sleepy425

Received my renewed passport today !  YIPPEE !!!  I sent it off in early June so it took slightly over 2 months.  I had not asked for any kind of expediting.

Alcohol package gets a 20 or 25% discount on the Taste of the Caribbean (as of Nov 2021 and Nov 2022 cruises).  Sadly it wasn't held on my cruise in June due to lack of interest.  I waited around but it was only me and one other person.

We are doing Boston to Vancouver on Jetblue in June for our Alaska cruise.  The cruise leaves on Sunday, we are flying out Thursday.  I figure this gives us two more shots to make it on the one flight they have each day, or switch to Seattle or whatever we have to do to make it by Sunday.  Originally everyone else wanted to fly Friday, but I felt like it was cutting it too close with such limited flight options.
ETA: we also considered JFK but Boston has better flight times for us.  Since we are in CT either airport works for us.

Happy to share with you all that I will be joining Icon Of The Seas later this year, and I will be a part of the start-up team.
 
I look forward to seeing all of you who have booked a cruise for 2024!
 
I'm excited to make video on the newest, biggest, and best ship in the world!
 
 

I considered something like this but my daughter doesn't do well on vacation, and by the end of this cruise I assume she will be just like every other cruise we've done - unsure what to do with herself and without much coping ability left (thankfully all of our cruises so far have been within driving distance).  I wouldn't want to subject a tour group to her at that point.
This also means a bus to Seattle full of people may be a bit much, but I will check it out.  I considered flying out of Seattle but adding two rental cars and dealing with customs at the border seemed like more hassle than it would be worth.  But I still haven't completely ruled it out, I will look into the bus.
 

One other option (and I'm not saying this is a great one) is there is bus service between Vancouver and Seattle. So if there is a better-timed flight out of Seattle, that might be something you could consider. 

Having a day in Vancouver would definitely be more fun, for sure. But if you have to be back home by a certain time, Seattle would at least give you some extra options. 

I understand.
In that case dayuse.com is really the best option. I even got the Hilton F&B Voucher after staying at an airport hotel last time for only 6h.

like a lot of you i have been in the ocean many, many times and seen jellyfish often as well.  it's not worth fretting about imo - I've had much more pain from stepping on a sharp piece of shell or a bee sting than from anything in the water.  they don't want to bother you and usually brush right by.  in any case it's like being worried about getting run over in the crosswalk, you still gotta get across the street haha! live your life, hakuna matata, c'est la vie, etc etc

We've gone 2018, 2021, 2022 for Thanksgiving and kids have gotten stung each time in the South Beach area.  The stuff they give at first aid makes it go away quickly, it's more of a nuisance than a pain.  None of my kids who have been stung were aware of it until after they left the water - it's never been some big dramatic thing.  More of a "my leg is itchy/irritated!" situation. 

I assume it is so maybe you can surprise people you're traveling with? (OK maybe that isn't the real reason, but I have something booked for my friends when we go and they cannot see it even though I had to select them as guests.  So it can be a plus!).

I was on the Canada cruise last week to Halifax and there was absolutely no issue with the smoke for our cruise.

I was on the Canada cruise last week to Halifax and there was absolutely no issue with the smoke for our cruise.

18-25 crowd had activities June 20-24 on Liberty.  One was frat house games like Beer Pong.

Finally get to post this. 😙

In the plush confines of a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, a heated discussion was underway between Miss Scarlet and Wadsworth. They were seated in the grandeur of the lounge, surrounded by the opulence of gilt-edged paintings and velvet upholstery, the waves of the ocean rolling against the portholes, mirroring the churning dispute that was taking place within. The topic of contention? The Crown & Anchor Society's loyalty program and how to earn points.
"It's really quite simple," insisted Miss Scarlet, her eyes sparking with a hint of exasperation. "It’s like adding the bullets in a revolver: One for any cabin, per night; another one if you pay the single supplement; and yet another if you sail in a suite. It's a straightforward addition, Wadsworth."
Wadsworth, however, with a puzzled look on his face, interjected. "But surely, Miss Scarlet, you're oversimplifying. I thought it’s multiplication, not addition! Shouldn't it be the product of the cabin's type, the supplement, and the suite's availability? Multiplication yields far more points!”
Miss Scarlet sighed, taking a moment to compose herself. “Wadsworth, just as you were incorrect about the number of bullets left in the gun in our previous encounter, you are mistaken here too. Allow me to break it down for you. Let's say you are staying for three nights in a suite, and you paid the single supplement. For each of those nights, you'd earn one point for the cabin. That's three points. On top of that, paying the single supplement grants you an additional point each night. That's another three points. Lastly, because you're in a suite, you earn yet another point each night. That's three more points. Three plus three plus three. It adds up to nine points in total, not twenty-seven as your multiplication would suggest."
Despite the frustration visible on Miss Scarlet's face, she remained patient, hoping to finally get through to Wadsworth. He seemed to ponder over her words, confusion still lingering in his eyes.
"But," Wadsworth stammered, trying to regain his footing in the conversation, "Doesn't the multiplication yield a better reward?”
“No, Wadsworth," Miss Scarlet responded, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "The program doesn't reward wild calculations, but the simplicity of an enjoyable cruise experience. The Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society is about appreciating their loyal customers, and this is done through simple, additive calculations.”
In the grand lounge of the ship, Miss Scarlet hoped her lesson finally sank in. Wadsworth stared at her, an uncertain expression still marking his features. The dance of the Crown & Anchor Society points, it seemed, was a melody as complex to him as the ever-ambiguous number of bullets in a revolver.

We are booked for the scuba on day 4 - can't wait!  See you all next week 🙂
 

I'm watching the weather and debating what to do about my son's Try Dive lesson.  Thankfully it was only $35, so if we wake up and it is still supposed to happen but he decides it is too cold to get in the water I guess I'll just eat the cost.  My husband has been scuba diving since before he was born, so he has really been wanting to try it out.  Fingers crossed he gets to do it, because this is the first cruise we have seen it offered (we have 8 cruises booked, and no other ones are offering this). A simple one hour trial would be awesome to see if we should invest more money into actual classes.

Keep Mama Mia...Get rid of Cats on Oasis. Replace it with anything. I would rather see a elementary school talent show.

They used to have this pre-pandemic. It's a choice of soda, water, juices etc at slightly discounted prices.

We've got 8 on the books. 3 left for this year, 4 next year, & 1 for 2025. Looking to maybe do one more in '24.

But you're flying MCO directly to FLL. Not MCO to FLL via BUF

I'm doing this in April.  I'm running races at Disney then boarding a cruise the next day.  It is $60 to fly MCO to FLL, $95 to rent a car plus the cost of gas (and tolls maybe? I didn't look to see if there are tolls).  I have to head to the airport to put my son on a plane back to CT, so smartest option is for me to also hop on a plane to get to the port.

I have been flying SWA almost exclusively for 15 years now.  It is the best choice CT to FL.  I have no issues with boarding.  In fact I find it almost no different than legacy airlines.  The few times I flew Delta, everyone rushed the gate as soon as boarding was announced so you had to “excuse me, excuse me, excuse me” to the gate anyway.  At least on Southwest you’re in some kind of order.  I don’t stress about sitting close to the front, we all arrive together and I don’t make connections that are so tight that I have to be first off.  I check bags for free so I don’t have to deal with the 50lb “carry ons” people insist on bringing on board.  Picking up luggage takes 15 minutes.  In 20 years of flying have only had a bag go missing once.  As for seating?  We usually head to the back third of the plane and if by some chance we had to sit apart, we’ve been married 43 years.  I think we’ll survive 2-3 hour flight. Works for me.  

There is the whole drama of the SWA boarding process.  
On my last flight I was A3 so I boarded near the front and got the first row bulkhead window.   The lady in the aisle was saving the middle seat for her husband who "Is in the bathroom".  I heard her tell that over and over again.  Except no one was in the bathroom.  I could see since I was in the first row.  The bathroom door was not shut all the way and it was bumping with the cockpit door.  
Her husband finally boarded and was nearly the last person on the plane.    It was a full flight so I knew someone would be next to me.   Any passenger could have plopped themselves down and taken that seat.  The flight attendants would not stop them if they did.  She was also trying to save overhead bin space for her "medication bag".  Apparently her "medication bag" was in the bathroom with her husband.   Not really.  It was just a carry on.  
On the same flight a few rows back a lady was trying to save three rows for her family.  That didn't end well for her.  She lost the row in front and behind her.  I heard her say "I'm saving this row" and another passenger respond "You can't do that" and with that they sat in that row.  She freaked out and the flight attendants told her you can't save rows.  
People are scum.  They say anything to try to get their way.  

Turns out this will be an anniversary cruise for my wife and I. We actually have another, longer "anniversary" cruise that we booked more than a year ago for later this summer. We've been planning that one for a while. However when we found out schools were getting out earlier than expected (no snow days), we booked this one for ourselves and our 7 year old son. Funny thing is that Friday night (the second sea day) will be the actual date of our 10th anniversary. We reserved chef's table for that night, and DS will definitely be in the kid's club.
Between the included wine at chef's table, the 2 bottles that we'll bring onboard, and doing some beer tasting at one (or more) of the breweries in Halifax, we figure we'll be ok just paying per drink.
In Halifax we plan to rent a car to drive out to Peggy's Cove or Lunenburg. Possibly we'll also travel over to the East side and visit Fisherman's Cove. We'll drop the car off before hitting the breweries.