steverk

Today is a good day for some fun dreaming.  By now, we've all noticed that the number of ports you can visit on these new monster ships is relatively small.  They're still fun, but it would be nice if some additional ports could be developed.

With that in mind, what ports would you like to see developed and why?

Enjoy your cruise. 

Not clothing related, but here's my advice for your cruise:

Whenever there's a line for something,  run to the nearest window,  point in the distance and yell "whale!" Everyone will run over and you go to the head of the line. 

On 9/11/2021 at 9:23 AM, Chawkjewel said:

Seems odd that the 8 night cruises seem to have less people than the 6 night cruises.  I would have thought it would be the other way around.  

I booked independence on October 3 for 6 nights because it was a great deal.  Odyssey was traded out for Indy,  and now I have a 6 night Odyssey cruise.  Hard to say how common that was

19 minutes ago, Matt said:

I've gone to CVS at least 3 times for pre-cruise covid tests. Couldn't be easier. 

The results get texted, emailed, and stored online at the minuteclinic website. This saved me when I forgot my print out at home and instead showed a digital copy.

I've had the same experience.  Worked out great. 

Thanks Chris! Great video as always!

A couple minor points. 

Having been on 3 cruises this year, each port has slightly different rules.  Back in June, Barbados only allowed ship based excursions.  It went so far as the beach break portion of my excursion was replaced with a catamaran sailing just to keep us isolated.

Other ports have allowed vaccinated individuals to roam freely.  Most, like Curacao and Roatan required masks indoors, but not outdoors.  Others, like Cozumel and Costa Maya required them pretty much everywhere.

YMMV. These rules change daily.  Sometimes hourly!

To me, the biggest takeaways are as follows:

• The protocols, both on board and in port, are constantly changing.  If you go, be prepared for changes and roll with the punches.
• Plan on being vaccinated, tested, measured, poked and prodded many times. 
• The biggest challenge pre-cruise is meeting the test requirements.  For adults, a rapid antigen test is adequate.  Since Royal has now approved an at home test, it isn't too hard to meet for the time being.
• Cruising is still awesome!  It is especially awesome when the ships are so empty.  Every sea day is like a port day where you remained on board.  No lines for shows, meals, slides, flowrider, elevators, etc. Every port day, is like a ghost town. Terrible for Royal's bottom line, but an incredible experience for cruisers.

12 hours ago, adwo41 said:

... NOT for Canucks!! We can't do it that way. And most of us Westerners have a longer journey than 2 days to the port of departure. It really is a problem for us. Any suggestions?

I would fly in the day before and schedule a test for that day. CVS pharmacy takes reservations up to 2 weeks in advance. I've had good experience with them. 

What port are you sailing from? 

On 9/8/2021 at 8:08 AM, Marlena said:

Our medical insurance is void on a cruise due to the level 4 warning. Does anyone have a medical travel insurance that is covering us?

I use Allianz.  They always send an email emphasizing it does cover covid. I get it through my travel agent, so I don't know if she has to specifically request covid coverage.

FWIW: I just booked a June Alaska northbound cruise with airfare.

From Houston (IAH) it came in a $610 per person.  That's flying in one day early to Vancouver and staying an extra 2 days in Anchorage. 

I'm guessing, but based on past experience, I'd expect the round trip airfare in to Seattle to be about $400-$500.

The one way cruise fare tends to be cheaper than round trip Seattle, which helps offset the cost difference.  On the other hand, getting from Seward to Anchorage ($116pp in adventure class on Alaska Railroad) is going to be more than the cost of getting from the port to Seattle airport.

11 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

They allowed 3 months before?

 

Yes they did.

Time to resurrect an old topic because I did it.  I booked an Alaska 7 day northbound cruise for next June.  I even called Air2Sea and reserved my flight.

Does anyone know of any good, reasonably priced, hotels in Vancouver, Seward, and Anchorage?

My plan is to fly to Vancouver the day before and pretty much just chill to adjust to the time change and long flight.  Then go to the cruise port the next morning.

Once in Seward, I want to spend a day checking out the national park and then take the train to Anchorage.  In Anchorage, we would arrive pretty late (after 11pm), check in to our hotel, wake up the next morning for an 8:30am flight home.

I've submitted as much as 3 months before sailing and as little as 14. If you buy the shares close to sailing you can send your trade confirmation. 

I always send in my request as an email to shareholderbenefit@rccl.com Response is always quick.

Royal says they prefer me to fill it out via the on line website, but I've yet to have it actually work.

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I'm on Allure right now and it's a more subdued environment, mostly because of the reduced capacity. It doesn't bother me and I will gladly deal with the annoyance of masks to sail without the crowds and lines. It's really what you make of it and your attitude going into it. The gratitude that the crew has towards you supporting the industry and helping keep them employed goes a long way. No one on board seems to be having a bad time at all.

I'm on independence. I could not have said it  better. Thanks Ashley  

Keep checking the app. At least some of the activities appeared a week or so before the cruise.

Menus in the mdr also appeared.

45 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Do you know how many they allow in the escape room at a time?

Not sure and don't know who to ask

I'm on Indy right now. I haven't seen any mention of laser tag in the daily program, but I haven't asked either. 

The escape room is operating. The Sky Pad is down for maintenance.

The flow rider and perfect storm water slides are operating on a pretty normal schedule

On celebrity millennium at st. Maarten, it was just like always. Early walk off was an option. 

On adventure in Bahamas, luggage had to be outside your door the night before due to space limitations on the busses. I think early walk off was allowed, but you met your bags at the end of the pier. I think this applies only to sailings out of the Bahamas. 

Here are mine:

1. Usb/power strip from home depot.  At $5.88 it is a bargain

2. European usb hub I bought from Walmart on clearance

3. Collapsable boxes from dollar tree

4. Several over the door hooks from dollar tree

5. Several "heavy duty" magnet clips from dollar tree

Keep in mind the cruise line has to pay for every minute they are tied up.  Therefore they have no incentive to arrive early. Some lines will even drive around in circles just to avoid arriving early. 

That said,  it does occasionally happen. 

They are not needed,  but I usually put them on anyway just in case they get lost.

4 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I have to say, it’s really nice having 1+ crew per person as far as service goes. I really don’t mind the lack of crowds at all. I would think that this is going to have a major impact on RC bottom line and my concern would be the overall elimination of the cruise industry as we know it. I suppose it’s better to have 500 people sailing then 0. 

I'm doing my part. Indy in September, odyssey in October,  explorer in November,  liberty in December...

What? That's only one per month!

18 hours ago, bryresangel said:

But it looks so FESTIVE! Can't they revisit this with eco-friendly, biodegradable streamers? 

It was very festive!  I like the idea of doing it again if we can solve the environmental issue. 

Quick question. Is a passport required for an Alaska cruise out of Seattle since it doesn't go to any foreign ports?

I really enjoyed both cruises I've had and wouldn't change a thing 

I was so excited by your pictures that I went down to look for myself. 

It is closer to 13th street than I expected.  

Very excited to see progress