cooncat_mom

Even in the short time I’ve been cruising (about 13 years) formal night has become closer to business casual with sparkles. I do give it a nod if I’m out and wear chiffon pants with a sequined jacket. My husband tends to wear a suit jacket.  That said, on formal night on our NCL cruise with my son and his family, my son wore his dress kilt - and so did his 2 1/2  year old daughter. They caused quite a stir!  Honestly, you do you! If you like dressing up - go for it!

😢  Carnival Imagination was the first cruise DD and I took - to Key West and Cozumel.  It was a wonderful cruise and we’ve been addicted ever since. We’ve sailed some of the big ones and had great times - but the little Imagination will always be special….

Just a thought - when you’re looking at the cost of the ships, don’t forget to look at the costs of transportation, taxis/Ubers and hotels. I thought Symphony was out of Florida, and the Oasis is out of NJ (that I know - I’m counting down!).  The cost of getting there and back might eat into the discount. (I saw Cats when it was on tour…I enjoyed listening to the album much more. Had to leave early because my daughter who was little at the time, started feeling ill. I love Broadway plays but was happy to take her home!)

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Which ship?  Internet performance varies from ship to ship.

We're doing Oasis OTS and it will be in September so I'm thinking they won't be at capacity yet...

Thank you!  It makes sense and it's not much more right now for a 2 device package (which I FINALLY figured out is one person buys it but two people can use it at the same time...😳😆)

I know this is NOT a favorite for many of you, but we want to remain connected since my husband will be staying at home and my daughter and I get twice a week Face Time calls from my granddaughters (they live in another state and I love their calls!). Can Face Time be done on the Surf plan?  Neither my daughter or I stream music or movies - we just check emails, message and post.  Would the Surf plan do it for us? I’m thinking it will, but am not sure if that’s because I understand the packages or if it’s because I’m cheap. 😆😆😆

Pre-covid I wore a small crossbody bag. This upcoming I hope it's really happening Oasis cruise in September I'm using a phone case with a card pocket. I always carry my phone anyway since it's my camera!

Thanks, smokeybandit! I actually just came back here to put in your link to the news story about this! Since we’re leaving out of Bayonne it will be interesting to see how different the  boarding will be since I believe they can ask for proof of vaccination in NJ.

It sounds like this is as fluid as all the other things about Covid! Right now, I’m just hoping I’ll be able to go back to work without isolating for a period. 🙄

https://ewnews.com/free-pass-some-cruise-passengers-not-required-to-obtain-health-travel-visa   ( Stolen from smokeybandit!)

We’re doing a Bahamas cruise in Sept also and wasn’t aware of this.  Do you know if it’s still necessary if you’re vaxxed and NOT getting off the ship in Nassau? (We’ve been there multiple times and for us, the Oasis is the destination!)

It’s smart to bring most of your own basic meds - headache stuff, tummy stuff (@xpcdoojk: if I haven’t checked my menus well enough to rule out lactose, I need the pink stuff if I want to leave the cabin! Not contagious), sunburn relief (we had to pay $15 for the last bottle on board a few years ago), seasickness stuff and I even carry a few barf bags. DD was breaking a migraine on  our first cruise and I needed a container of some sort...I bought a plastic beach bag which worked, but bringing from home is cheaper!  I also bring Benadryl. This way I have stuff right at hand to grab instead of going to find or buy some.

One And Done already. Every vaccine will have people who have reactions. All vaccines are a risk (my DPT tried to kill my when I was 3 months old.  Meds have been iffy all my life). I figured I'd need it for travel so bit the bullet. Flying to see my grandkids soon (been a yeay and a half) and hoping my Sept cruise might be a go. Since I work in a hospital,  masks don't bother me. I'm ready to travel again!

4 hours ago, matj2000 said:

 

If coffee is  the issue,  they have plenty of powder creamers.. 

You'd be surprised how many of those dairy-free powdered creamers really aren't... many contain a milk derivative which can be a problem too. 

Whatever they are, those emulsified white liquids go nicely in my coffee (cashew is my choice) and make life much more tolerable for me and my family! 😆😆😆

13 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Nasty !

Trust me on this - for those of us who are dairy-allergic or lactose-intolerant, the results of using real dairy can be pretty nasty! For me it starts with about 4-5 hours of pretty bad abdominal pain...and my pain tolerance is pretty high!  
 

Those shelf-stable milks have to be refrigerated after opening and are tough to carry around. I did use this one (for me, better than nothing but not a fan)

https://smile.amazon.com/Coconut-Cloud-Original-Non-Dairy-Go/dp/B07LB6CL6P/ref=sr_1_25?dchild=1&keywords=Powdered+nut+milk&qid=1622981702&sr=8-25 

 I ran across this and have ordered it to try before our travels (possibly...if they ever start up again!) 

https://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-5760065-organic-traditions-cashew-milk-powder-5-3-oz
 

I figure if it works I’ll put some in those little pill bags and carry it with me.

Good Luck!

Thank you for the advice! Will be looking into it... and it is nice to be planning a cruise that might actually take place again!

Thank you for the suggestion!  We’ve done both the drive and the train to Bayonne. We cross over the Tappan Zee bridge and actually don’t mind the drive.  We were well broken in by driving to Florida every year to see Grandma for about 15 years! Usually we stay in the Darien area but have been a little sorry we didn’t stay closer. It would make the morning we go to port a little more relaxing and we’d get there earlier.  Very much hoping this happens!

Thank you! I'll look in to those too!

Thanks!

I know the airport area is fairly close but wasn’t sure how easy that area was to navigate! Thanks - will do some looking at price$ 😊

My daughter and I are booked for a Sept. 19 Oasis cruise that might just sail!  We’re driving down to Cape Liberty from New England and are wondering about a hotel around 30-60 minutes from the port.  We don’t need anything fancy - clean and safe and not ridiculously expensive are all we’re looking for.   We don’t know NJ (other than driving through it on the way to Florida!) and will probably be traveling I-95. Thanks!

I did a mock booking for my Oasis cruise in September to check the Boardwalk Balcony prices. At this point, they’re only booking decks 8,11 and 14 on every sailing that month. This is a little disconcerting since we’re fully paid for our Deck 10 Boardwalk Balcony!

I’m interested in seeing how they do this too... we’re booked on a September cruise on the Oasis in a Boardwalk balcony cabins. For the first time in a long while, I went into the Royal site and went to do a mock booking.  It seems they’re only booking Boardwalk balcony cabins on decks 8, 11 and 14 for all the sailings in September.  This is interesting since we’re on deck 10. Hmm....

I would cruise now if the regulations from the cruise lines and my work (I work at a hospital) were manageable. I would not get a COVID vaccine ( it’s way to early and they’re working too fast on it) but have nothing against a Covid test or masking. I kind of like that people don’t look at me and cough without covering their mouths any more (oddly, I still cover mine)! Being a lifelong introvert, Social Distancing doesn’t bother me. It’s hard to hear other people through their masks anyway [emoji38]

I have 2 cruises booked for 2021 but am pretty our April one will be a no-go. The September one...mmmm....dunno.


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Our final payment was June 29 for our Sept 2020 Bahamas cruise from NJ. We had a non-refundable deposit and were holding off putting anything on it. Being pretty sure nothing will go out of NJ, and if it does DD and I would have work restrictions coming back, 2 days ago I called and did a Lift & Shift for Sept 2021. I was on hold for about 4 minutes, my non-refundable deposit was moved, my new final payment is now June 2021 and the cost of our Internet and Cabana will be refunded shortly. We also booked the cabin that we wanted.

She did say to call back Wed. Or Thurs. to have them send a new Guest Invoice, but it shows in my online account and took about 15 minutes total to do. Sad, but easy...


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Thank you for the suggestions!  I will call them about the lift and switch since we are planning to book the same cruise for next year at about the same time.  Since this was booked pre-COVID and it was a non-refundable deposit (I knew that ahead of time - read the fine print!). I don’t know but it’s worth a shot!  Then I can start the Cabana Watch to book one for THAT trip...😉

We’re looking at our final payment date coming up at the end of June for our September Oasis cruise.  With all the uncertainty about the Covid-19 rules, we’re thinking cancelling and eating the deposit is the way to go (we’ve not paid anything beyond the deposit on the cruise yet).   I did, however already pay for a cabana and internet.  Would they refund the costs of those if we cancel or will we have to eat them too?  I know I could ask Royal...but I appreciate the information on here!  Thanks!