sk8erguy1978

The very first thing I do once on-board is head straight for the Windjammer. The second thing I do (before finding a table) is find the man with the beer cart. Nothing says brunch like an ice cold corona! 

My addition .... Disconnect!

Put the phone in your safe (or airplane mode if you must use it as a camera) and enjoy the company of whomever you're with. If sailing alone then go make some friends for the rest of the trip and enjoy their company.

My addition .... Disconnect!

Put the phone in your safe (or airplane mode if you must use it as a camera) and enjoy the company of whomever you're with. If sailing alone then go make some friends for the rest of the trip and enjoy their company.

I know this is a broad topic to cover, but let's give it a go.
If you had to tell a new cruiser to RC or a seasoned RC cruiser going on a new ship for the first time, do not miss?
I'll go first.
 Do not miss the opportunity to slow down. You are on vacation. Relax  Do not miss the opportunity to stroll deck 5 on Radiance class ships where you get to connect to the ocean. We have enjoyed this multiple times everyday, especially after dinner.

The view of the ocean at night.  I love to go out late at night when it is quiet and there is no land within site to see the ocean.  That is the best feeling in the world to me.

There is an appeals process for denials but like many things Royal, YMMV.  
I got one switched after final payment due date once.  However I know that might not happen again.  

I know that the general rule was that you cannot transfer after 60 days of making your reservation, but MEI Travel managed to get mine transferred. Just took a little more work on their end, but I don't know about once it's been paid.

No.  One you have a Passport of either kind you no longer need your birth certificates.  
If you are going through the motion of getting a Passport Card have you considered a Passport Book?  
The card is good for land and sea travel ony, a passport book is required to fly.   If you are going to do just one, the book is a better idea.

So the Labor Day sale ended yesterday. Banners are gone from my Cruise Planner today as expected, and things like VOOM have gone back up to "normal" pre-boarding prices...
But the DBP is still listed at $56/night. Same as it was throughout the promo.
Methinks Royal is starting to realize that folks on this last Bermuda sailing of the season aren't willing to pay what Royal has been thinking they'd be willing to pay after the earlier super-hike to $65/night. If this price is still there tomorrow, that will give me some hope for a last-minute promo that finally brings the 30% off offer into play and gets the price down to $49 (30% off current calculated on-board price of $70).
It's funny, until I started cruising I never used algebra. Now I use it all the time to figure out the on-board pricing and other stuff related to my sailings! ?

Someone on one of my Facebook groups is on Empress and posted this letter about a Bahamas aid drop..thought it was prettt cool to get the passengers to write notes for the hurricane victims.

@sydney From what I've seen and heard, its hit and miss with newsletters and promotional material being emailed to members with no explanation as to why some aren't getting them.  However i receive them several times a day it feels like... if you like i can forward you some?  
Have you thought of setting up a specific email account just for cruise/hotel/airline emails?  I would try that and sign up again with the new email address?  I use gmail for this and get notifications from all travel offers this way.

?Nope!
I can keep sleeping in the lifeboat or other areas around the ship ... I would be more curious how to drink without an onboard account! LOL

Don't leave your drink unattended or stowaways might steal it!

?Nope!
I can keep sleeping in the lifeboat or other areas around the ship ... I would be more curious how to drink without an onboard account! LOL

Don't leave your drink unattended or stowaways might steal it!

Only thing that pique my interest on this thread.
Is it naughty I'm contemplating on doing that on my first cruise on jan, 2020? ?
All I need to plan out is how to get a cabin for the free cruise when I stow away successfully on this ship?

Yes, last year this happened to me a few times. Apparently, the port fees (?) could change slightly and they will not re-price those. SO, you'll get the new rate with your original port fee price which explains the price difference. Last year was the first anything like that happened to me. I was using an agent.

This is why I advocate never to use a debit card and always a credit or charge card. Why put needed cash at risk. Banks claim they will not hold funds but I don't believe them. 

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/05/three-port-canaveral-employees-praised-helping-save-mans-life/1919668001/?fbclid=IwAR1x2rgWCeomXqpx_CjoL9DcmfPOEqq5XNuOS_dagNBJNnat39ly1JrhYjg
 

Very true. It's sad that in these situations everyone gets worked up about refunds and ruined vacations. During the next few hours peoples lives are going to change forever. There will be massive destruction & probably loss of human lives. They will be in my thoughts as I selfishly enjoy my safe Labor Day weekend in New York.

Very true. It's sad that in these situations everyone gets worked up about refunds and ruined vacations. During the next few hours peoples lives are going to change forever. There will be massive destruction & probably loss of human lives. They will be in my thoughts as I selfishly enjoy my safe Labor Day weekend in New York.

Thanks, I guess I mixed up Citi and Chase.
The coverage Chase has is actually pretty good if you have, say, a high deductible health plan that does cover you when you are out of the country.

They have health but it's very minimal.
https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

I don't believe Chase has any health coverage.  It does have Trip Cancellation/Interruption, lost luggage, etc.  My understating is it would cover up to what you charge on the card.
Citi had health coverage, but they just got rid of all of their credit card insurance benefits.
Amex Cruise Privileges Program requires the entire cruise to be paid for with an Amex card.
 
 
 

Very true. It's sad that in these situations everyone gets worked up about refunds and ruined vacations. During the next few hours peoples lives are going to change forever. There will be massive destruction & probably loss of human lives. They will be in my thoughts as I selfishly enjoy my safe Labor Day weekend in New York.

Chase Sapphire Reserve has travel insurance that is more limited then a separate travel insurance policy, but I find it's OK in some circumstances (e.g. if I'm not flying to the port).  Amex Platinum doesn't have any travel insurance benefits.  So if you have both cards, then you may need to also add in the cost of a separate travel insurance policy.
Something to factor in when "doing the math" to figure out what is best for a specific booking.
I've had much more luck using the Amex Cruise Privileges Program for my bookings on Cunard, compared to my bookings on Royal.
 
 

You will. You're still on a cruise enjoying a few days of relaxation. I am sure, as already stated, Royal will be overly generous about the situation as well.