Essiesmom

I suggest if you need an egg crate mattress topper, you take your own. On Seaside last week, I asked cabin attendant for en egg crate topper and what I got was a second layer of the quilted mattress topper…which was minimally helpful. I slept better when I napped on the couch. EM

The Princess cruise has only one ‘port’, San Juan. Grand Turk and Amber Cove are nearly identical Carnival created ports with pool, shopping area, beach at Grand Turk and zip line at Amber Cove. Princess Cays is a beach. Of the other two, only Cozumel, Roatan, St. Thomas and Tortola are real ports, although there is nothing at Roatan unless you do an excursion. The other stops are created for cruisers. So for your kids, I would look at what the ships have to offer rather than itinerary, and scrap Princess. EM

@morpheusoftheseawe are in need of your list again…. EM

I’m happy in any cabin, booked Fantastica inside gty but bid on upgrade to Aurea balcony, lowest Aurea category. Just wanted to see what it was like. I won. Cabin and service was not any better than Bella and Fantastica balconies we have had before. The macarons and bubbly are wasted on me. Do not use the spa. I liked the My Choice dining, priority boarding was a bit confusing. I’m too old to lay out in the sun. It was okay, but next time I’ll book another inside gty and probably be assigned an obstructed balcony. EM

I used to do the tea lights, and later had usb powered Christmas lights that I attached to the mirror with a suction cup. But before my most recent cruise I ordered from Amazon motion activated lights on recommendation of someone on CC. I got a pack of two. It charges by standard usb, has on, off and auto settings, bright and less bright. It has a magnet on the back, and I stuck it on the wall across from the toilet. It went on when movement sensed, stayed on about 20-30 seconds, then a slight movement turned it on again. Pictures worth a thousand words:

Oh my, oh my are you uninformed. Every member of the US military pays social security. I know because I was one for 26.5 years, and a civil servant after that. EM

I think part of the debark and reboard problem, at least on Seaside, is that they try to do both at one gangway. They may have two open, but unless you get off early, when everyone is getting off, you may have to way for some returning guests to be dinged in before they ding you off. And when returning, there may be some late debarkers and the crew does them before dinging you back on. They may have more than one gangway open, but they always send you to the furthest…. EM

There are two threads about this on the second page, and another on the third page. EM

I do not believe federal employees are exempt from social security. On the old days, there was CSRS, the Civil Service Retirement System. Those hired while that system was in existence did not pay into SS. I believe the program was changed in about 1986 and replaced with FERS, the Federal Employees Retirement System. Those already in CSRS could continue in it, or participate in a combined program. New hires were FERS only. I’m not sure if CSRS was contributory, but with FERS the govt paid a certain amount and would match what the employee chose to contribute up to a certain percent. No longer sure of the details, as I retired from Civil Service in 2006. FERS employees all paid social security. I’m sure there are federal govt employees on these boards who have a better ( or current experience) memory than mine. EM

La Pergola is what I was referring to, and I don’t think Armonia has suites other than Aurea. EM

I don’t think what you found is an app. I think it is the link described in the first pinned topic at the top of this page, placing a shortcut to CC on the Home Screen of your phone. EM

Armonia had a separate dining room for Aurea. EM

I suggest you should also ask this on the Florida Departures board, under North American Homeports.

I’m speculating that Aurea has a separate dining room on ships/classes that don’t have Yacht Club

This the Seashore dining room on Seaside…when I was there for breakfast. But it was the same setup for dinner.

MSC does not allow any liquids to be brought onboard. Infant formula might be excepted. EM

Thanks. I have had lots of practice writing…. My high school best friend became a librarian, specializing in maps, and her husband taught geography at a small college in PA, to students who were mostly uninterested, thought it would be an easy grade. They found out differently. Anyway, they traveled extensively but only in North America. He had had a short Air Force reserve tour in Germany and a trip to South America. She wouldn’t fly, and he didn’t like ships, although they did do the Alaska Marine Highway. Anyway, when I was stationed in Germany I did a lot of traveling and wrote lots of descriptive letters home. I think my mother sent copies to all the relatives. After returning to the States I widened my travel sphere. And I found that my friend’s husband needed slides for his classes. Pictures of geography, architecture, costume, customs, cemeteries…. Yes, he did a module on death customs. I also started keeping a nearly daily journal to describe what I saw and what I thought/felt about it. My first big trip was a bit over two weeks to China in 1983. A lot more trips followed, and I have many boxes of slides. I stopped taking slides when he retired in 1996, and no prints after I went digital in 2004. I stopped keeping a written journal when I started traveling with a laptop. Not that I minded the writing, but arthritis in the hands made it tedious and not as readable. And it all had to be typed up when I got home, so with the laptop I could just print it out. Of course, the notebook was always there in case there was no electricity to charge the computer…like in Mongolia. One lightbulb three hours in the evening, except on Mondays. When I briefly visited Tunisia in 1978 I realized that I really wanted to visit places that were as different from my upbringing as possible. My criteria became: they don’t use the same alphabet, they don’t use the same kind of toilet, and the last criteria added was ‘you can’t drink the water’. Anyway, enough of that. Just glad someone enjoys reading it. EM

Many years ago, as head nurse in an OB clinic, I taught prenatal classes. In a rural town in GA. Our advice at the time was if you had a dishwasher, you did not need to sterilize bottles. If you were on the city water system, you did not need to boil water to mix formula. If you had a well, you could take a sample to the health dept for testing. Now, just think for a moment. Once your baby is throwing his pacifier or teething toy, on any toy onto the floor…everything you give the baby to play with goes into the mouth at some point. If you pick up that item and hand it back to him…it isn’t sterile. If you first rinse it off with water from the faucet…that isn’t sterile, and hand it back to him…it is still going into the mouth. Once your baby is crawling around on the floor…and putting hands, even feet, into mouth…what is the point of sterile water for formula. Now, I do realize that pediatricians in the UK seem to have stricter instructions as to formula, baby foods, etc. Maybe conditions in the UK are different.

MSC Meraviglia and RCI Anthem (Bayonne) will also be sailing from NYC area in that time frame. EM

If you are in Aurea, your table for two may be 6-10” from the next table for 2, which is 6-10” from the next….in a long row. EM

The lines that I have sailed with self service laundries have hours, usually closing by 10pm. EM

I believe BA is an Aurea balcony. EM

The sign says Baby Club under 3. You can take the baby there and stay with him during those hours. Baby care is when you can leave the child with them, maybe go to a show.

I got two offers on one of my cruises. Amounts were much lower on the second. EM

I believe I saw Sprite also. EM