twangster

Concur. When I have CK access I try to eat every meal there. The catch can be on some ships a Junior Suite (Sea Class) doesn't have guaranteed access to the best times and for dinner only. Full suites, Grand Suite and higher (Sky and Star Class) have better access to times and all day access (breakfast, lunch and dinner). So CK access can vary depending on suite class. In my opinion, CK is better than MDR and in some cases equal to or better than some speciality dining. #TeamCK

Yeah, I understand. I've been to some really nice spas in resort hotels. It's nothing like that on a ship. You can tour the facility on boarding day. Typically the walk up rate is the same as buying it before so you might visit the spa on boarding day and ask about the Thermal Suite Pass.

Here is Symphony's Thermal Suite: Doors on left are the sauna and steam room. Cool down shower through the black opening further down. No pools or hot tubs.

Sauna, steam room and heated ceramic beds within an area called the Thermal Suite that is co-ed so bathing suits are required. Varies by ship to a degree. Hours typically follow general Vitality Spa hours since you have to check in.

Your print at home SetSail pass has a barcode on it used to scan you onto the ship and for any purchases prior to getting your actual SeaPass cards.

Passport cards have another benefit when flying domestically if your state doesn't participate in enhanced drivers licenses or real ID. Passport cards are accepted when flying in place of a state DL Real ID. While the deadline has been pushed around a bit October 2020 is looming and carrying a passport card solves any ambiguity over the matter.

The only cruises where the online check in required a passport book were one-way Alaska (to or from Canada) and transatlantics. In my experience the on-line check in won't let you check in using inadequate ID for the journey. When I did the San Juan Adventure repositioning cruise to Bayonne I checked in with my passport card. I find cruises easier with passport card when allowed, easy to carry and pull out of a pocket in the terminal like photo ID when flying. The only time I haven't used my passport card were the times listed above. I've never cruised without a passport so have no experience using a birth certificate.

40+ cruises and never done a cabana on any cruise line. Recently at an all inclusive resort cabanas were offered much cheaper than CocoCay and I still didn't get one. A cabana is NOT required to have a great day at CocoCay. As far as the water park selling out no water park in the world has infinite capacity. If they don't limit the volume of passengers trying to share slides there will be long lines and complaints that people can't use the slides they paid for. All excursions are capacity controlled. No excursion is offered with infinite space for the whole ship. What am I missing? Why is this a surprise or a controversy?

Are you flying home on the day the cruise ends? When you land in the U.S. immigration won't care about you going on cruise so much as what day you plan to leave the U.S. at the end of your visit. That is what will help them decide if you are admissible on the day your plane lands at the start of your trip. You might call your airline. Typically your airline is going to validate you have a valid passport and you are staying within guidelines for a non-visa duration because they will be responsible if you don't meet basic admissibility guidelines.

It's like every thing in life. The market dictates pricing. If people aren't buying them it's priced too high. If they are selling well it's priced right. If they sell out quickly the price is too low. Consumers ultimately dictate the prices. Same with drink packages and specialty dining and excursions and just about every thing else.

It depends. Mariner did not get her cabins touched. Many thought that was a miss. Voyager might include a cabin refresh. $97M isn't chump change. While it's short of Navigator's $115M it's still a $97M makeover. The slides look like they are right from Mariner, at least in the renderings. The lack of skypad isn't shocking given that Mariner's skypad remains closed and Navigator didn't get one. Presumably a suite lounge is coming and the concierge club is going but that wasn't specifically mentioned. It seems the discontent is about the Promenade and lack of announced changes to that area.

Too many unknowns. It's not cast in stone that all new ships do a season in the Med before proceeding to their forever home. Where is it's forever home? Unknown.

There are ride share shuttles if you are are opposed to the 6 minute walk.

Have her booked in 2021. I wonder if the Cuba situation caused them to scale it back several million.

Well if it's on FB it must be true.

On ships that put the cards outside the cabin your SetSail pass has a barcode on it that you use to scan onto the ship and for any purchases prior to getting your SeaPass card. The SetSail pass I had in April for Liberty is of that variety but I missed the cruise so I can't confirm it actually follows the new practice.

$150pp seems high for that route, it's often lower than that. The gotcha is luggage. Once you check your bags it can be difficult to retrieve them should you need to back out and drive. I've done flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa getting off one ship and onto another. But there is risk. My insurance claim travel blog documented what should have been an easy direct flight the morning of a cruise. If everything had gone well it would have been a great cruise. I missed the ship. Different airports but that may not matter. When things go off the rails when flying the day of departure it really doesn't matter how far you are flying. A flight that is 20 minutes in the air or 90 minutes in the air is subject to the same risk. Weather, mechanical, personnel issues, security incidents, protests, etc all can ruin a flight or delay it. Delays are the worst. They never tell you straight out how long the actual delay will be, 60 minutes turns into 90 minutes turns into 4 hours. Once you check a bag it can be very time consuming to get your bag back if you choose not to fly. If you are carrying on luggage at least you can make the decision to forget flying and drive while safely predicting the time involved. Once you or your bag are on the plane it's another matter.

1989 DISKO - Russian cargo ship converted to carry passengers all of 2,097 GT. Cruising down Søndre Strømfjord in Greenland was breathtaking and probably what got me hooked. It was smooth as glass and a lot of my friends were drinking a fair bit. I was soaking it all in. Once we hit the North Atlantic several hours later it was very rough. I tried to sleep but with passenger beds in the very bow of the ship my head was lifted off the pillow with each wave. My friends regretted drinking so much and all became green with seasickness. I did pretty good but eventually the sound of dry heaving all around me caught up with me. The return voyage was much smoother thank goodness.

Liquor purchased in the duty free shops on board will be held until the end of the cruise. It is not for consumption on the ship. Pre-purchased liquor packages are typically 375ml bottles and much higher cost compared to the 750ml or 1l bottles one normally associates with a bottle of booze.

Jealous! B2B in Alaska! Typically moving cabins B2B requires you pack your cabin except for hanging stuff in your closet. You leave all your stuff in your cabin and crew move it. Confirm this upon boarding to make sure they know on the ship that you are B2B. Typically when other guests get their luggage tags to leave, you'll get a "Consecutive Cruiser" letter explaining what to do. In the US this usually involves meeting when instructed and being escorted to see CBP (US Customs) before re-boarding the ship.

No special discounts or incentives, you just need a credit card. Ideally you can keep the same cabin on the second leg but that isn't a requirement. If there are no "same cabins" available for both you will move between cruises, they don't set aside cabins for this purpose or ask guests to move for your B2B. If you manage to book two cruises in a row you or your travel agent should let Royal know else you look like any other guests on each cruise - they are two separate bookings until linked and you become a "consecutive cruiser".

Another difference... Celebrity does tend to offer resident rates more than Royal. Definitely take the time to enter your state when looking at rates on Celebrity.

No reservations required. You can wing it and just go during open hours. Going during peak hours will see a wait, early or late and probably not. Muck like a restaurant in your home town.

If you wait until the park is nearly empty and you should have been on the ship already, perhaps. It's the US. Cell phones work. Talk to the cab driver on the way there, ask him or her. Get the number for the taxi company. Leave yourself lots of time. Most stops in Juneau have long times in port so it's generally not an issue unless you push your luck and make it one.

I'm retired. Time for the young rising star to assume her rightful and earned seat on the throne. Well done BTW...