dcnole

Counting down the hours. Let's go!!!

It can run on batteries or on an AC adapter that I was planning to bring along. I'll preemptively remove it from the bag in the hopes of keeping things moving along. Hopefully it gets through. Thx.

Hoping not to check luggage, which is why I'm asking about the carry-on option. But I think you're right that it would probably go smoother if I did check.

I'm someone who struggles to sleep comfortably when the air in my bedroom is super still. Since my family will be traveling in an inside cabin this coming week on Freedom OTS, I took the advice I've seen in numerous cruise prep videos and secured a light-weight travel fan from Amazon. Here's a link to the one I got in case that matters, but the key point is that, while not tiny, it still easily fits into my carryon luggage: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013BOC6VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It didn't occur to me until last night that there may be some sort of issue with bringing this through TSA security when flying down to Miami. I figure I will at least have to remove it from my carryon luggage like you do with a laptop to allow for closer inspection, which is fine. But has anyone had any issues bringing a similar sort of fan on the plane? Anyone been able to do so successfully?

Not at all helpful for the OP's friend's situation, but this kind of unfortunate situation is another good reason to use a travel agent when booking a cruise. It's free, and your TA will handle making sure payments are made on time. Life is busy. Mistakes like this happen. It's cool when there are options that allow you to take some action-items off your to-do list free of charge. Glad to hear that there was at least a partial resolution that will allow OP's friend to enjoy their vacation.

Yes, @SpicyCherry , I booked through the Cruise Planner. But I do not know when the Pearl Island excursions became available. We only booked this cruise a month ago, and they were available at that time. But maybe they become available sometime between 12 and 5 months out? Others with more experience may know. They definitely offer cabanas package on Pearl Island, but all i know about them is what I've seen in a couple YouTube vlogs. They seem ok, but were not worth the money to my crew since the cabanas except for the 2 or 3 really fancy big ones are for 2 people and I'm travelling with kids. There seems to be ample shade and tons of seating on the island, so cabanas don't seem critical tp have a great and relaxing day. But if that's your thing and you are planning on not doing one of the side excursions, it may be worth it to you!

It is offered through RC (as well as other cruise lines, I thin), and there are at least 3 variants: (1) the basic visit to Pearl Island (2) the basic visit + guided 30 minute snorkeling tour to a reef that you cannot otherwise swim to; and (3) the basic visit + a boat ride to another island to swim and play on the beach with pigs for an hour. I just booked the 'swim with the pigs' Pearl Island excursion earlier today for my family cruise in late August. If you want more info on all 3 Pearl Island excursion choices, there are some nice vlogs on YouTube of people visiting the island having a nice time. Just search pearl island Bahamas" and you'll have tons to pick from. What stands out to me from having watched a bunch of them is the fact that everyone raves about the lunch (more than you'd expect from seeing what they're eating, so it must just be really tasty) and the fact that the island seems very uncrowded in every single vlog I saw. It seems like the island is never operating above 50% capacity, which is what really drew me to it over Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon has lots of cool stuff to do, but it always seems to be pretty packed.

Literally 2 hours ago I booked Thrill Water Park for $88/person for August (on Freedom OTS). High, but tolerable. I wouldn't have done it if it was just my wife and I, but the kids are dying to do the slides. Even with the kids, I would not have paid over $100 I don't think. $188 is intolerably high IMO. I know Royal does this dynamic/flex pricing thing, but it's a little hard to fully understand the extent of the variance from day to day. 20-30%? Sure, I can see that. 200-250%? Kinda crazy.

My family has booked "The Key" for our upcoming cruise on Freedom of the Seas. I know that one of the perks of The Key that people enjoy is the exclusive embarkation day lunch at the MDH with the special Chops Menu. This is very exciting for me, as I love a good filet mignon and was probably not going to be going to Chops otherwise. However, my 12 year old daughter is a very picky eater, and she does not really eat anything on the menus for this lunch that I've seen posted online. She does, however, enjoy some things on the normal MDH kids menu, like spaghetti w/ marinara and chicken nuggets/tenders. Does anyone know if the MDH kids menu is available for this special lunch? I am thinking (hoping) that since it's way cheaper to throw together a bowl of spaghetti than a fancy steak lunch, we should be able to make this work so long as the kitchen is up and running to do so. I just don't know what their capabilities are at noon on embarkation day. Does anyone have experience ordering off the kids menu at this event? Or seen others do it? Thanks!

Second ever cruise for me (my only other one was in 1992 when I was 12, so that barely counts), and first ever cruise for my 2 kids coming with me. Unfortunately complex schedules in a 4-kid family make it so that the wife has to stay behind with our oldest and youngest, but the middle two (ages 10 and soon-to-be-13) are coming along for the voyage. We just book and they are insanely excited. They've never been on a cruise or left the continental US. Who else is coming along?