fonemanbob

Disney ships are great for the younger kids. Royal Caribbean has great programs for say age 7 to high school. Have always heard great reviews for Adventure Ocean on Royal Caribbean. We have met several families over the years who"s kids eat dinner and bee line to Adventure Ocean for the evening or even during the day when we are at sea days. Carnival is a party ship. Norwegian and Cunard are for the more reserved older folks. Crystal and Celebrity are excellent lines. Cruise Critic and Royal Caribbean blog are extremely helpful. You can check out any cruise line and google to see when the ship has or will be refurbished. Royal Caribbean has been named best cruise line the last several years. WELCOME to cruising and enjoy your cruise.

Good question. If you are looking for some authentic food then it is worth it to eat in town. We stayed their before our cruise 2 years ago and ate some wonderful food before departing on our cruise. On the other hand the food is free on the ship.

And if you leave the sliding door open the a.c. shuts off till it is closed. Found that out the hard way once waking up in the middle of the night to a hot and humid room.

You are allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom on board with no charge for corkage.

500 less then yes. The bigger ships are so well stabilized you really wont notice any motion. Unless you are going thru a tropical storm then it does not matter what size ship you are on. We were on Enchantment several years ago and went thru some bad weather but motion pills had been taken and we were fine. So make sure you have some Bonnine with you just in case tho I doubt you will need it.

That"s the beauty of a ship excursion. They don"t miss the boat and if they do they get you to the next port on their dime. Now my travel agent only uses excursions that guarantee if they miss they the boat they pay to get you to the next port. As for on your own which we are doing in 4 ports in Europe next week it is something that you and the tour company have to work out and that can be somewhat concerning. On the other hand it is very very rare that passengers miss a ship departure. Personally we have never done 2 tours in one day either. I say for piece of mind only do the ship tour. And contact the other tour to see what they can do for you as well. Tour operators are quite good about making things happen for their guests. One of our tours in 2 weeks in Santorini, Greece is sending a car to get us back to the dock at 2:30 rather than 3:30 because the last tender leaves the dock at 4:00. I used that as an example of how accommodating tour operators can be.

The laundry special is the way to go as the smaller ships don"t have coin operated laundry machines. We leave for Spain next week and are packing light so as to use the laundry special on Brilliance of the seas. Flying with extra suitcases anywhere gets real costly. As for the tipping we use the prepaid gratuities and tip the room steward extra on the first day. We also give the bartenders cash tips besides the already added tip. If we know we will be at certain bars we will tip the bartender extra the first day and they enjoy the cash and a nice tip up front. It makes for a real nice gesture on our part and breaks the ice shall we say in getting to know those people. Within a day or two you will be on a first name basis and likely have a drink in progress as you approach the bar. As they say money talks. And besides the hours these people work and the low pay they receive they greatly appreciate the generosity that a guest may bestow upon them. As far as the amount use your own discretion. All of the previous posts are excellent ideas. Enjoy your cruise.

In Barbados a must see is to visit Medford Craft World. Reggie Medford is an excellent wood sculptor. He uses the native mahogany wood and makes some of the most unique and beautiful wood sculptures as well as traditional items. He is a pleasure to speak with and is very personable. He will sign his artwork and they ship the merchandise if you so desire which we have done. That is a plus so as not to have to carry the items or to have your luggage be overweight. And if you should purchase multiple items he might work with you. He did with us. BUT be kind and personable and he might work out a package price for you. He did not offer that to a couple ahead of us in line as they were obnoxious and condescending towards him. When it was our turn we had nothing but nice things to say to him and got a piece autographed and asked about a possible package deal and said if that was not possible we fully understood why. Well he was happy to oblige and also asked if we wanted a picture with him and we were thrilled. In short visit his studio. It is worth the trip and so is the rum factory. We bought some cream rum for the Mrs.and she loves it.

All of the above and you are dealing with a person whom is very knowledgeable about the ships and the itineraries unlike a lot of the agents you will have answering your call at the reservation center. Occasionally you may be lucky to get one that is very knowledgeable. Doing a future cruise credit is also an option to do as well. We have done both together on a couple of occasions. After you are home you can transfer those reservations to your travel agent which we do and then we are fortunate to obtain additional on board credits as well in addition to the ones we have already received.

I always dive with a non cruise ship dive company. But before I do I thoroughly research the dive operator. And now that I to am 66 I get my waiver every year at my annual physical. It is truly the most peaceful experience one can do. As far as hang gliding I cant say that I have seen any in the Caribbean.

The dining package is the only way to go. We have done that on our past 4 cruises and it is by far the only sure way to get the discounts. Initially we were not big fans of specialty dining but once you partake in one you are hooked. Going on Brilliance in 2 weeks and are doing 4 of the 12 nights in specialty dining venues. All part of our 41 years of anniversary celebration. Otherwise it would have been 1 or 2 . It is truly worth every penny spent. And just like the M.D.R. if you are still hungry ask for more. They will oblige. We have never done it but have witnessed it one more than one occasion.

We look forward to no cell phone, computers or t.v. Just peace and quiet. Well sort of. Its too quiet at the solarium pool. L.O.L. So its usually spent at the main pool area for music and imbibing on whatever the drink of the day is or a scotch on the rocks. No traffic. No worries about a DUI. Sleep whenever. Eat whenever. Do whatever. Its absolutely wonderful. Its the only way to travel.

Having a licensed tour guide is invaluable at best. More so having a driver who lives there and drives tours daily for a living is worth the cost of this tour alone. P K Travel is the # 2 tour company in Greece so I think we made a good choice.

My T A informed me it will show up once on board. We also have an additional 50 on board credit that is not showing up as bcarney mentioned. They are a nice perk and have no restrictions.

Mariner is operating over in China.

Some additional specifics would most helpful.

Just a few days left for anyone looking to join us on an exclusive semi private full day tour of Athens.

Having been there done that on more than one occasion I would not sweat the small stuff and just keep checking. The dining times as well as other items: i.e. specialty dining, excursions, drink packages and so on all eventually open. On three occasions we actually changed M.D.R. times upon boarding. I believe in all honesty it will work out just fine. The most important thing is in dealing with the maitred" is you need to be calm and polite and soft spoken. We have witnessed people ahead of us be ballistic and rude and they were told nothing was available. When it was our turn we were provided with what we wanted all because we were nice to him or her.

In Mexico get bottled water, beer or wine , No cocktails with ice or frozen drinks. The food is awesome.And yes it is safe . We have never had a problem eating food off of the ship in any country. It is amazing the cuisine you will discover and how you will want to go back to those countries for that reason.

After years of never having a T A we finally got one and wished we had done this several years ago. She is with a major well known travel company and we have dealt with her for 9 years but only to get brochures. We would have been eligible for many additional items as well as on board credit additions that the company has with R C The previous posts sold us on using one for all future travel plans. We just transferred a cruise from last weeks WOW sale. and one of the perks was an additional $50 on board credit among others.items. They are invaluable as you all have said.

Navigator is a wonderful ship. We enjoyed sailing aboard her. Actually all of the ships are wonderful as they all have quirks that make each one enjoyable. We rarely believe the bad reviews as you will see the great reviews far outweigh the negative responses whom you will encounter on occasion almost anywhere. All of the previous postings are spot on. Adventure Ocean is excellent for your children. Most importantly ENJOY the cruise and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.

Welcome to cruising. Things to know: RELAX, ENJOY. What to bring: Sunscreen, warm weather clothes, 2 bathing suits, 2 nice outfits. and an appetite for mainly relaxation. Leave all your cares and worries at home. Enjoy your cruise and hopefully many more to follow. It is a wonderful addiction to have. It is done by folks of all ages. You will not be dissapointed. Frredom is a nice ship as all of them are. HAPPY ANNIVERSAY

Specialty dining is worth every penny spent. We have done it several times and have never ever been disappointed nor have we ever heard of someone being disappointed. We once saw a diner having a minor issue and they corrected the problem post haste and chatting with the couple after dinner they were blown away by the food and the service especially with how fast the problem was corrected. The maitred' and the chef appeared at the table as well . R C is a class act organization.

The hot shower works great as does the steam room in the spa.

Hurricane season is kind of a crap shoot. Having lived in Fla. for 10 yrs at one time one never knows what mother nature is going to do. The tropical storms do so many things that we never cared or worried about them that much and made cruise plans all the time. If something develops they will change the itinerary. We have been on a few cruises where we could not tender due to high winds or fog or high waves. you just never know and so I say just enjoy the cruise.