Leaderboard

She's trying to avoid this

I have an older one and a newer one. TP-Link MR3040: Pro's - small with self contained battery. Con's - Long since discontinued, no firmware updates, 2.4 GHz only, have had mixed success with. More fiddling to get it to work. TP-Link AC750 TL-WR902AC: Pro's - 2.4 & 5 GHz bands, current model, good experience so far. Con's - No internal battery but can be paired with an external battery and carried in a pocket or backpack. There is another potential benefit of using a travel router. Ship wifi access points are in the hallways. The ship's access point may be down the hall away from your cabin. Cabins have a lot of metal including the door. Sometimes the wifi signal isn't that good inside each cabin and if your bed is further away from the door the signal can be really weak in bed or for your device on the nightstand each night. The travel router connects to the ship wifi and then broadcasts its own wifi that your devices latch onto. In that sense it is like a repeater than be placed closer to the door where ship wifi is stronger and since it is generating its own wifi within your cabin your devices should have little trouble connecting to it. In another thread someone asked about newer units just released with all the latest and greatest wifi standards and >1Gbps throughput. In my opinion I don't need all that when traveling at a higher cost. I also don't want the most powerful AP that could interfere with the ship wifi and catch the attention of onboard IT. I am planning to do a separate thread on using a travel router onboard.

But first, mimosas!

Alright guys! It is happening! We are in the car and headed for the airport bright (?) and early. DAY to CLT, and then CLT to SJU!

Here is some good drone footage showing several of the beaches in St Maarten. The video is only a few months old so it should give you a pretty good idea of how they have recovered so far.

Ferry explosion in Playa Del Carman. Canadians among those injured. Video included in the story http://www.khou.com/article/news/ferry-explosion-injures-25-in-playa-del-carmen-mexico/285-521662657 UPDATE....Americans among the injured, but no deaths. http://abc13.com/18-injured-when-mexican-ferry-explodes-after-docking/3120258/?sf182708964=1

@jce2 @UkuleleCruiser Galveston and Liberty have become my go to, it's an 8 hour drive for me, but it's fun getting there. We were on Liberty in 2017, Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, have one book this year in July, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, probably book another in 2019. As stated above I like the laid back simplicity of the Galveston Island, I kind of correlate it back to the 17th street corridor in Fort Lauderdale, except not as busy. Of course I haven't been stranded by fog yet either.

This will be a useless post because I've never cruised with that big a group, but my wife and I rarely pay for excursions. We get off the ship, wander amongst the little trinket shops, find a place to get local fried seafood and a local beer, and get back on the ship. We are exciting people.

Agreed again. Unless they put a brand new ship there (cause that's my weakness), I cannot justify the cost of flights and distance to the pier to cruise out of Galveston.

@monorailmedic does!

This thread may turn out to be like a "Which Motor Oil Is Best?" thread on a Car forum but I will forge ahead, regardless. TIL that I need little clips to secure my towel to my poolside (relatively speaking) lounge chair. I had never heard of a Boca Clip before but I now MUST have some. With 10 days left until embarkation, I'm on a mission to secure (pun intended) some. Here are my requirements: Cheap because thieves Sturdy enough to last at least throughout the cruise but hopefully longer. Plastic or Stainless? Different enough to easily identify from others nearby (is this even an issue?) Fast shipping since it's a bit early to see them on local store shelves. I'd imagine that several of you have tried a number of these things and have developed an unnatural attachment to them. Links to whatever style or brand you may prefer would be appreciated. Time is of the essence here so, CHOP CHOP! Please?

I will get some pictures tomorrow and share out a link most likely when I get back. Right now we are back at the villa relaxing after a long day of travel. Other stray thoughts - getting a taxi from SJU to Old San Juan was a painless process. Once you are here, it really does feel like you can walk anywhere and everything is well lit. Most leftover hurricane damage I’ve seen was outside of Old San Juan.. everything in this area seems to be up and running and people are very nice And now I’m playing a drinking game and I lost because I was writing this so for my own sake I’ll follow up in the morning

Just sent in message! Let me know what happens!!

Garnished with a fried plantain, and the shrimp in the center of the mashed plantain was sautéed with cabbage

Checking in from San Juan!!! Currently sitting in Vaca Brava sipping a mojito. Initial thoughts: Old San Juan is beautiful and walkable the air BnB we picked is worth every penny. If you are spending at least two nights in San Juan pre cruise, I would gladly recommend it. Shoot me a message. Am happy.

I've look at a new post, no sense getting this thread any more off track.

You're not the only one lol. I told my family that I'm thinking of live blogging my next trip and I got strange looks from all.

this is probably the only place checking obsessively is the norm...everyone outside of here thinks I'm nuts for checking so often...

I won .15 once. They gave me a keychain. That's about it for my high roller experience! Good luck!

The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is that I believe you'll need to have one of your two device logins tied up all the time with the router, unless you feel comfortable going through the connection step every time you go back to your cabin; @twangster can qualify that as far as how easily one can re-connect after the first-time setup when you board.

All the more reason to check obsessively I guess

Might be anther good reason I prob wont cruise from Galveston......cost of flights...followed by distance from airport....followed by delays and cancellations by fog.....bit of a crapshoot it sounds like it can be.

Galveston always has delays due to fog. Best not to book any early flights on disembarkation day.

Never been there before but I booked The Hampton Inn (Cruise Port North) for my July cruise. It has a shuttle, free breakfast and is next to a strip mall (food, liquor store).

Kidding, you've been a huge help already! That said, embarking in 10 days...

I second that! We have always walked right on. The only time it was packed like that was our first cruise out of San Juan and we were newbies, didn't know any better, flew in the day of the cruise, arrived at the pier at 1pm and it was crazy! Now we show up at 9:30am-10am just like @monctonguy Now that I've said this, watch it back fire on me at Cape Liberty in two weeks lol Hope you are having a great time @Lauren

@Cruiselife, I just thought of another tip... Your best bet for deals in the Cruise planner would be the Black Friday planner sale that comes up (usually). If you are cruising in February 2019, then more than likely, your dining and entertainment will be open by then. I have found, over the last few years, the best deals have come out on Black Friday. Sales come and go, but the Black Friday ones have had the best prices so keep an eye out. You can always purchase things ahead of time to secure it but then watch for an opportunity to re-price it in November. Two years ago, some dining did go on sale for Black Friday. However, last year, I did not notice a discount on dining packages at all, not for Black Friday or other Cruise planner sales.

Safe travels!

Maybe on embarkation day, but not likely. I’m in a group of 12, and they already think I’m nuts without scoping hahahha

We use clothespins from the dollar store. Cheap and we won't be heartbroken if they get stolen.

Do it all from either, there may even be a Kiosk set up on the Promenade when you board that if not really busy can also take care of them for you. The only restaurant I have been told that you have to visit specifically was Izumi, but I lucked out last cruise and was dealing with a person on the Promenade making all of my reservations and when we got done I asked off the cuff "OK we are good with all my reservations" she stated yes, all except Izumi, that has to be done at the restaurant, I was getting ready to protest when she told me she was the manager of Izumi and would head right down and take care of it for me, again, luck on my part.

Fabulous idea!

Next step: monitor for 45-60 day price drops and up it to a GS or better ? Great news though on the upgrade!

They may have them at a Bed, Bath & Beyond if there is one near you. Amazon.com has them in various shapes, sizes and colors also.

Just noticed this thread yesterday. My husband and I are sailing on the Harmony in September of this year for the first time. We were booked in a 2C balcony. We love junior suites, but I usually can't justify the higher price. My original price for the 2C (booked on 3/26/17) was $2,313. Last December there was a sale and price came down to $2,075. I almost never see price drops now, so I was shocked. (I saved over $250 on a 2019 cruise that same day too. It was a good day!) Anyway, when I read this post, I decided to check the price of junior suites for our September 2018 Harmony trip. I typically believe if the difference between the balcony and JS is in the $500 - $700 range, it is worth the increase. Price for the JS was $3,067, BUT it came with $100 OBC and free gratuities. Further justification for the upgrade, it is a much bigger cabin and we can eat in the Coastal Kitchen for dinner! The balcony cabins on the Oasis ships seem so tight. (We have had 3 on Oasis and 1 on Allure.) So, we decided the $1,000 upgrade was worth it. We got a cabin on the bump out, so the balcony will be bigger too. VERY EXCITED for our first Harmony trip in a junior suite! So, @Sabrinaklai thanks for starting the thought process to my Harmony junior suite.

Yay so excited. I have cruised DCL and not RCL... at least not in a long time. Loved the spa pass on DCL and so so excited to buy one on RCL!!

Yeah based on ping times it it doesn't look like they touched the satellite platform. Bummer. Consider a portable travel router. I use one to share a Voom plan with multiple devices. I use it primarily in my cabin so my laptop and phone can both be connected at the same time. While its a $45 investment that is one time and can be used on future cruises. That's two days of Voom. It doesn't do as much outside of the cabin though, unless you want to carry it around with a battery pack. I plan to do a write up on Liberty next week explaining how to use one.

Yes, @Sabrinaklai I finally read this thread. WOW...and I don't mean about the quarterly promotions, rather the contorted math one may encounter at Next Cruise! More food for thought...and reason to bring the laptop along as @twangster suggests.

I must confess, hubby and I won a cruise about 15 yrs ago, it was on the Carnival Triumph, it was my first cruise. It took until 2016 before I agreed to cruise again. That was on the Independence of the Seas, and now, I can't wait to book the next one, but I will wait until we get back because Hubby will become Platinum after this one, I will gladly ride his coat tails out of gold.

Just booked today with Michelle - November 4th on Oasis to Nassau, St. Thomas, and Ste. Maarten!!!

I'm a vegetarian (actually, I don't like the label - I just love vegetables and end up eating sushi once in a while) but have a nunber of vegan friends and am sympathetic with the mission. I can tell you on RCI they've always been eager to please, the key is communication (and this is honestly the key on any cruise line). Your friend will want to have his/her reservation annotated and get in touch with someone in the MDR on embarkation day as well. Each evening the next day's menu is available so that it can be reviewed to see if there is anything of interest, something that can be modified to be made vegan, or if nothing else, a special request can be made. I personally love Indian food, which is easily made vegan, so this is just one option - but ultimately it comes down to making requests and not trusting signage. Check out the below article to get some additional tips - and to understand why I say not to trust signage. http://www.cruisehabit.com/how-request-vegan-vegatarian-gluten-free-or-kosher-meals-your-next-cruise

It's just okay. A little buggy at times. On Anthem I had experiences ranging from sort of worked to it just didn't work at all. I made changes to MTD dinner reservations a week before sailing and none of those changes were present in RoyalIQ, it had all my old times. I could cancel a dinner reservation in RoyalIQ but could not make a new reservation to replace it. At times it just wouldn't do anything. Let's just say its pretty obvious why they started building a new app for the fleet.

I'm "sure" it's safe if it's an RCI excursion -- I think it's a great idea.

Check daily and obsessively like the rest of us! lol

Yes there were 2 on the promenade and 2 in the Windjammer.

Welcome to the boards!

Just take some of this and do it right! Pretty sure they won't mind, and it can't be stolen!

In regards to the Murder Mystery, I will be doing it on my March 3rd cruise on Freedom so I will be doing a bit of a review (may have to do a non-spoiler and a spoiler version). I am not sure if photos will be allowed so not sure if I'll be able to share that or not yet. I'm not sure if it is available on your cruising though.

There was someone at my previous job (I just started a new one last month) who would yell this periodically from his cube. I would be really, really okay if I never heard that phrase again.

My 1st Royal Caribbean Cruise -- March 17th Port Canaveral and Bahamas aboard the Anthem of the Seas!! Hubby has been trying to get me to do a Royal Caribbean cruise for years! Can't wait!