fonemanbob

Port Canaveral, Barcelona, Tampa, Bayonne, Vancouver, and so on and so forth. The beauty of a cruise is the people you meet at dinner. It`s a vacation. We don`t care where you are from or how you look or how you talk or what you wear. Many folks weather local or from abroad will get a perplexed look on their face when we say we are from Tennessee. They say you don`t talk like you are from Tennessee. That`s because we grew up in Chicago. I then proceed to talk as if I am from the south. Then they really look confused. And I don`t do that out of respect either. You can never learn or hear enough about other parts of the country or the world for that matter. It is all about the itinerary. And the pizza.

We go and make our specialty dinner reservations then spa reservations. After that to the M.D.R. to see where our table is. Off to the Windjammer and then the pool bar. And it is not even noon by this time. No we are not O.C.D. It beats coming late and being in lines forever. I did forget to mention if it is a bigger ship we make show reservations. And we do have carry on bags. But they are a minor inconvenience.

Happy Anniversary to them. That`s what you call true love.

As do we and we go to every photo station for pictures. In all honesty I wish we had kept notes from every cruise we have been on . The reason being is we could literally write a best seller on what we have seen.

And remember when you could check the box to be upgraded. You can bet if R.C. starts bidding you will lose your deposit and current room and credits and who knows what else. Oh your bid was not accepted and and now you must re book at the new rates. It is all in the mouse print. L.O.L.

We have not done a guarantee room. We have been tempted. I now know that we certainly will never attempt that. What are you supposed to do with your luggage when you get to the pier. I would be on the phone asking for a supervisor and not dealing with one of the so called agents that answers the phone. I stopped dealing with them 4 years ago and we are so glad.

Your top will be just fine. We have seen them on many occasions. Four years ago in the M.D R on formal night this couple at our table came late and they were wearing their workout clothes as they came from the gym. They were in sleeveless shirts and shorts. They ate dinner and left . Not a word was said to them. And boy were they ripe. So it just depends on the fashion police to stop by as they may or may not. On a positive note they never showed up for the rest of the cruise so maybe something was said when they left the M.D.R.. The other 8 of us could not say anything to them as none of us spoke Italian. And no I`m not criticizing any ones nationality. I honestly can say tho that there has not been one single formal dinner on the cruises we have been on that you will see several shall we say non conformists present. I`m a blue collar worker so it is rare that I get the opportunity to dress up. So I do. Just saying.

Have her write a letter allowing you to act on her behalf if something arises. Make sure the letter or document is notarized. It will hopefully never have to be used. She could also get a medical power of attorney form which also has to be notarized. I would hope and pray they are sensible adults and not in need of any medical issues while on a cruise no less. Worst case scenario without the letter her parents would be contacted should something happen. At least with a letter of some nature you would be able to get immediate medical attention and not be stranded waiting to get hold of a parent. Having something notarized is required in most states. Check the state you live in. If it does not need to have a notary seal it may require 2 signatures to prove that person wrote the document and or letter.

Personally I would choose Barbados or Costa Rica. As far as a land vacation their is nothing like riding a mule to the bottom of the grand canyon. Now that is a land vacation.

Thank you. We were on Rhapsody in Feb. and the casino was hardly ever crowded. There were not even enough people signed up for the poker tournament.

Get to the ship say 10:30 a.m. You will get a good parking place if you are driving. Get on board and head to the Windjammer and grab a bite to eat. Coco Cay is private and safe. Nassau stay together. Formal night (only 1 on a shorter cruise) you can go the main dining room or Windjammer or specialty rest. The boys will be fine in a polo shirt and pants if you go to the main dining room. They don`t need a shirt and tie unless they want to dress up. When you disembark do the walk off where you take your luggage off on your own. This way you are not waiting around for your number to be called. As far as on board lock up all of your valuables in your room safe. All you need to carry with you is your sea pass to get in your room or to purchase anything.

Either floor is fine. The bump out rooms have a bigger balcony with a slightly better view. Harmony is the WAAATOOO to go for an excellent first cruise. Now as far as rooms go 7206 across the hall is the upper part of the promenade with the schooner bar below. It is open late and can get very noisy. Room 12580 is next to the elevators. Elevator noise is never ending. May want to do a little extra research and have deck plans handy so as to see where you can end up. Don`t be shy and keep asking questions. Welcome to the board and enjoy your cruise.

Sounds great. We stayed in San Juan pre cruise and asked where to go eat and had an excellent meal. Went and saw the fort also . It certainly beats all the stress of missing a flight as well as the hassle of connecting flights which are becoming a real nightmare.

Use the ships towels and take 2 each just like at the pool. But get your PIZZA first as the towels are heavy to hold while waiting in line for your pizza to cook. Besides if you are flying beach towels weigh a lot and take up a lot of room. Better yet take the blanket off of your bed. What a concept. HUH Speaking of concepts I`m one of the few persons that takes the silver tray from under the ice bucket and gets coffee twice a day at Cafe Lattitudes or wherever. Everybody stares at me like a deer in headlights look as I walk by.

Was on Rhapsody in Feb. Had the regular drink package which allowed soda, water,fresh o.j. and specialty coffees. Sometimes we got Evian with no hassle and sometimes they said it was a chargeable item. We stocked up with water every time we ordered anything to drink all cruise. The extra water comes in handy. Our previous cruise the ship had Starbucks but other premium coffees were no charge. Any thing is much better than M.D.R. coffee. YUCK Cowboy coffee is way better than M.D.R. coffee.

Its all of the after mentioned. A little luck but mostly buy high and sell low. Just the opposite of the stock market when you buy low and sell high. Fortunate enough not to have gotten burned yet either. That`s where our travel agent comes in real handy.

Has anyone ever won a cruise from the casino? I see if you if get something like 2475 points on slots you get a cruise. What can you win and what does one have to accomplish besides a lot of money spent. Thank you. Just curious. And what about the poker tournaments? Last 2 cruises we were on they did not have enough people signed up to play in the poker tournament. Nor was the casino that crowded.

Just did Tampa in February and we had a suite. we were in line and on board under 10 minutes when the lines opened. Just as Matt previously mentioned. We parked at the nearby garage and did walk off dis embark and were on the interstate in 15 minutes. Our parking spot was not in the garage but 23 spots from the gate to the ship. We got to our room and the wife said where did you park. I pointed out the truck to her . She thought I was in the employees lot but I was not. Got there at 10:30 a.m. so there were lots of open parking places.

Got there on the last day last year. Incredibly crowded but fun. And the cab driver we had knew how to get around the traffic jams which was a huge boost. We found the cabbies there to be some of the best we have dealt with anywhere.

We have found that we are like WAAAYTOOO and book or flight way out as we like to have everything in order. What we have found to be a real money saver at times is routing thru various other air ports and get 1 way tickets to each airport. Flying out of Knoxville is somewhat of a challenge. Especially fling overseas or far distances. We will go to Chicago or Atlanta or Dulles or who knows where. Our flight to Spain last year got us a huge savings as did our flights to San Juan 4 years ago. And now we are finding a $600 plus savings for our flights to Copenhagen for our Baltic cruise in 2020. That is based on this years prices but we have written down the cities we want to travel thru on our flights when time comes to book the flights. Yes the flight schedules do change when you book way out but like others have said the piece of mind is worth it. Oh that HOPPER app is great. Then again just like cruise prices the early bird gets the worm. On the bright side when we find lower fares we are able to get our cruise, hotel, car, or air fares re adjusted when the prices go down. Just be persistent.

We were in Costa Maya in February and booked the Mayan Experience Tour thru Native Choice tours. You will go to the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and the you will go to a locals home for an authentic meal that was to die for. We will do it again the next time that we are there. To get to native choice office after the cruise ship docks you have to go outside of the compound and walk down the main road a couple of blocks. Your tour group will have about 12- 14 people in it. The guide who is a local resident was excellent. He was passionate and extremely knowledgeable. It is a 5 1/2 hour tour that is highly rated on trip adviser. It is worth every penny.

Been there and done that 1 time. Perhaps 1 time to many. All of the previous posts are CORRECT. You all need a break and hopefully the specialty dinner is one that everyone likes the menu choice as well. YES book it early. It is really nice of you trying to organize this as I was the one doing it 6 years ago and it can be frustrating. Hope all goes well.

Per stateroom. Wish it was per those over 21.

Per stateroom. Wish it was peer those over 21.

Ladies and gentleman next time you are on a cruise walk around the the deck and count the number of lifeboats multiply their capacity times the number of life boats and then find out the ships capacity. You may be surprised at the outcome. Oh by the way retirement is what ever you make it. I am looking forward to going back to full time employment this fall after 7 surgeries the past 6 years. None were serious tho. I told my wife and sisters last fall that age is only a number, and I am going to write a book titled Born To Never Retire. Over 40 percent of retired people go back to work full time. And last the loops on the life boat are so if you are not in it you can slide your arm thru the loop and hang on to the boat. Dan welcome to the BLOG. I have found this blog to be beyond helpful and at times very entertaining. Thank you JLMORAN I forgot all about the inflatables. I should have been more specific in my post.