USCG Teacher

So, I asked this very question a few weeks ago. It seems that this may vary by ship. Last year on Oasis, this wasn't explicitly offered (and I did not ask). I just got off of Allure last week, and the Suite Concierges Nadja and MJ left a message on our room phones the night before informing us that they would expedite our departure in each port AND they went out of their way to tell everyone in Costal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge they could do this as well. They offered priority debarkation from the suite lounge beginning as soon as the ship was cleared, then every 15 minutes after that for the first 60-90 minutes in port. They used their "Magic Key" to grab an express elevator from deck 17 to the gangway, then you went straight to the security station to have your SeaPass cards scanned. It was a fantastic perk!

This is an interesting development. A few weeks ago I was at a local NJ attraction that had a sign posted at their ticket office that said that effective immediately they were no longer accepting AAA passes due to "delayed payment and lack of communication."

No worries, you absolutely shouldn't feel stupid. Twain has offered some famous advice (or at least it has been attributed to him!) about avoiding arguments with certain people. You followed it perfectly. I don't want to violate the board's TOS, so I'll leave it to be Googled if so desired.

Yes, share and agree 100% with @smokeybandit's rationale.

Well done. I see you're a Mark Twain fan as well.

Silly as this sounds, @Pattycruise is right. Amtrak offers 6 times daily service from Vancouver to Seattle, but only the 6:35 AM and 5:45 PM departures are actually the Cascades train, the other four departures are Amtrak's "Thruway bus" service which is both slightly more expensive and less comfortable than the train.

Same, my 8 and 11 year olds definitely get multiple Shirley Temples a day using theirs!

Exactly what I was about to say. YouTube is free!

Unrelated to the bread (which does indeed look delicious!), may I just say that your braids look awesome? Hope you're enjoying yourself!

I think this may be a situation where some wires might be crossing, and perhaps even the rep may be trying to do you a solid by being very truthful regarding your situation. As I understand the system (and it is quite possible that I completely misunderstand the system!) could your GTY balcony still net you an OV balcony? Sure. Is it likely to? Almost certainly not. If there's an OV balcony GTY category, you're in a tier below them to be placed in an OV, and the price paid is reflective of that lower priority. As far as I can figure, the pecking order would be: 1. Those who paid to select their OV balcony room 2. OV Balcony GTYs 3. (Maybe?) Those paying to Royal Up from a neighborhood balcony to an OV balcony 4. Balcony GTY The odds of cabin selection making it all the way down to tier 4 AND then having you be one of the lucky ones in that group to be assigned an OV seems infinitesimally small. Not impossible, just hit the lottery level unlikely. Again, this could possibly be 100% incorrect, but it is how the system seems to makes sense in my mind's eye, but there are scores of members here who are both more well versed with RCI's methodology and far more eloquent than I am that can hopefully confirm or deny this!

The answer to this question is almost always, "someone did something inexplicably stupid once and hurt themself and/or others." Alcohol is generally but not always involved in said event.

If you're afraid that you missed the email, you can always check manually if you're eligible yet at: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade It should also be appearing on your main page of your Cruise Planner online if you are, but I know some people like to check all the angles!

TONS of reviews and walk-throughs of these cabins on YouTube. Some people love them, some people hate them. You can definitely see across both Central Park and the Boardwalk into the cabins on the other side that do not have their shades drawn. The balcony is certainly not as private feeling as an ocean view balcony. For some people that's a deal breaker, for others the savings are more than worth sacrifices. Only you can determine where you fall on that spectrum! I'd suggest watching a few and drawing your own conclusions based on your preferences!

I know the topic of get togethers/meet ups for the LGBTQIA+ community has come up from time to time on the boards, so when I saw this in my Cruise Planner on the app, I figured I'd share.

I remember sailing Voyager in May 2000 when she was the biggest cruise ship in the world.

You email @Beci at [email protected], and she'll either get you set up herself or get you in contact with someone who can straight away.

My DSLR and underwater cameras are not new, but both have WiFi capability. Through my Nikon App, I can download and edit any of the photos I want straight to my cell phone, and then send them off to whomever by either texting or emailing them, or (more commonly) just setting up a Google Drive folder and allowing whomever I want to see the photos access as a viewer. That allows whoever wants to follow along to log in throughout my trip to do so without spamming photos to anyone who doesn't necessarily care to check them out at the moment!

20th - Allure

That's what's in our contract, too. Fortunately we have a Superintendent who has five kids and really pushes SEL initiatives in the district, so as long as you don't abuse the privilege and are honest when you put in the request, he'll generally grant it.

So, this thread got me thinking. A sky class suite benefit is "Priority Departure." I always thought that just meant departure on debarkation day, but does that also include non-tender ports of call as well? I never bothered to ask the concierge because I assumed not, but I am in fact aware of what happens when one assumes something...

That makes sense, as non-drowsy Dramamine is just ginger. "Less-drowsy" has Meclizine, but the non-drowsy version doesn't actually have any drug in it at all.

Echoing @CruisingNewb, congee is indeed a great choice that should fit the bill. Also, sad to say, Royal's mac and cheese is also very soft and bland (although the sodium might be on the higher side!).

If you have the app (and if you don't, you should!), you can go to the safety tab at the bottom. That will bring up your muster station and the ability to see where it is on the map. I can't recall if this shows up before check-in or not, though. If you have a GTY, you won't know your station until your room is assigned of course.

It should still be manned I think. I arrived a little after 9 and they were there. It's United's policy to make every effort to report any lost baggage issues to the same office prior to leaving the airport if at all possible, so I would hope they have someone there as long as flights are arriving. You can also contact the United baggage recovery office at 1-800-335-2247, but that's a national line, not MCO specific.

This happened to me earlier this month at MCO. I had a nonstop, but they put my bags on a nonstop that left an hour sooner than mine for some reason? Anyhow, as @Ampurp85 said, just go down to the baggage claim area, each airline has a counter with an agent that'll ask to see your claim tags, then find it in a roped off area with all of the bags that beat their owners. I was in and out in under 5 minutes.