Kayleigh

We also cut back on interactions and didn't really leave the house for like two or three days before our cruise.

We tipped our porter as well as our stateroom attendant. We have also tipped some bartenders who went above and beyond (had our drinks ready when we go there, knew us by name, etc). Tipping amount is really up to you. Give whatever you are comfortable with. I believe at Guest Services they have envelopes where you can write their name and their job title to make sure that tip goes directly to them.

You can always cancel and rebuy too if the price goes down

Matt (I think) has said, it's better to pay attention to the dollar amount than the certain percentages.

If you download the app, you will have your Seapass card there as well! Much handier than printing papers to carry around (in my opinion)! Most of the time, the crew members will just ask for your room number. When paying for something, your picture shows up so you can't give a "fake" or different room number Also, your card is valid once you board the ship! 99.9% of the time, the rooms are ready at 2. The captain will make announcements about that during embarkation.

Just a little vent session (I apologize). This is why I like/need to be "in charge" of vacation planning . First, I should be grateful that my in-laws are paying for us to go on a family cruise this September, but I am running into some issues!! My in-laws are using a travel agent so I reached out to her because our cruise wasn't showing in our planner. When I entered the booking ID, it was saying not found (or something like that). The agent looked into it and said I have two C&A numbers, one under my maiden name and one under my married name which is causing this issue. Since I was going on a cruise soon, she suggested that I see the C&A specialist on board. When I boarded Indy, I went to the C&A specialist who said I only have one number and the last name is current. I asked the specialist about why my September cruise isn't showing and she suggested I go see NextCruise. They tell me that the booking was cancelled (minutes after the confirmation email was sent saying we were booked)!! The other thing that I find odd is that our agent said we do not have any OBC because of the rate we were given (is something like this true). Since I had enough points saved on MyVegas, I cashed them in for a $100 OBC and forwarded that on to the agent. Long story short, I was told by the casino I could not redeem it. Flash forward to last night. I logged into the cruise planner and our cruise is now showing (thank God plus under a new booking ID). And, I was able to redeem the $100 OBC! Now, the only issue I am seeing involves My Time Dinning. This is the first time I am seeing this message when I go to reserve a spot for My Time dinning. Could this be because my in-laws booked everything for us (well through a travel agent)? Has anyone else seen anything like this? The original booking email says traditional dinning at 8 (but keep in mind, that booking ID is no longer valid).

Your best bet is to look at past cruise compasses to at least get an idea of what each day/night might entail. I know when we did Mariner 2 years ago, they had an 80s party on Royal Promenade

For those who were following along, we had bottled water on board!

Also, check out Matt's videos on his YouTube channel! He give great tips and ideas for things to do that cost extra and those that are free! You kids (and you and your parents) will not be bored at all!

That's exactly what I did with my case before I brought it on the ship! 1000% recommend doing this with any case before going in or near water.

I ordered this for our cruise and it worked great ( have an android and the pictures were clear as day): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNNWW8M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If Indy has those, I'd be set! Thanks everyone! I'll have to wait and see (and possibly confirm when we're on board )

I need to start off by saying I have the best in-laws ever! Two years ago after my husband and I came back from our honeymoon, we raved about our cruise and RC! Because of this, they wanted to book a family cruise! Well rona had other plans....until now! To make a very long story short, my in-laws canceled the beach house and booked a 4 day cruise on Independence for September this year through a travel agent. My husband got the confirmation email with the booking ID and when I looked in our cruise planner the cruise is not showing. When I went to link a cruise it originally showed, but now it doesn't and it's saying the reservation number is incorrect. I voiced this issue to my in-laws and they are going to reach out to the travel agent tomorrow. Has this happened to anyone before or can any travel agent help as to why this is happening? Appreciate the help!

Thank you! I'm more concerned about the water being "left open". I'm weird (and extra ) when it comes to water. Mainly during the night if I need a drink, I don't have to worry about something floating in there. I'll most likely bring my tumbler anyways (this time around we aren't buying any drink packages. We are just using our many OBCs)

If you click on the post Matt posted, it will bring you to that post (yes, there are some answers there)

I know some ships (maybe all) are transiting to canned water. Can someone please tell me if Independence has canned or bottled water? My husband and I leave for Independence in 5 days and if they are canned water, I'll need to bring some tumblers for us (well me mainly). It's something about canned water and not being able to close it back up. Thanks

They usually announce it (at least on ours they did).

My husband and I did the same thing on Mariner, we went to see where our room was located and saw our luggage and just grabbed it.

I think @Mattposted a video about leaving from NJ and what not to do or what you should do. I know it's on his YouTube channel but I am having trouble finding it....I think it's this one:

2 years since our last cruise and 2 canceled cruises later, we are finally down to 17 days!!

I probably should know the answer to this, but do the ships (specifically Indy) have water filling stations? I'm weird and love drinking out of my Starbucks tumbler and I'm wondering if it's even worth it to bring it. My husband and I are still debating what beverage package we should get and I know with them you get the Coca Cola tumblers and water bottles anyway. I have no problem drinking bottled (or canned) water, but just curious (and weird) 25 DAYS AND COUNTING!!

I see what you did there

I'm pretty sure it opens at midnight. I happened to wake up in the middle of the night and check-in was open. The earliest we could get was 11:30 but I heard sometimes there is a 10:30 check-in option. If you happen to miss it, keep checking back because sometimes the earlier time slot will become available.

I've had success emailing [email protected] Just let them know your sailing date and booking ID and explain that you would like a table for two. My husband and I did this on our honeymoon and are doing it next month. They emailed me back saying they forwarded my request to the the ship for processing but recommended me emailing them again 14 days prior to leaving just to confirm. For the most part, you will be able to get a table for two

I'm pretty sure they are paper straws