BrianB

Yes. 1 point per cruise night…plus 1 point per night for being solo in a double occupancy cabin…plus 1 more point per night for being solo in a suite. 3 points per night.

All of the above…plus; I usually sail solo. At first I planned cruises with others…and then tried cruising solo. Changed my life. Living in the northeast the winters can be annoyingly dull…short days with cold, wet weather. No outside activities for me…I don’t do winter sports. So I sail to summer. I love cruising out of the Hudson River in winter, usually on the Anthem in the fully enclosed, heated Solarium with the full glass forward view. And then, seeing how the temperature warms up virtually by the hour as we sail south. I’ll usually cruise from September to May. I love staying aboard at the ports (been there done that) and enjoying the near empty ship…although it seems a lot more passengers are opting to stay aboard. Port Liberty is a short drive. I love everything from planning, packing and driving to the port…and, after the cruise, I can’t wait to go back. I now do primarily b2bs. It’s a great feeling when seeing the luggage in the halls on the last night knowing I’m staying aboard. Being solo, I do what I want, when I want. I can meet people…or not. I can remain gloriously anonymous or join a conversation. I find cruisers are always welcoming and pleasant…heck, they’re on vacation. It’s a great lifestyle and I know that I am lucky to be able to do it…and grateful. Enjoy!

@NimrodGreat video! Thanks for sharing. It reminded me to restock my liquor cabinet!

@Nimrod Just hop in to your Flux Capacitor-customized DeLorean and enter the date a few weeks before the cruise. Don’t forget the 1.21 gigawatts and the need to hit 88 mph…be careful! You can always reach out to Doc Brown for assistance. Then you can check in and print out your boarding pass. Easy peasy! By the way…do me a favor and take a quick look at the winning lottery number while you’re there. Thanks in advance!

I’ve seen FlowRider ‘riders’ who are phenomenal…they put on quite a show, even better than the crew members. Some are so committed that they even bring their own wetsuits and boards. At one of the Top Tier events, a new Pinnacle member even brought his board up on stage for the photo. I can appreciate the zeal that they have for the sport and understand how cruise decisions can include FlowRider considerations.

I really liked that Christmas show! I thought it would be a cheesy quickie thing, but it was a great production! The singers and dancers from We Will Rock You and Spectra’s, along with the Royal Orchestra did a wonderful job. The costumes, sets, songs and choreography were fantastic! Kudos to the production staff that apparently put a lot of time and effort into that show!

I do walk off with all of my luggage so I don’t know the answer, but….do they have somebody checking luggage tags at the pick up area in the port? I mean, is it like the airport carousel where anyone can just grab a piece of luggage and walk away with it…either by accident or on purpose? I remember years ago at the airport (Newark) they used to have someone checking the tags to make sure before I could leave the carousel area with a bag.

Bermuda health states the $40 fee per person is non-refundable. So no recourse there. Unless Royal decides to step up and give it back as OBC.

@twangsterThanks for relying. I appreciate the information. Maybe it’s new, but the restrictions on the free cruise Include Spring Break and Peak Summer Season (June 15 through August 15). I wonder how they figure spring break when different schools have different spring break periods. It doesn’t specify on the certificate. Did they allow you to apply it to a cruise during those periods if it was already booked? ***also…after further review, I may have missed something in the Royal calculations. I think the solo supplement was applied after the 2400 was deducted from the price of a double occupancy rate. It doesn’t show on the receipt, but it would make sense.

I redeemed my Pinnacle free cruise certificate today…even though I made it in February and have yet to receive my Pinnacle ‘Box’ with the actual certificate. I called C&A (press 9) and they had my certificate on file. I had my certificate applied to a current booking on the Oasis in a CLS. Because I sail solo, the booking price had to be reconfigured to a double occupancy price. So I lost my 150% solo supplement. I also lost over $400 for the flash sale when I originally booked. But the price remained the same as the date I booked it, not the current price. So, although I received the full $2400 value…it was applied to a double occupancy rate. At the end of the computations…I received a total benefit of $1,387. Oh, well…pretty soon I’ll be at 1050 points and get another certificate.

I usually travel solo; always social distance (even before Covid was a thing); always wash my hands thoroughly with soap and water (not the splash and dash that I see some others do); never touch a bannister (a ship captain gave me that advice long ago); use the stairs a lot trying to avoid crowded elevators (very carefully because of the no-bannister-touching); grab the buffet tongs near the bottom; I even use hydrogen peroxide wipes to wipe down my room when I first board. I always did these things even pre-Covid. My concern was avoiding flu and, especially…Norovirus. That’s why the hydrogen peroxide wipes. Regular alcohol wipes don’t kill Noro. But…I know there is no way to completely avoid Covid exposure. Even wearing a mask will not prevent me from getting it…it may offer some protection but it’s primarily meant to keep me from unknowingly spreading it if I am asymptomatic. I have been on 18 cruises since Sept…many b2bs…through Delta and the beginning of Omicron…and I have been extremely lucky. But, it finally got me. I disembarked from a 7 night on the Oasis on May 8…luckily it wasn’t a b2b. That afternoon I had a minor sore throat which lasted into the next day. I tested and was positive. Minor cold symptoms for three days. I cancelled the next cruise on the Adventure scheduled for May 12. Didn’t need to send a copy of the test because it was outside the 48hrs CWC. Received refunds for my Cruise Planner purchases in three days…and a full cruise refund in fourteen days…three days after the cruise ended. Oh, well…I figure it was inevitable…but now I have the antibodies. I hope everyone who gets it going forward has the same minor symptoms…or less…and recovers quickly. And I hope the inconvenience for those being isolated onboard is stress-free. Also, I hope the refund process is just as quick. Best wishes to all!

Hurricanes have a very good forecast window. So they don’t just ‘pop up’ as a surprise. Except for changes in direction. Cruise lines are very adept at avoiding them and the worst of the weather. I have been on cruises in the winter where at-sea Bomb Cyclones were not forecast…they just went from passing severe weather fronts to worsening conditions…to very heavy seas and wind….and ‘boom!’…Bomb Cyclone! And still, the ship handled them very well. The Captain and his staff, along with shoreside forecasters, team up and do a good job of avoiding the worst. Whenever I sail from NJ to Bermuda or the Bahamas/Caribbean during hurricane season, and prior to boarding…if there is a hurricane brewing…I always pack a few warmer things in the event the ship is diverted north. Just in case.

For me….easy Peasy. I just used a cell phone stand/holder because I need my hands free. Can’t let the test leave the view of the monitor. By the way, I have a Galaxy 8 Android…and my home WiFi…Worked without any issue at all.

Not now…..I’m eating…

Motorcycle racing dome? LOL!!

Hallelujah! Back to normal this afternoon on all devices. Just a little glitch in the beginning…showed no cruises leaving out of Port Liberty in April and only one leaving in March. Eventually it all returned. Oh, well…now I can get back to obsessing about cruising. Good luck to everybody else. Was pretty rough there for awhile!

Just the check in time…nothing else. This was at Port Liberty.

At Port Liberty, the only thing I had to show outside was my boarding pass with the arrival time. That’s all. Then we went inside the terminal, through security, and then we were directed to an available port agent. Only then did we have to show our passport, vaccine card and negative Covid test…along with the boarding pass.

Unknown what may have caused this delay…if it was just passengers arriving outside their assigned time, or a combination of issues. I have seen huge backups at boarding due to the ship having to leave the pier for awhile to allow a late-arriving container ship to pass; or embarkation being delayed due to a surprise onboard inspection by US Health authorities; or a surprise safety inspection by the Coast Guard; or port computer malfunctions preventing check ins. Each of the things resulted in a domino effect causing long lines and delays. Maybe someone who was there can elaborate…

I don’t particularly like asking questions in that forum…but I do enjoy hearing others ask away. I really make the effort to attend and support the event just by being there. Especially depending on the Captain, HD, CD at the time…for example; I love hearing the interaction between Capt. Srecko, CD Joff and HD Tony Curtis on the Anthem. Though they provide good answers to the questions, they add quite a bit of comic relief. I even jokingly suggested to them that they advertise themselves as a comedy trio and perform in the theater. I also believe Capt. Srecko is excellent at understanding and answering the questions.

That’s a true scientific fact I just made up!

Day three…still white screen. Tried rebooting devices; phone, iPad and laptop. Downloaded newest update to iPad…tried different search platforms. I’m thinking the location thing is a reasonable explanation. I’m in central Jersey. Wondering if anyone else in the area is still ‘white-screened’.

Still no good…frustrating…

Got off the Oasis on May 8 after a seven day cruise. Had a slight sore throat after getting home that afternoon which lasted into the next day. Tested positive. Fortunately just minor cold symptoms for three days. Had the booster back in December. This was my 18th cruise since September…many were b2bs…luckily this was just a quickie cruise otherwise I would have been aboard testing positive on day 2. I was booked on the Adventure on May 12. The first thing I did was go into my Cruise Planner and canceled my purchases…dining package and beach bed. Then I called to cancel the cruise. Because of CWC, I didn’t need to send a copy of my test as I canceled before the 48hrs. My Cruise Planner purchases were refunded to my credit card in three days. My total cruise fare was refunded in two weeks…two days after the cruise ended. That was pleasantly surprising as I thought it would take much longer. Oh, well…I believe getting Covid was inevitable. Fortunately it didn’t happen while I was aboard, especially during Delta and the beginning of Omicron. At least now I’ll have strong antibodies for months. I’ll probably get a second booster before the winter months…depending on how the infection rates look at that time.

White screen yesterday, white last night…white now. Computer, iPad and phone. Oh, well….just gotta wait.