Ditchdoc

Photogs are always there at the gangway when entering a new port, roaming during dineing, set up at formal nights. You also spot them roaming pool decks and atrium areas. I would guess that any time you see one they would be glad to accommodate you within reason.

Our New Years GTY came in at 30 days. No upgrade but in a nice spot.

https://www.cruisehive.com/cruise-ship-visits-to-san-juan-puerto-rico-are-being-canceled/35941 not very clear we are supposed to port there on 2 Jan on Harmony

Very nice. Technology like drones, HD projection, LED lighting is changing our perception of so many things, including entertainment.

Keep in mind that on board there is shopping. In addition to clothing, watches, liquor, souvenirs and so on there is a sundry shop for miscellaneous things like sun screen, chewing gum, aspirin, toiletries and so on. Mostly you will just need any meds you might take, toiletries, shorts, t-shirts, bathing suit + sandals, smart casual clothes for the evening + shoes, your electronics you have to have e.g camera, documentation, a bit of cash. Don't think you will need much more than that.

Sounds good. Your own, well fitted mask will help. If you have room in your travel bags I'd even take fins. I personally take my own regulator. In part because it has a fitted mouth piece that is far more comfortable and it has the transmitter that talks to my wrist worn dive computer. I also am prone to take my own 0.5 mil shortie. You might wait awhile before you jump in that deep ?

I hope you have a good experience. I have been diving for 20 years. I got started as part of a swift water rescue/dive team. The level of training was pretty demanding as most of our diving was done in zero visibility along with anyone of a number of other hazards. We started out slow and worked out way up. Even then, some people did not make it. The point is, dive schools that promise every thing in a day are rushed. If you are a strong swimmer, perfectly comfortable in deep water, have no issues with claustrophobia, no medical issues (especially respiratory or cardiovascular), don't panic easily, learn quickly, are level headed and can adapt to a totally different environment ... you should do well. In addition to learning all the mechanics of the equipment and safety rules, buoyancy control is probably the hardest to control well. Being able to finesse this in small increments with varying depths takes practice. Mostly is done with the BC and many times it can be be adjusted by small amount by how deep you breathe or inflate your lungs. I would prefer a class that is done over days, starting with a fairly deep swimming pool where you can take time to practice skills and really feel comfortable. I'm not trying to scare you, its just a bit of a reality check. Diving is fun and a great sport. Just be aware that resort courses are accelerated. If all else fails, bubbles always go the surface. Don't panic and follow them slowly.

For travel and convenience I like the Nikon Coolpix A900. It has an automatic mode as well a manual modes. It is small and compact enough to slip into a pocket. What really makes it stand out is the built in 35x optical zoom. I have some great wild life photos taken from a safe distance. I added a 128GB SD card and you would be hard pressed to fill it up. The on screen "photo remaining" count only goes to 999. I've never seen it go lower even after having taken several hundred photos and a number of short videos. It does have some draw backs. It does not do raw images. But as far as being handy and able to take great photos, even at some distance, its hard to beat.

We stayed in one. Just picked a balcony, it was available via the deck plans so I picked it for something different we hadn't done before. We liked it. You might could work backwards. Look at the deck plans, see what color/number/class an aft balcony is then go through the reservation process to pick it. Obviously the earlier you reserve the better the chance you get what you want.

We are currently 35 days out GTY with no assignment. Our eDocs now show the deck but no room. Our cruise is over the New Year and popular so it is probably fully booked and that could have some bearing. I found out the bar code on the eDocs has the room embedded. A bar code reader for your smart phone camera can decode the bar code. The last 6 digits or so are the deck and room number. Checking the deck plan, the bar code for our cruise appears to be the correct deck and room type is correct. I guess there is no guarantee until your bags are in the room but this bar code trick just might confirm your room before it becomes official.

36 days till Dec 29 and our New Years cruise on Harmony. We are GTY with a balcony over central park. Pretty sure we are on deck ten but room is not yet assigned. I had thought about Voom so I could present some live updates here. I'm just not sure I really want to be connected. I kinda see this as a time to disconnect. Any way we are excited as time draws near and are looking forward too our 3rd visit to Coco Cay. The first time it was pretty much just an isolated beach. It's grown a bit since then.

Our Alaskan trip on RCCL was marvalous. Icy Point Straight was not well developed but the whale watching was marvalous. I would highly recommend combining a land tour that includes the Wilderness Express train and Denali. Weather is the only uncertainty. We went in late August which is the Alaskan fall at higher elevations. The air was clear and dry and the foilage color was suprising. In Skagway, the narrow gage mountain pass train ride is a must and unforgettable.

Well ... this was outstanding information. I scanned our boarding pass and the last numbers were separated by a dash. Looking up the deck plans, those numbers corresponded to a room number of the room type we reserved as GTY. That was exciting to see where we would probably be staying. We are 62 days out from our New Years cruise. Its getting closer all the time. Its also kind of scary that Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all that involves, will be behind us in only 62 days. I may have a panic attack.

If anything, the ship usually arrives back a little early. Disembarking is a system where you get assigned colors and a place to gather. There is no guarantee where you will end up in the process. Baggage claim and customs usually goes pretty smoothly and quickly. When driving, I find I am usually on the road between 8 and 9 with no special considerations. If you let your state room attendant know you have a need to disembark as soon as possible due to travel commitments, they will work with you to get you off as soon as possible. You might be on the road by 7 or or earlier.

In general, its not that great. I have carried one for ... I dunno ... 12 years or more maybe. I accumulated enough points for 2 for 1 cruises at least three times and cashed in points for OBC from time to time or used the cash value to help offset cost. It basically amounts to $100 for every $10,000 you put on the card. I can not complain about that but that is all it is good for. RCCL credit. If you could channel your mortgage, car payments and every thing else through it and pay it off monthly AND you just really want to build RCCL cruise dollars .... it just may be just right for you. Other cards give you similar rewards in the form of cash that can be used for anything you want, not just RCCL cruises. Some offer 0% interest for a year or more or bonus cash if you charge "x" amount in the first few months etc. There are cards that cater to different types of travelers and provide other perks if you travel a lot for business and so on. Some cards just suit some people better than others. Do a simple Google search for "best credit cards". Take what you read with a grain of salt because some sites appear to put the "best" based on being paid to do so. Read what at least 3 o 4 different "review" sites have to say. You will see at least a couple of cards that seem to always be in the top 10 if not the top 5. Decide what suits you best. Odds are it will not be RCCL.

No doubt. About the only limitation would normally be a passengers right to a cabin of equal or greater value/category. It is their ship. Their rules. There are no doubt many reasons a cabin assignment could change. One of the most obvious would be mechanical issues. Something breaks or becomes serviceable. No doubt with hundreds/thousands of cabins to maintain, some amount go in and out of service on a regular basis for repairs or updates. There could be safety reasons.

If you are like most people, the majority of your photos lie in rest on your computer or in a box at the back of a closet. Do you want to shell out $200 to add to that collection? If you are at Diamond level, you get a couple free photos. You can have your photo taken almost any time you get on or off the ship, at scheduled photo ops on formal nights and most likely on a couple of occasions while you have dinner. You can see these photos at the photo shop and decide if you like them or not. Sometimes they do a great job, other times, not so much. You can always purchase one or two if you really like them and most times that is souvenir enough. Would I pay $200 for a 'package'? Probably not unless like some have said, it was a special occasion like a wedding, family reunion and so on.

I simply have a nylon travel "billfold" that is about 4 inches by 9 inches. It opens up and there are pockets for: Sliding a folded sheet(s) of paper in such as printed reservations, schedules etc. Holding 3 or 4 credit or other cards. Holding passports Holding SCUBA credentials Holding a pen/pencil A bit of folding money if needed It usually has a place in either my carry on or my cargo pants pocket where I can get to it quickly.

Everyone has an app now days, My smart phone is cluttered with them. They use storage space, eat data and battery power. Some are useful and get used almost daily while others only get used on a rare occasion. I only cruse once or twice a year and it seems wasteful to use limited phone resources for an app I would only use a couple of times a year.

Just saw the "first late night visit perfect day" photos and video. That does look like a fun time. The water jet pack demo was pretty neat.

“Good morning Reyno, can you come up and dress me?”

I don't pretend to know anything about running a cruise line, especially finances ... but ... just from what has been posted here .... It took 60 million to stretch the ship and added 151 state rooms. That is almost 400 thousand per state room. Just to make it easy, lets say the state rooms rent for 1,000 per week. It would take 400 weeks or almost 8 years to for them to pay for themselves. My very basic understanding of business is if something does not pay for itself in 5 years, its not worth it. Of course this does not take all kinds of things into consideration like cost of extra food, fuel costs or what passengers spend on all kinds of things like drinks to name a few.

Read up on credit cards. The RCCL card is a poor choice in general. In terms of rewards, the RCCL card offers 100 points per $10,000 spent. Points that can only be used on RCCL. There are cards that offer cash back for any purchase and often a bonus is offered. Obviously cash can be used anywhere you want. Often you can get 0% interest for a year or more. Eventually all cards are going to hit you up for high interest rates.

I would opt to go all the way through. The stops on the west coast were some of the best. Our cruise terminated in San Diego which is worth spending at least a few days if not a week looking around. The whole westbound cruise was 15 days. Add travel time and if you decided to spend time in LA or San Diego, you could easily make it a 3 week trip.

There does not seem to be any specifics on this I can find. It says it arrives the canal about 7am, leaves about 3pm, arrives in Colon at 4 and leaves that same evening. I have done the westbound all the way through. Colon is not exactly a great place. Its the only port I have been in where security stationed around the tourist area of the docks advised you not to go any further. Traveling through takes almost all day. The cost of locking through is based on ship weight and is expensive. Tens of thousands of expensive. I have read in the past of cruises that do a 180 in the lake go back the way they came in. Maybe that is cheaper. I would be hesitant to take a cruse that did not lock through at all. I would call RCCL and ask for clarification.