Mum2Mercury

Never sailed out of Seattle, never sailed Holland -- so no help on those fronts. July is often HOT. Five will be a good age for a cruise. As soon as you board the ship, go register her for the kids' club; then keep an eye on the activities they have planned. Start talking to your daughter about what it'll be like /good manners. Google menus /kids' menus and talk to her about choosing an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. Kids always behave better when you prepare them. You don't need to pack much, and cruises aren't nearly as formal as they used to be. For dinners, my husband packs one pair of dark pants + 3-4 dress shirts. I assume my dinner dresses will all be worn twice. Limit yourself to 3 pair of shoes (tennis shoes, comfortable sandals, dress shoes) + water shoes, if you deem them necessary for your planned activities. If beach stops are part of your plan, bring a sand pail, etc. for your daughter -- if they're available during the vacation, they'll be expensive. Get something small from the dollar store, which you can abandon after the cruise. Aside from clothing, the only things we take are Kindles (don't count on the ship's libraries, some magnets to hold hats, etc. on the walls, maybe a large insulated cup ... I actually can't think of anything else. Let your daughter draw something nice for the door and attach it with magnets ... it'll help her locate your door in a sea of same-doors. You know your itinerary, so start choosing your island-stop activities. Go ahead and register for them before "the good stuff" (or the preferred times) are gone. Investigate procedures for Embarkation Day, Disembarkation Day, tipping. Do you have appropriate documents for boarding?

What a vacation that'll be! Thoughts: - I'd consider a side-to-side cruise (meaning, you'd sail from a ship at the same port). I wouldn't mind a repeat of the same meals, but I wouldn't want the same shows three weeks in a row. It wouldn't be bad to have a day "in between" to stay in a local hotel /use their laundry. - I agree that it's easier to stay in the same room, but I disagree with the qualifier SO MUCH EASIER. - Three sailings gives you options; you could splurge on a suite for one portion of the cruise, or you could indulge in a drink package for one part of the cruise ... without committing to the whole vacation for those expenses.

Yes, I filed a claim once when we had a sick child /couldn't go last-minute. We had full coverage through Royal's company -- this was before we realized we could opt for JUST medical and evacuation. They paid quickly and fairly. Again, we now choose JUST medical and evacuation. We could eat the cost of the cruise, if we couldn't go for some reason, and we don't insure our drive or our luggage or our teeth. JUST medical and evacuation.

You'll find things much changed -- a few for the bad, but mostly for the good. At nine, the kids're a good age to take on a cruise.

That makes sense. Similarly, we don't insure our drive to Florida or our night-before hotel (which would be easy to cancel). I totally agree with not over-insuring. My mother is about to turn 81, and I assure you she's nowhere near slowing down! Glad you seem to be the same. I don't see much sense in adding dental coverage for a cruise. It'd take something pretty bad to make me seek out dental treatment mid-cruise, and I have dental insurance at home ... it works out to essentially the same cost as two cleanings each year, so it makes financial sense. My children were both born missing teeth, and they had implants installed when they were high school seniors. The cost -- oooh, the cost -- even with insurance. But today they both say they literally never think of their implants -- they're just the same as natural teeth, so it was a good spend.

As I understand it, room service delivery exists outside the standard tipping system. As I understand it, food staff crew signs up for "extra work hours" to deliver room service orders -- optional for them, but they get nothing for those extra hours except the tips. Don't ask me for a source. It's something I have read here before, and it doesn't affect me, as we never order room service.

I just looked back at the prices I paid today, and I didn't remember them correctly in my above post -- at least in my daughter's single-person policy I had a 7 and a 2. Anyway, the point is that medical and evacuation only isn't expensive.

Well, let's talk about the real cost for JUST medical and evacuation insurance for a cruise. Prompted by this thread, I booked it just today for our upcoming cruise. We don't get comprehensive insurance; that is, we don't have cancellation insurance or lost luggage insurance; and we ONLY insure the cruise itself, not the drive down in our own car. That is, we're picking and choosing JUST what we deem important. Medical + evacuation insurance for me and my husband was just under $60 -- can't remember if I paid $57 or $58. Lots of people spend that per person /per day for a drink package. Our adult daughter has to have her own policy. $27. That's the cost of a fast-food meal for the three of us on the drive down. If we accept someone else's number of 30K for a medical evacuation, it'd take a lot of cruises to "get ahead". I agree with not over-insuring. We always choose modest policies and large deductibles, but I definitely want to keep medical insurance, especially since mine's literally free. My daughter spent two nights in the hospital recently -- $40,000, and that's just the hospital /not the doctor. My friend who had breast cancer told me numbers I found hard to believe -- one round of some treatments were literally the cost of a small car, and she had, I think, 16 of them. My husband is also a brainstem stroke survivor, and I had no idea the survival rate was so low -- kinda glad I didn't know when he was going through it. The doctor said he had the smallest possible stroke in the worst possible place. He didn't lose any speech or memories, but -- yes -- balance is a struggle. I'm mid-50s, but I have a plan: When I reach the point I can't manage on my own, I'll bring my grandson or great-nieces along as my caretakers. They'll be happy to have a free trip, and I'll have someone young and strong to carry my luggage and help me in whatever way.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon here, but definitely book as soon as possible. - If the price drops, you can ask for a match; whereas, if it goes up, you're locked in. - If you're choosing your own room, you'll have the best selection. If you want connecting rooms, which are in short supply, they'll still be available. - You mentioned Black Friday. Last year's sales on extras (excursions, drink packages, specialty restaurants) were pretty good. If you're already booked over Black Friday, you'll have the option of buying. Note that Black Friday sales tend to be on extras /not cruise tickets.

These prices are about right, but here's more information to muddy the waters: - Milkshakes and protein shakes will run about $8 (plus 18%). - You're allowed to bring 12 non-alcoholic beverages on board. You'll see a lot of people carrying a 12-pack of sodas, but you could also bring bottled water, Snapple, or whatever you like. You're also allowed to bring one bottle of wine. This is all supposed to be one per cabin, but -- realistically -- the terminal people don't know who's together. - You can also bring 1-2 sodas (or waters) back from your island stops without difficulty. - The water onboard is purified and tastes ... well, like water. You can bring a refillable water bottle (or a couple empty water bottles) and refill them yourself. For free. - You can order a case of water to your room /it'll be waiting when you arrive. The price isn't horrible. - I'm low-carb, and I don't like to drink my calories, so I bring on those little powdered tubes of drink mix. My daughter prefers the squirt bottles of liquid drink mix. Either way, you can bring all you like. - If you want an alcoholic cocktail and aren't too fussy, they always offer a drink-of-the-day, which is a couple bucks cheaper. - You can buy a bucket of beer at the Pool Bar only; it's kinda like paying for 4 beers /getting 5. Or if your ship has Playmakers Sports Bar, you can buy a pitcher for ... I forget how much, but it's kinda like paying for 2 beers and getting a pitcher. - If you bring nothing onboard and spend nothing on drinks, you won't end up parched. Without cost, you can always get water, lemonade, fruit punch, tea (iced or hot), coffee. At breakfast they have milk and juice; and, if you're going to want that later, you can bring some back to your room.

I'm guessing you're a first-time cruiser? - The Pool Bar is a large bar located by the Main Pool. - Some of the newer, larger ships feature TWO Pool Bars, almost side-by-side; they're called The Lime and the Coconut. Don't know why they gave them a new name. - The point is that you'll check in at the pool bar. Only the name of the bar is in question. In July, being high season, it will be harder to get seats. Do let us know later if you found it a worthwhile spend.

I'm sure you'd still need to go to one of the main pool bars to get your assignment. Do the larger /newer ships have a Pool Bar + Lime and Coconut Bar? Just making sure you know what you've reserved: You realize they're a deck above the pool, right? Your wife won't be able to sit in the casita and watch the kids swim. I can't imagine 9-year olds finding it fun to hang out by the jogging track.

And it's easier to justify Big Bucks X 3 days rather than Big Bucks X 7 days.

Ignore % off ... always look at the bottom line price. And don't forget to add the mandatory 18% gratuity before you decide whether to buy. No, it tends to go up closer to the cruise, and it will absolutely be more expensive once you're onboard. I wonder if your family members have been fooled by the Buy One Get One Frees or the Percentage Offs? Real math, that's the answer.

Hypothetically you're ahead of the game: - You're estimating what you would've paid for coverage over the years. - You're guessing at the severity of an illness /injury that hasn't happened yet. - You're imagining what an evacuation might cost from an unnamed location. While I understand your concept, that's a lot of moving parts. Yes, few of us will experience "the worst", but -- if it's our turn to have an emergency -- having money at the ready can smooth over an awful lot of problems. Yes, we definitely carry two separate cards. We once had a problem with a credit card on vacation, and it resulted in that card being "shut down" temporarily. Because we were in the US, I was able to make a phone call and got the card "up and running" again -- but, worse come to wose, we also had that second card. Yes, consider that almost certainly you'll be required to pay for treatment, and insurance will reimburse you. Consider, too, that those of us who do have the money to self-insure may not have it "at our fingertips". We could cover a huge medical bill -- not not out of our checking account. We'd have to move some money around. Being able to put it on a credit card is still important.

First, I'm sorry about your mom's health and your aggravation. Second, I'm not clear on what Royal's responsibility is after they get you off the ship and to a hospital. Hospitals have social workers to help with this type of thing. Yes, people become sick /injured on every sailing ... but I think being transferred off the ship is a fairly rare event. I'm quite sure it doesn't happen on every sailing. Agree. I understand being frustrated, but I don't think insurance will hold your hand through the emergency. I mean, I'm thinking about when a tree fell on our house after a hurricane ... yeah, insurance paid, but while Nationwide might be on your side, they didn't show up the next morning with a chainsaw. Jake from State Farm did not run out to Home Depot to bring us tarps. Prudential's Flo didn't offer us use of her bathroom or washer/dryer. They paid. That's what insurance does. So true! It's also smart to carry two different credit cards; it's not common for one to fail in any way, but it has happened to me -- on vacation. It also makes me think maybe I'm not carrying enough cash -- you know, for small things like taxis, meals. Thinking through "best practices" in case we should ever have an emergency during a cruise ... seems it'd be smart to store Royal Caribbean's main Miami phone number in your phone. Yes, know exactly what your insurance will do for you. Don't guess. Eh, disagree. You're just saying you have a different type of insurance -- you're arguing against trip-specific coverage, and I can understand that. Someone just said it can be 30K for a flight back home ... that'd be on top of medical care, etc. Even if you can pay that, you don't want to do so. You've been lucky. And, yes, the chances of you ever needing medical evac are minuscule ... but, if you are one of the tiny percentage, you'll be glad you were insured. Rhinovirus is a virus. I mean, it's right there in the name. I totally believe in vaccinations -- all hail Edward Jenner, Jonas Salk and the other brilliant scientists who gave us this wonderful protection -- they have changed our world. But, yeah, you can't vax against Rhino.

Yes, lines are shorter than they were in the distant past. Right. Everyone loses when they keep people waiting.

So does that mean that if you "cashed in" at 12:00 noon, you could have internet for that afternoon ... and the next morning?

I have seen terminal staff dividing people into groups based upon entrance times. Since I've always had the earliest entrance time, so I don't actually know what went on after we were admitted.

Yes, you can get a price match -- but you must call (or, if you booked with a TA, call that person). Not long ago I had a $200+ price drop, and all it took was a 5 or 10 minute phone call. People are always saying it's hard to get RC customer service on the phone: call early or late (they're open until something like 11:00 pm), and you'll get through quickly.

First, don't assume you'll be sea sick. I occasionally have trouble with car sickness and sea sickness on small boats, but I've never had a single moment of sea sickness on a cruise ship. They're much more stable than you might expect. Second, do bring OTC medication, but most people on this board will suggest Bonine rather than Dramamine, as it makes you less drowsy. Pay attention to whether you've bought 8 hour or 24 hour medication. Consider taking along Crystalized Ginger. You can buy it in the produce department at Harris Teeter, but it's also easy to make yourself; it's basically just boiling ginger in sugar water -- you can find recipes on the internet. It will give you INSTANT but short-lived relief. I cut mine up into small bits and keep it in a Tupperware so I can control how much I take at a time. Ginger ale falls into this same category, as do green apples. If you do find yourself sea sick, know that you need to do a "re-set". That is, go take some medication and a nap. Ideally you'd take a nap out on your balcony in the fresh air. I can't give any advice on panic attacks.

Speaking only for myself, I'll take Mexican over a hamburger just about every time -- especially since Windjammer serves burgers at every lunch and dinner.

I'm going to look at them with that in mind. Bars, even the corners, are crowded.

Nah, embarkation is going to be crowded -- it's just not fun regardless of the choices you make. Same for disembarkation. Then the ship will feel rather crowded until the rooms open, but then the public spaces will (mostly) be comfortable. You can always find quiet spots -- you just need to look around a bit.

I don't remember water features, but they look lovely in your photographs. I've never loved that place, but it is often fairly empty mid-day, and you'll have a view of the main pool deck and the water. I don't love that lounge, as it's definitely "interior" and on Day 1 I want to be outside (or at least feel connected to the outside). What kind of raffle are you expecting? Do know that even the winners aren't always winners. On a recent cruise, my husband won a coupon for $50 at the spa ... but you couldn't actually get $50 in products or services. I picked up a price list, and the cheapest item (a manicure) would've been something like $120 after the coupon. Please don't get your hopes up for free stuff like wine tastings and raffle winnings. The library is super close to cabins, and it's almost certain to be empty (or near-empty). It wins for convenience but loses for ambiance. FYI: When we've traveled with other people, we've used the library (or the Next Cruise office, or the Card Room -- depends upon where our cabin is and what's available on that ship) as a meeting place. Before dinner, for example, or early in the morning before leaving the ship, those spaces are almost always empty, and they're a perfect spot for a group to gather. To be clear, you can order a refrigerator to your room, but it'll be in your room -- you won't have access until probably 1:00. They'll have the doors to the cabin hallways closed, and you're not supposed to go in until the staff opens them. If I were you, I'd bring a small cooler with ice packs. I suspect you're bringing such a thing for transportation there and back.