mac66

For many years we've taken advantage of cruise pricing to get out of the cold in the winter. We found that it was cheaper to go on a cruise (or two) than stay in a hotel in Florida for a week or two. Particular a hotel near a beach. Cheap airfares helped, but then we started driving down to Florida. Except for bucket list cruises we particularly look for cruises between Thanksgiving and Christmas and late Jan-early Feb when prices are at their cheapest. We don't do suites, balconies, spas, photo packages, specialty dining, drink packages, or anything extra. Pretty much just enough to get somewhere warm. Now with hotel and airline prices being what they are, cruises even though more expensive are still a good deal comparatively. We did an early Dec cruise last year and an early Feb cruise this year for very, very good prices. However looking at next Dec and Feb prices (so far) are about double. At some point we will have to reassess whether we want to continue to do cheap off season cruises but in the mean time we have some bucket list cruises we'd like to do. May have to just bite the bullet on those.

We did an 8 nighter ABC cruise on the Explorer right after Thanksgiving. Had a great time, great weather. We typically sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas and around late Jan early Feb. Prices tend to be about the lowest at those times.

I decided to hold for now. If RCI stocks go back up over $70 I will probably sell. If it goes down below $40 I'll probably buy another 100 shares Then there's this Royal Caribbean (RCL) Upgraded to Buy: Here's What You Should Know https://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-rcl-upgraded-buy-160004360.html

Is that against the rules too?

We use Cru Con mostly but have used Costco as well. We've been with Cru Con long enough to get some pretty good loyalty perks i.e. additional OBC and specialty dining in addition to good prices.

Realistically what do you think the consequences would be if by remote chance they (ships personnel) caught someone underage drinking? I think we all pretty much know the answer to that.

I think the dirty little secret is that checked luggage is only scanned for weapons and prohibited electrical items. They don't have the time or inclination to check every bottle or container of whatever it may contain.

Certainly! no rule/law prevents one from physically doing whatever one wants to do. Don't ask, don't tell, don't get caught.

Umm....if you want water, just bring a water bottle and fill as needed. We were given a couple bottles of water on our last cruise, when empty we filled them back up. But we always bring our own water bottles anyway.

Maybe at least wait until the first quarter earnings come out and see if that drives the stock up or down. RCI is still in massive debt but it seems like they're handling it okay. They are breaking sales records so far in 1st quarter 2023 and it's projects that through the rest of the year. They are still going forward with their Nassau Beach project, kind of CoCo Cay resort except in Nassau.

Thinking of selling my RC shares. It's now at 70.34/share. I paid $33/share last summer. That's a profit of $3742. I would have to do 37 cruises to make that up in OBC. Or do I keep it and hope it gets higher? It was at $112 in 2019 before covid.

Not used a neoprene mask strap, but I see them frequently.

Do your diving instruction on the first leg. Good diving on Curacao and Aruba. I did my OW check out dives in both places while on a cruise. But I kinda agree with FireFishII. You can do your class and confined water in a pool back home and then just do your OW checkout dives while on a cruise. Less stress, less time away from your cruise. I live in the north. That's what I did. Pretty easy to find a dive shop to test you out while in port. Or you can check with the cruise ship and see if they'll do your OW dive check outs. I used Scubacoa in Curacao and Happy Divers in Aruba for my OW dives.

Where do people come up with this stuff? If it's not listed as prohibited it's not.

I had no idea that you could do your OW dives through the cruise ship even if you didn't do their course. Learned something new. Thanks. Cruise ship instructors usually will go out of their way to take care of you. As for masks.. I have what my kids call the neanderthal brow. Framed masks are very painful to wear in that under pressure the frame presses against my protruding brow. It's usually pretty painful at the end of a couple dives but I tolerated it. I was on a dive last year and was talking to a fellow diver. He mentioned frameless masks i.e, one piece lens surrounded by the rubber/silicone skirt. He let me try his on (but not in the water). When I got home I ordered one (Cressi F1). I've now dived numerous times with it. I love it, no pain!

I think the chance of doing the OW parts through a cruise ship without booking the entire class as Brendon noted is slim. Not sure if they would do Advanced Open Water differently than Open Water. However any dive shop on any island will do your OW cert or AOW for that matter. I did my OW in Curacao and Aruba. Two different shops/DMs, two different days. Just need to book them in advance and let them know when you'll be in port. As for equipment, I dived for two years 20+ dives without my own mask and fins. Gave me a chance to try out lots of stuff and see what I liked. Rentals have lots of masks and fins to find one that fits. As for a refresher, most refreshers I've seen are done in conjunction with a discovery dive. In other words, tell the dive operator that you want a refresher and they will stick you in with the discovery divers for your first dive, then take you out on your second tank dive with the regular divers. Of course 5 years is a long time so maybe some classroom and pool work would help but I pretty much guarantee a discovery class will get you back up to speed.

Most dive shops I looked into encouraged solo divers. They just want the business. When looking at prices factor in what equipment they require you to buy. Usually a mask, fins and sometimes booties. and you usually have to buy it from them usually at a premium. Also check on equipment rental fees are included. Usually the confined water stuff is included but the open water stuff you have to rent separately. Also check and see if the online portion of the class is included in the price. Was just at a outdoor show a couple weekends ago and there were a couple dive shops there. The cheapest one charged $349 but you had to buy mask and fins through them so the cost was actually $449. The open water part was an additional $299 but included all the rental equipment. It did not include entry fee for the quarry, transportation cost or hotel stay since you dived two days in a row out of state. Just an FYI, I paid $270 for class and confined dives. I then took that and did my OW dives while on a cruise. The cost of those 4 dives was about $250 or the cost of 2 two tank dives. I did not have to buy a mask or fins. In fact I dived for two years before I finally found and bought a mask and fins i liked. I paid about $40 for the Cressi F1 frameless mask and about $70 for a pair of fins. I don't have much fat on me so I get cold in the water. I bought a full length 3mm wet suit for $100. That's the only stuff I own, I rent everything else. Like I said, I only dive on cruises so that's pretty much all you need.

I don't disagree with you in that doing the dive certification while on a cruise might be more than you bargained for. On the other hand, if you took the cruise in order to get certified, i.e the goal of the cruise was certification, then you might feel like it was a good deal and worth the time doing it. When I was looking to do it on a cruise I was looking for a cheap cruise to do it on. The point of that cruise was to get certified, not to cruise. The cruise was a means to the end. The cruise was a bonus, after all, it was still a cruise. It turned out I did my class and confined water stuff back home in the frigid north and my OW referral dives on a cruise. The original instructor gave my the skills checkoff sheet which I then took to the OW instructors (different instructors on two different islands). They didn't charge an extra referral fee. The cost was the same for a 2 tank dive.

I have a contrary opinion. When I was looking at diving classes I found the cruise certification to be about the same in cost as doing it through a private shop. When all things were considered. Some places make you buy a mask and fins, nearly all make you buy the PADI or other online course before you take the class. Not to mention the cost of the OW dives. As for time...not really a big thing. A couple 3 hour (often less) pool sessions before the open water. You do those first thing in the morning before most people are up and before you would likely be doing anything anyways. I met people who specifically went on a cruise to get dive certified in warm water in the Caribbean.. The cruise part was a bonus. I've also met some of the cruise staff diving instructors. They sometimes go along on cruise ship dive excursions. All of them have been very good and look out for their passengers. It's really no different than if you went to a resort to learn to dive. You're learning while on vacation. Not a bad thing. The OW sessions are no different than if you booked a two tank dive . If you've cruised enough you don't really have to do a lot of shore excursions. If you have a understanding spouse it's no big deal. I did 4 two tank dives in a row on a cruise, and have done multiple 3 day in a row 2 tank dives particularly when we go to the ABC islands, or Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.

As I mentioned I'm a warm water cruise ship diver I live in the north but The only diving i've done is while on cruises. Sometimes I book through the ship excursions sometimes privately. The dive shops who accept cruise ship divers know they may not be the most experienced so they will ask how many dives you've done and your certification. They also tend to keep the dives fairly simple and geared to the least experienced in the group. Often they will split up the group between those with a lot of experience and those with little. After 26 dives I've never had a problem with any dive operator or other diver. It's been a lot of fun. I'm an OW diver and probably will never go beyond OW, no nitrox or Advanced Open water. Don't need it, not interested.

I checked into doing the on board dive class a few (pre covid) years ago. You pretty much do the online stuff first. Then once on board you do your confined water part in the pool early in the morning a couple times. I didn't think it was overly intrusive. Then the 4 open water dives have to be two days apart. I thought it was pretty good way of getting certified and was real close to signing up for it. I ended up doing the class room and confined dives back home and then did my OW cert classes on referral in Curacao and Aruba. All my dives have been while on cruises. That's the only time I dive.

Three couples of us did that on the Serenade two weeks ago. No problem and I ate my wife's lobster tail since she doesn't like lobster.

First cruise was in 1979 on NCL First RC cruise was on the Empress in 1994, second on the Majesty in '99. Both were very good cruises from what I remember. Did the Explorer in '01 and have done her 2 more times since, the latest just last December. We've also sailed on the Oasis a couple times, the Allure a couple times, the Freedom a couple times and just got off the Serenade for the first time.

I think there's two ways of looking at RC vs. X 1. Do the cruise for yourself, not for your kid. An X cruise may not have all the bells and whistles of an Oasis class ship but it's still a cruise. Unless you've spoiled your kid rotten he should have a good time on whatever ship you go on. It is after all still a cruise, how bad could it be? 2. Even if he doesn't have as good a time on X as he did on the Oasis, it still gives him and you something to look forward to if you decide to go back to RC. That's kind of why I always recommend sailing on smaller class RC ships first. Get your feet wet on the smaller ships first. You can always go up a class, harder to go down.

Any package drink is available in the MDR and all the bars,