twangster

IMO older teenage girls are harder (on the parents). Too old for the youth programs but old enough they don't want to hangout with dad 24 x 7. I know the ships well but when she went off on her own the ship felt 10 times bigger. Boys are easier in this sense. Things can happen on cruise ships like they can back home so talk with them and establish rules. Consider paying for the internet (Voom) package for you and them, keep your phone with you, establish texting or chat practices so they can communicate with you but also back home to their friends so they don't feel isolated and to reduce their stress and feeling like they have no connection to anything. On one hand it is an opportunity for them to establish some freedom and confidence being on their own but don't assume a ship is 100% safe from everything. I've never had a background check required to cruise so that tells me no other fellow passenger has either. While I know I am not threat to people in this age group that doesn't mean there isn't another guest on board that isn't.

Did you use a travel agent to book the cruise? My travel agent was able to move two April 2021 Odyssey cruises to other ships and dates not using the official Lift and Shift program. She knows the ins and outs of the system so was able to move them around for me. She has actually done this a number of times for me as this has rolled on and gone further into the future. If you didn't use a travel agent simply call and ask. Know what you desire before you call so do your research first. Sometimes they are willing to move deposits to other ships and dates just so they hold onto deposits rather than dealing with refunds and FCC. If you reach an agent that isn't cooperative thank them and call back an hour later to try again. You won't know until you try but don't assume the official Lift and Shift program with limited option and date restrictions is the only way. Welcome to the message boards!

Sky Class on Celebrity is worth the upgrade IMO. Luminae is a great suite restaurant. I put myself (and taste buds) in the hands of the sommelier and went with whatever wine they suggested paired based on my entree. When I have access to a suite restaurant I don't tend to do specialty dining because I figure the extra cost of the suite and Luminae is enough. As far as Seattle the Uber/Lyft loft is a 5-10 minute walk but they do offer a free shuttle to the terminal. Seattle comes with luggage valet when debarking (the port does it free) so if your flights are timed right you can have them deal with luggage and never see it again until your home airport. It's a small terminal with limited seating so time your arrival carefully. Usually two ships embarking that share common drive in lanes so have your luggage tagged and make sure your porter knows what ship you are boarding. With Always Included the Elite level doesn't represent very much anymore except laundry. Chic dress code - not holy jeans and a t-shirt. Something you might wear to an interview, on a date night with the SO or a special event where you don't want to be "street clothes". If family or friends were celebrating a big anniversary with a party you probably wouldn't wear grubby clothes. Smart casual or something a notch above what you'd wear going to McDonalds. Dress or designer jeans, nice khakis, a "fancy" collared shirt, no tie. A step above street clothes will be fine.

Fall asleep in the sun. I haven't done this on a ship but I see people doing it and that sunburn before formal night makes getting dressed up a b^%$#! Lobster anyone?

I was on Majesty with a dentist convention as a partial ship charter. No impact really. They used the theater during the day. The only tell tale sign were people walking around with name badges on and corny dentist jokes being lobbed around at the Schooner Bar.

What are the numbers on the front of your card, including expiration date? ?

Some of the Voyager class are popular charter ships in the winter after Xmas. There is a car dealership that offers a free cruise with a car purchase and a few other companies that like the Voyager class to charter. Smaller, cheaper, easier to fill, amplified, cheaper in winter, etc. Charters are a definite down side to Royal. I've had a number of charter takeovers and it does completely mess up plans including the January 2022 Oasis date. I'm secretly hoping that masks are still required just to mess this charter up. ?

I'd like to enter my details like C&A number, state and age on the website ONCE and have it remember that as I look at different cruises. I dislike having to reenter that over and over again.

This may not be precise but the gist of it is... I've heard something to the effect that if the federal government were to "detain" a US Citizen or deny them the ability to freely travel domestically even for public health reasons, that citizen has a right to appear before a court to argue their case. Every single citizen has the right to freedom including freedom of movement within the US and when that is challenged they can have their day in court. A person who is known to be infected (positive test result) is clearly a risk to others and the court may likely side with the government. A person who is not yet infected poses no risk to society so it becomes a lot less clear if the court would side with the government in their attempt to limit or restrict the freedom of a US citizen by applying a domestic travel ban to anyone who hasn't tested positive. Congress could enact new legislation or the constitution could be amended but that is a process that would take a long time. In theory if the CDC shutdown a domestic flight or airline, that is essentially hindering the freedom of US citizens and every one of them has a right to present their case before a judge. A person who is infected or has tested positive is one thing but to apply mass restrictions to citizens with no evidence they pose a risk to another person is a different matter even if the federal government is trying to protect the individuals impacted. International movement is another matter and by definition all mass market foreign ship travel is international in nature. The small US flagged cruise lines including river cruises on the Columbia, Snake and Mississippi that have ships with less than 250 capacity are not subject to the CDC order but they are members of CLIA and have agreed to abide by CLIA's shutdown. They likely know that becoming a mass spreader would likely not end well for them right now but as this moves forward and numbers begin to decline they could be some of the first passenger ships to sail even before the CDC lifts or modifies their cruise ship order.

Only Congress can limit domestic commerce and travel. International travel is another matter.

American flagged passenger ships with more than 250 combined crew and guests are also subject to the CDC order. Its not an attack on foreign companies. For reasons that are steeped in history shipping has long been subject to federal laws and oversight. This includes US flagged ships with US crew. Most of that history and the road down the legal path that got us into this federal control for shipping was done for the right reasons even if we don't always like it.

Stay away from the bamboo sticks option. ?

If you have experience with land based massage venues it's pretty similar but they will do a hard sell at the end trying to push a range of products. It's more expensive compared to a massage on land but if its a special occasion perhaps it's worth it. They outsource the spa to a 3rd party that does many different cruise lines.

The CDC does not have authority to stop land vacations. Their guidelines are not to travel but that is all they can do - issue guidelines for domestic travel. If they had authority they would shutdown airlines as well. So it isn't that they are being hard on cruise lines while giving land vacations a free pass, they are controlling what they can (cruise lines) while watching people on land vacation unable to do anything about it.

Welcome to the message boards. Royal has been doing this dual embarkation for a while now. The ship stays within the EU so it doesn't have the customs and immigration activities like a cruise in the US. Other than seeing other people's luggage in the hall mid-cruise and doing the muster drill separately it pretty much will be like a normal cruise for you. While you are checking in for your cruise which seem like a normal embarkation existing guests will see Civitavecchia as a normal port of call day getting off and spending the day there.

At the moment the exchange rate is $0.79 which isn't bad compared to recent times so if you do tip in CAD just remember it's not dollar for dollar. LOL. Try shopping in Canada. Before you know it you have 10 lbs of coin in your pocket and are listing to starboard like a ship in trouble. You know those old pirates movies where they always pay in gold coins? I call BS. I've experienced a pocket full of coin in Canada. Took a chiropractor 6 sessions to get my back straight again.

Canadian dollars may be hard(er) for the crew to deal with. Vancouver is the only Canadian port on many Vancouver round trip itineraries so it's the only port where they can spend the money without dealing with conversion issues. Prepaying the daily gratuity eliminates that tipping component so all that's left is tipping above and beyond the gratuity that already built in. Even drinks at bars have an 18% gratuity applied to them. Since you are from Iowa I'd suggest bringing US dollars for any additional tips you feel like providing. That being said crew will be happy with any additional tips in any currency so if you think you are going to have extra Canadian money on hand I'm sure they would still appreciate it.

Our patience will continue to be required now that we are in 2021. There are a lot of variables that will influence the timeline forward. Cruising will restart when all the pieces fall into place.

Happy New Year!!!

Not the start to 2021 the residents were looking forward to. Hope everyone can stay safe.

If adopting the day 2 savings approach be aware that some ships have offered a day 1 special that provides a free day if you purchase it on board on day 1 only. I've only seen this a few times but keep an eye out for it because it provides the same savings that waiting for day 2 would bring. Adventure was the ship that offered it.

It will be interesting to see how the vaccine is being rolled out throughout the Caribbean. It's one thing to reach a point where the CDC will let ships sail but they need somewhere to sail to. When will each nation in the Caribbean have enough of their population vaccinated where they'll open their ports to arriving cruise ships?

Yes but with no one driving anywhere lives have been saved from car accidents :)

I understand your point, but... What would the death toll have been without any mitigation? I don't know. I'm not sure anyone does. NZ could say the same thing. Any entire country locked down, implemented restrictions, banned INTL travel, etc. Was that all a waste? A big scam? Not trying to argue, just curious if you think all the countries that have managed better are just faking their low numbers or if countries that have or claim to have elevated number are faking it?

That is one potential outcome but new vaccines if approved can influence the timeline. Time will tell.