KristiZ

Welcome to the boards! We stayed at the Steigenberger next to the airport and then took a taxi to the port. It’s a lovely hotel. However, you will be there a day longer than us so you might want a hotel near to some tourist spots. There’s also a Movenpick hotel right next to the cruise terminal that people like, with no cruise transfer necessary.

Smokeybandit is correct -- this is only a Level 2 warning. (Several news sites are incorrectly saying the new alert raises The Bahamas to a Level 3.) I believe The Bahamas have been Level 2 for a while actually. So while the new alert is used to bring attention to the current concerns, it's not a signal that the situation is drastically changed. (I will caveat this with saying I'm not at work today and can't verify the historical status.)

At least with Royal, your Canal choices will be April or October, more or less. They use the canal transit to move ships to and from Alaska for the summer season, rather than a cruise on its own. April tends to be drier, historically.

We did the private photos shoot when it was offered free to suite guests one time as well. As others have mentioned, they were great pics but they wouldn’t budge on pricing or style of prints. Not worth it. Right after that we talked to one of the regular ship photographers and set a time for her to take pictures of us against an interesting wall near the Schooner Bar. Turned out great, we got our 2 free Diamond photos and also bought 5 for a little discount. So maybe just go to the Photo Desk and see what they recommend for group shots.

In the Cruise Planner. But it depends on how far out your cruise is -- too far and you'll just have to keep checking back to see when it comes available

Coffee is the only one that comes to mind. There are a number of farms that do tours near Kona. However, one of my favorite things in Kona is the Seahorse Farm: https://seahorse.com it kind of counts as a plantation…

I just ate at Izumi Teppanyaki for lunch two weeks ago on Allure. I booked ahead, which has the benefit of being less expensive.

Canceled for weather? Could be up to several hours, unfortunately. Because half the people don’t want their bags, or are trying to reroute them to another flight or airline. Source: my 14 years as a ground baggage handler in a prior life

Welcome to the Boards! Best option would be for them to use a travel agent in Vietnam to book their cruise. Then they would get the best advice on what documents they need, depending on the ports they will be sailing to.

I don't believe you can reserve a spot ahead of time. We had no trouble finding a spot, though. I wouldn't worry!

Welcome to the boards! I think there is an error in departure time. On boarding day the ship would never leave that early. Maybe 6pm. Just pick your checkin time as you prefer between 1pm and 3pm and you will be onboard before the ship departs.

Welcome to the boards! Here’s the most recent thread on the shareholder benefit:

Someone in my Christmas sailing FB group just said they got a Royal Up yesterday -- from Deck 6 to Deck 8 was the only information, so I don't know if they started in an interior or what

Just know that any dining package might not apply on Christmas, or at minimum you’d need to pay a surcharge.

12-22-23 Allure 12-26-23 Allure

I blogged about my trip last spring that included Trinidad & Tobago. Check it out for the excursions we did:

Welcome to the boards! If you like to snorkel, an excursion that includes Sting Ray City is a good starter for Grand Cayman. Also the Turtle Farm is surprisingly enjoyable.

In 2019 Spectrum did not follow the same suite rules as the rest of the fleet. I sailed in a Golden suite and VOOM was not included. If it is now, that’s great! I would love to see her offer benefits more in line with her sister ships

I was skeptical about this one but ended up really enjoying it!

Or because you can't trust your shipmates not to log into a second device and kick you off in the middle of whatever you're doing

Welcome to the boards! Yes, you can receive the benefits of Diamond on the second leg. Talk to the Loyalty Ambassador early on during the first cruise and explain and they will get you all fixed up. As for the same room, that depends on how much you "nest" on your cruise. While it is simple to kind of pack back up and have your Room Steward move your suitcases, it is still a bit of an interruption. However, for me, $400 would be worth the time

That's a great itinerary! We will, of course, require many many photos! Enjoy!

While it's been a... *cough* minute since I lived in Texas, one of my favorite places near San Antonio was Natural Bridge Caverns. There are other great things to do around that area too, like tubing in New Braunfels or the wildlife park associated with Natural Bridge Caverns. If you have time to leave town.

Back in the day (pre COVID) you might get a free bridge and/or galley tour. Also an invitation to lunch or dinner at the Captains Table (although I don't think this is a thing anymore). Also an invitation to a suite party of some sort -- helipad sailaway or cocktail hour with bridge crew or something like that. You just never know what might happen!

This! 100%