Mrs. Thomas

@Ryan79 & @CrznTxn Thank you!! I'll make sure to talk to someone about it. I know that volleyball isn't as popular as basketball and soccer, but it would be fun for us. My daughter plays on her school team so it would be interesting practice too.

@Colombia20102018 Yes, I knew that it is a two country island. However, I don't plan on doing anything that day except sitting on the beach not too far from the port. It was one of my favorite places when we went on our honeymoon. It's a wonderful place to just that too.

My issue is that there wouldn't be a letter from her biological father because he isn't in the picture at all. He hasn't seen her in 12 years at this point. I'm glad to hear that it shouldn't be a problem. Right now (thanks to the economy) I'm saving up for that deposit. lol

Just a random question and forgive me if it sounds silly, but do you have to bring your own equipment (in our case a volleyball) for the sports area? We love playing volleyball and it would be a great (and let's face it, free) activity for my kiddos to do while we are on a sea day. TIA

@need2cruz I don't have a passport, though I'm seriously thinking about getting one. However, I'm taking the marriage certificate to show that my maiden name is the same as what is on my daughter's birth certificate. I would rather have too many documents than not enough. No big deal for me. I'm truly looking forward to FINALLY getting to cruise again!

UPDATE: I called RC and they said that I will be just fine with the documentation that I have. This saves me a few thousand dollars on a lawyer and going to court. Thank you to everyone for your input. It helps to know that there is one less thing I have to pay for to get ready for this. Life keeps moving and there are always bills, but sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices to enjoy the limited time we all have on this earth to spend it with those we love. Safe travels everyone!

I have, but I know things have changed a little. I have time to look into things and see what can be done. @Atlantix2000 I'm a very thorough person and will make sure that everything will be ok before we get down there. I have a little more than a year to get this done. I'm going to have faith that in time it will work itself out. If I'm lucky, he'll turn up out of nowhere and I can do things a little easier.

@Atlantix2000 I talked to my TA and she is double checking with RC. I will be taking my own BC as well as my daughters and my marriage certificate. It will show that she is my daughter. I'm still looking into other avenues as we have a little over a year before we leave. If she were to get a passport, it would prove that there isn't a problem due to custody because you have to have the other parent's permission before a minor child can get one. However, I don't know his whereabouts so that isn't a thing I can do.

@Xaa I will definitely look into it as I want to go to some places in the future that I need one. Once she turns 16 I hope to get her one so we can travel together. @WAAAYTOOO The custody issue, to be completely transparent, is that there isn't a set custody determination. We never went to court for it because he has had zero contact since she was 2. I don't even know where he is or how to contact him. This makes it impossible to get the proper documents signed. I've looked into getting full custody but it's more money than I have right now. @PL8SWPR My plan is to take both her birth certificate and my marriage license. I will be double checking all of this with my TA too.

@OCSC Mike Thank you so much! This is to be a surprise birthday trip for our daughter and, due to custody issues, I am unable to get her a passport. Her last name is different than mine so I'll have to take her BC. Will I need my marriage certificate too since my name on the BC was my maiden name?

Went on Allure right around the time Oasis launched. It was wonderful and I would gladly sail on her again. Granted it has a special place in my heart because it was my honeymoon, but it was still an amazing experience. I got to see Chicago that sailing. I'm hoping to see Hairspray when we go on Symphony.

I am planning a family cruise that will take us to St. Maarten. Do you need a passport to get off the ship there? I went 10 years ago and we didn't need one, but everywhere I look it says I do. Have things changed? TIA

@Dad2Cue I'm hoping that using a TA will help me out. Unfortunately, I am like many people and not overly flexible at when we can go. We have to go around school times and this year it's because of birthdays. Those birthdays just so happen to be around Easter. Hopefully this won't effect the discount too much as we are on a bit of a budget. The nice thing is that planning ahead can help with that.

My parents have never cruised before. My husband and I are little ole Gold C&A members. Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be something. I looked at going on a different sailing on Freedom but I really think my kiddos will have more fun on Symphony considering their age at the time. I'm just trying to find ways to save money as much as possible for us all. I'll just have to make sure I talk things through with my TA.

I'm trying to get a feel for what my parents will have to pay for their trip. Does anyone know how much the senior and military discounts are now? I would figure it's a small percentage of the total cost. TIA

Thanks! I don't want my parents, especially my Dad, to think he can't do anything fun or interesting while there. I'm already planning to snorkel with my son while there. They have a fun pirate themed one that he'll love.

Hello! I'm planning a family cruise for 2025 to the Caribbean. My parents are going and my Dad is a bit limit with his mobility. Due to back issues he walks aided with a cane, though he does this rather well and isn't too slow. One of the ports of call is St. Thomas. My husband and I went while on our honeymoon on Allure (2013) and had a great time. However, I know that it isn't one of those places that you can reach a beach really quickly by walking. Are there any shore excursions that aren't too expensive that my parents can do? This will be their first cruise. TIA

Then it was the fault of the island to open up to tourists, not the fault of a tourist that didn't know she was sick. Being American doesn't mean you are automatically sick or are a virus. More than 98% of people in the country have not had this virus. As I said before, the incubation period makes the checks a moot point. There are many other places that are still closed to tourists, which is a good idea at this point. These islands or tourist destinations need to know that if they open that an out break is possible and take that into consideration for their decision. I'm tired of people making it sound like if you are American then you are a nasty virus that needs to be treated as such.

Depending on the town, one employee of a place like that can see hundreds or even a thousand people in a daily shift. Fast food places are up and running and they see more people than a home improvement store.

I understand that, for some, this virus is very serious. However, the numbers are clear and, if you take into account that they have been inflated a bit or that sick people were purposely put into nursing homes in NY, they aren't even as bad as what we see, especially for the average person. I appreciate the link, but all I couldn't find any information; just requests on how to give money. However, I did find other sites that talk about it. What I don't understand is why things are going so slow and why is it bad if a medication for one person isn't the best for another but both do the same thing? Things like that happen all the time with other illnesses. I just hope that they can get things going again soon.

It will be interesting to see what happens here. Also, with the long incubation period it is near impossible to know if a person is positive or not before they got on board. By the time symptoms show (if there are any) they could have been around hundreds or thousands of people even before boarding. If a person is found to be positive after a cruise, there is no way of knowing if they had it before the cruise or got it while on it. At some point everyone is going to have to stop and look at things from a different perspective. Unless the virus just basically disappears (which is possible but not probable) then we must look at it as we do other sicknesses. As in, yes you could get sick with it, but what is the actual recovery rate? In the US it is about 94% and that is without any kind of FDA approved medication/treatment if you aren't in a hospital. Worldwide the recovery rate is 90% and when you factor in that some of the places don't have good healthcare at all, it is still pretty good. I'm not saying we all jump on board now, but we need to realize that this is something to think about. Also, they need to start looking for treatments and not just a vaccine. A virus isn't like a bacteria or germ. A viral infection doesn't work the same. I wish people would drop the politics and just start clinical trials on certain medications that may help. Try meds that people use for the regular flu, SOMETHING! People are sick and playing politics is just cruel when some truly are dying.

You just put a place on my bucket list. LOL I even love the name of the town. :D @krhardy You are exactly right! Ice cream has always been my favorite sweet treat.

My kids would agree. LOL

YES A THOUSAND TIMES!!! I would never leave the MDR! my family loves shellfish.

I hope they don't. I've never tried them and would really like to. I hope they leave the steak, shrimp cocktail, and the chicken caesar salad. You gotta have some "normal" things on the menu when you have kids and un-adventurous eaters. Though I do love all three of those things myself. :D