Parking at the port I did not like having to pay $60 for parking but I don't think we will do it any other way in the future. I can't tell you how convenient and quick it was having our car there and not having to wait for a shuttle. We tried a hotel with shuttle service in 2012 and found it "okay" but I like to be in charge of when I get to the port and how quickly I get on the road home. We may try one of the area hotel/motels that offer 40% off parking at the port to save money for our 7 night next year but then again, we really liked the Double Tree. We will see.....but either way we will be parking at the port.
Do we need trip insurance- Only you can decide if you and your family need trip insurance. We did NOT purchase insurance for this cruise since it was a relatively inexpensive trip. We did however get insurance for our 5 night last year and I purchased trip insurance through Travel Guard for our upcoming 7 night cruise. I wasn't as concerned about our 3 night but with our 7 night easily costing over $5000 before excursions/hotels/etc. I wasn't willing to risk not having it. I purchased it within 14 days of making our deposit onboard so that it would cover any pre-existing conditions. Also, with Travel Guard Gold, kids are free. Is the food good on
DCL- I see this ALOT. Food is very subjective and what I may like you may not. With that being said, I enjoy most of the food on DCL. I did not enjoy much of my lunch in Royal Palace but I absolutely love dinner in Royal Palace. I didn't care for the pasta pursettes in AP last year but loved them this year. I did not have the pirate menu on our 3 night but I did not enjoy it at all last year. It was by far my least favorite menu. Try something and if you don't care for it just get something else. Order as much or as little as you would like. Mixology- We loved mixology and look forward to doing it again next year. The cost is $15 per person and in my opinion, it's a real bargain for the number of drinks that you get. We had lots of fun going behind the bar and mixing drinks. The bartender prepared us 4 drinks then we all had a shot plus "tastes" of 3 other drinks. I highly recommend this class. Lots of fun.
Bringing your own alcohol onboard-We brought more than we needed because we ended up buying quite a few of the drinks of the day instead of what we brought but we will still bring some on in the future. Since we don't fly it really isn't inconvenient for us. We brought the opened bottles of liquor home with us so yeah, it was worth if for us.
