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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/29/2020 in all areas

  1. USCG Teacher

    Bank of America OBC

    That was me, and if I recall correctly, it was @Ogilthorpe who helped me out with that, so I'll pay it forward. ? If you call 1-888-305-4626, they can expedite the availability of the reward OBC and put it right into your cruise planner. I just contacted them last week with another redemption, and it was in my account within 15 minutes of hanging up the phone. ?
    5 points
  2. twangster

    Odyssey of the Seas

    Fires in shipyards happen often. That's why they have their own fire departments. When Monarch of the Seas was being built in 1990 a welder's torch caught some insulation on fire. She was nearly lost. They ended up taking a section of Majesty who was being built in another slip and replaced the damaged section of Monarch with the section from Majesty. She went on to enjoy 22 years of service with Royal. AIDAnova, Norwegian Joy, Costa Smeralda and Carnival Mardì Gras all recently had fires during construction at the various shipyards involved.
    4 points
  3. No clue! I gave up counting, it’s too depressing lol
    4 points
  4. I'd love to cruise over Christmas! I'll have to wait until retirement, though - no way would I be able to get Christmas off from work. BUT, that's only 4 more years!!!
    4 points
  5. rjac

    Odyssey of the Seas

    As they say in German SCHEISSE!!!! ?
    3 points
  6. I do agree with you, FCC should be more flexible to recognize the source of the funds that were applied in the first place. I myself have experienced this more than once. It's approaching money laundering from some perspectives, but completely unorganized and random. The fact that they give minor children hundreds of dollars of credit is incredible. If I give my sister $2,000 technically there should be tax implications. I can do it through Royal and she evades taxation. Nice. Try again with a different contact center agent or escalate to a different manager. If that doesn't work wait a bit and try again. Unfortunately everytime time you deal with Royal customer service there is a "spin the wheel to see if you won a prize" game involved.
    3 points
  7. 3 points
  8. We spent Christmas 2019 on Anthem and loved it! There was a good balance of Christmas/non Christmas themed activities and entertainment. Ship was nicely decorated. Sailing out of NYC in December, weather was cooler at the beginning and end of the cruise so it didn’t feel like the pools were overly crowded and there is so much to do indoors. The ship was full so it’s best you prebook activities like Ifly, Northstar where you can. There were a few last minute schedule changes on the holiday cruise that we were told was not the norm but they were manageable. We sailed star class so our experience may be a bit different but I think it will be great!
    3 points
  9. Don’t know at this point if I am sad, or happy to announce that this blog is officially, “To be continued in 623 days!” Our journey back to Oasis is taking a detour in the form of Plan C, 8 Night Symphony next summer in 1744 ? and Oasis now will be 2022. ?
    3 points
  10. Icon would be great. If alternate fuel, Port of Galveston would be prime location.
    3 points
  11. Thank you so much for the warm welcome! We are in 8724, because I read some of the posts here before booking. This site is a great resource. I appreciate all of the advice and expertise. I’m sure I’ll come up with lots of questions over the next 22 months!
    3 points
  12. USCG Teacher

    Proposal

    If you are thinking about doing it on the ship, and I can not stress this enough, GET THE CRUISE DIRECTOR INVOLVED! They live for this kind of thing and are really good at it. I proposed to my wide on Enchantment of the Seas nearly 20 years ago now. The director managed to lure her on stage between acts in the main theater on formal night after finding her SeaPass card that she had "misplaced." While doing a really funny bit with her about why it's important to never lose it, blah blah blah, the Assistant Cruise Director had met me at the back of theater, rushed me through backstage and had me appear on stage to propose. She had NO IDEA it was happening, and we got copies of the whole thing on tape from the ship's videographers. This was the plan we arrived at, but he had a number of ideas and possibilities: everything from quiet and romantic to a huge public declaration.
    3 points
  13. While it's not a mass-market cruise line and it doesn't stay out to sea for more than a few hours at a time, this may give some hints to how casinos might operate on the big guys when sailing resumes! Doug Parker, from Cruise Radio, took one for the team and went for a little sail to check it out. https://cruiseradio.net/florida-casino-ship-offers-preview-of-cruise-gambling/
    2 points
  14. I have a problem with the way RCI issues future cruise credit. I paid for a family cruise, I paid for the whole cruise myself on my credit card. Not all family members will ever be comfortable cruising in the future, for some it was to be their first cruise. I will definitely cruise in the future sometime. Seems really unfair that i have to eat the loss on those family members that will never cruise, it amount to thousands of dollars i will lose. If nothing else let us transfer FCC to other individuals second problem, as long as I'm at it, I also seems unfair that i can only apply my cruise credit to my part of the fare and not my wifes. I mean Royal your still getting the money, why not make it easy and fair. this is just my opinion, and has developed after all the recent cancellations
    2 points
  15. got my refund on friday w00t!!
    2 points
  16. I also think if you can do both and want to do both then book both! Great price on the cabana!
    2 points
  17. twangster

    ships for sale?

    For years now there are sites that display a ship without explicitly naming it. They slap some arbitrary price on the posting and sit back and wait. If someone comes along and expresses interest (some rich oil prince maybe?) they'll connect them with the owner for a smallish multimillion dollar finders fee. If anyone is referencing these sites are proof of something it's leaves a lot to be asked about the legitimacy of said person. These sites have been out there for years now and every couple month someone finds one and thinks it's breaking news.
    2 points
  18. twangster

    Proposal

    The 360th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring how Ryan proposed to his girlfriend while on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Ryan took his girlfriend on Oasis of the Seas, and shares what steps he took to plan the perfect proposal. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-360-ryan-proposes
    2 points
  19. Va4fam

    Proposal

    We saw a proposal on Anthem in December and the cruise staff was definitely involved. Everything took place in the Music Hall and the cruise activities director did a great job of making it a total surprise for the bride to be and the audience. She said "YES".
    2 points
  20. After canceling our July 4th cruise, we also booked the Nov. 21st Apex cruise. Now, I'm wondering if that cruise will happen. We've decided that we will not cancel this cruise, it will have to actually be canceled by Celebrity.
    2 points
  21. It doesn't matter. @Matt is still the one who started the trend and forever carries that cone of shame around his neck. ?
    2 points
  22. Royal has call centers offshore and they have a history of not internally communicating changes well or proactively. If you received a letter with that verbiage I think you are good as long as you apply it before 12/31/2021 and sail before 4/30/2022 as it says.
    2 points
  23. Traveler

    Proposal

    Hi , Here you can see 3 live blogs on the same routes , feel free to ask any questions , in Capri there the top of the mountain location were you take a cable car , they have a nice coffee shops and wonderful view , it is most of the time more quire from the other places in Capri .: The first one you can find a tour to Rome using the bus and coming back with a train Here you can find travel to Capri , I do suggest to take the tour from the ship , you can do it cheaper by yourself but the lines will kill you
    2 points
  24. I am actually shocked that excursions have already popped up. My May 2021 cruise on Symphony did not have any excursions pop up until about 400 days out. We jumped on the Coco beach pass the day it came up. It is only 2 of us, so that was the best option for us, we too are like @Ogilthorpe, usually like Chill Island cabana when in a group. When we purchased the pass in late April, the only other Coco Cay excursion on the planner was the beach bed. Mid May the over water and Chill cabana came on line. It was only a week or two ago that Thrill came on line. Oasis cabanas came on line that day too. If I knew I was going in a group I would jump on that price, especially with children since the cabanas have a water slide attached. I could see doing the water park since you are on Anthem. If you said to me you were on Oasis, I probably would have said that the water park is not worth it since the ship has water slides. I get Thrill has a bigger slide, but to me, even when I was a kid, a large slide like on the ship is a large slide. The only thing that would sway me is the fact that I am a beach girl and love jumping waves. I could live all day in a wave pool. FWIW, if you do not know this, if the cabana price drops (I highly doubt since that is such a low price), purchase the new cabana at the lower price and than go back and cancel the higher price one. There are limited numbers of cabanas, however, unlimited number of people looking on the planner. They could have only 1 left. By the time you cancel and come back to rebook at the lower price it can sell out. I have seen this occur multiple times. ~ The way my husband and I have done this is: 1st purchase would be under his name. 2nd purchase (re-pricing) would go under my name. Went back in and cancelled his purchase. We do this so we don't mistakenly cancel the cheaper cabana.
    2 points
  25. Really want to try Anthem so definitely good attitude. But it's my kids (long line ups) and DH (hates crowds) that i'm questioning. However, after losing 3 cruises this year (2 for sure..most likely this one), I think they'll get over any waits...ha ha.
    2 points
  26. @CynBeth welcome to the forums! I've only heard this when people use big consolidated TAs. For those of use who have used MEI Travel, they have saved us so much time and hassle. I'd never book a cruise again without using them. That being said, they typically don't deal with Cruise Planner items.
    2 points
  27. Vision of the Seas 6/7/21 Where can I find the master list?
    2 points
  28. First cruise in 2002 was us and the two kids in an oceanview cabin on Empress. Our reintroduction to cruising in 2018 was in a GS on Majesty. Earlier this year we did a quick 4 day with our grandson on Mariner & said yeah a balcony stateroom will be fine. Well NO! Both hubby & I said never again. We are already suite snobs. Happens fast ?
    2 points
  29. We have done one over Christmas, we were not on Anthem but on a MUCH smaller ship and I can tell you that even though the ship was at capacity and much smaller there wasn't a big crowd feel whatsoever. To be honest I was actually impressed, I got onboard with the expectation that it was going to be absolutely insane and did not expect much at all, and by the time we were done we all agreed that the service that we received and the whole experience was one of the best cruises we have ever had. The ship we were on was Majesty of the Seas, and like I stated earlier I came onboard expecting the worst and it turned out being one of the best we have had. So my advice? Book the cruise and get onboard with a good attitude and I almost guarantee you that by the time you get back you will have had a great time! ?
    2 points
  30. We have cruised over Christmas and New Years many times. I completely agree with @twangster. Everyone always seems happy. More kids ? Yes, but it is not overwhelming. I highly recommend holiday cruising. It especially takes the stress out of the Holidays, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.
    2 points
  31. Guinness is almost a diet beer given it's relatively low calorie count. At least that's how I justify it.
    2 points
  32. The only problem with applying the ban to all of the U.S is that includes regions or states that are doing quite well, as good or better than the EU. The U.S. is pretty sizable both in population and land size. The EU is made up of a number of small countries that are easier to apply labels to and definitions. I get it, it's easier to create definitions based on a passport compared to driver's license but if we stop for a moment and try to reimagine changes to better determine how to move into reopening we must think beyond traditional measures. This applies to domestic policy within the U.S. as well. I get it, it's easier to label people from their state of residence rather than their county but in so doing we prevent areas that are less impacted from reaping economic gains. Expecting government to be dynamic and agile is an act of futility but that is exactly what we need to minimize the economic impact and hardship caused by the pandemic. It's a shame that it's governments that are causing as much or more pain than the virus itself. We need to find a way to allow commerce when there is less potential impact from spread regardless of the state or country or continent or hemisphere. The virus doesn't know borders and neither can our response.
    2 points
  33. twangster

    Back 2 Back Cruising

    Since I live in a landlocked state well away from any coast I have to fly to cruise. With the extra cost and time burden of flying if I'm getting on an airplane to cruise I might as well cruise twice or more. Consequently I look for opportunities to stay on the same ship or move to another ship before flying home. The latter is sometimes called a side-to-side while staying on is called back-to-back. Royal calls such guests "Consecutive Cruisers". You will often see terms like B2B, B3B or B4B used in internet forums like this one to indicate a back to back or staying on for three or four in a row. Less commonly you may see S2S for side to side. From Royal's perspective each cruise is an seperate event. When staying on for the next cruise certain things are treated like you are a new guest on the next cruise. Different onboard account, different seapass card, different reservations for meals and entertainment. For these items it's as if you never did take the last cruise, the cruise you are on now stands on its own. You need to check in for both cruises online ahead of time as if they are different cruises which in fact they are. The most desireable B2B often means booking the same cabin for both cruises. There is no check box for this when searching for cruise, it's up to you or your travel agent to find a cabin that is available to book for both cruises. This is easier to do when booking cruises that are far in the future. When booking the cruises closer to sail date it's often harder or impossible to book the same cabin for both cruises. The cruise line offers no assistance in this effort and they will not ask someone to change cabins so that you can stay on for the next cruise. Sometimes a B2B involves changing cabins one cruise to the next. This typically involves packing your suitcases of all your belongings except for items hanging in the closet. The cabin attendants will facilitate moving your suitcases and hanging items from the first cabin to the next. There are exceptions to this where the onus is on you to move all your belongings but those are rare. Because a B2B involves two separate cruise bookings there are numerous times when changing cabins between cruises is required or is simply appealing. For one cruise perhaps a balcony or suite is available at an attractive rate but on the other cruise the same cabin is unavailable or cost prohibitive. Perhaps you want to try different cabins to sample each type or location so you know better in the future if a specific cabin location or deck makes a difference for your personal preferences. The cheapest rates are sometime "guarantee" type rates where the cruise line selects your cabin. In the case of a B2B with two guarantee type bookings its very unlikely they will assign you the same cabin for both cruises as the cruise line views the two bookings as unrelated until you step onboard. For one cruise a balcony might be cheaper than an ocean view but on the next cruise a balcony is very expensive and a suite is only a few dollars more. There are a number of scenarios that end up with a cabin change for a B2B. When you book two consecutive cruises you or your travel agent needs to notify the cruise line that you have booked two in a row. Until you do the cruise line has no awareness you booked two consecutive cruises. Once on board the first cruise it's always a good idea to stop by guest services and ensure they have you on the list as a consecutive cruiser otherwise they expect you to leave like a regular guest at the end of the first cruise. In America, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) dictates the process for consecutive cruisers. More often than not they will require all guests disembark so that the ship reaches "zero count" before they allow guests for the next sailing to begin boarding. For consecutive cruisers near the end of the first cruise you'll get a letter in your cabin describing the process. This generally involves meeting at a designated location and time when all other guests are disembarking. Once the bulk of all other guests have left the ship as a group consecutive cruisers are led off the ship to meet with CBP. Once inspected and cleared by CBP there is often a short wait while CBP confirms zero guests remain on board (zero count) before they allow consecutive cruisers to return on board. Boarding of the next cruise starts with consecutive cruisers followed by wedding parties, suites and high ranking members in the loyalty program. CBP will sometimes board the ship and inspect consecutive cruisers on board at the designated meeting location. No one knows how CBP decides if guest must leave or stay on board. I suspect they look at the guest list and depending on the names and details they make a game day call. For example if only US citizens are B2B and they all have passports on file then most of the inspection work is done ahead of time and they already know if there are any standouts that require more investigation. If there are foreigners or a name that matches a watch list or comes up matching someone with an outstanding arrest warrant they are less likely to allow the group to remain on board. In my experiences only once have I remained on board. All other times have involved 30 to 55 minutes off the ship going through the process. In other regions of the world different border authorities have different processes and often you can stay on board. For mediterranean cruises often these itineraries stay within the European Union and with the open borders of the EU there is no customs or immigration process between cruises. Side to side cruising is another option to consider. This could involve moving to another Royal ship or a different cruise line. In Florida a side to side can involve different cruise ports. I've cruised from Ft. Lauderdale then flew the same day to a ship in Tampa. I've sailed from Miami then rented a car and boarded a ship in Port Canaveral the same day. The easiest side to side involve changing ships at the same port like Miami, or moving from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale as these two ports are less than 30 miles apart. In the case of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale on two occasions Royal saw that I was moving between ships and they offered complimentary shuttle service for me. This is not standard and should not be expected but sometimes it happens. Sometimes the ship schedules don't align perfectly and there is a need for a hotel stay between ships. One thing to consider is laundry. You'll need to pack wisely when your overall journey is longer. Some items can be repeated such as formal wear for both cruises. Some items like bathing suits can be rinsed and hung to dry so they work for both cruises. Sometimes you just need to bring more clothes and more suitcases to last for both cruises or just plan to pay for laundry services on board. A side to side with a night in a hotel in between provides an opportunity to book a hotel with a laundry. Sometimes consecutive cruisers are offered a special lunch or sometimes they are offered sparkling wine and mimosas upon reboarding. This varies from ship to ship. Here are some cruise trip reports I've done involving a B2B or S2S: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14213-empress-b2b-14-nights-on-the-biggest-little-ship-july-2019/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17015-an-amplified-agglomeration-of-oasis-pictures-post-amplification/ Here are two cruises as a S2S with a car rental between them: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9391-recap-mariner-4-night-bahamas-sept-21-2018/ AND https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9359-recap-enchantment-ots-3-night-bahamas-92118/ This is an example of a S2S with a hotel stay in between: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14700-empress-8-night-eastern-caribbean-?-oops-i-booked-it-again-?/ AND https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14968-the-magic-of-majesty-august-2019-and-then-again-in-october/ Personally I love doing a B2B and if I had more time and money I'd do more of them.
    2 points
  34. FManke

    Lift & Shift vs FCC

    Our end cost was about $1800 less than what I had originally booked the cruise at. It's currently 10% above final cost. L&S might be the quickest and of course easiest course of action. Like I stated above, waiting on the FCC might just be eaten up by increasing fares. My head is spinning. I just want to cruise. I need some escargot and a lamb shank!
    2 points
  35. JLMoran

    Excursion refund policy

    I'll add that if your cruise is in a country that doesn't use the dollar as its currency (basically Europe / Asia / Pacific), going through the Cruise Planner ensures that if you need to cancel you will get back the full amount as originally paid in USD. Booking an excursion directly will probably save you money, but because it'll ultimately be paid in the native currency it'll expose you to exchange rate variability that could make canceling painful.
    2 points
  36. Jill

    Odyssey of the Seas

    Last update I saw on the shipbuilder’s Facebook was they were making the anchor chains.
    2 points
  37. twangster

    Odyssey of the Seas

    https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/06/29/shipyard-fire-odyssey-of-the-seas-results-damage-and-delays
    1 point
  38. My pleasure. It was fun to relive the experience especially given the current climate. :D
    1 point
  39. Hi @CynBeth ! Here is the link...
    1 point
  40. You'd just have to keep checking back. There's never any saying when you'll get the best deal. If it's something you know you want to do, just book it and check back for price drops frequently. The best deals I've gotten on shore excursions have occurred when there weren't any advertised cruise planner sales going on - they just randomly dropped and I snagged them (at a price I never saw go that low again). It can really pay to check frequently.
    1 point
  41. Going to be more contraction. Would expect a shedding of the ships with higher operating/maintenance costs. Even when we start up again, its not going to be a full fleet. The loyalists will return, but those who've never sailed are going to stay away a couple of years.
    1 point
  42. sk8erguy1978

    Proposal

    I cannot speak for the ports of call, but Central Park can be romantic at night, small crowd so not overly embarrassing, and there *should* be a ships photographer there that you can alert to your idea a few ahead of time; a small $20 dollar tip will go a long, long way here. My wife personally wouldn't have wanted a big spectacle, so what I did (which can easily be applied to a ship) was propose in the hotel room in Las Vegas. I went to a local florist and asked to buy rose pedals (most will have tons they sell as they are destined for the trash anyway), a ton of mini led lights, and a precious moments figure to hold the ring (I flew with this stuff from NY to LAS - my anxiety!). It was a bit more challenging to set everything up in Las Vegas, not easy to sneak back to the room ... so, while she was in the shower, I quickly set everything up so that she would exit it to it. It was rose pedals leading to the table which held the figure with ring inside a heart shape from the mini lights ... as well as mini lights leading to the table with more rose pedals. She loved it! On a ship it wouldn't be hard to run back to the room and set stuff up. If you have a balcony or higher, you can have rose pedals or something lead out to the balcony where there is a bottle of bubbly waiting (might need room stewards help with this) and something like led lights around it... (rose pedals outside might blow away). I don't want to hijack your thread with my story, but if you would like me to share the photos for an idea for yourself, I'll be happy to add them. Welcome to the forums, congratulations, good luck & most importantly, share your story!
    1 point
  43. Should have been on FOTS today for my wifes 50th birthday Since we couldn't go on the cruise decided to take part of the cruise to us ? ??? My wifes favourite wine from our previous cruise, Not the easiest of wines to find during a pandemic ?
    1 point
  44. ehw51

    Needing Passport Help

    Look in your area for Legal Assistance/Aid, they are great with helping or giving advice, most work on a sliding scale.
    1 point
  45. @Mrs. Thomas Ugh. Sorry, sounds stressful. My only contributing suggestion is Google his name (assume you did that) and maybe one of those sites where you can get a record of someone for his contact information (not sure if I am allowed to post site names like that but a quick Google and you'll find some). Good luck, hopefully someone has solid advice for you!
    1 point
  46. @rshov, here are a couple of other suggestions for you. Marseille: I do like the city and if you prefer not to venture farther afield there are a few things you might like to do. First of all, know that the ship does not dock right in town. There is (or at least used to be) a free bus service from just outside the port gates but to be honest, there are loads of taxis and the last time we were there it was about 20 euros each way in a taxi. There are marshalls organising the queue so it's not a free-for-all like you find at some ports. If you take a taxi, you want to tell the driver to take you to the Vieux Port (which means Old Port) and you will be dropped at the taxi rank there, which is nicely central and from which you have several options. There is a free walking tour from the top end of the Vieux Port which my daughter has done and said was very good. No pre-booking was required for this pre-Covid and there were normally two separate daily tours, one in English and one in Spanish. However, at the moment you do have to pre-book and there appears to be only one bilingual tour. Anyway, you can browse their website here: https://marseillefreewalkingtour.com/marseille-free-tour/ Right by where the taxi would drop you is the terminus of the Petit Train (Little Train), which covers several routes. The one we did takes you around the port area and up to the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica on a hilltop overlooking the city. This is not a HoHo service. Everybody has to get off at the Basilica and then you catch another train to complete the circuit. Tickets for the train can be bought from one of the agents working the queue. I can't remember how much it cost us but it wasn't expensive and it was an enjoyable trip. Here's the Petit Train website: http://petit-train-marseille.com/en/home-7/ Unfortunately the Basilica's website is not working at the moment but you can look it up on Google and you'll get hits from the big travel sites like TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet, etc. If you enjoy museums, MUCEM (Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean) is also very close to the Vieux Port. They are currently closed, again because of Covid, but you can see their website here: https://www.mucem.org/en/your-visit I don't know if you know, but Marseille is famous for its soap (savon de Marseille) and there is a soap factory/museum (Musée du Savon) on the opposite side of the Vieux Port from where the petit train departs. Unfortunately, the website appears to be only in French, but here is the link to it anyway because it has a short video of the museum on the site: https://www.savon-de-marseille-licorne.com/le-musee-du-savon-de-marseille-vieux-port-de-marseille My daughter visited this too. There are three options: just visit the factory shop - no charge, pay only for what you buy; visit the museum - entry fee includes a bar of soap; visit the museum and the factory - entry fee includes your own personalised soap (you can see them doing this in the video). Here's a photo of my daughter's: So that's it for Marseille. On now to the other port I have a recommendation for and that's La Spezia. Yes, you could go to Florence from here but it's a long way. You'll be spending ages on a bus and when you get there you won't have time to even scratch the surface, let alone do the city justice so, unless you're really enthusiastic about architecture and history and know you won't get another chance to visit, I would recommend giving it a miss. La Spezia is the gateway to Cinque Terre: https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/ and Cinque Terre is unmissable. If you're reasonably mobile you can skip the expensive cruise line excursions and do it yourself by train. You can walk from the port to the train station in about 20 minutes. Inside the train station there is a dedicated Cinque Terre ticket office with very helpful English-speaking staff. They will sell you the train tickets and give you a free map and timetable. There are reduced fares for (if I remember right) 65 years and up. You can also buy souvenirs or a little guide book like the one in my pic. You must validate your ticket by sticking it into one of the yellow machines on the platform and then you're good to go. It works a bit like a HoHo bus; you can get on and off the train at the different stations along the route, spend some time in each village and get back on the train again at the end. We have done this twice. The first time we got off the ship quite late so we didn't make it to the last village, Monterosso. The second time we used a different strategy. We visited the first village, Riomaggiore, which had been our favourite on the previous trip, and then went all the way to Monterosso, where we spent a bit longer and had a tasty panini lunch at a beachside restaurant. If you enjoy beaches and think you might want to spend some time there, it might be worth sticking a towel in your bag and wearing a bathing costume under your clothes. Doing this had an additional benefit. The trains get quite busy in the afternoon with people making their way back to La Spezia. Since Monterosso is the last of the five villages, it's the first one on the way back, so we got seats on the train. From the second village onwards, it was standing room only. That said, the total journey time is only about half an hour. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to give you plenty of information in the hope that it would help you in your planning. Feel free to ask any questions; if I know the answers, I'll be happy to respond.
    1 point
  47. This is going to be a common theme in the next few months in relation to everything not just cruiselines. Not every business is going to survive! As peoples places of work start to either lay off staff, reduce wages or close completely the domino effect is people spending less as their disposable income is reduced, things such as going to bars, restaurants or even on vacation wont be a priority or a luxury, the reduced business will result in even more bars, restaurants, hotels and even cruiselines closing their doors for good. The only upside to this is that if people dont have as much money to waste they may stop buying the Miami Herald ??
    1 point
  48. Neesa

    Cruise Planner Problem

    @YOLO while I'm super sad right now I am a realist, if I cancel next year's sailings I will kick my own booty, I love being on the water. I would imagine going to Norway might present much different challenges then the Caribbean. BUT, do what you feel comfortable doing. Once they get a handle on this all will be well, it just stinks waiting. Like @SpeedNoodles stated FCC does come and in all fairness to RCCL albeit undeserving in my estimation and being transparent my FCC is supposed to come June 30, so I'm not there for that yet. Happy Decisions!!
    1 point
  49. November 21, 2020 Celebrity Apex
    1 point
  50. Sorry wanted to link it - https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/15125-js-no-longer-have-access-to-ck/
    1 point
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