RoyalGreek

For a number of years prior to all of the renovations on  Coco Cay, my wife and I rented the basic cabanas, the only ones they had then, for $225.00 per day. Those same cabanas today rent for $1400.  WOW!

You can pre-book a ride for private transportation from Cruise Port Ravenna to Bologna through Booking.com or TripAdvisor. Looks like it’s around $280 for up to 4 people. 

Or call RCCL back and just tell them you are flying out of Bologna and get your transportation from them. They will drop you off at the airport. You can go from there. 
 

Last option would be the train which takes about an hour and is about $12 per person. 

Go to TMobile website and search for inflight WiFi. They have instructions to print out. Does not work on Southwest but does on most others. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Adventure of the Seas. One of my wife’s favorites. We sailed on her multiple times and enjoyed every second. 

Ok folks here is how T-Mobile works if you have the Magenta Max plan.  DO NOT USE CELLULAR while you are on the ship, UNLESS you are at a port that you can connect to land base cellular.   ALWAYS have your phone in airplane mode with WIFI calling turned on.  As long as you have a Wifi package on the ship you can make and receive calls, text and data using Wifi only at no additional charges.

When you are on land or in port and using land based cellular, The Magenta Maxx plan allows you unlimited Data, Texting and WIFI calling at no charge in 215 Countries World Wide.  If you are in Mexico or a US territory it also included Unlimited Calling.  Otherwise it is billed at $.25 per minute.  The data speeds have been LTE or 5G in all the countries I have been to.

If you are going to be gone for an extended trip 10- 30 days you can purchase Unlimited Calling from $10 to $50 per trip, not per day.

My wife and I have traveled to 49 Countries and It has worked every time.  It is one of the best travel tools you can get from any cellular company.  It works so much better that ATT or Verizon if you travel and it cheaper!

Also you do not have to activate anything.  T-mobile will send you a text message each time you arrive in a different country and let you know what you can use in each country and what your data speed will be.

They also provide free WiFi on most domestic and some international flights as well.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE T-MOBILE AND YOU TRAVEL, CHANGE AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!

Work from Sea,

My wife and I did an Arctic Transatlantic last September. Could be my favorite cruise of all time.  we had a balcony on Voyager.  It was nice to have on the Sea Days to sit our and relax on our own Balcony.  However, when we started going though the Fjords we viewed the entrance from the Balcony. On the way out we decided to go outside.  The outside views where so much better as you got to take in a full view of your surrounding!  The staff served Hot Chocolate on deck and the entire experience was so much better.  When we every we do it again I would most likely still get the balcony just because we and 4 or 5 sea days, but it looks like you sailing is more port heavy and much more hours of daylight.  On that sailing I would go with the inside room for the price and better night rest then go out on deck to view all of that splendor.  Just my two cents.   Have a great time!!

Matt,

You should do a poll and let the readers/viewers decide how you should pronounce it in the future, that would be fun!

If you are taking a train to another destination you can safely book around 10 am. The train station is an easy walk from the port if you’re able. If you are flying out from Amsterdam it is easier to book the RCCL shuttle to the airport. 
I would book your flight no earlier than 1 pm. That airport has been really slow lately with pre boarding check in. 

1.  Wearing shorts and or baseball caps in the main dining room at dinner.  If you just want to wear shorts go to the Windjammer.

2.  Being rude to the staff for any reason.  There are other ways to handle issues away from public view.

3.  Not allowing you to get off an elevator before someone rushes in.

4.  Not Tipping the wait staff for a free Diamond drink.

5.  Wearing political clothing to make a statement on board.  We hear enough of that outside our vacation time.

The closest airport to Ravenna is in Bologna. It is a one hour train ride to the center of Ravenna. 
 

down load the Trenitalia app. You can get all your train tickets In Italy on it. It’s the national rail system site. 
Fyi. The main station in Rome is called Roma Termini. 

The closest airport to Ravenna is in Bologna. It is a one hour train ride to the center of Ravenna. 

Thank you so much for the information.  I will make sure and take all my documents with me just in case including test results.

I have done plenty of B2B cruises but have never left the port between sailings. So here are my questions:

1.  Am I allowed to do this?

2.  Do I have to go back through all the same processes as if I were a new passenger?

3.  How does Covid testing play into this?

Any thoughts would be welcome.  Thanks

Yes, it all depends on the weather. Something else to consider is the noise you get from the anchor and the tie-off ropes in the front. This only applies to the lower decks 2,3 and 4. 

Athens I recommend The Royal Olympic Hotel.  It’s close to everything in Athens. It has one of the best rooftop restaurant and bar in Athens. Stunning views of the Acropolis.

Venice, I would stay at Hotel Palazzo Vitturi  it’s right in the center of Venice  

Those are wonderful city’s.  Have a great time!

My wife and I did a S2S pre-Covid and Royal provided the transportation from Miami to Ft Lauderdale. It was no problem. If they don’t, just use Uber or Lyft. That will be your least expensive and quickest way. Have a great trip!

Everyone please remember to tip the person that brings you your Diamond drink only if it’s a dollar. Those folks do not receive any gratuity for Diamond service. It’s the right thing to do. 

Since all of the 2021 Transatlantic cruises from Europe back to the states are on hold, they are not showing up on the web site. Can everyone post the following information: Ship Name, departure port, date and arrival port that you know of? Thanks in advance for all the information. 

13 hours ago, livin-the-life said:

my big question is the legality of a u.s. agency limiting the days on a cruise going to europe and not returning. I understand the u.s. is the departure point, but not returning, takes it out of u.s. jurisdiction as these are not u.s. flagged ships.. we have 8 cruises booked starting end of march 2021.. jewel out of galaveston, 16 night to barcelona, back to back, 9 day barcelona to amstedam.. leaves march 22, 2021.. 8 day independance in july and 5 others between april and sept. 2021..  while the cruises for more than 7 days have been booked on the booking portal, they are still on my upcoming sailings list..  and by the way, I just received another e-mail for cruise planner discounts for my trans- atlantic sail this morning..lol....... luckily got 6 cruises in before shutdown...had 5 cruises cancelled for 2020 between april and august.. glad I didnt book last 4 months of 2020!!  its a wait and see game now..........and I am a big YES on volunteering to be a guinea pig!!

I’m on that same cruise on Jewel out of Galveston and was wondering the same thing. 
 

We have been on Enchantment many time.  Great Ship!!  If you are staying in a suite The Key is not worth the extra dollars.  You will get almost the same benefit with the suite.  No there is not a special pool seating area for Suite or Key guest.

I use the Bank of America Travel Card. Have been very happy with it. No annual fee, 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases. Those points are redeemed for anything travel related. I use the card for almost all my personal and business purchases. I’ve not paid for a cruise in 4 years. My points have covered 3 or 4 cruises per year. The trick is to make sure you pay the balance off each month so you don’t pay interest. If you can’t do that then it’s worth it at all as the interest rate is high, but if you can it’s the only way to travel. 3 years ago I took my family of 6 on a 2 week vacation to Greece, England and Scotland. The total cost of the trip was $20,000. The points covered all but $1500 for meals. Plus the card offers free currency exchange. 
Also it is very easy to redeem the points. Use just log into your account and apply the points to your purchase and it removes it from your balance.  The card does offer some insurance but would suggest additional protection. 

Joe,  Thank you for your service!  It takes a special person to service in the silent service!! Beat Army!

This is something my wife and I have talked about doing. Take a transatlantic from Florida to Europe in March/April. Spend the 6 months or so traveling in Europe with a Euro rail pass and AIR B&B’s Then catch a transatlantic back to Florida in October/November. What a great way to travel. 

We do the very same thing. SWA into FLL. The cheapest and easiest way to get to Miami Cruise terminal is to get a Lyft. 
Once you collect your bags walk out the door and turn right. Walk about 300 ft and you will be at the pick up area. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the ship. Very easy. 

For us its been from 30 days out up to 2 weeks out.  Mostly about the 30 day mark.

Thanks Chadster.  I love making those videos after some of our cruises.  I like to change it up a little bit.