twangster

In some cases Air2Sea is cheaper (or very close) in other cases it isn't. I know it's hard since many of us book cruises far in the future but for airfare the airlines hedge on fuel prices and keep prices high until they have a better idea as time gets closer so I've generally found cheaper airfare 2-4 months away. For the LCC's (low cost carrier) like Southwest that isn't always the case though.

My new favorite lens for my Sony A7 III is a 24 - 105mm medium zoom lens. Since the A7 III is a full frame camera, the equivalent APS-C or crop camera lens would be 16 - 70mm which probably is not actually available in that exact zoom range. When I had an APS-C crop camera my general purpose "if I can only carry one lens today" choice was an 18 - 200mm. If I was going on a cruise in Europe and taking pictures in churches where you can't use a flash, the Tokina 11-16 is probably what I would use a lot if shooting with a crop body. On my full frame A7 I would be using my 12 - 24mm on church tours. For a ship, where cabins are small and there are some tight spaces, for crop cameras the Tokina 11-16 Pro DXII f2.8 is a great aspherical wide angle lens. Aspherical means it doesn't have a fisheye like distortion. The f2.8 is good in lower light scenarios. A fisheye lens is a great lens to have in the camera bag but there are times when I prefer a picture without the fisheye effect. Most of my recent Alaska pictures were shot using my 24 - 105mm lens. For landscape photography the 24mm wide angle end of this lens sometimes isn't enough for me so I cheat and take 3 or 4 vertical photos and stitch them together into a wider angle picture later using software on a PC. Here is an example of a photo where I wanted something wider than 24mm but it had been raining and I wasn't going to change lens so I stitched together four vertical photos later in Lightroom: In Studio B for the blog skating event I used my 12 - 24mm The two next photos are at 24mm which on a crop camera could be taken with a 16mm lens like the Tokina 11-16mm.

The "20 % off" banners are generic in my experience. When ever sale events have occurred I've never seen a "26% off" banner, just the same 20% banner. At least one excursion has dropped in price for me. So has Voom on several close in cruises. Looks like a pretty decent sale event.

No not really. I just though I dash the hopes of those eyeing the Icon class ships with something on the other end of the scale. I sale Empress at month's end and I am looking forward to it. I should get a glass block on her which I planned deliberately.

I heard they are moving Empress to Bayonne in 2020. ?

With the latest July 4th sale underway naturally I was curious if any of my previously made purchases had dropped in price. Sure enough, one of my excursion is now on sale. You have the option to call Royal Caribbean to obtain the lower price or you can do it yourself online. Here is a guide showing how I just saved myself $29 using the online approach. While this is an example for a shore excursion, it works the same way for other Cruise Planner purchases such as Voom or Beverage Packages. For my cruise I visited the Cruise Planner and found my previous purchases. They are pretty obvious, it tells you that you purchased this item before: In order to see how much I previously paid, I went to the top of the page and found the "Order History" link. Clicking on this provides a complete list of any previous Cruise Planner orders (including free one such as My Time Dining). To see the details for an individual purchase click the "View Order Details" link: Look at that, I paid $289. Now it is on sale for $260! To cancel my purchase so I could re-purchase it at the lower sale price, I clicked on the "Cancel" link This brings up the next part of the cancellation process. Since I do want to save $29 I clicked "Yes". To make sure I really want to cancel it, it presents a review screen giving me the option to not cancel or to proceed. I clicked the "Confirm Changes" button. It then confirmed my original order was cancelled and how my refund would be made. (If I had used on-board credit for this purchase the refund would be returned in the form of on-board credit. ) Now I am free to re-purchase the excursion at the sale price. From here you purchase it again as if you had never purchased it before. Clicking the Next button steps you through the normal Cruise Planner purchase process. While it will take a few days for the credit card refund to process, I just saved $29 in a matter of minutes. One word of warning for excursions offered at multiple times. It is possible when an excursion is offered more than once that your original time slot may no longer be available. For example a snorkeling excursion might be offered at 10am, 11am and 12 noon. If you currently hold a 10am booking and you see there 10am is not currently available, don't assume that cancelling your order will immediately make the same time slot available for re-purchase. If you really desire to keep your original time slot you are best to call Royal Caribbean to have them re-price it.

I just thought of another time I engaged my TA mid-cruise. I had a deal that provided two specialty dinners. Normally only one is offered on any given cruise. On Allure they were refusing to recognize both dining certificates. I emailed my TA (yay Voom!), went off to have another drink and see the aqua theater show. An hour later it was resolved and I got both my specialty dinners. She contacted the ship and pointed out the error of their ways. Again, I'm not sure what or how I could prove to them they were wrong.

I'm not sure a TA is ever out of the picture. Approximately 3 days before sailing the cruise planner is locked and the passenger manifest is closed so that it can be be submitted to the appropriate governments, but even that point should an emergency arise and you needed help, a TA may still be a valuable resource as opposed to calling them directly. Well after a cruise I wasn't getting my C&A points. Royal said I didn't sail, like I had cancelled. A simple call to my TA solved it. She had all the right codes and used the right terminology to fight my battle on my behalf. Somehow the reservation number became changed in the Royal system but she pointed out the error of their ways and I got my points. I can't imagine what I would have had to do to prove to them their system was wrong.

Kosher foods to toilet mechanicals. Hmmm. The system is vacuum based. While in a home on land gravity works (usually) on a ship there may be lateral (horizontal) lines and you can't guarantee on a ship that may rock, lean or tilt that gravity can get stuff where it needs to go all the time.

Yeah, first for me too. But it was a 2018 experience so it shows how things change over time. My agent was pretty shocked as well. Maybe because I was solo? Not sure.

Matt says: "Please no. The servers can't take it".

Mid level zooms are my favorite "walking around" lens.

There is a difference between upgrading to a different cabin type and simply asking for a lower price for the same cabin. That includes when the upgraded cabin is a lower price. Suites also makes a difference. Sometimes they will let you upgrade after final payment and sometimes they won't. In January on Anthem I was willing to pay more to move from a balcony to a JS. They said no. Like all things in life, YMMV.

No diamond dining area. The diamond club has finger foods during the nightly happy hour. Some nights on Anthem they had wings in the DL and that became dinner.

Where they were was not a transit area. Note dad's response was not "it's okay, we're just passing through".

Everything except RCI themselves stating it has pointed to Anthem moving to the UK. Anything can change though, until RCI makes it official.

On Anthem in the solarium I saw a child around 10 yo say to their father: "Dad, am I suppose to be in here? it says over 16". Dad replied "Shhh, keep walking". Some people don't think rules apply to them on a cruise. Case in point - chair hogs.

I'm betting they won't make major changes for a seasonal shift from May to September but that is speculation on my part. Installing a Broadway show is a major effort. It takes weeks just to get the set installed. They are custom made for each ship. The ship is only in US waters for 5 months.

I'm assuming Oasis class since you mentioned the aqua theater. I was in 6654 and loved being on deck 6. So very convenient to everything except Windjammer and Pools. I really like the location, heard no noise and smelled no restaurants. If you can offer a cabin number in the general vicinity we might be able to provide more feedback.

I first saw this a couple months ago. Makes sense. I've done jet skis and zip line at Labadee purchased individually so having them bundled works. They've likely watched common purchases and created bundles to entice more folks to do more (and spend more).

I'm betting on increased demand. That has always been the most significant factor in cruise-to-cruise price variations over the years. I often cruise off-peak for that reason. Consistently there are a few weeks every year that are the same cruise as a month later but significantly less in price - lower demand. Airlines do this too. If a team or group of people book 10% of the plane suddenly all prices go up for that flight. It's mostly automated rather than human beings checking each cruise and adjusting prices manually.

As a frequent MTD diner, prepaid gratuity is NOT currently required. I know it still states that it is in places but it has never been actually charged since 2016. Lately I've started adding prepaid gratuity but that is my choice and it requires that I tell my travel agent to do so. She them manually adds them. By default you are not charged prepaid gratuity.

2019 prices are up for a number of things including Voom. I think its a safety measure. Price them high for now and as it gets closer see how it plays out then adjust accordingly. There will be sales between now and Feb. 2019 so lots of opportunity to best those prices for those that know how the game works.

On the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise last week, some blog readers were in a panoramic ocean view suite. They stated it was Junior Suite benefits. Junior Suites are not Gold Card suites. That starts at Grand Suite and above. Double points - Yes. Access to Suite Lounge or Concierge Lounge - No.

As I understand the 3 free diamond happy hour drinks loaded on your SeaPass card was an effort to deal with DL over-crowding. I use it for that purpose. Instead of visiting the DL at 4:30pm when I know it will be jam packed, I visit a bar I know participates in diamond happy hour at 4:30pm and use one of my three free drinks loaded on my SeaPass card. At this point the DL doesn't swipe your card for each drink. The DL concierge will usually ask to see everyone's card upon entering the DL to ensure they are diamond or above but once inside your SeaPass card isn't used. They did run a trial on one ship where they asked for your SeaPass card in the DL for each drink. Lots of speculation as to why but never heard a definitive reason. As far as the 3 free diamond happy hour drinks loaded on your SeaPass card - if the hours on your ship for the happy hour are 4:30pm to 8pm and you visit a bar at 4:29pm, no free drink because happy hour hasn't started. If you visit at 4:31pm, happy hour is on and free drink #1 is available to you, but only from the happy hour menu. Bars can be busy so I tend to visit them by 7:45pm to make sure my drink is obtained before 8pm. If you show up at 7:59pm and have to wait a few minutes to get served, you might end up falling outside of happy hour by the time a bartender gets around to you. A "rum and coke" during happy hour will be a Barcardi and Coke. If you want a Kraken and Coke, that is NOT included in the happy hour menu above so you must pay for it. A happy hour vodka and tonic will be a New Amsterdam Vodka and tonic. A Grey Goose Vodka and tonic is not included in the happy hour menu. A Cabernet or Merlot will be the house table wine they offer. If you want a specific Cabernet or Merlot, that is not included and you must pay for that drink normally. Frozen drinks are NOT included in happy hour. Almost any drink that uses something from the diamond happy hour menu is available. A vodka martini, a vodka and tonic, a bloody mary, etc is available but it will use New Amsterdam vodka. On most ships with a Vintages they participate in diamond happy hour but you'll get the same table wine you would get in the DL. Serenade was an exception. Vintages on Serenade did NOT participate in happy hour. The MDR and specialty dining typically does NOT participate in diamond happy hour but that too varies by ship. On Anthem, Jamie's uses Vintages as their bar. Since Vintages on Anthem participates in happy hour, so did Jamies. On Serenade, the diamond concierge letter specifically stated the MDR DOES participate in diamond happy hour to make up the fact that Vintages does not. The Champagne Bar sometimes does NOT participate. Bionic bars do NOT participate. Pool bars, pubs, Schooner Bars, R Bars and Boleros typically do participate. Until Serenade, Vintages in my experience has participated but still for the same house wines and well drinks you get anywhere else. If you don't see the card pictured above on the bar top, best to ask "Can I get a diamond happy hour drink here?" before ordering.