Chaosgirl426

just a suggestion: 

https://www.amazon.com/Biodegradable-Compostable-Plant-Based-Eco-Friendly-Individually/dp/B078J4N5XF

still just like any other plastic straw, but safer for sea life because they break down, wont desintegrate like the paper straws... $2.50 more than regular plastic for 200, and individually wrapped...

or these:

https://www.amazon.com/200-Pack-100-Plant-Based-Compostable-Straws/dp/B07MZLLDZD/ref=pd_bxgy_121_img_2/140-0683482-6559335?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07MZLLDZD&pd_rd_r=b06ad743-b059-48ac-b132-1b023ab99857&pd_rd_w=3C5HA&pd_rd_wg=QoJgP&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=MR1GXHF0KXHV63Y4XKAW&psc=1&refRID=MR1GXHF0KXHV63Y4XKAW

$1.99 more than regular plastic straws for a 200 count, bendy, but not individually wrapped. :)

I can't even begin to fathom changing my clothes so many times a day... i bring a (even though i hate them with every being of my soul) dress, and then a nice shirt for our other formal night/ nice dinner... but you will find me in shorts/ capris and a t shirt in the MDR every other day. same with my husband.. he has a nice shirt/ pants/ tie, hell i may even bring a button down with a tie for me.. because im more comfy in that than a dress.... but t shirt and shorts/ capris, always. one outfit, one WHOLE day. done.

i usually leave my phone at home. the only reason why we will have one is because we need to contact our ride before and after the cruise. i otherwise want to be completely phone free including alarms... hence the request for a loud alarm clock! :) thanks though

We are not getting the wifi package and will therefore be keeing our phones off for the entirety of the trip :) I forgot to mention that!! we usually use our phones as alarm clocks for daily purposes though.

Is there an alarm clock in the room? if not, can someone recommend a LOUD alarm clock that i could find at maybe a wal-mart or target? Thanks guys

Sorry, Symphony of the seas! We sail on the 24th of this month... and my birthday is the 27th... think they could pull some strings for my birthday? 

12 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

The Freestyle machines have more than just Coke flavors in diet.  Pay attention to all the "zero" flavors and you will find flavored diet Sprite, diet MrPibb, diet Mello Yello, diet ginger ale, diet Barqs (rootbeer) etc!.

YESSSSS!!!! diet mello yello is bomb!! especially when you can add flavors!! its like mountain dew... of various flavors that makes me happy

im usually a make a new list every time, pack the day/ night before kind of person... which was great the night of our wedding packing for our honeymoon until about 2am (flight at 7am) because we realized we needed to do laundry... hahaha

thanks @MDIAZ72 I hope its a great cruise!!

Hey! I'm curious. Would it be weird/ allowed to ask for a tour of the medical facilities on board? I work in a laboratory in a hospital, and I want to see how different it is on a cruise ship. I would assume they would need equipment to run basic chemistry/ microbiology testing as well as some others... I just realllllly want to see it! Is this included in the behind the scenes tour, or is it just the bridge?

i have, also in skagway, but with a different cruise line. It is doable if you are meeting in roughly the same area or an area close by where they let you off the first excursion. you have an hour to explore in between... dont forget to souveneir shop! I was with my mom, and we did a tour of the gold mining dredge with a bag of rich dirt to pan for gold, and then we did glass blowing at the specialty glass place :) it was really cool!

ill be on symphony for my birthday this year!! hopefully i get one that night haha!! (19 days til my birthday, 16 days til we set sail!!)

3 hours ago, ultron87 said:

As a longtime lurker, I suppose I'll make my first post on here to suggest a few board games, since that's one of my main hobbies. There's a lot of great board games you can play co-op as 2+ people when you move out of the traditional Monopoly/Sorry space. Here's a few recommendations from my favorite two player things. They're ranked from least to most complex.

• Codenames: Duet - A game about connecting different words together by giving creative clues
• Forbidden Island - Collect various artifacts from around an uncharted island before it sinks into the sea!
• Pandemic - A strategy game about saving the world from disease epidemics.
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective - Solve cases with Sherlock Holmes.

On the iPad, I'd recommend Carcassonne or Patchwork as pass and play two player things. Though do note those aren't cooperative. I think there are also at least digital versions of Pandemic and Forbidden Island, but I haven't tried them.

This now has me thinking if I'd have any luck on my upcoming Symphony cruise with putting a "Hey let's play some board games at X time!" thing on the Community noteboard at the card room to find some fellow nerds, as I'll likely at least be bringing a game or two for me and the GF to play.

there are so many games out there. these being some good reccomendations, and pandemic being one of my favorites. 7 wonders, kittens in a blender, exploding kittens, organ attack, azul, splendor, potion explosion, and sagrada are good games, though not coop they have a smaller footprint... 5 minute dungeon (or 5 minute marvel) may be a good fit... 

as for ipad games, pathfinder and zombicide are great ( take up tons of real estate in board form)

@ultron87 when will you be on symphony? BGG@sea is sailing Aug 24-31 and I'll be there.. playing games all week!

I tried, using the link, no luck for me! 

Can you only do royal up if you get an email about it? I've seen where you can do it from the main website, but it doesnt recognize my information and says in more than 30 days out (cruising in 22 days) i was hoping to attempt for an upgrade!

all inclusive digital photo package??

I've been on 3 cruises, this will be my 4th... all different lines... but I have never taken my passport ashore, and I usually dont even bring my license on the cruise because I have the passport. I'll have to think about it this time around. 

10 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

 

Did the bottomless galley brunch.  Worth the money, but I had an issue with RCL from a sanitary/health aspect.  They tell you closed toe shoes, no shorts.  There were people allowed wearing either and both.  Sorry, but seeing the hairy legs of a man grossed me out.  Kitchens are insanely clean, but I just kept thinking as he walked the hair on his legs could fall on the floor.  The woman in flip flops, slips, falls and she will not only sue, but win bc they let her down into the galleys where the floors are slippery

 

 

 

I was just looking at the bottomless galley brunch, and the only thing it stated was no open toed shoes. Nowhere does it state no shorts. :) it gets hot in the kitchen, and sometimes chefs/ foodservice people wear shorts or capris anyway... I'd be more concerned with someone who had long hair that wasnt tied back. (food safety certified here) :)

I like to wear clothes to the MDR, and though this upcoming cruise will be my first on RCL, I will wear clothes. I will normally be in capris and a t shirt, as that is what is comfortable to me, my husband will wear shorts and a t-shirt as he hates being hot. I HATE dressing up, but I will wear a dress, or nice shirt, or sometimes even a shirt and tie myself for formal night only. Last cruise (our honeymoon) we forgot to pack our nice shoes, they were still sitting near the bed when we got home, so we had to wing it... sandals or hiking shoes were our only options. It is what it is, I will wear clothes and they will cover all the important bits and if people stare, so be it. 

31 days for meee

it looks cute... haha 

... save money and your skin (cancer risk) and buy a bottle of sunblock :) your body will thank you! 

6 hours ago, Morganno said:

I'm also doing this route on 18th August.

We are not not really interested in animals in captivity and read that the area around the port in Roatan is sketchy and best avoided so I intend to stay on the ship.

 

For Couzmel I'm trying to persuade my wife she would enjoy an e-bike tour of the sourthern tip it's 6 hours though and is 113$ pp including lunch. If we were to go on this trip what does the average person pay in tips to these people? Would 10$ per person cover it? 

 

For Costa Maya i'm not sure perhaps just pad around off the boat.  None of us are beach people we fancy the ruins but don't really want long car journeys in the heat. 

 

take a look at the exchange rate. when i went to cozumel, $1 US was $18 Mexican Pesos, and in Honduras, $1 US was around $30 their currency.... anything you tip will be greatly appreciated..

5 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Worked in multiple Restaurants in 1980's as Manager. We never served coffee at 145 or under. At Burger King we served it at 165, another place worked at it was 157.  As Served At 160°F plus the flavor and aftertaste of the coffee can be judged; at 140°F, the cupper can determine acidity and body, and then move on to balance. Anything over 205 degrees will burn the grounds and leave you with a nasty aftertaste. This is the same reason you want to drink your drip brewed coffee as soon as it's finished brewing - leaving it on the heating element for too long can also burn the coffee. For a French press, you want your water to be somewhere around 195 degrees... A hot bath means different things to different people one man’s “toasty” is someone else’s “scalding.” And so it is with coffee some may like it hot, but there is a wide range of preferences on just how hot “hot” is.

at dunkin we make sure our brewers are over 196*F, at Bk it was 185*F, coffee is hot, unless it is cold....

It definitely depends what you cruise for. Is it for discovering things you normally wouldn't? relaxing? adventuring? I have been to Roatan and Cozumel in the past. I should have done an excursion in Roatan, because of the uneasiness outside the main gates. Local children were our tour guides and we tipped them afterwards. they brought us to little shops. I hear the monkey excursions are awesome! In Cozumel, i personally did a parasailing tour and then went shopping at the pier. the views were magnificent! Some friends of mine went to the Mayan ruins in the area and said they were awesome. I did a Myan ruin excursion in Belize- which was awesome, we actually got to climb the pyramid, the view was beautiful.