steverk

It was a Royal excursion. The ship waited for another excursion that was also late. Put to sea at 4:15 I mentioned it to security and guest services. So, I can only assume the guests made it back somehow. I can't imagine royal would leave them behind under these circumstances.

I've never seen this happen before. Have any of you? We're in St. Johns Newfoundland with a 3:30 all aboard time. My Royal Caribbean shore excursion stopped at the Rooms Museum and we were allowed just under an hour to self explore. The guide told us to be back on the bus at 2:45 or 2:50. I was back at 2:45. At 2:46, the guide noted that at least 6 people were missing. He said, they can catch an uber, walk or just miss the boat. And then he instructed the driver to leave! When we mentioned this wasn't cool he said they need to understand the importance of schedule. I've never seen anything like this before. Have you?

I think you can reach the diamond concierge at [email protected]

Diamond or suite concierge?

Check out nzpocketguide.com for lots of great planning help. I'm not sure they have a whole lot of weather info though

Didn't Sitka just build a dock recently? Seems like bad planning if they did.

One way! Take the train, gold star class, from Anchorage to Seward. Spend some time in Seward. You'll love it!

It wouldn't be the first time Royal Caribbean Group did something like that. Radiance and Millennium classes were all built at the same time, are all gas turbine vessels, have nearly identical hull design and are almost the exact same size. They do have different layout and decor though.

Any idea what kind of bug? Unfortunately, bugs are part of life in Texas. I only worry about them once they're big enough that I can ride them! Yeehaw!

I can't say anything about this service, as I've never used it, but I searched and find this website https://cruisedig.com/historic-database-all-past-cruise-ship-itineraries Sorry the link didn't copy well from my phone!

I stayed at the Quality Inn Airport South. It had a free shuttle from the airport, free breakfast and shopping/dining nearby. Cost was much cheaper than closer to the port. On the other hand, it wasn't a scenic part of town. Uber ride next day was about 30 minutes. I don't remember the cost of the uber.

I've seen several posts about sea conditions, but none have mentioned the direction of the wind and waves. A following sea (one where you are going with the waves) is much easier than a head sea (where the waves are going directly toward the bow) as you hit fewer waves. A beam sea (waves from the side) will cause more rocking. I mention this because a smaller, livelier ship in a following sea wil have less motion than a larger, quieter ship in similar conditions, but with waves from a different direction.

Glad it worked out for you! Given the no show option and the ability to substitute someone at the last minute, there's really only 2 reasons to ever book a cabin for 1 person. 1. You have 340+ c&a points. At that point the single supplement is reduced 2. You want the extra c&a points that come with a single cabin. ( you won't get the extra points with a no show)

Size certainly matters, but the sea is the boss. If it's rough enough, you'll feel it on any ship.

We usually stay in standard rooms to control costs, but we frequently treat our adult children to join us, so it probably balances out. I agree that prices have increased, but they've increased on land as well. To me the alternative to a cruise is a road trip to a national park. At this point, I find a cruise in standard cabin is still cost competitive and much easier.

Thanks for sharing. It's always fun to hear these things, although I too believe it was meant in jest. The unfortunate truth is that these ships (vision and radiance classes) will eventually leave the fleet. While I expect it will be a few years, we're probably closer to the end of their lives than the beginning.

You're welcome. I understand about cautious spending. Figuring out how much to spend is difficult and critical to a successful retirement. Spend too little and you don't enjoy what you could. Too much and you run out. According tho 6the "Holy Schmidt" YouTube channel, there are 3 phases to retirement. The go-go years of the first 10 years or so. Expenses tend to be high during this time as you are doing what you love. This is followed by the slow go years. Spending naturally slows down. Last you have the no go years. Medical spending goes up a lot. Based on this, I have a long term spending target. I've increased it slightly during the go-go years. I hope this is helpful. Retirement is great, but takes a real shift in thinking.

I did it by practicing good money management when I was young. I avoided debt, maxed out my 401k and IRA. Now that I'm retired, the dream has come true, but I still keep an eye on what I spend. Manage to average 1 cruise per month now.

I did it twice. It worked fine. Went to the restaurant. Told them I wanted to do the bogo deal. Easy peasy. A couple points though. I believe this is a D+ benefit rather than D. It's only valid for the first 2 nights. And I think it's limited in the restaurants you can visit.

When I take family cruises with my 87 year old mother-in-law, I drop her and the family and luggage at the drop off. Then I go park. I usually use the north or south lot. Back when Royal sailed out of terminal 2, the only options required a bus. Usually I used the port of Galveston parking, but I once used portparking.com. both worked fine.

I thought this topic was going to discuss this video that was posted on YouTube 2 days ago.

Unfortunately, I have to agree. I like vision class, but it's hard to justify when more profitable options exist. It's possible they'll go to Marella (half owned by RCG) and keep sailing. We'll have to wait and see.

So I'm looking at the latest NHC forecast. It shows the storm well to the south of New York on Wednesday afternoon. That means we should be able to board on Thursday without issue. Once that's complete, I'd expect Royal will want to get out to sea as soon as possible. Being in port during a strong storm is usually more dangerous than being at sea. Once at sea, the storm would be between the ship and the Caribbean. Therefore, it seems unlikely Jewel will sail south. Beyond these observations, we'll just have to wait and see how things develop. It does look like it will be an interesting cruise!

I'm looking forward to the same cruise. Gonna bring ginger tablets though. Jewel can have a lively ride

Sorry. I didn't pick up on that. I live in a hurricane evacuation zone. You would be surprised how many people celebrate a hurricane going someplace else without realizing the impact it has on the people that live where it lands. The good news about this one is that this hurricane is expected to go to the north Atlantic without hitting land. That's a best case scenario. Let's hope it holds.