WAYNO

Photographers will be like fleas. They will be ready and available in any setting you might imagine. And if that's not enough, just tell them your preferences and they will make it happen quickly.

These little elevator signs are a cute novelty that I very much look forward to seeing.

I wish you luck in finding a hat maker for quality hats. I will follow this... There are lots of hats readily available in the Caribbean and Mexico, but mostly I've found them to be novelty hats, useful for very few wearings. I like good hats. The photo you show is a good looking hat. I'd like to see more folks wearing them, and have that fashion trend catch on again, as it was years earlier.

We've only been on one cruise where the cabin attendant was often not to be found or otherwise difficult to contact. In that case, pick up the phone and call housekeeping. That worked very fast for us, no matter the need.

We've cruised a lot, and I still am overwhelmed at what is available that I never knew about. It was just this past year that I first knew of the breakfast via room service. A few cruises back, as we were planning for an early get-up for an excursion, my wife said, let's just order breakfast. What? She has cruised many times without me, and apparently that's what she does. She just assumed I knew. It works very well.

This continental breakfast is a service we now use regularly. On port days, while we're getting ready for an excursion, a little breakfast delivered to our room is quite convenient and quite nice.

. We have been directly below an active deck. Chairs being dragged around and running are the biggest culprits to me. Initially it's bothersome. In short order, my little brain just tunes it out, not much different than folks living by railroad tracks (including me at one time) tune out the train racket. Everybody has different tolerances of such inconveniences, and only you can know if you can live with this racket.

My Wife does ziplines wherever she finds them. She did the one on Labadee, and it remains her all time favorite. If head-first was an option, we didn't know. Everybody was strapped into the little bosun's chair. She absolutely loved this ride.

We did the St. Kitts train also. Good choice. Interesting too, the train excursion was sold out on the ship. But when we got off the boat to inquire about vacancies on the train, we talked to the gal holding the train sign, and she said sure, there are lots of seats available!

The only Royal Up we've ever been successful with, was on Navigator, upgrading from a Balcony to a Spacious Balcony. And other than reading the dimensional differences on paper, my Wife could not tell any difference between the two. More than the size of the balcony, any views may or may not be hindered or obstructed by the deck or location on the ship. Here is our "Spacious Balcony".

What we're experiencing, a lot, on multiple cruises. The lines to get past Customs and out of the terminals, have been lengthy. Agents make their way along this line, inviting Americans with passports to come this way. They don't seem to have a lot of takers. Seconds later, we are done.

We were on Symphony in March, stopping in St. Thomas. If there is more than one port available to the big ships in St. Thomas, I guess I wouldn't know. Apparently we were at Crown Bay, where we boarded a ferry to St. John. The same area has some shopping, and the area was quite nice. The walk was fairly short. https://www.iqcruising.com/ports/caribbean/st.thomas/at-the-pier-crown-bay.html

Flying to a cruise is a huge expense for us. Most of our flights are from the Pacific Northwest to Florida. With almost zero non-stop flights from PDX, our flight day can approach 24 hours, from our get-up to our motel arrival in Florida. The airlines, the airports, and TSA make for a mostly dreadful experience. Yes, we can find cheaper flights. On these cheap flights, we may not be able to sit together, there is no easily available food during the flight, we still need to pay another 2-hundred dollars for luggage, and the cheap seats are otherwise miserable. So, it's easy for me to justify stepping up to First Class or Premium Economy. And $1200+ each becomes a bargain. As I've said many times... I am envious of folks that live within driving distances to cruise ports.

I do some of my best planning... at the last minute. Congratulations on your wedding, and on your retirement! When I was much newer at this cruise thing, I fretted about not doing something, doing something I shouldn't, scheduling times, etc., but when the smoke cleared, everything came together well, every time. I was lucky, I had a very experienced (in cruising) cousin that took us under her wing, and did all the work. About the third time, she was not on that cruise, so I had to do it all myself! Piece of cake. And when Royal-sponsored tours are booked up or otherwise un-available, there are plenty to be found at each port, for less cost than the official ones. Just be careful to get back to the ship on time. Again, Congratulations!

They are both marvelous ships. The only thing, is Odyssey does not have a conventional promenade. The Promenade is my favorite place on a ship, so that's caused me to avoid Odyssey for future cruises. If the Promenade is not as important to you, then flip a coin. Both ships are gorgeous, and everything they do is done very well. Speaking more of the Promenade... I was on Norwegian Breakaway some years back. Probably the nicest of all the ships I've been on, and the best hospitality. But it was the first time I'd experienced a ship with no promenade. I just never got into that ship. Other folks we cruised with, the promenade was a non-issue, and the Breakaway remains their favorite ship, and Norwegian being their favorite cruise line. More proof, everybody has their own idea of what works. Odyssey or Oasis, both great choices.

We have been jewelry buyers for a lot of years. Just like with buying a car, you've gotta know the value of what you're buying. A sales person's job is to get as much for any item as he can possibly get. And if he can capitalize on a customers lack of product knowledge, that's part of it too. Many folks on a ship, they've not been buyers, and they don't know how to be one. Gee, if the nice salesperson says it's a good deal, then boy-oh-boy it must be. (Poor example. I don't find many of the sales people to be nice). If you were to buy the same product at the local mall, you'd likely be faced with the same sales tactics and inflated prices. Even on a ship, you've gotta stick with your haggling skills. If there's a profit to be made, even a slim one, many managers will not let you walk. As far as counterfeiting goes... The counterfeiters are good at the craft. I don't even know if the sellers always know when they're selling counterfeit goods. But, when counterfeit goods are discovered, the seller better step up to the plate and take responsibility, or risk fireworks. Bottom line... I seldom buy expensive jewelry onboard. And I also seldom buy expensive jewelry in Caribbean ports. OTOH ... If you have your heart set on an item only available on the ship, and money is not an issue, go for it. It's your choice.

Just slipped from the triple digits!

More times than not, we've rushed thru our meal as best we could, and left the MDR before desert, just to make the 7PM show(s). Yes, the waitstaff was aware we needed to be done with dinner quickly, but it wasn't happening. This is one more excuse we make to avoid the MDR for dinner. On my very last cruise, aboard Symphony, same scenario, but the waitstaff got us thru our meal in plenty of time for a show. Maybe, partially, because the dining room was not at all full. But also because the waitstaff was marvelous. So, best answer about making a 7PM show after dining early... Maybe.

In the past 4 years, we've done 3-50th Anniversaries aboard ship, including our own. The ship nor the MDR recognized these events. For my Sisters Anniversary, and the anniversary of another friend, I stood up in the MDR, toasted, and announced to the world these anniversaries.

Speaking only personally, as we live relatively close to Seattle and have rented cars to and from Seattle, be aware Seattle has some quite high tourism taxes. Renting a car within Seattle's city limits can cause the car rental cost to be quite expensive. If you can... arrange the car in a Seattle suburb, outside the city limits. You can still return the car to the airport rental facility. We found no rental car facilities to provide shuttles, so either via taxi or Uber, you'll have to find your own way to and from a car rental facility. For us, we rented the car in Oregon, and dropped it off in downtown Seattle. It was 25-bucks for a taxi ride to the port. Then at the end of the cruises, it cost us again, 25-bucks for a taxi ride to the rental car facility. Then although we already had a car reserved, the rental cost to drive back to Oregon was twice what we were promised and quoted, with no exception. They said sorry, it was the tourism tax superseding the price we were promised. I know folks have different experiences for different reasons, but try as we might, we were stuck with this. And we've done it twice with the same results.

Folks put their head in the sand and profess the food and water in Mexico and elsewhere is perfectly safe. Nobody's gonna tell them what they should or shouldn't eat. If it's so safe, why are there so many programs promoting and educating food suppliers, vendors and restaurants to cook cleanly and safely? I've been all over Mexico and the Caribbean. The pork, fish, or other foods on the sidewalk... did you see it being cooked? How long ago was it cooked? How was the refrigeration? With no running water or sanitary facilities near the food carts or other neighborhood vendors, how did they wash their hands and cooking utensils? Travel guides say to eat at obviously organized kitchens, with immediately cooked dishes and high food turnover. Montezuma's revenge is still real. So are many other communicable illnesses. And if folks don't get sick in spite of ignoring sanitation, good for them. Many folks do remain unscathed. I will remain cautious. https://www.fda.gov/food/international-cooperation-food-safety/fda-senasica-cofepris-food-safety-partnership https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/north-america/mexico/tips-for-water-and-food-in-mexico https://mexiconewsdaily.com/mexicolife/dining-rules-health/

I love Captain Jacks's, sitting back and doing mostly nothing.

In Mazatlan, we trusted our pulmonia driver to find us a safe restaurant. The place was full of gringos, and we remained healthy.

It's just a fun urban myth. I've eaten many gusanos , soaked in Gusano Rojo Mezcal in my lifetime, and I've never been sick from one.

We also have the same questions and seldom eat or drink while ashore. I do let my guard down occasionally, and will eat a complete dinner at large, obviously popular restaurants. Interestingly, the last time we did eat at Mazatlan, we ordered soft drinks from a bottle. The waiter promptly opened the bottles and poured the beverage into a glass with ice. I didn't touch it, but quickly the waiter realized what he had done, and replaced our drink with a fresh one, still in the bottle. It is hard to un-learn old lessons.