MaryCS62

DH, 2 DD'S and I are scheduled for late July on Adventure out of Bayonne -- still plan (unless told categorically otherwise) to make final payment on April 30 -- our 90 day mark -- and hope to be on the ship as scheduled. I WILL NOT cancel unless we have to -- and lose my $18/day ?drink package ?

As I don't care for the room service coffee, and in fact, prefer iced coffee in the summertime/or cruising in warm weather areas, I get my iced latte (courtesy of the Deluxe drink package) the night before, stick it in the little fridge, then order pastries & toast to start the morning -- and hope DH gets up for the door :)

Also, it depends on if you can self-disembark (in other words, take yourself and ALL your luggage off), or if you need your bags carried off for you. Self disembark can be done very early -- shortly after the ship docks. I've never done it, so I don't know exactly when you can leave. Otherwise, standard disembark, you are assigned a time (just so they can stagger the departures), although I believe you can ask them if you want to go earlier or later than the assigned time. If you do that, most of your bags are left outside the room the evening before, with luggage tags they leave for you, and you disembark & pick them up after you go through customs. For various reasons, we only do standard disembark, as late as we can, because we drive to the port, and travel with someone with medical issues, so "fast" is not in our wheelhouse, but many other people report being off the ship within 20 minutes of the earliest allowed time when they self disembark. How many bags you have, how far the airport is from the cruise port, what time you have to be in the terminal for your flight home -- all these factors are important for choosing your flight home. Conventional wisdom suggests nothing earlier than noon/1pm, since any number of things can delay your being able to get off the ship, including late arrival, problems with retrieving your bags, traffic between the port & the airport, etc.

My nephew had his study abroad in Italy (Florence) just cut short & told to come home -- he has to be home by Friday. He's really bummed about it, he was having a marvelous time, was traveling all over (part of most of the classes involved field trips - he actually got to go to Fashion Week in Milan one day), and of course, he was traveling all over Europe on the weekends when he had no classes. My sister is being affected as well -- she & her other son were going to visit him in a couple of weeks, and of course, that's not happening now, and she doesn't know if she'll just lose the money (or points) that she paid out for the airline tickets. I'm really glad my next cruise isn't til summer -- plenty of time for this to go away (I hope!)

My next cruise is almost 5 months away, so I'm not concerned about it now -- if this is still an issue 5 months from now, we've got bigger problems than whether or not I get my vacation -- especially since I work in a hospital -- I'm more worried about what's going to happen at work at that point. Glad it's not the next 2 weeks -- DD just came down with a bad cold & has a slight fever, so that would really screw us up.

I'm surprised by this -- my DD has celiac disease (gluten free) & a degree of lactose intolerance as well, so avoids dairy for the most part, and was always able to get a non dairy milk for her coffee/lattes. As far as I know, you may have to ask for them, but they have non dairy options on board.

You can bring it back, or you can have them mark & hold it for you. If you're elsewhere another night (say, one of the specialty restaurants, but your wine was held for you when you were in the MDR), you can tell your waiter that & they will get it for you to drink.

That sounds like us. DH always wears long pants & either a polo shirt or dress shirt with blazer, with or without a tie, depending on the venue (we never do Windjammer for dinner, so it's either MDR, specialty, or on Anthem, Coastal Kitchen). I wear either long sundresses or dressy pants/top with low sandals (knee issues prohibit heels for me). I'll often skip makeup during the day, but will wear it for dinner, along with a little jewelery. Won't go crazy, but do like to make the effort.

We just booked a cruise Monday for Grandeur next March, (adjoining Jr Suites), and after they were booked, I went looking for general info, deck plans, etc, & saw a note on another website indicating that certain rooms have a pole in the middle of the room, right at the end of the bed. Uh-oh -- realized that was the room the DD's were booked into, & since older one is disabled, unsteady on her feet in general, & uses a wheelchair outside the room, I was concerned that the pole might become an issue. Figured, OK, no problem, just switch rooms, DH & I can handle it. My TA first said there might be a charge, since normally one person has to be on the original reservation, but then emailed me today to say that she s/w someone at Royal & got the cabins switched, no problem BTW, does anyone know WHY there are poles in the middle of the cabin???

DH will not eat sushi, but will eat @ Izumi for the Hot Rocks on our Grandeur cruise next year -- just hoping it will be an option for DD who has celiac. She will eat sushi also if it can be guaranteed gluten free, but more the cooked than uncooked type. If it's real crab meat, vs imitation, then she'll be fine. Just have to check the sauces to see if they are gf.

Excellent!! We don't need a handicap room for DD, she is not confined to the wheelchair, it's for safety, & to get around more quickly (she has CP, but can walk, just slowly & has balance issues). Don't need the roll in shower, a shower chair does fine, & the Jr Suite has the tub, which is better. For the Izumi entrance, even if there was a step or 2 at the end, we'd manage, but glad to see the ramp. Also, with Hot Rocks, might get to actually eat there (instead of just doing the sushi class) -- DH doesn't care for sushi, & younger DD is gluten free, so Hot Rocks might be safer than Hibachi.

So, DH & I want to cruise in March 2021, during his Spring Break week (he teaches at a community college) & we just got the calendar, so we can finally book. Unfortunately, our usual choice (Bayonne) is unavailable, as Anthem that week is the "Philadelphia Eagles" special cruise, and NOT AT ALL our thing -- not into football, wouldn't be an Eagles fan if I were. So, our next closest port is Baltimore for sailing out of, as we can drive there, & don't want to fly to Florida. It's also the 2nd to last Grandeur cruise before she switches to the other cruise company. So -- have some questions about Grandeur. I know she is an older/smaller ship, without most of the bells & whistles, which is alright by us. This is mainly going to be relax in the sun, might not even get off the ship much except in Charleston, as we've never been, & that will depend on the weather. Was mainly looking at the things to do & places to eat on the ship. I'm curious about Izumi, as it's situated on deck 12, with access from deck 11. 1) Is it only stairs, or do they have a lift/elevator/handicap access? -- traveling with DD in a wheelchair 2) Is it just sushi, or do they have hibachi/hot rocks? Also -- I can't tell if there is a solarium restaurant, or just something called Park Cafe, which sounds like the basic free foods that are available on the Promenade on other ships Does anyone recommend trying this ship/cruise? I know other people here are big fans of her, so just wanted some perspectives. I've also heard that she's a little rundown, & not as well kept, and that is a concern. We're looking at connecting Junior Suites - mainly for the room & extra points, as I know there's no CK or other perks associated with them on the smaller ship.

I like the Freestyle machines, so I carry the cup, but have been able to get cans or glasses of soda at all locations that dispensed them. It's not a problem

Possibly meaning, do the sides open between adjoining balconies? Unfortunately, I can't answer, never having been on Independence, but I know that it depends on what material they are made from.

My time Dining is going to be in two of the 4 main dining rooms that Quantum has -- assuming it is the same as on Anthem

I'm pretty sure it's a sit down dinner with a tasting menu of items from various specialty restaurants across the cruise line -- even if your particular ship doesn't have that restaurant (ie, a choice from CP150 or Sabor might be available, even if your ship doesn't have that restaurant).

You can bring on UNOPENED prepackaged food -- so a fresh jar of PB&J should be fine. The mini fridge in your room isn't truly cold, but even though you are supposed to refrigerate opened jars of jelly, there's too much sugar in them to go bad if you keep them reasonably cool. Bread might be a problem to bring on board, unless it's in a vacuum sealed package, but unless he's super picky about bread too, just bring some sandwich baggies on board & pick up bread at the windjammer (buffet restaurant). Keep in mind that you cannot bring food OFF the ship unless it is still in sealed packaging (ie, no making him a PBJ & taking it off the ship with you).

Weird -- I'm not either, but I could read it no problem. Scary looking video....

Same as it is any other night -- we prefer go with smart casual for both -- long pants & a polo shirt or button down dress shirt, ( for men, dress or dressy slacks for women

My DH ordered a Blue Moon (beer) at Chops when we had Embarkation day lunch back in May of last year. Waiter misheard, brought him Bourbon -- he decided to try it, although he's not a bourbon drinker, then had to tell the waiter, "Nope, I want my Blue Moon". Luckily, we had the drink package, so it didn't cost him anything to try...

On the ships that have the Freestyle machines, you get a chip enabled cup that allows you many different options -- regular, diet, flavored, powerades, dasani waters, etc. At the bars, it's definitely more limited, but I think you can get Coke, diet Coke, Sprite, possibly diet Sprite, orange (if they have the cans) & gingerale.

Yes, & it's usually cheaper to buy 2 devices for 1 person, than to buy 2 separate 1 person, 1 device package. Do it now, they are at a very good price (at least for my July 2020 sailing, I saved a lot over what I had previously paid)

Well, I was able to upgrade my Voom Surf to Voom Surf & Stream (currently the same price in cruise planner for my sailing, 1 person, 3 devices @ $20.99/day) -- this will be so that 3 of us will be able to be on 1 device @ a time, & it's 50% less than what I was paying for plain Surf for 3 devices, so I'm happy ?. I had originally paid even more ($35.98 for 1 person, 3 devices), so I've saved even more. Was hoping the sushi making class would go on sale, though ?

HIPPA means that your doctor, hospital, pharmacy, etc may not give out your private medical information (except to designated other medical professionals) without your explicit permission. You can waive your right to privacy & have the information given out to certain other people -- it's your right to do so.

We bought the silicone ones -- DD is disabled, & uses a straw cup normally -- in fact, we bring a few of her own cups (tervis type, with a straw hole) for sodas & other thin liquids like that, because it is safer for her to drink out of a covered cup. When we get her mocktails, it is also easier for her to use a silicon or plastic straw, so we have a couple of extras that we bring around. Of course, her wheelchair supports a few bags on the handles, so it's not that much of a hassle to bring the cups, straws, etc with us around the ship.