Allen2

Well worth purchasing stock. Over the years, we have garnered several thousand dollars of shipboard credit. There are some "hoops" to jump through: i.e.: proof of stock ownership faxed, e-mailed, or mailed to Royal Caribbean. Credit based on length of cruise.

Become a RCL shareholder and your thinking about savings changes. Plus shareholder cruise benefits are terrific!

Taxis are easy, reliable, and available. If you wish, you driver will stay with you for the return trip. Also the island tours by taxi are decent.

Room service for your breakfast is an easy option

Look at Parkway Parking...shuttle vans to/from the ship at a very reasonable rate

If you have frequent flyer miles, international flights often are a relative bargain.

Very easy to throw a pair of shorts into the luggage - and then you will be ready for what your personal temperature tolerances tell you is best!

We have several sets of packing cubes ( all Amazon ) but have starting using a better system: Jumbo slider seal zip lock bags. These are rated 2 1/2 gallon , and measure 14 1/2 by 16 inches. Inexpensive. Easy to bring spares. Pack by category and all visible. To compress, just sit or lean on them and zip up. If bag breaks, replace! Can pack by day, various trip segments, weather, clothing type, dirty clothes. Used on multiple trips with weather varying from 90 degrees plus to below freezing, and all in one under 50 pound suitcase. Very easy to partially unpack when traveling pre- or post-cruise. We also take plastic clothes pins for overnight laundry; these go in a quart zip-lock bag.

Ran across an old souvenir cup, listing ships: Song of Norway, Nordic Prince, Sun Viking, Song of America, Sovereign of the Seas, Viking Serenade, Nordic Empress, Monarch of the Seas, and Majesty of the Seas. Great memories from most of these ships. Any stories from the "past"? We started cruising while sharing my best friend's honeymoon!

8:30! Too many possible delays: ship, customs/immigration, TSA, traffic. We had a three-hour customs wait in Tampa.

Just our "take" on hurricanes: we were on a ship that suffered through serious fringes of a hurricane, and things got very dicey. Hurricanes also cause ships to skip scheduled ports. Our plans now include not sailing during hurricane season - OR - traveling outside of the hurricane zone. Think Europe, Alaska, riverboats and so forth.

We are on three spring B2B cruises in the South Pacific - a South Pacific Cruise, a Transpacific Cruise, and Hawaii to Vancouver. Am having trouble finding answers to a couple of visa questions, including no help at all from RCL. We know that Australia and New Zealand (starting in October) both require electronic visas (ETAs), but are having trouble finding out about New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Loyalty Islands, and several French Polynesia stops. Do the other ports require visas, or does a ship's blanket visa cover us? Or no visa required for US citizens? Also, any comments about tours on the small islands would be GREATLY appreciated! And, has anyone purchased non-RCL tours, such as those offered by Cruise Excursions and others? If so, what kind of results and comments? Thanks in advance for any help!

Would consider length! We did 54 days/17 countries including some countries that one would now not dare to go to. It is easy to keep in touch, and electronic bill pay helps. The biggie is your home/apartment. If apartment dweller, perhaps could put furniture in storage and have about 3/4 of a year with no rent, insurance, utilities to help offset cost. Did meet someone who said living on ship competitive with high-end assisted living facility.

Love it! Please forward to RCL' home office!!!!

Twangster - THANKS for the "heads up" on today's sale...not a lot, but saved $18 on three dive trips!