Mum2Mercury

No, no, don't bring a wet towel back to your room. When you're done at the pool, stop by the Towel Station and exchange for fresh towels -- only store fresh towels in your room. Pro: If you decide to hit the hot tub super early (or late), you have towels, even if the Towel Station is closed. Con: More than once I've forgotten my towels and had to turn around and go back to the room to get them.

Several thoughts: - I like the idea of the app showing how many towels you /your room has checked out. - A method to minimize towel problems: Check out your towels on Day 1 and never return them -- just exchange them for fresh towels (until the last evening, obviously). The fewer times your number goes in and out of the computer, the fewer opportunities for human error. - On the last evening of a cruise, I always ask the towel station attendant, "Do I have any towels checked out?" Perhaps with two cabins, it'd be smart to check both rooms. - While I hate the idea of charging, I do remember (thinking way back) leaving beaches and seeing blue towels all over the place. Carrying a wet towel back to the ship isn't fun, and a lot of people used to take the path of least resistance.

First, what do you expect to carry to the beach? When my kids were small, I used to carry multiple towels, lots of sunscreen, and beach toys. - Back then I liked to carry a large mesh bag; mesh is lighter weight, and it lets the kids' sand fall out. I definitely wanted everything in ONE bag. - Now I carry less -- just my own stuff. I've been using the same bag forever, and it's not what most people like: it's a bath bag that my MIL gave me; originally it held Bath & Body Works products. It's about the size of a 6-pack of sodas and is just right to carry my Kindle, sunscreen, sunglass-readers, and a few more things. I roll my towel up small, and it fits on top /is sandwiched in by the handles. Second, do you need to bring things that need protection? - You probably want to carry your phone when you disembark at an island, but do you really need it at Coco Cay? Do you need it around the ship? - I bring my Kindle to Coco Cay, and I'm not all that worried about leaving it on my chair when I get into the water -- I cover it up, but I don't think my fellow cruisers really want to steal someone else's Kindle, especially when that person is nearby. When I go to lunch on Coco Cay, I leave my towel /sunscreen on the beach chair but bring my small beach bag with my Kindle. That's just my comfort level. - At a beach on an island, I would be more careful. My husband has swim trunks with a zippered pocket, and he carries our ship IDs, money and credit cards on his person. - In addition to your beach bag, consider getting an around-the-neck phone holder that you can take into the water. Such a thing would be over-kill on the ship. On the ship, I'm okay leaving my phone in my bag /covered up. But I'm not okay with that on the islands. Those rings are a good idea. You don't have to (and, truthfully, cannot) make your bag completely theft-proof -- you just have to make it less desirable than the other bags on the beach. Make your bag harder to access, and the thief will pass you by.

I don't know about Carnival, but Royal requires you to set up an onboard account -- typically with a credit card -- and you give them permission to charge any onboard purchases (drinks, tee-shirts, spa treatments, restaurant meals) to that card. You can't use cash on the ship -- except for extra tips. And maybe in the casino? Not sure, as I'm not a gambler. Setting up a cash account OR using a debit card seems to have a few drawbacks. Here's a different thought: Buy yourself a VISA gift card and use that to set up your onboard account. This means Royal can't attach themselves to your checking account, as mentioned above. I'd get a little more money than you expect to need -- and if you don't use it all, you can use the card at the grocery store once you're back home.

If you're boarding at 1:00 (and are physically capable), it makes perfect sense to roll your own luggage onboard. Your rooms will almost certainly be open upon boarding -- or very shortly after. We drive /arrive a day early, so we always claim the earliest boarding time, and we drop our luggage with the porters. Because our luggage goes in first, it always beats us to the hallway.

We have an old Target gift card that stays in our travel wallet -- so it lives with our passports, Crown & Anchor cards, etc. If it were lost, we wouldn't care. We're not wasteful. We don't leave the lights, etc. on when we're out of the room, BUT we want the air conditioning to stay on, and we want anything we've left charging to keep charging. No, DO NOT pay for a card. You have dozens of things laying around the house that'll serve this purpose.

Random thoughts: - Your kids'll be able to get all the lemonade, iced tea and water they want all day -- pick-up-and-go cups are always waiting in the Windjammer and a couple other places. Sometimes they have fruit punch. - Juice and milk are available at breakfast. You can bring some back to your room and have it later in the day. If this is appealing to you, you might want to bring a couple wide-top water bottles for this purpose. - Without a package, you can buy canned sodas from a bar (or in the dining room), but you will not be able to use the Freestyle soda machines. Individual sodas, once you add in mandatory tax, will run almost $4 each. - Because we are low-carb and even the lemonade is kinda high in sugar, we bring those little "tubes" of drink mix. My daughter prefers the squirt-bottles of drink mix. - You can bring a 12-pack of sodas onboard when you embark. You can also bring 1-2 cans back from island stops easily -- they scrutinize plastic bottles but don't care about unopened cans of soda. If you tell the kids "that's it -- we're not buying at ship prices", it's a way of limiting their soda. - When my girls were teens, I did buy them the soda package. I knew they'd be away from me, and I didn't want them to feel they "had to" finish a drink because they'd paid for it. I don't think it was a great financial decision; I did it for safety.

The best "hamper" is your suitcase. Lay it in the bottom of your closet and drop in dirties. At the end of the trip, zip it up -- your packing is done! No extra item to bring, no extra weight to carry. Another good option for a small night light is Dollar Store glow sticks. We started giving them to our kids for camping trips -- the soft glow is just enough for them to take to bed in an unusual place -- but we started using them for other vacations. This is true! Last time we were in Cozumel, one of my bills was really old /looked like it'd been under a coffee cup. The cashier asked me politely if I had another bill. Yes, I make a copy for myself and a copy for my husband, and we both tuck them in the bottom of our carry-on backpacks. We've never needed them, but -- worse come to worse --it's good to know that we each have a print copy of our insurance info, our OBC info, etc. If you don't want to spend on another travel gadget /pack another travel gadget, just take your suitcase down to the gym. They have scales. If you have two people in the cabin, you'll have more than enough storage ... an open shelf + hidden storage in the bathroom, lots of hidden storage at the desk /dresser. The over-the-door thing takes up more space than it's worth and brings all your clutter out into the open. I do like bringing a small bedside clock. Yes, I have my phone, but it's sometimes over on the desk charging. I have a small home laminator, which is more handy than you might imagine -- great for laminating luggage tags. Laminating a standard page (which can be 3 luggage tags) costs ten cents. Do you have Google Wallet? Very handy. Not only does it "hold" your credit cards, it also holds tickets -- museum tickets, concert tickets -- and grocery store loyalty cards. I've never sent my boarding pass to Google Wallet, but now I'm wondering if it'd work. But don't use such things unless you have A LOCK on your phone.

I wish you much happiness in it!

No to lanyards. Yes to more cash /fewer clothes. We do enjoy having a couple magnetic hooks to keep our hats and paperwork up /off the limited counter space. ENO hammocks are the best, as they can be pitched anywhere. The cabin steward will give you an extra blanket. The room will not contain pen /notepads -- we don't even see these in hotels anymore. We never bring enough that we'd need extra bags to carry it home. Open your suitcase in the bottom of the closet and use it for dirty clothes -- no need to bring anythings extra. Drop in a few dryer sheets. Yes, bringing your own sodas is a frugal choice. Ladies will appreciate having their own shampoo /conditioner -- the all-in-one stuff is fine as body wash but not as shampoo. Yes to bringing over-the-counter meds. That's one area not to skimp. In that vein, bring plenty of sunscreen and chapstick -- such things cost so much more on the ship or in port. Think about bringing an analog watch. You know it won't switch time zones on you. I have a small watch on a carabiner, which I keep clipped on my backpack. I enjoy having a small pool bag to for use on the ship. I think mine's actually a bath bag -- it was originally a gift from my MIL and was full of Bath & Body Works products.

Too little, too late. Speaking only for myself and my husband, we're done with Nassau.

I'm sorry y'all'll be missing a great port, but this is a rather unprecidented event. The real victims here are the honest citizens of Hati who are just trying to live their lives peacefully. For them it's more than missing a beach day.

No, I think it was two years ago that we said we'd never set foot in Nassau again, and we were 100% serious about that. We don't feel that way about any other port. Agree. About two years ago I attended a full-day teacher workshop at the dump /recycling plant, and I enjoyed it more than Nassau. No exaggeration.

We sailed Indy last December without a bit of weather trouble, but that's no promise that this December won't be different.

I'd be more concerned with Nassau. They always have multiple ships in port, and the pathway between the dock and the city is jammed with people shoulder to shoulder. You have to pass through a bottleneck, and I genuinely felt unsafe -- if anyone had fallen or if anything bad had happened, people could have been trampled. And we didn't get off the ship first; that is, we weren't in the initial crush of people. We agreed we're never leaving the ship in Nasasu again -- unless we opt for an excursion that leaves from the dock /doesn't require going into the city. If you're doing the water park in Atlantis, I wouldn't pay for a second water park the very next day. Personally, I'd skip all the paid options and head for the far side of Coco Cay. Go to South Beach and keep moving right -- you'll have to walk back to South. Beach for food and rest rooms, but you won't be crowded. In the picture, South Beach is at 1:00 ... notice the remote area to the right.

Asking the obvious question: If ladders are a problem, why this particular excursion? So many are available, why not make a different choice? Tweaking the question: What kind of experience do you want to have on this island?

Another option: Can he get take-out?

We usually sail Guaranteed, and we've always had a room number within 1-2 weeks of sailing. If I didn't, I'd do two things: - Use the bar code trick. Pull up your boarding pass on your computer. Use your phone to scan the bar code. Voila -- your cabin number will appear at the end of the string of numbers. I've used this many times to learn my cabin number a few days ahead of assignment. It's always been right. - Call Customer Service and ask them. Tell them you're nervous about traveling to your port without knowing your room number -- that's not a lie. You're not likely to run into trouble, but I'd be willing to call to know the cabin number. Call either early in the morning or late at night (they're open until 11:00), and you'll get through quickly.

To answer your original question, ABSOLUTELY people cruise without the drink package. I think MOST people cruise without the drink package. Before you decide to pay that large amount of money, consider: - How many days will be at-sea vs. ashore? You won't drink as many drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) on shore days. - You're allowed to bring 12 non-alcoholic beverages + 1 bottle of wine onboard. Realistically, each person can bring this much. - You can bring 1-2 drinks back from each shore stop. They don't look twice at aluminum cans, but they check bottles. - Without cost you can get tea (iced or hot), coffee (iced or hot), lemonade, fruit punch, and juice or milk at breakfast. The water onboard is purified same as bottled water. - If you're not picky about cocktails, the ship offers a "special of the day" every day, and it's a couple dollars cheaper. - If you're sailing on a ship with a Playmakers, they offer a pitcher of beer for a good price. - The pool bar (only the pool bar) on all ships offers a Bucket of Beers, which is like paying for 4 /getting 5. - When you're doing your calculations, don't forget to add 18% to your total. That's significant. - If you want the drink package for convenience but will only drink a few drinks each day, add up your anticipated amount and buy that much On Board Credit. You've just created your own right-sized drink package.

No, they have other cabin categories as well. Agree -- let's keep complaining about this. Royal needs to hear that we do care. How pretentious. They had some wrong answers in Game of Thrones trivia too. Agree that all seats are good, but front row is B.E.S.T. -- BEST! And then once you've put money down you feel committed. You're not going to price other lines if you've put money down. It's a brilliant marketing idea. I always pick what I'm going to reserve before we board. I don't like to feel rushed. And bring $35 for that chair /umbrella. That is incredibly rude. Drives me crazy. We always do this on the first day -- preferably before lots of people board. We like to go to the tippy-top and circle our way down.

Positives of cameras: - The lens on a new phone won't beat the lens on a good-quality point-and-shoot. - The batteries in a point-and-shoot will outlast a phone. - They're better for action shots, though not nearly as good as a DSL. Negatives: - It's easier to post to social media if your images are in your camera. - They require carrying a separate item. Again, I taught photography for 18 years.

The Solarium is one of my favorite places on a ship, and I've seen the same. However, I don't think that's a tough one for the crew to enforce -- either you are or you're not a child. Other rules are less cut-and-dry. And it can go the other direction. I remember going to out to get my hair cut at 37 weeks pregnant. I ran into a college friend whom I hadn't seen in years, and she didn't notice I was pregnant. I was wearing a sweatshirt and looked like I'd just gained a few pounds. Scofflaws -- had to look it up. Thanks for teaching me a new word! I think you're just about right with that number. Often my husband and I ask one another, "How do these people stay alive?"

I've never been into video, but -- yeah -- if you do like taking videos, you should make that a part of your choice. Consider, too, that video eats up battery faster than still pictures. And, having taught photography for 18 years, I'm still a devotee of the "real camera". Today's point-and-shoots have come a long way. Have you considered Lands End swimsuits? I'm in my upper 50s now, and I like them because they're made with more support. They're also available in a D cup. If you end up skipping the swimsuit, do consider a shorts-and-tank-top type outfit that you could wear on the pool deck. I think you'll end up wanting it, and it doesn't take much space in the suitcase. I had a pair of Sketchers hiking boots, and I wore them until they fell apart. Typically I advocate for "no repeats" in shoe categories, but since you're going to do a lot of walking in Europe, a second pair might be worthwhile. For example, when we were in Cozumel a couple months ago we were caught in a downpour, and my sandals stayed soaked until the next day ... but I was able to wear my tennis shoes. Consider what'd go with your shore outfits in a similar situation. All my swimsuits are Lands End /all came from Ebay. I know my Lands End size, so I haven't been disappointed in size, and prices are very reasonable. Buying used is also Earth-friendly. Several thoughts on this topic: - In all fairness, a lot of people don't really know how to use all their camera's features. - The Digital Divide is real. About 1/3 of my students -- and we're talking current high school students, those who've never known a world without computers and cell phones -- are computer idiots. Seriously. This 1/3 can surf the internet like champs, but they can't problem shoot and don't read instructions online. They're confused by instructions like, "Print only page 3 of this 10-page document." Anything that requires more than two steps confuse them, as do downloads. They are consumers of technology /not users of technology. - Cruising with a cell phone is easier now /will probably become even more of a convenience. BUT I don't think it'll ever be "impossible" to cruise without one.

Putting time aside, here's what you need to know. Traditional dining is tightly scheduled; that is, everyone at all tables gets appetizers at the same time, then entrees at the same time ... the kitchen /their pick-up lines are set up to do it this way. If you choose Traditional dining, you should be on time. It's what you're signing up for. People will arrive a little early and wait for the doors to be opened. On the other hand, My Time Dining is more like going to a restaurant. You might be starting your appetizers while the people at the next table are finishing their dessert. Their pick-up lines are set up differently.

Pretty much every cruise we've taken has had a couple groups on board -- not always big enough to call them a "partial charter", but groups are very common. We've never sailed with a group that was a problem. I take the stairs almost exclusively ... unless I'm wearing heels or unless I'm going more than three floors up.