FireFishII

I agree with @CruisingNewb(when do you stop being a newbie? LOL) Have a discussion with your 8 year old daughter. Show her the menus prior to boarding so she knows what each restaurant will have. Let her know that if she tries new foods and don't like it, that is ok. You will take her up to the Windjammer or Sorrentos afterwards if she is still hungry. I always encourage my kids to try new things because you never know when you will find your next favorite food. Final advise: Have her bring a book or electronic device to keep her entertain. Or feed her early at the WIndjammer and send her off to Adventure Ocean if nothing on the menu looks interesting to her.

Then I hope you get a better car than I did. But I agree. It is better to have ANY car than NO car. Enjoy your trip.

Goodness - don't go with the suspicious manager's special. I tried that once to save some money. Never again. I hated that car. Don't get me wrong - I love Hertz. But I will never get the manager's special. I think they save the cars that are about to be rotated out for the special. The car, while it did run well, was dirty and worn to its bones.

True but if you have been there for a few days before, dining in San Juan, then you may want to save your $$ and dine on board.

I just did a google search. You can purchase used cookbooks.

Wonderland would be my first choice just because I have never ate there before and I love to try new foods. You never know when you will discover your next favorite foods. But I am adventurist so Wonderland may not appeal to the masses. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/menus/wonderlad-menu-sample.pdf PLEASE don't compare Jamie's Italian with Olive Garden. That is like comparing Ruth's Steakhouse with McDonalds. There is NOTHING better than fresh made pasta. Check out their menu and see if they have anything that would interest you. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/menus/jamies-italian-menu-sample.pdf I am Italian. My husband is Italian. I make lots of Italian foods but not fresh pasta. My entire family loved Jamie's. That would be my second choice. Chop's is a great steak and seafood restaurant. You can find their menu here: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/menus/jamies-italian-menu-sample.pdf. Their Wild Mushroom Soup is to die for. Their steaks were excellent. But since I can find great steak houses near me, I have rank this as third. Whatever you decide, you can't make a wrong decision. Just look at their menus and decide from there. BUT PLEASE DON'T COMPARE Jamie's with Olive Garden. LOL! OR Purchase Chops+1 dining package. With that and your free specialty dining, you can try all three! Let us know what you decide and how the food was. Enjoy your trip.

I am not sure but I think they would consider embarkation a 'port' since you are getting on at a port. Just like disembarkation would be consider a 'port'. The difference between embarkation/disembarkation from a true 'port' day is that the first two are one ways (on or off) while a 'port' day is going both ways. But that is just common sense - it may not be RC sense.

I agree with @Ryan79. There are shore excursions that will get you close to a glacier - either by boat or by helicopter. I had so much fun in the ports. I would especially recommend the Alaska Scenic White Pass Railroad in Skagway or biking downhill (Don't remember the port). Finally, whether or not you are into fishing, late June is the start of salmon fishing. Another great shore excursion.

In the Caribbean, there are 9 different species of lobsters, including the spiny lobsters. Cold water lobsters are from the New England area, usually found from MA to Canada in the Atlanta. The warm water lobsters are from Florida, the Caribbean, California, Mediterranean, and South Pacific. I believe that the lobster tails that are served on the 2nd formal nights are warm. The following information is from: https://a-z-animals.com/blog/cold-water-vs-warm-water-lobsters-whats-the-difference/ Cold water lobsters provide more meat than warm water lobsters due to how thick their shells are. Maine and Canadian lobsters are some of the most commonly harvested lobsters in the world. Their meat is known for being tender and sweet. Warm water lobsters only provide meat through their tails, which can commonly be seen lining the frozen sections of grocery stores. The meat isn’t as tender as the kind harvested from cold water lobsters, and it is said to have a fishier taste. The following is from the Weathervane seafood - which is a restaurant in New Hampshire so they could be bias: https://weathervaneseafoods.com/cooking-lobster-tails-at-home/#:~:text=Warm water lobsters typically come,have a slight ammonia odor. Warm water lobsters typically come from places like Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America and tend to be softer and more difficult to firm up even when cooked properly. It has also been reported that warm water lobsters have a slight ammonia odor. Cold water lobsters on the other hand have firm, whiter meat that tastes “cleaner.” The cold water allows the lobsters to grow slower which makes for tastier more tender meat. I guess @Poochand I can tell the difference in the taste. I don't knock warm water lobsters - especially to those who never had lobsters or can only get warm water lobsters. But I think that the cold water lobsters taste better. Whatever you like, enjoy those tasty BIG BUGS!

Don't worry about dressing up. About half the people don't Just nice. (aka no ripped pants or shorts or T-shirts).

I read an interesting article why SW had so many problems that other airlines did not. It was because of the flight pattern SW uses vs most other airlines. SW fly their planes point to point - going to city to city to city - swapping out crews when necessary. Other airlines have hubs. They fly their planes from a small town to a hub then to another small city and back to the hub. The major difference between the 2 models is if a plane is delayed getting to a city vs a hub, the hub would have extra planes ready to go or they can use different flights to route you to your destination. But with point to point - one delayed or cancel flight can disrupted multiple flights. I won't be worried about SW unless there is another blizzard in Feb. What are the chances of that happening..... LOL! Good luck.

I believe @MarySmentioned in her live blog that she also got some free OBC that she did not know where it came from. This happened back in November.

@D Alt- thank you for your honest review. That is tough. I totally agree that kids should stay in their cabin or at least mask if they are not feeling well. I also know it is tough to teach the young ones to cover their mouth. But when their parents won't do it.... Yeah. I spent Christmas weekend with my family. It was interesting watching my son and daughrer-in-law teaching their 3 year old to cover his month when he coughs - which was often - that he coughed and forgot. But he was making some progress. Get well soon! @MarySThanks for the posting. I love your slippers! I too LOVE the Beach Club. But if I was traveling with my grandkids, we may end up at the Water Trill Park. I too would have been bored at the Blue Lagoon. Finally, thanks for the pics.

I think it is cool that @D Altand @MarySare both posting on the same thread. I look forward to see if you two have any difference of options on the meals or shows. Enjoy your cruise.

Following along. I had to laugh at myself. I thought when you said the temp was 15 degrees, you were talking about Fahrenheit. I knew it was cold in Florida but not that cold. Then you mentioned 22 degrees later on and it finally hit me, you are quoting your temps in Centigrade. LOL! When you took pictures of the suite - did I really see box fans? Then you mentioned issues with the thermostat - and I figured that the box fans could make sense. How did your laundry come out? I have been told that items could be destroyed or not cleaned very well. I hope you get your Aqua show and the rest of the trip goes well for you.

When I traveled with my family on a 6 night cruise, we selected the 3 Restaurant package and added the Chef's Table. Our reason: Chef's table was not included in the UDP and we were ok with visiting just a few specialty restaurants. Our price was cheaper than getting the UDP.

Hi Mom and Dad!!!

Agree. And don't forget the water. There are restaurants around New England where I shy away from fountain drinks because of the local water.

The page you are looking for is called "Going, Going, Gone". You can find it here: https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf The thread you were looking for was called "Last Minute Deals" found here: I hope you find a great price on your next cruise.

A good TA can also advocate in your favor/defense/etc. My TA had to go to battle with an insurance company when one of her client had to back out of a cruise. Her client's reason fell within the insurance's acceptable cases but the insurance was giving her client a run around. My TA spent hours on the phone to get her client a full refund. That is priceless in my mind. Oh - it also does not hurt that my TA is my aunt. She is semi-retired but keeps up with her present clients.

I don't like to buy wine right before I drink it. I usually have bottles in my basement 'aging'. LOL! Yeah, I have become a wine snob (WALGREENS???). I do travel with my wine in my checked baggage for the planes. I never had a problem with breakage (knock on wood). I do wrap it well. Since I fly in the night before, I have time to move my wine and other items (like a bathing suit) into my carry on bag.

Also remember that they can get passport for kids of all ages. The only thing to remember is both parents on the birth certificate must be present when applying for a passport for their children. A child's passport is only good for 5 years, unlike the normal 10 years for adults.

Did you know that: Infants have around 30,000 tastebuds spread throughout their mouths. By the time we hit adulthood, only about a third of these remain, mostly on our tongues. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jan/29/changing-tastes-food-and-aging#:~:text=Infants have around 30%2C000 tastebuds,experience for the very young. I have also read that some adults can have as few as 2,000 tastebuds. I remember my dad, when cooking steak on the grill, kept adding more and more garlic salt the older he got. We finally had to tell him to stop because we could not eat the meat.

I did not get anything when I went to a Chef's table back in June 2022. So sad. I would love to see the recipes in the cookbook. Many thanks to @barjpoefor the mushroom soup recipe. Just in time for the cold weather in New England.

I am counting: 414 more days until my cruise. LOL!