FSUFAN

Never been sick on the ship, but one sailing got really bad norovirus type sick about 4 or 5 hours after we got off the ship. We lived in FL at the time, so port was less than 2 hours away. Started feeling it on the drive home. I probably dropped 8 or 10 lbs as I could not eat or hardly drink anything for about 3 or 4 days after the sailing. (This was way before Covid).

I guess I'm just a cheapskate. I can't justify the extra cost on top of the MDR meal that I have already paid for via the overall cabin cost. There has to be a soft cost for the MDR. I can guess that it is at least $30/pp each night. So, I forego the $30/pp (that I paid for) and then add another $40/pp to $80/pp on that. So, a meal out at the specialty restaurant costs me, in soft and hard dollars, around $150-$200 (depending on the plan price). And I am having to fight to get a reservation! Sorry no. I know that people like it and I know that it makes money for RCL. Still, I am SMH .

Got these from Amazon. They had a sale and I got the 2 pack for $12. Small enough to toss in my laptop bag. I doubt they will be flagged as they are pretty small. Plus I use a 1 to 4 pig tail adapter for the phones/tablets and you can get a 2 pack of these for about $10. It plugs into the standard USB outlet and then has four connectors on the end. USB-C, Micro USB, (2) iPhone. I can charge my Samsung Galaxy andriod phone, Mrs Fan's iPhone, and my wireless headphones all at once.

First thing on board, I ask for 3 things. Feather Pillow, fan and topper. Room attendant can usually find all 3. He or She gets tipped on the front end for the search and then gets tipped upon delivery. Fans seem to be the hardest thing to find. I finally broke down and bought a small travel fan from Amazon to put in the suitcase. I am a side sleeper, so a hard bed causes me shoulder pain and I end up flipping side to side most of the night. Not very restful. A topper helps. Not like the bed at home, but not like camping either. Honestly, a feather pillow is more important to me than the topper. Can't seem to sleep with a fiber fill or foam pillow.

Mrs Fan likes The Key due to crowd anxiety at the embarkation terminal. And as others have stated, if you are going to buy internet access and it is priced right, then it seems worth it to me. But you have to catch the pricing at the right time. I bought The Key for our sailing in June on the Quantum OTS during "Black Friday" sale so many months prior to the sailing. I look at pricing nearly every day and it has not been close to the price I paid. Also, I think that RCL could and should do more perks with The Key for what you pay (See HAL's Club Orange).

Just to be clear. The app and NOT from the website. The app on my phone.

Are you doing that via the App (phone/tablet) or the Website? We have 4 cabins. Mrs Fan and myself, plus 3 grown kids and spouses. Three of us are in Central Time Zone, one in Pacific. We are sailing out of Seattle on the Quantum OTS in June. I am retired, have time, and can do the check-in for all of us, but need to understand how that works. I do have all cabins linked and I can see all 4 cabins on the RCL website. I'd like to get us all boarding at the same time. Do I need to check each cabin in one-by-one? Is there a "Group" check-in trick to get all 4 at once? I know they will need to upload docs, pictures, credit card info and the like. But I would like us to be all together at boarding.

Last October we sailed on the Voyager OTS. When we got on board, I immediately asked the room attendant if she could get us a fan. She didn't promise that she could but showed up a little later in the day with a standard size oscillating fan. Since then, I bought a small packable one from Amazon Warehouse for around $12. The box was damaged, but the fan was pristine and had never been used. I will take it on our June sailing on the Quantum OTS to Alaska.

Same reason around the Superbowl when advertisers start saying the Big Game. Get your {snack name} for "The Big Game". The mouse and HP are very protective of their branding.

It is definitely a YMMV item from reading the threads. I must be weird as I don't see the need for plug expanders that everyone seems to need/want. I don't think I use more than two or three single outlets in the cabin. I have a 1 to 3 expansion plug that I got a Dollar Tree. I have a 2 port USB charger that I use at home (I have several so one is always in my laptop backpack). And I have a 1 to 4 USB pig tail that has Micro USB, USB-C and 2 iPhone adapters. Plus my laptop. I have all of these items in my laptop bag that I take wherever I go. I doubt that I have $15 in the entire set-up. I can see the need for a nightlight in the bathroom, but again, I have several cheapo nightlights from the Dollar Tree that I use for the grandkids/guest rooms. I toss one in my laptop backpack.

Back in the day, on formal night, we dressed up for the pictures. I wore suit, Mrs Fan in a long gown like dress. My daughter in a dress and the boys in sports coat and tie. Then we would get tons of pictures and select a few that we like. But it was a chance to get some nice family photos. Now it is sports coat, collared golf shirt for me. Mrs Fan wears a dress (not gown). Don't do pictures anymore and the kids are grown. Last sailing, on formal night, the table next to us had a woman in a frumpy sweatshirt and the guy was in a long sleave t-shirt. It was like they didn't even try. Maybe they didn't know about formal night or were new to cruising.

^^^This^^^ It would be like RCL saying that they were not porting in Key West because Atlanta or Dallas is dealing with crime. (not picking on those cities specifically). Just saying what goes on in a certain part of the country, does not mean that another part is dealing with the same issues.

You can you go and use the sauna/thermal area without a Thermal Suite Pass? I did not know this.

Just use WiFi calling. You need to buy the Wifi package, but it is super easy. We have T-Mobile and had no issues using Wifi calling onboard and then standard calling (we were in Canada). Another option is WhatsApp. It is a Wifi calling app. Again, really easy to use, but you need a wifi package on the ship. You don't need to do anything to your phone with WhatsApp. It is a free download. Most phones have Wifi calling as an option and if you are using T-Mobile it is probably on your phone. I use wifi calling from our house 24/7. We have no cell signal where we live. So, 100% wifi calling from the house and standard cell service when we get about 5 miles away from the house when heading to town. On my Android phone from T-Mobile (Galaxy F20 FE 5G). Put your phone in airplane mode. Then follow below: Settings==> Connections ==> Wifi =on ==> WiFi calling = on. And you are now using a Wifi network to make calls. The phone will automatically flip to the cell network when in network area.

Isn't this a little like the woman who used a stolen credit card on a recent cruise and was arrested on debarkation. The room attendant is on a set contract, so going nowhere for the next few months. Probably has serviced many rooms in the past and is still working so I assume that nothing was stolen prior to my sailing or else (again I assume) that RCL would have already terminated their employment. Can't really get off of a moving ship. Again, I assume that RCL has the right to search their quarters. So not sure what the incentive to steal a $1K-$2K laptop/tablet and risk, job, being arrested or worse. I guess that one might be afraid of a guest somehow getting into the cabin but not sure how that would happen. Climb over the railing from a balcony room (security cameras would likely catch that). Cash, coins, passport, jewelry, and my wallet go into the safe. Laptop goes into my backpack bag and it is zipped shut.

I bought it for our cruise in June on the Quantum OTS and then cancelled after I realized there was no hydro-therapy pool. It was $111, but even that seemed steep for what was offered. Plus, with all the port stops, I realized I might not be able to take full advantage of the amenities. On a TA crossing I might have thought differently. We are going on a HAL cruise to Norway in August on the Rotterdam, and I will most likely get their version of the thermal spa once onboard. They have a really great hydro-therapy pool plus all the stuff that RCL has. I have OBC for that and it is listed for $149 (7-day sailing).

Do it. I mean "run, don't walk". You get both TSA-Pre and GE for the $100 cost and we too have an Amex that pays for it. TSA is for domestic and flying to any international location from the US. GE is used at international airports to come back to the states. We used GE for a trip to the UK and Ireland. We traveled home from Dublin. With GE, you get kind of ushered into a US Customs area that is separate from those without, at least in Dublin. It is not a seamless as TSA-Pre, but it works pretty well. We flew to Vancouver and back and again, we were separated and sent down another line that was faster (I won't say fast, but faster) than those without. Even with GE, flying out of an international airport, you have to remove your shoes, belt, take out your laptop, your coat, etc. and such so it is not like domestic TSA-Pre. It just speeds things up on reentry to the US. I forgot to add that you have to sit for the interview for your initial GE. But upon renewal, you just submit paperwork. You don't have to re-sit for the interview.

Google Flights are my go-to for finding low fares. Southwest does not participate with Google Flights so check them out too. Bing (Microsoft) is now doing a flights tracker too.

Mrs Fan and I spent 5 days in Whistler for our 40th anniversary. We are still Florida people at heart and snow is still a big deal. We didn't ski but went snowmobiling and just had fun going out into Whistler Village and goofing around. Booked it thru Costco Travel as one of their "resort" vacations. Loved it.

We were on the Voyager last fall. Some clown who was too good (or just too arrogant) to follow the rules, came inside from the doors near the entrance to the buffet (he'd been out on the deck smoking). Blew out a big lung full of smoke and then just waived off the "Washie - Washie" attendant.

Vote for early here. I've booked 3 trips since the fall last year. We booked our upcoming June Alaska trip on the Quantum more than a year ago. Prices have done nothing but go up. I think once it fluctuated to about $10 below what we booked at and then rose up steadily and is now $1K more than what we paid and that is for an obstructed balcony view (we are much higher up on decks 8 and 9 with our group). I booked with HAL for a Norway Fjords cruise and the same thing. Higher prices now and the package we got has not been replicated since. It was their "best sale ever" and was like their Have It All (HIA) on steroids with several extras in addition to their regular HIA package. I check most every day on the pricing and have several price trackers watching as well. But the price has not come down for any of our sailings. I wish there was a price tracker for add-ons like the DBP. I check the pricing nearly every day and it is still out of reach for Mrs Fan. I could do it easily, but she would never break even. I wish they sold a pre-sail liquor card similar to the coffee card. I know that you can "sometimes" get them onboard, and I hope to find that to be the case on the Quantum. Not holding my breath though.

I have Excel spreadsheets for the cruise that has cost breakdown, gratuities, confirmations, room numbers and other things I think are important. We sail with family a lot and I do the planning. I can send them updates and payment due date information. They track their own excursions and other things.

15 minute ride in some sort of vehicle. Uber, taxi, shuttle, limo service. If you mean does the hotel have a shuttle, that I would not know. If you are talking about a shuttle service, I think they work for some. Our daughter and son-in-law will be staying at the Warwick as well. From what I have seen, a shuttle will cost the 4 of us around $100. Per the Uber price estimator from the hotel to the port, an Uber SUV (seats 6) will be about $50.

I assume that "Your mileage may vary" but at our last trip out of Boston, I had the 2 bottles of wine in a small brown paper bag with the rope handles that they used at checkout from the liquor store. You could see the tops of the bottles. The person working the scanner just glanced at the tops and sent them thru. Did not inspect the bottles at all. I wish I had packed a bottle of Stellum Bourbon as it is bottled in wine like bottles.