VillainsGin

Funny story relating to finding long lost connections!
Me and my S/O met another couple we got along with so well we started doing activities on the ship together on rhapsody OTS year 2000.
Myspace was popular back then so we kept in touch there until facebook came out and we lost connection, fast forward from 2000 to 2022 i was on oasis OTS with my S/O and finally bumped into him in the funniest way.
I'm a big time "enthusiast" and enjoy frequenting the casinos to wind down after a long day of excursions/activities. I play mostly tables and I ALWAYS carry two lucky charms placed on the tables i'm playing on. (picture below)
He was walking past my table and noticed the charm and approached me saying "he used to know a scumbag with that exact charm that ghosted him 20 years ago". At first it didn't click with me and thought he was drunk then after he dropped a few more hints my face lit up with nostaglia! He was able to recognize me only by my lucky charm because there was no way for me to recognize him. 20 years sure has changed us both, unfortunately he was no longer with his partner but we grabbed drinks at the bar and reminiscence/caught up in life.
NOW thanks to social media and technology we have kept in touched via multiple platforms (instagram/twitch/discord/twitter/etc) no way to lose him this time.
Attached below is one of my two lucky charms (my second one is a lickitung)i always gamble with.
 

I personally tip on top of prepaid gratuity and it makes a HUGE difference especially for my needs!
Although their service is already amazing and friendly they do go out of their way for you more than most if you tip a few dollars.
I bring a few hundred dollars in 1's and 5's for tipping and port shopping.
Examples of when tipping made a huge difference:
When I'm gambling at the casino and the runner makes his way around the tables to take drink orders, I always start of the initial tip with $5 and the rest of the night every time I get my drinks I give $1. the drink runner would come to me first and check on my drink to see where i'm at and would ask if i'm doing good before moving on, even if I didn't notice him or was busy gambling. This was important to me because I do forget to order more drinks when I get caught up gambling. When I'm in the pool or hot tub and I definitely start off the initial first order with a $5 tip which is EXTREMELY convenient. The runner would ALWAYS swing by frequently to make sure I have a drink or would keep tabs on when I would need one. This is really important because it saves me the hassle and time of getting out of the hot tub or pool potentially losing my spot and walking over the the bars on deck! [also its cold coming out the pool/hot tub] When I meet my cabin attendant on day 1 I initially give him $10 and he goes above and beyond his above and beyond. He takes effort in remembering our names and if he doesn't know he will look on his roster of the assigned area and greet us by name every time. Puts extra gifts when we come back along with tower animals and small treats like cookies/fruits. I even had a bucket of ice in the cooler and never requested it. He noticed I used the cruise soap bar a lot so he had 2 extra bars by the sink. Took note I sit on the balcony a lot so he deep cleaned the chairs and tables, etc. These are just some of the example but there a lot more!

I was on Navigator OTS few weeks ago in balcony stateroom, can confirm there is still a clothesline in there. I wonder where we can hang our damp articles of clothing if they start removed the line from the cabins.
If i remembered correctly they strongly discouraged cruisers from leaving it on the balcony to dry. 😭

Yup. 

I personally tip on top of prepaid gratuity and it makes a HUGE difference especially for my needs!
Although their service is already amazing and friendly they do go out of their way for you more than most if you tip a few dollars.
I bring a few hundred dollars in 1's and 5's for tipping and port shopping.
Examples of when tipping made a huge difference:
When I'm gambling at the casino and the runner makes his way around the tables to take drink orders, I always start of the initial tip with $5 and the rest of the night every time I get my drinks I give $1. the drink runner would come to me first and check on my drink to see where i'm at and would ask if i'm doing good before moving on, even if I didn't notice him or was busy gambling. This was important to me because I do forget to order more drinks when I get caught up gambling. When I'm in the pool or hot tub and I definitely start off the initial first order with a $5 tip which is EXTREMELY convenient. The runner would ALWAYS swing by frequently to make sure I have a drink or would keep tabs on when I would need one. This is really important because it saves me the hassle and time of getting out of the hot tub or pool potentially losing my spot and walking over the the bars on deck! [also its cold coming out the pool/hot tub] When I meet my cabin attendant on day 1 I initially give him $10 and he goes above and beyond his above and beyond. He takes effort in remembering our names and if he doesn't know he will look on his roster of the assigned area and greet us by name every time. Puts extra gifts when we come back along with tower animals and small treats like cookies/fruits. I even had a bucket of ice in the cooler and never requested it. He noticed I used the cruise soap bar a lot so he had 2 extra bars by the sink. Took note I sit on the balcony a lot so he deep cleaned the chairs and tables, etc. These are just some of the example but there a lot more!

There definitely was a clothesline on harmony and symphony OTS when I was there few years back. It was located inside the shower stall BUT it may have been a bit confusing because the line is already extended across the shower stall most of the time.
I did not find any lines stretched across in my shower until i realized there was a round device shaped like a bell attached to the side wall of the shower. There is a little bulb you can pull on and it actually is the clothesline coiled up in the device. Then you just drag it directly across to the other device which acts like a hook.

This has happened to be before and I tried opening the website on chrome as incognito and it worked. Since we're helping you troubleshoot might as well give that a try to see if it helps.
 

It will be automatically updated.

I use https://tripinsurancestore.com/.  Never use the insurance from the cruise line.  It's more expensive, has lower coverage rates, and doesn't cover the whole trip (flights, hotels, etc).

One time... We sailed through and/or around a hurricane. Hurricane Dorian.  And it was in maritime Canada. 
The Skipper watched the track of this hurricane during our cruise, and mostly it didn't affect us, until it was time to return to Port Liberty.  Then, the Skipper decided to beat the hurricane to Port.  We skirted the hurricane, and it wasn't terribly uncomfortable.  But it did cause us to lose our last night at sea.  To make up for it, the Skipper ran the ship up the Hudson River, and gave us the most incredible birds eye view of New York City until the wee hours of the morning.  This was a magnificent tradeoff for us. 
 
 

I am also from California, Fresno.  I have always carried travel insurance and it would cost me anywhere between $80 and $150 depending on the age of my son.  Now I am a solo traveler and paid about $120 per trip for travel insurance.  This last year I purchased an annual policy for $259.  this year I have done 5 weeks on a cruise ship and 6 road trips.  All of it was covered by the annual policy.  The one thing about the annual policy is you cannot collect multiple times on the amount.  When you collect on the policy it subtracts from the maximum payouts.  they do have a number for issues while you are traveling.  I have never used it and am not sure how good it is.
 
Standard Packages
ACCIDENTAL DEATH/DISMEMBERMENT $50000.00 Per Insured BAGGAGE COVERAGE $2500.00 Per Insured BAGGAGE DELAY $1000.00 Per Insured $200.00 Payout Limit Per Day CONCIERGE SERVICES Included Per Insured EMERGENCY EVACUATION AND REPATRIATION OF REMAINS $500000.00 Per Insured EMERGENCY TRAVEL ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured IDENTITY THEFT ASSISTANCE SERVICES Included Per Insured MISSED CONNECTION $500.00 Per Insured PERSONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured SECURITY EVACUATION $100000.00 Per Insured TRAVEL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured TRAVEL MEDICAL EXPENSE $50000.00 Per Insured TRIP DELAY $1500.00 Per Insured $150.00 Payout Limit Per Day TRIP INTERRUPTION 100% Trip Cost Per Insured WORLDWIDE TRAVEL ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured

I got one of those, the change being a new arrival time for my flight being 8 minutes early. How they knew this was going to happen 2 months in advance Ill never know. Air Canada.

New podcast episode: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-510-how-pick-travel-insurance-plan

It's rare, but I have heard of them. More often than that are airlines whose super discounted fares earn some miles but not 100% miles (such as AA, who specifically note cruise lines as the origin of some fares that result in reduced miles). 

There may be cases in which the fare they book you on doesn't earn points (or doesn't earn the full amount of points). To be fair, that can also be the case with certain fares on the airlines themselves. But I have never used Air2Sea so I don't have experience personally. 

You do, but you have to make sure your frequent flyer number (and known traveler number if you have one) is added to the reservation before the flight.

In my experience, you still get the points, but you can only redeem them directly through the airline 

I use Allianz with an annual policy. Cost wise it doesn't make sense for me to book on a per trip basis. 
Mostly I'm looking for medical and med- evac insurance. It covers much more, but I've always felt that you should insure against risks you can't afford to take. If I can't afford to lose the price of a cruise,  then I should reconsider taking it. 

I've never done self parking at LAX, but my friends in LA who do often use the garage(s) inside the terminal loop...they feel it's worth the extra money. If you book ahead for the cheaper parking (that requires a shuttle), they sometimes throw you a deal to upgrade to the terminal parking. 
Yes, it depends on the airline AND the fare. And you often won't know the real fare ahead of time, if at all. Many of the fares Air2Sea uses are specially negotiated, so even on the same airline and same route, two people may have very different experiences. 

I have to make this decision pretty frequently because I do a lot of work up in the Palmdale area and need to decide if I want to connect through ONT (easier drive down, quieter, easier, rental cars right there) or go nonstop through LAX (crazier, busier, rental cars halfway to Pasadena, but better hotel choices if I need to spend the night). I also do BUR sometimes, of course, but there's no point in you going there so I'll leave it out of the discussion. 
If my destination requires a stop no matter where I come out of, I'll usually choose ONT over LAX. If it's a case of LAX being nonstop and ONT being one-stop, I'll usually (but not always) choose LAX. A lot of times it just depends on my mood when I am booking. In your case, I would probably do LAX. 
 

I usually purchase policies with Allianz via AAA portal. I will usually buy insurance for any trip that has non-refundable costs of $1k or more (personal preference/limit), whether it's a cruise or big vacation. I almost always book refundable hotels, so I never include that in my trip value being covered. For cruises, I usually will only insure the value of the cruise fare, airfare and any 3rd party non-refundable excursions/ prepaid things. RC Cruise planner purchases and gratuities would all be refunded if I couldn't make the sailing for some reason, so I don't include those.

Cost will vary by: level of coverage, cost of trip(s) being insured, age of person(s) insured, etc.
If you're cruising 6-8 times per year, you would definitely want the annual policy rather than per trip. It will also cover non-cruise travel.
There's different levels of coverage, so you would need to look up each policy to see what they offer for flight cancellation/ delays, baggage loss/ delays, etc.

They just aren't popular so no need for banks to keep any supply of them.

I personally tip on top of prepaid gratuity and it makes a HUGE difference especially for my needs!
Although their service is already amazing and friendly they do go out of their way for you more than most if you tip a few dollars.
I bring a few hundred dollars in 1's and 5's for tipping and port shopping.
Examples of when tipping made a huge difference:
When I'm gambling at the casino and the runner makes his way around the tables to take drink orders, I always start of the initial tip with $5 and the rest of the night every time I get my drinks I give $1. the drink runner would come to me first and check on my drink to see where i'm at and would ask if i'm doing good before moving on, even if I didn't notice him or was busy gambling. This was important to me because I do forget to order more drinks when I get caught up gambling. When I'm in the pool or hot tub and I definitely start off the initial first order with a $5 tip which is EXTREMELY convenient. The runner would ALWAYS swing by frequently to make sure I have a drink or would keep tabs on when I would need one. This is really important because it saves me the hassle and time of getting out of the hot tub or pool potentially losing my spot and walking over the the bars on deck! [also its cold coming out the pool/hot tub] When I meet my cabin attendant on day 1 I initially give him $10 and he goes above and beyond his above and beyond. He takes effort in remembering our names and if he doesn't know he will look on his roster of the assigned area and greet us by name every time. Puts extra gifts when we come back along with tower animals and small treats like cookies/fruits. I even had a bucket of ice in the cooler and never requested it. He noticed I used the cruise soap bar a lot so he had 2 extra bars by the sink. Took note I sit on the balcony a lot so he deep cleaned the chairs and tables, etc. These are just some of the example but there a lot more!

Have you considered LAX? A little extra time up front (on the road) can result in a myriad of nonstop options that could save time in the long run versus the necessary connection coming out of ONT. 

This is absolutely right! which we can get into manufactured spending when your 5% is waived. I was assuming they were working on achieving prime for comp'd cruises so I included the 5% charge of their total charge.
When you get prime waiving the 5% charge is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for manufactured spending if you want to get into making accumulating credit card points in the direct messages!