WAAAYTOOO

This is a huge disappointment given all of the hype that preceded it. Really ? NO new restaurants ?

WOW ! Who knew ? I never even look at the reaction stuff. Thanks ! I guess....?

I have never really been able to use my GE for returning from a cruise so I cannot say whether this is accurate or not BUT I can say that GE saves a LOT of time for returning to the US from abroad when flying in. I fly abroad quite a bit and I am always sooo grateful to have GE when I come in through Dulles and see that LOOOOOONNNG line waiting to get through Customs and all I have to do is stop at the kiosk, scan my passport and keep moving.

I will be on LIB in late August but you may have already sailed by then !

My VERY first cruise was on a British Naval vessel, the name of which I have long ago forgotten. I was 9 or 10 years old. My father was an active duty Marine relocating from El Toro, CA to Kaneohe Bay, HI. It was 1962 or 63 (cannot recall....it was a LONG time ago). Back in those days you could move to Hawaii from the mainland either by flying there or by "cruising" there. We went up to San Francisco, spent a few days there and then caught the ship over. I recall nearly nothing about this voyage. I am certain that we were in inside accommodations but I do remember that we had a blast ! Shortly after that they discontinued to "float-overs" which was a shame. Why a British Naval vessel ? Who knows. I just know that it was HMS Something. My first real commercial cruise was on Carnival Fantasy in 2000 and it's a major miracle that I ever tried cruising again. It was an utter disaster. No need to expound but not a pleasant time. It really wasn't until Dan and I sailed on Grandeur out of Tampa (2007) for the first time that we both got the cruise bug.

When your suites concierge contacts you be sure to let him/her know that you are on a B2B. They will make sure that you are appropriately tagged as a consecutive cruiser and help you with those processes. As Twangster said, you will pack up all of your "loose" things and the cabin steward(s) will move your closet items from one suite to the other. It should all work very smoothly.

As a general rule (certainly there are exceptions) Air2Sea is not going to save you money on domestic flights. It often DOES save you money on international flights. The one and only situation where I ever use A2S for domestic flights is when I am flying in on sail away day. I have done this twice this year - first in Feb. for our B2B Anthem Star Class cruises and again this coming Friday for our B2B NAV cruises. When you book with A2S there is a limited amount of assurance that you will get to your ship on time. If the flight schedule - delays, etc., cause you to miss the ship, they will make sure you get there by alternate means. I have never had to put this "insurance" to the test and I hope I never have to, but when I am flying on sail day, I suck it up and pay the additional cost of booking through A2S just for the peace of mind. It is almost NEVER the cheapest option - especially if you fly First Class as we usually do. Of course, we have travel insurance as well but I would rather have the cruise line/airline responsible for getting me to my cruise on time than to have to go through the pain and heartache (see Twangster's blog) of getting an insurance reimbursement.

Damn. That's a real shame. We LOVE the Ritz. We can get a government rate even during the holidays or better still, use our Marriott rewards if you book far enough ahead. What a beautiful property.

I was able to get on earlier today. Haven't tried this afternoon.

We've stayed at this Marriott as well. It used to have a nice poker game in the evenings. However, I believe that this hotel was badly damaged in the recent hurricanes. Is it back open and in full operation ??

We did cave tubing in Belize many years ago and it was fun. The water is very cold and it is a bit of a hike and we, at least, were required to carry our own tubes. I probably could not do this excursion now due to being less agile and, well...just being older now ! My daughter was visibly blue when we got finished with the tubing. She was so cold the entire time !

If you pay for an upgrade (not through RoyalUp) then you would get double points for a JS. If you bid through RoyalUp the upgrade will not result in double points. The difference between a balcony and a JS is primarily a larger room plus a real bath/shower. Some ships also have walk-in closets in JS. There are other less important differences but the space and the double points are the main upgrade. If you are on an Oasis or Anthem Class ship then JS also have access to the Coastal Kitchen for dinner on a space available basis.

Yikes !

I'm wondering if the Grand Lucayan will become the overnight destination that they first started talking about doing at Coco Cay. I don't see there being enough real estate to do that at Coco Cay now but if they use the already existing resort at Grand Bahama and develop that into a combination land resort and overnight stay destination for cruise pax, I think they have plenty of space there. Maybe they will repurpose the Majesty and Empress to be the ships that bring and retrieve pax from the resort.

UGH ! I hate it when this happens. How in the world can a plug get "stretched out" so that the devices fall out ?!

To add to this, I recommend boat diving or snorkeling. The beaches in Bonaire are full of dead coral and it's very tough walking around. If you do decide to do a beach thing, be sure to bring water shoes. That coral will tear your feet up !

Where did you move it to ? Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one. I have GERD and reflux too so I can completely sympathize.

We’re right after you. Boarding on Jun 28 and getting off on July 5.

As soon as I finished writing this I went to my email and there was our welcome email for my upcoming NAV cruises.

My recommendation is to ask the Suites Concierge when they contact you prior to the cruise. While drinks are not necessarily in their swimming lane, they can mention it to the Suites manager and hopefully accommodate you. It certainly can’t hurt to start there.

We just sailed on Freedom in April and had a lovely cruise. Don’t give CC reviews too much credence. Truly, those are angry and unhappy people over there ! ??

Yikes !

I recall that. Must have been a serious emergency !

I don't see why not. I have never seen any kind of dress code enforced for the CK but I will also say that I have never seen anyone who looked like they needed to be turned away.

Hi, kjhgarden ! Welcome to the blogs. First off, not all ships have helipads and even for the ones that do, sometimes it's just not safe for a helicopter to land. There are rare situations where they will air evac someone without landing the helicopter but those are very, very rare. I think that, as a matter of safety, if time permits, it is just a safer and lower risk situation for Royal to try and make a port evacuation vs a sea evacuation. They only attempt an at-sea evac in extreme emergencies where time is of the extreme essence and the risk is worth it. Good question though !!