Mom.to.2

Hi guys,

 

A little off topic but we are cruising on the Voyager of the Seas in March, I was wondering if the kids have to pay to use the game centre (Video Games etc.)?

 

The arcade games are for a fee and they can add up quickly:eek:.

 

As another poster mentioned, there are gaming systems within Adventure Ocean that are included.

Does anyone know if the Freestyle Coke machines offer Diet, CAFFEINE-FREE Coke??

 

The freestyle coke machines in restaurants near my home do (have caffeine-free coke/diet coke.) I'm guessing they're the same machines as on the ship.

Oh, alright.

 

Grandeur of the Seas.

 

I'll leave it at that. :)

 

Interesting. Very interesting indeed. I didn't realize a definitive cause had been identified (albeit unofficial.)

 

Thank you for sharing.

No need to read between the lines. It happened exactly as I said. I had an outside oceanview cabin. He told me it was the last outside oceanview. He never even told me it was an accessible cabin. I found that out on my own. After talking to Royal Caribbean, they told me I had to go back to my travel agent to make changes, that they couldn't do it for me. So I called my travel agent and I then asked for an inside cabin and he told me the price of the cruise had gone up and that an inside cabin would cost $150 more. I never did ask for documentation. I just asked him to put my deposit on another cruise because it was the easiest way to do the right thing. I spent the extra money and changed cruises because I didn't want the accessible cabin and I wanted to do the right thing, not because I wanted the cabin but couldn't get the documentation.

 

I don't know much about booking a cruise, that is why I chose a travel agent. I obviously chose the wrong one and will not use them again. I NEVER intended to get an accessible cabin. When I found out he gave me an accessible cabin, He told me it was the last one available and assured me that they would assign the cabin to someone else if they needed it, I thought, "great, I will probably get a free upgrade." I am glad that I posted this question because I had no idea what the travel agent was doing was against federal law. Having been educated by the helpful people in this forum, I was able to correct the situation and book another cruise.

 

Thanks everyone

 

You are a very good person.

If you're looking for a specific store to buy a case of water near Cape Liberty Port, ask on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1693577

KAA951 - did you have one adult booked in each cabin or did you bring 2 bottles for a cabin with only minors booked in?

 

 

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This is copied from the terms & conditions page for AirMed. Does anyone know if all/most evacuation insurance (though travel insurance) has the same conditions? Both the originating and receiving hospital must be reasonably accessible by ground ambulance to transport the member to and from an airfield capable of accommodating an AirMed or one of its authorized affiliates aircraft. The cost associated with transportation from ships, isolated areas or islands to an airport accessible to AirMed aircraft is not covered and will be the responsibility of the member. Your membership does not include helicopter evacuation.

 

We have USAA and they offer trip insurance through a company called Travel Insured International. Their most basic plan would be around $70 for the three of us and the evac part of that plan covers $10,000 max for treatment and up to $100,000 for evac to "nearest treatment suitable to US standards or back to the US". The policy also covers trip cancelation / delay / etc, but my main concern is the high $$ amount for any evacs!

 

I am considering insurance. Does that sound like a decent price or should I shop around some more?

 

I'm just a lay person, but I would say this coverage is NOT sufficient. $10,000 max for treatment might be surpassed in the blink of an eye.

Immersing yourself to the neck in a pool actually can help treat edema as it allows dependent fluid to shift back centrally. You will have to get out a lot to pee though. You should do this at least 30 minutes a day and that will help a lot. Do it towards the end of the day when edema tends to be worst.

 

 

Is this why you have to pee so frequently when in a pool? I always wondered why...

I would still go ahead and give them a call

 

Agreed. Call them anyway.

 

 

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[*]AirMed (a suggestion from an earlier post) only uses fixed wing aircraft, and does not reimburse you if you use another service - it's not an insurance policy, but it's a plan to cover usage of their own aircraft. Helicopters are not fixed wing.

 

Can anyone add to this? Does AirMed only cover evacuation in situations where the person is healthy enough & located where fixed wing aircraft are feasible? What if someone is extremely ill and requires cardiac monitoring, respirator, etc.? What if you're stranded somewhere without a formal airport?

My son wants to bring his viola on our upcoming 7-day cruise to practice (he's determined to get good ranking on an upcoming competition). He'll play in his room, inside, doors closed, during the day of couse, for maybe 30 mins each time. Is the cabin sound proof enough so that he doesn't bother other passengers?

 

Bring the viola. But bring a mute just in case it bothers the neighbors;)

 

As long as your son isn't playing early in the morning or late at night, and he's playing with the cabin & balcony doors closed, you'll be fine. The rooms aren't soundproof by any means, but if your son is auditioning for a competition (regionals? all-states) then I'd be willing to bet he's good enough that practicing in your own room shouldn't bother neighbors. 7 days is a long time to go without practicing.

 

In the past, my older daughter has brought her violin and practiced in our cabin. She'll be bringing it again on our 9 day April cruise. I can't say I agree with playing an instrument on the balcony though as that would affect many, many cabins.

write in the number of bacon strips you'd like & I imagine they'll accommodate you

TeeChi, thank you for coming back and updating us. Hope you had a wonderful cruise!

For those people leaving extra tips, did you pay your own prepaid tips or did they get paid by a TA as part of a deal.?

 

Jason

 

 

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Paid our own standard tips on the sea pass (not pre-paid). Extra tip is cash in envelope.

I agree with prior posters. Pick a cabin that sleeps 4, but does NOT have pullman beds.

I thought frozen yogurt WAS dairy. You learn something new every day!

 

 

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For excellent service (which we've always received on RCL) I usually leave $100 extra for steward, $100 extra for waiter and $75 for assistant waiter. This is for our family of 4 in 2 cabins.

 

For mediocre to poor service (when we've sailed NCL) we left $0 extra. Can't remember what we did on Carnival where service was good but not over & above.

 

Obviously this is a personal decision.

 

 

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[quote name='kbset'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=RoyalBlue]My husband called our insurance company (BCBS) and they said as long as it was for an emergency, we would be covered...I'm going to have him call them back to verify and hopefully have them e-mail/send us a letter reiterating what was said over the phone just to be on the safe side.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Excellent idea to get it in writing. Make sure coverage extends to emergency care on board & in the countries where your ports of call are. Not just in the US.

I would specifically ask about emergency evacuation coverage. If your BCBS doesn't cover this to at least $50k, I would recommend you purchase the evacuation coverage separately.

One last thing to be clear on...God forbid you do need emergency care while out of BCBS network, are you prepared to cover all medical costs out of pocket until you are able to submit the bills to BCBS for reimbursement?

In the adjacent or directly across the hall cabin, there needs to be a 1:1 ratio between your own children and children who are not yours. Therefore it is OK to have your daughter and her BFF (or two children and two friends in a quad cabin).

 

The issue with the people who were denied boarding was that none of the children were theirs (it was their grandchildren).

 

That's right! I forgot about the 1:1 ratio of your own kids to friends being sufficient. The thread was a good 1.5 years ago and my memory failed me.

This is the thread where I learned of the age policy: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1635089 It was over a year ago, but it stuck with me because I felt so badly that the poster's cruise had to be canceled due to unrelated minors in room next door.

 

Here is the policy on RCL's website:

"For voyages originating in North America:

No Guest younger than the age twenty-one (21) will be assigned to a stateroom unless accompanied in the same stateroom by an adult twenty-one (21) years old or older. A guest's age is established upon the first date of sailing.

 

This age limit will be waived for children sailing with their parents or guardians in connecting staterooms; for underage married couples; and for active duty members of the United States or Canadian military."

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Policies&faqId=309&faqSubjectId=333&faqType=faq

Royal allows guests under 21 to be booked by themselves as long as their stateroom is next to or across the hall from yours.

 

I believe this only applies to your own children. Since BFF is not your own daughter, my understanding is she cannot be merely next to or across the hall, an adult must be booked in the cabin with her.

 

 

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An adult does NOT have to be booked with the children in the original post. The family is in two CONNECTED cabins. That fulfills all of RC's requirements.

 

Your nephews were not YOUR children; that is the difference.

 

That fulfills all RC's requirements for booking. BUT, if one of the rooms has 2 minors booked in, can you bring 2 bottles of wine for that cabin in addition to the adult cabin?

Shop for appropriate insurance to cover your needs. So many different things can happen before or during your cruise; the amount the insurance costs is small potatoes to protect your expenditure and to cover for catastrophic events.

 

My opinion is to purchase appropriate and adequate insurance, consider it as part of the cost of the trip, and hope you never have to use it.

 

I agree with this^

 

Definitely get insurance. But not what the cruise line is selling. Shop around for coverage that meets your specific needs. Get evacuation to $50k (not just $25k) and make sure pregnancy is covered in your policy. Try insure my trip dot com.

I appreciate all the replies - and there's definitely been more positive response than eye rolling suggesting I leave her at home. :)

 

Thanks to everyone and for mentioning the few posters and family boards I should check out.

 

(I've attached a picture of DD for anyone interested.)

 

-Melissa

 

awwwwwww!!!!!!!

My kids are currently 3, 4, 8, 9 and we've cruised with kids of all ages. I know others are suggesting it's not much of a vacay with a baby but in my experience you may have more of a vacay now than in a year or two. I find infants so portable and they can often go with the flow (especially if you have an "easy" baby). With our 9mos old on a cruise we enjoyed dinners in the MDR with baby in a highchair or sleeping in a stroller, we enjoyed hanging out in the sun with our baby nicely tucked in the shade. Your baby may not even be on the move yet which will make it even easier. We enjoyed relaxing in our cabin reading books while baby slept. We enjoyed walking around in ports or hanging on the beach. Lots to do with a baby, just like others have said plan, plan, plan and make choices that work for everyone. Having the grandparents along will help even more and using the nursery is a good idea if you're comfortable.

 

By your next trip you may likely have a toddler which IMO is harder than an infant!

 

I agree with this. 7-8 months old is much easier to take on vacation compared to a toddler 12-36 months. Take the baby & enjoy. It may be tough to do this again till she's 3 years old.

 

Regarding the sterilization of bottles, I believe you have to CLEAN the bottles at 7-8 months but not STERILIZE (boil) them at that point. My girls didn't take many bottles, but I can tell you I never sterilized my breasts prior to nursing :eek: