AshleyDillo

1. Im OK outside of lots of bruises, especially to my ego. 2. I definitely became a "liability" that evening

There were definitely folks strolling through with their coffee mugs before we called it a night (morning?) That night hurt..but not as much as night 1 where I fell down the casino stairs

They likely haven't turned it on yet for Star as it's a new ship and they may not have 100% finalized what the dining venues are.

Cheers to @OCSC Mike!

I made it onboard! Wooooo. Now it really feels like vacation. Can't wait to see all my cruise nerd friends in a few days.

You can bring on 12 cans per stateroom..just bring what you prefer to drink!

Actually if you cancel your annual tier cruise they will add it back to your account to use for something else. It's the one that definitely has the most flexibility.

I made it to Atlanta..first step in my journey. Flight boards in 4 hours so it's time to chug my drinks and people watch!

I've always seen them in the WJ for lunch on CocoCay day which is why you'd likely never have caught them before!

The chicken karage is pretty good. It's basically chicken nuggets, but made with thigh meat instead of the breast.

Meeeeeeee! I leave on Sunday and haven't even started packing but I finally did my UK ETA. Better late than never! I will admit the email telling me not to contact them before June 17 if I hadn't heard back was a little concerning but fortunately my approval came through within an hour of applying. There are no direct flights from Tallahassee, so I'm renting a car to drive to Atlanta for an overnight flight. I can sleep anywhere, so I actually prefer a red eye when possible. I'm also staying at a Holiday Inn Express at the Heathrow airport so I'll be able to check in shortly after my flight lands and not have to deal with luggage storage. I have no plans for my approximately 36 hours in London, so I will be winging it. I've been there before and I'm comfortable getting around, just indecisive as to what I want to do since I'm on my own and I've seen most of the touristy things already. I'm traveling light with only one medium sized checked suitcase and a large backpack carry-on so I can avoid too much struggle with carrying my own stuff. I also chose my hotel and transportation based on having to haul my own stuff. The last time I visited London was February 2020 I did it only with a large carry-on backpack and realized having to drag suitcases would be a lot tougher. At least for me I will have unlimited laundry on the first 3-night leg of the cruise and then I can use my D+ laundry bag during the 8-night second leg.

The ship swim diaper rules don't apply at CocoCay, so your toddler can definitely enjoy the complimentary Splashaway Bay and Jill's Galleon areas and swim in the Oasis lagoon pool.

And here I thought I was fortunate to be in a window seat in economy with only 2/3/2 configuration *cries in poor*

I've tried all of the hot dishes on the Izumi menu and you can't go wrong with any of them. The Udon is pretty good, just thick stir fried noodles with some veggies and your choice of protein.

They usually will hold the lunch if they meet a certain threshold of B2B cruisers. I'm not sure exactly what the count has to be and whether that number varies from ship to ship. It's held in the MDR and the menu is different from other menus. In my opinion if you feel Chops is a 10, the special turnaround lunch is about a 6.

Ft. Lauderdale has a ton of options depending on what you are looking for. The port is super close to the airport which has a lot of hotels that offer airport shuttles. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale 17th Street as I'm typically cruising with my mother and that's her preference. Personally I feel like it's overpriced, but it's really close to the port and has a good breakfast. There is also a shopping plaza with a grocery store and restaurants that is walkable so you can easily grab your wine, soda, sunscreen and dinner the night before. The Dania Pointe area has some good choices as well. It's a little further to the port but closer to the airport. Of course there are beach hotels as well, but I'm not a beach person so I wouldn't pay the premium to stay at any of those.

Woohoo! I'm on the first leg of your sailing, the "friends" part and official blog group cruise. I'm also doing the 3 night right before it that goes to Belgium because it was a casino comp. Maybe I will post some of that in here..maybe not. I've been feeling pretty lazy when it comes to doing more than just approving messages on here lately

I am a Moderator in that group. It is legit.

You get the $40 credit regardless of what you paid for the reservation.

Izumi hibachi is a fixed cost. If you prepay in the cruise planner, you will not have to pay anything additional when you dine there and you will be able to choose whichever 2 proteins you want regardless of the combos given on the menu. Your meal will include salad, hibachi with your 2 protein choices, rice, and vegetables and one dessert choice. You can chose to add sushi or drinks at the ala carte menu price. If you have a drink package, the drinks will be included. If you have the dining package, there's a $15 upcharge for dining at Izumi hibachi. If you do not prepay for Izumi hibachi, you will pay the menu prices for whatever you order. When you prepay in the cruise planner to dine at Izumi sushi you can either opt for the $39.99 prix fixe menu which gives you 1 small plate option, 2 large plate options, and 1 dessert. Or you can choose to go ala carte which in that case you will get a credit for up to $40 in (food) menu items. If you do not pre-pay then you pay menu pricing for whatever you order. One of those menu options is the $39.99 prix fixe deal. If you have a drink package, the drinks will be included.

It's basically India's answer to a funnel cake. Should have a sweet syrup on it that's infused with something aromatic depending on what they have available.

As I said it's pretty rare. I think it's not allowed for NY residents at all and when I was shopping travel insurance most of the time it excluded FL residents also. The coverage doesn't technically meet the definition of insurance, so it's more of an added feature/benefit of a policy. Sometimes it's referred to as missed port cover or cruise itinerary change coverage and it is specific to providing a flat payout for a port change. I see it a lot more on insurance policies outside of the US. Even for carriers that offer it, it's described very vaguely on their site and you can't really explore the policy language surrounding it without purchasing a policy.

For travel insurance policies that include this coverage they do cover at any point the itinerary changes from the date you book. It's a pretty rare clause and specifically just gives you a payout if there's a change without requiring any proof you suffered a financial loss.

I've never seen them on a ship, but a dosa is basically a savory Indian crepe.