Moby Dick

Not looking for an argument but stating my thoughts that have been eating at me for awhile now:
So not only would I love to see the pre-cruise testing stop…how about allowing the unvaccinated back onboard?
I have never taken sides and I do not think it is my place to do so.  I am me…and nobody else.
I am vaccinated and boosted (twice) and got COVID for the first time 2 weeks ago after returning from a family vacation to Disney.  There were nine of us and only 2 did not get sick…both unvaccinated!  

I think this virus is pretty close to becoming our next head cold or flu.  Some will get very sick…some will have mild symptoms…some will never get sick!  So…….why are the unvaccinated still being penalized this late in the game?
I certainly hope my thoughts here do not start a war on words…but I feel better having finally stated how I think. 

Yes sadly I’ve seen this in the hospitals. (I’m a nurse at a large hospital in WI) The virus has no respect for vaccination or not. I agree 100%. 

How young is your child? If it is a closed loop cruise from the United States they can cruise with their birth certificate.  So I would bring the passport and have the birth certificate as a back up.

We have rather "large" backpacks and it can fit at least 2 to three days of cloths (top to bottom) and an extra pair of shoes.  We also have our toiletries and medicine.  This way we care, but not as much when we travel, airlines have never said that the backpacks are too big, just stash them underneath the seats or if we get onboard early enough we put them in the overhead.  
We live too far from any ports, so we take a plane, we have started to think about driving it might end up being less stressful!

I always plan for things like lost luggage, delays, etc. when I plan any vacation. I am a huge budgeter, so I often do a 25/20 extra in my cost. Whatever I am planning to spend I add an extra 25% of the total, to my total. So, if a trip cost $5000, I round it up to $6250 but I also try to put aside 20% for emergencies; so, based on that example I would budget $7250. Thankfully I always come home way under budget. I carry one major credit card (Chase Sapphire Reserve), some cash and a debit card. I always separate the cash as well, leaving some in the safe as a just in case. I am also grateful that none of my luggage has been lost, damaged yes but not lost. Over the years I have gotten better at packing and since 3/4 time I travel solo, I only bring what I can easily handle. 

Hubby & I both have a CC with us and I budget $100 per day in cash.  We probably spend all but $150-200 of the cash & put a like amount on the cards.  This has worked for us for just about every vacation for the past 40+ years.  All our cards begin every month with a zero balance so plenty of available funds for an emergency.

It's not just the cash to buy clothes, it's the availability of the right sizes.  We had a luggage delay in NZ a few years ago, and despite arriving a full day early with access to Auckland shopping district, we couldn't find anything in my wife's size.  We found toiletries and underwear, but nothing decent to wear at dinner in the MDR.  I found one pair of dockers on the ship, but the waist was a little large (they became my fat pants for the end of the cruise).  I agree with the $$ you are setting aside, but also think about where you'd fine temporary attire.  It won't be on the ship, other than T-shirts.  I now travel with a sport coat and long pants (I put shorts in carry-on) just in case my luggage is lost or delayed again.  I also subscribe to advice others have given about cross-packing, etc.

Yep, he should be Royal's version of John Heald!

Should always have some back up plans for emergencies.  I have several credit cards and tend to keep them separated while travelling in case something happens with my wallet etc.
I don't really keep a whole lot of cash for everyday use - I do bring some for tips on a cruise.

I never pay more than the required deposit at booking.  I make my full/final payment on the last day/minute possible.  I treat my money as an employee, I try to have it work for me, not be lazy and sit in a non-interest growing place.  Not that a few thousand dollars are going to make me a rich man.  Not only that, if an emergency comes up and you have to cancel your cruise to access that money, it could take days to get back (thankfully, that hasn't happened to me, yet!  But, anything is possible).  So, I would recommend not paying a cruise off until the last minute.  I also would recommend that if you want to make payments to your cruise account, do it to your own "savings account" or under your mattress, what ever.  I also keep in mind that most cruise lines are just one pandemic away from going out of business.  Limit your exposure as much as possible.    

I usually pay only the deposit at the time of booking, and then schedule my final payment for at least ten days prior to the final payment due date. I do not use a TA and take responsibility for my own payments. By making the final payment more than a week in advance, I’m making sure the payment clears with plenty of cushion (got to consider weekends and holidays).
On another note, I have seen prices drop after I had made my final payment and before the final payment due date. When I called and had the price adjusted…the difference was always credited back to my credit card within a week. Even if the date it was credited was after the final due date. I never had a problem with refund versus OBC. Several times I re-priced after final due date and had OBC applied. For me, it worked as expected. Good luck!

If you can manage to find when this place is open, their breakfast is really good.  It is a tourist trap but a good tourist trap:
https://www.dellspaulbunyans.com/hours

I knew it wasn't the scenery! 👍

I say explore everything the ship has to offer and go to the different events and venues to see what’s happening.  Step out of your comfort zone and enjoy yourself.  Do things you might not ordinarily do. 
 
Our youngest joined me on Adventure for the second leg of my back to back in February 2020 when they were 19. 
 
The first couple days they were bored, but after that I rarely saw them.  They were in demand for trivia teams, doing karaoke, and even ended up a team captain at Quest. 
 
When we did get together for dinner daily, all kinds of people were saying hi to them and chatting them up….and this was a kid who considered themselves an introvert with some anxiety  
 

I will NEVER understand the reluctance of cruisers to fly in a day or two early to start their vacation.
Likewise, I will NEVER understand cruisers who want to end their vacation early and buy a plane ticket for the absolute earliest time possible on the day of arrival.
 
And to top it off, these people come here and ask for pseudo permission.
 
<shakes head in disbelief>
 

Just go everywhere the adults go.  You just can't drink the alcohol.  I can't think of a venue you can't go into, other than the age restricted younger venues.  So, just enjoy yourself and put yourself out there, SAFELY!  

If I'm within an 18  hour drive to the port, I drive.  If I have to fly, I book at least a day early.  Haven't missed a cruise yet.  Under no foreseen circumstances would I fly in on the same day as an embarkation, even pre-pandemic and this current airline debacle.   

I'm jealous.  I can't think of a better way, other than actually being with all my kids, to spend Father's Day than being on a cruise ship.  
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all Fathers, sailing or not.

Well, we are a diverse segment of society, aren't we!  Some love the Freestyle machines while other hate it.  Some love the old style tumblers while others hate them.  Our tastes for the type of soda we enjoy is all over the place.  
I really enjoy reading about our diversity and why some people do this and others do that.  I've got a lot of good ideas and understandings from reading, not only this thread but many many others.  
Let's keep on keep'in on!

Ah, just wrap the car in lots of bubble wrap and you'll both be fine! LOL! So how much did your foot hurt from constantly hitting an invisible brake pedal on the passenger side?
I actually envy those on this site that live within a reasonable driving distance of a port (or even several ports). I would LOVE to not have to fly every time we cruise. If we ever decide to cruise out of Baltimore again (9 hours) or Cape Liberty (10 hours), I'm definitely going to consider driving.
But, like it's been said so many times before, don't chance flying in day of, ESPECIALLY right now with air travel being in such utter disarray.

If I'm within an 18  hour drive to the port, I drive.  If I have to fly, I book at least a day early.  Haven't missed a cruise yet.  Under no foreseen circumstances would I fly in on the same day as an embarkation, even pre-pandemic and this current airline debacle.   

Here’s an example from the Harmony cruise we got off last Sunday ……….. some people in our Facebook group for the cruise from Virginia planned to fly in Friday, spend Saturday at Disney, be at Port Canaveral on Sunday for the cruise …..
Friday their flight was cancelled ……… they posted oh well I guess we won’t be going to Disney, but at least we’ll make the cruise with the flight they changed us to for Saturday.
Saturday they posted that their flight was cancelled again and the only option they had left to to fly here and make the cruise was flying to Boston first and hoping the only flight that night from there to here wasn’t cancelled ………. There were no options to get them here Sunday morning ………
Saturday afternoon, they posted the whole family was piling in the car and driving to Florida from Virginia.
In the current environment of constant flight cancellations and delays ….. I wouldn’t trust a same day flight 
 
 

If there isn't a smoking area in the Casino, smokers would have to leave the Casino to go to the "outdoor" smoking area.  The more time they are not in the Casino, the less time and money they are spending in the Casino!  Not a good business practice.  
What we need to do, as non-smokers is demand that Royal, et al, upgrade their ventilation/filtering system(s) in the indoor smoking areas and regularly maintain them.  

So all they did was clog up cabanas for suite holders by offering it online w/o blocking people w/o a suite from attempting to book

Just some more clarification... I contacted Royal via FB this morning and they confirmed Barefoot Beach is still suite guests only... any purchase by a non-suite guest will be cancelled...

 
I figured that nothing has changed, but my wife wanted me to confirm since the CP does not state suite guests only. We're still waiting for the cabanas at Nellie's Beach to become available... fingers crossed as we'll have 6 people this time (JAN 2023)!