CruzinMel

Oh, holy cow, you are RIGHT!!!! No jinxes here!!!

KitKat, where do you find this layout?

I'm on Escape departing 12/31 and we are supposed to hit the DR on 1/2 - I want to book an excursion, but I don't want to have to deal with the stop possibly getting canceled or feeling rushed and uncomfortable. Things happen, but this is getting a wee bit out of hand.

I hear that!!

I haven't done it from the app either, bit here's a bit of fun- your checkin isn't complete (and your edocs won't generate) until everybody on your reservation is checked in. Which means, if a boarding time is important to you, you could lose it if the hubs isn't timely. I'd do both at once, myself.

Yay! I love going on trips "with" you!! Safe travels!

Oh, Lord. DH is like your friend. He only drinks Crown, and he only drinks regular Crown - no fancy flavors for him.

At this point, I agree. I'm covering bases in the name of family harmony and being a Good Human, but quite frankly, I'm ready for her to stay home. I checked her in because I couldn't complete my check in without her - you have to do everyone in your party at once.

Thank you for this - it's the best explanation I've read yet of why we have to do the muster drills based on location of the station rather than pax location at the time of emergency. I've done an outdoor drill once on RCCL, and I vastly prefer them. Whenever we had to muster (mine usually ended up in the theater), I couldn't help thinking that in an emergency, the very LAST place I wanted to be was on a lower deck in a crowded theater. My last muster was actually in the arcade on Escape, and it was vastly preferable to the theater.

Thanks for the note! Did you spend much time interacting with the Haven concierge?

That is awesome! How did you get it to take the pic with the doggie? One pic had a sliver of my daughter's cheek and got rejected. The Percussionist sent me a new pic this morning, and I'm thinking about replacing the first one - the Fernando Lamas Lounge Lizard pic had considerably more hair upstairs and less beard. But if they're going to retake it anyway, yeah - I'm not sweating it. I wonder what the point is? I freely admit that when I was looking for a photo of Mom, I came across the perfect pic. . . of one of my older friends. I uploaded it because it was 2 am and I was tired, and then I took it down and replaced it with the Rocky Raccoon pic, because sure as shooting, Mom will change her mind and go to the port, and we'd get in trouble because they don't look much alike at all.

Mr Mel totally can, and I think I could. Coke is (to me) too sweet unless there is alcohol mixed in, and Pepsi is sweeter to me. Coke is Mr Mel's life blood, so he is going to be Very Happy.

Wow - was it because of the ship, traffic, etc?

Aw, thank you for thinking good thoughts for her - we shall see! 3 weeks is still a long time. 🙂

OMG, Online check in for 5 people STINKS! It took me over 2 hours. Why, you may ask, did it take me over 2 hours? THE PICTURES. The stupid, stupid pictures. It's been 4 years since I have checked in, and I guess they weren't requiring a pic in 2018, or I forgot - do you know how hard the dang pictures are to upload?? They can't be blurry; no hats or glasses, even if you wear glasses normally; they have to be a particular size; they have to be straight forward, with no cocked head or angled anything and shoulders visible, but not too much shoulder because they want to see your face up close. . . it's awful. I thought getting the passport data in was going to be rough, but the pictures nearly did me in. Indiana is home for the holidays, so I woke her up and made her give me 2 pics (hope NCL isn't expecting these pics to be GOOD.) I took a pic of myself that looks like Death on Toast (mainly because stupid me stayed up too late last night, lol), and found one on FB of DH that looks utterly ridiculous (he was between haircuts and his hair is standing straight up on his head - he keeps it buzzed.) But the Percussionist? Holy cow, that boy either is always wearing a hat, is always leaning to the side or angled, or the pics were too blurry, or the pose was bad, or something. I thought I was going to have to go back to his high school graduation pic, but it took the very last one I had, where he's got on a tux and his bow tie looks like something from the Antonio Banderas versions of Zorro. But I got it done, and watched that dang video 5 times. Somebody else gets to watch it the next 5 times. I am now at 100% complete, although the link to download my eDocs isn't lit up - I'm wondering if something needs to process. I'm going to hope I got the time slot I wanted - that check-in section tells you how many spots in each time block are still available. The earliest ones only have small #'s - like, 10 every 30 minutes, and of course I wanted one of them. There were 6 spots available in my preferred slot when I finished up, so I am not the only eager beaver doing online check in during the wee hours. You'll notice I said 5 of everything - Mom still says she is not going, but because she's on the reservation I couldn't complete online check-in without, well, checking her in. Unfortunately, the pic I ended up using is from late on the evening of her last birthday and she sort of looks like a rabid raccoon (her eyeliner had run) but by that point I was ill, and not inclined to give my all to checking in someone who probably isn't going. I really dislike having to take up a spot for her, but at least she is checked in in case she changes her mind and feels up to it. She has a doctor's appointment on the 22nd and plans to discuss it with her physician, so we shall see. Regardless. . . 21 days to go, y'all!!!

OMG, y'all, it's 17 minutes to midnight on Day 21, and you know what that means? (Well, what I think it means?) Time for Online Checkin!! I have been a Very Bad Girl, because I have made no progress on any of the things I need to do for the trip. (Well, I take that back - I used a combination of discounts and Kohl's cash to pay about $18 for a new suitcase. The cashier's jaw dropped - it retailed for $459. I shopped well.) It happens that there is additional work added to my list. I've got to craft 2 Butler Letters, because out of nowhere, La Diva (aka Mom) is talking about staying home. I have informed her that unless a medical professional says she's sick, she has no basis for an insurance claim and will lose $. Plus, we are going without her, because we aren't sick and if we aren't sick and she isn't sick, that's a whole Haven 2 BR Villa's worth of $ gone. (And really, the only one that would HAVE to stay back is moi, but I didn't mention that.) She says she doesn't care, and she will be happier at home with her dog, and we should go. I'm going to check her in like she will be coming; she can vacillate until the night before we leave for Orlando, and then whoever is in the car that morning is going on the cruise. So, while I initially planned this as a combination trip-planning blog/summary of what happens when cruising with a mobility/dietary challenge, it turns out it might be a primer in what happens when not all fully paid passengers travel! We've already been through this with Junior Mint (who, BTW, really, REALLY regrets not being able to go with us, because his new job is Very Stressful. Too bad.) So, now we shall see with Mom. (NB - the impetus for her uncertainty - or at least, I think so - is a recent hospital stay, and being worried about her health, and being angry that she's not a spry chicken and will have to depend on us for a lot. My thought is that's ok - she was always there for me and the kids when we needed help, so it's our time to return the favor, and we don't mind. But it bothers her tremendously, and having already gone through the experience of Dad's heart attack on a ship and subsequent Caribbean hospital stay and med evac home, I think she is wary. The doctors all say so far she'll be fine. . . but Mom is officially TBD.) So, there's that. It's 11:59 PM and I'm going to see if the NCL page will crash before I can check in 5 people. Or if the stories about doing checking after midnight on Day 21 are even true . . . Stay Tuned! ETA: Y'all. I'm an accountant and I can't math. It's 21 days until we LEAVE TOWN, not 21 days before the cruise. Lordy. We are going to have to do this tomorrow! 😜😅🤣😂

I was leaning toward the idea that anything they might get early wouldn't be enough to make a dent, so...yeah. I think you're right.

You know, this kind of feels like a year end accounting/cash thing - if a bunch of us prepay the DSC (which basically sounds like tip sharing), NCL gets cash on the BS (and in the bank) and reduces their receivables. Or maybe the plan was always to increase the DSC, and this is a bonus? I wonder how much they would get from this?

I totally agree...I caved and made a spreadsheet. :😀

Thanks for the tip! I had read similar, but it seems like folks get Very Upset about it. Since I'd throw elbows to get Indy into that particular show, I'm on it!! Am also reading lots of trouble with the GSC tenders lately, so it just means I have to get Mom to a beach in St Thomas FOR SURE.

I will have to think of a clever way to direct you, once I remember which group it is (I'm following 4.) This particular one is named for the ship, and a kind lady named Cathy just posted the ones from the Nov 26 sailing. Actually, I ust looked and she has replied directly to your post, so yay!!

Watch the timing on how you do this - if you can cancel pre-boarding, that's probably better. DH and I had a few too many cocktails, and signed up for Thermal Suite passes for the week, on our last cruise. The next morning, we realized we'd never use them, and tried to cancel. We were able to cancel and got a credit to our account after a few days, but we forfeited the first day (thank God it was only 1) because they couldn't "prove" that we hadn't used them.

Thanks so much for the Rumours info - we will make that one if we have to camp out. Indy is in mourning over Christine McVie's passing today. I'm like you - I like to mix up my excursions and I like to do one in every port - I haven't quite gotten to the "been there done that staying onboard" stage yet, although it's coming (and will definitely happen should I ever be unlucky enough to go to Nassau again.) It's just the uncertainty about Mom that has me stuck, and I despise uncertainty. I feel comfortable enough in St Thomas to go to Magens Bay on our own, but I don't know Puerta Plata enough to DIY. Such problems... 😀 We are 30 days out....time is FLYING! You will be heading out before you know it. Congrats on the upgrade- you did well!

And yes - safe travels and an enjoyable cruise, and may the Mrs be lucky!!!

I know it is trendy, and not in the same league as the 1492, but I quite like Teremana. I am deathly allergic to something about Patron, but Teremana was enjoyable before and after.