Mrs. RoyalMoyal

I really liked the poached lobster with champagne sauce! I had read nothing good about it but decided to try it, with the MDR lobster as a backup. I may be the only one, but I liked it better.
We've had all our meals in CK this week on Oasis and they have all been great. 

Princess has the fastest internet using the newer O3b satellite technology.   O3b is a satellite internet provider owned by SES.  It's often referred to as SES/O3b.
Royal's Oasis,  Quantum and Freedom class (plus Enchantment) also use O3b.  The difference is that Royal caps each user to 4Mb down and 2Mb up.  Princess doesn't impose a per user limit so you get what is available at that moment which is typically 10 to 15 times faster than Royal.  The technology and service provider is the same so it's a matter of speed.  Latency with O3b is typically 200-300ms.
Older Royal ships (pre-Freedom, except Enchantment) use the old legacy satellite technology with the same per user cap of 4Mb down and 2Mb up.  Latency on the older technology is typically 600-700ms.  
Carnival varies by ship.  All ships use the older legacy satellites but newer ships don't impose a per user limit.  The newer ships also leverage shore cellular when in select ports but only on the newer ships.  The older ships have abysmal performance (inc. Breeze and older) while the newer ships have a better experience but still pale compared to Princess and Royal's newer ships.
MSC uses the new O3b on newer ships including and since Meraviglia.  Older ships uses the legacy satellite technology from a European satellite internet provider.  MSC limits per users to roughly 6 Mb down and 3 Mb up.  Some MSC plans also have a total transfer cap and once you reach that you have to buy another plan.  It's 1.5GB IIRC.
NCL most plans still go back to the days of bucket of minutes and the need to logout or burn though your bucket of minutes very quickly.  That places them in their own miserable spot on the sea of ship internet.  In this case being in their own league is not a good thing.  
So in summary:
Princess has the fastest and best internet at sea MSC has the next fastest on the newer ships but with a possible total transfer cap.  Older ships are middle of the pack. Royal has the next best internet on newer ships.  Older ships fall back to having 2nd slowest internet at sea. Carnival has faster internet but higher latency on the newer ships rendering a 4th place finish behind Royal's newer ships.  Older ships are dead last in the internet speed race at sea.  They are more of a snail's internet pace.   NCL is on a different playing field.  A playing field covered in mud and hard to draw comparisons.  Having said all that satellite internet on all lines is impacted by rain fade and occasionally from being in a less desirable spot on the sea at times.  If the internet seems dreadfully bad it's possible the ship is passing through a heavy rain cloud.  You might not know this in the casino, or pub, or inside the ship somewhere so at times people declare the internet is terrible when really it's just that moment in time.
Alaska is so far North it's really hard for any ship to have good internet up there.

On our cruise last week, some of our regular Bar staff did not always log our drinks, also offered some bottled water after a few drinks, no charge. 
Some times happen, just not to be counted on.  Take care of your bar staff when enjoying your "Free" drinks

Yes, you can pay for one 24 hour period, so you can use it on two half-days if you wish. Make sure it's working before your zoom meeting, then you have access through the next day. for example 1 pm Tuesday through 1 pm Wednesday. If the WIFI is slow in your room, ask the staff for a recommendation as to a strong, quiet spot on the ship.

Yes, you can pay for one 24 hour period, so you can use it on two half-days if you wish. Make sure it's working before your zoom meeting, then you have access through the next day. for example 1 pm Tuesday through 1 pm Wednesday. If the WIFI is slow in your room, ask the staff for a recommendation as to a strong, quiet spot on the ship.

People watching.  Probably jealous as heck remembering the old days when they used to do something similar.  
Just be glad none of them became an Alpha, Alpha, Alpha from all the excitement.  
Seriously hope when I'm in my 80's I can people watch from the a Viking Crown Lounge, or whatever equivalent venue exists in a few decades after Icon class has been crushed in a yard somewhere.  

These pics were from the Odyssey (Nov 2021). I don’t see any analgesics. 
 

 

Maybe not a suite related comment…but regarding boarding issues…..
There are always things that can delay boarding which may cause a back-up at the terminal.
In October, I was on a back to back on the Oasis where we had to stand in a line in the customs/luggage hall for over an hour because US Public Health did a surprise inspection. They want the ship empty of passengers when they inspect. That caused a backlog in the terminal.  
Pre-pandemic, we’ve had boardings delayed because of surprise Coast Guard inspections. We watched as all the crew, wearing life jackets, had to man their evacuation stations. That took a few hours.
I’ve also experienced a delayed boarding because a couple partied too hardy on the last night and wouldn’t wake up to answer their phone or their door. Eventually security had to go in and wake them…and then wait while they packed…before they could get a zero count. Thanks a lot. 
And of course there are the usual late arrival issues when the ship is delayed due to weather, current or emergency situations. 
Bottom line…I always pack a hefty dose of patience for boarding day. 

Not exactly correct. Martinique (I believe) requires a passport for cruise passengers. (Cuba did as well, but that’s a moot point currently)

I'm just going to lock this thread because there's no connection to cruising other than pure speculation.
If/when a line change policies due to Omicron, feel free to start a thread. But we're not here to discuss Covid outside of the cruise industry.

I still struggle with nuances of the english language.  
Try going to a restaurant in Boston.  They'll ask you if want wada.

I'm glad this problem was much more PG rated than what the truncated thread title suggested
 

RCG water is actually really good.

My wife and I have always eaten in the MDR for breakfast on disembarkation day, and for both of our post-Covid cruises (Odyssey/Adventure) we got the freshly squeezed orange juice as Diamond drinks with breakfast. It really is better than regular OJ.

This would be great for specialty coffee drinkers (my wife qualifies, I do not).
For the rest of us, we can drown our sorrows at having our cruise end.
And for B2B cruisers, it's an opportunity to REALLY have a great day. Four (or more) before debarkation and four (or more) additional after re-boarding!

Its still salt water, not hard salt , just hyper saline and is passed out of the ship. The fresh remains inside a permeable membrane that allowed fresh to pass under about 900PSI. I have a small water maker n my boat and yes it is near rocket science. I only make 125 gallons a day and thats enough of a pain to frequently monitor the gauges in a hot engine room. The first 7 gallons we make goes back through the system to clean any remaining hyper saline remnants from last usage... 

RC literally redirects you to the Optum store. Same price as Optum direct.  
EMed only offered a 6 pack.  Buy in bulk on EMed for a discount if you like. However the 6 pack would be overkill for some.  Two people going on a cruise don’t need a 6 pack so they can use Optum for their needs. Optum only offers 2 & 3 packs at a higher per unit cost compared to EMed. That’s on Optum, not Royal. 
Truthfully, Royal had been providing free tests for consecutive cruisers and international travelers on US home port sailings.  They are not and have not tried to turn testing into a profit item. 
I know you pride yourself on detailed and lengthy posts to support those details but you are wrong shaming Royal for Optum offering smaller packaging and charging more per unit then EMed does who only sells the 6 pack.

Yes, my sock collection has started.

I am generally in the nay camp but one ship was light on servers with only one crew trying to cover both sides of the two sided food stations.  That didn't work well, might as well just put food out on one side if they are going to deploy one crew.  
So many times I've seen guests do sketchy things with food and tongs.  Crew service probably reduces noro spread by significant margins.

Yes, you can. Twangster was more eloquent than I.... 

Yes, you can. Twangster was more eloquent than I.... 

Yes, you can. Twangster was more eloquent than I.... 

Yes, you can. Twangster was more eloquent than I.... 

I always park at the port, especially Bayonne because of how isolated the port is.
They built a new garage and it's great.