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I personally would not book a flight before noon. The ship is *scheduled* to dock at 6 am, and most likely will be on time. However, delays can happen. Better to have margin. Assuming all goes as planned, you can always elect to walk your own luggage off with the earliest group, likely around 7:30. Last time we disembarked in Miami, we had a later flight and thus were put in a later disembark group. Ended up leaving ship about 10:30. The taxi line was long by then, so another half an hour in that. But we were purposely not n a rush.

Until this thread, I truly thought just about everyone HAD read the book of poems as part of school requirements. Likewise, I thought most people would have been exposed to the top five longest running Broadway musicals at some point in their lives. I guess it goes to show we really do live in information bubbles, lol.

This is too late for OP, but thought I’d share for others. We just spent a week in Cabo and one day did a short boat tour with Roger’s sea sports. https://www.rogerstourboatcabomexico.com/. We had a great experience. That day, we just wanted to go out to the Arco, but next year we plan to book several more experiences with them. They offer lots of fun activities on and off the water. It was four of us on the boat with a captain, a guide, and a photographer. We were only charged for a group tour even though it was just us. ($80 total for about 90 minutes) We learned a lot about the marina and the area all around the Arch. The boat had small glass windows in the bottom - not really a glass bottom boat, but didn’t matter to me - we stopped near the snorkel area and were able to see a ton of fish both under the boat and on either side. The guide identified them for us The captain positioned the boat for multiple great photo ops, and the photographer sent me a link to all the full resolution photos he took (about 100) in exchange for an Instagram review. When we spotted a whale spout towards the end of the trip, the captain turned around took us out to the whale for a few minutes. Just overall a super fun, easy going morning.

They are happy for you to just hand it to them. I was more trying to show that there is a culture of extra tips handed out at the end. I like the envelopes for the last night so I can be sure I haven’t missed anyone and I’m not digging for cash or counting it in front of people. One on one through the week, I just hand them cash.

I will just add that, if you have the money to spare, extra tips for room steward and dining staff are greatly appreciated, though not expected. We always “pretip” our cabin steward $10- $20 as a nice to meet you/thanks for prepping our room. The service we get in return tells me it is received well. We also tip and express appreciation on the last night There are envelopes available the last night to give tips to those who have helped you through the cruise. Again, it’s not a problem if you stick with just your prepaid gratuity. But if you are comfortable giving extra, they will be grateful.

It never occurred to me that luggage could be lost at disembark. Did you put it out the night before and it simply disappeared? Or do you have a theory on how it was lost? My anxiety brain has a whole new thing to focus on now!

There are often train strikes in the summer. They let you know ahead of time which trains won’t run, but it’s much easier to navigate if you have friends in Paris who can check the news for you. We’ve ended up with long waits for routes that usually run every hour. For a one day trip, I would probably stick with a Royal excursion.

lol I read the title as "what are the To Go item at Wonderland" and I was like oooooo this opens up new decadence!

We just want to snorkel. Normally in St Thomas, we book a private boat/captain, but with a weird port time (7:30-3) we didn't want to risk an issue either on the water or with St. Thomas's difficult taxi situation. We also didn't want beach time, or a giant pirate ship themed snorkel. Can't remember the names of the first two we booked. This latest to be canceled was the Buck Island sail and snorkel. No worries, I was able to book yet another excursion, the Xmas Cove snorkel. We've been to Xmas Cove a few times and it's usually pretty good, so we're happy. It's so nice to have these boards to both vent to, and to remind me that this is not the end of the world, lol. At the end of the day, we will be on vacation, on a cruise for the first time since February 2020. If all excursions get cancelled, I'll still be one of the lucky ones.

Good points. Originally I was booking last fall for this April. Then December. Then had to rebook in January. We are now 76 days out. Oh well. I guess this is just cruising in pandemic times. I've booked yet another excursion. Let's hope this one goes.

It's so frustrating. This is the third time Royal has cancelled an excursion we've booked through them for our St. Thomas stop. Each time I choose another one, but of course each time, the price has gone up. Any insight on what might be going on? Is this happening to others? Also, when I look on the cruise planner, this excursion is still listed, but shows "sold out" Did they boot me to make room for more guests at a higher rate?

We split our cruises between Royal and Princess. Each has something I like. I feel entertainment is much better on Royal. Also, we often book suites and I like the suite lounge atmosphere (and the fellow cruisers) much better on Royal. The suite cabins themselves are much nicer on Princess. Except for Junior Suites, which I feel are better on Royal. Our main decider though is usually itinerary and length of cruise.

This makes total sense to me. I'm happy for you that it worked out! I hope you'll come back and tell us your thoughts on the cabin.

I've done this many times in St. Thomas. We always book a full day private boat for snorkeling, and while drinks are provided, food is not. We travel with a small cooler for meds, and I always travel with a variety of ziplock bags anyway. I just whip up to windjammer the night before and get sandwich fixings and pack them out the next day. No one has ever asked to look in the cooler, but I figure worst that can happen is I'll be made to toss the food.

Real question, as I was kind of shocked by how high the minimum bids were on my royal up offer (we are already booked in a GS, so my offer was for bigger suites): If you were willing to pay $3000 more for this cruise, why did you not just book a nicer cabin to begin with? I'm truly curious about what makes royal up attractive, especially for those that book early and get good prices in the first place. I can understand upgrading for the price of a nice dinner, but thousands of dollars confuses me.

If you’ll be spending more than a night and want to do some LA things, I love the Kimpton on Wilshire. Walkable to lots of places, including the Original Farmers Market, which has fabulous breakfast options. And the staff is delightful.

Oof, sorry. At this point it might be easier for him to get a J&J shot and use that card. I’m under the impression (though check with a doctor obvs) that mixing the vaxes won’t hurt him and could provide some cross immunity. And one and done of that shot counts as fully vaxed.

Just checking to save you more headache - he did get Pfzier yes? The Moderna booster is only half dose so won't count as two shots

This. I do not take someone else’s child anywhere distant without a medical poa. You never know what might happen and better to be safe than sorry Other than that, it just depends how well you already know the kids. If your family has certain vacation values like packing snacks to avoid hangry situations, or “on time” is 5 minutes early, it may be worth having a general conversation ahead of time so you don’t end up frustrated. When my DD was young, she would ask her potential bring alongs if they could wait without complaining because she knew that was a pet peeve of mine lol

I’m so glad you asked this! First Oasis class cruise coming up for me too, and it’s a lot to think about. Was hoping to avoid reservations and just go to suite seats, but as I understand it that’s no longer a thing?

I joined Insiders awhile ago, but have never been able to log in to the Patreon. Has anyone else had this issue? It always says it needs to verify my device, but never sends the email. Not to spam, not to inbox. Patreon's faq is no help, it just says to check my spam and add their email address to my contacts, which I've done. Google tells me that many people have an issue with this, but it does not propose a solution. Thoughts? TIA!

One thing to consider about transportation - since you will already have a rental car, and will need to get around the two days you are at Canaveral, you may want to explore returning the car at the port on the morning of your cruise, or the night before, rather than returning to MCO when you are done in Orlando. Depending on your rental agency, some of the drop offs are within walking distance of the port.

It can be tricky to find rooms with two beds in Venice. When we are there with our adult daughter, we’ve had an easier time with a king and a twin in the same room. Three we like, at various price points, and spread around the city (but all well located) are Hotel American Dinesen-Venezia, Hotel Abbazia, and Baglioni Hotel Luna. That last is a splurge but was awesome. In that one, they put dd on the most luxurious roll away ever, in the separate sitting room. Abbazia has a gorgeous little courtyard in which to enjoy a glass of wine. Hotel American included breakfast and had the sweetest staff. All comfortable, large rooms.

90 days out today and received an email. We are booked in a GS and when I look online, I see there is only one of those left, while there are many open cabins in higher classes. I suppose they are trying to shift that ratio. But minimum bids would add almost as much to our total as just changing to a better suite, while depriving me of location choice. Not sure what we will do.

Sitting at the pool where I’m staying in Cabo, and watching Navigator make her way in to port. Thought I’d post a photo in case anyone on the boards is on her and wants to see “themselves.” Sorry it’s not a better pic, I only have my iPhone