jbrinkm

My texting app was a little slow - my family had much better (faster) luck with WhatsApp onboard.

We are leaving on Symphony 3/23 and Labadee is also supposed to be our first port on 3/25 - we haven't gotten official word yet but I cannot imagine that we'll stop given all the new reporting today. I also hope we get an alternative because it is an 8 night cruise with only two other stops and that feels like a lot of ship time.

6 hours ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

What are these?  I ALWAYS need extra hangers!

I see these from Bezos: https://a.co/d/3LZ0yOQ  I did not know travel hangers existed either!

52 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Onboard prices , lmao ! 

That tracks!

5 hours ago, Rcll said:

Do they sell coolers bags by themselves in the shop? If so, so how much?

Tagging @Ampurp85 - I think she either bought one or saw one, I remember from an old thread...

1 hour ago, Gilley said:

Can you use the Starbucks app onboard or does it have to be the Starbucks gift cards?

I've asked this before and was told that the kiosk has the reader so you should be able to use the app. I'm hoping that is accurate because I loaded a bunch of gift cards onto my app and was planning to use that... I'll be on Symphony in two weeks and can confirm & report back after my cruise.

Hi Rich , glad to have another cruiser here!!!

You could check out this blog - he also organized a bar crawl. We don't really drink (me - medical issue, hubby - doesn't want the calories) and don't have a drink package, plus my parents are cruising with us for the first time and I think we'll be busy ushering them around, but your idea sounds great! Is there also a bar in the Windjammer? I don't know if you are on Facebook, but I think a lot of roll calls are getting more people there than we see here. 

Just now, DoomSlayer said:

Perfect then.  I mis-understood your situation, it was a little confusing for me to follow, sorry.  I understand though because my wife did not change her last name either.  I would bring their birth certificates just in case they ask about "mom".  Chances are they will not, but if they do ask you will be happy you had them.  I have only been stopped once and asked to produce supporting documents for my kids at the port, and was glad I had them.  I hope you all have a wonderful trip!

Thank you!!! I thought I was being confusing but couldn't think how else to phrase it ("I gave birth to them" ). Thanks for sticking with me...

Do you think copies would be ok, considering that they are traveling with both of their parents? We leave on Friday so not sure I can get more official copies before then.

15 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

 As far as the kids go, you really need permission from their mother unless you have court documents showing he is sole custodian or she is deceased.

I am their mother.

I'm still very confused about whether I need to bring our teens' birth certificates. I really hate to pull the originals out of the safe for no reason. My husband and I are married, they are his kids, I kept my last name and they have his last name. They are traveling with one parent who shares their last name and their other parent who does not.  

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I got this email for my cruise tomorrow. I don't recall anything like this before

I got it too for our sailing next week and also don't recall it before. My kids have my husband's last name and we are all sailing together - I hope I don't need any additional documentation...

3 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Balcony hack (if you have one): it's big enough to make into your own private sun lounging area.

There are people who set up hammocks on their balconies.

I just realized - I think Symphony has the sofa bed where it is more like two twin beds rather than a pull out double bed, at least in some rooms. You might get lucky and have the sofa turn into the bed that looks like the one in the pic from this blog:

I'm on Symphony in a week and a half - also the 8 day with Labadee, Aruba & Curacao.  Totally agree with this:

2 hours ago, Fastfaller said:

That would be a lot of sea days.

I haven't gotten anything official from Royal yet (except Jet Ski cancellation). We board on 3/23 and were supposed to be at Labadee on 3/25. I'm hoping they are trying to replace it with another island and that is why I haven't gotten an email.

What does the letter mean when it says you can use it for insurance? Will insurance give you money for missing a stop? Is it only the port fees, or more than that? We missed a stop at Costa Maya last year and Royal refunded our port fees so I didn't think anything of it. 

If none of those work, you can wait to see if you have an option to try to Royal Up to a bigger room.

15 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

I thought about it, but I didn't want to be posting photos of half naked college girls I didn't know. It feels like a line I don't want to cross.

THANK you for this - what a great ally! I stopped following the blog over on the other forum due to jokes of this nature. Consent is important.

And YUM crepes!!!

There is unrest in Cap-Haitien which isn't too far from Labadee. 

12 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I was today years old when I realized that the elevator actually tells you which way is forward and which way is aft on the ship.

This is like my son when he was 11 telling us when we stopped for gas in a rental car that there is a little arrow by the gas symbol showing which side the gas cap is on. Apparently he saw it in a YouTube video. 

I did a specialty lunch on boarding day for the first time last year and really loved it. We're doing it again on our upcoming cruise.

Different people probably prefer different theme nights depending on their personal tastes. My family doesn't like the Italian night so I'm trying to book our Wonderland dinner on the night when that is the theme, but I have one of those unique itineraries that @OCSC Mike just mentioned so I'm having trouble figuring it out. I made three reservations on different nights and will cancel two when we board and I see the order of the menus finalized.

Also, I don't know what your stops are but we have one night when we're in port until 9 or 10pm and we are usually scheduled for early dining in the MDR. That would also be a good night because we can book a later dinner just that one night and stay on the island later. It also might be easier to book on a night like that because some people will eat on shore or choose the WJ. 

I would suggest the last night to have a special farewell but keep in mind that you will also need to pack that evening.

One other thing to keep in mind is that people who buy the dining package have a restaurant "courtesy" reserved for nights 1 and 2. If they decide not to keep it, more spots might come open after boarding (if you don't get a time you like on day 1). 

1 hour ago, DDaley said:

Lollll I too bring binoculars on every vacation I’ve been on since childhood. The only time I didn’t need them was when I stayed with my 2 college friends in a presidential suite at the Fairmont San Francisco.... because the room comes equipped with its own telescope! hahaha We played Eye Spy for houuuurs.

I’d be using them to keep an eye on the aggressive seagulls near that Snack Shack! The amount of people I saw preyed upon when they left food to go back for seconds was hilarious. I saw a seagull take off with an entire soft taco/burrito half-lodged in its throat! 

We were once at a beach in New England (can't remember where exactly, we were visiting friends and they took us) and we had a little pop up tent for some shade. We had put some of our towels and day packs in there. I was sitting just about a foot or so in front of the tent and heard some aggressive rustling behind me - figured it was one of the kids doing something behind me in the tent. Finally, took a peek over my shoulder to watch a Seagull waddle out with an opened granola bar and fly off. The cheeky devil had gotten IN our tent, found a pack with food, stuck his beak into the opening which widened the zipper, pulled out a bunch of snacks and had shaken the granola bar enough that it came out of its wrapper and then he flew away to eat it. 

On 3/10/2024 at 12:06 PM, HappyHav said:

There is a website called Today tix for broadway shows. You might be able to get discounted tickets

Also TKTS app

2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Current situation

Ewww

And people will tell you to drink from your faucet - "reverse osmosis" "the water is perfectly fine"

I could see & hear it but it took a minute to load. Did you just attach it like a photo? Do you know what format it was in? I remember there was someone trying to upload a video - I think it was a .mov file - and it would only attach but not embed. You had to download it to view it, but yours shows right in the post. 

2 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

He said the problem comes from all of the construction as well as traffic in the port area, so many of the drivers don't find it worth their time.

I'm cruising out of Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale so it may not be the same situation but we're flying from PBI so I just thought about any potential issues with rideshare and decided not to risk anything within my control.