USCG Teacher

Odd question: can you start the process on a laptop (reserve your check in time) and finish up on the app?

I guess there really is no question that demand is way up for this summer...

On my last cruise, by Wednesday my waiter would ask me, "and which two desserts will you be trying tonight?"

Seems that RCI (or at least their tour vendor for KSC) agrees. We have a port stop for the same time frame, and at first the guided tour was offered as an option. I had booked it, but it was cancelled a few weeks later. When I emailed to inquire why, they said that that the guides couldn't provide an "acceptable experience for guests" in that time frame. If a professional with skip-the-line privileges can't get it done, I'm fairly certain I'd provide a less-than-satisfactory experience for my family!

This is a great point! PLEASE come back and tell us what you decided on and how it went!

So...I actually proposed on a Royal Caribbean ship. Enchantment in '99. My biggest advice? Talk to the Cruise Director. They LOVE doing this kind of stuff! He talked me through several options, but to keep the story down to non-novel length, essentially he and the assistant cruise director schemed to get her on stage between the opening act and the main show in the theater on the 2nd formal night. I intentionally got a big drink so I could "excuse myself to the bathroom" just as the opening act was ending (helped for nerves, too!). While I was out, the director came on stage doing the normal how's everyone doing shtick, then said someone had dropped their SeaPass card. He called her by name and brought her on stage. "How's the service been? Enjoying table 153?" So on and so forth. Finally gets to how important it is to take care of your SeaPass because it's like losing money. Asks her how she'd feel if he bought everyone in the theater a drink? "I wouldn't care," she replies, deadpan as can be. "It's linked to my boyfriend's credit card." Crowd loses it. Has to look like she's a plant at this point. Until he says, "Well, I'd bet he'd have something to say about that!" At which point, I come on stage left after the assistant director lead me through the back of the house and proceed to propose. She never saw it coming, and I know that for a fact because another benefit of using the Cruise Director as an accomplice is that I have the whole thing professionally videotaped, and can see the look of shock on her face. Big or small, very public or private and quiet, they can make it happen. They'll be able to share ideas and experience about what has worked, what hasn't, and how they can make it more likely to match your desires. My biggest regret is that I did it on the 2nd formal night and not the 1st, because neither of us could buy a drink the rest of the cruise! . Whatever you do, best of luck!

And Disney has laughed and moved on.

Have you tasted the robot drinks, though?

This is almost exactly when we did that itinerary. We definitely miss it. Strongly second the transit pass suggestion. We beat the crowds to Horseshoe Bay by taking the pink bus and went to St. John's from the Royal Naval Dockyard on the ferry on our own schedule and for way less than any planned excursion. Quick and easy way to get around and interact with (and get suggestions from!) locals!

Cruisetimetables.com confirms not only that, but that Odyssey is scheduled to arrive three hours prior to Symphony.

And the state you're living in.

While both are true, it's much more the distance factor. Bermuda is way out on its own in the Atlantic; many cruises that go there are just to Bermuda and back. One of my favorite cruises out there was on Empress, when we got to do one night at the Naval Shipyard and two nights in Hamilton. The one day we got off the ship in the morning at the shipyard, went on a bike tour and ate some lunch, then boarded the ship in Hamilton! Being in port overnight for so long really changed the whole feel of the trip, we even saw some of the crew at one of the local bars in Hamilton one night!

"Style" is the kiss of death. Grew up right outside of Philly, and am here to tell you that while every "Philadelphia-style Cheesesteak" and "Philly-style soft pretzel" may be an homage to the real deal, they pale in comparison!

You can put a boat on a ship, but not the other way around.

Fairly certain that's cumulative, not simultaneously.

My hatred for LGA is well known. An airline would pretty much have to pay me to fly in/out of there. EWR far and away the best choice to Bayonne, with JFK, PHL and even TTN on Frontier in a pinch as my fallbacks.

Or some.... "industrious" shipmates.

I may be misremembering things, but I thought RCI had a similar program back in the late 90s/early 00s? It wasn't through Priceline of course, but you could book your hotel straight through the cruise line if you were staying the night (or several nights) before your cruise. They checked you in for the cruise in the hotel lobby, you loaded your baggage on a bus, and the next time you saw it was on the ship. You were led into the cruise terminal and straight through to security. I am 99% sure I did this on my 1st cruise out of Port Canaveral?

Do you happen to have a GTY cabin? While that wouldn't necessarily cause the Set Sail pass to appear blank, it is an extra variable, and we all know how well Royal IT deals with those...

On a 14 day cruise, the walk-in closet alone may be worth the upgrade!