Zacharius

During Covid, I'll admit A2S does make sense. In the normal times, I would still argue that it really depends. If you're doing a one-way international, sure, A2S does seem to make sense if you don't have airline miles to use one a one-way flight without taking the hit (or finding one of the few airlines that flies between the US/Europe with one-way fares that aren't insane). If you're doing, say, US to Europe roundtrip flights, I would still consider booking your own flights directly through the airline...price wise may not be much different if at all, and you have the personal decision of paying at the time of booking (directly with airline) or later (with A2S). Each person's budget is going to be different in regards to which one of those is better. I wonder how that would work if, for example, you have UK citizenship but live elsewhere. For example, I have a good friend who is a dual US/UK citizen living in the US (hasn't lived in the UK since they were a kid), I wonder if he could roll up to the ship with his UK passport and get let on, or if they would ask for proof that he actually lives in the UK currently. This isn't necessarily a common issue, but I would be curious. Technically that's not a guarantee they'll give you miles. It really does depend on the fare basis. I believe most A2S fares will give you miles, but not necessarily every fare, even if you do input your number.

I think this also proves the importance of good insurance that covers medical evacuation. I certainly wouldn't take a cruise without it...just like a passport, to me, it's a line item of the trip and if I can't afford it, the trip is out of budget. As a frequent international traveler, there have been a few times that I have had to go to a doctor in various countries, and the cost of my yearly international medical plan has, even after several years of paying the premium, been cheaper than those trips would have been out-of-pocket...and that's not even including any serious medical needs or evac.

I have no desire to go there. I have done Labadee, and liked it, but if I want to do a non-descript, packed beach, I'll go to an all-inclusive or something. Doing more than one day (if that) at one of these private cruise islands (or, in the case of Labadee, peninsulas masked as islands) sounds boring as heck to me.

This is such a big thing for my wife and I. We're big travelers, and are lucky enough to have seemingly unlimited hotel rewards/flight miles, and money (no kids...yet), to pick up and go somewhere whenever want. Paris for the weekend? No problem. A week in Melbourne? Sure, let's do it. Wanna sit on a beach in Turks & Caicos? Let's go. I understand most people don't have this luxury, but you definitely don't have the luxury without the passport ?

As someone with dual nationality who has lived with a passport in my pocket for seemingly my entire life, I would never feel comfortable leaving a country without my passport (sometimes both passports). I don't see a good reason other than cost, and personally I don't even see that as a good reason (leaving the country? passport should be part of the budget).

Bridgetown itself isn't much, nor is it all that enjoyable. It's a good way to see the real Barbados away from the resorts, but as far as a vacation goes, I would recommend only spending part of a day in Bridgetown itself, and getting a hotel/resort instead as a way to get in to the vacation mode. Definitely don't view it as a city...more of a town that happens to be the largest in the country.

I can't wait to get my vaccine, and a vaccine mandate would go a long way in making me get back in to the petri dish world of mass market cruising. Masking? No. I wear a mask religiously, and I still travel for essential work (domestic and international) where I need to wear a mask for 20 to 30+ hours straight while flying around the world (including stops), so masks don't bother me. But, no way do I want to spend my vacation wearing one. I'd rather just wait until the need is gone and spend my vacation time/money on more low key things like lake cabins and national parks.

This one is tough, because just be shear numbers, it's safe to assume just about any moderately sized cruise is going to have at least some American citizens on it. And, interestingly enough, after the huge spike in US cases right at the start of 2021, the number of new cases between the US and EU really aren't all that different now - https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=eur&areas=usa&areas=gbr&areas=prt&areas=irl&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usnj&areasRegional=usaz&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usnd&areasRegional=ussd&cumulative=0&logScale=0&per100K=1&startDate=2020-09-01&values=deaths

Life became immeasurably more enjoyable when I stopped paying attention to CNN/Fox/MSNBC. It's all political gossip posing as "news". So many better ways to get true, accurate, expert news - it takes a little more work, but it's worth it. Now I occasionally see a headline or screenshot from the mass news channels and just laugh at how ridiculously asinine they are, and shake my head that so many people still get sucked in.

I have met my local, state, and federal representatives and senators several times. They're all usually very nice to my face. Some even, I believe, care...especially on the local or state level. I have a very good relationship with my local US Rep and feel like she is truly fighting for me as a person. But, sadly, my senators are udder trash and, despite being nice to my face every time I meet them, I know they only care about themselves and nothing I say as an individual matters, no matter how good of a case I make. Should you voice your concerns? Absofreakinglutely, I will always advocate for that. Will it change anything? Sadly, not a damn chance unless you're a big fat donor (and I mean big, and I mean fat).

Hey, to each their own with provolone. I get why people are in to it, I just want no part of it. The first time I went on a cruise about 10 years ago, I was active in my Cruise Critic roll call before hand, and had a plan to get together for a party on the first day. Time came and I realized I had no desire to actually meet people and I just went to the pool for a pina colada and my book instead ? I travel for a living and am always around people when I travel for work, so when it comes to vacation, it's time for my wife and I to be alone...even if there are thousands of other people around us.

The idea creeps the hell out of me. But I don't even really like meeting new people on cruises, let alone having them in my room.

I actually wore a space suite once (an older decommissioned one, of course) and I think I would prefer it over a damn face shield...looks cooler, at least! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. As someone who still has to travel fairly frequently for my job, I would hate to be stuck next to that dumb ass.

I'll rent you my Namibian passport if that helps ?

Unless someone has the most obscure, bottom-of-the-barrel provider/plan, there's no difference in calling from Puerto Rico or St. Thomas as opposed to Kentucky, Utah, or Florida. Even then, with the absolutely lowest of the low Bob's Mobile plan, I would be shocked. I have a friend who goes back and forth between Chicago and San Juan for work (usually 2-3 months in one, 2-3 months in the other, back and forth) and has a standard AT&T plan with a 630 (Chicagoland) area code...no problemo, no need to notify AT&T or have any special plan.

Have stayed at Decanter Hotel in Old San Juan, very reasonably priced and great location I think you have a good intro to the city. Just walking around is a good option too, you'll see other cool stuff Uber/Lyft As far as being a tourist goes, everything is like being in a state, including cell phones - for P.R. and USVI

Yeah some airlines do this, usually for UNICEF, and are very vocal about the "any currency, any amount" line. I think it was British Airways where the guy next to me donated Moldovan Leu... I would love to see all of the cool currencies they get in any given year.

I spend a good chunk of my year outside the US, and I almost never bring any local currency with me unless I have it from a previous trip. Just no point. I stop at an ATM once I arrive and pull out local cash if I need it. I also usually carry a little bit of USD to exchange in a pinch (such as once, on my fourth trip to Brazil in a year, for unknown reasons, my cards were all getting declined at the same ATMs (but not shops/restaurants) I had used on previous trips, so I was able to swap some USD out for local currency in a pinch). To me, it's a huge waste of money in most cases to swap out currency abroad.

No problem, you can have our room - sounds miserable to me! ?

You couldn't pay me enough to cruise during a major holiday or even a summer school break. My wife and I purposely travel during the times there are likely to be as few kids/families as possible.

I definitely don't mind wearing a mask. I still fly regularly and am used to having them on for many hours at a time. But I wouldn't want to wear one on vacation, so I would choose not to take a cruise with a mask mandate/recommendation and would instead stick to what I have been doing this year - more outdoorsy, socially distanced vacations.

Wow, I can't really think of too many. Sometimes I forget to pack until the last minute, if that's a tradition. I listen to reggae all year round, so there's no music that gets me psyched (and I can't stand Jimmy Buffet). No movies. I guess I am just boring. Perhaps dropping my dog off at my mother-in-laws house the night before? Oh, and if we're cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale, we always hit up The Field Irish pub right off the plane for onion rings and Guinness, followed by a walk out the jetty next to Halmos College to watch any ships leaving if there are. That's about it.

Are you basing it off of the seating chart? If so, note that this is NOT an accurate representation of how many tickets are actually purchased. That being said, July is ages out at this time. Wouldn't surprise me if barely anyone is booked. My wife and I are very, very avid vacationers and I wouldn't touch July with a ten foot pole at this point (granted, our trips are usually fairly last minute anyways, but even when they're not...too many unknowns for a lot of people). I wouldn't say anyone knows more or less than you, just that they're being more cautious than you.

More on Thanksgiving because it's actually good food ?

Hitting this thread late, but I'm gonna hit it hard...like a cruise. Food and beverage are huge parts of my vacation, so I generally won't cruise without a drink package since we try to get cruises that are a good mix of ports and sea days. I like to wake up in the morning, grab a coffee, and go up top to enjoy the fresh air. That's port days or sea days. Port days - depending on what we're doing, may or may not have drinks during the day. Sea days - usually wait until after lunch and then start hitting it. Nothing crazy - maybe a few drinks before dinner if I am sitting by the pool. Drink or two with dinner. Couple of drinks after dinner, either at a bar or (ideally) back on my balcony. Or up top watching a movie on the big screen. My drinks are usually either wine or something like a martini/G&T. I'll do a sweet drink here or there like a pina colada or tropical old fashioned, but not too often because it just gets too sweet. Never really do beer because the choices are always horrible, and it gets too filling - only time I have used my drink package on a beer is when I sprained my thumb getting in to the pool and used a Coors Light metal bottle as an ice pack (and, well, might as well drink your ice pack!) I almost always get a bottle of water with each drink, because hydration is key...glass of water for every drink = no hangover, and if nothing else, we stock some bottles for port excursions.