melski94

You should check with your Travel agent.  China does allow visitors from certain countries to enter certain cities for up to 72 hours visa free.  You need to research this to see if you qualify for the program. 

You should check with your Travel agent.  China does allow visitors from certain countries to enter certain cities for up to 72 hours visa free.  You need to research this to see if you qualify for the program. 

There are some fish in Columbus Cove.  However because of the pier nearby and the landing point for jet skis and more the swimming area isn't very deep. I think they actually made the swimming area smaller in March compared to previous cruises.  It isn't great snorkeling but if you are looking to kill a bit of time it would work.  There were pretty big schools of fish that came almost up to the beach.  Not the brightest color fish and the water was somewhat murky but my 7 year old enjoyed it.  It was better in the morning than later in the afternoon.

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

Absolutely safe.  We really enjoy Old San Juan and my kids (youngest is 7) like walking the forts, especially El Morro. It’s only about $8 admission to both forts for adults, kids are free.  Its cheap way to explore for a few hours.  

Absolutely safe.  We really enjoy Old San Juan and my kids (youngest is 7) like walking the forts, especially El Morro. It’s only about $8 admission to both forts for adults, kids are free.  Its cheap way to explore for a few hours.  

You may want to bring custody papers.  I assume those say that your wife has sole custody along with parental rights.   You may also want to bring your marriage certificate which  could show your wife's name change and her previous name which possibly matches the birth certificate. 
Congrats on the adoption!  

"MY FRIEND" (lol) was able to get it ALL taken care of as if nothing had happened! 
P. T. L. 
#dontmissfinalpayment
#mightstranglethehubby
#iamthefriend

I don't know who will be on that cruise on this board.  However, you may want to try your roll call on Cruise Critic or see if there is a Facebook group for your sailing.

Ladies & Gentlemen:
 
It's habbening! 
 
We had a bet. Batman lost. 
 
His pound of flesh? 
 
Donating a kidney to a stranger. 
 
I'm kidding. That's just what he's acting like. 
 
This cruise marks the start of flip flop season. 
 
I'm making Batman get a pedicure. 
 
To all my fellow shipmates: You're welcome. 
 
At times, my nickname isn't entirely ironic. I've arranged for my nail tech to open shop an hour early so Batman will be the only one there. Excuse me a moment while I accept my Wife of the Year award. 
 
This is exactly his first pedicure. If he started going when I asked, maybe we wouldn't be at Chernobyl levels. But I'm hoping this gets us to a mere "Clean up in Aisle 6."
He thinks he's calling my bluff by threatening to get lime green nail polish. 
 
Little does he know that I'm up early to go with him and make sure he doesn't plant himself in his car in some abandoned parking lot for an hour while he pretends to humor me...
(Sweet Lord Jesus in Heaven, I ask for many things, but this is most important: Please never let Batman find this blog.) 
 
 
 

This has prompted me to read the fine print on my policy.  I had another question about my insurance so I called and asked what happens if my flight is canceled. This is a lesson learned as my assumptions were wrong and thankful for the opportunity to learn through others.  I thought I'd share what I learned about my policy for education purposes.   I buy my trip insurance from C&F Travel insured through USAA and so your results might be different. 
If my flight is delayed by 3+ hours and I miss the cruise, it is considered a "Missed Connection" (look that up in your policy).  I will be reimbursed up to $500 per person to join the trip plus $200 per day for hotels, etc.  
If I am delayed by 6+ hours, then it is considered "Travel Delay" (once again in your policy with different amounts).  Reimbursement is up to $1000 per person.
The bottom line is that insurance expects me to meet the cruise at a port.  However, if I am unable to get there with at least 50% of the cruise left, then and only then, will I be reimbursed the cost of the cruise.  I wonder what RC would say if I tried to meet the ship at a port?  What is the process for that?  We also have passports so this is possible but if you traveled on birth certificates there is no way to meet the ship.    
Go Preds!
 
 
 

This has prompted me to read the fine print on my policy.  I had another question about my insurance so I called and asked what happens if my flight is canceled. This is a lesson learned as my assumptions were wrong and thankful for the opportunity to learn through others.  I thought I'd share what I learned about my policy for education purposes.   I buy my trip insurance from C&F Travel insured through USAA and so your results might be different. 
If my flight is delayed by 3+ hours and I miss the cruise, it is considered a "Missed Connection" (look that up in your policy).  I will be reimbursed up to $500 per person to join the trip plus $200 per day for hotels, etc.  
If I am delayed by 6+ hours, then it is considered "Travel Delay" (once again in your policy with different amounts).  Reimbursement is up to $1000 per person.
The bottom line is that insurance expects me to meet the cruise at a port.  However, if I am unable to get there with at least 50% of the cruise left, then and only then, will I be reimbursed the cost of the cruise.  I wonder what RC would say if I tried to meet the ship at a port?  What is the process for that?  We also have passports so this is possible but if you traveled on birth certificates there is no way to meet the ship.    
Go Preds!
 
 
 

I've said this before but thank you for blogging this for us.  This is a real eye opener.  I would have assumed that if my flight is cancelled, I could get the rest of the trip refunded.  We do fly in the night before but not 24 hours before as taking another full day off of work/school gets to be hard.  Between the Boeing Max problems and weather delays so many flights have been  canceled recently that I wonder if this a way for the insurance to not pay out.  I think it would be rare to have your flight cancelled and then the airline can book you immediately.  My experience is that the airline (SW) can get you to your destination 2 days later if you are lucky since most of their flights are full.
It makes me wonder what we would do if we had to deal with canceled flights.  The Max 8 planes were grounded 2 days before our spring break cruise so I was thinking through all the possibilities in case that happened. Rent a SUV and drive one way?  It would be a long miserable 16+ hour drive but we could do it.  Purchase on another airline?  Its spring break so many flights are flying full.  I wonder if I'd have been covered.  Time to break out the fine print and see what my policy says.

Here is @twangster blog.  He was there on Christmas day  
 

We will sail both Symphony and Navigator for short sailings this summer.   I have a feeling I know where Symphony will fall in the list.  I'll be interested if I'll rank Navigator higher than Independence.  Here is where I'll rank my list so far. 
1.  Harmony
2.  Independence
3.  Liberty 
4.  Adventure
5.  Brilliance

We will sail both Symphony and Navigator for short sailings this summer.   I have a feeling I know where Symphony will fall in the list.  I'll be interested if I'll rank Navigator higher than Independence.  Here is where I'll rank my list so far. 
1.  Harmony
2.  Independence
3.  Liberty 
4.  Adventure
5.  Brilliance

Yes, it is they typical hair dryer found in a hotel.  If you have long or thick hair, you should bring your own.  
 
If you do a google search for flat iron, the only results that come up on my main page are for hair.  

Paris Spring Break 2013 was really tough with 4 kids ages 2-14.  Looking back I can tell my now 7 year old, yes you saw Notre Dame and you cried the entire time we were there.  She cried at every landmark in Paris except Disneyland Paris.  That Paris Spring Break was one of the reasons I started cruising and our first family cruise was Spring Break 2014.  I've been keeping our cruises easy to the Caribbean but I'm glad I have Alaska 2020 booked.  I may need to look at a Med cruise or SE Asia for summer 2021.
My bucket list cruises:  Galapagos, Antarctica

Paris Spring Break 2013 was really tough with 4 kids ages 2-14.  Looking back I can tell my now 7 year old, yes you saw Notre Dame and you cried the entire time we were there.  She cried at every landmark in Paris except Disneyland Paris.  That Paris Spring Break was one of the reasons I started cruising and our first family cruise was Spring Break 2014.  I've been keeping our cruises easy to the Caribbean but I'm glad I have Alaska 2020 booked.  I may need to look at a Med cruise or SE Asia for summer 2021.
My bucket list cruises:  Galapagos, Antarctica

Well, SWA cancelled my 5:40am flight this evening. There is no other flights for us. Here I go calling my insurance. I have a family cruise in June. We will see.

Sent my travel agent the cancellation letter from Southwest this morning. No other flights. I am peaceful.

Is it necessary for a young person to have health insurance?  My 20 something son hasn't needed a doctor visit in years.  
You can buy house insurance that covers the dwelling only, no content coverage.  Do you need to protect the stuff in your house?
You can buy the minimum auto insurance coverage required by your state.  However if your car is stolen you are on your own.
For anyone who has had something occur that they didn't expect the resounding answer is... YES!  You need insurance.
A cruise vacation can be a sizable amount of money.  If you have lots of money and can afford to walk away from the potential loss then you don't have to have insurance.
Insurance is for the unexpected.  No one expects to miss a cruise when weather or an airline cancels your flights.  No one expects to have a car accident on the way to the port.  No one expects to be rescued off a ship with a $40,000 helicopter medical evacuation and placed into a foreign country in a foreign hospital that doesn't take your health insurance from home.  
If you decide to travel without insurance you assume any loss when the unexpected occurs.  You can scream at an airport gate agent.  You can shout at the cruise line on the phone.  You can write a negative on the internet but at the end of the day it's not their fault and you have lost the money.  

Best is in the eye of the beholder.
Find out if your credit card offers any travel coverage.  Consider what is important to you.  Is emergency medical transportation a concern?  If you don't fly to port then lost luggage coverage might be less important.   
I cruise often so for me an annual insurance plan is attractive but the coverage limits are lower compared to other types of travel insurance.  Someone who books suites might look ay my policy and say "heck no, I need more coverage".
One policy might not cover 100% of every possible expense but it can take the sting out of the situation and lower your losses to an acceptable amount you can live with.  More insurance that has higher coverage limits costs more.  Only you can decide what is appropriate for your needs.
 

The best option is doing your research and knowing exactly what you WANT to be covered and finding a policy that covers it.  Different policies cover different things.  For instance, while many people may not need this protection, I personally need "cancel for work reasons" due to the fact that my work can rescind my PTO last minute.  I should consider "cancel for any reason" due to the fact that insurance doesn't usually consider "pet sitter backed out" to be an emergency.  Some people wouldn't need this.    Some websites (there are a few) will give you a quote from a variety of providers with different levels of coverage.  Sites like insuremytrip.com and tripinsurance.com are just two - others may have different suggestions.  The key is, as boring as it is, read and know what it covers before you purchase it.

I always prepay grats and once they're done, I forget about them.  I assume they're going to good people doing very hard work for very little money.  Even though we haven't set food in a MDR in over a year, I still leave those tips in place.  More trouble than it's worth to try and move them !  We always tip in cash for food and drinks as well as service like the stateroom attendants and whoever else.