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DJsMrs

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Everything posted by DJsMrs

  1. Worrying about it won't change it. Maybe go with a lava flow if it all falls apart - then you'll care less
  2. My son's first cruise was when he was 9 months old... I was a hot mess stressing out about everything. We packed a banker's box with baby snacks (mumums, jarred baby food and formula) and that worked well. Umbrella stroller is everything - you won't have room for a big one in your stateroom. If you're stopping in San Juan, there's a Walgreens at the port if you run out of anything. A towel on the patio floor made for a great play area for him while we sat outside with him We borrowed toys on board - but that might have been princess... Swim diapers - if they're allowed in the splash pool, I genuinely don't remember the rules, but I'm sure someone will. Have a plan for nap times - we would take turns, or watch a movie/read/nap on the balcony... same with evenings. We didn't fight the hours - my husband was the gatherer... would go get snacks and drinks and we enjoyed every minute of our evenings on balcony. Staff will go crazy for your little one... we could barely get him back when our meals were done - at first I struggled (nervous first-time mum), but most are missing family at home and are so happy to have a munchkin on board they love holding the littles and showing them off to other crew We had a blast - it was definitely a different cruise than we have now that the boys are older, but I'm so glad we travelled with our kids when they were little - I hope you have SO much fun! Take videos - pictures are good, but you'll be thankful for quick little clips in ten years
  3. Pro Tip - heed this warning... it's dive-bombing season for crows (they're guarding their babies)- so if you see these signs when you're back in VanCity. It's a news story every spring and people are often walking around with umbrellas on bright sunny days to keep their head safe - they are serious about guarding their littles! Have a GREAT cruise!
  4. You can pre-order your drinks, neat - then add ice and mix as needed throughout the evening - Your genie will definitely hook this up for you.
  5. I always remember this fun fact from a customer service seminar. If a customer has a bad experience they'll happily tell, on average, 10 people. If they have a great experience they'll typically tell 2 or 3. People love to complain - keep that in mind when you're reading the bad reviews. Definitely worth considering, but I wouldn't take it as gospel.
  6. I can guarantee that if the food in Mexico was a general issue the ships would either not stop there, or there would be copious warnings about not eating or drinking while ashore. The last thing they need is a ship full of people with Montezuma's... Having said that - maybe stick with bottled water. If you're concerned about the ice in a cocktail - have a beer.
  7. I have 2 upcoming cruises in my app and can see menus on Allure, but not Jewel. I wonder if it has to do with the ship?
  8. @dejavu21has it nailed. Take the bus up to the bridge - then back to Canada Place. The train station isn't too far away from Canada Place (not walkable, but much closer than the airport). If you can store your bags at Canada Place somewhere you could hit the suspension bridge, whip back, and then grab a cab over to the train station - it's only 10-20 minutes away (10 in lighter traffic - 20 in rush hour). Have fun!
  9. And lord help you if you have weapons... knives, pepper spray, even ammo. It's interesting because in Canada a DUI isn't a guaranteed criminal offense. It's either an IRP (immediate roadside prohibition - which sucks, costs a boatload and the car is impounded for 90 days regardless of who owns it), or you can be charged under the Criminal Code. Most first time offenders are not charged with a criminal offense. I'm surprised they're so strict with people who have had one DWI in the US. This caught my eye though: Deemed rehabilitation Deemed rehabilitation, under Canada’s immigration law, means that enough time has passed since you were convicted that your crime may no longer bar you from entering Canada. You may be deemed rehabilitated depending on: the crime, if enough time has passed since you finished serving the sentence for the crime and if you have committed more than one crime. In all cases, you may only be deemed rehabilitated if the crime committed outside Canada has a maximum prison term of less than 10 years if committed in Canada.
  10. This is an ideal balcony breakfast! Cupcakes in more ways than one
  11. Our genie had to ask some people to move from our seats on Harmony one time - she was a gem "you may sit anywhere in the theatre except in these two seats." You can't argue with that... well, I guess you could, but they didn't after she repeated herself a few times and even pointed out several options for them.
  12. Could be argued the most important/fun meal of the day?
  13. Agreed - it's a starting point - with reef safe, and as we know better we do better. At least you're looking at it! It can be overwhelming for sure - I don't think you need to worry about laws and penalties. You'll know when you get there if it's a hard core law and you don't meet the requirements because I can promise you someone will be there to sell you a 25 dollar container of sunscreen that they say meets the rules. Just do your best Not sure someone saw the worst... probably just a rushed post that came off wrong - hence the trouble with these forums sometimes. Wow - it's a big convo about sunscreen hey? But I was really happy to see the mineral spray offered by sun bum (and other companies too probably) and I'll be looking into that next time we need to buy more. I typically buy in bulk when it's on sale so we're set for at least one more vacation. lol Have a great cruise!
  14. Maybe instead of implying that people who do less than you, or who are trying to understand, don't care about the reef, put aside your judgey tone and embrace the effort being put in to questions asked. People are allowed to ask questions like "it is coming out in top 10 so what's wrong with that." This is a fair question. In your response all you did was list ingredients without any reference/comparison to their use in the product being discussed and information in a vacuum is useless to the reader. Your list of ingredients to avoid, compared with Sunbum 50spf lotion, and why it's not 100% embraced by reefsafe.org (for those who are trying to understand) Oxybenzone - not in SunbumOctinoxate - not in sunbumOctocrylene - 10%Homosalate - 10%4-methylbenzylidene camphor - not in sunbumPABA - not in SunbumParabens - not in SunbumTriclosan - no tin Sunbum So - it meets the Hawaii standards which may be a bare minimum but this is improvement over what has been used historically - absolutely with room for improvement (but that's a no brainer we can always do better), but not as bad as some others. SunBum now has a mineral sunscreen spray that doesn't have any of the ingredients to avoid in it ... so overall change is coming and options are becoming more plentiful. Climate change is also a huge contributor to bleaching of reefs - science thinks maybe even more than sunscreen, and I'm willing to bet you still drive a car, heat your house, and I know you take cruises We all do - it's about finding balance and trying to do better without shaming people who are trying. Now I'll grab a bowl of popcorn and watch this conversation devolve into a debate about why the reefs are dying and how climate change isn't real. lol
  15. I have one kid who is bomb proof and one kid who breaks out in a rash if he looks at something funny. So far no issues
  16. Sun Bum tends to meet all the sunscreen requirements of the Hawaii Act 104 (Reef Safe) ... and it smells amazing. Here's a link to some of their sunscreens - and I love they're in a bunch of different delivery methods. Kids love the sprays, I'm all about a face stick/balm... everyone is happy and hopefully avoiding skin cancer Granted this not the only company that has reef--compliant sunscreens, I just like having all my options organised in one place. lol https://www.sunbum.com/collections/hawaii-act-104-reef-compliant-sun-care
  17. You'd be hard-pressed to squeeze 10 in around the hibachi grill.....
  18. We've been super lucky to have 3 star class cruises and have had 2 hits and one miss. Our first was with 7 of us (3 adults and 4 kids) in the 2BR AquaTheatre suite. He was disappointing. He made it hard to contact him (email vs. whatsapp or messenger), and didn't really do much to go above and beyond, only responded during specific hours and to the most basic requests that I could have done more easily on my own. We felt like an inconvenience. If we hadn't already had our 2nd star class booked I'm not sure I would have jumped again. We were really disheartened - especially after having heard so many great things about star class. Second - 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) - Star Loft Suite - December 2021 - our first trip out of the country after Covid (we 're Canadian) and Agostina was an absolute GAME CHANGER. Anything we wanted - no ask was too big or too small. She made my kids feel welcome and was happy to make them feel a bit extra (snacks, treats, general kindness). Honestly, though, the biggest was our covid tests to get home - we had a couple of hiccups and she was an absolute rock star and sorted it all out - and we made it home in one piece. Also, my luggage was lost on the way to this cruise and I did an emergency 11:30pm trip to target for 5 pieces of clothing that I would wear for the week... but Agostina did everything she could to follow up with the airline to get it delivered to one of our ports. Sadly it wasn't possible (remove ports and Covid-reduced flight options), but it was nice to feel like someone was trying to do something. I cried when we left Harmony for this cruise - she is amazing. Of note on our second star-class cruise we ran into a couple who were on our first star class cruise and they had the same disappointing Genie experience as us - and they were so frustrated with him they had a meeting with the hotel director on day 2 and had him changed. They had sailed many star class cruises and knew what to expect and knew that the service wasn't up to par. Having said that, I think he was very new and since then I've only read really great things about him and that passengers are loving him - and I was thrilled to see that.. genies can't be easy to acquire! Third - 4 of us - (2 couples) in the Royal Loft Suite - we scored a royal up from our AquaTheatre Suite to the Royal Loft and Andrei was our angel sent from heaven. He made sure we had the best staff, great seats, anything we needed in our room, anything we needed period. And it wasn't over-bearing... just kind and amazing. Love him. I cried when we left Symphony too. lol It's the intangibles with the Genie. We overslept for our nap and would have been late to dinner.... reservation changed. Hot tub on the balcony not working (first world problem, right?), fixed within the hour, escorted off the ship instead of waiting with everyone in a hour-long line, expedited boarding and straight to the room to drop off carry-on, snacks in the room when boarding and taking a minute to enjoy the room/balcony, morning coffee deliveries (with a morning text asking if we want it after I forgot to order the night before), hiccups with on-board credit handled by the genie, daily laundry is something I don't know how I will live without now that I've had it - lol! I find it hard to ask for things (my husband finds it easier - go figure), so it took me a minute to get over "I don't want to bother him/her." Which isn't to say we were texting all day, but for example - on a work day we were stuck in the suite one day and we just sent a quick text asking to have some sandwiches sent up from Park Cafe - and boom - 30 minutes later we were eating a great lunch on the balcony. Is a genie a necessity? No. Have we also sailed post-genie in a regular room? Yes. Did I have a terrible cruise? No. Just different. I don't mind planning and making reservations and handling the logistics of my cruise. Having said that, I do all that stuff at home and it was really nice to not have to sweat it out for a couple of trips. We have our 4th star class coming up this summer - we have a 2BR ATS and are travelling with friends who are in a different 2BR ATS - and I think the genie is going to be very valuable with our group of 9. I'm literally counting the sleeps.
  19. He could certainly go in and float - there is no rule saying that you must snorkel when you're in the water. They will most certainly have life jackets, and more often than not tour providers offer noodles, etc.
  20. You have to log into your account online on a computer. In your check in your cruise documents will all be there and you can print them from there. Having said that - if you ask at the port they always have someone who can help you and get you some tags.
  21. Or - if you have two cell phones and are on ship's internet - just open a facetime and let it run. Mute the phone in the room so he can't hear you - but you can hear his sqwaks, if any. But - having travelled with little kids - you'll hear them if they're crying. Especially a 2 year old.
  22. OMG- we've been missing out!!! Thanks for this -- I will definitely post a reminder for our cruise this year - Thank you!!!!
  23. I have no memory of seeing that and we've been on three cruises in the past year - we're diamond, so I think we would have qualified... but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I usually buy the credits in the cruise planner and get $50 for $40... I'll keep my eyes peeled for this offer when we're on board on July!
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