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We are always looking for people to join our team of dedicated testers. . It won't be easy, hour upon hour of field work toughing it out in the sun as you order drink after drink at the bar.... I'm not sure everyone has what it takes

The local governments are in control of the reopening date. They are asking for the cruise ships to return. Cruise line officials are ensuring they can fulfill that request in a safe manner. Cruise ships in particular are a form of tourism that places less demand on resources compared to fly and stay tourism. Cruises arrive in the morning and leave later the same day unlike fly and stay tourists who stay overnight when crime can be higher and who place greater demand on resources such as food, water, policing and potentially medical. Crime can be higher in part because there is no money coming in and people are growing desperate in a large part because they have no income. Local governments want to reintroduce tourism to bring income but also to bring a sense of normalcy back, which itself helps to reduce crime and stabilize the region. Cruise ships are the ideal answer for how to a slowly reintroduce tourism. This isn't the first hurricane to have this effect, many islands have gone through this before. When I cruised to St Marteen in the late '90s it was soon after that islands last such hurricane hit with similar devastation. EDIT - in another forum I participate in a similar thread is evolving. A resident of St Thomas is posting and they want tourists back. They are not sure how they are going to pay the rent this month and while they are not fully restored (no power at home yet), they are eagerly waiting to welcome us with open arms. They need the money. So for anyone that does go to a recently opened island, be generous, tip well. An extra $5 or $10 is nothing relative to the cost of a cruise.

If you have Voom Surf and Stream you can stream the parade on a phone or tablet while on the ship.

We will be with her. I used to work in an assisted living/memory care facility, so had some training. This will be her last big trip with her, and want her to have a great time before she forgets

I can see it two weeks from now... @kimberussell has gotten over the buzzkill of getting off the ship for the last time. She's finally back into her routine, and has some friends over for dinner Saturday. She serves them a new soup they've never had before, and all rave about it. An hour later, as they're sitting and chatting, one of them comments, "I think I'm buzzed from this soup." And @kimberussell smiles quietly to herself.

@ladydiinflorida and @Tammy Smith, for the discussion about what Tammy's husband may or may not know I'd recommend moving the discussion to direct messaging, available here on the forums. Just hover over the name of the person you want to contact and you'll get a "Message" button to privately email them. Not saying this to mute the conversation here, just thinking that with Tammy's husband being a lawyer, this might be getting into potentially sensitive information that shouldn't be discussed in a public forum. Working 20 years in the financial industry makes me a little paranoid about these things.

So a couple things... RCI executives do have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. Duh! Same goes for any publicly traded company. People were outright and blatantly violating the rules and sharing drink packages. In one of Michael Poole's scopes recently he observed four people signing up one person for the DP for this purpose. It's very difficult to place the enforcement onto front line employees. Bartenders can't follow people to see if they hand off a drink. An ugly confrontation would result in any attempt to place enforcement solely in the hands of front line employees and that leads to a potentially larger negative customer experience. The common trend in the industry is to require everyone over 21 to purchase a DP if anyone does. In considering how to deal with this problem of theft they had to make a choice. Trying to enforce it on the ship with front line employees would likely lead to inconsistencies and awkward situations where customers come up with excuses like "I'm not sharing my drinks, he's just holding my drink while I stretch". There would be YouTube videos and social media moments creating a negative impact to the brand like "They suspended my DP for no reason, I did nothing wrong, bad company!" even though this person is lying through their teeth. On the other hand by following the industry trend it makes it a consistent policy applied across the fleet without placing the burden on front line employees. Customers will know it when they attempt to purchase a DP just like other lines. I completely understand why they went this way. I've contacted them and have direct knowledge of the exemptions and how those work. I honestly believe those are a reasonable approach to dealing with the relatively few individuals who truly need one. The vast majority do not require and should not be eligible for an exemption but for the small number of folks that properly do there is process to recognize it. Is it perfect? Maybe not but it does address most customer use cases. If the masses start to abuse the exemptions, they'll likely have to adapt to that too. Blame the abusers who attempt to circumvent policy and rules to benefit themselves.

Sure go on the cruise but please make sure that someone is with them at all times, there is no way that you can predict when they will have a memory loss and having someone there that is familiar to them is a great help. Not sure how far the disease has progressed but I know that they also derive comfort from familiar surroundings as the disease progresses, for their safety I would say please have someone with them to ensure that they do not get lost or confused. I am the step son of a mother that had Alzheimers/dementia and understand that "making memories and family time" are EXTREMELY important but our elders also need to be cared for and safe. Please go and have a great time but please have someone with them at all times.

Always a good idea to be with them around the ship. So pleasedyour grandmother had lovely memories of the cruise

We would "test" her throughout the trip. About 75/25 she would remember. She was always accompanied by someone she is familiar with the entire time. Only time we were worried is if she wandered off while everyone was sleeping. It never happened. She was exhausted after all the fun activities on the ship! She had a great time. She would always talk about the cruise even years afterwards.

My late grandmother had Alzheimer's. We would take a photo of her everyday and every time she changed her outfit that way it will assist in case we needed search for her. We also used photo magnets of people who she was familiar with and put them on her cabin door. Just make sure you do mention to the cruise line of any medical condition. We also used a bluetooth tracker like Tile. Attached the Tile to a piece of clothing or in her pocket. Have a plan. We told her to go to any stairway/elevator and stay there.

We cruised with a couple who's husband had Alzheimer's. Of all the people we cruised with we had the most fun with them. Of course someone was with him 24/7 but they are a fun couple.

As a programmer myself I can guess what is happening here and yes it sounds like an IT problem. My guess (without actually seeing their code)....The bartender rings up the drink, the computer BEFORE hitting the "Drink Package" flag hits a flag saying "no available spending account" and rejects the order, when in reality it should check the drink package flag first. Maybe when i retire (in 10 years) , RC can hire me to rewrite their software......from the deck of Liberty of course.....while tossing back margaritas....

Planning to book a 9-Day Best of Japan cruise on May 16, 2018 and would very much appreciate any comments on the itinerary: Fukuoka, Japan, Nagasaki, Japan, Yatsushiro, Japan & Shimonoseki, Japan This will be my first cruise destination to Asia and would like to get as much information on what to expect. Thanks in advance. :-)

Thanksgiving 2015 was full of drama at the in-laws so we stayed with my family in 2016. Happy to say that things are better now, but when the 2017 sailings opened up we immediately booked a cruise to avoid reliving 2015. Glad we followed Matt and Billy's advice about booking as early as possible and got a great deal on a 9 night sailing (Labadee and the ABC's) on Navigator. We were able to get a Grand Suite for under $1600 per person. That same cabin last month was over $2500 per person and today the Junior Suites are $1900 per person. We arrive in Miami on Thanksgiving day around 1 pm and will board Friday morning. I have a couple questions: Can anyone make recommendations on places to eat on Thursday that will be open on Thanksgiving for lunch and dinner? Will they start decorating the ship for Christmas during our sailing? Looking for excursion suggestions in Curacao. We have a reservation at a resort in Aruba and doing and snorkeling with Woodwind in Bonaire. The wife is more of a sun bunny. She enjoys the sightseeing seeing ride to and from the beach from the ship. She likes shopping as well. Obviously we will be relaxing on Barefoot Beach in Labadee.

I'm echoing this. I wouldn't spend the money on an excursion when this is a phenomenal walking tour. There is beautiful architecture, churches, restaurants, ships and bars etc all within walking distance of the ship. I just couldn't take enough pictures of all the amazing buildings. It truly is one of my favorite ports and one of the cheapest! Can't wait to go back! Jane

Yeah, agree with you. No consistency across the fleet either. Freedom is $44, Anthem $46. Grandeur back in August was $41. Then there is the "free Voom" with deluxe bundle, except that is measured against the on board price, not the pre-cruise deluxe only price. Confusing marketing. My Anthem Voom/Deluxe bundle went from $54 one day to $56 the next day. I also think longer cruises should have lower prices. 12 nights on Anthem the combo Voom/Deluxe is almost $800 per person. I think not.

I love Curaçao. It’s my favorite Carib island. It’s a GREAT walking port. Walk to the right as you exit the compound and follow the sidewalk trail through the old fort retail areas. I love how they have used the old Fort ruins for shops and restaurants (the US would NEVER allow anything like this !). Walk over the pedestrian bridge and get one of the tuc-tucs and take the tour. It’s a beautiful little tour and extremely interesting. Who knew there was a very strong a Jewish influence in Curaçao ? There even a very nice casino right in the retail area. It’s a nice cool place to get in out of the heat. Enjoy !

Ill be boarding Serenade day after Thanksgiving. If nothing is open on 17th St I'll just grab a bite at the hotel. Did that 9 nite Navi sailing last April and it was a blast.will do it again in January! Last Curacao visit I did the caves and city walking tour. Caves we're ok... Natural Bridge Caverns in San Marcos was much better, but the city tour was very nice. Wilemstead is very pedestrian friendly. After it was over I wandered on my own for a few more hours and found a great little outdoor place for lunch. The walk back to the pier was great as well, with the floating bridge and much more to see. January I'm just going to walk to town and hang out.

My SIL works for American. She said that the day before is a nightmare and that day of is actually much calmer since people already want to be at their destination so not to miss lunch. LoL The only issue is parking. All lots will be full. I made a reservation months ago for parking, but might just Uber to and from the airport.

I have been on a few Thanksgiving cruises (24 days out from boarding Anthem!) and I have never seen the parade broadcast anywhere on the ships. Set your DVR to watch when you get home!

The big box electronics stores should carry them. Amazon has them as well http://a.co/dT0iRCG.

We plan on being with her 24/7 too, she is looking forward to ziplining across the ship, and going on the slides. She is 72, and still loves to have fun.

She still remembers most things now, but the cruise is in a year. Not sure where they will be when it’s tine to go in the cruise. She was joking the other day that she can’t wait to get lost on the ship. I just rolled my eyes ??

Following! On Anthem in 35 days for a B2B. Look forward to the advance preview.

Well said, sir!

lol, I wish I was a coder so I could join this "RC website redevelopment team". To the OP, what these posters have said makes sense to me as a nobody. We've always had a cash or card account, can't help ?

Haha...do you guys comp me trips if I work for this blog? ;) *** (apologies to Captain Toni for calling him Chef Toni yesterday.) Day 4: I woke up on my own at 7am, which is good because we had to clear immigration at 9:30. It would have been 11:15 based on our muster station, but since we had an 11am excursion, we got to leave earlier. We got dressed and headed to our beloved windjammer for breakfast. Mom got her usual gluten free grub, I got "fruit" (chocolate covered bananas), some sweet bread with berries in it and sugar on top, a grilled tomato (good and I think something I can do at home), carved ham (apologies to yesterday's pig) and coffee. And mimosas, of course. After that we took our second cups of coffee to the pool area to watch us dock at Key West. We went to MDR at 9:30, and were trooped up the stairs, across the ship to the theater, and down those stairs. Our group was puzzled, but compliant. The very nice agent looked at our documents and cleared us to leave the ship. (background music: Neil Diamond's "America") I chose the Conch Train Tour for our excursion because it was hop-on, hop-off and that was an easy way to get Mom around town. Plus, it looks like a cute little train! What I didn't realize (I probably should have researched it more instead of gazing lovingly at port webcams) was that there is a 50 minute tour ride between Stop A and Stop B, AND that Stop B was only a few blocks away from Stop A. We were driven right by the Southernmost point buoy without the opportunity to hop off. We hopped off at B and decided to walk down Duval Street in the 85+ degree weather to the Southernmost point buoy and then walk back to Train stop C to continue on. YES my mother is still walking slowly with a cane, NO I didn't think this out, and YES I stink at map skills. My first stop was at a shack that claimed to have Best Conch Fritters. I had a 3-piece and I can verify that they are the best conch fritters I ever had. We meandered down Duval Street into and out of shops. Sloppy Joe's was full, so I mugged at the Duval Street webcam instead. My productivity is going to improve 100% once I get back to work because my second monitor will no longer have 5 webcam feeds running on it all day long. We saw the oldest (still-standing) house in Key West. I squeed at the Margaritaville restaurant but we didn't eat there because I was full of chocolate covered bananas and conch fritters. Instead, I bought a shirt with a parrot and "it's 5:00 somewhere - Key West" on it because I excel at being a tourist. After about an hour of walking, I brought up Google Maps and had my expectations reset as to how quickly we'd get to the buoy. It was literally closer to go back to Stop B and ride down to Stop C. We turned around and walked back, hopped back on the train and rode to Stop C at Truman and Duval Streets, which was still a good 5 blocks away from the buoy. GOTTA GET THAT PICTURE! Wouldn't you know, that the buoy was repainted yesterday (Wednesday) because of the damage it sustained from Hurricane Irma? The colors are painted onto it but the words haven't been redone yet. So we had our picture taken in front of the plain buoy. I smiled for the webcam and considered the walk back to Truman/Duval. And then we saw him. Like an angel sent from above to save my mother from her daughter's bad decisions...a young man with a pedicab. It was very hot, and I ran out of my liter bottle of water. He took us back to Mallory Square and it was a gorgeous, breezy ride. Just amazing. We tipped him well. We bought touristy things at the open-air shops (more non-magnet souvenirs for the nephew and a wooden Key West sign for me, and I don't know where I'm going to put this thing) there and called our trip to Key West good. I didn't have an alcoholic beverage or a slice of pie, but I loved the artsy, beachy, slightly drunken vibe there. I'd like to spend 3-4 days there in the future, drinking at sticky bars and listening to music. I'd have rather been docked at Key West until midnight instead of Nassau. If I had to do it again (I hope I get the chance to do this again!) I would take the Trolley tour instead of the Conch Train because the trolley tour had more stops around town. My clothes were stuck to me, so I tossed on the sundress I wore on the first day because it's the coolest non-swimsuit item I brought. We missed Windjammer lunch but Windjammer afternoon snack time is just about the same thing. I had a hot dog and a fruit crumble drowned in chocolate sauce and then we returned to our solarium lounge chairs. I wonder how much it would cost to renovate my living room into a mini Solarium? We went to the photo shop to make our tough decisions about photos. It wasn't open yet so genius me used the kiosk. I ordered the digital 4-photo package, put in my stateroom, prepared to slice 20 photos down to 4 and ... it thanked me for my order. Uh. When do I choose the photos? I guess I'll find out after dinner. Bingo was starting up it the Centrum. I smugly prepared to walk by until my Bingo Boo JP announced that the jackpot was $300 and it was only a $25 package instead of $33. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. We bought 2 packages, got the third one for free, and lost AGAIN. Bingo is gambling. Don't be like me. By then it was 5:45. Mom went to get a sweater and I watched us pull away from Key West. Sadly. Wistfully. Lip-quiveringly. Our tablemates didn't come to MDR that night, so again we had the table to ourselves. I had French Onion soup which was oh my goodness so good. I could have had 3 more bowls and skipped everything else. Instead I had a turkey dinner and carrot cake. Mom had shrimp cocktail, Angus beef sliders without the buns, and a gluten free sugar free chocolate cappuccino mousse. Ajay and Jesus (assistant waiter) wished us well and said they'd miss us. We were THIS CLOSE to breaking down into ugly cries but pulled it together. After dinner we went back to the cabin to pack. Sadly. Wistfully. We were almost done when I saw that it was 8pm. Parade of Flags! We need to see this! We dropped everything and fled back to the Centrum. I thought this would be the hokiest event EVER. It really looked like it would be. I rolled my eyes as my GenX people do. Whatever. Let's watch this. You know what's coming, right? Because you've all seen this before. It. Was. So. Fun. We really enjoyed the dancing interludes and the love and pride the crew has for the countries they are from. (USA's dance was to Cotton Eyed Joe which, okay fine.) When the Cruise Director Michelle said if the over 800 crew members from over 50-some countries can work together and be a family, so could we all, I got a little choked up. Let's all be nice to each other. We all want food, love, warmth - that should be more than enough to overlook whether or not I voted for that candidate or that the lady over there wears a headscarf or that other weird person thinks chocolate covered bananas are awful. I'm glad we took the time to see it and still feel guilty for mocking it prematurely. We finished packing, put the bags out, and went back to the photo store. Turns out that the digital package is a computer program that allows me to pick 4 photos to download once I go home. Perfect. The best hard decision is a postponed one. After that good news we went to the Spotlight Lounge to watch another round of karaoke. I collected my final drink of the day, the Citrus Cooler. We had 14 fantastic performances and one guy who drank too much and wanted attention. I will listen to people sing off key all night as long as they're trying in earnest. But when Drunky McLookAtMe tries to be cute, I'm done. On the positive side, there was a young German couple who sang "Stumbling In" ("Our love is alive, and so we begin...") perfectly and got a standing ovation. When we went back to our cabin, they were rebroadcasting the Parade of Flags on the RCI channel so we watched it again. Mom told me this was the best vacation she ever had and thanked me for planning it and I cried because I'm a giant baby. It was a great end to a long day and a beautiful cruise. Day 4: A++ Day 5 - the Saddening: Since our departure time was slated for 9:10am, I set my alarm for 7. We were awake before that though, because at 2am I realized I packed my keys into the big suitcase that I left out last night and what if the bag doesn't make it to Philadelphia and my keys aren't there and how will I get home and I don't want to call my husband and say the keys are lost and .. and ... and... That kind of put a damper on my sleep quality for the rest of the night. At 6:30 Mom and I sat in the dark in our cabin as we glided by Miami's pink and blue lights and docked for the last time of our cruise. SIGH. Mom went up to the Windjammer to get a table (good plan, it was crowded) and I went to pick up my photo DVD and get boarding passes printed out. When I got up to the Windjammer it was bedlam. As God is my witness it was like nobody was going to EVER eat again. People were running and grabbing and stacking plates high with food. It's a freaking hashbrown, people - they sell them at McDonald's. Get a grip. Of course with all of the chaos, people were spilling things left and right and the floor was dive-bar-level sticky. Mom had her usual gluten-free grub. Two truths and a lie: To fit in I had 3 pieces of that sweet bread, 5 pieces of chocolate covered banana and did a keg stand at the orange juice dispenser. After that we walked the pool deck one last time. We went to the Spotlight Lounge at 9:00 and at 9:10 we were processed off of the ship and into the terminal. Something happened with Customs and we waited an extra 30 minutes before being able to get downstairs to the baggage carousels. I found the bags without a problem, and we got into the other line to be cleared by the Customs agent. Which made us late for the shuttle from the port to Ft. Lauderdale airport, but gave me time to feel through my bag and find my keys. All of the fruit that people collected during the morning's breakfastpocolypse ended up abandoned. The ground transportation area of the terminal was loud and crowded and chaotic. We ended up on the 10:30 Miami Port Express shuttle. Major props to them, because they kept in touch with me though all the delays. The FLL -> MCO -> PHL flights went without a hitch, and on the flight I typed out Day 4's blog post and scrolled through pictures. Sadly. Wistfully. Got back to PHL, found our bags, shoved onto the Economy Parking shuttle, got to the car (oh crap I only have 1/8 tank gas left thanks Past Kim for leaving me this mess), stopped at the nearest gas station (Wawa, and this Jersey girl DOES pump gas when she has to), headed back to Jersey, dropped off Mom, went home. And here I am, filled up on husband hugs and on the sofa with two happy, snoring spaniels in my lap. The suitcase needs to be unpacked but I am tan and happy and sleepy and ... sober. Day 5: B-. Points off for being told we had to get off of the ship. **** THANK YOU for all the compliments. This was a fun exercise to help me remember and document this amazing trip. And also it's my thank you gift back to this community. I have a rough list of of takeaways that I'll come back and post in a few days.

I see your point, but they need tourism to return. It is their lifeline.

You can do that, but don't do that.

My guess is because it works. It's why JC Penney failed miserably when they tried to get rid of sales/coupons/gimmicks and post lowest price. It almost ruined the company.

I think we get 3 gold coins each to use in the special casino machine. I’ve never won more than a key chain (which I no longer take since I could start my own key chain store if there was a market ) but Dan seems to do better than me most of the time. On the last 2 cruises he has gotten a raffle ticket for a drawing on the last night. Of course, that’s where the good luck ends. No prize at the drawing but at least there is some anticipation. I don’t think it’s $5 though...

I'm pretty sure that's still a thing. Some sort of free spin.