GregD

Yes, the bus that you get on to go to the space center is the one you do the tour on, so there is essentially no wait. When we did this, we got on the bus at the port, and headed to the space center. This same bus did the tour that you did previously that takes you around the center to the launch pads etc. There was no breaks or anything, so the bus tour essentially started at the port

There are no spa services on Coco Cay. I can’t comment on the other two locations though.

I would recommend the Kennedy Space Center Guided Tour PC15 excursion that should be listed in your cruise planner. My family did this one when we cruised on Anthem a few years back. This tour gets you to the space center on a NASA owned bus, and driven by one of their employees who is very knowledgeable. While on the bus you will be driven around the space center and see the crawler that moves the shuttles, you will drive past the vehicle assembly building, go past the launch pads, and get a nice history of the center. You will also have a guide that takes you around all the exhibits, the Saturn V building, Atlantis etc etc. ours was very good and wasn’t pushy, and never felt rushed. This same bus will return you to the port at the end of the day.

It may be a long way off, but I’ll be on Empress for her April 17, 2021 sailing. Truth be told, your blogs helped convince me to book.

I've stayed at the Boston Mariott Long Warf. Its right on the water and within walking distance to all the downtown fun things to do in Boston, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, The Green Dragon Tavern etc. Its about a 15 minute drive to the cruise port.

There is no charge. You Can plan these in your cruise planner. Once on board you can attempt to do multiple bookings. IFly fills quickly, so you may not be able to experience that multiple times. There will be a standby line for the North Star.

I agree with @BB1, I would have brought this up to guest services at that time. I have seen post after post where concerns are brought to guest services on board and attempts are made to make things right immediately.

Check the cruise compass section on this website and find an itinerary that is the same as yours. They are listed in the cruise compasses.

We were on Navigator, and had the early traditional seating and it was done. I would assume they would do it for the later seating as well, so you will probably be fine. You can always check with the dining manager when on board.

Glad you guys had a great time. Thanks for taking us along!

We were in Nassau in September, and I believe had the same times as you. The end time is arbitrary. The band will get you in the whole day. When you take the shuttle over they will let you know when the “last” shuttle to the ship is that is provided with the excursion. I believe for is it was 4pm even though our ticket said 1 or 2pm. They will also tell you that if you miss that shuttle or stay longer, where to go to call a taxi. Throughout the day they provide shuttles every 30 minutes, so you just grab the one you want, if I am remembering correctly, the return shuttles start at the “ending time” for the excursion. I would suggest making sure you catch the shuttle provided, you don’t want to end up being a pier runner YouTube star!

Yes, there are pumps in the showers that have shampoo etc.

You might be okay. There are a whole lot of variable that can mess this up. This question is asked many times on the forums, many will say you will absolutely make that flight, others will say stick with the later ones. Here is some of my observations from our cruise last month. We just disembarked from Miami. We were in a suite but did not get a "direct" line at customs. This was on Navigator so I dont know if there are differences with the suites program on other ships. When we sailed in a suite on Anthem, our suite concierge walked us directly to a customs agent, with Navigator, she brought us to the gangway and said have a great trip home. What I can reccomend fully though is if you want to try to make that early flight, a passport is a must. We had passports and were through customs in less than 15 minutes. If the facial recognition works, it will be even faster. Since you mentioned you were traveling with kids, plan on it not working. That was our issue, it did not recognize our kids, nor did it recognize the kids in any of the families I saw that tried to use it. The line for Birth Certificates etc was HOURS long when we got off at around 8:45. If you dont have passports, I would reccomend being ready to self carry luggage, and make sure you are off the ship as soon as they allow guests to disembark.

Written in their guest conduct policy states Parents or guardians must not permit any guest in their care under age 18 from leaving a ship in any port without responsible adult supervision. That being said, You could desembark, and see how it goes, but maintain some way to communicate, and be prepared to return to the ship.

Nope, its either with you, or outside your door. No need to notify

That would varry depending on the shuttle. When we were in Nassau, the shuttles had a lap belt at best, so the car seat would only be minimally secured. We have also gone to NASA out of Port Canaveral, and they have busses, again with lap belts. I do not have experience with other shuttles.

So drink prices in the US are around $12USD for frozen/mixed drinks. Assuming they are the same equivalent price for your cruise, you would need 6ish drinks per day to break even (could be more/less depending on bottled water, specialty coffee purchases). On a port heavy itinerary, that may be hard to meet over the whole cruise. While some can, it also becomes can you keep up with 6 alcoholic drinks a day for 8 days in a row as well before feeling like you have just had more than enough. Welcome to the blogs!

We chose the forward one for our upcoming sailing. We liked the bigger balcony, and the room layout of the forward room better.

Edit: Port days, adventure ocean is open all day. Sea days, hours are 9-12, 2-5, 7-10 after 10pm it’s $7/hr until 2am I do not know the hours for the teen activities, my kids aren’t old enough

One thing to keep in the back of your head is that if you win the Royal up, and get extra keys for the kids, the kids will still have to keep their original muster station, as those are determined by stateroom locations, so in the event of a true emergency, you could be separated. I think a phone call after the fact if the upgrade is approved to officially move them into the suite would be a great idea.

It’s slightly more structured for Royal. There are three sessions, morning, afternoon, evening. I am not positive of the exact times. I do know that the evening ends at 10, but you can stay later for a fee. I think the times are 9-12, 1-4, 8-10. Your 8 year old may be able to join the older kids, but that may vary based on numbers and staffing to maintain appropriate ratios. There is no harm in asking, but be prepared for a denial. I have not tipped, nor have I heard if it’s expected.

Yes they do. I got daily morning espressos in the WJ on Anthem. You can also add booze to your coffee there too.

The south beach ones are located on South Beach. The others are located in the Chill Island area, across the bay from the cabanas. There was a map posted in another post that I can’t seem to find right now. I can post a copy in a little while when I get home.

This is correct. The app becomes more “accurate” the closer to your sail date. Mine did not show everything until just a day or two before sailing.

Like others said, log in and "link" your reservations. You can call them too (from the faq page) - Reservations for groups can be made by calling 1-800-465-3595