jbrinkm

Are repositioning cruises always transatlantic/transpacific, or are there other variations?

Hi folks! I'm not on this one but I'm sailing Symphony in March and wondering if any of you would be willing to post a current entertainment schedule? My reservations will probably appear in a few days and I'd love to be somewhat (hopefully) prepared to choose my show times.

I'm not on your cruise and don't sail until March, but I'm having the same situation in the roll call I started - not one other person. I'm over on another cruise board and that roll call is hopping, but last year and this year, the roll calls over here have been empty (we had a pretty good one two years ago). I feel like people have gravitated to the Facebook roll calls.

It is one of the options when you have the full search menu up ("find a cruise") but when I just clicked it, I don't see any.

I learned about https://www.insuremytrip.com/ on this blog - you put in your information and then they offer you a choice of different policies, and I've been a happy customer for the past 3 trips. However, I think you have to book almost immediately to get "cancel for any reason" coverage. I like using an outside company because it covers the whole trip - not just the cruise. Apparently my credit card offers some benefits but it is hard to know what they will cover and for how much. I also got worried about the medical coverage that was included in the last plan I bought for my cruise in March, so I bought a supplemental health plan from Geo Blue for this trip as well. The person who recommended that one says it was the only travel insurance he needed, although I'm not sure if it would cover everything that my other policy does? But I might look into that next time and see if the Geo Blue plus my credit card would cover the same as my current policy from insure my trip... Some people buy a full year's worth of coverage for all of their trips. I know Allianz offers one. We usually only take 1 big trip a year so I haven't moved in that direction yet.

I would imagine that any Royal excursion would include the transportation. Also, I think I've read that the Royal excursion includes the buffet which people really haven't enjoyed. Chankanaab is available to book directly and is an easy taxi ride away if you don't ever end up seeing the package in the planner: https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

This is a great cautionary tale - I'm going to do this now as well!

Wow, that's really garbage - I'd be pissed too! That's a lot to spend to not even get what was offered. What did you end up doing?

I grew up in the midwest and then spent a few years in a southern city before moving to the NYC metro area. I was so overwhelmed! If you grew up there, it might be harder to understand how chaotic the area around the city can be for newcomers (what's funny is that the city itself felt less overwhelming than the Jersey side...). There is a lot that doesn't make sense if you haven't been there before, in terms of signage and systems and then there is just the mass of people always moving. I adjusted and I love NYC now, but I remember so clearly how different & difficult it was for me to try to navigate everything there at first. @Minuet888 I would suggest going with the plan that feels the simplest/easiest to you.

Ah yes, the warm chocolate chip cookie. This one was a little rich for me but I do hear others reporting that they enjoyed it. It also reminds me that many people like the campfire cookie at Playmakers. I will have my first Playmakers experience in March so I'm excited to try it! I also really liked that tart.

They are for sale now in the cruise planner, although the picture looks different than the one hanging:

Oh! I remember him now - he WAS really good.

Is the Aquadome Market like a Food Court?

Hey! That's my line! We can add "mundane" and "basic" to this list as well - I've seen those too.

You should absolutely try to go to a Broadway show! There is nothing like it. What time would you get in if you take the earlier flight? I agree with many of the suggestions. If I were in your shoes, I would: 1. Book a hotel near the airport with a shuttle that runs regularly/often. 2. Grab breakfast or lunch at the airport and then take the shuttle to check into your hotel. 3. Take the shuttle back to the airport and get on the NJ transit train between EWR and NY Penn Station. There is a NJ transit app if you want to prepurchase tickets. 4. Depending on the time, walk around Manhattan and do some sightseeing. Eat dinner in the city. There are deals to be had on food if you are watching your budget. 5. Go to your show (prepurchase tickets through TKTS app, or at the booth, unless you have your heart set on a specific show - in which case, you should buy ahead at regular website/ticketmaster). Use subway/busses as needed. 6. Take train back to EWR 7. Take shuttle back to your hotel.

The apple blossom - SO good. But last spring, could only be found in the MDR for one lunch. Now, with the new brunch system, I'm not sure if it will be offered at all. I also enjoy the ranger cookies.

Is this it? I don't see anything in my list called Day Bed - but I do have Beach Bed:

Are you a poor, a GenPop, a peasant or a hoi polloi? I LOVE the pic with you and Rover!!!!

A general note for anyone not aware - if you are at the Tomb on a Sunday, they do a ceremonial changing of the guards with full costumes and small "parade" at 11:00am.

That's funny - the opposite happened to us! Although our switch happened before boarding. We had in our paperwork 5:30pm for early dining and about a week before we sailed, we saw it switched to 5pm in the app. Checked with our TA and lo and behold, early dining had switched to 5pm. Lots of latecomers the first night.

Melting... You and your brother both seem so sweet, aware and considerate and very unlike the stories you share about your mother.

Icon sounds really similar to Oasis class with the neighborhoods - are those of you onboard feeling like it is familiar?

The next time I do Europe with a lot of trains, I will definitely try these. We took bigger suitcases on our last trip and they were such a pain to travel with. Five days in, I was regretting that we didn't squeeze into smaller suitcases...

I'm finally caught up! Love the circular design here. So many synonyms for those of us who don't sail any "class" - I've now seen: poors, GenPop, peasants, any others? Hoi polloi?

@Matt The sign in spot is back today if I'm on desktop mode. In the past, I could always log in by going to desktop mode, but yesterday when I checked, I couldn't. I tried downloading Duck Duck Go browser yesterday and couldn't get to sign in on that browser either. I'm usually on Chrome. However, today it is back (only in desktop mode). Here are a few screenshots from my Samsung S22+ on Chrome before I switched over to desktop mode: This is desktop mode. I cannot be on desktop mode on the main blog page or I cannot get to the message board. So I go mobile Chrome to main page, go to main menu, go to message boards and then go into desktop mode where I can sign in.