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NS8VN

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Posts posted by NS8VN

  1. The more likely situation (well, the most likely is that the Alaska cruise season is just not happening this year, but I will ignore that for this thought experiment) would be for Alaska to pressure the federal government to temporarily suspend restrictions and specifically allow Seattle based closed-loop cruises to sail without a foreign port stop in 2020.  If the ship kept out of Canadian waters then this would be an entirely US decision and simplify things quite a bit.

    On a much smaller scale we've had this here in Ohio.  Restaurants providing takeout successfully lobbied the state government to allow them to offer takeout alcohol, which was previously not allowed.  Rules were drafted on which types were allowed and container requirements, and a temporary allowance was given.

    So there is a way.  It would require cruising to resume within the Alaska cruise season, Alaska to make such a request, and the federal government to consider and approve the request.  Not to mention the cruise lines being on board and having the ability to make it work with crew, some of which may not have authorization to debark in the US.  So I would put the odds of it happening right around the Lloyd Christmas scale of "so you're telling me there's a chance".

  2. Your iWatch connects to the phone via Bluetooth, so yes it will work.  I know some smartwatches connect through cellular or WiFi (I'm not overly familiar with most Apple products and am unsure of their capabilities) so you will have to make sure if your watch has any of those connection options they are disabled for the cruise.

  3. Absolutely 100% VOOM.  200 mb is not very much data and I doubt it would be as fast as VOOM.  Can't speak for ATT but most phone companies allow you to call and text over WiFi so that you would be able to continue to use your phone fairly normally through VOOM.

    So for faster and unlimited data VOOM is the undisputed winner.

  4. As they like to say on DCL, "Of course we show them opening night, we own them!".  So DCL gets first-run Disney movies, which includes Marvel.  They do midnight screenings on opening night and some people book their cruise just to attend that.

    So while you might find some first-run movie on a Royal ship, I guarantee you won't find any Disney property being first-run on a Royal ship.  Bad for business.

  5. By the letter of the agreement with Royal you are not entitled to a refund, so your best bet would be to be very polite with whomever you speak to on the phone to increase your chances of being able to work something out.  If you approach it with the attitude that they owe you a refund you will almost certainly find yourself out of luck, but if you approach it with "this happened and I am hoping we can figure something out" you might be able to come to an agreement with a sympathetic CSR.  And please consider travel insurance in the future.

    Best wishes for your recovery.

  6. 5 hours ago, leonard said:

    "I won't be sailing with them again". 
    And we're all broken hearted about that.

    Hope you're not on my cruise. They'll be more room for everyone else.

     

    Did you seriously just retort by calling someone fat?  Ha, I thought creating an account just to complain about a pound fifty was something, but you certainly have lowered that bar!

    Can't wait to see how you top yourself with your 3rd post.

  7. 7 hours ago, irpdickinson said:

    In the prohibited items FAQ, it states that "Electrical Extension Cords" are not allowed.

    I read online that a power strip was OK, as long as it did NOT have a surge protection feature, like this item, however it does have a long cord that could be viewed as an extension cord. So after a little more research, I found this item, which essentially plugs in directly (with no cord), it has no surge protection, and it provides additional outlets plus 2 USB spots.

    I have also purchased a USB hub, since we have a lot of devices (phones, tablets, e-reader), but it does have a cord so I hope it doesn't raise any red flags! First time cruising with kids, wish me luck!

    Welcome to the forum!

    Just remember there is no such thing as compliance certification, just because someone calls their product "cruise ship compliant" doesn't mean the person running security at the port agrees.  Security personnel are not electricians, and neither are most people making YouTube videos about cruises.  If they say it's not going on board then it's not.  The USB hub will almost certainly be fine, it has no outlets.

    Enjoy your cruise!

  8. You should have gotten a picture.  We could have used it when someone asks if they are allowed and, tucked in the dozen "nope, not allowed" posts someone has to chime in that theirs wasn't confiscated that one time.  It would be a great visual to post up in response.

    As far as finding your own: all items confiscated are tagged with the owner's info.  Whether someone feels it is worth going through the pile to claim theirs is another story.  I'm betting each cruise ends with piles of those either donated or junked.

  9. There are various reasons that this probably is not something that would be happening, especially not at this time next year, but that gets in to a completely different discussion more suitable for other forums.

    Should such a thing happen however it is very likely that Royal would contact those affected with information on how it impacts them.  This is similar to when a travel warning is issued and Royal passes this information along to passengers along with recommendations.  Regardless, I wouldn't worry about it too much as far as cruising goes.

  10. It should be noted that the person who you heard that from is correct that Carnival doesn't allow packages to be used on the first night of a cruise out of Texas, but the reasoning is incorrect and probably came from Carnival's propaganda marketing department.  They could offer it the same as Royal does, but would have to eat the taxes.  Royal chooses to pay the taxes but limits the selection to decrease the cost, Carnival takes a different route.

  11. If you want to do a live blog, especially with pictures, you are going to need VOOM.  You don't have any guarantee you will find fast wifi for free on land and really do you want to spend the time looking for that?

    An alternative would be to write things up as you go and then just upload after you get home.  But no, there is no free wifi on the ship, not even for the crew.

  12. You buy it for the duration and by the night, which is what your cruise is sold as anyway.  You can purchase it on the ship after a day or two and save those days, but since you will almost certainly find it at a discount online before the cruise you will rarely save money by skipping a day or two on the ship and buying at full price (exception is if you are Diamond level and get a discount when purchasing onboard).

    Don't look at it as days or anything else, just calculate your total cost for the package.  Then figure out whether you would get any other package if you don't get the Deluxe package and deduct the cost of that (example: if I don't get the Deluxe then I would get the Soda, so I would figure out how much more I'm spending and use that figure in the next part).  Then figure out if you would get enough alcoholic beverages/premium coffee/fresh squeezed OJ/bottled water, etc over your entire cruise to make that worth it.  Typically it comes out to 3-4 mixed drinks with nothing else, but beer is usually cheaper than that but then also non-alcoholic drinks do add up.  For my wife and I on any given day we would often get enough OJ, coffee, and bottled water alone to make it nearly worth it, and then enough alcoholic drinks to also make it worth it by themselves.  So for us on a 5-day cruise without the child it was no question a good purchase.

    That said, on a longer cruise drink fatigue is a real consideration.  As is a port extensive itinerary (sea days and private island visits are catch-up days).  For me having our child with us would decrease the drinking a bit at least, so something to consider.  Start with the most basic math and figure out how many drinks over the entire cruise would make the package "worth it" and go from there.  The fixed cost and the ability to try new things without paying extra is also worth something to many people, so even if you don't know if you will come out ahead you might find it worthwhile in other ways.

    Finally, you can get plenty of use out of the package on embarkation day and I got a coffee on debarkation day morning.  If you want to get a dozen coffees before going through customs you can, but they might wonder why you seem so nervous and pick you for enhanced screening ?

  13. 8 minutes ago, Orange Crush said:

     I've seen a few grumpy-pants show up here and start a complaint thread

    I have to admit to that being one of the things that really gets to me.  When someone's first post is just to complain about something it makes me wonder why.  Why go to the trouble?  When someone joins the day of and posts I can somewhat understand there is still fresh passion and anger, but still, it is not productive.  Worse though is when you see someone has been on a forum for a long time but only post when there is something for them to complain about.  In all those years they never had a question, never had anything to contribute, never even a "thanks for sharing that" to someone.  The moment they feel slighted though, the moment they have something negative to say, that is when the posts get made.  It's especially disappointing when their problem is one that could have been solved by reading or asking something on the very forum they are now throwing out "shame on [company]" and looking for sympathy.

    But the irony of me complaining about others complaining is not lost on me, so I will leave it at that.  I have had plenty of disagreements (some a bit heated) with people on this forum but I have a lot of respect for everyone that contributes their knowledge.  My first cruise on Royal went very smoothly thanks to the information I soaked in from everyone here, so I owe a lot to everyone who takes the time to share.

  14. Yeah, I hear it gets pretty critical elsewhere ?

    Reminds me of a certain Disney related forum which will remain nameless.  Great information to be found there, but it gets just so negative at times that I can't stand being on it.  I understand though, people spend a lot of money on a vacation they want (expect?) everything to be perfect.  I like to look at it another way though: I spend a lot of money on a vacation so I'm gonna have a good time if it kills me!  Like I told one of the bartenders on our recent Indy cruise when we were talking about Coco Cay and the weather, "Well, if we miss it I will be disappointed, but I will just have to have a great extra sea day on the ship!"  Luckily we didn't miss it, but I was prepared to have a good time regardless.  And thanks to @Matt and this entire forum I knew to order a Coco Loco at the bar and I must say that me and my entire group were thankful for that knowledge.  I have a friend carefully experimenting to recreate the exact recipe, he was so enamored with it.

  15. Sadly some people take great pride in their misunderstanding of a pretty common term.  It has nothing to do with a cork and was not invented by RCCL.

    https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/charge-corkage-fee

    Quote

    Guests who consume their personal wine and champagne in public areas, will incur a $15 corkage fee per bottle.

    Whether it is charged is pretty hit and miss, but the fact is that they can charge you if you drink it outside of your stateroom.  Technically if you open it in your stateroom, pour it in your stateroom, and then take the glass in to the hallway you are subject to the corkage fee (though in that particular scenario I give it about 0% chance a crew member will call you on it).  If someone tries telling you that already opened bottles or bottles with a twist-off don't count then they are just making up their own stories in their head and expecting reality to conform to them.

  16. First, welcome to the forum!

    On the list of prohibited items are ham radios and baby monitors.  While FRS radios are strictly speaking neither of those things the people inspecting bags are given pretty broad latitude to confiscate items that are similar to prohibited items.  Even if you get them on the ship security can take them away if they decide it is a problem.

    I would go with a different plan.

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