741953

Thanks for all your replies!
I'm an extreme introvert and usually do better by myself, but I guess I'm gonna give it a try anyway, coz that's what this trip is all about - trying new things :-)

Thanks for all your replies!
I'm an extreme introvert and usually do better by myself, but I guess I'm gonna give it a try anyway, coz that's what this trip is all about - trying new things :-)

When we did the Escape Room on Harmony this last May, we did complete it, but it took us 55 minutes.  The RC staff member told us only about 40% complete it within the 1 hour allotted.  There are certainly some puzzles that require multiple people to work together simultaneously to accomplish the task (one required 6 people!).  There is no way you could do Harmony's Escape Room by yourself without additional bodies in the room, so you absolutely have to communicate and work together as a group.
Booking this activity was very tedious.  It didn't appear in the cruise planner until about 30 days out (everything else became available in the planner at 107 days out), and filled up VERY quickly.  It became sold out with a week of appearance in the planner.  When it was initially released, it was available most every day of the cruise, and several times a day (5 or 6 if I recall correctly), so there was many slots daily that could be filled, and they all did fill rather quickly within just a few days of release for booking.
Overall, it was a lot of fun, and everyone in our group really enjoyed it!  I highly recommend doing it if you have the opportunity!

Thanks for all your replies!
I'm an extreme introvert and usually do better by myself, but I guess I'm gonna give it a try anyway, coz that's what this trip is all about - trying new things :-)

I'm wondering if anyone going to the Escape Room alone.
I'll be on Navigator with my 73 year old mom. I'm very sure she's not interested in Escape Room. Is it possible for me to go alone? Would it be awkward while other players are in groups?
So as Laser Tag. I don't know how it's gonna be, but I really wanna play.

Thanks for all your replies!
I'm an extreme introvert and usually do better by myself, but I guess I'm gonna give it a try anyway, coz that's what this trip is all about - trying new things :-)

Hi, you book a date/time for the escape room and you will be paired with others who booked for the same time.
Normally the escape room runs with 12 people. We booked for 2 on Independence and were paired up with other families who we did not know.
 

No, these are held similar to a trivia event, where it's in a bar and anyone can join in
Escape room games are played with random people from the cruise.

I went by myself on Symphony and had a great time. There were some groups & couples but also a couple singles.

"...so you can enjoy unlimited soda in your Coca-Cola souvenir cup, while streaming all your favorite music, movies and sharing your unforgettable moments in real time."
I'm pretty sure it's VOOM Surf + Stream.

Thanks!
It looks so much fun in the videos. it'll be a great way to finish off the last dinner of the trip.

Tip:
When they are about 30 minutes before beginning the muster drill, go find a comfortable seat in a common area on the deck where your muster station is (R Bar or Champagne Bar or whatever it happens to be) so that all of you and your mother can be comfortable. When they begin gathering for the muster drill, go and have your sea passes scanned by the person at your muster drill station and then go back and sit down. Someone can take your mother’s card for her and have it scanned. There’s no need for anyone to stand around outside or have your mother worry about getting around in her chair. Just make sure that all of your seapass cards gets scanned at the correct station and you can sit somewhere comfortable during the muster drill.

Pack in my mind -  the day I booked a trip
Written down list of items - 1 month
Picking items - 2 weeks
Pack items in suitcase - 2 days
That's me for any trip ?
 

Ah ha! Found it.
Thank you so much ?

I'll tell Mom to leave the spraypaint home!
I had to look for it! I logged into Cruise Planner, then clicked on Perfect Day in the top nav. There's a section called Other activities that for me had parasailing, jet ski, etc. Under that there was a heading that said + VIEW ALL ACTIVITIES and when I clicked on that, it revealed more options (swimming pigs?!) and at the VERY bottom of that was the beach mat. Hope this helps!

We’re getting on Navigator on 10/25 after you get off ..... so don’t destroy it lol.
 

Oh my...I thought I time traveled and read my own live blog!! ?
On Nov 4, I'll be on Navigator, with my mom, for a 4 nights cruise. It'll be our very first cruise. 
For package, we purchase nothing but internet for 2 devices. 
We both don't drink at all, but we LOVE to eat. It REALLY doesn't matter what to eat. We have pretty cheap taste anyway.
Gourmet dining environment sometimes actually makes us uncomfortable. Our preferred style is "just give me the god damn food and leave us alone".
My mom is suffered from chronic knee and back pain, so for Nassau we're just gonna walk around the port, take some photos and maybe buy some rum cakes for our friends back home.
For CocoCay, I thought about getting myself a Waterpark Pass for the slides. But since it's our first cruise and my mom is not fluent in English, I wanna stay with her as much as possible. Again, we just wanna chill and EAT. That's all. I can already see my mom "stationed" at Skipper's Grill, snacking non-stop while watching her favorite videos and chatting with friends online.
I have a question. How do you pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay? I'm too thinking about renting one, but don't see it anywhere in cruise planner.

It'll be great if you can also upload the Cruise Compass with your live blog. Only if you have the time.
I seriously can't wait for your live blog! 

Oh my...I thought I time traveled and read my own live blog!! ?
On Nov 4, I'll be on Navigator, with my mom, for a 4 nights cruise. It'll be our very first cruise. 
For package, we purchase nothing but internet for 2 devices. 
We both don't drink at all, but we LOVE to eat. It REALLY doesn't matter what to eat. We have pretty cheap taste anyway.
Gourmet dining environment sometimes actually makes us uncomfortable. Our preferred style is "just give me the god damn food and leave us alone".
My mom is suffered from chronic knee and back pain, so for Nassau we're just gonna walk around the port, take some photos and maybe buy some rum cakes for our friends back home.
For CocoCay, I thought about getting myself a Waterpark Pass for the slides. But since it's our first cruise and my mom is not fluent in English, I wanna stay with her as much as possible. Again, we just wanna chill and EAT. That's all. I can already see my mom "stationed" at Skipper's Grill, snacking non-stop while watching her favorite videos and chatting with friends online.
I have a question. How do you pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay? I'm too thinking about renting one, but don't see it anywhere in cruise planner.

It'll be great if you can also upload the Cruise Compass with your live blog. Only if you have the time.
I seriously can't wait for your live blog! 

Oh my...I thought I time traveled and read my own live blog!! ?
On Nov 4, I'll be on Navigator, with my mom, for a 4 nights cruise. It'll be our very first cruise. 
For package, we purchase nothing but internet for 2 devices. 
We both don't drink at all, but we LOVE to eat. It REALLY doesn't matter what to eat. We have pretty cheap taste anyway.
Gourmet dining environment sometimes actually makes us uncomfortable. Our preferred style is "just give me the god damn food and leave us alone".
My mom is suffered from chronic knee and back pain, so for Nassau we're just gonna walk around the port, take some photos and maybe buy some rum cakes for our friends back home.
For CocoCay, I thought about getting myself a Waterpark Pass for the slides. But since it's our first cruise and my mom is not fluent in English, I wanna stay with her as much as possible. Again, we just wanna chill and EAT. That's all. I can already see my mom "stationed" at Skipper's Grill, snacking non-stop while watching her favorite videos and chatting with friends online.
I have a question. How do you pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay? I'm too thinking about renting one, but don't see it anywhere in cruise planner.

It'll be great if you can also upload the Cruise Compass with your live blog. Only if you have the time.
I seriously can't wait for your live blog! 

Oh my...I thought I time traveled and read my own live blog!! ?
On Nov 4, I'll be on Navigator, with my mom, for a 4 nights cruise. It'll be our very first cruise. 
For package, we purchase nothing but internet for 2 devices. 
We both don't drink at all, but we LOVE to eat. It REALLY doesn't matter what to eat. We have pretty cheap taste anyway.
Gourmet dining environment sometimes actually makes us uncomfortable. Our preferred style is "just give me the god damn food and leave us alone".
My mom is suffered from chronic knee and back pain, so for Nassau we're just gonna walk around the port, take some photos and maybe buy some rum cakes for our friends back home.
For CocoCay, I thought about getting myself a Waterpark Pass for the slides. But since it's our first cruise and my mom is not fluent in English, I wanna stay with her as much as possible. Again, we just wanna chill and EAT. That's all. I can already see my mom "stationed" at Skipper's Grill, snacking non-stop while watching her favorite videos and chatting with friends online.
I have a question. How do you pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay? I'm too thinking about renting one, but don't see it anywhere in cruise planner.

It'll be great if you can also upload the Cruise Compass with your live blog. Only if you have the time.
I seriously can't wait for your live blog! 

Unfortunately I'm very allergic to smoke, and most fragrance. But I still don't think 100% smoke free is necessary.
Anything or issue can be exacerbated when people don't follow the rules. Replace smoking with drinking or even just driving in your logic also makes whole lot of sense. 
By cutting slack, I meant only to those who follow the rules. They don't deserve all the hate.
At the end of the day, it's never about how safe/dangerous something is, it's just majority rules. 

If you carry your own luggage off the ship around 7:30am, take taxi or uber to MIA, I would say 10am or later is fine.
We plan to chill and enjoy one last breakfast before leaving the ship, plus giving it some buffer time in case of unexpected situation (e.g. find our luggage), we booked 2pm flight out of MIA.
It's our first cruise. I hope it'll go smoothly.
 

Forget non-smoking, we need non-complaining cruises!

I'm just gonna use clear packing tape to seal the whole tag, punch a hole on it, and use cable ties to secure it on the luggage.
My car insurance card, my mom's in-case-of-emergency contact card...I "laminated" a whole lot of things with clear packing tape.
I find it works amazingly well. Tear proof and waterproof.
 
 

I too am going on my very first cruise soon. I never know how to tip coz I'm rarely in that situation, and I always feel awkward when doing it. That's why I pre-paid the gratuities and thought that solved the problem.
From what I learn here today, looks like the biggest expense on my upcoming cruise will be tipping. The amount you guys suggested are way more than I plan to give.
Thank god I read this thread. Otherwise I'll probably be labelled as "that cheapie" by the staff.
Just one quick question. I don't drink at all. But do we usually tip servers at the buffet, Cafe Promenade and El Loco Fresh? I mean where the food is "free".
And at MDR, where we're not gonna receive any bill, I can just tip our server before we leave right?
Thanks.