mk-ultra

I never book domestic first or biz on US business trips. The meager benefits you'll get: - Maybe food served, on 4+ hour flights. - First boarding group and first off at the end of the flight (less competition for overhead compartments, if you need one). - Slightly nicer seat. - Some free booze. - Free checked bag. Personal (vacation) trips I'll book biz for long flights. If you hunt around, you may score a flight that's going to continue on to an international destination (787, etc.) where booking biz will get you something really nice like a lie-flat seat.

I've had random towel charges for towels I absolutely returned. Visit to guest services fixed it. Don't go there on day 1 though, unless you're a masochist. ?

Anywhere in Jamaica. I just stay on the ship now and enjoy the extra space and quicker service. Lovely looking place and I've met some awesome people, but holy smokes they've got a serious problem with aggressive touts, even on cruise booked tours. For me, it's not relaxing at all.

Checked in as well. 1:30PM show time. ?

Very much: Orlando. If you get hosed to/from Sanford, you have almost no options when it comes to additional flights or being "walked" to another airline to complete your trip.

Huh. In no way is the ship mostly off limits. If you volunteer to share your vaccinated status, you'll forgo the more strict protocols like (at your expense) testing and vax'd only venues.

Oh, heck no. Buy the wifi package (you'll probably want it anyway), put your phone in airplane mode with wifi on, and use wifi calling. AT&T has wifi calling. There's a short activation process when you first turn it on. I'd probably do that from home before your cruise. I've used it many times onboard and up at our cabin out in the redwoods which has no cell service available. Works just fine.

Thanks. My cruise isn't until late August (hope, hope, hope) out of Port Canaveral.

Possibly a dumb question, but is the health visa required if the stop is just Cococay?

I sincerely apologize. Kinda touchy about this stuff right now because I would really like to be on my late-August cruise ?

The is no such thing as a "vaccine passport." There is the card you get after your first vaccination (and the 2nd one gets recorded if you got the AZ or Moderna one vs.the J&J one-shot-and done). That data eventually gets reported upstream to the CDC so there is an electronic record. You don't pay for it. You don't pay to get vaccinated, either. Providers like CVS/Walgreens etc. may take down your insurance info to back bill your insurance (if you have it) for the cost of administering the vaccine to you, but your cost is zero. I'm sure there are people here old enough to remember "yellow cards", where you had to provide a vaccine record to cross certain international borders. Technically a WHO "International certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis". I needed one as a kid to travel in Africa. They still exist. This is nothing new.

Ditto. I got Oasis UP cabin 14528 for the 4/17/22 sailing for under $4.5K the day it opened for booking. Star class at that price feels like GTA. Not sure how I feel about not having a balcony, but I can just schlep myself up the stairs right near the cabin and be on the pool deck. I'll take those odds. At the very least, I think it'll be a fun change of pace. I'm usually on 17 in an L1 or L2.

As of yesterday, there are probably 593,000 in the US who (if they were still alive), might disagree with your opinion on, "it's not different from the flu." It's very different from the flu. Given it's lethality, it makes no sense to pack people into a congregate setting like a cruise ship without requiring proof-of-vaccination. Sure, boosters will be required as the virus mutates in the wild, but if you want the CDC to allow cruising again?

[George Takei voice] Oh myyyyyy! 340, here I come. Thanks for the confirmation ?

I really hope I'm interpreting this promo correctly. Normally, 7 nights solo in a suite is: 7 base points 7 points for being in a suite 7 points for being solo --- = 21 points --- So, 42 points with this promo? If so, holy smokes. I've got 2 cruises lined-up that would qualify (assuming mid-to-late 2021 isn't still tanked).

I'm absolutely "banking" all of the funds I would have spent this year on cruises and other relaxing vacation time. Presuming we're in better shape in 2021 (vaccine, et al), I'm going to absolutely have some blow-out time off. 2020 has sucked (you may have noticed ?) and I'm going to definitely splurge to make up for it when I can.

Curious if anyone can shed some insight / experience with using them. Definitely piqued my interest.

My 5/9/21 (hope) Oasis DBP dropped from $61 to $46 per day, which is the best I've seen in a long while. I cancelled and re-purchased and today it's back to $61. Strike while the iron's hot ?

LOL. An IHOP Swedish crepe combo is one of my secret guilty pleasures.

I'm booked on the Oasis out of Cape Liberty in May 2021. Magic 8 balls says: "who the hell knows?" when asked if we'll have a vaccine generally available by then. So, putting on my hopeful optimist's cap... assuming this thing actually sails: Anyone got restaurant recommendations? I'll be staying (again, optimist) at the Courtyard in Elizabeth, NJ. It looks like there is are a bunch of Portuguese and Spanish restaurants nearby that look enticing.

LOL. I call this "dialing for yes." If I get an obviously clueless CSR or next-level-up, I'll thank them for their time and call back and roll the dice again. FWIW: I've found the Casino Royale reps to be pretty on top of their game. Call usually answered in under 2 minutes and I usually get a very competent person on the other end of the line. I don't know if my CR status confers any extra consideration, but my default is to always call the Casino Royale # first since they've always done a good job at handling requests.

I am ridiculously addicted to the deck 17 L1 lofts on Oasis class ships. I love being so close to CK & the SL... and it just being a short waltz down the stairs to Windjammer or the pool deck. I really enjoy reading in the SL when I've had enough of the poolside action and would just like a quiet moment, and the food in CK (at least by my experience) has been great. That said, I'm solo in the Oasis Ultimate Panoramic Suite in 2022. I'm rolling the dice to see if the genuinely unique cabin, view and Star Class make up for the lack of a balcony. I like my balconies!

As a side note, despite the warning that my "credit may not immediately appear on my SeaPass folio" on the first day of my cruise, the $100 OBC for both my Royal and Celebrity cruises showed up in my planner immediately. It's always shown up prior to my cruise, right after they acknowledged granting it. That doesn't seem to have changed despite the new caveat.

Just emailed [email protected] with my latest eTrade statement for a Royal Caribbean cruise 5/9/21 and and Celebrity cruise 12/11/21 and received my shareholder OBC within 4 hours for both.

I believe you're referring to this: https://cruiseradio.net/the-unexpected-perk-norwegian-is-giving-cancelled-cruisers/ Doug & Richard are usually good sources of information, but until NCL themselves says this is in fact their new policy I'd take it with a huge grain of salt. Cruise cancellations are a huge cluster right now on the IT side, and plenty of folks on other cruise line forums like Princess and Carnival have said the same thing. Points for a cancelled cruise posted to their loyalty account at the end of the planned (but not sailed) cruise, only to be clawed-back later when their IT and accounting departments finally caught up with it.