melski94

Boarding typically begins around 10:30.  It is a matter of making sure all the guests from the previous cruise get off and that assumes no customs/coast guard inspections.  

Boarding typically begins around 10:30.  It is a matter of making sure all the guests from the previous cruise get off and that assumes no customs/coast guard inspections.  

I'm following along.  I love the idea of packing cubes and own so many of them of all shapes and sizes.  However, except the very small ones, I never use them.  I just don't think they pack quite right in my suitcases.  I feel I can get more stuff in by rolling my clothes and placing in my suitcase rather than using my packing cubes.

I'm following along.  I love the idea of packing cubes and own so many of them of all shapes and sizes.  However, except the very small ones, I never use them.  I just don't think they pack quite right in my suitcases.  I feel I can get more stuff in by rolling my clothes and placing in my suitcase rather than using my packing cubes.

This past cruise, I forgot my luggage tag holders, lanyard holders and towel clips.  Nothing super important which was amazing as I started packing at 4pm the night before an 8am flight.  I just forgot to go up to my vacation bin thinking I didn't really need anything since it was a 3 night cruise.

The itineraries were released for the 2020 Alaska season before they knew they were getting accepted for the 10-year contract.   
Perhaps they are holding off until they get the marketing in place for Perfect Day at Glacier Bay..they were trying to sell @twangster those excursions after all.

We buy Voom for everyone with a cell phone so for us that means a 4 device plan.  There are too many instances where we separate for a bit only to text "where r u?"  You can price out the difference between a 2 and 3 device plan but a 3 device plan is usually only a few dollars more a day over 2 devices.  

Have you looked to see if your cruise has a roll call on Cruise Critic or a Facebook page?

Blue Hole is extremely popular for the adventurous however it is a 90 minute drive each way.  Dunn River Falls is offered by RC but much more crowded.  Those are for the very active. 
There isn’t anything really close to the pier except Margaritaville.  I have heard good things about the Hilton Rose Hall for a beach excursion. 

This is why I never book RC excursions.  We were at a beach resort in Cozumel a full hour before the RC excursion showed up and they left 45 minutes before us.  We were still back on the ship 2 hours before all aboard time and paid significantly less.  

I had my kids come and watch.  They were able to eat from my plate but we didn’t have leftovers so I’m not sure.  For my class, we didn’t eat anything truly raw.  We made a shrimp nigiri (not raw), a shrimp tempura roll and a California roll. 

This is why I never book RC excursions.  We were at a beach resort in Cozumel a full hour before the RC excursion showed up and they left 45 minutes before us.  We were still back on the ship 2 hours before all aboard time and paid significantly less.  

This is why I never book RC excursions.  We were at a beach resort in Cozumel a full hour before the RC excursion showed up and they left 45 minutes before us.  We were still back on the ship 2 hours before all aboard time and paid significantly less.  

This is why I never book RC excursions.  We were at a beach resort in Cozumel a full hour before the RC excursion showed up and they left 45 minutes before us.  We were still back on the ship 2 hours before all aboard time and paid significantly less.  

If you haven't prepaid gratuity, it will be charged to your onboard account at $14.50 a day per person.  Personally, I would rather not have such a large bill at the end of the cruise, so we prepay the gratuity.  We tip in addition to the daily gratuity.  It isn't necessary or mandatory but if we like our stateroom attendant and how he/she deals with my slobs (aka kids) then we tip an extra $20.  Same with the wait staff.  Giving $1 for a drink will make sure you keep getting good service throughout the pool/bar and they will remember you the next day.  Once again, nothing mandatory but a nice gesture.
The chances of getting sea sick depend on the individual.  The ship is relatively stable but if mother nature creates big waves there is only so much that a ship can do.  My family is prone to motion sickness (cars, planes, ships) so I always have medicine packed.   Our cruise on Harmony saw some large swells which was tough for my 7 yo.  Most of the time we don't need it but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

We also had the same table for all of our cruises with MTD.  I don't think it's a fluke as I think they would like to keep you with the same wait staff, assuming you plan to eat around the same time each night.

Are you from the NE?  It could be cold for the first 2 days and last 2 days of your cruise.  Not sure if traveling to Fl is an option for you.  
Anthem has the sea plex with go carts and x box games.  Every ship has an arcade.  I strongly suggest you read blogs about Anthem and look at the cruise planner for your unique situation.  
For FL, I’m assuming you are stopping at Cape Canaveral.  My kids are looking forward to seeing the space center.  
If you do decide to book, I would suggest making a booking with a refundable deposit.  Things happen and you may change your mind and that way you can cancel up to 90 days before your cruise and receive a full refund. 
 

Are you from the NE?  It could be cold for the first 2 days and last 2 days of your cruise.  Not sure if traveling to Fl is an option for you.  
Anthem has the sea plex with go carts and x box games.  Every ship has an arcade.  I strongly suggest you read blogs about Anthem and look at the cruise planner for your unique situation.  
For FL, I’m assuming you are stopping at Cape Canaveral.  My kids are looking forward to seeing the space center.  
If you do decide to book, I would suggest making a booking with a refundable deposit.  Things happen and you may change your mind and that way you can cancel up to 90 days before your cruise and receive a full refund. 
 

Also, in the MDR if your kids ask for a soda and aren't on a package but you are on a UDP package, the wait staff will *usually* not charge you.  Only once (day one with a new Asst waiter), was I charged for a soda for one of my sons.  I think he may have been chewed out by the waiter as I wasn't charged the rest of the week.  I don't ask for a free soda and will pay for it without a fuss if given a bill.  However, I find the wait staff to be very lenient for the kids especially if the parents have the UDP.   

We were fine in a balcony on Adventure.   There was no worry about seats for any shows as most were half full.  I like Jr Suites for the size but for that price what else could you get to make your cruise....drink package, unlimited dining, chef table, cabana or another nice excursion?

We were fine in a balcony on Adventure.   There was no worry about seats for any shows as most were half full.  I like Jr Suites for the size but for that price what else could you get to make your cruise....drink package, unlimited dining, chef table, cabana or another nice excursion?

I'm really sorry to hear about this. You should get all your money back from RC for shore excursions and other cruise planner purchases.  I assume you have filed your claim with AON (the travel insurance through RC).  Unfortunately,  I don't think the flight cancellation is a covered reason to receive cash back for your cruise but not knowing what state you are from, I can't see your exact policy.  The best you are probably looking at is a 75% future cruise credit which is better than nothing.  
I think we've all learned several things about travel insurance recently due to other people. Many travel insurance companies won't cover some basics that we all assumed were covered as they all have ways to not pay.   Here is a recent experience from the blog  
 

I just checked my kids in yesterday and I didn’t see a way to limit amounts this cruise but I did see it in the past.  The choices were credit card, cash or no charging privileges. 

If you are on a Transatlantic or Pacific, the ship will change time zones usually at 2 am.  I would highly suggest you take your watch off the auto time zone and manually set it to match ship time.  If your ship is in the Caribbean, the ship time doesn't always change to match local time.  Thats up to the Captain to decide to change time or not.  If any doubt about time, just check with the crew or your TV in your stateroom.
Any time changes will be listed on the cruise compass.  When we leave the ship at a port, I always verify with staff what is local time vs ship time.

It depends on the itinerary for us.  There are some cruises in the Caribbean we get off at each port and others we have stayed on the ship during one port.  I personally find it tiring when we have 3 port days in a row.  My husband loves/needs to get off the ship at each port where I could stay on the ship. 
 
That being said said it can quickly up doing a shore excursion at each port. We try do make 1 day a beach day, 1 snorkeling day and 1 quiet walk around the port or stay on the ship day.  
 
Now RC is doing 4 ports on some of my 7 day Caribbean cruises.  Not sure how I feel about that as I think I’ll miss the sea days! I think we will plan on staying on the ship in 1-2 ports to enjoy the ship without the crowds.