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I've had an opportunity to cruise a few cruise lines during this 2021 cruise restart. All of them have been with reduced capacity. Having recently encountered two terrible boarding day procedures I've got give credit to Royal Caribbean for implementing the best boarding day process I've experienced. On those other lines it took hours for me to board the ship. Neither of them improved the muster drill routine to a notable extent. For both the other cruise lines their boarding day process cast a dark cloud on the start of my cruise vacation and in both cases it took a few hours after finally getting on board before it felt like I was on vacation. Even then I felt exhausted and didn't feel like doing very much on the first night. Contrast that with Royal where I was car to cabin in 20 minutes. Upon boarding I was free to grab a bite to eat and a beverage then I could visit my muster station at my convenience for a one-on-one safety briefing that took less than 60 seconds. Upon boarding Royal I immediately felt like I was on a cruise vacation. It was like I got an extra cruise day to enjoy. I was quickly into vacation mode and it was all stress free. I will say people arriving before their appointed time is a problem on all cruise lines. Don't be that person. If you arrive before your time you are part of the problem and you deserve the long wait times you will encounter. However once you are allowed inside the terminal there is no excuse for the other cruise lines to make boarding such a stressful and lengthy process. Hat's off to Royal for creating the best boarding day process.

What is this "other cruise lines" you speak of?

@Matt, thank you. Because we were in a row on the restart cruises weeks 2, 3, 4, & 5 our ability to get to know the crew was awesome. Our Genie said more than 80% of the crew recognized us and most of the rest knew about us. We would be walking places and hear a new voice call out, "Mr Jack, Mrs Sue," or "Austin Powers" or "Jack and Rose." They knew my wife's name is Sue, but they fondly called her Rose. When we heard our names and turn around, there was always a new face smiling, and/or waving, dancing, or a combination. By the middle of week 3 I understood the term "Sea Legs." The crew laughed when I asked them if it was normal to discover you had muscles in new places, and they ache. Several told me they brought their ointments and such when they were called back. However, your ship, after ship, after ship with reviews, blog reports, and videos in a short time after the restart is more impressive. I was watching and reading them, and waiting for new ones multiple times a day before the cruise. A couple of times during the cruise I dropped in on for a short watch of your live reports while you were cruising. First thing I did when I got home was to go over your reviews. Thank you so much for this site, your work, and 'Everyone' on this Blog that helped me be well-prepared for the B4B cruise. Yes, @WAAAYTOOO, @twangster, @AshleyDillo, @cruisellama, @LovetoCruise87, and so many others it would make this a long post. All of you prepared the wife and I very well for the B4B.

I feel like the other lines haven't put any effort into looking at the process with fresh eyes. Instead they put up signs to wear a mask and have put more hand sanitizing stations in the terminal but that's about it. Even then that's the port doing that, not the cruise lines. For muster in one case they made it a longer process with more standing in long lines. For the other they immediately directed me to go to muster upon boarding with my carry on luggage. Do not pass Go, do not collect a beverage. Sit and wait for enough guests so they can perform a safety demonstration and only then are you free to start your vacation. I feel like their "new" restart procedures were developed by an outside agency that has never cruised before. Royal put a lot of effort into rethinking boarding day when they created Oasis class. They had to in order to manage the higher passenger count. All ships benefited from that reimagining the process. For the cruising restart I feel like Royal once again took a deep dive into the boarding day process and spent some time to look at it from the moment you step out of a car or off a bus including the muster process. On those other lines I feel like they haven't invested very much effort into looking at the boarding day process. It's like they think of the cruise starting once you are on the ship. "Boarding sucks and it was will always suck and that's just the way it is. That doesn't matter because the cruise only begins on the ship and not a minute before. We have no control over what happens in the terminal before the cruise begins".

I find the best way to figure out the percentages regarding the drink package is to just keep drinking. Then I don’t care about the cerpentages.

We just got off 4 weeks on Symphony, weeks 2~5 of Symphony's restart (More on that later). First, I wanted to talk about passenger count and the odds of a Royal Up bid. Our cruise passenger count would drop daily as better counts were out. Aug 21st the first count was around 1,500 and eventually whittled down to 1,127. Rumor was 125 were turned away for insufficient or improper documentation as adjustments were made. Aug 29th we heard about 1,700 and eventually Coco Cay was told to prepare for only 1,414. Sept 4th, the holiday week, they still had 2,100 reservations on the books. Ended up with a number around 1,725 +/-50 Sept 11th we had the largest number of B2B at 93. It was moved from Boleros to the Schooner Bar. Last number I heard, but seemed high compared to Sept 4th, was 1,750 +/- 100. Things are very fluid right now. It is hard to plan for an exact number, as some people are waiting till the last minute to cancel, likely in hopes of better protocols. But to cruise with those numbers is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Royal Up was crazy. People would Royal Up from Interior to Balcony, Balcony to Grand Suite, Grand Suite to Royal Loft (Aug 29th). People we interacted with won Royal Up to the Ultimate Family Suite (About 8 passengers with only paying the Bid for the first 2 passengers), Deck 8 Aqua 2-Bd with the largest balcony (1 occupant), Crown Lofts were going like penny candy in a candy store, Owner's Suite were available, and naturally those Royal Ups created a backfill for Grand Suite, Junior Suite, Balcony and Ocean View. Right now, if you are cruising on the Symphony, have an interior stateroom, and give a reasonable Royal Up bid there is a lot of backfill above you sitting empty. We received Royal Up all 3 weeks we bid up from Grand Suite (Aug 29th we did not bid, rather stayed with Star Class Aqua 2-Bd). Below is meant as nothing more than reading the past x numbers on the roulette wheel sign to increase your odds of winning. Therefore, I am not giving the exact $$ number, which likely would not work right now anyway, but my Aug 21st and Sept 4th bids were notably less than $500. (Remember, the bid $$ is per person for up to the first 2 passengers). Aug 21 Grand Suite to Crown Loft. Aug 29th - We did not bid up from Star Class Aqua 2-Bd, but I know the winning Grand Suite to Royal Loft Royal Up bid was notably less than $3,000 per/person. Sep 4th Grand Suite to Owner's Suite Deck 12 240 (Which has a mildly annoying post in the several yards into the middle of the entrance to the room). Sep 11th Grand Suite to Star Class Aqua 2-Bd Deck 10 734 for notably less than $1,700 per/person. Again, the passenger counts were very low, and those numbers may not be more than a guideline right now, especially since they are now more public. You may get it for a lesser bid, or you may bid a little more and still not get it. The objective is to encourage you to sign up for Royal Up if you have not done so, and to BID FOLKS! Closing thoughts: Professional Photographer, Ajuraj (pronounced Achoo, like a sneeze is acceptable) and Aakash are fantastic! Though his studio shots are excellent, Ajuraj is willing to break away from the normal studio style photos. I saw him shoot one couple at CBC getting low for a continuation of the pool into the ocean at the infinity pool. It is worth a sitting. Some examples below. Sunil is a great Royal Genie. At various times we had interaction with the entire Royal Genie staff. Even the newest Genie was great and willing to serve from my interaction with him and one passenger where that is who was his Royal Genie. Hairspray, Mark Preston, and Jeff Tracta were great entertainment. When comedian Landry said he would bring on the headliner for the Family Comedy Show, the lady behind us appropriately said, "Headliner, I thought he was the headliner," because he was that good. The entire staff is so eager to serve. We made many friends over 4 weeks. Priya in Guest Services, Flavia in Next Cruise, if we could have packed waitress May at Hooked Restaurant in our luggage we would have, Victor, Praveen and many of the photo staff for special night and port pictures produced great shots in our photo package, Made and Alina on the Rising Tide Bar, Sachin and Mark in Chops, Radu and Boodhoo in Jamie's, Justin and Decan have the Coastal Kitchen and seating running like a well oiled machine, same with the Johnny Rockets crew who occasionally come out and put on a performance on Boardwalk, Rebeka at Sugar Beach is sweeter than the sugar behind the door, even Maria in housekeeping whose task was to keep the fwd Promenade stairs by the big lollipop cleaned down to the entertainment on Deck 4 was super friendly and excited to see passengers she recognized. If possible, I would list so many great crew members, but let me list those who were not great--ready--NOBODY! On a sad note, the Mad Hatter of so many years retired (24 years) at the end of the Aug 21st cruise. There is a replacement, but it will take some time to get the character down, according to those that went starting Aug 29th. Safety precautions were great. In San Juan, Channel 13 interviewed myself and several passengers about safety concerns. Safety Concerns? I told them I was more concerned during my air transportation than on the ship, and my daughter is a flight attendant. Here are some examples: The day before the cruise, even though I answered several emails, I received a call from Royal to verify I was vax'ed and would be providing proof. Don't have the negative test paperwork, you don't get on. Ever see that at a hotel? At the airport? Vax'ed have a colored wristband, Unvax'ed do not, so anyone can instantly tell if the person next to you has been vax'ed or not. Ever see that at the grocery store? Shopping Mall? (Let's hope that never comes to land. No Scarlet Letters or wristbands, but because of the media, I can understand it on the ship). Even though Vax'ed and UnVax'ed are separated by Decks in the MDR, there is still table spacing distancing. Maybe some land restaurants have that, but do they include the proper docs to verify? At the Casino, when anyone gets up, they wipe the area down fast. The crew is tested once or twice a week, perhaps depending on the amount of interaction with passengers. We had Zero Positives during our cruises. 6 or your group in an elevator. Okay, a comment here about elevator limits, folks. Use common sense. If 6 unvax'ed strangers can get in the larger capacity elevators, is it really unsafe if a group of 6 and 2 vax'ed get in the elevator? Many times, as long as no one objected, 6 or more of us invited vax'ed (we would see their wristbands) in the elevator if they wished. In 4 weeks, I only had one group of six friends, panicky adamant about the sign saying only 6. I mean over the top panicky. If a 7th got on, especially not one of their 6 group, they would all surely die before the end of the cruise. That was okay. I understand how the media has overplayed the safety concerns aboard ships. In that scenario I wasn't concerned about CoVid-19 variants. I was concerned about forgetting all my years successfully writing procedures and protocols to meet general Federal Aviation Build Guidelines. Anyway, on and on the precautions are in play. In 4 weeks B2B you see so much that many shorter time passenger miss. In this case, I was impressed.

I am sailing Nov 3. The check-in window was open, we checked in fully and got our boarding time and then they closed it for the 45 day thing. It re-opened yesterday and all my info was intact as well as my previously selected check-in time. I didn't have to do anything.

I can hear @Lovetocruise2002 booking a flight as we speak

The Suites Concierge email typically comes between 7-5 days prior to sailing. Lately it has been consistently 5 days prior.

Since we are still new to cruising (previously sailed another line Feb '19, Independence Nov '19 and Adventure's first Nassau sailing), I'm not comfortable booking private excursions yet. Since DD6 is unvaccinated, we would have to choose through the ship anyways for her. These are our current plans: Cozumel - I am taking DD14 and her friend swimming with dolphins. We did the dolphin encounter in June and thought the swimming looked fun as well. DD22 and her friend will either do a tequila tasting through the ship or will just get off and stay around the port area. DH and DD6 are planning on doing the reef semi-sub. This one is kind of "iffy" as we aren't sure about the tight close space everyone will be in. Costa Maya - This has been our trouble one. I have been working with private journeys and have chosen a ruins tour combined with lagoon swimming. In the beginning, working with private journeys was great but ever since we chose what we wanted to do, I feel like I'm being given the run around. It's been spotty email communication and computer broken and telephone not working type emails. It's on my to-do list for this week to actually call and try and see if we can finally get something finalized. Nassau - The 4 older girls are going snorkeling while we take DD6 on the pirate ship. CocoCay - We have a floating cabana at the beach club. Kids are excited for the slide. We had an over the water cabana at Labadee and loved it - it was my favorite day so far and I'm hoping this is just as good. Since we are arriving Friday before the Sunday sailing, that means we have all day Saturday free, other than picking up the older kids from the airport. We may go to Kennedy Space Center and may do Magic Kingdom. Or we may be lazy and stay at the rental. Countdown: 18 days until flight ; 20 days until boarding

If it happens again visit the loyalty ambassador on board. They sometimes have the CAS letters on display at their desk. If not look in the cruise compass for when they are open and they'll get you one. At all bars including the MDR you have to ask them to use the CAS beer/wine discount. By default they don't go searching your account to see if you have have used it already.

828 onboard this week on Odyssey.

What kind of crazy question is this?

Y'all... nothing makes me more excited than paying that deposit and seeing your cruise show up in the Cruise Planner. Huge shoutout to @Sharla from MEI for booking us so easily You ROCK! This will be our first time on a Freedom Class ship and we are stoked This was originally booked for April of 2020 out of San Juan. Of course when the cruise was canceled we couldn't decide if it was better to Lift and Shift or get the 125% FCC. We chose FCC, but opted for the refund for the drink/dining package. Now seeing the prices go up by almost 500 smackers for the cruise and then almost DOUBLE for the UBP/UDP... we probably should have opted to lift and shift and FCC for the OBC. Oh well... you live and learn Just happy to see that little ticker in my cruise planner! Doin this cruise to celebrate another birthday for our friend group... I apologize in advance those who will be on the ship with us If you find me though, I will buy ya a drink to make up for the shenanigans!

The suite email just introduces the concierge and gives an overview of the suite perks specific to that sailing. Then if you have any questions or requests you can reply to the email

4 cruises in a row? I'm impressed.

Hmm ... Just got off a GS on Odyssey and our concierge booked one Giovanni's for us with no issue. The offer to do so was also in the letter.

That is incorrect. An 18% gratuity is added to the cost of the Drink Package at checkout. There is no additional charge for gratuity when ordering drinks. i.e. The drink package listed at $57.99 PP/PD is $68.43 PP/PD at checkout after the gratuity is added.

I may be biased, being ex-Navy, but I much prefer a longer cruise. The 3-day cruises just seem like a waste, to me at least. You spend one day getting used to the ship, one day fully enjoying it, then it's time to pack up and leave... Maybe if I lived near the port and could just jump on a 3-day cruise every now and then I'd feel differently. Now a 28-day cruise sounds like a spot in paradise... Following Super Mario's path... Oh, sign me up! We're doing a 3/4 B2B in March, in the same cabin. That feels much better than either the 3 or 4 by themselves.

Hey all, I know there are a bunch of you that are coming to Cali for a cruise on Navigator at some point this next year. Living in the area I thought I would roll out the welcome mat and give you options for some of my local favorites that are within an Uber/Lyft drive. If you are staying in San Pedro, one of my all-time favorite breakfast spots is San Pedro Cafe (605 S. Pacific Ave.) - try the strawberry stuffed French toast (to die for!!). Can get a little crowded on the weekend, so plan accordingly. Most of my favorites are breakfast options, but I will check with some locals for dinner options... more to come! OK, back again (edit) with some additional ideas/recommendations: Think Cafe (302 W. 5th St) - casual dining, breakfast/lunch/dinner. San Pedro Brewing(331 W. 6th St.) - lunch/dinner. 22nd St. Landing (141 W. 22nd St.) - lunch/dinner, a little pricey. After looking at the menu, I might have to check this one out (just to make sure it's OK for you all... you know, taking one for the team! ha ha) Ports O' Call Village isn't what it used to be (filled with shops & restaurants), but it's still a nice spot to walk through, with some terrific spots for fresh fish. Battleship USS Iowa opens at 10 am for visitors. If you want to wander a little further, you can check out the Korean Friendship Bell located at 3601 Gaffey St., or further into Palos Verdes you can visit the Wayfarers Chapel. Located just past Portuguese Bend, it is a small chapel, tucked away in the trees. It is also known as the 'glass church' because its walls and ceilings are made of glass. The winding road to get there affords amazing views, and the chapel is truly amazing. It is one of the most peaceful and beautiful spots that I know. Long Beach is a close Uber/Lyft drive if you want some options for dining overload, or just a nice spot to stretch your legs and enjoy the view. Shoreline Village is one of those spots to simply take in the world around you (located on Shoreline Dr.). If you want to dine there, I would suggest Parker's LIghthouse or Yard House, but there are many options in the area. A further drive into Long Beach, 2nd street (between PCH and Livingston Dr.) is another lovely spot to wander, shop and eat. Looking for a romantic gondola ride around Naples island? Check out Gondola Getaway (http://www.gondolagetawayinc.com/). Just up Ocean Blvd. a bit is Belmont Brewing (good food and great views). If you have a day to spare, I would highly suggest a drive down PCH to Laguna Beach. The views on the drive there and back are definitely worth the time spent getting there. Suggestions for getting around in the area: If you are looking to check out anything in Long Beach or further out to Huntington Beach, be aware that weekends are crazy crowded, especially on Sunday. Plan accordingly, head out early, and know that traffic in So. Cal is truly insane! Use a ride service to get around if you can, it will take the stress out of getting somewhere and then looking for parking (which is a whole next-level challenge). More ideas to come as I think of them. Feel free to ask any questions and I'm sure that more of the locals will chime in with their answers/suggestions as well.

Since this whole nightmare started, Canadians have always been allowed to fly into the US. What is still uncertain is how this latest announcement impacts the land border. That is the piece I care about the most because I usually fly out of Detroit. Either way, I am cruising (unless covid gets in my way) come December. I have refundable flights booked on Delta and Air Canada.

Thanks, Jill !! We do love it. We are soooo glad we made the decision(s) we did. We were actually pleasantly surprised at the summer heat. Maybe we were just prepared for it to be much worse, but it was no worse than the summers in VA. I think the "hot season" is just longer than it is elsewhere...but I've been MUCH hotter in TX than I ever was in FL this summer. Closed on the house on 9-15 and we are busier than ever with all of the add-ons. Got the garage epoxy floor done, ceiling fans, pendant lights and plantation shutters all installed. My motorized bamboo curtain will be installed probably on Thursday. Signed contracts for the water treatment system and the emergency generator on Thursday and got the contracts all in place for the bird cage enclosure. The built-ins will start in late October. The move is Sunday, 9-26. Can't wait to be done with all of it !!

That's a night and day difference.

Most on these boards would tell you to book what you want if you see a price that you consider acceptable. Then keep checking the price and if it drops, cancel what you have and rebook at the lower price.

Boarding the Oasis in Port Liberty was a breeze! Just like you...car to ship 20 minutes or less. More than enough port workers who knew what they were doing. Clear, friendly, welcoming and all on the same page. No confusion. I particularly appreciated the emails in the day or two before warning guests to NOT come before their assigned time or they would be turned away. I think they were very effective. And the new muster procedure via the app is absolutely amazing! Kudos to Royal!!!!

@Jill You are going to love it. The crew is so excited to be back serving on the biggest, and they feel best of the line. Everything is running smooth right now.

Oh, you like to live dangerously... We've had Global Entry for many years and many vacations (including some international travel). The first time we skipped an hour long line TSA (like Orlando, during peak travel) it paid for itself. And skipping a customs line is crazy awesome!!

They key with CVS is book your appointment exactly 2 weeks before the day you want your test. Appointments go quickly.

I’ll be at Coco beach club this week. The welcome letter in my room says complimentary breakfast pastries and coffee in the morning is included.

I’m on Oasis now. We have the door hangers and it shows the Continental breakfast is free…but the American breakfast has a $7.95 fee per room with an 18% gratuity additional added to the check.

I’m on the Oasis out of Bayonne now. When we left at 5pm it was very sunny and warm on deck…even hot. Now out at sea it’s chilly…sweater weather. But it’s clear and the moon is nearly full. Beautiful!

My TA said I need to take a notarized letter stating I have permission for her so we are using this one https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

Many years ago, when we took a Med cruise on Brilliance, it was about two weeks. I remember thinking at the time that I was ready to go home. However, in retrospect, I think that partially has to do with how busy that cruise was. Not many sea days, mostly port days. It is one of my favourite cruises to date, but while I am in no way opposed to a long sailing (or sailings), I think I would make sure there is enough down time. Because we love our sea days.

Thank you! I'll be honest, there was many a night I stayed awake while Steven fell asleep, but I did enjoy blogging the trip and hope it helped answer some of the questions that others have. Steven did catch a picture of me blogging on the balcony one day.

Final thoughts: This trip has been absolutely amazing. It was off to a rough start, but wow, it ended as one of our favorite cruises. We worried about how cruising would be with all of the new Covid restrictions and if we would walk around with a scarlet letter on our heads bringing kids too young to be vaccinated on a cruise. We were totally wrong. Everybody on the ship was very nice and some even smiled, laughed, and played with the kids, especially the youngest two. We didn't get a single rude comment or look from other passengers about cruising with kids. The staff seemed so happy to be back at sea and were very accommodating. There were obviously things we missed like the Quest, Love and Marriage, World's Sexiest Man Competition, and the Belly Flop Competition. We also wish we could have done laser tag and the escape room, but there is so much to do even without those that it was still an amazing trip. One thing I missed was the interaction that we usually get with our room attendant. I don't think this was his fault though, as there are so many new rules they must abide by such as not going into the room when the guests are there. It made the experience less personal with him even though he seemed like a nice guy. The vaccinated only and everybody shows were also an annoyance at times when the everybody show ended up playing too late for kids. Hairspray was phenomenal, but Steven commented that the minimal seating detracted from the ambience (there was less people to laugh and clap at key moments in the performance). We also did not like having the Windjammer closed for dinner, but we were always so full anyway. We only made one stop at the Windjammer this cruise, and we actually perferred how it is now with them serving you food. It's nice not to have to worry about people touching all the food with their hands plus the food seemed fresher perhaps due to smaller portions being brought out at a time. Sunil picked out all of our servers at the specialty restaurants and he did a fantastic job because all of the servers we had were wonderful (with the exception of the guy at Playmakers, but Sunil did not choose him). We continually saw the Covid restrictions being modified. Room service went from not being allowed in your room to allowed in if you go into a different room and then finally to closer to what it used to be like all within a one week period. We watched a limit of five in a pool be modified to no limit. The genies went from not being able to pick up your kids from Adventure Ocean to being able to. Initially, we were told they were not doing the 2 for $20 t-shirts sale on this cruise because it puts people in too close of proximity to each other, but on day 6, the t-shirt sale happened. Cruising is slowly returning to normal, and we watched this transition happen every day. I would be remiss to end this without taking about Sunil. If you are lucky enough to get him as your genie, you are in for a treat. He truly made this trip unique. He went above and beyond and became like family to us. The kids are already talking about requesting him as our genie when we go on Symphony in April, which we are definitely going to do. For anyone wondering, he goes home on November 27th, and then he is going back to Symphony in January. Lastly, thank you to everyone who followed along. I hope this helped show what the current state of cruising is. Happy cruising and best of luck to everyone!

Sorry for all the noise. We had plates flying everywhere, but I saved my Starbucks, so it's ok.

Thank you to all of the fabulous bloggers on here that have helped feed my newly found addiction this past year. I am going to try and give back and hopefully give you something to read while waiting on your next cruise! The who – Myself, DH, 3 daughters (22, 14, 6), and then DD22 and DD14 are both bringing a friend The what – Our week full of firsts. This will be our first time: in a suite, sailing star class, trying a specialty restaurant, letting the older kids bring a friend (what were we thinking ), trying out the Beach Club, sailing on an Oasis class ship, visiting Costa Maya, sailing out of Port Canaveral and my first ever blog! Those are just the easy ones I can think of off the top of my head. The when: Sailing October 10 - October 17. DH will drive down Oct 8 by himself (he doesn’t like to fly). Myself, DD14, her friend and DD6 will fly down the evening of Oct 8. DD22 and her friend are flying down Oct 9. The where: Our itinerary is ORLANDO (PORT CANAVERAL), FL ; COZUMEL, MEXICO ; PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO ; NASSAU, BAHAMAS ; PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY The why: Do we seriously need a reason??? We booked this one sometime mid last year and it has since evolved into a college graduation cruise for the oldest. The how: As I said above, this sailing was booked sometime last year. I was upset a huge milestone birthday cruise for myself was cancelled. I was reading all of the live blogs about star class and I thought it would be something I could only dream about. Then one day one of the fabulous posters here mentioned a great price on this sailing. I looked it up, price was doable, it just so happened to be fall break according to our school district’s future draft calendar so kids wouldn’t miss school. It's like it was meant to be! I emailed the fabulous @michelleand the rest is history. Countdown: 20 days until flight ; 22 days until boarding

I just spend part of my afternoon reading and enjoying your blog and precious photos of your family!! We are just hubby and I but have our fingers crossed for a Royal Up before our Odyssey cruise on Sunday to Star Class! Love everything about what you wrote-thanks for keeping it real!

Thank you all for the comments on this topic! Yes I was a little bit upset at the time I posted this comment. Since that time I purchased the drinks package at the direction of or TA and kept looking on the cruise planner to seen if the promotional price reappeared and yes it did! I canceled the book package and purchased the reduced price offering and saved $200. Sorry if any of my earlier comments were offending to anybody.

Having a KTN is where it’s at. My wife doesn’t think it’s necessary….even after our flight out of Boston a week or so ago when I walked straight through security then got a cup of coffee while waiting for her to show up at the gate…20 minutes later.

one time offer after you use that "coupon" although it is electronic, it is gone

Inshan Mohammed, absolutely. The mannerisms, the conversation, he was a fantastic as the Mad Hatter. I even tried pouting on the steps of Wonderland in an attempt to get him to stay.

Just packed for the cruise. Now I have to wait for the COVID tests and hope they are negative....ugh

The last 18 months have changed my perspective on these kind of things. It's now limited to: Shoes on? Hands clean? Vaccinated? Mask properly worn when appropriate? Other than that, not caring much. Also, the robe is better attire than what a lot of people wear anyway.

I don’t know. I’ll have to test it and see! Our retirement plan includes big chunks of time onboard, just enjoying life. 8 years to go and I’ll get back to you

Also concur that the interview is pretty simple. Make sure you have 2 forms of ID.

Daily vouchers are here to stay

I'm willing to bet that there are still at least 200 who will push in front of you at the Windjammer buffet and/or rush onto the elevator without letting others off first.

November-ish. I can’t remember the exact order but either Alaska is out first followed by Europe or vice versa. I booked Alaska for 2022 on November 10th of last year.