mjkacmom

Shared and gifted mean the same thing in this situation.

On our last cruise our 19 and 20 year olds were 2nd in each cabin. We signed a waiver so they could order beer and wine, but NCL did not allow them to have corks and caps, we had to pay OOP for their drinks since they only had a soda package.

When I was a server in college I knew to be very nice to the hostess, it was in a tourist area.

You can bring as much wine as you wish for $15 a bottle.

https://www.newsweek.com/majority-americans-mistakenly-believe-violent-crime-worse-now-30-years-ago-poll-1641967#:~:text=The FBI data found that,they were three decades ago.

We always give a dollar or two for each drink, yes it’s a bribe, yes it works.

You said people treat cruises like Disney world, implying they shouldn’t treat cruises like Disney world.

Why would Disney world be any softer than on a cruise? There are way more people, and escape after the fact is much, much easier. Folks should always have their guard up, and trust their instincts. My kids were taught what to do in different situations, including running and screaming. I can’t think of many places on cruise ships where one would be alone.

Actually things are statistically safer, it’s the 24/7 media that skews our perception. I’ve lived in the same town my entire life, my kids attended the same schools we did, and were raised as we were (except they didn’t walk to school until 2nd grade).

Well, never had an issue and my kids rode bikes all over town at 10. I don’t know how many children you’ve raised, but I’ve gotten 5 into their 20’s and they’re fantastic traveler’s, and learned independence and situational awareness at a young age. The term helicopter parent wasn’t around when I was growing up.

You said they were late to clean cabins. Not all cabins can be finished by 11 am, some are getting serviced at 3 pm. Even with twice a day cleaning ours weren’t always serviced first thing, sometimes late morning or early afternoon (we are 7 in 2 cabins so there might’ve been times when someone put do not disturb on). Carnival and RCL are down to once a day cleaning, I suspect others will follow.

Sodas are included with the UDP. As for housekeeping, someone is first, someone else is last, I sincerely doubt staff is sleeping in and then enjoying a leisurely breakfast. At home my garbage gets picked up at 7 am and my mail comes around 4 pm, landscapers 8 am on Tuesday’s. Obviously they are all working all day.

None of my kids liked tween clubs, awkward age. Tried DCL and NCL and wouldn’t go back. They liked the younger groups and teen clubs. Maybe the older kids won’t even want to go.

Wow you really don’t drink much at all if $21 (so less than 2 drinks) would be more than you would spend on drinks, sodas, mock tails (plus being able to bring on unlimited bottles of wine for free). Some NCL ships have 1 MDR that doesn’t allow shorts for adults. I think of NCL as being very casual.

I don’t recall a tax in port Canaveral.

Only DCL and some RCL ships have small splash areas for diapered kids, the rest have nothing, so you made a good choice.

Yes and yes.

It’s always been noon for us.

Only some states have laws that state when children can be left alone, 37 do not. You must be in Delaware or Colorado. Illinois is 14, another state is 11, and the other states with laws are 10. My state has no law. I know my niece and nephew were left alone before in Illinois.

I don’t think they substitute, plus mock tails are not included in the soda package.

The OP’s 7 year old who was in charge of packing up the jewelry?

I thought RCL was $14 and NCL $15?

I usually tip extra, no more than $50. I have a big family, when we go out to eat we usually get a mandatory 15% gratuity added, sometimes I add more for good service.

I doubt most passengers paid for a vacation to commit crimes, especially a venue with cameras and other people everywhere, where there is no escape.

I walked close to a mile to kindergarten alone.