PPPJJ-GCVAB

half of my family is in south florida and october is my favorite month to visit.  snowbird season hasn't started yet, at the very tail end of hurricane season, weather is nice and warm everyday, ocean is very comfortable.  here's a table of nassau ocean temps, which is a good comp for PDCC and you can see october is 10 degrees warmer than feb (mid 80's vs mid 70's) mid 80s is perfect, but it has to be a very hot day to enjoy or even get into 70 degree water (that or i need to p** pretty badly) 
 

I know for Aruba (which is far from coco cay) October is their peak ocean water temp. There is a thermal lag between air temp and water temp by about a month or 2. Even in New England, peak ocean temps are usually in September.

This is an excellent tip. Thank you!! I just purchased it.

WRT #3: Are you cruising alone? If there is someone else cruising with you, purchase the daybed (if price drops) under the other person's name to ensure you get it, then cancel yours. Only one person on a reservation needs to purchase a cabana or daybed.

Short answer... anything could go on sale so if you see a price you find acceptable, book it. If you see a better price, you have to cancel for a refund and re-book... no price adjustments.
The one time you have a pretty good chance of seeing a good sale (which may or may not include what you want to purchase) is Black Friday.

The wife and I will be there this weekend.  Going to check it out for a possible place to take the grandson in Dec.

One thing I found great (that was on Brillance) is that we were able to borrow toys from the nursery to bring to our cabin. We could rotate as we pleased. We brought our own toys, but my youngest was more interested in the 'new' toys.
I always pack magnets. They are a big hit as it sticks to the walls of the cabin and it's easy to bring. 
My spouse and I rotate the naps/bed time schedule so we can both enjoy the ship and activities. I will admit that I love to nap so I don,'t mind staying in the cabin for my youngest's nap. If not tired, I have my Kobo to read. They are getting older now (3&6 years old) so we may be able to enjoy the evening shows and etc. as a family this time around. My youngest was about your LO's age when we first cruised with them and everything went very well! 
 

This is what I intend to do on Monday.  We booked flights through Air2Sea in Dec. 2023 for a Sept. 2024 cruise.  Original departure time was 1:45pm, which we liked.  After 5 changes by the airline (one in Dec, three in March and now again today), we now depart at 5:14pm and arrive at 10:22pm instead of 6:53.  Of course September is still a few months away, so who knows how many more changes this airline could still come up with?!!  So aggravating.  It makes no difference what you select initially, it seems that it will always change and not in ways you will like.

A less than stellar skate is still better than no skate at all. And knowing that you are visually impaired, if I had watched it I would likely have been amazed. Can only imagine how much you've fine-tuned your motion senses and balance to be able to do that.
I've never been able to skate, thanks to being born with two club feet and surgeries that straightened them out but left me with zero calf muscles or ankle strength. (and degenerative arthritis in both ankles) Kudos to you, and congratulations!
You know what that means. You're that much closer to Cruise Day! 😄

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

thank you! bathrooms always concern me lol but im sure it'll be fine 🙂 ill have a great time nevertheless! 

Who knew this was the type of forum where strangers planned to meet up in real life and coordinate their undergarments? 🤣

Thank you !  We are very happy people….

You and Dan look so adorable and happy, it must be all the casino luck 😂😂

Loving the pic, Raye!  I’ve been rocking the baseball hats 🧢 lately and already have several put aside for my May cruise!  Although looks like you’ve got the visor look going…I think I’m gonna steal your idea and purchase a few!
Love the waterfall pic!  

Loving the pic, Raye!  I’ve been rocking the baseball hats 🧢 lately and already have several put aside for my May cruise!  Although looks like you’ve got the visor look going…I think I’m gonna steal your idea and purchase a few!
Love the waterfall pic!  

Loving the pic, Raye!  I’ve been rocking the baseball hats 🧢 lately and already have several put aside for my May cruise!  Although looks like you’ve got the visor look going…I think I’m gonna steal your idea and purchase a few!
Love the waterfall pic!  

Think I already told you that looked like a really cool cabin to us & since we don’t use balconies it seemed to make logical sense. The high deck would have also worked well for Indy at the time since I was relegated to many WJ trips with the lack of other included food options I prefer like ELF or Park Cafe. Maybe if I ever get back on something below Oasis class in the future…
Yeah, that layout with the lack of drawers was partly why we didn’t like it on Indy. We also didn’t use the window seat much but since you do, I totally get why you like it. I’m not sure my wife has ever sat on the little couch in our interiors, lol, that’s MY spot. Mostly just to have early morning cappuccino or go online while she’s walking or napping. Just nice to have somewhere to sit other than the bed, especially if your spouse is asleep & you don’t want to bother them.
I feel like that describes several Caribbean islands 🤣.
Thanks for catching us up! Looking forward to the rest of the trip while I inch closer to our June cruise. Booked shows yesterday & check-in is Wednesday night. Still seems kinda far away though. Too much time spent here around those of you who are fortunate to cruise way more than we are I think. 😁

Yep, on leg 3 we have to move up to deck 14 forward to a pano OV room.  It’s one of our new fave cheapo cabin types.  I’ve actually grown quite fond of our little Promenade view room, which is fortunate since we will be here another 5 days !  Truly, my only complaint about the Promenade view room is the fact that there are no drawers in the vanity except for one tiny drawer right in front.  Otherwise, the room is fine.  I love the little window love seat.  That’s MY space.  I sit here and do my blogging and it’s very comfy.  I was able to watch the Promenade parade this afternoon  -at least, one “end” of it.  I expected the noise to finally reach us but nope.  It was still very quiet here.

Lost $45 today but I won’t cry too much as I’m still “up” slightly for the first leg.  I just have keep this momentum going for 2 more weeks !  I earned enough points for a comp cert myself although it’s the lowest level comp cert so the pickin’s are pretty slim. Most likely I will still use the cash value to upgrade Dans comp but I purchased a Next Cruise future cert so I will have the choice to book from the very short list of offered cruises if we choose to do that.   We picked a 10 night EX in March 25 for Dans comp.   I won’t be able to book it until tomorrow so I hope there are still some of the pano ocean views left by the time I get around to booking.  I’ll take care of that while we’re in port on TAD.
Dan enjoyed his lamb shank and I had the spaghetti in the MDR.  I love that they put the Pinns at window tables (at least, whenever they can).  It’s a nice perk.  Also, on EX, Pinns have priority seating  for MTD so the waiting is minimal.  They told us to just go straight to the podium and that’s what we did.  I will say, the MTD lines have been longer on EX than they had been on some of the other cruises we’ve taken recently.  The priority seating was particularly nice on this cruise.
We have the same room for leg #2 so we don’t have to pack - thank goodness !  So nice to be staying on when you see everyone else’s luggage outside and you are still snuggled in your stateroom !  It’s a great feeling.
Stand by for Part II !

Soooo looking forward to meeting you both !

When the day comes and we finally meet in person, Batman will proudly tell you how he managed that week (at least he did in the Haven)! He, of course, still has no idea i announced it to the readership here though. 😉 

Omg...some of these tangents from live blogs lol...first Batman and underwear math, now lucky red undies 🤣

I’m excited for all of you on this cruise!  Since mine is the 2025 crossing…this one is where I am hoping to grab lots of ideas, opinions, packing tips, and do’s and don’ts!   Ship details, excursions, weather, sea conditions…oh and one of my current questions….parking while gone for this length of time?  
That’s not asking for too much…is it?   🤣