twangster

Who knew bots could have baby bots?

On another cruise line in a past life I was doing traditional dining. Dinner conversation inevitably came around to diet, food and cruise weight gain. One woman proclaimed how she always loses 5-10 lbs. every time she cruises. After several drinks courtesy of the drink package in my head I prepared to speak the words: "You must love going on cruises then". The words that came out of my were: "You should go on more cruises then". Mic drop. Even as the words were flowing out of my mouth I knew it was bad but I couldn't stop myself from finishing the sentence. Dinner wasn't the same for the rest of the cruise. I swear I didn't mean to offend her.

Cough, cough, cough... do you have a fever brewing for next week?

If you get a Sunpass transponder and plan to use it a rental car, there is a section in your Sunpass account where you can add a car including the start and end date of the rental with the license plate of the rental. In some cases the transponder doesn't always trigger and when that happens they revert to license plate. By adding your rental before you depart from the rental lot you can save yourself major expense because the car rental company adds a significant uplift to license plate tolls if it bills to them. This happened twice on two different rentals in FL recently and I so glad I had taken the time to add my rental car to my Sunpass account.

"I've got no more PTO this year" "I can't go on any more cruises this year because no more PTO" "Wedding announced and I have no PTO" ... "Shakedown cruise? Did someone say shakedown cruise?"

Interior cabins on Grandeur and Vision, sisters to Rhapsody - luggage went under the bed

Lucky dog! Take me with you!

Technically the terms and conditions state that is a possibility but I've yet to see it. Carnival did when I last sailed them (with their Cheers! beverage program).

On the Abyss dry slides you can because you put your legs and lower body into a sack. Water slides they expect bare feet.

Are you referring to the Ultimate Abyss dry slides or the Perfect Storm water slides? I've done the Perfect Storm without a shirt several times. Ultimate Abyss I've done in short sleeves but they warn you to keep your elbows in.

When it comes to water slides those are becoming an expected feature. Royal being a family cruise line has to include water slides. Regardless of where a ship is based, the sun will do what the sun does. Maintenance of water slides would have been included in the financial projections of ongoing operational expenses just like applying new varnish to railings every two months or replacing the upholstery on the cushions used at the Sky Bar on any ship. Water slides are so important Harmony and Symphony were built with them. Every refresh since Adventure includes water slides. Celebrity can get away without them - not expected for the target market. For Royal the ongoing operational expenses of water slides would have been part of the project plan and budget that was approved.

Keep in mind the process of refreshing a ship starts a long time before they pull into the dry dock. Designing and planning the refreshment takes months. Presenting a design will eventually lead to a design being accepted and finalized. Money is budgeted. Coordinating materials and getting them delivered on time then stored at the shipyard is itself a huge undertaking. Planning the actual work takes incredible project management. To accomplish it all in a matter of days is an incredible undertaking. What we see occurring on Navigator started in someone’s head years ago. What we saw on Adenvrure started years before that. In planning and researching Adventure’s refreshment at some point it becomes set and fixed Dry dock space is secured Material is ordered At that point they can’t change it anymore, it’s been set in motion even though it won’t occur for a year later. However they continue to learn. Partners like the water slide manufactures present new ideas. Designers adapt. It’s Mariner’s turn and they take lessons learned from Adventure and proceed with new ideas even though like Adventure it takes a year before it will be implemented. Every reshresh goes through this life cycle. Indy’s turn and it is an evolution of past refreshments. When they start on Navigator’s design on paper at this moment in time the other ships haven’t even been completed yet but the design and planning phase for Navigator commences using the lessons learned and concepts that grew out of the past designs but couldn’t be implemented because at some point in those timelines for past refreshments they had to say enough, this is the design now start executing and ordering material. Months after Navigator’s design was presented and finalized, they begin to look towards the next ship’s design. It will use concepts and ideas learned over time and will likely include more evolution. The next ship after that will further evolve. Voyager will be amped in 2021 I think but someone right now is designing it on paper and soon or recently presenting the design for approval. Money will be budgeted based on cost projections and the project will commence long before 2021.

Aft balconies are pretty cool. Enjoy!

Ship happens.

Best answer right here: If you don't go that route and wait until you are onboard, visit Coastal Kitchen upon boarding and make them for the week on the spot, or call CK or the Suite Concierge from your cabin phone. A letter in your cabin should include the onboard phone number (only works onboard, can't call them from land).

Not usually, not without extenuating circumstances. In my experience with TA's and pricing or offers that look too good to be true - it usually is. TA OBC shows up after day 2 on board. What do you do when it doesn't show up? It's not Royal's fault, it isn't their OBC. Mass internet TAs advertise what appears to be an awesome overall package of rate plus OBC plus other things. The problem is what do you do when that stuff doesn't materialize in the middle of your cruise? Suddenly your stress vacation isn't so stress free. Not all internet mass TA's are like that. It's likely the bad ones that give them all a bad name. The problem is, how do you know?

CK is exclusive to Oasis and Quantum classes. In North America the smallest is Anthem right now, plus Ovation once Alaska 2019 season starts.

There is a part of me that wants to try one. However that part of me isn't big enough to keep me in this cabin, so I moved.

Watching the video, the camera person walks out onto the balcony with no apparent cover. That doesn't mean there isn't a 12" overhang but certainly not very much of one if any.

Plus the deck 12 Panoramic cabins look right down into these forward balconies.

I think this is my cabin in August. Not sure how I feel about these forward balconies.

Welcome to the message boards! While Navigator support was recently added to the app, I've noticed some weirdness. One day I can access my Navigator booking and then an hour later I can't. Right now I can. Try the regular things... uninstall app, reinstall app, log out, log in, etc.

Quantum class, Harmony and Symphony cards can not be punched because they are RFID cards. For now all other ship cards can be punched.

You don't have to supply pictures, they can take them at check in. Takes about 10 seconds.

Nice!