CanadaDeb

Good to hear! Thanks for your replies :)

OMG thanks everybody for the laughs!

I have 2 stories:

On our first cruise, we were sitting in the Windjammer cafe having some lunch and I notice a man waiting around one of the hot buffet stations. A waiter comes out and replaces one of the large dishes. The waiter leaves and the man takes the entire dish and carries it to his table. He sets it down in the middle of the table and the entire clan start to pick from it. Needles to say, he had several people around watching him with mouths open. Turns out they were chicken wings.

We were on a tour of St Maarten and had a stop at Orient. We were sitting at the snack bar when we saw an elderly, heavy set man come from the nude side of the beach, wearing a large towel around his waist. He gets a couple of drinks and takes his leave, as his towel starts to fall down. He bends over, at the waist to put his drinks down as his towels falls off. My eyes still sting at the thought.

Hi All,

We booked D702 , which is near the stairs. I'm a little worried about the noise? I'd appreciate any feedback anyone could give me.

Thanks very much!

I was just hoping to hear from someone who's been through it, you know what I mean?

I do take all the precautions I can, I'd never cruise a TA for example, we make sure to choose cruises that are 'safe' in that respect...thanks for your comments :)

Thank you both for your replies.

I have no pituitary or adrenal glands ( removed due to tumors ), therefor no was to secret cortisol ( also known as the stress hormone ). I take steroids and if I have any type of stomach issues, I need IV steroids...but it can be fatal so that's the part of my worry. I've lived with this for more than 20 years I know the warning signs, how to handle it but I know it's the doctor's decision.

I do travel with emergency meds, insurance covering pre-existing/evacuation and also wear a medic alert...also have a letter from my doctor with instructions and contact the cruise line beforehand ( long winded sorry ) but at the end of the day the ship's doctor is the one who decides and I have read stories here about people being told they have to leave the ship for far less.

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone who's steroid dependent has ever fallen ill during a cruise?

I've lived with it for a long time and know if I get IV steroids onboard ( no pun intended ) I'll be fine, but am wondering what cruise ships would usually do? I know they don't want a liability onboard but they can decide to get me off the ship....makes me nervous :(

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks!

Welcome to cruise critic! I also agree that Alaska would be a great choice. It would be best to contact the cruiseline directly regarding the halal food once you've found an itinerary you like. Have a great cruise!

How kind of you!

A beautiful frame for memories for her cruise

A gift card for a spa treatment on the ship

photo album for her cruise photos

a beach bag ( maybe fill it with all the suggestions you're getting here? )

We usually ask for a few things on the first day ( sharps container, medical fridge, empty the mini fridge ) so yes, I do give them something...I want them to know we won't be a pain we just need to get these things lol

Am considering getting the package on our upcoming cruise but last time ( on Caribbean Princess ) found the diet coke very sweet and syrupy....has it changed in the last 3 or 4 years? thanks.

I was wondering the same thing, thanks for the info...how much is a shuttle and taxi to the beach?

I love formal nights...people all dressed up having a nice evening...this new dress code will take that magic away. Give people an inch to dress down and they'll take it down at least a foot. Won't be the same ambiance.

I'm not sure if this classifies as a mistake, but I feel that one previous cruises we've not taken advantage of everything the ship has to offer. We usually book port intensive cruises and being off the ship so much we don't do a lot on the ship. We need to change that on our upcoming cruise!

I also lived in the Med and by the time November rolled around we had grey skis and rain and yes, the sea seemed to be kicking up.

Might be Calabaza? The lady who owns it is named Gina...she and her son are on the catamaran...

Thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us. We are on the Summit later this year...this is a great warm up!

Another option is to have someone make a scrapbook of all the photos from the cruise for them after....ask all family members to forward the photos to one person and have them put into an album or make a scrapbook. :)

I wouldn't call it 'losing a cabin' but 4 days before our 1st Princess cruise I was phoned by Princess with a 'voluntary upgrade' If I agreed to give up my stateroom on the upcoming sailing we would instead get a 14 days cruise in a mini suite with 2000 to spend onboard plus the cost of penalty in changing our flights. We had booked an oceanview 7 day voyage. We took it, booked a last minute RCCL for 399.99 p/p and went on Princess the following year.

How about OBC or a gift certificate for the spa? or credit towards a future cruise? photos from the onboard photographer and a nice frame for one of the photos?

Thanks for the great review.

We tend to skip St Lucia. We've done some tours before but it's just not an interesting place for us compared to the others.

We booked our cruise this year just before peak season for it to be a bit cheaper, chosen a lower category stateroom and bought our US cash when our dollar before the big drop...that's about all we can do. :(

So very sad. Sympathies to his family and co workers.

This is one of our favorite islands and I never felt unsafe there. I hope they get a handle on this. It would be such a shame for the locals to lose on the revenue of tourism and for us tourists to be fearful of such a beautiful island.

I have only done 3 cruises, but the Jewel was my very favorite. The ship is beautiful and it was the best food I've had on a cruise....just my opinion... enjoy your cruise :)

On Buade street in Old Quebec city there is a lovely Christmas shop ( if you celebrate Christmas ) you could get a nice decoration or ornament with Quebec written on it. The is also a small street where locals sell their paintings of Quebec...you could buy a small one for less than 20.00. Enjoy your cruise.