xitappers2bx

Checking In.  We arrived at the terminal around 10:30 for our check in time of 12-12:30 (priority/suite guest/FTTF)

This isn't the first time we've cruised out of FLL, but it's been a handful of years, and a lot has changed since.  The Magic was in Terminal 4, there's construction going on right there, and the chaos was strong, but if you have a shuttle driver, they know where they are going.  If you're driving, just be careful and take your time.  Also, be thoughtful about where you park, apparently there were many cars damaged by flooding waters while we were gone (although I do not know all the details, I only know this from reading comments about it on that other social network's cruise page).  

We were dropped off towards the end of the drop off area, but there were loads of porters ready, so we were able to immediately drop our luggage.  Then it's maybe a three minute walk around the building to the entrance.  "Regular" boarding was the longer line to the right, and priority/suite/FTTF was to the left.  My biggest gripe was that in this line, there were more folks receiving assistance than actually with priority boarding.  My brother is ID, so I understand needing extra assistance, but if you haven't "earned" the priority boarding, then you shouldn't be afforded that luxury (this would also be my major debarkation gripe, but that's to come later).  I heard tons of people complaining about this, and while it annoyed me, definitely don't let that ruin your mojo.  

The doors opened at about 10:45-ish, and the let in the line to the left.  It was really a quick process, from stepping into the doorway to sitting upstairs in the priority waiting area was about five minutes.  The kiddo and I showed our boarding passes, put our backpacks through the scanners, walked through the metal detectors, showed our boarding pass to a very kindly woman, who directed us immediately to one of the little check in desk stands (almost like a podium a speaker would speak at--and that small).  When I checked in online I put in all my credit card information, and they didn't need it during the check in.  The gentleman scanned our passports on his tablet, and sent us on our way--no photo's needed, it uses the passport photo.  

At this point, our paths diverged from non-priority check in... it looked like if you're doing normal check in you just went towards the right after the check in area, and I think they were broken down by boarding group (but I only heard this second hand, I don't know for fact).  We looped around to the left towards the escalators, and up to the left was the area where Faster to the Fun passengers sat, while up the escalator were the sitting areas for priority (suites and closest to the escalator), then platinum, and then diamond closest to the walkway.  We did not sit for very long, maybe 15-20 minutes before boarding.  The process was absurdly smooth, and all of the anxiety I had about having to wait in long lines with a lot of people to get to that long check in desk was totally for naught.  

We have done a lot of cruises from many different ports.  It has never been as easy as it was in FLL.  I don't know if this is the process in all ports, this was our first cruise in about 18 months (did a bunch of land based traveling), but it's really great and I hope that all ports are either doing it like this, or starting to roll out a quicker process like this.  Not having that long loopy line just to get to check in was amazing, having someone at the doors controlling how many people got in was also probably helpful.  I could see, though, in the heat of the Florida summer this might be a nightmare if you have to wait in super long lines, so I would assume it's really a good idea to just follow your check in times.  And if you have crazy anxiety like I currently do (thanks brain) I just felt better being there, and was fully prepared to hang out in line outside of need be (the weather was a really comfortable 75).

Fort Lauderdale... Train debark to hotel stay

So, before continuing on.  Some info for full disclosure.  Nine weeks before our trip, I was hit in the head in my gym, and rebounded off a cement wall, giving myself a pretty serious concussion that put the entire trip in jeopardy.  I am insanely lucky, and happened to go to the urgent care the day after the blow to the head that tends to see a lot of these injuries in kids, and was immediately referred to a specialist (Rothman Concussion Network for anyone in the Philly area that might ever need it) who was amazing.  This sports doc was able to pinpoint the worst symptoms, and connect me to the health care providers to treat it.  

The snark in me is still strong, so if anything I say sounds mean, it isn't intended to.  I also still am having inappropriate emotional and physical responses to stimuli, so when we boarded, the anxiety of the process had me looking like I had just run a marathon, although all I had done was sit in a room and then walk up a ramp.  So there won't really be any photos of me, but this also will taint the entire review. I was just so happy to be ABLE to go on vacation, that the small annoying things we encountered were not big deal.  Immediately following the injury I couldn't walk 10 feet in a straight line and not be violently motion sick... getting onto a cruise ship was a miracle.

Alright.  So I didn't die on the train, the concussion caused anxiety didn't have me jumping off the train and jumping onto a plane, and I generally held it all together.  We got off the train, and all hell broke loose in my brain.  

We debark the train at Fort Lauderdale... and it was almost dusk, and hot, and incredibly overwhelming.  The signage is not all that great.  There was a ton of confusion regarding the process to obtain your checked bags, and figuring out where one was supposed to go to either obtain a cab or an uber/lyft was hard because there was no signage or anything that made sense.  Coming from train stations in the Northeast I was expecting something closer to NYC/Philly/DC and this was more suburban train stop, outdoors, no one inside working the desks, and a mass of people.  We ended up with an Uber Lux, which I guess is the Uber Black equivalent in the NE.  The driver was great, he was there in a few minutes, and he was able to find us with no drama.  Quite possibly the best Uber driver we have ever had.  He's also a realtor, and had me super sold on living in South Florida.  

There are an insane number of hotels available in the Port Everglades area.  One of my best friends strongly suggested the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, she stays there once a year when her family cruises, and the price with the shuttle was fine knowing that it was a holiday weekend.  It seems like hotels there are very hit or miss, I had wanted to book the Renaissance, which is one of our favorite brands, but the reviews were terrible, and at a similar price point to the Hilton, I went with what I knew would be good.  My friend's reviews did not disappoint.

The Hilton was great, and the serve was phenomenal.  We arrived around 6:15 and the hustle of the hotel was in full swing.  The bell hop immediately had our bags out of the Uber and on a cart, followed us to check in, and then immediately brought our bags up to the room.  The desk staff were also great, I had a few questions, and with my slower than normal brain that had also been overly exhausted after the few hours of sleep on the train, she was so patient with me and it was busy enough that it would not have been shocking had she been rude.  We ordered room service for dinner, and the food had no business being as good as it was.  Dinner was stupid expensive, but the front desk woman had added complementary breakfast to our reservation, so I used our budgeted breakfast funds and it was all good, and just as hot and fresh as if we had gone downstairs to the restaurant.  But we got to eat dinner in bed, in jammies, watching Legally Blonde.  

The next morning we somehow ended up eating breakfast with the basketball players there for the tournament that weekend.  And while I felt incredibly OLD and short, they were really nice, and my kiddo had a great time with kids about her own age (well, closer to her in age than she is to my age).  The breakfast was buffet style, and was good.  I loved how they were constantly replenishing the food, and keeping the entire area insanely clean (my two biggest pet peeves when it comes to buffets).

After breakfast, I repacked some of our stuff, added our luggage tags, and then we checked out.  Our rate included a shuttle, and I was kind of annoyed that there was space in the shuttle that was sitting outside when we got there, but the shuttles are so quick, we only waited a few minutes for the next one to arrive.   The port is less than 8 minutes from the hotel, and the driver was great and got us there safely, and quickly.  The anxiety that is now part of who I am following this concussion had us leaving earlier than we needed to, but after a good hour of imagining every impossible thing that could happen that would prevent us from getting to the port, we decided it was just better to get there and wait around to end the doomsday scenarios running through my mind (sharknado anyone?).  

Next up... checking in... 

Living in Philly, there is nothing quite as attractive in December as getting as far south as possible as quickly as possible.

For anyone living in Philly looking for a quality airport hotel, I would strongly suggest the Four Points by Sheraton.  We got a great deal on a park and stay rate, our car was there for 11 days, and the hotel itself is surprisingly nice.  The breakfast was okay enough, the service was good, and the price fairly cheap for being hotel food.  The staff were also quite nice and helpful.  We spent the night of the 18th there and the room was clean and comfortable, and was obviously recently renovated.  We would definitely stay here for a night in the future.

So of course, I decided to knock off a bucket list item and instead of flying down to Florida a few days early and basking in the sun, I decided to essentially lock my child and I into a minuscule bedroom of the Amtrak sleeper train.  We saw these trains on the west coast years ago and this was something I've wanted to do for ages.  it was a fine experience, just 28 hours with a teenager and super spotty wifi is a lot.  it's also quite loud at night, which makes sleeping a ton of fun.  I would strongly suggest the sleeper accommodation though.  It was a pretty cool experience, and the beds were surprisingly comfortable.  

Here are a few photos:

This is the entire space, I'm standing in the doorway, which is basically a sliding glass door with a latch on the inside (does not lock from the outside, so if you both leave, your stuff is all unattended).  The angled metal to the right is the upper bunk, which is perfect for a teenager, you could not have paid me enough money to climb up there.  Across from the longer couch is a captains chair, that folded up so you could access the bathroom.  

This is the only table in the space, which is a pretty decent size when totally open.  We were able to fit my mac in the center to watch movies while playing Uno or eating.  The wifi, while free, sucks.  I would have totally paid a bit to have dedicated, quicker, wifi.  

The door to the left, is the bathroom.  It was miniscule... now I am certainly a person of a larger size, and it was very claustrophobic.  The kiddo, who is quite tiny for her age, thought it was perfect kid-sized.  But, it was our own private bathroom, and that made it absolutely wonderful.  Another one of the sleeping accommodations are roomettes; the toilet in those is baffling, you have to close your door (the whole room is just the width of the chair and then another 24" where there is a toilet that otherwise is like a little table when closed), shut the curtain, and then do your business.  In walking past those rooms, it seemed like very few people keep the doors closed when not doing their private business.  They're just that small.  Perfect for one, or great for two children.  

In this photo below, you can see what it looks like in the mirror with the top down.  There was a shocking amount of storage, which is really a necessity.  You can see we just about used up what few inches remained of the floor space with the bottom couch turned into a bed with my backpack down on the floor and a bag of snacks.

That door was also the bane of our existence.  It was noisy, it rattled ALL THE TIME.  Finally, I mentioned it to our steward, and he was able to shove some brochures in there (the things sticking out), and while it helped, it still was super noisy all night.  That door is the shared door with the other bedroom on the train.  If you book both, you can open it up and have a larger space for a family.  The couple in the other room were great, quiet and respectful, and absolutely hilarious after a bedtime bottle of wine.  They did leave their cell phone in there, which I was surprised at how serious the employees took it, and the lengths they went to reunite them with their phone. It was great.

So, ultimately, this was a bucket list trip.  I don't know that I would do it again, but If the price was right, and we were on the train with the dining car and not the cafe care, if you twisted my arm, I'd probably do it again.

So, we left Thursday at about 12:30.  We spent about 30 minutes in DC having the engines changed, and then sped our way down south.  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 5:30pm on 20 December.  

Hey All.  So, my kiddo and I are now back from the Magic.  I've tried, and failed, in the past to do live reviews, so here's one after the fact.  We've been on the Magic before, so I didn't take a ton of photos, but lots of things to talk about.  It's apparently easier for me to do things after the fact.  This was also the first cruise that I did not have to do any work while onboard, so while I usually have to buy an Internet package, there was none of that.  I do know there were tons of complaints about the quality of the Internet... it's one of those things where you're in the middle of the ocean and it's just not always going to be that great.  In my own past experience on most ships I have found the Internet to be okay-ish late at night and early in the morning.  We've had the best Internet on NCL's Escape when we cruised to Bermuda.  

Up first.  I'm a mid-30-something who likes to do as little as possible and worship the sun gods, and the kiddo is 15, and she loves to do everything or nothing, and there is no in between.  We are fairly loyal to Carnival, although we have cruised on all major lines with the exception fo Celebrity, so we aren't die-hard Carnivilians so much as we are just die hard travelers.  We have traveled fairly extensively, both cruising and not, and I like to think we are pretty tolerable creatures that roll with the punches. 

Why this cruise?  The Magic is our favorite Carnival ship.  We booked this cruise in May 2019... I learned the hard way if you want to vacation during winter break, you have to book at least a year in advance if you want a decent room selection.  We had a different cruise booked (NCL Epic out of San Juan), but the airfare was stupid, and I couldn't justify it, so instead I stalked this cruise.  The only requirements we really have for staterooms are somewhat mid-ship, and a balcony.  We much prefer 8 night cruises to 7 night cruises, which made this one attractive as well.  There's something about having "more than a week" that makes the 8 nights feel so much longer than a 7 night cruise.  I booked this cruise in the middle of the night, having randomly checked to see if any rooms with a balcony had opened up that would hold just two people.  There was one cove balcony that was a bit more forward than I am comfortable with, and one ocean suite, and the OS was only about $600 more, so I went with it for the bathtub and my preferred location.  So, yeah.  Booked the suite (which we tend to cruise in suites, so this wasn't a hard choice, I recognize for many people the balcony means nothing).

Itinerary: Sea Day / Grand Turk / La Romana / Curacao / Aruba / Sea Day / Sea Day 

We don't usually book excursions in advance, and will see what we feel like doing once onboard, but we did this time book the Monkeyland excursion in advance, we knew we really wanted to do it (and I will share lots of photos of this because it was hands-down the best excursion we have done in 20+ cruises) and it was sold out before we boarded, so if this is something you want to do (and you should do it) book this one early.  Once onboard my kiddo saw the excursion for the ostrich farm in Curacao so we booked that.  

We did something pretty cool and new to us to get to Florida, but I'll save that for the next post.  And please, I know there have been lots of questions about the Magic, feel free to give me any questions and I'll do my best in answering them.  I also have all of the Fun Times.  I will post them all together after scanning them in.  There will be some changes from the "regular" ones, since this was the Christmas cruise and there was a lot of holiday stuff, but many of the activities are also the same.

On 12/4/2019 at 10:55 PM, doctordi said:

This is the first time that I will be sailing with my teenagers (3 teens 19, 17, 16) in a separate but adjacent cabin. Our boarding passes indicate that we have different muster stations. Anyone have experience with this? They are responsible, and experienced cruisers (all platinums) but I would prefer that we all go together. My PVP said it would be fine for them to go with me,  but.... I would like some reassurance from someone who has experienced this.

they scan everyone's card so I guess it would be fine... but with 19, 17, 16 in the room my question is I'm pretty sure there has to be a 21+, so I'm assuming it's you or your husband/spouse/partner so they would go in one direction and you in the other. 

1 hour ago, MMfan14 said:

Let me clarify what I originally wanted to say. I have booked an upcoming cruise November 2020 and wanted to know what does Carnival make you prepay before the cruise. I read that the steakhouse has to be prepaid, but what about other reservations on the Carnival website? 

Steakhouse is only prepaid if you choose to prepay. You can also just make reservations by e-mailing the steakhouse for the specific ship and then just charing it to your S&S card.

Nothing is forced to be prepaid except gratuities if you have my time dining.  I like not charging huge amounts to my credit card and I hate traveling with a ton of cash, so I try and prepay for as much as I can ahead of time . 

On 11/28/2019 at 8:03 PM, tensixmom said:

Hi, I'm not all that familiar with the Carnival Website, so I am looking to see if others have had a similar experience.

I'm nog loving their website; but yeah.  It is what it is. 

On 11/28/2019 at 8:03 PM, tensixmom said:

I have just a short 3 day cruise booked for January and I thought it would be fun to add the Chef's Table, at $75/pp (this is the Miracle).  I added it through the website, and I've had the charge show as "Pending" on my credit card for the last three days (which seems like a long time).

This happened to me too when I booked the steakhouse and the italian spot and paid for it online; check under the "booking order details" and you should see the purchase there.

On 11/28/2019 at 8:03 PM, tensixmom said:

 

The Chef's Table is not showing on my cruise planner, or anywhere I can find it on my reservation info.  I have no confirmation letter/number (and I didn't screen shot the page where it showed I booked it... shame on me).

When I e-mailed the steakhouse to confirm my reservation they said that the planner won't update until you are on board; but that if you were able to pay for it online, then you would have that chosen time.

On 11/28/2019 at 8:03 PM, tensixmom said:

Can anyone with experience booking this tell me if this is normal?  I did notice the Chef's Table is now $95/pp so I am not sure if the price goes up the closer to departure we get?

I feel like they've been having weird bugs with their website; so I would say it's not impossible for the price to be wrong, but if they had a glitch and you booked it at the wrong price, they still should honor that.

On 11/28/2019 at 8:03 PM, tensixmom said:

There is no online help available and I work nights so calling them during business hours is difficult, so I thought I would check with the experts here.

 

Thank you!

29 minutes ago, rn4t5 said:

Adventure of the Seas

Not even close.  It's Princess--one of their newer ships.  My guess is the Sky or Regal Princess.  

On 12/17/2018 at 11:56 AM, Lottacruises said:

I have heard that the boarding passes are changing again, this time with the addition of a zone to wait in before boarding starts. This would be in lieu of the zone cards that some ports give out. I would expect no changes to the priority ones, but for non priority passengers yes.

 

Has anyone seen these yet? They are due out any day now.

I have priority boarding, so I don't know what it would look like with the zones, but attached is what it looks like for our cruise on 21 Dec.

That "dead space" is part of the backstage area of the theater... so while it's a crew area, it's also connected to the theater, so I would not be shocked during show times to hear noise, and it wasn't fair for the rep to insinuate otherwise.  

It's crazy how quickly ships can fill out... when we booked our Christmas cruise on the Magic for this December (back in April) there were 2 rooms with balcony's left... a suite and a cove.  It was crazy, and I had been stalking the cruise for weeks waiting for something to open up.

20 hours ago, Bgwest said:

I’m sure this has been covered but I cannot find it. 
what’s the procedure and timing for transferring a booking made directly with Carnival to my travel agent?

It's super easy.  All I have had to do in the past is give my travel agent my booking information and she is able to do the rest.  You can also call Carnival and do it over the phone. I believe you have 30 days to do it. 

On 11/27/2019 at 6:23 PM, Eli_6 said:

I was just planning on using their birth certificates but then I started growing concerned about if we somehow missed the boat.  Unfortunately, I would have to expedite it and it isn't cheap.  

Our very first cruise was with birth certificates, and I felt like it took so long, and I was so stressed about something happening in port that my anxiety ruined the trip.  Then I got my kiddo a passport and we haven't looked back.  It's definitely better to have, they could, for any reason they choose, deny boarding with a birth certificate (this happened to a girl I know, her kids' bc's didn't have a raised seal, and they refused her boarding).  The only 150% guarantee you get on that ship is with a passport.  

11 hours ago, Sue Goodreds said:

I think it's fantastic that you made this post and are willing to do this!  I'm excited to be boarding Magic for the first time on 1/18/20.  I'm curious to see HOW long the lines are - buffet, shows, comedy club.  I know to go into it with a lot of patience - but I think seeing a visual might help.  I would also really like to see how crowded the Alchemy Bar is - that's our favorite spot!  I would also love to hear your general review of the Magic.  Thank you for taking the time to do this post for everyone.  🙂  I'm really looking forward to following it.

We sort of recently have cruised the Magic and I was extraordinarily worried about the lines, and the only real line issue was with the buffet where the Mongolian Wok is and then the pasta station.  Otherwise, the complaints about the lines I think were a little overblown, and we sailed on a full ship 🙂 Magic is our favorite ship of all the cruise lines we've been on.

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess a handful of years ago (maybe like 3 or 4?) and I was happily surprised to see a good mix of ages!  My kiddo had a ton of kids her age to play with and the pools were FILLED with kids.  We went in the fall, I don't recall it being a school holiday, definitely before Thanksgiving, so I was really expecting a subdued low key crowd.  

Carnival doesn't do a special rate for singles you can book the second person as TBD in order to lock in the rate and then add in the second person once you are certain who it will be.  If you booked it and added your husband's name and had to change it they charge a name change fee.  

On 11/2/2019 at 10:51 PM, slmiller99 said:

We are taking our 1st cruise after a week at Universal and have a couple of questions. Does anyone know of a company that would pick us up at a hotel near Universal Studios and take us to Port Canaveral or should we use Lyft/Uber? Does Carnival enforce the 1 bag per person limit? We have 2 bags each because of the length of our vacation. The bags will fit inside each other once we have unpacked so we arent worried about storage space in the cabin. Thanks!!

 

Carnival doesn't have an one back per person limit; anyone who told you that is sooooo wrong.  My kiddo always brings two bags, and then I have one 😄 do need not worry about that.

We like to hire a private car you can hire a shuttle through Mears, or Orlando Limo Ride (all but one time we have used them they upgraded us to a limo from a towncar which is always a fun time).  We also have rented cars from the airport, but that's then an extra step going from Universal to MCO to the rental section to the port (annoying).  

On 11/6/2019 at 10:09 AM, ham_bone said:

My son is flying into Orlando (MCO) at 6pm, the evening before we cruise out of port canaveral.

Trying to avoid a rental car and a huge Uber bill if possible.

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Orlando with transportation to the port? 

Or maybe a decent hotel at the port with free shuttle to the port? 

I have never been able to find a hotel in MCO with a shuttle to PC.  When we did this, we picked a hotel in PC with a shuttle to the port, and then rented a car, it was great and much cheaper than a shuttle (and a lot less stress).  You then also have the ability to pick up last minute things which was great, we were able to pack a lot less and just pick things up at the Walmart in PC.  We stayed at the Fairfield, and it was fantastic.  

On 11/11/2019 at 7:17 PM, MyTMo777 said:

Has anyone taken a shuttle from Orlando to Miami? Wondering if anyone has a recommendation of one to use and the approximate cost. 

Probably Mears, but this is probably very expensive.

I was able to rent a car from FLL to TPA for $47 with Fox Rent-A-Car; I had to pay for an extra day (so instead of AM to PM on 12/29 AM to AM 12/29-12/30 even though our flight is that night) which was much cheaper than a car service or shuttle from FLL to TPA.

There's dozens of hotels... I have lots of friends that have stayed at the Hilton, so that's where I booked for our night before our cruise.  It's really a pick your own adventure based on what your comfortable price point is.

I feel like everyone really loves the Embassy Suites; I have a room booked at the Hilton using points or I'd probably stay there too.  It has great reviews.

Check out Fort Lee, NJ.  It's an easy jump to NYC (cheap uber), and parking is fractional compared to parking in NYC or at the pier.

5 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

You do get a good bit more though in a suite on Celebrity.

When we did Alaska, we were in a Neptune Suite on Holland America and it was by far the most wonderful suite experience; the rooms were quite similar to the Grand Suite on Carnival, BUT the service was insane, we had access to the steakhouse as a private dining room for breakfast (best breakfast ever), concierge, lounge, amazing stewards that doubled up as butlers, unlimited laundry service, in room dining from the dining rooms, basically anything we wanted, we had access to.  Things that just don't exist on Carnival.  My kid loves Carnival though, so I pay the silly amount for the suites but on other lines, once you get to the top tier suites you are getting an entirely better suite experience. 

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

This will be our 9th cruise coming up but 1st with our new baby. He's going to be 16 months at the time of sailing and just have a few questions for those that have sailed with babies before.

Did you use a stroller or carrier?

Stroller was much easier and less of a hassle.

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

Did you do a private or group table in the MDR? Also did you do the early or late dining?

We were with my parents, my older kiddo, my sister, my brother in law, and their then 19-month old, we had a big table for us all and did my time dining; we were able to actually be sitting down and eating before the crush for the early dining. It was great for the baby.

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

Did you have your baby sleep in the bed with you or have a pack n play? (or something similar)

Pack n' Play--so much safer, my nephew is a climber, and he would totally have never stayed on the bed.  Cabins also have to be baby proofed.

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

Did you use the nighttime baby sitting service?

We did not... but my sister and BIL had my parents and me to watch the baby sleep, and it was fine.  When my kiddo was little (4-5) we did the baby sitting service, and it was totally fine.

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

Did you pack new outfits for everyday or do laundry on the ship?

We packed woolite and washed anything we needed for the baby in the sink.  It was super easy and less drama than trying to do wash ourself.  We also packed a lot of baby clothes in everyone's suitcases' free space.

On 11/8/2019 at 12:19 AM, matymil said:

Any other advice or tips you would give to someone sailing with a baby for the first time? Thanks! 🙂

It's going to be a fun time, but it'll also be super tiring.  Try and keep a similar schedule.  I've been traveling internationally with my kiddo since she was very small, and even now at 15 we try and keep a similar wake/sleep cycle so we don't get cranky and miserable.  Always try and nap and sleep at the same time, and if not, just be patient.  Make those memories mama! 

I'm guessing if your kiddos are in the room next to yours, one is at least 21 (and can therefore totally board on their own, and if they screw that up... well... they should know better) or your partner/friend/spouse is in one room with one child and you're in the other room with the other child.  

in either of these situations, they aren't going to let anyone board, they obviously wouldn't let a minor board alone, but there is no situation where a minor would be in a stateroom alone without a 21+ booked into that room.  

With that said, I randomly grabbed access to FTTF last night, so it's still totally possible. 

7 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

 

What makes you say that?  I've used gift cards LOTS of times to pay for gratuities online. 

 

Not trying to be argumentative, just curious as to what roadblock you've run into in the past that would make you come to that conclusion.

 

Garnett

I wish I had a good answer as to why, except that after I wrote out a step by step on how to do it, and then added a bunch of photos along the way, when it came time to pay, the only options are for credit cards and PayPal, there is no gift card place to put it in.  That's why I said that--see the attached photo