Ditchdoc

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.

I am usually there early and none of the lines are that busy or slow. I would hate to guess how many lines or check in windows there are. One line can service half a dozen check in windows. You simply que up and go to the next available window. Some windows/lines may be marked with signage as some sort of express for Diamond or whatever. The lines do seem to be a bit shorter for these sometimes. Usually there are RCCL terminal folks standing along the way that will look at your documentation and funnel you the right way. Some times I think things are moving so smoothly and quickly that the line you end up in does not matter that much. I think the terminal guides are very much aware of bottle necks or areas that are moving quickly and may direct you down the path of least resistance regardless if it is "express" or not. I think one time we sat in a holding area for 10-15 minutes before proceeding on. Every other time it check through the various stations, a relatively short shuffle through one line or another , verify documentation and start the long walk through the photographers, ramps, up to the boarding point. It seems many times the walk onto the ship was longer than the check in. Bottom line, once the bags hit the curb it all goes pretty quickly and before you know it you are trying to decide what to do first on board. Like I said, I am usually there early, around 10am give or take a bit. Later on it might be more crowded and take a bit longer.

I don't find cash needs to be much. I usually pre pay gratuities but have slipped an extra 20 to a a waiter or room attendant that went above and beyond. I typically like to have a local beer or two in ports, occasionally a lunch if local cuisine warrents. Taxi money can come in handy at times in port. If you are driving pre and post cruise then cash for snacks, drinks etc. If flying, tips for sky caps etc. I'd say $100 in small bills and another $100 in 20's and another 100 " just in case". Credit cards for gas, hotels, pre and post meals etc. That should cover you for most Caribbean trips for a week or less.

I have always had a pretty good experience getting off the ship and am ready to roll between 8 and 9. Could I get to the airport, check in, do security etc by 9? Nope. I'd probably look for a noonish flight.

Radisson Resort at the Port It's close, they offer park and cruise, shuttle to the ship and back, have a very nice pool. I've stayed there 3 or 4 times.

Just ran across this tid bit. Generally cruise ships leaving and returning from a US ports did not have a passport requirement. Officials in Martinique now require a valid passport in order to go ashore. This requirement will be strictly enforced by local authorities. Martinique is a French island that is often visited on cruises to the Southern Caribbean.

Nice! The excitement of an approaching cruise is part of the fun. Our count down for New Years on Harmony is at 95 days. We are into 2 digits ?

I'm sailing Harmony on Dec 29 so I guess I get the perks, barely. I don't really care about the soda. I rarely drink soda anyway. It is pretty sad when you consider how much soda actually cost. The cup, the water, the gas and syrup cost restaurants literally pennies a serving. It is a tremendous money maker for fast food. They make it for a few pennies and sell it for dollars. Did you think "free refills" were nice? You could not drink enough to "get your monies worth." Several days of drinking soda probably cost RCCL a buck, maybe two per person. Imagine what they make ship wide with their prices.

First it's important to take a CPR class and know how to use an AED.

Well ... for a long time, as a guy, mostly all I had to carry around were my keys and billfold. Typical pants/shorts fit the bill. Then along came cell phones. For awhile keys in a front pocket, billfold in one back pocket and phone in the other back pocket was doable but not always comfortable and risked breaking the phone. Then there was cargo pants. Bingo, two extra front pockets on the thighs. Over time, virtually every pair of pants and shorts in my wardrobe morphed into the Jungle Jim look. Now cargo pants are made in most every style from denim to camouflage , to dress. Flaps button, zipper or Velcro. There are pockets inside of pockets. Smaller stitched pockets that hold writing implements and with rings for attaching keys. There are heavy and light weight materials that dry in minutes if gotten wet. On a cruise ship about all you need is the sea card. With all the cargo pant options, its is easy enough to find some place to keep the card. Going ashore? A passport with a credit card, a bit of folding money and the sea pass card inside the pages are the only necessities and easy to stash in a pocket. Extras like a phone or small digital camera, pair of glasses, even a smaller bottle of water can find a home in the right cargo pant pocket. As a back up, I use a sturdy book bag/backpack as my carry on. If it seems prudent for the day, it can hold all the above, binoculars, towel, lightweight rain jacket, small packages from shopping and so on. I just never liked things hanging around my neck.

Ships are dangerous......so are airplanes, trains, automobiles, movie theaters, malls, Walmart, schools, concerts, night clubs, riding a bike, riding a motorcycle, scuba diving, foul balls at baseball games, swimming, hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides, forest fires, ice storms, earthquakes, getting too close to wildlife, boating, guns, poor diets, obesity, smoking, alcohol, second hand smoke, vaping ...... I guess I'll just assume a fetal position in my basement and hope for the best.

As cool as it may be, my initial reaction is negative. People should be tolerant of the handicapped that have to use walkers and wheel chairs. At the same time, many areas of the ship can be crowded. Appliances such as wheelchairs only add to the congestion. Wheeled appliances can not use stairs and have to rely on elevators that are already often crowded. Adding additional motorized transportation to areas generally designed for pedestrians I would think would be more frustration for everyone.

There are a number of issues here. The primary one being that anyone with a few dollars can buy a "Service Dog" ID and vest from any one of a number of on-line stores more interested in getting the dollars than they are validating/verifying/vetting the training of the animal. There are a few lawful, government rules that apply to service animals. Emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals per the American Disabilities Act. Service animals must be on a lead unless it interferes with their job. Any service animal out of control or not house broken can be asked to leave the premises. https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Cruise Line Bans Stateroom Door Decorations https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-line-bans-stateroom-door-decorations/ I think this just points out there are some issues with door decorations and some things can be a safety issue. There is no indication RCCL is going this route but keep in mind it is an option if too many people "go overboard" by using flammable items, lights and so on.

My wife and I are always punctual. Most appointments we show up in the parking lot 10-15 minutes early. For something as major as airline or cruise travel, being there an hour or more early is normal for us. I never "freelance" cruse excursions. Excursions booked through the ship are vetted by RCCL and are generally guaranteed to return you on time. I have heard that if an RCCL booked excursion you are on is late due to some thing out of their control, the ship will wait a reasonable amount of time or RCCL is responsible for getting you wherever you need to be next. Generally, RCCL excursions are well run, deliver on the experience as promised and get you back in time. That does not mean you can not forgo all personal responsibility. I SCUBA dive often on cruises and though transportation, boats, gear and leaders are usually good to excellent, you still have to be responsible for your own safety or you could die. That is a bit extreme but the point is, no matter how well your off ship activities are planned and organized, if you are not prepared or act stupid, bad things can happen.

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-bridge-says-bye-as-two-passengers-miss-the-cruise-ship/33381 There is a lesson to be learned here.

I am not sure exactly what the issue is with the Azipod. Reading here and there I have had seen reference to a propeller issue. In other places I have heard there is bearing issue. This class of cruise ship uses 6 diesel engines that generate electricity using huge electrical generators. The generators in turn create power for everything. Even the Azipods are big electric motors with a 20 foot diameter propeller attached. A damaged propeller or Azipod bearing would both require dry docking to replace. The propeller would be a lot easier. If the issue is a bearing in the Azipod, either the pod has to be removed and repaired or removed and replaced. None of these are small jobs and will take time even with good preparations. The following video shows the assembly of an Azipod to give you some idea of the scale of the work involved.

We never buy drink packages. We drink enough, but in moderation. Utilizing Diamond perks, happy hours, party invites ... purchased drinks amount to maybe one by the pool around lunch, wine at dinner, a drink for the show .... etc .... so we end up purchasing maybe 3 or 4 drinks a day per person, maybe less some days. Our OBC usually takes care of that. I remember one trip with pre-paid gratuities and such where the bill at the end of the week after credits and perks was $4 and we had had a marvelous time.

Walkie Talkies....you can buy them in packages of two, four and more very reasonably.

I concede to your experience and agree with your viewpoint about anger and grief over greed. I am sure there is a big hole in the life of the parents right now that is a storm of emotion from sadness to disbelief, anger and even confusion. They will grasp at most anything that will explain, resolve and maybe through some miracle change what happened. In their anger they are striking out. It has to be extremely hard to put the blame on a close family member. RCCL is an obvious target. They should have done something, anything to prevent this. All this and more is probably going through their minds. No doubt attorneys are right there like buzzards looking for a meal and trying to turn emotion into cash.

IMHO Royal Caribbean is only a target because their net worth is near 10 billion and because the family will not accept responsibility for their own stupidity. The bottom of the window is about 3 feet off the deck, about the same as any guard rail at the edge of any precipice. It would take an absolute fool to not recognize the window is open for anyone of a number of reasons including sight, sound and feel. The same thing could have happened from similar scenarios or construction in virtually unlimited places almost anywhere in the world. You can only protect the public through reasonable safety measures to a point before stupidity takes over. In my opinion grandpa was holding her up the to window, she was squirmy and he lost his grip. Now he is just too butt hurt to admit his stupidity and the family is trying to blame cash cow RCCL in hopes of reducing grandpas guilt and striking it rich.

We are supposed to stop there right after the new year. Hopefully things will have cooled off by then.

Not having been there, I cant really offer an opinion on how this event was handled. However, if the kids were being truly annoying (which itself is subjective), I do not think it is 'out of bounds for an 'adult to remind them the solarium is generally a quite area for adults to read, relax and nap so please be considerate of others. There are other pools where you can be loud and energetic. This can be done in a mean/hateful way which is wrong and probably counterproductive and it can be done in a pleasant/learning way that gets your point across and most likely will produce results.