twangster

I'd love to see it happen and it makes sense. What else is Royal going to do with a fifth OA class ship coming soon? Many of Liberty's ports of call are already OA class destinations. However these rumors have circulated for a while. The local squabbling over this concept was left out of the article. If I recall the City and the Port Board are often at odds with each other with a lot of small town politics in play. Now it seems Royal will just lease the land and pay for the terminal. It would be interesting to hear what Royal has to say about that. This outcome is likely attributed to the animosity between the City and the Port. With the debt issues out of the way, what other means will the City use to block it?

Oops. My bad.

Try booking it in the cruise planner for exact pricing. This is one of those "Prices Starting FROM" items. For several of my upcoming cruises there are no $89 time slots left on any day. Pricing varies from $99, $119 or $129 regardless if it is a sea day or port day. Although I did find boarding day prices of $79 on one cruise.

This is exactly my game plan for Juneau this time - a day at Mendenhall by taxi. I might also do the Mt Robert's tramway but that will depend on weather that day. It's usually the same price locally as it is booked as an excursion and it's right where the ships dock.

That's kind of like asking "how much is a car?". It depends. Pricing per day varies based on traditional economics. During times of high demand, price is higher. During times of lower demand, pricing is lower. For example, when school is out of session and families tend to take vacations, prices are often higher because there is more demand. The 'shoulder season' for any market tends to be cheaper. An itinerary that looks very appealing will be a higher price compared to an itinerary that isn't as appealing. What type of cabin are you considering? A ship like Ovation has more balcony cabins and sometimes balconies are more affordable (on a relative basis). She also has a handful of solo cabins for people cruising alone and everything in between. Then there are suites including some that are two levels. Generally speaking cruises are the least expensive when they are first made available for booking. Waiting to book later can often be more costly. Each port charges fees and taxes which each guest must pay. A port intensive sailing will have higher port fees and taxes. A 12 night cruise with more sea days will likely have lower port fees and taxes. Combine all of these factors and it's very difficult to produce a meaningful 'average' cost per night even just looking at 12 night sailings.

Sometimes the cruise compass from past guests includes mention of spa discounts on port days: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=274

In your case originally both Enchantment and Grandeur were set to share CocoCay on January 29, 2019. In this case Grandeur was diverted to Grand Bahamas. I have not visited Grand Bahamas and would have preferred a change to Grand Bahamas over Miami primarily for that reason. I don't think Grand Bahamas can accommodate larger or mega ships so it doesn't have the exposure that other ports like Nassau does. It was popular for short weekend getaways from Florida but in 2016 it did get some damage from storms. Some of the hotels used to service the weekend Florida crowds haven't been fully restored but that doesn't impact cruise ships visits directly. I'd like to visit one day, until then hopefully someone else can comment on Grand Bahamas.

This Royal excursion offered for Hubbard looks interesting so I've booked it. I assume they pick up from the ship like a tender boat does. $269 so not cheap, but it is on sale this weekend for $242. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=HG03&DestinationCode=ALCAN I did this identical Radiance itinerary on Celebrity last year. This excursion was NOT offered, I just looked at the excursion book I kept from last year. Here is a timelapse of Hubbard from the Celebrity Millennium last year: A cruise ship will be restricted from going closer than 1 nautical mile from the glacier. The massive current a large ship can create would cause large sections of the glacier to calve so ships are kept at a safe distance. Excursion boats like the one above can approach much closer. You'll also be much closer to the water and dodging the massive chunks of glacier floating by. They must pick you up straight from the ship which makes this excursion really cool (literally, the water will be cold so I'll dress warmly). I'm really excited about this excursion and hope it isn't foggy or we have to skip Hubbard for some other reason. Plus it's a three hour tour on the Minnow. What could go wrong?

With Spectrum entering the China market in the spring that freed up Ovation to leave the region as well, at least for the Alaska season. If Spectrum wasn't available they likely would have repeated something similar to the 2018 Alaska season in 2019. Looks like Explorer is moving to Miami after it's summer in Southampton. Ovation brings another twist to Alaska. Since Ovation has so many balconies it bucks the trend in Alaska where you usually see distinct price jumps interior -> ocean view -> balcony. Historically balconies have been two to three times interior, now they are separated by a few hundred. On one Ovation sailing my C&A balcony discount made a balcony cheaper than ocean view to Alaska and that has never happened in the past. When I shopped rates for the Explorer Alaska Group Cruise my C&A discount hardly had any impact. Now on Ovation to Alaska the gap is small enough I'd pay the delta to have a balcony: Looking back at my MEI quotes for a balcony on Explorer it was $4,300 for two, non-refundable. Interior was roughly half that. So from I'm seeing on Ovation to Alaska, the cheap interior rates are absent but balconies are more affordable. Suites are looking cheaper as well. I've booked a JS for three on Ovation for what a JS for two was priced on Explorer. All adults >21, no Kids Sail Free. Radiance for the same week as Ovation next year above displays the traditional Alaska price trends I'm used to seeing. Cheaper interior rates but more expensive balcony rates. I think that falls into the personal preferences category. I think it offers more for kids and teens which helps to displace them and keep them out of adult areas. The SeaPlex being multi-use works well towards this end. All day bumper cars every day would get old and a waste of space after a few days although lines wouldn't be as long. I rarely saw the SeaPlex empty so it's serving it purpose in terms of real estate consumed on a ship. With 3 Quantum class sailings under my belt I've never had an issue securing reservations. They do need to get rid of the kiosks in the middle of the Esplanade to reduce choke points. They really hamper traffic flow in this area. I love the sea views in Two70°. For people who aren't sun worshipers it's a nice venue to use on sea days. As much as I love Oasis class (which got me hooked on Royal), access to see the ocean is an issue. They are great ships but you do become disconnected from the sea. No indoor bar or lounge where you can sit and see the ocean while having an afternoon drink. Two70° is great for that purpose. In the end it becomes what works best for each individual and I think that Royal having Quantum class in the portfolio is great for that exact reason. No one ship design is best for all cruisers.

Likely because NCL debuted the Bliss in Alaska this year. They can't let NCL grow to 'own' Alaska cruising or promote it as "the only cruise line with a modern ship in Alaska".

All ships usually offer self-assist. They go first, followed by the scheduled and timed guests. On the last day of the cruise your cabin attendant will place a letter in your cabin with luggage tags based on your C&A status and cabin location. Self assist do not use those tags. With self assist you keep all your luggage and carry it off yourself. Keep this in mind when packing. If you are a family of 4 with small children and 14 suitcases it would be hard to use self assist.

Debarking begins when US customs allows it. That being said it is usually within a few minutes of the stated arrival time. 11:55am is very doable if you arrange your own transportation from the port to the airport and you use self-assist debarkation where you carry all your own bags. If you use the regular debarking process and place your luggage outside of your cabin the night before then you might be pushing your luck depending on what number you get for your luggage. This will dictate the time your bags will be ready in the terminal which dictates when you leave. If your time is 9am and by that point there is an hour wait for customs you find yourself at the airport after the luggage cut of times for your flight. On the transfer offered by Royal you wait until the bus is full which can add to the time consumed getting to the airport.

In the terminal do you recall seeing various queues for different C&A levels? Was there a separate entrance for suites? Very much of a waiting area once checked in? It's not that important, just trying to discern any differences how Southampton is operated.

Typically, no. However each ship can vary slightly. During evening drink hours I'll often ask for a drink such as a glass of wine and a bottle of water. The water I'll take back to my cabin. Sometimes I ask for two bottles of water. Doing so before dinner then after dinner each evening and it doesn't take long to stock your cabin with a number of water bottles.

Indeed DX on your SeaPass card is for the drink package. Happy cruising!

During evening happy hour make sure to ask for bottled water that you can use to stock up in your cabin. Then you can take those with you on excursions and such.

Bring your yeti but at the filling stations you can't fill them directly. Use one of their glasses and dump that into your cup. The idea is to avoid transferring your germs onto the machines. Also bring some dish soap to wash it occasionally.

The graph depicted here is simply a comparison of rates over the year for the same cruise on different sailing dates. For example, an interior cabin for a cruise in early December is going to be cheaper compared to the identical cruise on the same ship if the sail date is over the Christmas holiday or New Years, regardless when you book it. In other words, when you sail versus when you book. I suppose my choice of words for the title wasn't ideal.

I haven't been on Radiance yet but that will change in 49 days when I do an Alaskan Southbound on her. I'll have access to the CL (Concierge Lounge) so I can provide better feedback assuming it remains the same year to year after my cruise. I'll probably live blog here so stay tuned. Typically the CL will have some light snacks at times of the day but limited beverages compared to 'happy hour' (4:30 to 8pm). Depending on timing the Windjammer might be a better venue to snack between excursions. That's what I did on Explorer a few weeks ago. The CL on Explorer (which was just down the hall for me) didn't have a lot going on during the day. Some cookies, cheese and crackers at times, continental breakfast fare in the morning but it was pretty empty during the day. Room service may be an option to think about but it can take 30 minutes or so for delivery. If I'm not mistaken, the room service fee is waived for GS on Radiance.

Looks great and looking forward to following along. Enjoy your cruise!

While Puerto Rico is a US territory there is a law banning the import of agricultural items to the US. Companies that import agricultural items on a commercial basis have an established process to do so. This process is for the average person flying to the US on an airline. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/sa_international/sa_travel International arrivals to any US mainland airport are handled on an international basis. Luggage is scanned and all person must meet US customs officials who ask questions like "Bringing any fruit?". Since PR is a US Territory planes landing in the US mainland which departed from Puerto Rico are treated like a domestic arrival and are not handled like international flights are. While it is a US Territory PR is very different from an agriculture perspective and there is a desire to protect the US mainland from potential threats in this very different 'foreign' eco-system just like other foreign regions. Consequently all luggage is scanned in Puerto Rico looking for agricultural items that individuals may have placed inside their luggage. Those mangos you picked on the roadside are not allowed to be brought to the US mainland. It's done in PR so that it doesn't have to be done upon arriving in the US mainland. If you proceed directly to the airline check in counter in San Juan they won't allow you to check your luggage if it hasn't been screened at the agricultural inspection station.

Voom Surf and Stream for $11.99 on Symphony. Haven't seen it that cheap again. Best I've seen the deluxe drink package this year is $42. Last year I saw it cheaper than that but keeping this to 2018 deals since many things have increased from the past. One thing I've observed is that often US Thanksgiving has some good sales but not for every sailing. You really need to look often, buy low and keep monitoring extras. If they drop even lower, refund and repurchase. Waiting and hoping for a cheaper price without ever buying it usually leads to disappointment.

On St. Thomas you can take a taxi to Mountain Top for some amazing views and souvenir shopping. Many people rave about their Banana Daiquiris which can be non-alcoholic on a hot day. There are a couple of scenic overlooks you can ask any driver to take you to. Drake's Seat for views of Magens Bay for example. Close by is an overlook for amazing views of the harbor. A visit to Blackbeard's Castle if they have re-opened by the time of your visit is an option. They received some roof damage during the 2017 hurricane season and are working towards recovery.

While clearly not the case in the original photo of this post, one challenge is that people will place towels on a lounger and then jump in a pool or hot tub. On a hot day floating in the pool for a while is quite normal. This isn't meant to defend the chair hogs of the world. Clearly dropping towels at 7am or when pools aren't even open yet is not an example of someone who is actively using the pool deck while also consuming a lounger. It's easy to just say "Royal should do X" but Royal isn't in the business of alienating guests and aggressively enforcing the rules will likely catch some innocent people in that net. Royal publishes many rules for guests to follow on board and they hope guests will follow them. This isn't the only example of guests ignoring the rules at the expense of those guests that do. Unsupervised children who are misbehaving is another rule breaking item that irritates me. Well behaved children are always welcome. At the end of the day we all have to get along onboard and be aware of our impact to other guests in the actions we take. Like in all things in life, some people are more considerate than others. Just ask anyone who commutes the same drive everyday.

I saw this mentioned somewhere so I looked into it. It appears the reason why Vision is dropping CocoCay is because they double booked Enchantment and Vision to both visit CocoCay on the same day for the impacted itineraries. Enchantment is still going to CocoCay on these dates that Vision was supposed to. I've mapped out the itineraries of both ships for the months involved and in all cases Enchantment is still going. Vision's 1/26/19 itinerary has always varied in that it was reversed with Key West first and CocoCay last. Because this sailing is unique it doesn't overlap with Enchantment. For this reason this one sailing is not impacted by the changes and CocoCay remains listed on this itinerary. It's interesting they are blaming construction delays. Perhaps the full pier won't be ready until the summer of 2019 and two ships can't berth. The combined population of both ships roughly matches Anthem. Anthem is still visiting in these months so its unlikely a capacity issue on the island itself. I can only assume they must have projected that two ships could berth on these dates but now that is no longer the case. Maybe that will will never be the case and they have scrapped any notion of two small ships visiting CocoCay at the same time. One could question why did Enchantment win over Vision? I can only assume since Enchantment is coming from a Florida home port they couldn't market an itinerary that included another Florida port of call. Vision is home ported in New Orleans at the time so updating her itineraries to include another Florida port of call is more palatable or more marketable as they look to continue selling the ship.