twangster

It's purely speed.  Think dial-up versus early DSL.  

I make audio calls over Surf.  Some have reported doing video calls over Surf but it will be not as clear or good as Surf & Stream.  I've used Pandora over Surf because it can buffer and tolerate slower connections.  

Surf:

Surf & Stream:

In both cases it's over satellite so not the same experience as with land internet.  Bad weather can impact speeds, at times the satellites are in the wrong position relative to the ship and heading.  Alaska internet will yield a different experience.

19 minutes ago, Texas cruiser said:

Galveston is already LNG capable with an LNG plant located just south of Galveston in Freeport. Also they are in the process of building a plant in Texas City. Port Canaveral gets their LNG from out of state. "BA" Bermello Ajamil & Partners the company that has been hired to build the new terminal states the following in their brochure: https://www.bermelloajamil.com/flipbooks/MaritimePublication2019/36-37/index.html

Port Canaveral resorted to Georgia when local residents freaked out at the idea of LNG storage near them.  Naturally the residents of Texas and the coast are much more friendly to oil and gas.  

Woohoo!  It's cruise day!

50 minutes ago, Morganno said:

We shall be in cabin 10542 and can't wait. 

Great!

Thanks for coming back and updating how it worked out.  

I have a faux tuxedo shirt like this that I use as a rash and sun guard when snorkeling.  Best dressed snorkeler on the beach.  

Super light weight, easy to pack.  Fairly inexpensive as well.

Symphony was going to be the first stretched Oasis class ship with an extra fire zone compared to her sisters.

5 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I heard that @twangster is going to be the Godfather of Odyssey of the Seas.

Not the Fairy Godfather, mind you. Just...

I made Royal an offer they couldn't refuse.  

It also generates a lot of waste.  Those existing locks aren't cheap themselves and throwing away a couple thousand good devices isn't smart business.  My main use for Wow bands is unlocking my cabin door so from my perspective I am fine if they don't upgrade them.

in the end we cruisers pay for all upgrades in the form of cruise fares.  They don't simply throw away hundreds of millions and not recover those costs so from my perspective let's keep cruise fares reasonable.    

I go through phases but rarely buy specialty dining.  Sometimes I get one from a travel agent which tends to be the only time I visit specialty.

I'm in a Windjammer phase right now.  When I vacation on land or at home I don't have big sit down meals nights after night after night.  Occasionally having the full service meal is cool but most of the time I prefer to dine and dash.  I also find greater variety in the Windjammer.  I can have mostly a salad one night or I can create a meal that's not available in the MDR.   

Sometimes the MDR is too much for me, sitting for periods of time between courses when I could be out and about doing something on the ship.  Sometimes a full 3 course meal is too much food.

The broad rule is that any C&A benefits are for the individuals who have earned that status only.  Meaning if your card says X then that is what you get regardless of other's in the cabin or your party.  

It's very common for people in a group to have varying status and the limited areas for a particular level weren't designed to accomodate numbers beyond those who have that status.   

From boarding zones, to seating areas to the Diamond Club the rule is members at that level only.

Having said that I've seen reserved seating areas lightly filled and I've seen them packed.  Numbers at each level vary each cruise and sometimes they may not designate a section or enforce one.  By policy they have every right to deny anyone whose card doesn't indicate they belong there.  

Looks like the back half of the terminal building is a warehouse and that is where the fire occurred.  

1 hour ago, OrlandoC said:

Mardi Gras sails out of Canaveral next year so the port needs to be setup for LNG by then. 

New York as well so Galveston will have some other ports as reference. 

One would think given the industry in Texas that LNG wouldn't be a hard sell to invest in.

7 hours ago, Texas cruiser said:

I have heard Galveston is getting not just an Oasis class ship, but also an Icon class. Anyone hearing the same?

Only rumors.

Icon class will be powered by LNG and requires special refueling facilities that can provide LNG in bulk to a ship.  So far no port in North America has this capability.  Carnival also has plans to build LNG ships.  Initially Port Canaveral is known to be thinking about or working on LNG fuel facilities but there is local opposition from residents who fear it may be unsafe and blow up.  Local fire departments seem to support the concept.  Since Carnival also has an interest in LNG it would be logical for the Port of Galveston to evaluate LNG fueling capabilities.  

If we hear that Galveston is exploring the concept of LNG fuel capabilities that would be a pre-cursor to the possibility that Icon class MIGHT come to Galveston.  No LNG on the Port roadmap is a sure bet that Icon class is NOT coming to Galveston.

Ovation currently still uses RoyalIQ but also has a loophole that allows iMessage on iPhones to work for free.  It works for the blue Apple-to-Apple type iMessages, not green text messages.  Some Android users have reported success with WhatsApp but this doesn't seem to be consistent.  

RoyalIQ does have an $8 chat feature that each person needs to purchase.  The fee is for the whole cruise, not per day.

Each ship has a food and beverage manager and a head chef.  They will plan the menus for each cruise but all ships are supplied through a common supply chain that is centrally controlled by Royal HQ.  The result is somewhat common entrees across the fleet but the night they appear on the menu and the combinations that make up one night's menu can vary by ship.  

All guests have to be out of their cabins typically around 8am so they can start getting them ready for the next cruise.  

All guests have to be off the ship by around 9:30am.  The ship must be at a zero guest count and all guests processed by US Customs and Immigration before the next cruise can begin to embark.

There won't be much open or things to do on the ship, they want people to be motivated to debark. 

Likely too far away still.

I see 30 excursions for Labadee in 2019.  You can preview many of them here:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do?LocationCode=LAB

There are no Barefoot Beach excursions other than the cabanas.

I understand your disappointment but these things happen from time to time.  Royal doesn't simply decide they don't feel like going somewhere any more, there is likely a valid reason why they can't stop there on that specific day.  

There aren't a lot of alternate ports options in the New England/Canada region to send the ship to as your itinerary already includes all of them.  Many cruise lines use the same ports and options are limited when something occurs that disrupts an itinerary. 

A ship can't just go some where, there has to be space available for them and with many different cruise lines visiting the same ports that often means there is no where else to go and they can't completely re-do the entire itinerary. 

Fortunately they were able to negotiate an over night stop instead of inserting an extra sea day.

2 hours ago, carlosalonsor said:

@twangster In your experience What time slot for the North Star paid option would be best for the Dawes Glacier?

Paid around 9:20am or 9:40am depending on weather and ice conditions.  Free version - first available after paid version ends.

Any app will do, mine had ads unless paid for.  Joe mentioned it above.  I use a size of 900 pixels along the long edge (vertical or horizontal).  

This makes them much faster to upload over Voom.  

Rules differ in Europe compared to North America so take my post with that in mind.

My FCC from the Oasis April 21 2019 TA booked in North America stated the following conditions:

• Redeemable towards cruise fare only. Guest is responsible for taxes and fees where applicable. Not valid on Complimentary cruises, Incentive bookings, or Charter sailings.
• One certificate per person, per booking, and valid only for the person noted on this certificate.
• If credit is applied to a booking of lesser value, the difference will be issued as a new Future Cruise Certificate.
• Royal Caribbean reserves the right to void the FCC Savings amount if the guest named above receives reimbursement.
• Cruise must be taken by 10/30/2020.
• Valid only for the cruise brand shown above.
• As are all requests for reservations, the offered space is subject to availability, and from time to time, itineraries may be altered or services on a specific ship may be discontinued. Certain restrictions apply
• Non-transferable and may not be redeemed for cash.

There is a catch to the residual FCC in North America.  The 1st cruise that you use the FCC towards must be completed before they will re-issue the remaining FCC.   

Based on this I applied my FCC towards my next cruise which was already paid in full.  I received a credit card refund for the amount applied to that booking.  Once that cruise (Ovation in May to Alaska) was completed they issued the residual amount in the form of a new FCC that I have applied to an upcoming booked cruise.

See if you get the actual certificate.  While it might be sent to your travel agent, you should be eligible to see it yourself and examine any terms and conditions.  PS - you don't have to use it through the same agent if you are not happy with them.  

31 minutes ago, Missangie said:

Any one doing or did a 7 night from seattle. 

@SpeedNoodles is boarding today.

Oasis in December is visiting Labadee.  Queen of Oasis class and freshly AMPED in the fall yet no visits to Perfect Day.  In fact it's only when she reaches the Big Apple that she starts calling on Perfect Day.  

The modified Empress/Majesty (no-Cuba) itineraries pick up a few visits to Perfect Day but not all itineraries do.  Just so happens my former Cuba itinerary in October will be Key West and Nassau, no Perfect Day.  

I've acquired a handful of Empress and Majesty sailings over the next few months given the lower rates and no single supplement and less than half visit Perfect Day. 

To be honest I attribute the increased ship visits to the pier.  If (gasp) Perfect Day hadn't occurred and only the pier was completed I suspect the end result would have been the same.  More visits because they can with a pier where they couldn't in the past.   

They will supply a gallon of distilled water free upon request.

Symphony has an outlet on one side of the bed so typically no extension cord required.

Contact Royal if booked direct or if booked through a travel agent they should handle the request, it's quite common.

Sometimes it may not be in your room upon boarding.  Mention it to your cabin attendant or call housekeeping on your cabin phone and they'll deliver it before bed time on night one. 

One thing to consider.  It's possible different satellites are used in Asia and internet service in some countries may be subject to government oversight different than in the West.  

I know guests on the initial Spectrum sailings commented on poor internet but perhaps it has been optimized for the Asia satellites and didn't perform well while in transit to Asia.

Perhaps that accounts for the 3rd choice.  A choice that wouldn't be relevant or needed given the satellites and service here.