Va4fam

Just experienced this with flights from DC to West Coast Thursday on JetBlue. Delays, labor shortages, and other reasons had them asking me to come back Friday. I begged my way on another flight, connected in Boston to another lengthy delay and issues and arrived to Vegas at midnight. Coming back last night (different airline/no issues) I saw more people with cancelled flights and delays on JetBlue. I mostly flew on Southwest last year and out of 30 flights, 80 % of my flights delayed by more than 2 hours or cancelled. The struggle for them is real. I am driving 9 hours to TN later this month to avoid the hassles and costs of flying. American and Delta seem to be doing better.

We have a JS booked on Odyssey for 2023 and it has the split bathroom layout. Should be nice.

The JS in Oasis and Anthem class are very nice. We made the decision to switch from Balconies to JS a couple of years ago. I try to pick cruises where the JS price is not significantly above the Balcony price. Part of the strategy was to take 2 or 3 cruises each year instead of just one with the goal of hitting Diamond in 2020. Then COVID hit and we had to reschedule all 5 or our cruises but eventually made it to Diamond last Fall. Now we no longer purchase the drink package and enjoy our Diamond drinks each day. The savings helps to offset the extra money we paid for the JS. 4 drinks per day x two people = $100+ each day. Multiple that by the number of days for your cruise and the savings add up quick. ( If you are a dedicated drink package purchaser, the math may not work in all cases.)

For the drink package, we have had good luck with sending one person to a bar with BOTH seapass cards to get two drinks. Never had an issue.

You can bring a wine opener or better yet, get the bottles with twist off caps. We fill up glasses and take them to dinner or shows. On Oasis earlier this month, our room attendant saw the bottles of wine and left us 2 wine glasses each day. That was unexpected but much appreciated.

Our next cruise is in 66 days on Brilliance. I (we) are excited because our young adult children will be joining us for a trip to Venice, the Greek Islands, and Croatia. Since the kids are older now, time spent with them is very special.

#1-we were in Belize City having a drink at the bar right outside of the dock when a man on a stretcher was rushed past us by 4 Royal Employees wearing hazmat suits. We asked that night if anyone heard anything about the man or his condition. Nobody knew. This happened during the last week of February 2020.......... #2-our very first cruise was on NCL, on our 2 day voyage back from Bermuda, the ship engines were cut off in the middle of the ocean for nearly 3 hours. We watched two divers go overboard and under the ship. It was very quiet, and somewhat eerie.

I live in the Mid Atlantic so it's soda and Coke here. The "tonic" description in Cape Cod area was very confusing during our summer vacations. Just so there is no debate, that thing you plug into the wall to clean your carpets/floors is called a vacuum, not a sweeper.

We are having similar issues getting to Ravenna from Venice, and leaving from Ravenna. Not a lot of information available. Google searches show that you can take a bus, a train, or hire private transportation. Some have posted on this forum they secured a shuttle from Venice airport and downtown Venice to Ravenna but I can't confirm that info. We are leaning towards private transportation to get to and from the port unless a better option materializes.

We have been asked on all of 3 of our recent cruises. One crew member even took the time to explain that 5 is the best score and 1 was the lowest score and explained some people get confused. Nearly all of our interactions with Royal crew have been outstanding and we are happy to give positive reviews to support them.

Mine is pretty simple: People that are rude to the crew. Just stop already.

Anything after midnight (East coast time) will work. Even if you are in the Midwest and it's only 11 pm, I'm pretty sure the test time is registered as midnight.

#1-yes, you can get rideshare (Uber/Lyft) from the cruise port to FLL and back. We typically book as soon as we get our bags at the airport, or clear customs at the cruise port. Taxis are another option. #2-most ships are not fully booked....yet. Passenger counts are increasing each week plus you have Easter, Spring Breaks, and a new ship like Wonder to add to the mix. We've been to CocoCay 3 times post pandemic with multiple ships in port and it's never felt overcrowded. #3-COVID definitely made dining alone or with your companion a lot easier. Still shouldn't be an issue to have a table just for you and your wife. #4-No checking in early, nothing to see or eat at the cruise port in Miami. You can stay at the airport to get food or perhaps get a taxi/uber to take you to the outside marketplace near the Miami Heat basketball arena (think it's called American Airlines arena?) for food and shopping. Very close to the port. We typically have our uber driver take us to a grocery store or Walgreens to pick up 2 bottles of wine, soda and water to carry on the ship. That's a good way to use up at least 30-45 minutes. If you are sailing from Port Everglades, I'm not sure. #5-Not sure when your cruise takes place. Right now, crew is wearing masks. Vaccinated passengers do not have to mask up except at the cruise port, and possibly at some of the port stops you might make (we had to wear them in the port area in St. Thomas). #6-I'm not sure about the temperature screening. We had it done a few months ago, but not 2 weeks ago in Miami, unless they were doing it with sensors or something we didn't see.

Our Greek Isles cruise from Ravenna is departing May 29th. We are flying into Venice on May 27th and will need to figure out how to get to Ravenna the morning of the 29th and how to get COVID tested on the 27th or 28th. We may take the train or hire a driver unless we can figure out the RCCL shuttle from Venice city center. Do I just call RCCL directly to inquire? After the cruise, we are trying to get to Bologna to fly to Munich. I know I can get a taxi/driver to get us to the Bolgna airport but worried about getting off ship, with bags, clearing customs, checking in at airport, getting through security (and customs?), and checking bags again. Would a 9:50 am flight from Bologna be too unrealistic?

We saved $70 with a Cruise Planner sale today. I'll take it!

Thank you @Atlantix2000, @carlosalonsor, and @MaryCS62 for your assistance. I went to the cruise planner and booked 4 devices under my name and it worked perfectly.

We have two cabins booked for our Greek Islands cruise. Trying to book the 4 device internet package but the cruise planner only lets me add the 2 people in each cabin, with no way to combine the cabins. The package for 4 devices is significantly less money per person than just 2 devices, how do I do this?

I have a success story with the Shareholder credit. Submitted the request via fax on Tuesday, March 15th and received the OBC in my Cruise Planner reservation this morning. It was super easy.

Not really a beach excursion but we did Captain Bob's 6 hour boat ride around the island. 3 different snorkeling spots, lunch break at a beautiful beach, and watched the airplanes fly directly over our heads about 100 yards from Maho Beach.

Have you tried "modifying" your bid in the Royal UP website? You don't have to change your bid but it should show you the meter for minimum to maximum (weak/strong) bids.

We grew up in the 80's and Wanted (Bon Jovi) and No Quarter (Led Zep) have been great bands so far. Still hoping to see DSB and Phoenix. Hector the magician, Landry the comedian, Jeff Trachta (singing and impersonations) have all been solid entertainers. The pub singer on Symphony in September was from Scotland and was personable and very talented, can't remember his name. Axel Guidice (Oasis Central Park) plays a great mood setting acoustic guitar most nights. Andy from Empress of the Seas looked and sounded like Elton John and packed the Schooner Bar whenever he played. For something different, try the jazz band in the Jazz on 4 stage. They are great. The cruise director on Oasis, Mike, got up and sang 2 songs with the Humans and he did well.

If you go back to "modify" your bid, it will show the meter again.

No reservations required on Oasis last week either. Just show up and eat!

On Feb 27, we arrived late for our 12:30 check in at Port Miami Terminal A, and breezed through the empty concourse and were aboard in less than 10 minutes. They didn't even ask to take the cheesy photo before we hit the gangway. It was the best experience we have had with boarding.

That's a good question. We typically fill up our glasses and walk around with them. Haven't tried taking the pitcher yet.