steverk

Sorry, I should have read it more carefully. I don't know about checking your bags straight through, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can. Either way, the local, free shuttle will transport you and your bags if necessary directly to the ship. Since it is the next stop on their circuit, it should be an easy connection.

I did something similar in June 2022. There's a free shuttle that operates on a loop covering the whole town. They even have space for your luggage, so everything is very easy. The complete loop takes about 30 minutes and runs about every 15. You'll have plenty of time to explore as the ship arrives in the morning and the train departs about 6pm. Now for the bad news. The bus operates in one direction, and the train station will be the last stop before the bus returns to the cruise terminal. It might be possible to get the driver to drop you off early as he'll have to pass the train station regardless. I don't know if the railroad will accept luggage early. As some alternatives, you could walk from the ship to the station. It isn't that far, but it isn't the prettiest part of town either. Another option is to take a boat tour of resurrection Bay. It's a beautiful trip and the operator will handle your luggage and transportation to the tour and to the train station. Have a great trip! Seward and the train are highlights of an Alaska cruise.

On an upcoming cruise, I booked a Manhattan tour the ends at LGA. This works well if you have a late flight. It's booked through the cruise planner. If that doesn't work out, ask at guest services. I've always been able to book transfers without the tour while on board.

On the 2 cruises I took with overnight stays, the bars, like margaritaville, that are in or close to the port were open very late. They were very popular with the crew.

Yes. Several cruise ships do, but none from Royal. I understand the Celebrity Edge class ships occasionally go through.

There are several cards that give 2% cash back. This seems like the best deal as it is pretty generous and can be used on anything on any cruise line. Personally I use Citi double cash card.

Can you be more s Missing from where? Cruise planner? The Royal Caribbean roll calls? Somewhere else?

I kinda think that Norway is trying to help one of their own cruise lines. Hurtigruten has the MS Roal Amundsen, which is a hybrid. It is capable of running for several hours on batteries alone. I'm not saying this is the future, but it looks like a short term solution to cruising Norway, and it give Hurtigruten a decisive advantage for the near term. ((4) MS ROALD AMUNDSEN ANTARCTIC season 2020/2021 #cruiseship #expitionship #antarctica #hurtigruten - YouTube) On the main topic of this conversation, I'm always willing to take a SWAG at the future, even when I don't know what I'm talking about! Therefore, this is my forecast. Royal will announce a new class of ship to replace Vision, Radiance and Voyager classes within the next 2-3 years. It will have the following characteristics: It will be "small" when compared to Icon, but larger than the 3 classes it is replacing. Probably about 140,000 GT. It will be able it to transit the new Panama Canal and to access ports in places like Norway and Alaska. It will be "zero emissions" for at least short periods of time to allow sailing in and out of environmentally sensitive areas. It will not be able to go under bridges in ports like Baltimore and Tampa. Ultimately, these ports will either have to relocate their cruise ports to avoid the bridges or be left behind. I'm sorry to those that like these ports, but I just don't see Royal building a new class of ship for these ports. Royal will operate the Vision, Radiance and Voyager classes as long as possible. They'll even be operating after the new class is launched, but mostly in secondary markets or in unusual port intensive itineraries. For example, Jewel is going a Greenland cruise this September. I'd expect this kind of itinerary experimentation to continue using these older ships.

Unfortunately, the overnights I've seen begin about 5pm on the first day and leave the following afternoon. That means you can't go to the mainland until the morning of the second day. Therefore, it really doesn't give more time to see the mainland. IMO it would be better if the ship arrived in the morning and stayed until the following morning.

When looking at cruise costs, it's important to keep it in perspective. All travel has grown outrageous this year. A basic comfort inn hotel averages about $150 per night. Fast food routinely costs more than $10. A decent meal 20+. If you total it up cruising is still a relative bargain, if you can avoid flying.

The only ways I know of to find them is to do a mock booking until you get to the point where you select a cabin and see what's available. Otherwise, you can ask your travel agent.

I received an email yesterday that the 2024 Celebrity President's cruise will take place on June 23 out of Ft. Lauderdale on Celebrity Beyond. The itinerary includes Coco Cay, Grand Cayman and Bimini.

Just for future reference, here are the numbers that I use for RCI: Air2Sea: 844-278-9745 General RCI number: 866-562-7625 Groups: 800-327-2055 Shore Excursions: 800-398-9819 Crown & Anchor: 800-526-9723 All of these are toll free numbers when called within the USA.

I'm 99% sure that's nonrefundable.

It's my understanding that Royal Caribbean Group owns 50% of TUI Cruises, which owns 100% of Marella. Therefore, RCG has a 50% ownership of Marella, but would have to go through TUI to exert any influence. There was another recent thread discussing how/if Royal will continue servicing ports that can only take smaller ships. Baltimore and Tampa were specifically mentioned. Perhaps, Royal will sell the smaller ships to Marella and allow them to sail from these smaller ports. Or perhaps not. @twangster has made a great point about not allowing these ships to compete in Royal's backyard.

Yes I do. Royal needs just under 1 ship per year to keep the fleet less than 30 years old. There's a lot of debate about what size/classes they will be, but it is inconceivable to me that Royal will allow the ships to get much older than 30 years.

And don't forget that Galveston is especially well located to provide LNG fuel.

No telling on when, but my money is on Galveston homeport.

I'd book through air2sea and hold off payment until final payment date. If airfare drop, you can reprice it

Excuse my ignorance, but I've never heard of choice air. I've heard of air2sea and flights by celebrity. Can you explain choice air?

Looking at the models and analysis on tropicaltidbits.com, both of these systems should be over prior to you cruise. However, there might be others that appear. The biggest concern is landfall at your departure port while you are there. If the happens, then don't get on the airplane to your departure port. Royal won't send the ship there in that event anyway, so there isn't any point in going there. Otherwise, Royal will route around the storm.

Glad to see they are getting it fixed. I wonder what the internal investigation showed for the root cause.

In my experience, all of the non-suite cabins are the same height. I'm not sure exactly how high, but less than 8 feet. I think a little more than 7 feet.

I was walking through the mall today and found a currency exchange kiosk. Turns out it was much cheaper than my bank and they have branches throughout Texas & Florida. So, if you live in the right place, you might be able to convert at Texas Currency Exchange/Florida Currency Exchange for a pretty good deal.

People who I spoke to after they returned to the ship.