twangster

For savings of $300 per person I'll deal with $45 Uber ride. That was comparing Delta fares between FLL and MIA. Southwest might be even greater savings (compared to Delta into FLL). For a family of four that ventures into "OMG" territory. Pro: Beautiful sail away Con: Miami traffic can be bad at times

It's always been curious to me how many different perspectives there. While you have the chamber of commerce citing wonderful impact you have other groups that cite the cruise industry has zero impact. Time and again city after city cites the benefits. Who is right? Who is getting all this supposed money if the local business isn't?

It is a sign of the times. As ships get refreshed they lose the Concierge Lounge and gain a Suite Lounge. Liberty, Indy, Adventure, Mariner, Navigator and so on. It will be interesting to see how Radiance makes out in her refresh before heading to Brisbane. Other Radiance class have retained the Concierge Lounge so far. On Vision class they adjust based on numbers on a cruise by cruise basis. Pretty soon they'll just place masking tape over the Concierge Lounge name and write "Suite Lounge" in magic marker. Too many Diamond Plus.

Or just don't buy it and hopefully they'll read on an internet forum why no one is buying it ?

Yes. I have a cruise in 29 days and the are still emailing me trying to get me to bid. A few posts up in this thread @CruiseLife72 posted a link you can try. Read about the program before bidding, make sure you understand the nuances. It works for some but not everyone and there is no guarantee that such an upgrade is even available.

They have four more Edge series ships coming, you'll get a chance... ?

Best is in the eye of the beholder. Find out if your credit card offers any travel coverage. Consider what is important to you. Is emergency medical transportation a concern? If you don't fly to port then lost luggage coverage might be less important. I cruise often so for me an annual insurance plan is attractive but the coverage limits are lower compared to other types of travel insurance. Someone who books suites might look ay my policy and say "heck no, I need more coverage". One policy might not cover 100% of every possible expense but it can take the sting out of the situation and lower your losses to an acceptable amount you can live with. More insurance that has higher coverage limits costs more. Only you can decide what is appropriate for your needs.

Is it necessary for a young person to have health insurance? My 20 something son hasn't needed a doctor visit in years. You can buy house insurance that covers the dwelling only, no content coverage. Do you need to protect the stuff in your house? You can buy the minimum auto insurance coverage required by your state. However if your car is stolen you are on your own. For anyone who has had something occur that they didn't expect the resounding answer is... YES! You need insurance. A cruise vacation can be a sizable amount of money. If you have lots of money and can afford to walk away from the potential loss then you don't have to have insurance. Insurance is for the unexpected. No one expects to miss a cruise when weather or an airline cancels your flights. No one expects to have a car accident on the way to the port. No one expects to be rescued off a ship with a $40,000 helicopter medical evacuation and placed into a foreign country in a foreign hospital that doesn't take your health insurance from home. If you decide to travel without insurance you assume any loss when the unexpected occurs. You can scream at an airport gate agent. You can shout at the cruise line on the phone. You can write a negative on the internet but at the end of the day it's not their fault and you have lost the money.

And this is what drives me crazy. Why can't they place into the terms and conditions what you get? I'm not buying a UDP again until I know what I'll get.

I've taken teens on helicopter rides before in different tourist destinations. Mine loved it. What I like about the helicopter visit and walk on the glacier is the totally different perspective you get. When you look at a glacier from a distance you see the black streaks that run down them. When you walk on a glacier up close you see the boulders and large pieces of rock that are those black streaks. You can imagine the massive forces at work as a glacier slides down a valley breaking those large chunks of rock off. You see the surface and streams of water flowing across the surface. We even got to sample the glacier water runoff. Years later I still remember that today when I see a glacier from a distance. With each glacier we sailed past or saw way off in the distance it meant more to me having walked on a glacier and seeing it up close. Mendenhall Glacier when viewed from the visitors center is impressive but walking on it is something else all together. I paid $350 per person in 2017. Last year the best price I saw was $339. My turn at this excursion was documented in this live blog post: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5211-alaska-recap-celebrity-millennium-june-2017/&do=findComment&comment=51839

The scam appears to be related to signing people up to insurance contracts they don't want or need. Perhaps I escape that as a business traveler. My take away is triple check your paperwork and don't be in a hurry or appear to be in a hurry. Print out your confirmation and don't leave until you are satisfied the printed contract matches.

I completely understand especially as a solo cruiser. I've grown to enjoy the Windjammer for dinner. Few lines, lots of seating, good choices where I can prepare a salad and portions to my liking. In and out in twenty minutes if I choose to.

I am glad you are able to make peace with it. None of us plan these things but we do have the power to handle it with grace when it occurs.

Indeed, especially since it goes in for amplification shortly after that. Time will tell.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/topics/royalup-stateroom-upgrade-program Can I reject the RoyalUp℠ upgrade after it is accepted? No, once your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately, and the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable. For more details about RoyalUp℠, click here. Can I choose the location or specific features of the RoyalUp℠ upgrade cabin? No, your cabin location and attributes will depend on availability. RCI cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category. For more details about RoyalUp℠, click here.

As a frequent business traveler we have business insurance that includes coverage for rental cars. I decline the rental car company coverage. My credit card also provides some coverage. There are different types of rental car insurance just like there are different kinds of car insurance. The trick is knowing what you are covered for and this varies by policy and state. I have no experience with Dollar but they are owned by Hertz who I do use. They acquired Dollar in 2012. Dollar operated under a franchise system where individual "stores" were independent but operated under the Dollar name. When was the article written? It wasn't unusual many years ago for some less ethical business owners to use tactics and methods to increase profits, often advertising super cheap rates and making up for low rates through other means. I'd be surprised if that practice was continuing under the Hertz family. Stuff still happens and you are responsible for the car while it is in your possession. If someone keys the car, the windshield cracks from a rock or if someone hits you while it's parked overnight at a hotel you don't get to simply return the car and walk away. The expectation is that you will return the car in the same condition it was in when your took possession minus any normal wear and tear. The benefit of taking their expensive insurance is that if any things happens, you can simply return the car and walk away (after completing some paperwork depending on the damage). If you don't take their insurance and there is damage, you need to file a claim with your insurance and there is a lot of information the car rental outfit will want from you. They may place a damage charge on your credit card and it's your job to file that with your insurance company for reimbursement. That damage charge could be in the thousands if the damage is severe. This isn't unethical or unfair, they rented you a car in one condition and you are returning it in a damaged condition. Insurance is there for the unexpected. No one expects to have an accident. No one expects an uninsured driver with no driver's license to run into their rental car but it happens. If it does, are you sure your auto policy covers that or do they just cover your liability if you cause an accident in a rental car? If you choose to self insure using credit cards and personal auto insurance make sure you understand the coverage you have and what exposure you might have in any possible accident or damage scenario. It's tempting to save $60 on rental car insurance but while sleeping in your hotel if the rental car is stolen and destroyed by a hit and run driver you may be thinking it was the best $60 you ever spent.

#modernluxury Enjoy your cruise!

Welcome to the message boards! You can find cabanas, bungalows and beach beds in the cruise planner, under shore excursions for the day in Labadee. There are overwater cabanas and regular cabanas at Nellie's beach. (Barefoot beach cabanas for suite guests do not always appear in the cruise planner). Pricing may vary and items that have sold out may not be displayed at all. Columbus cove beach bungalows should also appear in the list of excursions: Adrenaline beach beds and beach loungers also appear in the list: These screen shots were taken today during a sale for a cruise in December 2019.

Since I booked this cruise through a travel agent I had to request the cancellation letter through my travel agent. That email has come through. The STAR department is the group that travel agents use when they interact with Royal Caribbean. My next task was to submit this document to Allianz. I've discovered their online tool to access your claim is broken. You can try to find your claim using your policy number or claim number. Neither work. A call to customer service led to me receiving an email from them with different methods to submit supporting documents. We're sorry to hear that things didn't go as planned. So that we may expedite the processing of your claim, please complete and return the attached Preferred Payment Information form and the required documentation at your earliest convenience. For the fastest processing please upload the documentation on our website at the link below: Online: Upload the Preferred Payment Information form and documents and check the status of your claim. (Sorry, we can't accept shared files, such as Google Docs.) You can also choose one of these methods: Email: [email protected]. Please include your reference number in the subject line or the body of the email. Mail: Allianz Global Assistance, Attn: Claims Department, P.O. Box 72031, Richmond, VA 23255-2031. Please include your reference number on all documents Fax: (804) 673-1469. Please include your reference number on all documents. Once we receive the completed form and documentation, please allow 5–7 business days for review. As a reminder, here is a list of all your benefits and maximum coverage limits—you can find detailed descriptions in your Certificate of Insurance/Policy. Benefit* Limit Baggage Coverage $2,000.00 Baggage Delay Coverage $2,000.00 Emergency Medical and Dental $50,000.00 Rental Car Damage and Theft Coverage $45,000.00 Trip Cancellation Protection $2,000.00 Travel Delay $1,500.00 Trip Interruption Protection $2,000.00 Travel Accident Coverage $50,000.00 Emergency Transportation $500,000.00 Thank you for choosing Allianz Global Assistance, and please contact our Customer Support Team if you have any questions. We're here for you anytime, anywhere. Sincerely, Claims Department Allianz Global Assistance Since the upload method is broken (can't find my claim) I emailed the letter from Royal Caribbean and a copy of my credit card charge showing that I had in fact paid for this cruise using a credit card. I did receive automated responses to indicate documents were received. I received a text message and an email. The text message response was good because my phone number is unique to my policy and confirms both documents were associated with my claim, otherwise their would be no way for the system to send me a text message. The response indicated to wait 7 - 10 business days for a claims examiner to review the documents.

So very sorry to hear this. Document - everything. Screen shots, emails, keep a log of your phone calls and names. I hope you can find an alternate flight.

Navigator used the username and PIN newer Voom pages in March but I bought Voom on board so didn't question the lack of a code. It makes sense that the system can be aware that you have a Voom plan based on your cabin number. One less piece of paper to distribute.

Are those the same vocal opponents to any expansion of the cruise terminal in Charleston?

Typically no. You can check past cruise compass from previous guests here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass They list the open hours for each dining venue

Welcome to the message boards! That's interesting feedback because there is a Royal FAQ that specifically states otherwise.

It happens. One time my step daughter got caught in the UK when British Airways had a computer meltdown. She missed our cruise, I sailed alone.