curtsfan

On 4/1/2024 at 11:12 AM, njkruzer said:

Yep. And as an only child of older parents she runs the world!

Love it

12 hours ago, njkruzer said:

You're fine.  Enjoy the trip with grandchildren. We're taking our granddaughter on the Navigator in July.  She lives in Burbank and will be 11+ .  She'll probably do her own packing before her parents check it.  She's been cruising since she was 2 and spent Christmas break with her parents in Australia and New Zealand. Leaving her parents home on this trip. 

I love it!  A season traveler at age 11😀

15 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

Nicely done - Was about to say this thread is a bit benign and perhaps we should move on to a tipping discussion, but you may have saved the day!

I’m sorry if this topic is benign.  I have gotten alot of great info on Cruise Critic.  We have 30 plus cruises under our belt.  But have never travelled with kids.  We are spending 3 days before & after the cruise in Disney World & was hoping to pack as lightly as we could.  I was asking about the dress code to make sure we packed what we needed. 

4 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

At 9 and 12 I personally would look at this as an opportunity to experience dressing up -- something young boys don't do often.  I'd look at it as an opportunity for them to feel pride in looking nice /in making an effort.  

 

However, they won't be turned away from the dining room in shorts and sneakers.  They should opt for nicer shorts and maybe polos rather than athletic shorts and graphic tees.  You'll see a smattering of men /boys in shorts, but you won't see many wearing athleti-leisure.  

This same picture "makes the rounds" every time this topic comes up.  Maybe it's a formal night, maybe it isn't; regardless, this is not typical of the whole dining room on a formal night.  

 

In reality most ladies on formal nights wear a knee-length cocktail dress or sundress.  A few wear dressy pants and blouses.  Most men wear dress pants and a button-down shirt or polo.  

 

 

Thanks for your input,  I agree about the boys dressing up.  The problem we are encountering is that we are in Disney for 3 days before the cruise & 2 after.  We were hoping to dress lightly.  But I also think a nice pair of shorts & polo would be fine. 

14 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

they will be perfectly fine in shorts and sneakers.  

Thank You

On 3/28/2024 at 6:55 PM, Biker19 said:

Drop him off in front of the terminal when you drop off the luggage and then park. 

Thanks

Hi

we are taking our grandkids on The Mariner of the Sea next month.  I’m hoping that someone can tell me how strict the dress code is in the main dining for kids.  My grandsons are 9 & 12.  Will they be able to wear shorts & sneakers at dinner.  Or will we need to pack dress pants & shirts.  

14 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Drop him off in front of the terminal when you drop off the luggage and then park. 

Thanks!

On 3/8/2024 at 7:52 PM, Lorey2007 said:

Cortrans was great we left a bag on the bus and he came back after dropping others off.   He found us in the skycap line outside and came back yelling to us.

Thanks’. I called Cortrans & they were awesome!

We are sailing aboard the Mariner of the Seas in April.  My husband has COPD & can’t walk to far, but refuses a wheelchair.  I’m wondering where we can park, that won’t be too far from the terminal & do we need to make reservations ahead of time.  Any help will be appreciated.  

Hi Everyone

My family & I are sailing aboard the Mariner of the Sea on 4/18/24.  My daughter who is a Florida resident needs transportation from the Cruise Port to the Brightline Train at Orlando Airport post cruise.  Any suggestions for a reliable shuttle service?  RCCL won’t sell us a transfer because she isn’t on a flight.  

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Passports  OR  Birth certificates are required for guests 15 and under on a closed loop cruise departing from the US.  Not both

Thank you for the info.  

We are sailing with our son, his wife & kids on the Mariner of the Seas in April.  The kids are 9 & 12 yrs old.  They have passports & will be traveling with their parents.  Will they also need to bring birth certificates as well for the kids.

We are sailing on RCCL Mariner of the Seas in April.  It is a family trip ( with grandkids ages 11&9.   I have read that RCCl has a VIP Pass called the Key.  Was wondering if it’s worth the money & what perks do you get with it. 
Any info would be appreciated.

Cruising Nonnie

On 11/16/2023 at 7:19 AM, countess5 said:

Is this weather related. Looking at the webcam it doesn’t”t look that bad, except winds.

 

Cheers! 

I was onboard this sailing.  The ocean was very angry!   We ended up staying onboard until 1pm.  I thought the staff handled everything very well.  They continued to update us & got us off as soon as they could.  I felt bad for the passengers who had early flights.  I bet most of them didn’t make it.  

28 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Glad to help - enjoy your cruise.

Thanks!  We have 2 Celebrity Cruises before the RC cruise.  One in November & another in January,  We love to cruise.  If I lived in FL, I would be broke😂

13 minutes ago, orville99 said:

That is what we will be doing when we start taking the train to Miami for cruises if the point-to-point home-to-cruise package option doesn’t work out. Go in the day before, spend a quiet evening in Miami and then Uber to the port in the morning.

 

That would give her a few more options for train scheduling.

We come from Boston & normally cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Miami.  We always fly in the night before, just to be safe.  Unfortunately this cruise is out of MCO because we are spending several days in Disney & my daughter is going to meet us at the pier.  But the info you gave me, is very helpful!  

11 minutes ago, orville99 said:

If she takes Brightline, there are really only two trains on the schedule that would get her to MCO with enough slack to get her to PC via a shuttle in time to catch the ship (8;03 or 10:03). The 12:03 would be too tight for comfort. 

 

I’m thinking she should catch one of the earlier trains the day before & stay at a hotel near the airport & then transfer to the pier with RC.  

1 hour ago, CruiseMrB said:

Quick Calculation:

MIA Shuttle to Brightline - 30 minutes or less

Brightline to MCO - 3 hours, 40 minutes

MCO to Port Canaveral - 45 to 60 minutes, plus connection and waiting for shuttle. 

 

All told, allow 5 to 6 hours. Uber for MCO to PC could cut that down a bit.

 

Brightline is about $80 per person each way (kids cheaper), with options for upgrade service at $150 pp each way.

Wow!   I’m thinking that she should come in the day before the cruise.  As for flights, that’s totally out.  She would be spending the same amount of time ina plane as a train & cost 2 times more.  

5 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

We tried this last summer and our flight from Orlando to Miami got cancelled morning of and we had to Uber. 

Thanks for the heads up. 

30 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Is your daughter in West Palm? That really complicates everything. It might make the most sense for her to Uber directly to the port from there.

Yes she is in west Palm, 

7 minutes ago, CruiseMrB said:

Quick Calculation:

MIA Shuttle to Brightline - 30 minutes or less

Brightline to MCO - 3 hours, 40 minutes

MCO to Port Canaveral - 45 to 60 minutes, plus connection and waiting for shuttle. 

 

All told, allow 5 to 6 hours. Uber for MCO to PC could cut that down a bit.

 

Brightline is about $80 per person each way (kids cheaper), with options for upgrade service at $150 pp each way.

Thanks.  I’ve looked into flights from Wedt palm to Orlando & there is nothing direct.  It’s crazy because they go from West Palm to another state before going yo Orlando,  But I’ll check Brightline at your suggest.  

5 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Unless I’m missing something, this makes no sense if you are sailing out of Port Canaveral. While it may be easier to get flights into Miami, it is a 3-4 hour journey from there to Port Canaveral regardless of how you choose to do that. PC is a 45 minute shuttle ride from MCO.

Thanks!  

On 9/19/2023 at 1:35 PM, young_k92 said:

First, this topic is not intended to start a verbal war. I'm honestly asking, because I do not have unlimited funds to spend on trying new cruise lines in an attempt to find one that doesn't make me, to be honest, hate cruising. And we're trying to decide if we should try Celebrity or move on to HAL.

 

Background: My husband and I are almost-50 Gen Xers who cruise exclusively as a couple and have only cruised Carnival. We usually average about one cruise every 5 years. We started in 2005. We started on a 5-day on the smallest ship in the fleet, and have done 8-day as well as a 14-day Journeys cruise. Each time, we've cruised a bit larger class of ship, but we will never book a cruise on a mega ship. Just not for us. Our next cruise is in October on MSC (not YC).

 

Our last cruise on Carnival was on the Magic in the Caribbean last January. For various reasons, it became apparent to us that, post-Covid, Carnival would not be receiving any more of our hard-earned dollars. It was so bad, that we were booked on a B2B and chose to get off the ship after our first leg, even with it costing us some of those dollars. We are stuck on a previously-booked 14-day Journeys cruise to Alaska next year, praying that the length, itinerary, and sailing month makes the other passengers at least semi well behaved. We're not snobs. Before Covid, we considered Carnival people to be "our people," but post-Covid, it seems to be a different cruise line.

 

So, I've been reading a lot of the posts here on the Celebrity forum. It almost sounds like RCI is turning a once premium line into what Carnival was like pre-Covid. Anyone that can elaborate on this possibility? Honestly, I wouldn't mind trying a line that was like Carnival 18 years ago. We rather enjoyed our pre-Covid cruises. But I want to be prepared not to expect "premium" when it isn't anymore.

 

And, if someone with experience could elaborate on the difference between Celebrity and HAL post-Covid, I would appreciate it. The plan was to try MSC first, then Celebrity, then HAL. But after reading these reviews, I'm wondering if moving straight to HAL might be a better option for us.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

We’ve sailed on Carnival, Princess, Royal, Disney, NCL & Celebrity.   We have sailed numerous times with Celebrity & in no way does it compare to Carnival. At least that’s my opinion.  Celebrity is a step above the lines that we have sailed with.  The service, food & entertainment are wonderful.  
That being said, we have seen some significant changes in the cruise industry since Covid.  We recently found out that Royal is making changes to their menus & even Celebrity is now offering specialties on their dining menus for an up charge.  Once one line does it, the others will probably follow.  But in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with Celebrity.  

Hi everyone

looking for suggestions on how to get my daughter from Miami Airport to the Cruise Port in Orlando.  We are sailing in April & can get to Miami easier then Orlando & was hoping someone knew an easy way for her to get to the ship.  Any ideas would be helpful.