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What I like so much about @Matt is he’s not scrambling to be the first to report. He patiently waits to be sure the news is true before reporting. What a novel idea! Something our media in the US has forgotten. Thanks Matt!

We have an upcoming cruise on Grandeur of the Seas at the end of March. I have been checking my cruise planner for the last week or so for different sales. It has been showing for the last week that we have purchased the DBP which we haven't. I am sure this will work itself out in the end, but who knows because only time will tell.

That's better than the $18 intern special!

Reports are that people have been not allowed to reboard due to wandering off on their shore excursion. Good job MSC.

I'm feeling smug and vindicated.

And the answer is....Empress has not been sold! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/08/19/no-royal-caribbean-still-has-not-sold-empress-of-the-seas

There's a sidebar article there discussing the passengers and basically slamming them as a trio of nimrods: https://cruiseradio.net/meet-the-worst-cruisers-on-the-planet/ Very glad to see that MSC more or less expected to have people like that on board, had the procedures in place to keep tabs on excursion members, and were absolutely willing to enforce the rules with zero tolerance. Let the example be set right now -- you try to act like the rules don't apply to you, and you will find out how wrong you are so fast it'll make your head spin. Simultaneously, it's really depressing that they more or less expected to have people like that on board.

In my experience you: "Don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Jim". These are the basic tenets of life. ? Oh yes ... do not flaunt a Captain's Regulation (I wish that line flowed properly into that fantastic Jim Croce song). Curt from Canada

Not all media sites are the same, and some have no issues reporting on rumors without any confirmation or research. What I post on RoyalCaribbeanBlog reflects on me and my reputation, and I wont post rumors until there is strong evidence behind it. The rumors of Empress may end up being right at some point, but I need more to run on than "unnamed sources" by the same website that said Cunard and Seabourn were sold last month when they were not.

I find the desserts, generally, to be fairly tasteless. Even my (and @Sweety) beloved Red Velvet Cake could be better ! I do still love the Grand Marnier Souffle though.

Congratulations! Not only have you been kicked off the ship in a foreign country, but, now you have to find a way to travel home amongst severe COVID-19 travel restrictions! (Queue the sad "you lost" tuba music from The Price Is Right)

My sailing is not until October 2021, so I will see what Labor Day, Black Friday, and (insert made-up holiday here) sales bring. We have two rooms and two people who drink, so we can bring up to 4 bottles of wine if it stays too expensive (based on my estimation of value). No matter what, I am having a Grey Goose screwdriver during the much delayed sail away! I think once cruising starts up again, there will be so many happy, happy people!

Hi all. As I’m Glasgow based, I’ve decided to go and get some pics of the 3 ships up here in Glasgow. On the bus there as we speak. Back soon!

Much appreciated! Might not be until I'm in my 70s or 80s, but I've seen some really compelling itineraries on Azamara and fully expect to try them out at some point.

OK, so not technically something I ATE, but rather drank. It was a 'drink of the day' special and when it arrived it was bright green, and it tasted like grass. Like you know that smell when someone is cutting their lawn? That's how it tasted. ?

Not to mention people on this board.

Really? I had NO IDEA. Thank you for this information.

OK, I know this is WAAAY in the future, but these sorts of things have to planned out WAAAY in advance! On April 8, 2024, the Great North American Total Solar Eclipse will sweep across the continent, with one of the best potential viewing spots being a strip on the ocean in between New Brunswick and Newfoundland / Labrador. There will also be viewing spots running from central New Brunswick WSW down through Maine, Montreal, and northern New York state. We know that Royal did an Eclipse sailing for the last North American total eclipse in 2017; so even though this is further north and they don't normally sail that way so early in the year, I could see them making an exception. Especially if cruising is finally back to normal travel levels by then (and lord help us if it isn't!); they will probably see something like that as a HUGE draw for folks looking to see the eclipse without fighting for hotel space or a spot to view it. So what do y'all think? Should we start pressuring @Matt now to keep an eye out for such a cruise and get it on the GC board as soon as it appears? ? Could be on Empress out of Montreal, or maybe they'll do an early NE sailing out of Boston or NJ. Cape Liberty already has 7-night Bahamas sailings in April, so I'm betting they'll have at least one sailing for this last major total eclipse in North America for the next... I think 20 years or more?

Star Class already can drink twice as much.

Sometimes the point is closed if tides are up but on this particular day it was open.

Another fun thing to do at Labadee is to jetski I looked at my watch and it was 5 o'clock. Time for a Labradoozie.

Black Friday sales have been good in the past to get great deals on Cruise Planner items, but who knows what this year will bring.

Sounds like an awesome price. I keep hoping it goes down for my 9 night on Explorer of the Seas ($57/day). Not a bad deal, but there are three non-private island port days, and I worry about drink fatigue....I would jump on it though if it was that cheap for my sailing!

Yes, definitely! Key West is one of the only ports that I feel like I can just get off the ship with no specific plan in place. One trip we did the 'hop on, hop off' trolley and had the funniest driver - we stayed on the whole loop and didn't get off just because we loved him so much. When we went around the loop again, we were able to get off at Hemingway House, Southernmost Point, Duval St and Smathers Beach. One thing I don't recommend is the 'Aquarium'. It was small, dark and very depressing.

If the fish isn't cooked to order, you're going to run into that.

That's a great price unless of course they bring back that intern! ?

Nope, it's still over $70 per day on my sailings. Good to grab that - it's rare!

Great article, Matt! Also enjoyed the article on the Bears of Wall Street.

I hope they learned their lesson AND for those who think they won't be caught on a RCCL ship, I have two words for ya ...

Exactly, we all want to cruise again but people like this risk the future trips of all of us. They are so blessed to be on this cruise in the first place.

Saw this earlier: https://cruiseradio.net/kicked-off-cruise-line-boots-guests-for-ignoring-new-protocols/?fbclid=IwAR2N2zsW3PW9e6sgg_rVJ737nZErrB3QyxTFyjJob41Tw-UHSg620_FhvBs

Mod... ban this creaton from the boards post haste!!

I think a lot of cruise sites are publishing anything to get views and keep going. I like your posts lately that keep cruise interest going through history and other information, without publishing vague rumors. Your work is appreciated!

I can't believe @crisgold52has such little faith in our Supreme Leader! All Hail @Matt! ?

Since there are future classes in store I'd suggest considering a "kit" DSLR package. I'd suggest sticking with a brand name like Canon or Nikon. Many schools beyond secondary seem to standardize on Canon in their classes. A package from an online retailer or a big box warehouse store will typically include the main camera body and at least two lenses. These are usually zoom lenses that will cover a range from wide angle to telephoto and everything in between. As photography classes progress there is typically an emphasis on "prime" lenses. These are fixed focal lengths such as 35mm, 50mm or 85mm but until you get there the zoom lenses cover these. The benefit of a popular name like Canon or Nikon will be a large used market for future prime lenses and other accessories down the road.

It's all good! And yes, that's how I picked my moniker for this site. Best Baked Alaska I had was eating at the Captain's table on the SS Norway in 1985. It's one of those good old fashioned fifties type desserts. It shouldn't be messed with. Kinda like lime jello molds and eggs in aspic. ? Truly, I've not experienced anything bad or inedible on a ship, BUT! My husband ("bless his heart") ordered the chicken breast when we ate at Chops during our embarkation lunch on Radiance OS. Dry, chewy, and presentation, well basically a single chicken breast on a white plate. Not dressed in the least (the chicken breast, he wore clothes). Who eats chicken in a steak house? He took a bite of my filet and wished he had ordered that. Lesson learned. Go with the specialty offered. Less risky.

Three of my cruises have this:

I have two - roast chicken breast in the MDR on Majesty. The roast chicken in Windjammer is beyond wonderful. I spoke with the manager to complement them on it. You wouldn’t think something as basic as a simply roasted chicken would be hard but as wonderful as it was in WJ, it was God AWFUL in the MDR. I mean inedible. Second was the roast turkey in the MDR on Mariner. There is no way what they served me was ever an actual turkey. I tried to just push it around my plate because my grandson was eating his with no complaints and I didn’t want to discourage his eating. The darn waiter and Maitre’d kept hovering over me asking if I wanted something else. Finally pulled them aside & told them to STOP!!! Then I went to WJ for the aforementioned roast chicken (just as good as in Majesty).

Yeah, I was just sitting on the celebrity website, so close to just hitting cancel, makes it easier with the refundable deposits. I just done feel like waiting till Jan/Feb to get my money back on another one.

Clearly you are not familiar with @Matt Hochberg in the "cruise world". Perhaps you should get the facts straight before making assumptions.

I'm trying to come up with how to pull that off: All entertainment shows would be via a private Zoom link. All meals are preshipped to your house a la Blue Apron You receive bedding, toiletries, and chocolates for the pillows each day via UPS. You also get an inflatable pool sent to your house that you have to fill up. What else can everyone come up with...

I'll second the recommendation for Canon. My daughter took photography at her high school for two years and is going into her third year now, and they are fully standardized on Canon gear. Last year I was able to get a steal of a Cyber Monday doorbuster deal at Best Buy on a Canon T7i kit that included two lenses (one for telephoto shooting and one more for wide-angle / close-in shots), a travel bag, memory card, and a couple of other small items. She loved it and has taken a bunch of really impressive photos on it. The T7i is a great model, and now it's a model or two older than the very latest so you can find good deals on it if you look around. All the big-box camera places have it -- Best Buy and B&H Photo are probably your best bets. I would not recommend Amazon simply because they seem to have a lot of "package deals" that include third-party items of questionable quality or durability.

Thanks everyone, made the switch, now we just gotta get back to cruising! Sharla@MEI made it super easy!!

Yes they do automatically default to non-refundable. I have been able to fix it for people on the same day or the next day, so hopefully you or your agent can call in and figure it out.

I've been exceedingly lucky as every one of my refund amounts matched exactly with my initial transactions. Woohoo!

The last 3 cruises that I was on did not allow self service at the ice cream stands - they were all staffed.

A new Twangster blog!! A new Twangster blog!!! I don't care if it's completely fake and all the pictures have been seen before, IT'S A FREAKING NEW TWANGSTER BLOG!!!!!

That's beer, right?