Jill

I'm really glad we're not getting the DBP on our next 2 cruises (Alaska and Holy Land/Greece). Thankfully they are port intensive and I just don't think we will break even. We are Diamond so our 4 drinks a day should suffice. We will be Diamond Plus after Holy Land and then the decision will be do we buy the DBP for next May on Wonder, or use our 5 drinks and pay for the rest? It seems when we travel with friends, alcohol consumption increases with group size. That Wonder cruise will be 3 couples. Last Wonder cruise was 3 couples and one day I managed 11 drinks. The DBP isn't even available yet in my planner but I'll see what price appears when it goes live. The prices right now are too high IMO. (although maybe I'm one of the reasons they are higher, they likely lost money on me )

Here’s the sale starting tomorrow:

They have a brand new corporate executive chef too! He’s a family member so I might be biased but his credentials are pretty darn good!

We have our first JS on Radiance this May in Alaska. I booked it the day Alaska sailings were released. I knew I wanted an Aft cabin and we’re bringing our new college graduate with us. Really no “benefits” for us except for the extra room and that coveted corner Aft. No CK on that class. Now perhaps the biggest benefit for this particular cruise is it was booked during double points and we have a 3 night land tour beforehand so a total of 10 nights=40 points. We are perfectly happy in a standard OV balcony and will continue to book them. I’d rather take more cruises then spend a lot of money on suites. We’re transitioning to our “bucket list” cruises so now will have expensive air fares to consider too. We live in Florida so have been lucky to drive to ports. I may come back in June and edit this post after our JS experience. What’s the saying? “Never say never?”

Worst we ever had was on Song of America back in 1991-ish. We were sitting by the pool facing aft. When the stern went down, all we saw was blue sky. When the stern went up, all we saw was the ocean. Older ladies were being slammed into the metal “gate” that divided the pool. Pool was evacuated and drained, although it appeared most of the pool water ended up on the deck. We were in our early 20’s back then so thought it was a lot of fun! She’s the smallest RC ship we’ve been on. Oasis class the biggest. Oasis class movement is in slow motion to me.

I’m glad they (Canada) dropped the entry testing. We end in Vancouver and I had real concerns trying to do an eMed aboard Radiance as the Wi-Fi can be ornery at times. We still have to take one 2 days before our 3 night land tour and test again before boarding. I know I was one of those that said I’d do anything to cruise last year but this makes my head hurt! Between this Alaska cruise and cruising out of Italy in October, my anxiety level is creeping up and I’m the most chill person! Maybe we should buy drink packages after all! I’m gonna need a few stiff ones! edited to add: if it weren’t for double points and catapulting us to Diamond Plus, I think I’d be cancelling. 64 points is hard to let go of.

Really annoying that you have to test to get into Italy then test again 1 day before boarding. (For those flying in day before from US as it’s an overnight flight) We’re leaving 2 days before cruise but arrive the next day. So will have to test twice. Hope things change by October. Hoping they’ll go back to the 2 days before test.

We will be Diamond Plus after our October cruise. Will have gone from 83 points to 175. 4 cruises total but ended up costing us over $20k lol. Alaska will be the big one (40 points) with our 12 night Holy Land (24 points) adding to the count. 2 regular old eastern Caribbean in a balcony pulled up the rear. (28 points)

I’m sure any of you that have docked at Havensight have seen this property. Circa 1800! Watch the video too! https://72446.sgp.homes/?fbclid=IwAR0oPqCCZW1KVOAuwxnM-aQrfBs_7eRecZERPgQIsDfxUEPQPKvvbghR0Yg

@SunnyDays in regards to the Wi-Fi, this is a port intensive cruise and you’ll likely be off the ship most of the day. If it’s to keep the kids happy while onboard, get the 2 device package. If you need to hop on, you can boot one of them off. If all 4 of you are heavy users of the internet, then the 4 devices would be best but it’s so much more. We are using Daniele Your Driver in Rome for all of our transfers. He has wonderful reviews. You can find him on Facebook. If he can’t accommodate your group, he will be able to recommend someone I’m sure.

I have this same excursion booked for our May cruise. I had heard the same thing. Was RC going to mention this to us or just let us find out when we get there? There are several white pass excursions where you get off the train and take a bus or bike ride down Klondike highway. These are all still for sale in my planner with no mention of not going into Canada and just turning around. I think there will be some upset people that won’t know this until the last minute

Last October St Thomas yes, even outside. March 18 cruise no masks in St Thomas St Maarten (both times) we never went inside anywhere. No masks outside.

They usually release Alaska in November. I booked this coming May the day Alaska sailings opened which was mid November of 2020. Bookings for 2023 were released November 2021.

I live in Florida which never had any strict Covid regulations. We didn’t fare any worse than those states that completely locked down. It’s just time to move on. It’s endemic at this point.

I’ll never again take FCC in place of refund. I also use @Sharlaand it’s such a convoluted system that you the customer is surely getting screwed. How I can have $5600 in FCC, apply it to a cruise that got cancelled and then told I redeemed it and it was “used.” Only to have it re-issued in amounts that don’t add up to $5600. Very frustrating and I’m not the one on hold for hours trying to get it right.

It doesn’t exactly state she will sail in the UK. I’ll take a guess that her TA will be her first sailing. Maybe a 2 nighter media cruise out of Southampton.

We asked about the towels too a few weeks ago and was told no. I think they should re-think that! Lol Revenue generator!

This is the same for Italy. Last dose of vaccine has to be no more than 270 days. For many Americans, that means a booster is necessary. This was extended to 9 months from 6 months just recently. Let’s hope it get dropped all together. By the time I sail out of Rome in October, I’ll be 14 months post vaccination. I’m not thrilled about having to get a booster. I’ll be watching April 30th closely. I believe all EU countries have this 270 day rule. I’m traveling to Scotland this summer and the UK has no such requirement

Food was good. Service was disorganized but likely better by now

I started using a TA (Sharla) when we booked Italy/Greece. That ultimately was cancelled but we’ve rebooked for this October. We also have Alaska southbound with land tour end of May. When using a TA you can do as much or as little planning as you want. For our Holy Land/Greece, I booked our transfers myself. I booked our Airbnb in both Rome and Civitavecchia. sharla handled the cruise and Air2Sea bookings. I feel better having someone stateside that can help should something go sideways. I also bought an annual travel insurance policy that covers all our trips in a calendar year Last, Facebook groups have been a HUGE wealth of information. I’m in a couple Alaska cruise groups and several Mediterranean groups. This is where I found the best private hire for transfers, tours etc. I’m Type A. I have to know everything!

I’ll look through my planner and see if there are others. You can also book outside Royal. Go to trip advisor, viator and get your guide and see what tours they have. Many times the same operators have cruise people and regular shoreside visitors on the same boat.

We’re pretty sure the Sandi Special that I posted above is the Urban Garden Martini.

I posted a pic of the pb&j above.

I’ve been told yes. Radiance has an enclosed solarium (retractable roof) that has “family hours.” Ovation has retractable roof too. I’m being optimistic that we’ll get one of those rare 80 degree days and packing a bathing suit!

Here’s the Halibut Hunt in Ketchikan from my cruise planner. FYI the lumberjack shows are in Ketchikan too