twangster

Feel for you folks in Australia and New Zealand. How incredible frustrating.

Royal's transfer service is exclusively airport to ship or vice versa the day of the cruise embarkation or debarkation. If your hotel had an airport shuttle you could have used that to return to the airport and then use the Royal transfer the day of the cruise but... How many in your group?

All we can do is sit back and watch this unfold. Wild times to be a cruiser. I have some thoughts on the matter but I'll need to watch some more Perry Mason reruns to firm up my legal stance. Is Matlock on netflix? Hmmm. Maybe I can accelerate my TV law degree by listening in my sleep. If only there was a jury in play then we could leverage some Bull - which all of this kind of is.

Probably just an inversion layer pushing her exhaust down rather than letting it rise into the sky. Quantum class are known to use a lot of water in the scrubbing process that makes a lot of steam that some people think is dirty exhaust gases but is mostly water vapor. I've sailed a number of her sisters and they all do this at times. If she had a fire yesterday there is no way she would be at anchor today. She would be required by convention to get to shore and be inspected by the authorities and her classification society. A captain who failed to do this would be up for review and could lose their license.

It's up to the countries you are visiting. Most Caribbean nations are part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and they aren't going to have an issue with a cruise ship passenger with a US passport that is valid for the entirety of your visit in that country. Closed loop cruises from the US don't even require a passport for US citizens - gov't ID and birth certificate will suffice although that isn't a wise way to cruise. Common carriers like airlines and cruise lines can face penalties if they transport a passenger who doesn't comply with a countries entrance requirements. That doesn't mean they always get fined but many carriers choose to implement a policy that easy to train front line employees. To keep it simple they can implement a 6 month validity requirement even though that may not be the case for every traveler. It's too complex to train front line employees on the huge matrix of "if this citizenship visiting that country then X" so they use a common worst case like 6 months of validity after the expected travel ends. Assuming you plan to renew your passport at some point soon you should consider just getting it done now. I paid the extra $40 expedite fee last month and got mine in 5 weeks. You have time for that with a small buffer so...

It was probably a Carnival cruise.

There is more truth to this than you realize. Some companies see no value in IT or the platforms they support. It's a huge cost center and money pit. So they refuse to invest in technology because it doesn't generate revenue they can see and touch, it's not a stand alone profit center like a ship is. Ships print money, IT just wastes it. As a former IT executive as I moved between companies I learned pretty quickly to ask questions during the interview process to figure out what kind of company they are. When I saw this pattern I ran away. Don't blame IT, blame the executives who see no value in IT or don't fund it properly. Those same executives right now... don't care. Just think of the money they've saved! Once the pandemic is over everything in the company will be right again!

I still think someone at the CDC had a bad cruise experience. Spouse hooked up with another guest, marriage ended, nasty divorce. All the fault of the cruise.

For some cancellations they offered 125% on cruise planner purchases that came in the form of FCC specific to cruise planner and OBC. It is not the same as cruise fare FCC and the two can't be mixed. For example if you had booked an excursion that cost $100 then they cancelled the cruise, they provided $125 in OBC future credit for use on another sailing either on board or in the cruise planner.

9.8/10 get a JS from a suite guarantee (WS), at least in previous days even before RoyalUp. With RoyalUp in play they'll move existing JS up with their bids freeing up even more JS inventory for the WS to maximum revenue. I booked a WS on Serenade. Everything showed just two OS available. I got an accessible JS that never appeared in inventory. I don't know if the previous occupants were offered an upgrade to one of the OS which opened the JS or if the JS was not displayed in inventory because it was accessible. Felt like a heel staying in an accessible suite I don't need but that is what they gave me. The automatic accessible door was a PITA - it stayed open a full 60 seconds every time I opened it. Sixty seconds sound quick but when everyone walking past is looking into your cabin it seems like a lifetime. The point is - don't look at inventory prior to cabin assignment as a guess for what you might get. There are exceptions. I once got a GS from a WS. With my luck that'll probably be the once in a lifetime already used up. The good news - most suites are not located in "bad" locations. Some might be better than others but most suites are in better locations relatively speaking.

Because our favorite agency is dragging its feet updating the mask policy. They've been hinting for weeks they will. If Royal says "Masks up for August cruises" there will be a wave of cancelations so Royal is waiting on the CDC hoping to be able to post better protocols that won't induce mass cancelations.

When are your cruises? CWC ends April 30, 2022. That used to seem like such a distant date but in the lifecycle of cruise bookings it isn't that far into the future. Plus any FCC obtained through CWC has to used by April 30, 2022 for cruises through September 2022. As time marches forward those dates will soon be upon us relative to the lifecycle of cruise bookings. If you cruise often that won't be an issue but if you book just one or two per year and it's hard to coordinate time off work/school and family schedules that could make it harder to find replacement cruises. Lastly CWC eligibility ends July 31, 2021. If book in August CWC won't be a tool in your toolbox. I also expect airlines will soon return to the old ways of more change fees, at least those that did before. We may have a few more months of waived airline fees but once traffic comes back so will the fees, IMO.

Coastal Alaska isn't high enough to cause elevation sickness. Few visitors to Denali scale the mountain to the peak. The Eielson Visitor Center for example sits around 3,800' in elevation, well short of the peak's elevation. If you take the well know Skagway train or fly in a helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier you are still well below 3,000'. The city of Denver in Colorado sits around 5,280'. Most visitors to Alaska will never come close to that elevation.

Yes as of today. Royal's webpage for Adventure from Nassau is here: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise?dPort=bahamas I'm hesitant to try to articulate any specifics because I suspect they will change at least once before your cruise. As of today this is what the above website displays:

I'm not going to lie. This sort of reporting bothers me. I lived on St Thomas for a couple of years and while no where in the US is free of gun violence it is remarkably less so on St Thomas and San Juan compared to just about anywhere on the US mainland. This is largely due to the much different laws that exist in the territories. It is regrettable that a tourist had this occur on St Thomas. I'm not saying it couldn't or didn't happen. However to frame it like every tourist should be in fear on St. Thomas is worthy of something CNN or Fox News would report. Sensationalism at it's finest. Orlando has had 57 victims of gun violence in the first 5 months of 2021 with a total of 177 police investigated gun violence complaints. I suppose no one should go to Disney because of the gun violence in Orlando right? There is no mistake that bad things happen to good people everywhere. However to frame St. Thomas in this manner is so terribly inaccurate.

All is well, just busy. I keep in touch with @WAAAYTOOO and it's all good.

We have been warned many times that prices will rise. Some of those factors were discussed last year: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/06/24/expect-royal-caribbean-cruise-prices-go-soon https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/06/24/inside-look-how-many-people-are-still-booking-royal-caribbean-cruises

That sets off all kinds of red flags to me. What if the ship had to skip Haines at the last minute? #ShipHappens

D+ get tours but not the actual Behind The Scenes tour offered at a price to all guests. Sometimes it's a galley tour, sometimes a bridge tour, sometimes a backstage entertainment tour and sometimes none, all or some of the above. They are unique to CAS so depending on how many qualify on board the specific tours vary. While the not the full Behind the Scenes excursion activity they are still fun and informative. CAS verbiage: 8. Diamond and above members are eligible for Entertainment tour only. Behind the Scenes Tours including the Galley, Bridge, and enhanced Entertainment Tour with VIP Theatre Experience available only on cruise vacations of 5 nights or longer to Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members. Behind-the- scenes entertainment tour does not include galley or bridge tours for Diamond members. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to cancel these tours (i.e., due to security concerns).

For Alaska, it's possible the original terms from February are still available. Something to inquire about or look back to see if you have the notices from then. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/02/17/royal-caribbean-pushes-back-final-payment-date-2021-alaska-and-new-england-cruises In addition to pushing back the final payment date, Royal Caribbean has offered guests options for changing their sailing or getting a refund: Leave their bookings as they are, and wait to see what happens. All final payment dates have been extended to just 45 days prior to embarkation day. Request a 100% refund of the amount they've paid, to the original form of payment, to be processed by June 30, 2021. Choose a 125% future cruise credit (for sailings booked by April 30, 2022, and departing through September 30, 2022). Credits will be issued by April 16, 2021. Select a modified Lift & Shift, allowing the reservation to be moved to the same date next year (plus or minus one week) on the same ship with the same itinerary.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/01/21/royal-caribbean-cancels-quantum-of-the-seas-2021-alaska-season https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/02/17/royal-caribbean-pushes-back-final-payment-date-2021-alaska-and-new-england-cruises

Only Quantum was cancelled. The rest they held, giving the option to cancel or wait it out.

Tell that to the people who expect luggage tags on day 89.

Enchantment has a trampoline. Has for some time. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/enchantment-of-the-seas/things-to-do Scroll down a bit. BUNGEE TRAMPOLINE Only ship to bounce you high over the bow with 4 massive bungee trampolines.

I think the spokesperson was addressing the greater area.