mk-ultra

Did just one step up from minimum on the bidding slider thingy. eBay strategy. It wasn't a big bump above minimum. Feels like being a "The Price is Right" contestant.

I just recently won my bid 34 days out. My first indication that I'd won was my credit card being billed that day. Email came about an hour later. It was a happy moment of confusion. "Why the $%#& is Royal charging me?" Then, "Oooooooh :-)"

Oof. Never use cellular you see on a ship. That will be an expensive lesson. Buy the WiFi package and turn on "cellular over WiFi" on your phone. If it's the first time you turn it on, you'll have to provide some info so if you call 911 they might be able to respond to your registered location. Set it up at home before your cruise. On the ship, put your phone in airplane mode, then turn WiFi back on if it disables it.

Seconding the train. It's a really scenic trip.

10342. It's aft-facing like an Oasis-class L2, but looks way better view-wise. No aft deck stuff like basketball court or mini-golf. I certainly wouldn't poo-poo an L2 on O Class, but I'm extremely jazzed with this one. Hit the jackpot.

W00t! I'm a little shocked by how far this is still out (34 days), but just got my bid win confirmation (and credit card billed) to go from a Grand Suite to a Grand Loft Suite on Quantum to AK in May. Did one little step up from the minimum bid. Solo (minor ouch) $2750, but still waaaaay under trying to buy at booking vs. bidding. About $6330 less with the current ridiculous pricing. Shoulder season AK cruises aren't too egregious usually. I absolutely love the CLS/GLS cabins. I would have still been very happy in a GS, but early icing on the cake! And goodness, I forgot, this is a bump to Star, so the price is going to be softened a bit by getting my DBP and restaurant bookings refunded.

You'll want to contact Royal's Special Needs folks: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs

For whatever reason, it insisted on showing my Set Sail pass from my cruise last December (while viewing details for my upcoming May cruise). All of the other details were correct for the upcoming cruise. Only way I could get that darn thing to update was to delete the app, then re-add it and sign in again. Not a big deal. I always have a paper copy handy for check-in. Blowing the app away fixed it.

This is correct. Day one is to let pax board at a reasonable hour. "Day two" (not really a day) is to catch the morning low tide.

I'm super-happy to have this ship and itinerary in CA now. I live in SF, so it's just a short hop to LA (though I still overnight before departure). I sailed in Dec/Jan on Navigator and it was one of the more fun trips I've been on.

Good news for us GE folks. Mine was a few months from it's 2nd renewal. I filled out the online form as usual and used AMEX to pay the $100 (so free to me). It's been stuck in the "Wait for Conditional Approval" step for almost two months now. Because of the delays, they've extended a grace period past the expiry date as long as you've filed for renewal and paid the fee. After a bit of digging around (idiots didn't put it in their FAQ section about it) -- looks like it's good for an additional 24 months.

The slightly weird sounding overnight in Vancouver with the really early AM departure is to allow people to get aboard. It pulls out at 0330 the next morning to catch low tide -- which is needed for a Quantum class ship to clear under the Lion's Gate Bridge.

We stayed at the Courtyard Anchorage Airport since it was simple. It's about a 10 minute ride to the train station from there. Just looking for a place to crash.

Blog away! User contributions are what make this forum work.

Even if you don't need an accessible cabin, Royal's Special Needs department can help you out with your questions: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs

Typical reason (from a network engineering perspective) is to, on a per-client basis, only give them a fair chunk to ensure everyone gets a slice of the available bandwidth. It's a very finite resource, so there are definitely legit reasons for doing it. It's typically called QoS (quality-of-service). Network engineers hate having to "QoS" a site. It usually means there are too many bandwidth consumers for the available bandwidth. Doesn't make anyone happy.

Yuppers. I was on Navigator in Dec/Jan and it bounced between time zones.

As end end-user on a ship, you'll never know if it's QoS (throttling) or just variable satellite service. I'm excited about Starlink on ships since it has a lot of potential, but the constellation is far from complete. My latest cruise on Navigator was Starlink, and the service varied wildly over 7 nights. o3B was rock solid in comparison (until you pushed the latitude past 40N/S).

Couldn't agree more. Ensenada gets poo-poo'd (mainly because of downtown), but wow -- get out in the wine country in Valle de Guadalupe and it's super nice. High end wineries, excellent food, local cheeses and olives. Very worth doing a grub & wine excursion out there. About 45 minutes from the port. Because of import taxes, those of us in the US don't really have access to Mexican wines.

[nerd warning] Your company or personal VPN success is going to vary by protocol. I've never had an issue using SSL. Years ago, IPSEC or L2TP occasionally tripped me up onboard over WiFi. Haven't run into that problem recently though. Usually fully connected for work, including enough bandwidth for video conferencing like Webex & Zoom. NB: that does vary with latitude. If you get too far North or South (+-40 degrees either direction) I wouldn't count on solid internet. Starlink is still being built out. Ships are cutting over because it is less expensive than O3b. Not impressed so far shipboard. Very good, when it works. I'm still team O3b until Starlink finishes their constellation.

Not my content: Source: https://www.cruisehive.com/the-best-ways-to-enjoy-royal-caribbeans-labadee-haiti/24136

Icon is definitely going to be more expensive. Sparkly brand new ship, which always demands a premium price. Especially for a Christmas cruise. Those are expensive on any ship. Both Wonder and Symphony are great ships. Wonder also comes with the "new ship" pricing. Personally, for me it would come down to itinerary. I default to slightly older ships, and CocoCay is definitely a nice stop.

On Quantum to AK in May. Pretty much already booked everything I want, but the SeaPlex trapeze school looks amazingly fun. It doesn't show up as a bookable on-ship thingy. Wondering if I just go to SeaPlex and book, or is it a get-in-line thing? First time on a Q class.

Oh man.... this is the one, really good C&A benefit I've been waiting for. Just broke past D+, and that 150% instead of 200% is actual money in the bank. "Post COVID", I'm back to ~4 cruises a year, averaging 21 points each. So... 1.5 - 2 years.

The "post COVID" price hikes are pretty astounding. I used to be able to snag an Oasis-class L1 loft cabin for ~$5600 if I purchased early and paid attention. They're now like $15K. Ouch, indeed. A GS for my upcoming AK cruise was ~$6800 with all of the various discounts; like being old, D+, a degenerate casino player, and a shareholder. I'm not a cheap date, but they're pricing me out. Tempted to switch to land vacations until normalcy returns.