so I’ve been trying to read everything I can to help plan. Do you remember if there were times during the day available to bring them to the nursery? We aren’t planning on getting off the ship in Nassau and it might be nice to have an hour or two to just relax by the pool kid-free 🙂

 

Also, how does it work for bringing them there at night and bedtime? Do they put them in something to sleep or what are the sleeping arrangements like? I can’t imagine my daughter sleeping anywhere that’s not dark and with her sound machine lol Thanks for your help! 

I believe there are hours all throughout the day, but I don’t remember what time they open, and we only used them during dinner time... sorry! As far as bedtime, you just pack anything she would need (jammies, toothbrush,  blanket, etc), and they have a little crib area. I would imagine they darken the room at some point. We picked our son up before bedtime, so he never got to sleep there, but I know a lot of other people did, so they probably have a good routine for it (sound machines or music maybe).

I hope it goes well! We LOVED the Navigator!

So, I meant to post here again right after our trip, but it’s been a couple of months. We used Royal Babies and Tots on the Navigator of the Seas in May and had a great experience! Our 2 year old was being very clingy, and so we only really used them one night, but they were great! The first night onboard we stopped by and checked out a big bag of toys. We got to look through a catalog and my son could point to the toy bag he wanted! Too cute! (Just make sure you don’t lose or break them, because they have some crazy steep replacement fees!) The first night we attempted to use the nursery, my son wouldn’t settle down, and they called the deck phone they gave me to see if we wanted to pick him up. I gave them some suggestions and they tried them, but eventually I ended up picking him up. They were very patient and kind and didn’t even charge us for that night, despite him being in the nursery about an hour. The second try went better and he settled down. They gave us a list of food options for him, and there were plenty of foods he likes. It was all basic “kid” foods, from the regular Windjammer menu.

Also, I like their booking system—I was worried they wouldn’t have the openings we wanted, but they were able to book all the time slots we wanted. (We had another evening booked, but ended up canceling midday because we stayed on CocoCay literally until the last minute possible! 😂)

13 hours ago, BNBR said:

I would do Blue Lagoon, personally.  They have early tenders back shortly after lunch as well.  You board the ferry/tender at the dock by your ship.  Ride over to the island.  So easy, safe transportation and not much walking either.

 

Since it's a lagoon, it's crystal clear, white sand, shallow, and no waves. It's absolutely perfect for a 2 - 4 year old and you can still go out a bit deeper and swim if you want.  When ours were 2 and 4, we brought them there and it was great.  Been 3 times as it's just so good for toddlers.

 

Atlantis isn't that great and it's a ton of walking.  The beach is a long walk from the main entrance, can be hit or miss there since it's exposed and a ton of pushy vendors and it's a public beach without great facilities.  Then a long, long walk back to the water taxi.  Wouldn't be my choice at all with a 2 and 4 year old.  I've stayed at Atlantis, by the way, I'm very familiar with it.

 

So, I know you can book outside the cruise line, but I'm looking at RC's Excursion site and found a Blue Lagoon Beach Day and Stingray Encounter that seems like a great deal ($49pp). It says you have to be 4 years old to do this... so I'm not sure if that means we could bring our 2 year old and he just wouldn't be able to participate, or if he wouldn't be allowed on the tender at all? I may email them for clarification, but wondering how you booked for a child under 4, since you've been a few times.

4 minutes ago, britty1 said:

Today I called RCL to let them know that I would like to be seated at a table for 6.

I was advised that those requests need to thru the TA.  I asked about rcl_dining and advised

that I have used this before. Customer service said this process has been eleminated. 

Next, I try the TA, and received this message: "table assignments are on a request basis only and must be

confirmed onboard the ship with the dining manager."

Does anyone have information or advise.

That's weird, usually they will make a note of it, at least. We booked directly through RC and when I called to request sitting by our friends, they made a note and just said to have our friends confirm. Maybe if you used a TA it's different? You can also stop by the "office hours" in the dining room on embarkation day to request the table you'd like.

46 minutes ago, GarlicBread said:

 

Port days if all aboard comes after kids dinner time (5pm). Mainly because if parents are off the ship, what are you going to do with the kids checked into AO when they close at 5. All aboard 5 or earlier, then there may of may not be kids dinner (at least all the ships I've been on)…

I don't know if it's a new feature or not, but we were told about a program called My Family Time Dining. This is for if you're eating in the main dining room. You have to have a 5:30 dining time, and basically they rush the kids' food out first so they can eat, and then once they're done (I think around 6:00?), the AO staff (not the nursery), will meet the kids at the dining room entrance and take them up to AO to play while you finish the rest of your meal. We are traveling with friends and their kids, so all but our 2 year old can do this, and we're all happy with the idea! Hopefully it works smoothly!

9 hours ago, GarlicBread said:

 

For the nursery, depends on the ship/kid counts. Some ships (usually the busy ones who will def have kids for dinner) have a different order pre-put in every day usually including, chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, fries, pizza, pasta, salad, yogurt, cookies, and then things that change every day like chicken tenders, hot dogs, quesadillas, and they'll ask what you want from that. 

Other ships (the quieter ones who may or may not get kids for dinner) will ask what you want/ give you a few options and order it once your kids there. 

 

The food comes from room service because it has to be on a time control plan, meaning it can only be out for a certain time and then it cannot be served to kids (another reason why they ask for pre packaged snacks and formula to not be ready mixed), so also check with the nursery as to when the food will be there as that can vary a little ship to ship too...

Thank you! That's helpful! I'm really curious to see how busy this nursery will be--it's a larger ship (Navigator), but it's in May before schools are out, so maybe less families. We will find out shortly!

Thanks for the info--we are very excited! 😁

1 hour ago, BNBR said:

I would do Blue Lagoon, personally.  They have early tenders back shortly after lunch as well.  You board the ferry/tender at the dock by your ship.  Ride over to the island.  So easy, safe transportation and not much walking either.

 

Since it's a lagoon, it's crystal clear, white sand, shallow, and no waves. It's absolutely perfect for a 2 - 4 year old and you can still go out a bit deeper and swim if you want.  When ours were 2 and 4, we brought them there and it was great.  Been 3 times as it's just so good for toddlers.

 

Atlantis isn't that great and it's a ton of walking.  The beach is a long walk from the main entrance, can be hit or miss there since it's exposed and a ton of pushy vendors and it's a public beach without great facilities.  Then a long, long walk back to the water taxi.  Wouldn't be my choice at all with a 2 and 4 year old.  I've stayed at Atlantis, by the way, I'm very familiar with it.

 

I'm not familiar with Blue Lagoon, but it sounds perfect! I will definitely check it out! Thanks! 😀

I have a follow up question! We are taking our kids on their first cruise, and our youngest is 2, so he will be in the Royal Tots room. We will probably only use the nursery during dinner once or twice (although if it goes well, maybe thrice, haha!), and I’m just curious how the kids’ dinners go. Do they show you a room service menu or something? Or a list of foods in the buffet that night that you can choose from? Thankfully he is NOT picky, so I’m sure he will eat whatever I pick out, just curious about how that part works. My older son has a shellfish allergy, which I will talk to the Staff about, but we are going to do the My Family Time dining, so he shouldn’t be eating in Adventure Ocean, anyway. I plan on stopping by the kids area first thing when we board! 😊

1 hour ago, Theosprey247 said:

The Aquarium. The first time I took my kids to Nassau we just walked around, but they were older than yours.

I have actually been thinking about that! Did you think it was worth the admission price?

We are taking our young kids to Nassau and so far we're just planning on taking the water taxi over to Atlantis, exploring/shopping there, then walking to the free beach next door. I'm just wondering if anyone has found a great excursion for young kids (2-4 range), or another activity they enjoyed? We don't really want to drive anywhere since we won't have car seats for the taxi/bus. We will also have to head back to the ship around lunchtime for nap, anyway, so a half day is ideal (we'll be up early, anyway, haha!).

These photos are so great! We are cruising on Navigator in mid-May, and are so excited to see the "new" ship and "new" Coco Cay! I will probably look through these photos a hundred times in the next month and a half! 😁

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

$40???

Ever heard the term "pennywise and pound foolish?"

I’ve also heard “A penny earned is a penny saved.” Or a penny I can use on my cruise...

So, I think we might just do an Uber from FLL to a hotel on the beach in Miami, then Uber to the port the next day. The Uber estimate is about $40 for all 4 of us. Not sure what it will be from the hotel to the port, but probably $10-15? The Tri Rail is definitely cheaper, but I think this will be lot less hassle and time.

Yes, that's good to know that others use that system! We are definitely all about saving money, when we can, without sacrificing too much in opportunity costs. And we will have plenty of time both there and back (flying in the day before, flying out late afternoon after the ship docks), so I don't think we'll mind waiting for a shuttle. This may very well end up being what we use! Thanks for the help!

We are cruising out of Miami, but flying into FLL (using our Southwest points, which only flies into FLL). We are trying to cut down as much transportation cost as we can, and I saw that you can ride the train from FLL to Miami International Airport for $5 each (it will be a Sunday). So I am thinking we do that, then get a hotel in Miami that offers a free shuttle from MIA. And then the next day just take an Uber or something to the cruise port, since we will be pretty close. Anybody tried this before? I'd love to save $40+ getting from FLL to Miami, but if it's just an awful experience, that will be good to know. We ride the L trains in Chicago all the time, so we're used to public trains, subways, etc, in general.