FionaMG

I saw the test loads. There were two in the Med, one for August and the other for October, and then the 8-night Southern Caribbean that @Southern Dan is eyeing up. I'd be looking at a Med sailing. It's going to be pricey enough without having to pay for transatlantic flights as well.

Why am I not surprised. I need a rolling eyes emoji! At least it gives me another week to think about whether or not I'm willing to pay the price they'll be asking for Icon 3...

That's the exact same amount of points that I have!

Could have been. I might have got the place wrong.

I'll be happy to.

I'm glad it worked out for you. Dare I say, you must have been sweating bullets.

I will be on the 1st post-dry dock sailing on the 11th of April (64 days to go!) so if there's anything any of you would like me to check out for you feel free to tag me.

You are lucky it was discovered at the start of your cruise. There was a fairly recent case (similar circumstances, an "escaped" bullet in a range bag) that was missed at boarding. The guy then took the bag ashore in St Kitts where the bullet was discovered when he was re-boarding. Under local law, he had to be handed over to the authorities and he spent several months in custody in St Kitts before finally being allowed home. He was "lucky"; in a worst case scenario he could have been tried on the island and spent several years in jail.

It was supposed to have been this week but they pushed it back to the week of the 17th of March. See below for current release dates (until they change them again):

Thanks for sharing. That was very helpful.

I think I can safely speak for most of the Europeans on this forum that we feel much the same way with every new release of sailings here. Same old, same old. Although admittedly the upcoming Europe 2.0 may bring some excitement with Legend (aka Icon 3), albeit for the ship itself rather than the itinerary. That said, I am really looking forward to hopefully cruising in your part of the world a few years from now for my retirement trip. I will be thrilled to visit any of the destinations you mentioned. Would you say any of them are better than others?

It was supposed to be but they changed it again. Here is the "current" new schedule (who knows for how long )

I have used land-based e-sims for travelling for cruises over the last couple of years and have found them to be reliable. The one I currently use is Roamless. However, that doesn't offer connectivity on board so I usually buy a single device Voom package as we need to stay connected but it's expensive for the amount of use we make of it. I am tempted by Gigsky's prices and I think I am going to give it a try on our upcoming 4-night cruise on Allure in April in the Med. We will have our normal European mobile data as a back up on land and our D+ free Voom as a back up on the ship. Seems like a good opportunity to experiment. If I go ahead with it I'll try and remember to post my experience here.

It's British slang for a stupid or silly person. It's quite a versatile word in that it can be anything from mildly offensive to endearing depending on who's saying it, about whom and in what context. When you use it to describe yourself it's usually because you've done something that makes you roll your eyes and say "I can’t believe I did that".

Glad the gym timing worked for you @Cactus527. Thanks for the ride and safe travels home.

I'm a regular gym-goer, both at home and on board, and although I train in the mornings at home I always prefer to do an evening session on a ship precisely for this reason. The gym is manic in the morning so I usually head there anytime between about 4.30 pm and 6 pm, depending on itinerary, and it's always pretty quiet then.

Sounds familiar...

Thanks! I will have to give them a try next time I'm on a ship with Playmakers.

Please can someone explain to me what these buffalo chicken rolls are? Google was no help.

I think the suggestion of an incorrect C&A number sounds very plausible.

I've found it at the spa café on Oasis class, the patisserie and 270 on Quantum class and the promenade café on Voyager and freedom classes. I always go looking for it so I have some for working out.

This is not really the case. Many of us have national ID cards which we use in our day-to-day lives and which also serve for travel across much of Europe. I really only need to bring my passport with me if I'm travelling outside of Europe or to somewhere like the UK. I wonder if it might actually be the UK you're thinking of? Since there is no compulsory ID card, Brits do often have to bring their passports with them when they travel if they have no other form of government-issued identification.

If you're staying airside, no you don't. From the Gov.uk website: "You do not need an ETA to transit through the UK if you will not pass through border control (‘airside’ transit)." If you want to peruse it yourself, here is the link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta

I read an article somewhere that said the government had buckled to pressure from the airlines and airports and back-tracked on the requirement to have it for transiting passengers not actually entering the UK. So if you were on a through ticket from, say, New York to Rome, and were staying airside you wouldn't need it. But, if you're cobbling a journey together with a "connecting" flight that requires you to collect your luggage and go through passport control to re-check it, then you are effectively entering the country and do need it. I think the same article also said they'd backed down on the price increase too. For cruisers, I would imagine it would also be necessary if there is a port of call in the UK, so not just cruises starting and ending there. It's all a bit confusing at the moment because it's new but I'm sure peeps from the US will soon get used to it just as we Brits and Europeans got used to ESTA.

Oooh, so jealous (in the nicest possible way). We were in the three saints in your itinerary on our Freedom cruise just before Christmas. What great islands. Pity we didn't get to do Barbados too. Only been there once but would love to go back. Have an amazing time! And you too @WAAAYTOOO