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Embarkation: We had flown from San Francisco to LAX on Southwest and took a fairly early flight getting in to LAX at 10:00. I guess I had wanted to build in enough time for flight delays etc, but there were none. So we were at the port very early. We took a cab, which was smooth and fast. It cost about $37 plus tip. That was cheaper than a shuttle with 4 of us. We got to San Pedro about 11 and were able to check in with no one in line. I was surprised that they did not let us designate different amounts for the boys on their sign and sail cards. Apparently all cards in one family link to one credit card for $300. It is then supposed to be automatically increased as you go. (more on this later). A porter came by to get our luggage. We tipped $4 for 6 bags.
Then we had to wait until noon to get our Sign and Sail cards. They just haphazardly set up a table and then everyone runs over to it. Then about 12:20 they started calling zones, we were in #4. They let a wedding party on first along with a few handicapped people. This process went pretty quick. We had to pause to get our picture taken (it is in the doorway so they 'get you'). Since we had booked the Empress Deck and knew where our cabin was from the deck maps, we simply went right to the cabin from the gangway. We went directly to Tiffany's for buffet lunch since we were all quite hungry due to the early flight. Not knowing the setup, we assumed the outside pool deck buffet was all we got, but quickly realized there was a complete buffet and salad bar inside. There were hamburgers and hotdogs outside, and a few hot entrees. Inside hot entrees and salad bar.
Our luggage started to arrive one or two pieces at a time, the first around 2 and the last around 4. The room steward, Alberto met us right after we entered the room and introduced himself. He was from Nicaragua and spoke English well. He had been working for Carnival for more than 15 years. He said he works the boat for 6 months non-stop and then goes home for awhile.
We had our first cocktail at 1 at the pool bar. We noted they did not card our 18yr old, but most bartenders did later on the trip. Lifeboat drill was to take place at 4:30 (I thought the ship was leaving at 4:30, but it did not sail until 5). We took Albertos advice and took our life preservers with us to the bar . Sounds funny, but our 'muster station' where our group was to meet for the drill, was next to a bar. Drill took place at 4:30 and yes you have to actually wear the life jackets. It was a pain, but a necessary one. Afterwards we dropped off the jackets and went up on one of the highest decks to see the ship sail away. Note that the horn sounds when the boat sails away and it is very loud. Look around you to find it (small and blue) so you are not surprised. We jumped out of our shoes.
We noticed that many things including the pool and hot tubs were closed at this time. The casino opened after we set sail.
The cabins: We got one outside and one inside for the boys (directly across the hall). The cabins were plenty big and sufficient storage space. Carnivals' policy of no one under 21 in a cabin without someone 25 or older, meant we have to book an adult in each room and then 'switch'. Unfortunately, it is difficult to switch sign and sail cards, because they can look you up in the computer and you also need your actual card when you re-board from ports. So we had some hassle trying to find the other cabinmate when you wanted to get in the room. There is a small safe in the room and you can use a credit card or other such as Costco. We put our passports and money in the safes since we really did not need them till the end of the cruise.
Yes the toilet is very loud when it flushes. You think you will remember this, but it still freaked my husband out the first time he flushed. The sink water was hot and warm, no cold water. The shower is ok and the water pressure sufficient.
Photographs: We did not run into the photographers much, except on the formal nights when there are no less than 5 'photo opportunity stations'. We had one formal picture taken of the four of us and one of the two adults. Also there are photographers whenever you get off the ship in port. Why? If we knew someone took our picture, we checked out the photo gallery the next day. We ended up buying 3 total, for I think about $45. We took our video camera (the 21 yr old got some 'interesting' shots) and a still camera (took 4+ rolls).
Food and Drink: Since this is such a hot topic with people I will cover as much as possible in one category. We had dinner every night in the formal dining room. Although the buffets were pretty good, we just couldn't handle another buffet after breakfast and lunch. I should note that the 'boys' 18 and 21, rarely made breakfast since they slept in till noon after their late night partying.
Breakfast: We had two breakfasts in the main dining room, one while in port in Puerto Vallarta and one on the last morning. Breakfast in the dining room consisted of 6 or 7 items including eggs benedict, lox and bagels, items you could not get on the buffet. Unless you really like those items, or really like being served, I recommend the buffet for breakfast. The buffet has several kinds of fruit, cereal including one hot cereal, yogurt, pancakes, french toast, omelets made to order, scrambled eggs, sausage, toast and bagels. Juices were orange, apple and grapefruit. I noticed that the cream of wheat and oatmeal were always a bit thin, but I assume some people prefer that to thick. The buffet is served in Tiffany's, generally from 8-10:30, although earlier while in port. Coffee was not as bad as I was led to believe, but it was not Peet's french roast. We are fairly picky about our coffee and this was certainly drinkable.
Lunch: We always went to Tiffany's for the buffet lunch, even if we just had fruit or salad. The entrees changed every day. Most of it is a blur now, but I remember having quesadillas, carved turkey with dressing, various stir fry dishes, carved jerk pork, fish and chips (was not a favorite). Many days I just had the salad bar. Each day they also had some 'special' item like dim sum or fresh fruit platter on the back section of the salad bar. We always checked that before we sat down. Drinks included lemonade, punch and ice tea. The pizza/Caesar salad station was open 24 hrs, but the pizza was not as great as I expected with all the Internet raves. There were several different kinds including pepperoni, goat cheese, combo etc. It was much better if you got a slice right out of the oven, Some days we had a quick slice late in the afternoon to 'tide us over' till our late dinner. They also have a soft serve ice cream maker and we enjoyed a cone as dessert and sometime between meals as a snack. We found it very relaxing to eat our lunch outside, especially on the rear deck behind Tiffany's.
Sushi: The sushi bar was open at different times on different days. I never saw it posted, and was always confused, arriving when it was closed or just closing. Most of the time it is open from 5-7pm. The sushi is cooked not raw but 75% of it was very tasty. Our 21 yr. old used this as his afternoon snack since he rarely had lunch. The sushimaster gives you a small dish with 3-5 pieces. There is wasabi and soy sauce.
Dinner: We had requested late dining (8:15) and got it. We were assigned to a table of 10 and were joined by 3 women and their 18 year old daughters. This of course did not disappoint my stepsons. The group was also from the Bay Area. Our waiter Rodolfo was from Columbia and excellent. He was friendly, efficient, and did not flinch when our 18 yr old consistently ordered 3 entrees at a time and the 21 yr old ordered 3 double espressos. The assistant waiter, or busboy, whose name I never got straight, was just ok. He apparently did not speak English well and was very quiet. Occasionally he would spill drops of water or coffee. I got the impression he may have been new.
Dress for first night was very casual including some in shorts. This was 'allowed' since everyone did not yet have his or her luggage. Suggest you keep a pair of pants in your carryon. Dress for formal nights was varied. We saw some in tuxedos, maybe 25%, many in dark suits (50%), and some in sport jackets (25%). The boys wore sport jackets and ties with Dockers and my husband wore a dark suit. I wore a black dress with some sparkle. Many women wore considerable glitter, some almost gaudy. For the other nights, a button down shirt and Dockers was the most common for men. Women wore sundresses or pants. Some of the younger girls wore fancy dresses every night! Occasionally we saw very underdressed people, but it was not the norm. Resort casual seemed to rule. During the day everyone was in shorts or sundresses.
In the evening they post the menu for tomorrows lunch and dinner. We made a
practice of checking it each evening so we could anticipate and plan what we
might have. The portions for dinner are fairly small, but this was fine for me
since I had so much food throughout the day. The appetizers included tiger
prawns, escargot, gumbo, lobster bisque, black bean soup. Some of the items were
weak, like the crab appetizer that was basically crab salad. Each night you can
have a basic dinner salad with choice of dressing or the other salad, which is
sometimes a Caesar. The entrees always included a lower fat selection,
generally fish, and a vegetarian dish. There was always pasta, beef, and fowl.
Examples include, prime rib, lobster on the first formal night (very good),
filet mignon (very good but slightly overcooked such as rare =med rare), duck,
several variations of chicken, Cornish game hens, halibut, lamb chops (not good)
tiger prawns, seafood etouffee, sea bass, turkey with !
dressing, etc. They were generally plated well, semi fancy. Ditto for the
appetizers. Desserts were mixed. You can always get ice cream or sherbet.
There was always a lower fat item, generally a lemon cake or similar. Other
examples were strawberry cheesecake (not great), grand marnier soufflé (good),
baked Alaska (very weak), chocolate mousse and soufflé, macerated fruit, poached
pears, pumpkin pie (very good), apple pie and cappuccino pie (good). If we were
too full, we simply had coffee or cappuccino or espresso.
Late buffets: My husband and I only hit the midnight buffet twice. The rest of the days we were just too tired to stay up to midnight or were too full from dinner. Wednesday night after Puerto Vallarta there was a deck party (it was raining so we had it inside) with a late Mexican buffet. There were tacos, quesadillas, and other Mexican food. We had a little and went to bed. We missed the gala buffet, but the kids said it was fancy and had a dozen ice sculptures some quite large (sea serpent). They did not recall any of the food items (which does not necessarily mean anything).
Room service: We did not partake, but our 21 yr old did once when he did not want to get out of bed for lunch. He ordered a turkey sandwich that he said was very good. Best of all, it came in two minutes!!! We suggested he tip $1, which I heard was standard.
Drinks: There are bars everywhere! The Atrium bar was right by our room so it got used often. We would grab a cocktail and head to our room. Upstairs on the Promenade deck there were several bars. We enjoyed listening to jazz or a guitarist named Jimmy at the Plaza Bar near the Casino and Musical Café. The pool bar is also great. They go come around often asking if you want a drink but are casual and unobtrusive about it. We rarely had the 'special drinks' since they were generally very sweet. Primarily we drank beer and vodka tonics and bloody marys. Beer was $2.95 for domestic like Bud, Coors light etc. They had Heineken and Bud on tap, at least at the Pool bar. My husband and the eldest son drank a lot of Fosters Lager since it was in a large can for $4.95. Drinks like Vodka Tonic were $3.95 and fancier drinks like margaritas and pina coladas were $4.50. They automatically add 15% gratuity. I had bought 40 drink coupons before we left (from Bon Voyage). They cost $3.75 each and include the tip. Generally the bartender would only allow them to be used to drinks at $3.95 and lower, but some would allow me to use them for a glass of wine. The tip is included on these coupons so they do save some money. Even a 4/29.5 Budweiser would cost $3.52 with tip. So anything more than that made sense to use the coupon. It also saves some time, because when you use your sign and sail card the bartender has to run a receipt and have you sign a copy. Supposedly you can use the coupons (4) toward a bottle of wine, but I never did this. Note : most bartenders poured very skimpy drinks. They use the shot glass exactly. Given this, and the 15% auto-tip, and the drinks are pricey.
We chose not to 'smuggle' alcohol on board, but now wish we had taken some vodka. We did bring two bottles of wine (given the $5.00 and up prices for wine by the glass we saved some $). We did not bring them into the dining room and pay the $10 fee, but simply drank them in our room prior to dinner. I did see one woman ask the atrium bartender for two wine glasses, which would be so much better than the very small juice size glasses in your room. At dinner I generally had a glass of wine. The menu lists a few 'suggested wines' included some by the glass, but only one white and one red. You have to ask for the wine list to get a better selection. The waiter does tend to remember what you liked before but I varied my selections. I had Meridian Chardonnay ($5.25) and a French Pouilly Fousee ($6 something) and a St. Francis Merlot for about $6. (add 15% gratuity). On a few nights they served small glasses of champagne on the table for free.
We did not have a refrigerator in our room, so keeping drinks cold is a matter for an ice bucket. Our room steward kept the bucket full the entire cruise. When we went into port we bought 3 bottles of tequila in Cabo and brought them on board in plastic bags. No one even asked what we were carrying. You do put everything through an xray machine when you get back on the ship, but no one questioned the booze. We did not open it until we got home. Also, we were not questioned about the wine we brought on board in our carryon day one.
We ended up drinking several drinks a night with a fairly hefty bar bill. They do give you an interim copy about 1/2 way through the trip so you don't get too surprised. It helps to bring your own wine, order the drink specials, drink juice or water all day, or drink domestic beer.
Activities:
Around dinnertime the room steward puts a list of the next days activities in
your room. The daytime activities are obviously more plentiful on the 'at sea
days'. They included: Casino (see separate), Exercise classes (see Gym), Spa
activities, games and contests, Calypso music by the pool, lying in the sun,
ping pong tournaments, etc. Out by the pool, we saw a pillow-fighting contest
and a hula-hoop contest. There was also a hairy chest contest. All of these are
a bit silly, but the staff can be funny and get the crowd going. It provides
some entertainment while lying out by the pool. There are two pools, both very
small and filled with cold seawater. Kids used them, few adults did. There was
a slide but only open a few hours a day. Very little children used it, we saw no
adults trying it. There are plenty of deck chairs, we never had had a problem
finding one, and if it wasn't just where we wanted it, we moved it. We liked
lying out on the front deck, where the smaller of the two pools are. There is also a topless sunbathing area, but according
to the boys, no one was ever there.
We did not do much during the day (kids sleeping most of the time) but lay in the sun and work out at the gym. We made the mistake of not using sunscreen this first day (it was only about 45 minutes!!) and got a touch of sunburn. The rest of the time we put a variety of SPF sunscreens and blocks on and were nice and tan at the end of the cruise. We also spent a few hours a day just hanging out in our room watching TV. There were a couple of movies a day (shown again the day after) shown several times a day, including one family movie. We also got TNT. NBC (watched the last day of the US Open) and CNN. One channel shows all the videos taken the day before. This included all the contests etc. There is a kids club but we obviously did not use it. We did walk through the room and there were many activities planned and lots to do. During the cruise we often heard the kids yelling out songs and marching Gym/Spa: Gym opens early, I think around 7. We either had breakfast first or worked out first depending on mood and timing of other activities. Every day there is a 1 mile group walk at 7:30am. There are generally 2-3 other workout classes per day, such as stretch, aerobics, step, weight training, boot camp. Trainers are available for body fat analysis and nutrition counseling. I also saw a makeup class and facial class but they seemed to be selling product. There was a couple massage class.
The gym had 7 treadmills, 2 stairmasters, 2 rowers and about 4 bikes. The weight machines were Keiser (hydraulic air) and were somewhat difficult to use. They have at least 15 machines including 4 leg machines. There are also free weights. It was very crowded early in the morning before 9. We sometimes worked out at 4:00 and there were few people. The treadmills often have a short line but I never waited more than 2 minutes .
There are men's and women's sauna and steam rooms plus 2 coed hot tubs. My husband tried the latter and said it was only 105 degrees, not quite hot enough to be therapeutic. The showers were great they had 4 side showerheads and one from above.
Casino:
The first night the casino had a 'rum swizzle' party (translate free drinks) to
introduce people to the Casino. We walked through and had a few freebees. I sat
down to play blackjack and won $100. Note that one blackjack table (Fun 21)
looks like it has great odds (can double down on any two cards and as many times
as you want etc), but I found out later (always read the fine print) they have
taken out all the Queens!!!! Somehow I ended up winning $450 on that same table.
Must have been all luck. I did see the dealer make two mistakes. one time not in
my favor. She corrected it immediately, but you have to watch these guys. Our 18
yr old entered one of several black jack tournaments. You buy in for $10 and
they give you $1000 in fake chips to start. He said it was silly because you
play for points and only 7 hands counted in each round. Definitely a luck
rather than skill game. As indicated on most cruise sites, they do not give you
free drinks, but the bartenders do com!
e around frequently.
There are also roulette tables, craps and Caribbean poker, and many slot machines but we did not play. The casino is open from noon until very late, and not open while in port. In addition to the black jack tournaments there are also slot machine tournaments. There are bingo games, mostly in the evening before the evening entertainment. The last one is for a cruise for 2. A lot of people play bingo!
Shore Excursions:
We chose to not go on any shore excursions. I heard the snorkeling was bad
everywhere due to the murky water. Also it was very hot and humid in both PV and
Mazatlan. After waiting for the boys to wake up (noon) on Wednesday, we all
went into PV. Remember to bring your picture ID and sign and sail card. They do
check when you re-board.
The night before, the room steward puts large Elation beach towels in your room. Bring them back or they will charge you for them. The second day, they were not automatically there we had to ask the room steward for them. Fortunately he hangs around working the rooms very early in the morning so it is not hard to track him down.
In Puerto Vallarta we took at taxi for $2/per person into town. We walked around the shops and bars for a few hours. Wear comfortable shoes since the streets are cobblestone and curbs are very high. I was shopping for silver and my stepson wanted a hammock and hat, so we concentrated on those items rather than going in every store. In both PV and Mazatlan there are a few Mayan type stores with great models of the pyramids for Uxmal and Chitzen Itza. Enjoyed looking through the store with leather, handicrafts, pottery, and furniture. I thought the best silver shops re quality, were on the malecon facing the sea. We looked for the 925 mark in the silver, but it is easy to fake. Just don't buy from the street vendors. The variety and number of pieces in these stores is amazing. We were able to barter more in the smaller stores but sometimes it was a hassle. One hammock we were going to buy started at the equivalent of $65 and before we walked away he was down to $35. Don't ! buy from the first vendor unless you have already priced things.
Then as we planned, we grabbed a taxi to the Krystal resort. I had been there many years ago and it has a large beach and many pools. It seems most of the people around the pool had Elation towels. The pool area was crowded ( I think many people went straight to the resort since it is walkable to the ship). A bar waiter saw us come in and went to get us 4 lounge chairs and some margaritas. Since it was in the high 90's and very humid, the pool water felt great. We decided to leave early afternoon and rest before dinner. I heard others went to the Paradise Village, which is farther out, but were not overly impressed. I would recommend the Krystal.
In Mazatlan the next day, we again took a taxi into the Golden Zone to shop and bar-hop. The taxi was about $5 for the 4 of us. We went to the ship's 'recommended' stores but they were nothing special. The shopping is better in PV. We then went to the El Sabalo hotel to relax in the sun. This is a smaller resort than the Krystal in PV, but has a nice meandering pool partly in shade and is only a few feet from the beach. They were offering parasailing, but we declined. We watched from the ground. They were serving buckets of Corona and Pacifio. There were other tour groups there and some had the lunch buffet outside by the pool. We waited for lunch/dinner back on board. We then walked (over a mile) to Senor Frogs. We were hot and tired but it was a fun place to party. We tried a few too many margaritas (they are huge) and bought some Senor Frog shirts. Then we took a open surrey-like taxi to the ship (I think is was about $5 again) and were back on the boat before 3. We all crashed for a nap.
The next day we were in Cabo San Lucas very early, ie, 7am, but the swells were high and the tenders were delayed. By the time we strolled down to board, the lines were very long. We decided to go back to our rooms and wait it out. An hour late (10) we were able to get on with no problem. It was fun trying to get into the boat since the waves were rocky. I was surprised people with canes made it since you practically had to jump into the board. We walked around Cabo for a while, just within blocks of the dock. We ended up in Sammy Hagar's restraurant Wabo Cabo for some chicken wings and beer. We bought 3 bottles of his Wabo Cabo tequila, which appeared to be about half the price of that in California. We were back on board by 11:30 but the tender trip back was very rocky. I thought it was fun, like a ride at Disneyland. The last tender was supposed to be at 12:30, but due to the swells, the last boat reached the ship closer to 1:30. We did not leave Cabo until after 2 and then took a long time leaving the harbor since the crew was practicing turns???
Entertainment: There were two Las Vegas type shows and we saw a small part of one (Rhythm) and a few scenes from the second (Spin). They were not our cup of tea, but the Mikado lounge was crowded. There were comedian shows (some at midnight) that were good. When the show is in the Cole Porter lounge, it is crazy crowded so you have to get a seat at least a half-hour early. At least there is a band in the room before the midnight comic show, so you are not bored. On the last night there was a good show in the Mikado. The first half was Jesse Lopez (Trini Lopez's brother ) and a very talented musician and singer. The second half was a good comedian (not great).
The Mexican folklorico show in the Mikado upon return from Puerto Vallarta was very popular. You have to get a seat 30 minutes before the show starts. This is true for most shows, since bingo is often played just before and if you don't play bingo it's hard to find a seat. We sometime wait in the back seats on the top level and move down closer as some bingo people leave.
Other forms of entertainment included a very good singer/guitar player Jimmy in the Promenade/Plaza bar. He starts at 7:30pm or so and takes requests. We also visited Dukes Piano bar one night (it doesn't get started until 9:30-10. This is a singalong bar and the people get loud and crazy. They even did the hokey pokey! (no we did not get up). Worth at least one hour of your time. A jazz grouped played once around 5 in the promenade around the musical café. One night there was a magician in the Mikado . She plays Las Vegas and was a bit flashy but her illusions were excellent.
One day at 4pm there was a game show in the Mikado. We checked it out. It was a 'jeopardy' like format but funny. Anyone could put his or her name in a hat to be a contestant. Our 18 yr did, but did not get picked.
The discos were mostly filled with kids from 7-18. The Romeo and Juliet lounge had a two-person group that often played oldies. They were good, but still way too many kids. The disco, called Jekyl and Hyde, had kids kareoke (some seriously good, some very bad). The boys hung out in the RJ lounge mostly and occasionally the disco very late at night when the little ones were in bed. There were a large amount of kids between 16-22 on this ship. Good for them, since the boys always had buddies (and girls) to hang with. It did keep my husband and I out of those disco bars, however. One boy that was going to do kareoke instead threw up all over the floor. Other than that, we did not see unruly behavior. Of course we were not up past midnight and most of the kids were up till 2-3 in the morning. One bar stays open till 4am. The bars generally checked ID and did not serve (obviously) to underage kids. However, there were bartenders that did and of course the kids discovered this early on. Also, the kids over 21 bought for those under. I must say we did not see drunk kids, at least not before midnight.
On the first formal night, there was a 'captains cocktail party' in the Mikado lounge. This was kind of stupid. You had to wait in line to have your picture taken then wait in line to enter and shake the captain's hand. Then you sat down and a waiter came around with free champagne or whisky sours. Then he came around with a few appetizers like meatballs, only once. Then we sat there doing nothing while everyone else got into the room. There might have been something else ready to happen but we exited to a 'real bar' and then to dinner.
Debarkation: There is a debarkation lecture at 11am on Saturday. I attended but know most of the details from prior research and reading the Sat afternoon newsletter. You have to have your luggage outside your cabin door before 1am that night. You need to keep out clothes for the trip back, toiletries etc. We packed early in the evening before dinner so we could enjoy the evening. The boys did not have their luggage out until midnight. They start picking up luggage as early as 9pm. The next am we had to vacate our room by 9:15am but the steward starts cleaning as soon as you leave for breakfast. We were up early so we went to the buffet. Our 21 yr old wanted lox and bagels so we also ate at the formal breakfast which was at 8:15 this morning. There is a comment card you fill out and all go into a comment box and one is drawn for a $100 prize which is announced about 9am.
We took our time and finished packing our carryon and left our room for our designated waiting area which was the Lido (pool) deck. It is nice outside and not smoky. Anyone has the choice to wait on deck if they don't like smoke. It did take a while before they started calling colors. It was about 9:30 when they had the first group called which were those needing assistance. The colors started about 10:15. Customs apparently picks the colors to be called so you never know the order. We were blue and were the 4th color called. about 10:15. We went down the stairs to the Empress deck where we have embarked and then immediately to where our luggage was. We had expected a zoo, but this was really smooth. The blue section had about 200 pieces of luggage, mostly black like ours. I had taken Internet suggestions to heart and put bright yellow handles on all our pieces. It was easy to find them and go right outside to the taxi stand. There was no stop at customs all you had to do was hand the agent your customs form (one per family). I don't think we even stopped walking.
There is no sign to tell you how to get a taxi. You go all the way down to the right and there is one guy with a clipboard that takes your name (like in restaurant). We were told there would be 20-minute wait. There is not a line of cabs ready to pick people up. They come in slowly. It took about 25 minutes and we were off by 11:00. Our flight was at 1:00. I don't think I would get a flight before that. 1:30 may have been even better. The cab driver said the traffic at LAX was a zoo today and suggested a flat rate of $40, which turned out to be a good deal. We were at the airport before noon.
Packing notes: Prior to the trip I got many packing ideas from the Internet sites and also printed out Calgon's list. The bottom line with me was that I did not use 30% of the clothes I brought and 50% of the other 'handy stuff' I brought.
Clothing: I brought two dresses for formal night and was glad I had them. The other nights I wore sundresses, Dockers and a shirt and one night grey slacks. It was cool inside the ship so you get cold with sleeveless clothes. I brought too many tank tops. I really liked the cotton short sleeve dresses I brought (2 short and one long). They were comfortable for day and early evening especially with sunburn. At night I felt best in drawstring or slight stretch cotton pants with a Hawaiian or similar shirt and tank top. Brought too many shoes as well. Needed one dressy black heeled sandal, thongs for the beach/pool, athletic shoes, comfortable sandals or slides for walking around on shore and at night. Black and white work for most everything I brought. You do go through a lot of underwear, bras, jogbras and tank tops since it is so humid. I did a Woolite wash in the sink about half way through the trip and that took care of that. I never did laundry or iron since I heard there was a 2-3 hour wait for a dryer and had better things to do with my time. We brought a handheld steamer, which worked great and just steamed everything the first day. The boys wore Dockers and button down shirts at night and shorts and T-shirt or Hawaiian shirts during the day.
Other stuff: Things I brought that I actually used and was glad I brought: journal, pens, highlighter, Woolite, bright handles for luggage (ours were neon yellow), ginger tablets for seasickness, Tums and gas tablets, Pepto-Bismol tablets (for Mexico), post it notes for messages to each other, lots of different spf sunscreens, small shoulder strap purse for dinner, large beach bag for pool sitting and shore, small scissors, steamer, curling iron, hair dryer, corkscrew and bottle opener, baggies, small shampoos, conditioners, hair spray and gel, small toothpastes, aloe or similar for sunburn, wrinkle free spray, large mesh bag for dirty clothes (we hang on in the room), alarm clock (they have no clock in the room), water bottles (fill up in the room and take to shore rather than buying Evian), multiple electric plug (they only have one outlet in the entire room), lots of film, magazines and books. What I brought but did not need included the binoculars, six-pack cooler, ! CD player with mini-speakers (kids used theirs), duct tape, extension cord, fanny pack, cable ties for use as suitcase locks, umbrella, spritzer water bottle, extra water bottles (1 was plenty), large sun hat (got too windy, better to use baseball cap or hat you can tie on). Wished I had brought: Levi's or jeans would have worked for the first, next to last and last day because the weather was cooler. The boys both forgot at least 1-2 things, even though I had reminded them with lists etc. One forgot a tie, one forgot a belt, one forgot dress shoes, and they did not bring their dirty clothes bag. I would have brought one for each of them. It all worked out as we gave them some of the husband's stuff to fill in. Suggest having an adult pack the teenager's formal clothes in a foldout bag (with kids input on what to wear of course), bring family items such as extra mini size shampoo's, and have the kids be responsible for the daytime and casual evening play wear.
Other: Overall we enjoyed the eating and drinking the most, since even if the
quality was sometimes average at best, the variety and quantity made up for it
in most cases. The fun in the sun and the ports were good to very good. The
evening entertainment was good but not great. Service was very good almost
everywhere on board. We tipped the 'standard' amounts or close varying slightly
for excellent or not great service. The boys had a better time partying and
seeing the ports and my husband and I just enjoyed being away for a week doing
something different.