Ditchdoc

🙂 We spend thousands on a cruise .... and get so emotional over 98 cents worth of cookies ...  🙂
 
🙂 Along the same lines .... RC spends millions running a ship every day .... yet they begrudge the most loyal customers a  Budwiser that cost 10 cents a can in bulk .... go figure.
 

Mariner has left Gibraltar and is on her way to Port Canaveral.
In case you can't tell. I'm excited. Only 45 days till we spend 2 weeks on board.

Its been a few years back when we did Vancouver to Seward then a week long land tour  by bus/train to Fairbanks via Talkeetna and Denali. This was done in mid/late August and the weather was perfect. It was truly a trip of a life time and worth every penny.
Some high lights included:
Seeing Hubbard glacier calve. The narrow gauge railway at Skagway following the gold rush trail Whale watching from Anchorage thought we say more whales, closer from the ship and dock at Icy Point Straight. Luxurious RC train coaches with 360 degree views and on board meals. Seeing bears and wolves in Denali as well as dog sled teams. I do not think RC offers the extensive a land cruise any longer which was exceptional. I think it is cut back to 3 or 4 days and I think they sold the rail road cars that cost over a million each to another company that hosts the land tour. Regardless, if you get good weather, its a trip not to be missed if you can do it.
 
 

I am not sure just what you could use that space for. As some have mentioned, a semi outdoor bar (Tiki) might work.
I though maybe one of those virtual driving ranges were you hit a golf ball into a projected screen that detects speed and spin then virtually continues the balls course. You might could line up 3 or 4 people at a time and allow a limited number of balls (5 - 10). I am not sure golf is popular enough to have such an thing or not.
Mariner is on it way back to the US for the summer season after a dry dock. Maybe its Skypad will be updated and give some clues for future use.

Mariner has left Gibraltar and is on her way to Port Canaveral.
In case you can't tell. I'm excited. Only 45 days till we spend 2 weeks on board.

Bottom paint, new zincs, prop balance or update perhaps. Azipod access with bearing replacement, lubrication, thruster maintenance, general inspection and cleaning.  Anything normally underwater that needs servicing otherwise there would be little need to dry dock.
Anchors and chains are laid out on the dry dock floor for inspection. Any valves used for sea water access for disposal, engine cooling and so on are inspected and replaced as needed.
 
Actually, I have no idea but that all seems at least possible.

Mariner has left Gibraltar and is on her way to Port Canaveral.
In case you can't tell. I'm excited. Only 45 days till we spend 2 weeks on board.

A lot of this information is dynamic. It changes on a regular basis, sometimes, daily.  Keeping data bases updated requires good communication and hands on the keyboard. Companies have a lot of focus on this when it comes to cash flow. Public schedules and such, not so much. Its more localized by cruise directors and ship.
People usually choose their cruise by port, destination and cost. Smaller details like an Escape Room can usually be found out by drilling down to each individual ship once it is chosen.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9227510
 
I see she is out doing donuts off the coast of Spain.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9227510
 
I see she is out doing donuts off the coast of Spain.

Having some SCUBA experience I'll add my $0.02.
First, I am Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, NITROX and Rescue Diver certified. I learned to dive as a SCUBA, Swift Water Rescue Team. I have  over a thousand logged dives. A lot of my diving has been body, vehicles (including one military helicopter) and evidence recovery in conditions and waters most people wold never consider wading in, much less diving in.
I have done a fair amount of diving in the Caribbean, deep dives, drift dives and cave dives.
PADI instructors are among the best. Learning to SCUBA is very rewarding. The beauty of the oceans is like nothing you will every see on land.
Learning the skills and being comfortable in the water is paramount. It is nothing to rush through and end up being uncertain about. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited for SCUBA. It can feel claustrophobic and scary. Everyone learns differently. Some take more time and patience. Keep in mind that 'quickie' resort and cruise training may not be sufficient for some people. I have seen bad situations where bad instructors just leave people to flounder because they can not keep up with the rest of the class. There are classes where time and money can take precedence over safety.
I will say the experience I have had with RC dive shops on board has been good but diving excursions can and are often run by independent dive shops and the quality of instructors, boats and equipment can vary.
If SCUBA is all new to you, my advice is get the best training you can. Get your own well fitted mask, snorkel and fins.
You might consider a wet suit. These come in full length ankle to wrist and 'shorties' that are thigh to elbow. For Caribbean diving, something thin and light weight alike 0.5 or 1mm thickness. It will act as your cover up, help with any slight chill and offer some protection if you bump into something that might hurt.
If you go on a dive boat, be prepared to contend with other divers and motion sickness. Find your rental gear, inspect it and keep it close. If you can, test fit you BC and assemble your tank and regulator, and have your weight in place. If you have questions about how much wight, or anything else, ask your dive master for advice. Test your regulator for a good fit in your mouth, that your tank is full and nothing is leaking air. As a novice, it is easy to the have the tank turned the wrong way, the regulator on the wrong side or what ever. The basic idea here is to plan ahead for that drop into water and be ready so you are not scattered, lost and over anxious when the time comes. I have never had a dive master complain about me double checking and getting everything ready in advance. If anything, it gives them some confidence that you know what you are doing.
It takes practice to get good control of buoyancy. Don't over compensate and yo yo. Its easy to be excited and burn up your air in a hurry. Stay calm and enjoy. Ascend slowly and decompress.
The last thing you want to do and probably will do is panic at 60 feet or more.
Anyway, enough scary stuff. The point of all this is take your training seriously and if you really feel uncomfortable in the water or with the equipment, maybe stick to the swimming pool. Be cautious of accelerated courses that promise certification in a day or two. SCUBA is a serious endeavor that is fun with great rewards and learning to do it properly and safely can not be over emphasized.
 

Having some SCUBA experience I'll add my $0.02.
First, I am Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, NITROX and Rescue Diver certified. I learned to dive as a SCUBA, Swift Water Rescue Team. I have  over a thousand logged dives. A lot of my diving has been body, vehicles (including one military helicopter) and evidence recovery in conditions and waters most people wold never consider wading in, much less diving in.
I have done a fair amount of diving in the Caribbean, deep dives, drift dives and cave dives.
PADI instructors are among the best. Learning to SCUBA is very rewarding. The beauty of the oceans is like nothing you will every see on land.
Learning the skills and being comfortable in the water is paramount. It is nothing to rush through and end up being uncertain about. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited for SCUBA. It can feel claustrophobic and scary. Everyone learns differently. Some take more time and patience. Keep in mind that 'quickie' resort and cruise training may not be sufficient for some people. I have seen bad situations where bad instructors just leave people to flounder because they can not keep up with the rest of the class. There are classes where time and money can take precedence over safety.
I will say the experience I have had with RC dive shops on board has been good but diving excursions can and are often run by independent dive shops and the quality of instructors, boats and equipment can vary.
If SCUBA is all new to you, my advice is get the best training you can. Get your own well fitted mask, snorkel and fins.
You might consider a wet suit. These come in full length ankle to wrist and 'shorties' that are thigh to elbow. For Caribbean diving, something thin and light weight alike 0.5 or 1mm thickness. It will act as your cover up, help with any slight chill and offer some protection if you bump into something that might hurt.
If you go on a dive boat, be prepared to contend with other divers and motion sickness. Find your rental gear, inspect it and keep it close. If you can, test fit you BC and assemble your tank and regulator, and have your weight in place. If you have questions about how much wight, or anything else, ask your dive master for advice. Test your regulator for a good fit in your mouth, that your tank is full and nothing is leaking air. As a novice, it is easy to the have the tank turned the wrong way, the regulator on the wrong side or what ever. The basic idea here is to plan ahead for that drop into water and be ready so you are not scattered, lost and over anxious when the time comes. I have never had a dive master complain about me double checking and getting everything ready in advance. If anything, it gives them some confidence that you know what you are doing.
It takes practice to get good control of buoyancy. Don't over compensate and yo yo. Its easy to be excited and burn up your air in a hurry. Stay calm and enjoy. Ascend slowly and decompress.
The last thing you want to do and probably will do is panic at 60 feet or more.
Anyway, enough scary stuff. The point of all this is take your training seriously and if you really feel uncomfortable in the water or with the equipment, maybe stick to the swimming pool. Be cautious of accelerated courses that promise certification in a day or two. SCUBA is a serious endeavor that is fun with great rewards and learning to do it properly and safely can not be over emphasized.
 

Having some SCUBA experience I'll add my $0.02.
First, I am Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, NITROX and Rescue Diver certified. I learned to dive as a SCUBA, Swift Water Rescue Team. I have  over a thousand logged dives. A lot of my diving has been body, vehicles (including one military helicopter) and evidence recovery in conditions and waters most people wold never consider wading in, much less diving in.
I have done a fair amount of diving in the Caribbean, deep dives, drift dives and cave dives.
PADI instructors are among the best. Learning to SCUBA is very rewarding. The beauty of the oceans is like nothing you will every see on land.
Learning the skills and being comfortable in the water is paramount. It is nothing to rush through and end up being uncertain about. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited for SCUBA. It can feel claustrophobic and scary. Everyone learns differently. Some take more time and patience. Keep in mind that 'quickie' resort and cruise training may not be sufficient for some people. I have seen bad situations where bad instructors just leave people to flounder because they can not keep up with the rest of the class. There are classes where time and money can take precedence over safety.
I will say the experience I have had with RC dive shops on board has been good but diving excursions can and are often run by independent dive shops and the quality of instructors, boats and equipment can vary.
If SCUBA is all new to you, my advice is get the best training you can. Get your own well fitted mask, snorkel and fins.
You might consider a wet suit. These come in full length ankle to wrist and 'shorties' that are thigh to elbow. For Caribbean diving, something thin and light weight alike 0.5 or 1mm thickness. It will act as your cover up, help with any slight chill and offer some protection if you bump into something that might hurt.
If you go on a dive boat, be prepared to contend with other divers and motion sickness. Find your rental gear, inspect it and keep it close. If you can, test fit you BC and assemble your tank and regulator, and have your weight in place. If you have questions about how much wight, or anything else, ask your dive master for advice. Test your regulator for a good fit in your mouth, that your tank is full and nothing is leaking air. As a novice, it is easy to the have the tank turned the wrong way, the regulator on the wrong side or what ever. The basic idea here is to plan ahead for that drop into water and be ready so you are not scattered, lost and over anxious when the time comes. I have never had a dive master complain about me double checking and getting everything ready in advance. If anything, it gives them some confidence that you know what you are doing.
It takes practice to get good control of buoyancy. Don't over compensate and yo yo. Its easy to be excited and burn up your air in a hurry. Stay calm and enjoy. Ascend slowly and decompress.
The last thing you want to do and probably will do is panic at 60 feet or more.
Anyway, enough scary stuff. The point of all this is take your training seriously and if you really feel uncomfortable in the water or with the equipment, maybe stick to the swimming pool. Be cautious of accelerated courses that promise certification in a day or two. SCUBA is a serious endeavor that is fun with great rewards and learning to do it properly and safely can not be over emphasized.
 

Well .... I'm in "its depends" category. It depends in part on demand.
If 90% of the ship is on land at CoCo Cay and there is little demand and a lot of unused deck chairs, it does not matter too much if you 'reserve' a couple of spots early on while you get breakfast etc.
On the other hand, on a sea day, when the pools are crowded and half the ship wants a spot at the pool, then the crew needs to be a bit more diligent about about looking for 'abandoned' deck chairs.
To me, putting a sign on almost everything is obnoxious and ugly. Put a few signs in conspicuous places so people know and/or reminded. Like the police mark tires of limited parking areas, mark chairs in a simple way. Every 30 minutes to an hour, walk back through and any marked chair that is still unoccupied is made available for someone else.
Its not rocket science but it is common courtesy.
 

Some really good points being made here.
The comparison of cruise vs land resort vacations/cost is not easy.
Trying to distill it down to something relatively simple is not easy.
Cruise ships are more expensive to run. Anyone that has owned even a small boat, especially if it was kept at a dock in salt water, knows it is not cheap. Refueling a cruise ship can easily top a million dollars.
Here are some really rough numbers that are more indicative than actual.
Cruise ships are highly compact or dense. Lets say 4,000 passengers at about $1,000 each. That is 4 million for one week. A hotel is not so much passenger as room based. A moderate size hotel of 400 rooms at $125 a night x 7 nights is $350,000 for one week. A cruise ship can easily have 600 staff but those same passengers are probably paying at least another mandatory  $100 in tips or another $400,000 per week to help pay them. A 400 room hotel will have a staff of about 500 people whose salary comes out of the room rate. Cruise ships provide a whole list of free high tech entertainment (Broadway shows, ice shows, even computer controlled drone light shows) as well as shore excursions for additional cost. Hotels, depending, offer WiFi and a swimming pool and the surrounding neighborhood for entertainment, all at additional cost.. All inclusive resorts generally include food and drink. Cruise ships include food. Hotels can offer a lot of space per person, room size averages about 350 square feet. Cruise ships are compact and cabins average about 200 square feet. Using these very arbitrary numbers, a cruise ship stay is about $200 a night (including mandatory tip) and a hotel is about $125 a night. An all inclusive resort can be about $200 per night and may include air fare.
Cruise ships and hotels are hard to compare in a lot of respects. It seems pretty obvious cruise ships are expensive to operate. When you compare basic cost of cruising to all inclusive resorts, the cost is similar. There can be a lot of difference in available activities and entertainment. Most all cruise ships offer gambling. Ships have yet to incorporate down hill skiing.
When you start looking at luxury or exclusivity or paying tens of thousands for butlers, multi level suits and so on, I can not say how they might compare.
Overall I would say cruising is a good value, competitive but not necessarily under or over priced. The cruise industry continues to grow with more ships, private islands and resorts. The cruise industry carries about 30 million passengers annually. Walt Disney World has about 58 million guests annually. If anything, this indicates the cruising industry has a lot of room to grow.
 
 
 

I think you are asking for something that does not exist per say.
Almost every one of your examples can at least be queried in a search engine like Google or Bing. For instance, I looked up "which ships have a Flow Riders' and quickly found not only which ships but most anything you want to know about Flow Riders. Most of your other questions returned similar results.
Lately, there has been a lot of news about AI search engines that in effect can answer very complicated questions by searching tens of thousands if not millions of web pages, find what is being asked and present it in what ever format you want. This is pretty cutting edge but it is the near future.
Even so, as I stated before, much of this information can change day to day just like the availability of Sky Pads. The info you get may not always be current. It is the way of the world.  It takes some skill with research and sleuthing to find some answers. That is where sites like this, where the information of many minds with experience come together, are helpful.
Good luck in your future travels and I hope you find what you are looking for.

A lot of this information is dynamic. It changes on a regular basis, sometimes, daily.  Keeping data bases updated requires good communication and hands on the keyboard. Companies have a lot of focus on this when it comes to cash flow. Public schedules and such, not so much. Its more localized by cruise directors and ship.
People usually choose their cruise by port, destination and cost. Smaller details like an Escape Room can usually be found out by drilling down to each individual ship once it is chosen.

Also here
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/03/15/royal-caribbean-cancels-first-mariner-of-the-seas-sailing-after-scheduled-drydock

Some really good points being made here.
The comparison of cruise vs land resort vacations/cost is not easy.
Trying to distill it down to something relatively simple is not easy.
Cruise ships are more expensive to run. Anyone that has owned even a small boat, especially if it was kept at a dock in salt water, knows it is not cheap. Refueling a cruise ship can easily top a million dollars.
Here are some really rough numbers that are more indicative than actual.
Cruise ships are highly compact or dense. Lets say 4,000 passengers at about $1,000 each. That is 4 million for one week. A hotel is not so much passenger as room based. A moderate size hotel of 400 rooms at $125 a night x 7 nights is $350,000 for one week. A cruise ship can easily have 600 staff but those same passengers are probably paying at least another mandatory  $100 in tips or another $400,000 per week to help pay them. A 400 room hotel will have a staff of about 500 people whose salary comes out of the room rate. Cruise ships provide a whole list of free high tech entertainment (Broadway shows, ice shows, even computer controlled drone light shows) as well as shore excursions for additional cost. Hotels, depending, offer WiFi and a swimming pool and the surrounding neighborhood for entertainment, all at additional cost.. All inclusive resorts generally include food and drink. Cruise ships include food. Hotels can offer a lot of space per person, room size averages about 350 square feet. Cruise ships are compact and cabins average about 200 square feet. Using these very arbitrary numbers, a cruise ship stay is about $200 a night (including mandatory tip) and a hotel is about $125 a night. An all inclusive resort can be about $200 per night and may include air fare.
Cruise ships and hotels are hard to compare in a lot of respects. It seems pretty obvious cruise ships are expensive to operate. When you compare basic cost of cruising to all inclusive resorts, the cost is similar. There can be a lot of difference in available activities and entertainment. Most all cruise ships offer gambling. Ships have yet to incorporate down hill skiing.
When you start looking at luxury or exclusivity or paying tens of thousands for butlers, multi level suits and so on, I can not say how they might compare.
Overall I would say cruising is a good value, competitive but not necessarily under or over priced. The cruise industry continues to grow with more ships, private islands and resorts. The cruise industry carries about 30 million passengers annually. Walt Disney World has about 58 million guests annually. If anything, this indicates the cruising industry has a lot of room to grow.
 
 
 

Just missed you .... we board on the 12th for a back to back thru the 26th.

What do you get if you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros?
Elephrino?   (ell if I no)

OMG.....if I only had a brain.....

What do you get if you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros?
Elephrino?   (ell if I no)

What do you get if you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros?
Elephrino?   (ell if I no)

Some really good points being made here.
The comparison of cruise vs land resort vacations/cost is not easy.
Trying to distill it down to something relatively simple is not easy.
Cruise ships are more expensive to run. Anyone that has owned even a small boat, especially if it was kept at a dock in salt water, knows it is not cheap. Refueling a cruise ship can easily top a million dollars.
Here are some really rough numbers that are more indicative than actual.
Cruise ships are highly compact or dense. Lets say 4,000 passengers at about $1,000 each. That is 4 million for one week. A hotel is not so much passenger as room based. A moderate size hotel of 400 rooms at $125 a night x 7 nights is $350,000 for one week. A cruise ship can easily have 600 staff but those same passengers are probably paying at least another mandatory  $100 in tips or another $400,000 per week to help pay them. A 400 room hotel will have a staff of about 500 people whose salary comes out of the room rate. Cruise ships provide a whole list of free high tech entertainment (Broadway shows, ice shows, even computer controlled drone light shows) as well as shore excursions for additional cost. Hotels, depending, offer WiFi and a swimming pool and the surrounding neighborhood for entertainment, all at additional cost.. All inclusive resorts generally include food and drink. Cruise ships include food. Hotels can offer a lot of space per person, room size averages about 350 square feet. Cruise ships are compact and cabins average about 200 square feet. Using these very arbitrary numbers, a cruise ship stay is about $200 a night (including mandatory tip) and a hotel is about $125 a night. An all inclusive resort can be about $200 per night and may include air fare.
Cruise ships and hotels are hard to compare in a lot of respects. It seems pretty obvious cruise ships are expensive to operate. When you compare basic cost of cruising to all inclusive resorts, the cost is similar. There can be a lot of difference in available activities and entertainment. Most all cruise ships offer gambling. Ships have yet to incorporate down hill skiing.
When you start looking at luxury or exclusivity or paying tens of thousands for butlers, multi level suits and so on, I can not say how they might compare.
Overall I would say cruising is a good value, competitive but not necessarily under or over priced. The cruise industry continues to grow with more ships, private islands and resorts. The cruise industry carries about 30 million passengers annually. Walt Disney World has about 58 million guests annually. If anything, this indicates the cruising industry has a lot of room to grow.