Zacharius

A big strike against having somewhere like The Bahamas being an origin point of cruises geared towards the US market is that cruises appeal to so many Americans without a passport. If you start asking Americans to fly to other countries to start their cruise, then you start asking Americans to get a passport to cruise...which many Americans won't do.

I just walk around, grab some conch, get off the beaten track a bit, have some beers at the brewery near port, and then go back onboard to enjoy a quieter ship. I don't use Nassau as a tropical beach day.

Still hoping to do one for my 40th birthday in 2023/2024! Of course, my birthday is in the northern winter, so I can't decide if I go when I am 39 1/2 in 2023, or 40 1/2 in 2024.

Somebody stop me!

At risk of getting off topic but I really don't care - as someone who attended multiple protests and spoke to many people in major cities who witnessed first-hand Biden celebrations, I can assure you the vast majority of people at these were masked.

I really couldn't imagine not arriving the day before if you're flying (or even driving). I understand each person's circumstance is different, but for us, if we can't afford both the money and time to arrive a day early, we can't afford that vacation. Getting there comfortably, getting settled him, having some fun + a nice meal + drinks, a good nights sleep, and a leisurely morning is the only way to role.

I second the above. Have no kids, but in the couple of times we have been to Nassau, we really haven't done much. Walk around, grab some local food (sometimes in the city center, sometimes we grab a taxi to the more "local" areas...depends what you are comfortable with safety wise), grab a few drinks, and then enjoy a quieter day on the ship. Allows us to save energy and money for a port we prefer. I am not anti-Nassau by any means, but we just prefer to go all out at another location in exchange for a subdued day in Nassau/the ship.

Means nothing. As mentioned above, a way to keep you eager and excited and ready to click on more (paid) additions to your trip.

No beaches, city, nature...Norway just fits the bill if you can get one that includes Oslo or, at least, Bergen to fulfill the city (Bergen being a bit liberal usage of the word "city", but I digress). Outside of those two places, pretty much the entirety of Norway is nature and lacks what most people would consider a relaxing beach to sit on.

That's such a tough question, not knowing them specifically. I do not have kids, nor have I done any formal cruises to either place (just ferries in Greece, and a couple of sightseeing cruises in Norway), but I have been to both Greece and Norway several times each and I would, without a doubt, choose Norway. I prefer that scenery and that weather. I would expect a Norwegian cruise to be a bit older audience, probably less families, and be a bit quieter. That may or may not be a good thing, not knowing your family. Just personally, I prefer Norway to Greece in just about every way.

Southwest will be starting MIA service on November 15 from Houston, Chicago, Tampa, and Baltimore. For this time, as far as I know, those are the only four planned nonstops. If others want to get to Miami, they can still connect in one of those four cities, but the nonstop options to FLL will remain vastly greater so.

Oh...oh god. Yes, yes, I too prefer my olives be moldy.

To be fair, Toronto also has world class cuisine of pretty much every corner of the world at every price point. St. Louis has...uh...hmmm...

Anytime anyone brings up St. Louis food... https://kitchenette.jezebel.com/the-st-louis-cuisine-wikipedia-page-is-goddamned-hil-1690071082

It's definitely impossible with that spirit!

Yes, yes, but have you tried good pizza?? ? #Chicago4Life

I have still been flying regularly since March (kinda essential for my job), so for me "pleasure" flying really depends on the situation at the time. I really, really am not a fan of long distance driving, so I would probably still lean towards flying if airlines are still doing a decent job of enforcing mask rules, and if the positivity rate is not too ridiculous. I am young and fit, so it's so much a concern of death or even getting sick, but of possible unknown long-term side effects in even asymptomatic cases.

Eh, I am not sure I can agree with that, nor do I think you could accurately compare the experience to determine if it's "overpriced". I forget how much of your cruise fare goes towards an average dinner in the dining room or buffet, but let's say it's $15...so you're looking at, say, $65 + gratuity. For $65 you're getting as many apps as you'd like, soup/salad, a main course, and dessert, so you would need to factor that in at any other restaurant too. In essence, you're also kind of paying for a vacation destination restaurant, which are usually higher priced. A nice steakhouse in Sanibel, Florida is going to be more than the same steakhouse in Omaha, for example, and in my opinion eating the meal overlooking the moving ocean isn't quite comparable to your average steakhouse (much like having a more expensive gin & tonic on the ship is higher priced than your local strip mall bar). Everyone's opinions are their own, of course, and while I have had enjoyable experiences at Chops with better-than-expected steak (no Capital Grille, but better than Outback in my experiences), I can understand why some people don't think it's worth it. But for the reasons I laid out above, I don't personally believe it's overpriced.

Can't say I remember that...but I doubt many. The weather got bad overnight and was projected to remain bad, so I think most people assumed the pool deck was a wash for most of the day.

I have only been on two cruises, last one was mid-2018 and was a repositioning Port Everglades to San Juan with stops in Nassau, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. Ship was (if I remember) Freedom. This one is easy. Second full day, the first of two sea days between Nassau and St. Maarten, was rainy and very choppy. I'm not one to get motion sick, so I ended up having the pool to myself as, it seemed, all 4,000ish other passengers (including my wife) were staying in their rooms. Literally, I had the entire pool complex to myself, and I sat in the pool, sloshing back and forth with the waves, rain coming down, with a few drinks (hand over the top between sips to keep the rain from watering them down) and watching ChiveTV fail videos on the big screen for about two hours and laughing my ass off. Next day the pool deck was packed in the sun, but I will never forget those hours I had the entire pool to myself on a 4,000 passenger ship.

Not surprising, and if so, I sure hope they don't get a bailout. I would personally much rather my tax dollars go to struggling small business owners rather than mega corporations that pay relatively little in taxes.

I would say that's a little unfair to say Royal Caribbean passengers don't know how to use Google Maps. Certainly, Matt knows all about Labadee and that it's in Haiti...he and I just disagree about our definitions, no biggie. I think if someone shows up on a cruise in Labadee expecting to visit family, they clearly haven't done one ounce of research. And if you really do want to visit Haiti, I recommend it highly, it's a great place with friendly people. I have enjoyed my time in Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince both.

Advising someone against cruising isn't the same as banning someone from cruising. If the government comes out and actively says "look, we don't think you should do it", that doesn't mean you can't. Heck, in my mind, that's great...cuts down on the crowds ? Nothing I see in that article says they're considering an outright ban, just an advisory against.

I think we may have to disagree about rural. I've been to Cap-Haitien and it's really about 200,000 to 250,000 people, and is literally only 10 kilometers of winding roads from the gate to Labadee. Yes, you aren't getting anyone in Labadee who isn't a worker, and it may seem like you're in the middle of nowhere when you come in on a ship, can't leave, and head out on a ship without seeing anything else, but I personally wouldn't call Labadee "in the middle of nowhere".