Woodmnky

I carry sugar free Sweet Drops concentrated coffee syrups with me in case they don't have any sugar free. It is small, similar to water flavoring, and easy to carry in my purse. 

I was able to use the barcode trick at 45 days to see mine and it was official at 30 days.

Yes, but my ASD kid was unhappy with the peanut butter. I think the texture was slightly different than what he is used to. Now we travel with the small individual sizes of Jif and I grab a couple of jelly packets from McDonald's. So depending on how specific your kid is, you may want to consider bringing your own. 

The blanket pictured is for purchase.  I brought a vaccum bag to bring it home and my son loves it.

Yes. We are Emerald on Royal, so no huge loyalty benefits to even out the cost. We dont gamble, so no free cruises. 

I just booked Carnival Mardi Gras for next year. Mid ship extended Balcony with all the extras (gratuity, drink package, internet, specialty dining) was $400 cheaper than a Neighborhood Balcony Guarantee (with no extras) on Wonder for the same time frame. 

I don't expect that it will be the same as Royal, but when I can practically take 2 Carnival cruises for the same price as 1 on Royal I will give it a try. If we don't like Carnival and Royal's prices continue to sky rocket, we will likely stick to land based vacations for a while. 

We carry our water cups with us. I have found it easy to refill at the Windjammer, Park Cafe, Sorrento, Cafe Promenade, and more. Bars will also give you a glass of water to pour into your cup. I like ice cold water and have never had a problem finding it on Oasis or Quantum class ships. 

Can the 50% off beer, soda, and wine loyalty coupons be used on Coco Cay? We won't have a drink package and am wondering about grabbing a couple of cheap beers while at the beach. 

The official rule is that you can bring 12 non alcoholic drinks up to 17 oz each on-board with you on embarkation day. These should be in your carry on. 

We enjoyed the ship, but we're overall disappointed in the "Alaska experience" on Royal. We had previously cruised on Princess on an inside passage itinerary out of Seattle and found it to be much better. 

20 hours ago, Ashland said:

Go to the WJ put the sandwich together (bread/cheese etc) on a plate take it over to one of the cooks they'll grill it for him...No problem !!!

 

I always bring my burger (I like them well done) over to them and they put it on the grill and toast the bun (as their otherwise cold). I do this on every ship and it's not a problem and their so nice about it.

We have done this for our son. If they don't have bread use a hamburger bun with the outside pointed in. They had no problem throwing it on the grill for me. 

This is really cool. Thanks for sharing. 

We have brought them on several occasions without issues.

5 minutes ago, jeffporfirio01 said:

 

Hi.

We are doing our first RCCL from Civitavecchia in Aug. We have done 7 DCLs with our son who has been diagnosed with ASD.

Can I ask, what letter are you referring to? We have his logged his special needs with RCCL and it appears on the reservation. Our little one does not do well with waiting in lines, and eats a limited menu which we plan to address at the specialty restaurants as we have purchased the UDP

I received an email from Special Needs confirming that we have been added to the list for Priority Boarding. I show this email to staff because no one ever seems to know what "list" they are referring to. 

We have experience with this with our ASD kid. When arriving at the port I find an employee, show them the letter from Special Needs and they usually escort us towards the front if the line towards security. Our experience has been that you still wait in the security and check in lines as normal. If you arrive at the port before boarding begins, you can ask to be let on with the group that needs extra assistance. Overall, it just helps alleviate some of the waiting in lines. 

At disembarkation, each ship has been a bit different. One gave us suite tags so we could get off first, one had a group meet at a specified time and n employee escorted everyone needing this service off, and another ship acted like they had no idea what I was talking about and wasn't able to offer us anything.

The May 15th cruise is now going to Sitka instead. Less than 2 weeks notice. I am so disappointed. 

I don't recall which side of the Windjammer it is on, but there is a coffee bar as well. I visited it every morning on Harmony. 

What time have rooms been ready lately? I saw someone mention that it is later than it used to be since Room Stewards are now responsible for more rooms, but I'm wondering if this is actually the case. 

Just checked and this is the same for our May 15, 2023 Quantum cruise.

My favorites are assorted cheeses and fresh fruits. I know these are simple, but I love a variety of cheeses and don't buy them much at home. I also love a having a large variety of fruits to choose from, especially ones that I don't have to cut. 

2 hours ago, JuliaSugarbaker said:

We are cruising on Harmony in a few weeks in one room with our two daughters, so they will use the pullout/couch beds. Which service should we choose? I’d like the bed put away, so that we can easily access the balcony, but also don’t want to have to try to figure out and make the bed in the evenings. 
 

You would think the could at least come in a do the beds for people who are using the couch. 

We were on Harmony recently and took care of the sofa bed ourselves just because we wanted it done before we got ready in the morning. That said, I feel like putting the beds away is easier than getting them ready. You can just fold/stack the blankets and push the bed back in. I would choose evening service to have the beds made up and ready to go. 

Has anyone that has cruised with these new procedures reported on how the sofa beds are being handled? 

People often report that they are told that each shot of espresso will be an additional punch, so the large sized hot espresso or the iced are 2 punches on the card. If this is the case, you may be better off paying individually or getting the Refreshment Package. As mentioned, you can wait until you get onboard and ask to see what that ship is doing, so you can make a good decision. 

I like the Refreshment Package and work to stay low carb and limit sugar. I bring some Jordan's Skinny Syrup for specialty coffees. 

I often asked for drinks to be made with mostly club soda and then a splash of the regular drink mixes (strawberry, margarita, pina colada, ect). I found a splash was enough to flavor the drink without adding a ton of sugar.

We also need to bring these on-board. I pack a rolling carry on with those, my soft drinks, and bottled wine. This exceeds the carry-on drink allowance, but we have never been questioned. 

I have a neoprene lunch bag and bring my own cups with lids. Drinks and utensils in the bag, a plate with another plate on top for food. I am able to carry enough this way to have snacks/drinks for the 3 people in my party or a meal for 1-2. I have a kid with special needs who often needs a calm environment and is particular about food, so this works for us.