twangster

Suggest you call Royal and inquire directly with them.  

Well if it's on FB it must be true.

When I saw his post I was SMH.  Must be a slow case week for him.  Clearly it's the cruise line's fault for placing itself in the jets path.  

When I saw his post I was SMH.  Must be a slow case week for him.  Clearly it's the cruise line's fault for placing itself in the jets path.  

No matter how many pictures I take, I can never do it justice. To experience Alaska you have to sail to Alaska. 
Now you can see why I love Alaska cruising so much.    :) 

Heck if I'm going all that way, might as well make it a B2B.  

Voyager class (Mariner) is a favorite of mine.  Perfect size.  AMPED ships are even better.
I've done Carnival 3 night from California and it was a party crowd.  People passing out before muster.  Mariner and/or Navigator when I did them this past year were nothing like that.  The weekend 3 night cruises definitely have an energy to them and more of a festive culture but not a drunk college cruise although it was pretty lively late in the evenings on some nights.  

I live near a base and certain military jets are ear splitting even at normal altitudes for approach and landing.   
I've also seen military jets perform low passes near ships.  Not the altitude described above but even 1000' off the surface these planes can sound like they are coming into your cabin.  

Terminal employees are not Royal employees.  They work for a company called InterCruise.  It sounds like they had a bunch of newbies working today.   

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

Royal Platinum cruises will be provided Captain Club "Select" benefits when sailing Celebrity.
https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits

I bring my mask, snorkel and fins.  
When I cruise with my dive buddy, between the two of us that is a good part of a 3rd suitcase.  When I dive and cruise alone I scale back my formal wear to contain everything including my mask, fins and snorkel in one suitcase.  That doesn't include BC, regulator or anything else.
I'm okay renting BC and regulator.  Mask is personal in terms of fit.  Find a good one and bring it.  Same with fins IMO, I've seen meh fins when renting.
I've thought about stepping up and buying more gear.  I did so when I was young and diving in my teens.  Life and kids sidelined my sport for a while and when I got back into it all my gear was so out of date it wasn't worth trying to use it in modern times.  In that sense I wasted money on a BC although in the early days of BC's mine was a good one and a lot better than rentals 30 years ago.  Now in modern times lately, I've enjoyed better BC's in rental then I might buy and travel with.  Not always and it varies from island to island but generally speaking...
My advice - bring mask, fins and snorkel.  Great for snorkeling if some days allow it.  Go with rental BC and regulator for now.  If you really embrace it and dive often, buy your own gear.  If not, live with rental BC and regulator.  
Sometimes excursions are offered with gear and without.  You would have to book 6 or more dives per year to cover the cost of "with gear" versus "without gear" excursions for at least 3 or 4 years to break even.  

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

You going to lay it on the kids all at once or surprise them with Disney at the end of the cruise?
"Okay kids get in the rental car, we have a very long drive home".
  "I think I'm lost, we ended up at.... DISNEY WORLD!!!!!".
LOL

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

Fully operational except for the Helium balloon.  They had to drain all the helium off and store the entire rig.  I suspect they may be holding off for the end of hurricane season to re-assemble it but that is speculation on my part.    

Truth is none of us here know.  Do you think their IT and website are the best?  This could be a flaky system making them appear unavailable until the cleaning lady plugs the server under that guy's desk back in.  

Why not just use wifi calling?  No fees, no roaming.  No teaching someone at home about a new app and how to use it.  I could never train my elderly parents on an app like that, I just call them and their phone rings with my caller id.  Easy peazy.  

Why not just use wifi calling?  No fees, no roaming.  No teaching someone at home about a new app and how to use it.  I could never train my elderly parents on an app like that, I just call them and their phone rings with my caller id.  Easy peazy.  

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

No matter how many pictures I take, I can never do it justice. To experience Alaska you have to sail to Alaska. 
Now you can see why I love Alaska cruising so much.    :) 

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.

I saw a listing on monster.com.  "Odyssey Captain Required, salary TBD"  
Just kidding.
With four Quantum class ships they have eight Captains now since all Captains work on a rotational basis.  Typically the same two Captains will stay with a ship for several years taking turns while the other is on vacation.  I've heard they rotate every few months, two on, two off sort of thing.  The Captains stay in touch by email letting each other know of note worthy events and/or maintenance conditions.    
At the same time there are Staff Captains that do something similar.  They may move more between ships so they are exposed to different Captains and expand their knowledge in this fashion.  They are fully capable of being Captain, but each ship has only one Master of the vessel at any given moment.  
Every ship in the fleet works on this basis.  At some point a Staff Captain may be ready to become a Master.  They likely would not take a Staff Captain who has never served on a Quantum class ship to be the first Odyssey captain.  They'll likely take an experienced Quantum class Captain for Odyssey and backfill the vacancy on their old Quantum class ship.  It doesn't have to be this way, they could take any of their Captains and move them to Odyssey.   A Voyager Captain could be picked, an Oasis Captain could be picked.  If that Captain has worked through a build process on another ship that experience works in their favor.
The Captain and a Staff Captain will join the ship long before it is handed over to Royal however their position isn't official.  The ship yard has it's own Captains who will be on board for sea trials and fulfil the role of Master until the ship is handed over because until it's handed over, the ship doesn't belong to Royal.    Royal's own Captains will be on board but in an observation role.  Despite that they all tend to get along and be included in meetings and operations.  
Looking beyond the bridge as the ship becomes an actual ship and is ready for crew to live on board Royal will begin to assemble the "float out crew" for Odyssey.  They tend to pick experienced crew for all positions, from chef's to bar managers to waiters to hotel directors the entire crew will need to be selected.  Several of the Symphony crew I talked to on the transatlantic have been chosen to be the float out crew for several Oasis class ships.   They knew the drill, they've done it before, this is how a ship can launch and be so ready on the very first cruise. 
At some point as the ship is nearing completion the float out crew or many of them will start living on the ship.  The bridge crew may have been for months now.  They have had cabin attendants and meals served on board for a while.  In this manner the ship itself is tested albeit not for the thousands it will eventually serve.  At the moment of handover the crew is in place and ready to go, all experienced and hand picked from across the fleet. 
In conclusion they don't crew the ship with newbies off the street.  They tend to staff positions from across the fleet drawing on more senior or repeat contract employees who already know their jobs and the Royal way of doing things.  The vacancy they create on their old ship will see people move up within the ranks based on individual merit to do so.  It works this way for bridge crews as it does for the customer facing hotel positions.