HeWhoWaits

It is FAR from dark at 6:30 a.m. in Alaska during cruise season. Sunrise will be about an hour earlier than the scheduled excursion.

You can change this to Royal Caribbean has the exact same food every day if you're talking about breakfast. If you're really lucky, there might be enough folks of Indian descent on your sailing to get ONE item that changes daily.

Arrive early and get onboard as soon as you can. No need to wait for "your" check in time. Best place to get info on what specialty restaurants are available on any given ship is to check the deck plans.

Getting back early isn't a big deal - getting back ON TIME is a big deal. The lesson is really - plan to get back early so you are on time.

Early July. While I was in shorts and sandals, a significant majority of passengers were in long pants and jackets (some bordering on being heavier than I EVER wore when I lived in Northern Indiana) while on deck. Indoor temperatures were often too warm for my liking, given we traveled to Alaska Pool deck chair hogs were not an issue on either of my Alaska sailings.

How did this devolve into a discussion of what's too revealing and whether Royal should police it? The original question was about how COVERED can you be (see above).

Sunny? What's that? Don't you mean "cloud failure" to describe the weather?

On our last Alaska cruise, the only time I wore long pants was to MDR dinner. Otherwise, shorts for me the whole trip - inside and out.

Feel free to break out your early 1900s unitard swimwear!

Perhaps because Bolognese is a meat-based sauce? Otherwise, it's just marinara without the chunks of tomato. I frequently choose to eat the vegetarian option on the MDR menu because I'm just not thrilled with the meat-based choices. Agree that there really isn't enough selection if that is your only option.

No chilled soups on our last two sailings - they no longer offer multiple soups with every MDR dinner.

The white between the bars represents sheets and towels - that's the "icon" for hotel operations.

You get C&A points following the cruise. They usually show up on your account about a week to ten days after you return.

Goslings is the only choice, unless you're looking to make a "froo-froo" version of the D&S. Might as well put an umbrella and a slice of citrus fruit in it if you use Kraken.

Loved the Bermuda cruise on Song of America that went to St. Georges and Hamilton. Easy access to history, shopping and beaches. All three are more limited at the Royal Dockyard.

The less expensive option there is to rent the car for the full week and return it to Houston. Even with parking it's probably less than the one-way options.

My wife starts planning specific outfits, etc. about three months out - creates a list of specific items one month out - and lays it all out for me to pack (checking against her list) one week out. Two days before departure, I go grab everything I need and then pack for the two of us. Guess who is more likely to forget something that's needed (hint - it's NOT me).

If you can manage to spend half your fare on board, you either had a ridiculously low fare to begin with or you spend way too much money on the ship.

Chichen Itza is a long bus ride inland. Much larger structures and more history. Tulum is a shorter trip and has the ability to include a beach stop on the same excursion. I've been to both (though neither as an excursion from a cruise). Chichen Itza is much more impressive.

Congrats to @Matt and the whole community on this achievement. Question that comes to mind based on other boards I frequent - what percentage of that 10000 has never posted (or posted less than 5 times)? I ask because I am a member of a forum that has over 7000 members but over 5500 of them have never made a single post. Many join, but far fewer participate.

Quick search of airline websites shows requirement for American, Delta, and United to be 45 minutes (with certain airport-specific longer times) for those with checked bags.

If the windows are sealed, the ONLY solution is to ban smoking on the pool deck. The smoke and smell is already bad enough that as an asthmatic I cannot walk through the smoking-permitted area most of the day.

Not all the clothes - one set so you can just pull out a roll (burrito) and you have everything but shoes for that "outfit."

One thing to consider is that Jet Blue requires your baggage to be checked in at least an hour before your flight. Otherwise, you'll get on the plane and your luggage will not. Happened to our son in San Juan last month - he got from the ship to the airport to check in 58 minutes before the flight and his bag was "too late."

Welcome to the boards. You are Pre-Gold on the Forums.