Zacharius

And note there may be two sets of fees for something like this - one for the travel agency, and one for the airline. It would all be in the fine print when booked or reserved.

Here's what we have done - very little. We get off, we walk around, get out of the tourist core just a bit (some people find it unsafe, we are okay with it, but are experienced travelers in the developing world, so we're never too worried...but judge your own comfort level), get some local food at a non-touristy place that we can't get at home (especially conch), get a few beers at Pirate Republic (not the best beer, but it's vacation so mediocre beer tastes better than usual), head back to the ship, and enjoy a relaxing remainder of the day onboard.

We don't have any standard hotel as long as it's a Hilton property (I have a ton of Hilton points), so we just open up the Hilton search engine and see what's available and rated well. As far as pricing - I totally get ya. I would just urge you to do the math. It may work out, it may not. It may be worth it to you, it may not (and "worth" means time and ease in addition to money, only you can decide which one is most important for you). Last time we did it in 2018, hotels outside of the airport/port area (they're essentially next door to each other) were like $50 cheaper, whereas a rental car with gas was about the same. So price wise, it was a wash. And while it added a bit of time to pick up the car and drive, it opened up our abilities to explore new places on the afternoon we flew in, eat at different (cheaper or not) places, buy some drinks at the liquor store to drink in the room that evening, grab some stuff from the store, go out to breakfast the next morning, and just have a sense of freedom.

I'd like to go against the grain here and recommend the possibility of a rental car and a hotel further afield. Hear me out here, because it's what we do every time - land at the airport, rent a car, and then the entire metro area is your oyster...go where you want, eat where you want, hotels are often cheaper with more options. Then, return the car the next morning to the cruise port (a few companies have locations at the port itself) and take their free shuttle to the dock. Just an idea that I like to share because it works so well for us.

It's getting back to normal. I've flown first class quite a bit domestically during Covid, albeit on AA, and the service has definitely come back from the April/May days. I got fairly buzzed on an AA DFW-SEA flight last month ?

I like the idea of "Formal Longshoremen" unloading container ships wearing tuxedos.

They're not paid by the cruiselines, but they also don't just work off tips. In the US at least, they're usually employed by the port, are classified as longshoremen (same as those that load/unload cargo on passenger and cargo vessels), and are often part of the longshoreman union. Not saying they don't work hard, they absolutely do, but they also don't completely rely on tips like the restaurant workers making $2.13/hr.

DGSDYMTS Don't get so drunk you miss the ship

Leisure travel in North America is so insanely in demand these days, I would expect high prices through 2021 for even full-capacity cruises. It's incredible. Hell, even the number of new flights airlines are adding to Florida for this summer and fall is something I have never seen before.

No way could I ever do an interior. My wife and I determined after the first time we cruised that it was balcony or nothing. If we couldn't afford a balcony, we couldn't afford that trip. We can't relate to the "you never spend time in your cabin" folks...we like people, but we also like escaping people and having a place to chill on our own that doesn't feel like a jail cell. It's the same reason we rarely do large group excursions - I see 4,000 people on the damn ship, I don't need to see them on land too. 15-20 is about our max, but we prefer doing our own thing completely. Folks also talk about using interiors as a way to cruise more often. To each their own, I get it, but to us that's a "quantity over quality" thing and that's not how we roll. We don't cruise often anyways, so when we do, we ball out. Nothing better than running out of drinks on your balcony and having to run to a busy bar for a refill...and then immediately leaving said busy bar with the drinks to enjoy a quiet balcony.

I've an AA-loyal frequent flier and have been since 2007ish. AA emails me 100% of the time with schedule changes. Heck, they even email me if a flight number changes but the times stay the same (which always results in a slight head scratch until I realize that AA1234 has become AA4321 but everything else remains the same). I am wondering if there's some setting in your AA profile or email that's keeping them from being sent or being delivered?

My guess would be because the deal they have with the airlines wouldn't allow them to, and irritating a couple of customers would be better than pissing off AA, BA, Qantas, etc. ?

The perk of Sydney is that, even if you have luggage, there's plenty to do in the area unlike many cruise ports that are in industrial areas. Even just sitting there watching the harbour traffic and ferries can kill a few hours easily. That is if you're not just in a hotel within walking distance, which many people are, in which you can either check out late or store luggage. I've never cruise out of Sydney, but I can't imagine there are many better places to originate from as far as convenience and ease...and views.

If you're coming from the US, your chances of flying a jumbo jet are pretty small. Most likely a 737/A320 family aircraft. Maybe someone will fly an occasional A330/767 while they're still around, but I am not sure. Most of the planes between the US and St. Maarten (and most of the Caribbean) are in the 150 seat range, so fairly small. I know this is just a discussion, but the aero engineer and pilot in me kicks in here ? The rate of climb and hard right turn after takeoff make sure the aircraft never get very close to the mountain. Not something to worry about, in reality.

That's definitely the bigger issue...Astra Zeneca, Sputnik, etc. etc., it'll be interesting to see which ones will or will not be accepted.

The best vaccine is the one in your arm ?

I doubt there will be a rule, as long as you're fully vaccinated. J&J 1 shot is full vaccination, just like Pfizer/Moderna 2 shot.

Once you land in Nassau, you have access to the entire country of The Bahamas and need to be treated as such. It's definitely different than arriving on a cruise for a day trip. It will likely be, and should likely be, full Bahamian immigration and customs upon coming off of that plane. It's also very, very difficult to take a plane full of people (sometimes hundreds) and process them differently based on if they are staying for a "regular" vacation versus leaving on a cruise ship. Think of it this way - would, or should, Italy treat you differently because you are flying in to take a cruise? No...you're entering Italy, on a plane with other types of tourists, Italians, business people, etc. You all need to be processed in to Italy the same because you all will have full access to Italy after you leave the airport. This goes for both immigration and customs.

This is great news for those who want to travel, but man, I am really curious to see how Nassau handles itself as a cruise origin point. That whole port area seems like it will be a headache-and-a-half to deal with as an originating passenger. I would have to pound a few beers at Pirate Republic before dealing with that.

Not sure how it works by you, but mine weren't either. What I ended up doing was calling my doctor and saying "hey, I am not eligible until early next week, but what's the soonest after that I can get an appointment?" and they got one for me. They said as long as they knew I was becoming eligible and had an appointment at least one second after that eligibility begins, they were good with it ? Even when I logged in to my doctor's portal, it showed my appointment being part of "Phase 2", even though I am Phase 3, because their system hadn't actually updated to show Phase 3 yet. But it worked. My mother-in-law just did the same thing - she's not eligible in her state until April 9, but she was able to get an appointment for April 12 under the knowledge that she would be eligible by the time the needle hit her arm.

As a bit of a data geek, I am really curious to see when all is said and done and we have billions of injections around the world to have data on from many different vaccines, what the facts will show about which, or even if, there is one that caused more side effects than others. Because yeah, like you, I know people who have had all three and have had just wildly different reactions. It's fascinating to me. I suddenly became eligible on Monday and was able to get an appointment at my regular doctor's office, from my regular nurse, on Wednesday of that week.

My wife and mother both had their second shot on this past Thursday morning. One Pfizer, one Moderna. Neither had anything more than a slightly sore arm and red injection sight for about 18-24 hours. Reactions seem to be all over the place.

Yep, I have lost a 30-something year old friend, and two friends' fathers. I have no desire to mess around with it and will get the shot the moment I am eligible.

No, I definitely remember my trips abroad at that age and it gave me a good foundation in the appreciation of cultures, languages, and history. Gotta start that stuff young!

I'm an AA frequent flier and I have never heard of a voucher being restricted to international versus domestic? Granted, I'm not terribly familiar with vouchers, but this is news to me. My understanding was that they just needed to be used for trips originating in the US, be it to go from Tulsa to Seattle or from Tulsa to Mumbai.