twangster

I know some people that really take the points earning to the next level. They put the wife in a JS by herself and hubby is added as a 3rd person in a friend's balcony cabin for peanuts. Once on board they get an extra key at guest services and hubby doesn't stay with their friends. OR... Since they are over 340 points they get reduced single supplement. Sometimes they put the wife in a JS solo and the husband in the cheapest whatever cabin solo. They call the other interior cabin their "luggage cabin" where they throw their suitcases while they stay in the suite. Since the wife is a casino player and they get Florida rates this approach allows them to rocket up through the points for very little out of pocket in terms of cruise fare. So yes, solo in a junior suite does net 3x points. It doesn't always get multiplied properly when the points post but a simple phone call has always fixed that in minutes.

Rarely do all the facts get published in cases like this. A lawyer for a family is free to state just about anything or twist events in an attempt to pursue a settlement. Statements made outside of courtroom can include blatant lies and misrepresentations. I have no idea if that is the case here, but use caution when reading one side of the story.

It can depend how the VPN administrators have your corporate VPN configured. These type of VPN platforms have many options for your IT department to choose from. Some are more tolerant of the latency over satellite, some choices not so much. Keep in mind that satellite internet from a ship is not like internet at home. The signal can fade for a number of reasons at times and murphy's law says that will occur when you need it most. A heavy rainfall can block the signal, sometimes if the ship is on the right heading the stacks or something else temporarily blocks the path to the satellite. Some regions like Alaska just have slow internet since the satellite coverage is weak that far North. The point is if you need to guarantee a working connection at all times that doesn't always happen on a ship at sea.

Indy has Giovanni's, Chops and Izumi plus Izumi Hibachi. With a 6 night UDP you can try them all then decide which to return to. I'm not a sushi fan myself so that's always a factor when I look at the UDP. I'm not sure on the latest regarding Hibachi. Some ships weren't keen on including it with the UDP but then it seemed to be included more consistently across the fleet for a while. Unsure how that will look post pandemic. Chops has two favorite dinner choices for me plus a 3rd as a fallback that is pretty good too. If everyone is a meat lover this is a lock. There are some seafood options for non-meat eaters so it can accommodate that if required. Giovanni's menu is a little more broad but within the Italian realm so it's good for a couple meals at least for my tastes. If you like sushi then Izumi is a winner for a couple meals. If Hibachi is included or a small uplift it's usually worth it for the entertainment factor.

If you have the UDP try them all. How many nights on board? Food is personal. If you didn't have the UDP you'd have to decide which to visit but with the UDP definitely try as many as you can.

That is a trend my TA and her coworkers have observed frequently recently. I had her apply an FCC to a booking and they converted it from refundable to NRD without telling her. I later cancelled the cruise and they refused to refund my deposit. Plus they refused to re-issue the FCC that was applied.

This memory was on my last cruise... with @Matt. It's late at a bar on the last night of the cruise. There's a handful of Royal Caribbean Blog group cruisers present. I have the drink package so I order one more Kraken and Diet Coke. The bottle is nearly gone so I get a generous pour. Matt doesn't have the drink package but has a 10 drink card if I recall correctly. He's been carefully allocating his drink orders to save his last punch for one more Kraken. "Sorry" the bartender says. "That gentleman there just finished the last bottle" (pointing at me). The look on Matt's face is not something I'll ever forget. It was like a kid opening a birthday present expecting that one thing they've been asking for all year only to look down and see a pair of socks. Price of the drink package: $322 Price of drink package gratuity: $58 Look on Matt's face: Priceless

[email protected] ‭(800) 526-9723‬ Just make sure the addresses for both accounts are the same before contacting them. Once it's done both accounts will show who ever has the higher number of points and both will show the highest status, Diamond in your case.

Pinnacle is granted through a relationship like all other levels. It is not passed down to dependent children though. Dependent children associated status stops at D+. It may not always be automatic especially when people enter relationships later in life - i.e. re-marry or otherwise establish a relationship without a long cruise history together. Bottom line it's a simple phone call or email to request or confirm that your significant other is noted as being in a relationship with you. It takes a few days so don't wait until the week of your cruise. Once a relationship is recognized by Royal all future C&A level changes are automatic applied to both accounts.

For me Florida is 60h in a car round trip. That's 6 hotel stays. Galveston is a 2 day drive one way. Round trip that's 4 days so 3 hotel stays. A hotel stay and eating multiple meals in restaurants carries nearly the same risk as flying. I don't think I'll be driving to a cruise from home anytime soon. As foolish as it may be with later check in times I might have to consider flying in the day of the cruise when I first restart cruising which right now is looking like spring or summer of 2021. Staying in a hotel doesn't appeal to me, less so than flying. Both carry risk not only of CV-19 but other viruses that would also create issues for cruising. Have fun all you Floridians and for goodness sake live blog your cruise!

We also need a destination to sail to. One cruise line with one ship was given approval in the July 10 CDC order but with the Bahamas closed that ship couldn't sail. If a more distant Caribbean nation is allowing cruise ships to arrive then a 3 night cruise may not be enough time to get there and back from Florida. It's a combination of factors that will dictate the early itineraries.

I'm not sure. In July they were very singular when they gave Bahamas Cruise Lines the green light for one ship. It was the only cruise ship that was allowed. Unfortunately Bahamas closed its ports so the CDC approval became a moot point. CDC: "As of July 10, 2020, one cruise ship operator representing only one cruise ship operating in U.S. waters had an NSO response plan meeting all the elements described in the April 15, 2020 Extension: Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line."

This tells me the system is working as designed. On land people are still getting infected so it's important to recognize that there will be cases detected on ships. Even the best tests can still produce incorrect results so they keep on testing and have a plan when a test is positive. If only we all had this capability in our daily lives the spread would drop significantly and more could be opened across society.

The last time I had unlimited dining I had my list prepared and hit the first table set up upon entering where you can make reservations. It took a good 10 minutes to go through my list and for the crew to book everything. Some people in line were moaning but what can you do? As the cruise progressed I made some changes both to times and venues. It's a lot of food especially on days with specialty lunches available. Those lunches are very close to the dinner experience minus some menu items so it's a big lunch. On those days grab an early lunch and book late dinner times because it's food coma. At 6pm I was still full from lunch. Even on port days if you don't get an early lunch you might not be hungry at 6 or 7pm. I ended up shifting nearly all my dinner times to 8pm except around shows.

As far as I can tell Carnival hasn't submitted a response to the CDC yet. It will be interesting to see what is going to happen. Some members of the Healthy Sail Panel have close ties with the CDC and most likely already know what the CDC is thinking right now. That could be former coworkers or close associates in a small world talking but I bet RCG/NCLH leadership have some insight that isn't public yet.

Welcome to the message boards! Cruising during the restart and early phases won't be for everyone and it's great to see that you have thought through the ramifications and are choosing the best option for your vacation. Like yourself there are many destinations where I like to self explore so I'm carefully considering my itineraries from a perspective I've never had to look at them before. Some itinerary and ship fit this approach like a glove, other itineraries and ship don't fit this concept as well.

They didn't craft their response to the CDC on a whim. The panel has some pretty seasoned members many of who also have active roles related to the virus for other organizations while they also do work for the Healthy Sail Panel. The panel was formed July 6. They worked on their response for over two months and wrote the 74 page response based on what the CDC asked them to submit not what some of the public might be seeking. They aren't finished. It's the first step of a process with a goal of obtaining CDC approval to move to the next step.

I'm amazed how hot the residential real estate market is right now. We have new neighbors. The house sold within hours without a sign ever going up on the lawn. All it took was one day that saw a stream of cars and real estate agents. The next day there were none, it had been sold. It was like when a drop of ice cream falls on the ground and a hundred ants come out of nowhere to gobble it up then they are gone.

Vessels with greater than 100 people are banned by Canada at the moment. That is how some ferries are slipping through. Most cruise ships are banned in Canada until October 31, 2020. "The Minister of Transport, the Honorable Marc Garneau, announced that cruise ships with overnight accommodations allowed to carry more than 100 persons are prohibited from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020. The Minister also stated that all other passenger vessels must follow provincial, territorial, local and regional health authority covid-19 requirements for resuming operations. Those who do not comply with the new restrictions will be liable to a penalty of $5,000 per day for an individual and $25,000 per day for a corporation. Furthermore, passenger vessels that carry more than 12 people are also prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters (including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik and the Labrador Coast) until October 31, 2020. However, as of July 1, 2020, passenger vessels will be allowed to operate in inland rivers and lakes in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. In Canada’s Arctic the restrictions do not apply to pleasure crafts used by local communities or vessels used as essential transportation or for subsistence fishing, harvesting and hunting."

I don't know that there are good days or bad days - the menu doesn't change in specialty venues.

There is only FUD - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt plus SAR - Speculation and Rumors. This is one of many details that we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

I suppose they could revert to the old menu that didn't have the good stuff the new fee based menu does. On the other hand, if guests are fearful to the point that in room dining is how they desire to isolate in their cabin then I'm wondering a little bit if these guests should consider shifting their cruise into the future. I'm not trying to be aggressive or argumentative, just... why go on a cruise during the restart phase if the desire is to stay in the cabin most of the time? I get it. These are strange times. The restart of cruising is going to be a strange time. It won't be for everyone. Time spent in a dining venue is minor relative to the time in all other aspects of the overall experience. If eating all meals in your cabin is the only way to be confident during the restart phase, you might want to consider delaying cruising until the future when the experience will be closer to normal.

50% of guests won't be on board. Of that a certain percentage never use the MDR and some purchase specialty. Personally I think "success" will be if 40% capacity is achieved on the first sailing. Remember we can't just think of the state of things today. As cruising restarts (at some point in the future) it will continually adapt and evolve. There is no one snapshot to represent cruising from now until the virus is eradicated.

Their lawyer is rumoured to be considering a case against the virus since it diminished his potential income from this and the many other cases he claims to have against Royal.

In reference to the "Safety Guarantee" reading the article it's not clear what "guarantee" she was referring to. She was in the middle of reviewing an excursion from the ship. In the past if did your own thing at a port of call and missed the ship's departure you were responsible for any and all costs to continue your vacation from there, the ship won't wait for you. When you book an excursion through the cruise line and the excursion returns late the ship will wait or they will pay the costs to reunite you with the ship. They don't guarantee you'll enjoy the excursion, just your return to the ship. Perhaps this is the "safety" she was referring to that comes with being required to take a ship excursion. Given that the writer is Italian writing about a cruise in Italy it's possible the "guarantee" reference doesn't mean what it would to someone here in America. She uses the word in another sentence in reference to the buffet: "The waiters, in addition to face masks, wear gloves while preparing the dishes. An additional guarantee." As we know wearing gloves doesn't eliminate any or all risk. Gloves are a step towards mitigation but stop well short of eliminating all risk. I don't think the cruise line is guaranteeing a guest has zero chance of becoming infecting, the writer chose a word that carries a different meaning in this part of the world.