melmar02

My daughter fell asleep on one of the couches in AO one night. She was 11, and it had been a long port day. The AO party just continued around her. We woke her up when we picked her up at 10, and she went right back to sleep when we got to our cabin.

Go on day one to register them. The Cruise Compass will list the time as Adventure Ocean Open House or something similar. I want to say it has been a block of time like 1-3pm. Then the kids can go the first night to start having fun. If you don't make it day one, you can register them any time AO is open. Teen club didn't require registration.

We're on this one too. It's the second leg of a B2B for us.

Grand suites and up do have a nightly happy hour in the sweet lounge usually from 5 to 8 PM. Junior suites do not count as full suites, and are not included in this.

I love these videos. I bet they spend quite a bit more on food now as this video is a few years old. I've raised prices twice in the last year alone due to food cost increases.

They have combined the Voyager and Explorer age groups on every cruise we have been on. We typically sail while public school is in session.

We were on Liberty last Valentine's Day. They decorated one end of the Promenade with a string of red and white balloons (like a balloon arch that was upside down) , and they had balloons around some of the venues too. I don't recall anything special like a themed triva, but they did have a special dinner at Chops that included a glass of champagne, lobster, and some sort of dessert in addition to the standard menu. It was quite a bit more than the standard fee. $80ish per person comes to mind. I may have posted about it in the live blog linked in my signature.

We love love Paradise Beach - my kids are 10 and 14. Chankanaab and Playa Mia are also good if you think your girls will want more than a beach and pool. Paradise does have those big inflatables in the ocean, but my kids (especially my 14yo girl) don't like how much work it takes to get on them so the additional cost was a waste of money for us. Cozumel has an Amazing Race that is based on the tv show which you could book through their website https://amazingcozumelrace.com/

Do you know if the refunded OBC can be cashed out or used in the casino? I'm gonna be spending money there anyway.

I have an excursion I need to cancel, and all these horror stories are making me nervous. I'm not losing our first star class room over $250 though!

I believe the package is your "sitting fee". I don't recall in lovetocruise's blog if any photos were included. She did list some of the photo package prices though.

I bet they were delicious! Each country has it's own labeling laws and requirements, but the alcohol is needed to carry the flavor from the vanilla pod into the liquid. I'm sure there was some in there. You can make your own with a few vanilla beans and vodka. I go through it too fast to try that though. It's a wonder we're not asked if we're bringing vanilla back when disembarking in Galveston.

@Lovetocruise2002 just had a family photo session on her NYE sailing and posted about it in her live blog.

Interestingly, by law vanilla extract in the US must contain 35% alcohol.

Diamond Plus is not until 175 points, so you are Diamond when you receive your first block....it's just not right away.

Someone just posted one in another thread.

Room service had some good options for us too, but anything other that a continental breakfast has a $7.95 charge (for the entire order, not per item).

My daughter is on the spectrum too (the old Asperger's diagnosis). We had good luck with the kid's menu in the MDR on her first cruise when she was 10, and she even branched out and enjoyed a few things from the adult menus as well. We ate a lot of dinners at Windjammer on her second cruise just because it worked with our schedule better that time around. You could definitely go to both if nothing appealed to your kids at the MDR. The Windjammer is open to about 9pm I think - check the hours in the Cruise Compass. Cafe Promenade is on deck 5, and is open later than the Windjammer, but my kids only really like the desserts there. My kids will be on their 5th cruise in April and my daughter eats entirely from the adult menus now, but it would not be a problem for her to order from the kid's menu if she wanted. The MDR kids menu includes a hamburger/cheeseburger, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, mac & cheese, spaghetti with marinara. Sides are a fruit salad, fries, or veggie sticks with ranch. Ice cream or cookies for dessert. If they have something plain like grilled chicken on the adult menu, you could (at least in the past) get that without any sauce or sauce on the side - that worked well for us too. We haven't been onboard since the new menus came out, but I am sure they would still accommodate this request. If I were you, I would make a point to go to the main dining room the early afternoon on the day you board. They will have someone there taking care of requests, and you could let them know your concerns and ask any questions.

We sailed on Radiance at the beginning of June. Our 10 yr old had plenty of friends to play with in Adventure Ocean, and our teen said the Teen club had quite a few people in it at night. However, as parents, we didn't notice a lot of kids onboard.

I'm glad you had a good trip despite the smell. I can't speak to that bit, but we have always homeschooled our kids. I schedule our school year around our vacations, and we always sail when public school is in session. There are always enough kids onboard for mine to find new friends, but the kids always say they seem to be the only homeschoolers onboard.

Invite someone else or sail solo and get double points!

I plan to leave the kids with DH at yhe top and I'll run to where I can an get the Allure words in the background. I have visions of me yelling across the decks, "Not yet, I hit food mode on the camera! Ok, you can go now! I missed it. You have to go again!"

We always get a photo package as we use them for family photos. We'll be on Allure in April - our first time on an Oasis class. I was wondering if there were any unique photo backdrops or areas - Central Park or the Boardwalk for example? We love our stair photos and of course will get the typical ship backdrop, etc. Just curious if I should be on the lookout for something not offered on the Freedom and below class ships too.

We each carry our own regular backpacks as a carry-on on embarkation day. We can fit an extra change of clothes, essential toiletries, bathing suits, any documents (set sail pass, passports, etc.) and our gallon size bag of "travel pharmacy stuff". They double as excursion bags later in the trip.

I don't know why it just dawned on me, because I've looked at the new menus quite a bit, but there is no cheese or fruit plate anymore either. Guess I'll be ordering the fruit from the kids menu and getting my brie fix somewhere else. Sadly the cheese plate was DD's go to app. We loved the classics because she's on the spectrum and we always knew that there was something in that section she would eat.