Traveling Mike

Here is a few items for new cruiser: Make sure you have the app on your phone. On the first day or the second morning walk the ship to figure out where everything is and what the ship has. Do everything or nothing. This is your vacation so try anything that looks interesting or fun. If you do not want to do anything, don't. At meals eat anything you want. If you see two things you like order both. You are not limited on how much you can have. My favorite in a group is share. We have ordered all the deserts and a bunch of forks and tried everything. On Shore Excursions make sure you know what time it is (ship time not shore time) Watch this video https://youtu.be/MJjAlUwe3to There are some things that are extra cost. The ones that get me is some specialty ice cream and specialty coffee. Here is a very good video of the ship https://youtu.be/ZK8jYuIj1J4

I know what you are going through. We had a June 12th Alaska cruise canceled because my son tested positive with no symptoms. My travel agent warned us that we had to do the questionnaire that asks if we have been in direct contact. Royal did not ask us for proof to get the 100% cancel. I spent 3 days trying to get them to do a lift and shift because I had such a great deal, but they would not do it. They gave me a 100% no questions refund and I had to rebook in July at a higher price. It was disappointing but my son gets his Alaska cruise in 15 more days.

I rebook a lot. I work on a computer all day so it is easy to check every day. I have never lost the things I have already booked for my cruise. The OBC all depends on the type of OBC. If it is part of the booking deal you will lose it but often I am saving 2 or 3 hundred and losing $50. A couple of times I lost the OBC by mistake. They dropped by mistake and I just called back and they fixed it. I really do not see a downside of rebooking as long as it saves money.

The time all depends on you. I am a solo traveler and I got out of 150 Central Park in 40 minutes. I do not eat bread and I am not there talking so the waiter pushes my meal along. Now two nights later in Chops there was two other couples I knew next to me and we talked all the way through dinner. That dinner took me 2 1/2 hours because we took time eating and the waiter knew we were enjoying good company. So the short of this story is you can push the dinner along if you let your wait staff know.

Unless I am mistaken you are talking about two different companies. They have different websites: Shuttle Express vs Seattle Express

Hotels in Seattle. I am staying at the SureStay Hotel by Best Western SeaTac Airport North. The hotel has a shuttle from the airport, but it is also walking distance. It is next to the light rail to take downtown. Then taking the Seattle Express to the cruise port and back to the airport.

I wish it was the speed of 56K modems. I just got done with a transatlantic and the Vision of the Seas it was unusable. I am a computer programmer, and I would not get any pages to load unless we were very close to land. I was getting up at 3 in the morning and still could not get my emails. Out of 14 days I made them reimburse me for 10 days of non-usage.

What I do in these types of things is call in and when someone answers just ask for a supervisor. When they ask why just tell them that you will discuss that with the supervisor. If you tell them they will try to deal with it so do not tell them just insist in a supervisor. Then when you get the supervisor ask them if they are the correct supervisor and if not can they get the correct supervisor on the phone. When you get the correct supervisor be patient and understanding where they want to help you because you are being nice and understand it is not your or their fault. It is the fault of a bad computer system or someone that worked on your account last year. While you are on the phone with the correct supervisor get a way to contact them if you do not see the results you expect. Hope this helps

As a computer programmer I would think and hope not. I would assume that the system has you as a key item in their database that links everything dealing with you back to you. It is not a matter of should you be able to as much as the computer system being able to track you and keep track of all of your items.

Something to keep in mind is why you want a travel agent. If you are new to cruising, traveling or do not want to deal with finding and booking vacations you want a full service travel agent and hopefully one in a smaller shop. I would try to get one that you can contact on off hours. If you love searching and booking your own vacations and are looking for perks and a little help a big online could be the one for you. I use Costco Travel because I know what I want and most of the time book my cruise with the cruise line get everything the way I want it then move it to Costco Travel for the Costco Card I get after the cruise. I also like them because it is Costco and they pay the agents by the hour and they do not care how long they spend on the phone dealing with my issues. So... ask yourself what are you looking for

I am going to differ with most of the people here. A large ship has more to do but finding friends is much harder. On a small ship I meet people multiple times and we end up doing things together and stop and talk because we have seen them before. If you are there for your family only a bug ship is the way to go. If you are there to be social the small ships are the way to go.

My last cruise was that way for about 18 hours after I purchased the cruise.

To me it looks like someone put double occupancy by mistake. Simple data entry mistake. If you take 50% of that price it would be what I would expect based on the other room.

One addition to JC Pats instructions. If you do not want to pay for WiFi you have an option to do free wifi. That will allow you to run the RCL App but not connect to the internet, email or text.

I have shared one device with another person multiple times. You just know when you get kicked out it is the other person. If you have 4 devices it works the same way. When person 5 signs on it kicks person 1 out. With one device I know who it is. With multiple you do not know who is kicking off and who is being kicked off. Note: it works the same way with my cell phone and computer. Both cannot be connected at the same time. I have to kick the other one off.

In February I did a B2B on Royal Caribbean Symphony and Celebrity Reflection and they gave me the test and transported me to the second cruise. Now they are sister cruise lines and treated it as one. A friend of mine did Princess Cruise and Celebrity Reflection at the same time and she had to take a proctored test and transport herself. They treated that as separate companies and not B2B cruises.

You picked it up and it did not belong to you. Did your mother not teach you about stealing things?

I like sailing on different ships to see what they offer but my first priority is the cruise and ports. I was doing Alaska on the Quantum and Trans-Pacific on the Ovation but my son got covid and we had to rebook Alaska. Now I am doing Ovation on both and do not mind one bit.

While you are in Skagway: Cruise Ship Visitors - Family Fuel LLC (weebly.com) 8 top loading washers for $2.50 per load. 2 oversized washers for your large items. 9 propane fired dryers for fast drying times. Use our Fluff & Fold service and let us do the work for just $15 a load.

This last year I switch my cell phone carrier over to T-Mobile 55+ Magenta Max. It has Unlimited texting & up to 256kbps data in 210+ countries and destinations. I make sure my phone does Wi-Fi calling, and I get to other countries and just use my phone at no cost. I also use my cell phone to connect my computer oversees. The best part is I am getting it for $90 a month for 2 phones.

This is what I use on the ships and when I am in Europe. EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter One International Wall Charger AC Plug Adaptor with 5.6A Smart Power and 3.0A USB Type-C For USA EU UK AUS (Grey) - - Amazon.com

Movement is a big thing. In calm waters not much difference. When the seas get ruff there is lots of difference. One very ruff cruise me and my son were on the very front of the ship. The ship would go up the big waves then drop 20 to 30 feet. We would lay in our beds and be lifted into the air some of the waves. That was the best ride a kid could ask for. Now you get the idea. The center of the ship pivots. The back of the ship follows lower in the water. The front of the ship moves up and down with the waves. Same idea with top of the ship and bottom. More movement on the top.

I do not have to make plans or decisions. The cruise ship gives me lots of things to do and if I feel like it I do them. If I do not feel like it I don't. When doing a vacation on land I am stuck to planning everything and need to stick with the plan. On a cruise ship I can do anything that I feel like doing.

This is the first RCL cruise I have done that is not Solo. I made sure my son has a Crown and Anchor number and RCL account. Then I checked him in and did part of his check in. He then went in and finished his check-in. He could have done the entire thing himself. Also, when he signs in online, he has the ability to book excursions for himself. Their information is already on the reservation number so they should be able to do everything themself based on the reservation number. Depending on the ages it is easier if everyone has the RCL App on their phones and does their own wellness check in. They will want the app to do their planning and check the cruise planner. In the past we carried a paper around that had all the activities on it but now most people just carry their cell phone and do everything on the RCL app. Last note: Make sure everyone knows to put their phones on airplane mode during the cruise.

Give them or your TA a call. I just ran quick numbers, and the highest Taxes & fees are $361.32 and that is not counting on what you already paid.