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joshgates

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  1. Found this just in time to be able to binge read the entire thing. I left Ushuaia on the 19th too, straight to Antarctica though. Had a completely different experience than you (we got the Drake shake with 8m waves on the way back for instance) and seeing your photos and how you described the Falklands and South Georgia, I'd love to include them if I get back. Just a fabulous writeup with some great photos, think you've inspired more than a few people to look into it as an option or expand their trip if there's one in the works. Any interest in trying some of the activities like kayaking or snorkeling if you return?
  2. Depends, at best I'm a 6-8 hour drive from the nearest cruise port so usually end up flying anyways, and not much difference between going to NY, FL, or LA at that point. The more I cruise though the more I'm willing travel for an itinerary, so far the furthest is a couple out of Barbados but that's about to change. I've got a southbound Alaska trip, two out of Australia (New Zealand and South Pacific), and a major bucket list trip, Antarctica expedition out of Ushuaia Argentina booked over the next couple years. Still enjoy the Caribbean ones that I'm only a couple hours flight from, but don't mind some long travel days if that's what it takes to get to a great destination.
  3. Just checking some upcoming cruises and it seems as though the option for DBP + VOOM isn't available for purchase, Classic Soda + VOOM is still available to buy though. Wonder if it's a permanent change, glitch, or something wrong on my end. I'll be disappointed if it's gone for good, was usually a pretty nice value if you wanted internet too.
  4. Yes! They're fantastic. They do have some limitations since they rely on being able to connect to other apple device to report the location, so there can be some lag in reporting its position. That said, it was nice being able to see it loaded onto the plane, get a rough idea of when it'd hit baggage claim, and especially somewhere like The Bahamas where luggage drop off was at the airport, track it on the way to the ship. Ended up tossing one in every bag, well worth it imo.
  5. Yeah, I wouldn't place too much trust into the app/cruise planner for things like that prior to getting on board. Just checked some of the cruise compass I still have and there was a LGBT event every evening. You could check and see if anyone's sent Matt a recent one from the ship you'll be on here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass though to get a better idea
  6. Royal Caribbean https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise
  7. Probably for the best. I'm considering switching to the Harmony for my December sailings now, even given the hassles of it. They just released new protocols and you need a PCR test 3 days before boarding too. So by coming in a day early I'll have to do the nasopharyngeal PCR test on Wednesday and a regular PCR test on Thursday, plus the antigen test before boarding. Sure, technically I could try and just do one test on Thursday but I'm not comfortable losing a day for getting the results back. I'm not opposed to the testing, and if it was just an antigen test 3 days before boarding I wouldn't care.
  8. Pretty much. Almost switched to the Harmony for December instead of the Grandeur....but I'm too lazy to change everything that I'd need to for that. I'll just roll with the changes. And get the DBP since I'll be spending more time on the ship now.
  9. I've been looking into this as well, from what I understand the usual CVS/Walgreens tests won't work since they're a nasal swab and they're self administered under supervision. The nasopharyngeal swab is the brain tickler that's gone out of fashion in the US, started calling around to labs that do testing near me and found a couple that can do it but won't guarantee the turnaround time. I'm planning on spending some more time tomorrow calling around to labs to see if I can'd find one locally that'll do a nasopharyngeal swab and offer a quicker turn around. Visit Barbados partnered with two providers to do "home concierge testing" https://www.visitbarbados.org/north-america-covid-19-testing looks like it's $265 for a single test and it's slightly cheaper if you're doing multiple people at once. This is my backup in case I can't find anything this week.
  10. Can get the BinaxNOW from emed with overnight shipping. Never hurts to have a few extras laying around just in case.
  11. Come into Nassau a few days early instead of just the day before. I was able to wander around some butI wouldn't have minded a few extra days to actually plan something to do and experience the island while tourism is as low as it is. More time on the pool deck, most of the time I avoid it because of how packed it is, and I kept that habit, only really spending the mornings out there. I wish I hadn't done the Beach Club at CocoCay both days, it was fantastic no doubt and the food was wonderful, but looking back I missed out not doing the waterpark or spending any time on the rest of the island. Taken more NUUN with me, there were a couple rough mornings.
  12. Fully agreed with @Snotarni, well well worth it, already booked it for my next cruise ? It is a lot of food since it's 5 courses, but it's mostly smaller portions. Except the Teppan Beef Fried Rice, that was a huge bowel of it, but absolutely fantastic. Favorite sake was the perfect snow but the she's a geisha cocktail was incredible.
  13. I'll echo connecting cabins. Unless I'm traveling with someone or planning on working for a few days, a balcony is wasted on me and I sleep better in an interior and like the excuse to spend as little time there as possible. Just don't make me hear my neighbors. I'd rather be next to and across from crew areas than that. That might change once I venture out of the Caribbean for some of my upcoming ones in Alaska/Australia/New Zealand (assuming they go), but we'll see.
  14. Had some time to reflect on the cruise on a 16 hour travel day yesterday and wanted to put together a quick good / bad list. On the good side: Service was incredible across the board. I don't think I met anyone that was just "nice". No waits for anything, everyone remembered your name and often had your drink ready before you got there. Food was great, friend of mine ended booking too, so out of respect for her tastes did mostly Chops and Giovanni's for dinner but both places were better than I remembered. Ice show was amazing Lack of crowds was a unique experience. Not sure I'll ever have a chance to be on a ship that empty again. I was a little worried that being so empty it wouldn't really feel like a cruise, but most of the experience was still there...and in a lot of ways better. DBP was the right choice. By a good margin. My new loves are espresso martini's and "She's a Geisha". Sushi and Sake lunch. I'd seen this as an option sometime last year and have been wanting to try it since then. So worth it. I was stuffed when I left but the food and the pairings were fantastic. Well worth it if you like either. Coco Beach Club - Love it there, beautiful area, great food, fantastic staff. Wouldn't mind trying a cabana at some point either, those looked fun. No chair hogs! Didn't matter when you went, you could get a seat pretty much anywhere anytime and enjoy. Not as good UDP - So. Much. Food. I prefer to eat smaller meals through the day when I'm actively doing anything. Here they just insisted on bringing so much, even sending back plates half eaten it was a struggle. Not to mention with only a few restaurants on board I was struggling to find anything that sounded good by the end of the week. First world problems. I don't think I'll do the UDP again unless it's on a ship with more choices or if I'm going to be dining by myself so I can just grab a roll or two at Izumi when I want. Not much in the way of activities. Not really an issue since they're not a main focus for me, but it's nice to have the option. Not being able to sit at the bar in most bars was strange, while I'm glad they allowed it at the blue moon, I'm hopeful it'll come back to the others as well. Internet was a little iffy, I hope they upgrade it on the rest of the ships at some point too. Overall, I wish I'd gone in June so I could have justified a back to back, it was just a great time and an incredible/unique experience that I'd glad I got to do. It was the perfect first cruise back for me, now I'll just be looking forward to the Grandeur in December.
  15. Ok, a few last pictures, overall this was the most relaxing cruise I've done. With limited activities on board and ports I didn't have a lot planned for I spent a lot of time reading, writing, and drinking so not a ton to report. Seems like most excursion vendors are just trying to get back up and running so not a lot of options yet, even in Cozumel. I'm guessing over the next several months that'll start improving as everything picks up again. Pretty much set on making this my primary travel camera. Has it's drawbacks but I like being constrained to black and white only and having to use color filters on the lens to change contrast / etc. Closest feeling I've had to shooting film and without the hassle of developing and scanning or printing.
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