WAYNO

The one and only time we booked a red eye to catch a cruise on the day we landed, the flight was cancelled. We lost that cruise. And in fairness, it must be said we were flying West Coast to East Coast, against the clock. That could have been the one time in a hundred that such a cancellation would happen, but it did happen, and I will never take that same chance again. There are mitigating circumstances where such a flight is less chancy. For example, short flight with no transfers, and with only one time zone involved, or when racing with the clock, gaining time, such as East to West. Then there could be time to get another flight. In the same time zone scenario, for example, PDX to LAX, that's a short flight. Leaving PDX at 6 AM, we get to LAX in plenty of time, and if the flight is delayed or cancelled, there are other flights to LAX one after another.

My experience... There are times that excursions, beverages, and other add-ons are not shown on the website, while they are shown on the app. And conversely, sometimes they are shown on the website and not on the app. And sometimes they are not shown on either. I just stick to it and keep looking until they magically reappear. RC is not known for their IT prowess. They have a lot going on, and I suspect with all the hands in the pot, so to speak, the app and website gets confused.

Not my cup of tea, but I've sailed with family that loved such a cabin. And I don't know if they are all this way, but they were not allowed to open the curtain after dark while sailing.

I've always used U.S. cash with no resistance whatsoever.

We also, cannot always depend on the app or anything else IT related. I visit their site often, and print whatever might be necessary whenever I see it. It just might not be available tomorrow. That is their IT legacy. But we stick with it and everything works out in the end.

My Wife uses them. Loves them. Her shelves, the bottom three, you can see some of her cubes on the shelf. She always knows where her stuff is. Best I can know of my stuff, is some of my stuff must be in the stacks above.

And when we're not in the casino, a restaurant, a show, or in our room, we're likely found in the Promenade, in front of, or across from Sorento's (or whatever it's called this week).

We've always had a rental car and stayed busy just driving around, including Disney World. I don't know what your schedule is, or how long you'll be in the Cocoa Beach area, but we drove all the way to Key West. Maybe the nicest drive I've ever taken. And as far as restaurants go... Out on the pier at Cocoa Beach there is a restaurant. Don't know what it's called, but you can't miss it. I thoroughly enjoy eating there. https://www.cocoabeachpier.com/dining/pier-62-oceanfront-restaurant-bar/menu/

It's been a few years, but we were unable to find a shuttle from Bayonne, nor would the motels help recommend transportation. It's a different culture there than I'm used to. The counter person said we'd just have to google it ourself. Thanks. We ended up using Uber.

Whoops... I mis-spoke. I just checked, and her offer was also sent via email.. Seems I incorrectly assumed since she read it to me from her phone, that it was a text.

We get offers thru the mail often. Often, as in multiple times a week. I also receive an occasional offer via email. The email offers I've mostly learned to ignore, as when I reply, I am met with untimely responses. Over and above this, my wife just received a separate annual/Signature offer via her email. It's interesting, different folks receive offers via different means, while other folks receive no offers at all. Seems we're all added to data bases differently, and for different reasons.

Previously, we've always used a one-way rental car from Orlando to our hotel in Cocoa Beach. That's always worked easy. We have a cruise upcoming from there also March 24th, and this time we booked a shuttle. Either way, to me it's easier to get a hotel and spend the night near the port, and create one less stress factor. The Cocoa Beach area, and the beach itself is quite wonderful for decompressing.

My wife bought me two "Tiles" for Christmas. Folks she knows that have used them say they work great. And she uses an Apple phone, so she bought the "Apple AirTag" for herself. Reviews have been positive, and her friend used one on her last cruise with my wife. They were always able to know where the luggage was, in and out of the ship, and in or out of the plane and airport.

Victoria... I've done it twice on Royal cruises. No matter what else, it's quite beautiful. Both times, we took the geezer bus and let them drive us around the area, pointing out the sights. And both times, they stopped and treated us at Tim Horton's. And when the bus tour is done, we walk around some more. Doing it again twice this coming summer, and I will handle it the same way. I don't do things much different in Alaskan ports. We get on a bus, trolley, or other conveyance, let them drive around and point out the sights, then finish the tour with a walk around of the area.

...in the pickup. Oh I love my cruises to sunny places. But I also love my snow. This, from Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood Oregon on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!

I stand corrected.

This is all so incredible! Thank you.

No airport is easy . Sea-Tac is a huge and busy airport, and the gates are very spread out. Fortunately, they have a people-mover system that helps get folks to their gate with less worry of a coronary. I get to any and all airports 2+ hours early. Sometimes it takes every minute of that. But, get off the ship timely, have your ride ready, and you'll be good. Good travels.

Assuming you're flying from Sea-Tac... The drive is roughly 40 minutes when the traffic allows. An hour or more during rush hour. Either way, as long as you have a guaranteed ride to the airport from the cruise terminal, a 12:30 PM departure is quite reasonable.

We just signed up for this cruise, today. And my Wife and her friend will be on this ship for the same cruise, two months earlier.

I guess I don't much care what brand they use, as long as it's good ice cream. There are many very good regional ice creams. What I was thinking, and kind've hoped for, is maybe backing away from Ben and Jerry's, they might relocate the ice cream counter. On Navigator, the counter extends into the Promenade enough to make it a real bottle neck. Huddled around the area of the Veteran's Day service, which is in front of the ice cream counter, folks got genuinely angry with us for being in their way.

Oh this retirement thing... I've been thusly blessed for 8 years now, and my Wife 7 years. I am crazy busy. How did I ever get things done when I was working? And the pet thing? Even a dumb ol' cat. We had a person stay in our house whenever we were away, just to babysit the cat. We lost her this year and we miss her so much. My Wife nearly brought one home yesterday. The only reason she didn't, the person at a traveling pet adoption agency didn't have the cat in question, with her. It will happen. In the meantime, travel is certainly easier without a pet.

It's been awhile since we've done this cruise. This one's slightly different. This one adds Sitka, and trades away Tracy Arm Fjord for Endicott Arm.

But soon after I wrote this, we have booked Quantum from Seattle to Alaska, July 29th.