Traveling Mike

is $400 a little amount or a big amount?  For me that is unlimited dining on one or both of my cruises.  Or a drink package on the first cruise.

The other thing you need to realize is when you go on a cruise solo it cost the same as 2 people.  I book my cruises by myself I pay double occupancy, but I do not have to pay taxes, fees, and gratuities for the second person that is not going.  The only time I do not pay 2x is if I can find a solo cabin but the solo cabin is not a Bargen.

I like the prices but I cannot book when the Cruise is $1,400 and the flight is $5,000 for economy class.

16 hours ago, Xaa said:

Hey @Traveling Mike, I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but if you want to start in HI and then end up in AK on a hopeful cruise from Vancouver to Seward, I think that you won't be allowed to do it because of PVSA.  That would be transporting you from one us city to another.

No, the ship does the same thing every year.  It goes from Sydney to Hawaii (I'm doing that in 2024).  Then it goes from Hawaii to Vancouver (I have that booked for 2025).  Then the ship does an 8-day Alaska from Vancouver to Seattle.  That is the one I am looking for in 2025.  That would give me a B2B of 17 days.

Milestones are great.  Too bad my next one is a big jump.  I am at 188 and I need to get to 340 to pay lower single supplements.

I have done 4 Princess cruises and have stopped doing them.  The last two Princess cruises I have been on I had the feeling they were for old people.  You need to understand I am 63 years old, and they made me feel out of place.  I like Royal Caribbean because they have a nice mixture of age groups most of the time.  Celebrity is different where there are not many kids but it does not feel like a cruise line for older people.

The only RCL or Celebrity Landry that I know of is the Tide Pods that I take on all of my cruises.  If you have never done it, here is what I do:

1. I drop a Tide Pod in the bathroom sink and fill it with water.
2. I soak my socks, underwear or shirts in the sink.
3. I hand watch them and toss them in the shower.
4. After getting them, all washed, I jump in the shower.
5. I use the shower to rinse them out.
6. I wring them out using the bar in the shower, then I rinse them again and wring them out one last time.
7. I wrap them in extra towels that I got from the cabin steward.  The towel will help pull out the water.
8. Then I hang them up to dry out.
9. If I am in a hurry, I use the hair dryer to dry them.

I carry a backpack with a change of clothes, my meds, my paperwork, my cash and my computer.  

4 hours ago, ScottD said:

Not sure- will it still be in Australia?   Edit: never mind, this map ends in April, which I assume is when it makes its way back here if you have a Hawaii trip booked

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2024_2025/2024-2025_Deployment_Summary.pdf

The Deployment Summary you posted helped me figure out something.  They are redeploying some of the ships and I am guessing Ovation is one of them.  The Anthem is scheduled to be in North Europe in the summer, but it has cruises in Alaska.  I guess I just wait and see where I end up.  They will cancel my cruise, or I will book a second cruise of my B2B going somewhere.

Let's see if any of you have an idea of why.  

I have the Ovation of the Seas book from Hawaii April 29 to May 8, 2025, ending in Vancouver.  I have been waiting for them to release Alaska so I can book the Alaska cruise on Ovation May 8th.  Alaska has been released and there are no cruises for Ovation.  Any idea why?

1. Some of the time I stay on the ship and enjoy a relax full day.
2. Some of the time I get off the ship and walk the port town on my own.
3. Some of the time I do excursions to have fun or see new places.

• My biggest advice is don't do so much that you have unhappy kids.
• My second advice is do things the kids will remember or learn something new.

Some of the time the Supply and Demand drives me crazy.  I watch the Solo Balcony and some of the time they are more than twice the price of a regular Balcony.  When I have a Solo Balcony and watch the price they will sail out and a regular balcony never drops low enough to switch.  You never know what prices are going to do.

When I travel, I want life experiences.  I just keep the mindset that bad experiences are just as rememberable as good ones.  Some of the time it is more exciting to tell people how I was in my truck in New Orleans when a hurricane came though as it was, I visited New Orleans with my son and enjoyed beignets overlooking the Mississippi River.  

Here is another example of a vacation experience that I do not consider bad, just a rememberable experience:

When I was at Coco Cay for the first time I looked out and it was a great looking day.  I got off with my walking shoes and shorts on.  I took off walking exploring the island for the first time.  I walked all over the island but just as i got to the furthest side I noticed the weather was getting dark and colder.  I started walking back and it started to sprinkle.  The closer I got to the ship the darker the skies got and the harder the rain got.  By the time I got to the long dock it was pouring rain, the wind was blowing very hard, and I was soaked from head to toe.  After we got on the ship there was a trail of water going down the hallway.  When I got to the first bar there was a line of people getting shots just to warm up.

I did lots of comparisons and went with AIG annual plan.  All the plans are different enough to make a choice hard.  i just liked the coverage better and I have had good experiences with collecting claims from AIG in the past.

On 10/26/2023 at 6:20 AM, CrimsonCruiser said:

Just curious where one goes for this.

I just took the bottle they gave me and went to one of the bars and exchanged it.

You can exchange it for non-alcoholic beverages.  I have exchanged Champaine for wine and have also exchanged it for a bottle of juice.

Luggage screening is a thorough process that involves scanning all checked bags using X-ray machines and metal detectors. During the screening, cruise line staff looks for any prohibited items, such as weapons, drugs, and alcohol, that exceed the permissible limit.

Cruise lines check your luggage for several reasons. The first reason is to ensure the safety of all passengers on board. Cruise ships have strict security protocols in place, and screening luggage is one way to prevent prohibited items from getting on the ship.

The second reason is to prevent illegal items or substances from being brought on board. Cruise ships operate under international maritime law, and any illegal items found on board can have serious legal consequences for passengers and cruise lines.

Finally, cruise lines check luggage to ensure all passengers adhere to their alcohol policies. Most cruise lines allow passengers to bring a certain amount of alcohol on board, but exceeding the limit can result in confiscation of the alcohol or even denied boarding.

** this was pulled from Do cruise lines check your luggage? – CruiseBooking.com

Here is one that I wanted to go on, but I could not figure the time off work.  It is on Athem of the Seas and does the Canary Islands.  It has 5 sea days to enjoy the ship.  This ship has enough toys to keep the kids busy.  If you can go in the fall the ship is doing the Suez Canal and that would be educational for the kids.

LEAVING FROM
Southampton, England
Anthem of the Seas
DAY 

1  Southampton, England
2 - 3    Cruising Day at sea
4    Lisbon, Portugal
5    Cruising Day at sea
6    Lanzarote, Canary Islands
7   Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
8   Tenerife, Canary Islands
9    Madeira (Funchal), Portugal
10   Cruising Day at sea
11    La Coruna, Spain
12    Cruising Day at sea
13    Southampton, England
 

I am confused... I looked at my app and thought it did not look any different.  Then I noticed it was version 1.46.  I upgraded to version 1.47 and then took a look.  It looks the same except for now I can see my C&A status and the perks I get.  I really like being able to see that information.  There are some items for Diamond+ that I did not know I get.  I like the change.

They are mixing the ports up for those of us on the west coast get tired of the same old thing.  I never have like PV very much.  I would rather go to Ensenada and go shopping at the Blow Hole and do an hour message.

On most of my cruises in the last 3 years have been 11 am or 11:30 am boarding times.  I have not seen 10:30 am times.  They cannot get you on the ship until they get everyone off the ship from the previous cruise.  Getting everyone off and cleared takes time.

I always book any flights that look like a good deal to me.  Then I keep an eye out for better deals.  You can change or cancel your AirToSea booking up to your final payment.  You also keep all of your airline perks.  I get free bags with American.

In September a year ago one of our ports in Greenland was cancelled because of weather.  Then in the one port we stopped at in Greenland the tenders were very slow and delayed because of fog.  The tenders had to keep using horns to get Barings of each other, the ship and shore.

I had the Soda and Internet package in July sailing.

I agree with you "Probably my own fault for using chrome".  I am a computer programmer and chrome does not play nice with other applications.