iluvsunandsand

hi everyone,

I have planned my parents cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Ruby Princess.

The last thing I have to do is book a shuttle/transportation from the port in San Pedro back to LAX after the cruise.

Any suggestions? or should I just tell my parents to take a cab? thank you

hi everyone,

i'm looking for 1 night hotel pre-cruise on the Ruby Princess leaving from the Port of LA(World CruisePort).

Can anyone recommend a safe place to stay(San Pedro or Long Beach) that is close to the port of LA, eateries and has a free breakfast offered? Also, if possible, free airport shuttle-we are arriving from Long Beach airport.

thanks for any info

i know, we saw the forecast for most of the western caribbean,cuba,bahamas, jamaica and are trying to book a last minute cruise on CArnival Victory leaving this Monday out of Miami and even Miami's forecast is rain into the weekend

I saw the Accuweather live satellite and the reports are calling it a tropical depression 9 that is "slow moving" and says it will continue into next week with rain. Not sure what to do. I think either way, just have a good time. Plus, the weather is unpredictable during hurricane season and I haven't seen any alerts yet on the different cruise sites.

just read this as I was considering booking a quick cruise in June-forget those plans.

thanks so much for your review-your pics and videos were amazing !/B]

I just came across your posts, great pics! We're considering Breeze ast a last minute quick get-away.

your pics are amazing. thx for sharing!

oops, I just realized I got my info mixed up, the Crown Bay Dock is St. Thomas

hi everyone,

does Allure of the Seas dock at the Crown Bay dock? Also, how far is the water taxi that goes into Phillipsburg, from the Crown Bay dock?

I'm just trying to plan for my elderly parents day in port and the water taxi would be so helpful. thanks!

hi,

just read that Allure of the seas docks at the Crown Bay dock in St. Maarten. Can anyone confirm?

Also,how far is the water taxi to St. Maarten (Phillipsburg) ?

I'm trying to plan for my elderly parents cruise in a few days and the water taxi would be helpful . thanks for any info!

hi everyone,

re: the Dreamworks parade in the Royal Promenade on Allure of the Seas, do they have this only once during a sailing? on which day(s) usually? thanks

hi maureencruiser,

i really enjoyed reading your blog on Allure. I came across it while doing some research on Allure so that I can book a cruise on Allure tomorrow for my parents who are retired. thanks for all the info and great pics!

thx for everyone's reassurance. I'm now just deciding between cabin 9703 or 12707 which are both balcony's with Boardwalk view.

My concern with 9703 is that it is just above the restaurants and with 12707 there is only Deck 14 separating it from the pool deck 15 (scraping deck chairs?)

Any last minute input before I book one of these cabins. thanks everyone!

hi again,

I am narrowing down my cabin search. It's come down to Boardwalk view w/balcony. The few cabins that are left are on deck 9 or 10 and around 5 or 6 cabins away from Dazzles.

Any comments/advice from anyone re: noise who has stayed in any cabins close to Dazzles?

I know that Dazzles spans 2 decks (Deck 8 to 10?) ....I am more concerned about if any music/noise can be heard in the cabin and if the balcony doors are closed. Until what time is Dazzles open until?

This cabin is for my senior parents who aren't overly sensitive to noise, but who do go to bed around midnight-1am. thanks again

Boardwalk balconies let you watch the shows from your balcony. You also get some view of the ocean.

thanks for reminding me about the shows. That is a plus to choosing boardwalk balcony

hi Jobeth66,

thanks for the quick reply. I will take your advice-there are a few cabin choices and I will figure the bed placement from there. I wonder if i call customer service at RC if they can tell me exactly based on cabin number. I've also been checking a site where specific cabins are rated and travellers can post pictures of actual cabins, but I haven't found the specific cabins I've been researching.

Also, re: adjoining rooms. One of the cabins I was looking at, is an adjoining room. Have you ever had one of those types of room? My question is, are those rooms more susceptible to noise issues from their adjoining room because they share a common door?

I remember reading that more than once in other people's posts. thanks

hi all,

I'm just about to book a last minute balcony room(either Central park view or Boardwalk view) for my parents for this April on Allure of the Seas.This is their first time. I have read that some rooms have the bed located beside the closet(which is a tight space) or beside the balcony(the preferred location).

Does anyone know on which side of the ship, the bed-next-to-the balcony cabins are located?

Also, my parents have chosen and inside facing balcony because they like to people watch.Most of their time will be spent exploring the ship and out of the room but would like to have the option of relaxing on the balcony to people-watch or have a drink or quick bite to eat.

Any comments on which inside balcony cabin to choose (Central park vs Boardwalk) and why? thanks for any help or suggestions

just got my dress- decided on this BCBG black cocktail dress and my husband will wear a nice black suit. I decided on a short cocktail length dress vs a full length gown bc cocktail length is more me. CAn't wait, it will be fun! A few more weeks to go...

http://www.bcbg.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12894552&cp=4213681.2769162.2768993&cid=101382&affcode=101382&k_clickid=6bbb1e00-b7a3-e4e8-33cc-00001968904f&007=Search&006=9319408507&002=2450252&012=bcbg+dresses&searchdef=2450252&021=522625084&009=e&view=all&gclid=CITRmoyPs60CFXO-tgodyU6Tmg&parentPage=family

I was looking at the spa menu, but still not so sure...can be tricky for a vegan as I am.

I will stick with my regular healthy eating plan,plain salads, and definitely no breads/rice or pasta or fried food. No alcohol.

It does require discipline and for some/many, may seem extreme. Healthy eating is a lifestyle and for me I am used to eating a certain way and I enjoy it and feel good about making healthy choices. I prefer not to stray from how I usually eat and what my body is used to. To overindulge while on my cruise is not for me, what I look forward to is the sun, relaxation and seeing new places .

I think that if you are going to have a dessert, just go ahead and enjoy it Maybe instead of having the entire dessert, just have a few bites.

Or if you are trying to maintain your diet, just order a dessert but not everyday.

Please save the daggers.

What is it with the Indian food on the buffets? Our last cruise had it on the tables for lunch almost everyday. Sorry It's nasty ! We were on Carnival for 5 days. I can understand one day. But 4 out of 5 Come on! And it looks like NCL also has it on there buffet. I just can't take another cruise filled with Curry ...I hope they don't serve in morning noon and night.

Am I the only one who doesn't like it ??

Please tell me I will only see it 1 day on my next trip? (ncl-jewel)

to each his own, no one is forced to eat anything,

it's nice to have flavorful options and not just the typical burger and greasy fries or fatty battered/breaded dishes.

since buying photos are onboard are so expensive, why not just take your own? I never understood buying photos on-board

for us, we won't have much of a tab bc we don't drink, don't do art auctions, don't drink sugary sodas and book all our excursions off-ship

thank you for the replies.

I just re-read the Carnival link that I was emailed and it said that travellers are required to get the vaccine IF they have certain travel history to certain parts or Africa and SOuth America or if they have been in transit>12 hours in the airport of one of the high risk countires. I also went on the CDC and specifically checked the Barbados and St. Kitt's entry requirements and they confirmed this criteria.

So we don't have to get the vaccine bc we don't fit any of the criteria.

Here is the link to the CDC site which is great, you can just click on the country and they provide entry requirements/recommnedations ie. vaccines. Also they report on disease outbreaks etc

http://www.cdc.gov/

Hi everyone,

we are so excited to be going on our first cruise(Carnival Victory-Southern Caribbean) in the next few weeks.

But just got an email from Carnival re: Yellow fever certificate specifically for entry into Barbados? has anyone else received this email?

I'm just waiting to hear back from Carnival to clarify if we need this vaccine because the memo that was emailed to me was a little unclear and our internet agency that we book our cruise with seemed certain that we needed this vaccine prior to embarkation.

By the way, we are from Canada which is not one of the countries "at risk" for yellow fever and we have not travelled anywhere where there is a risk