monorailmedic

Great question. With the disclaimer that you should always seek medical advise from your doctor, I'll offer my opinion. It is true you'll be in close contact with many other people - the thing is that the perception of disease spreading on cruise ships is really more about the fact you're near the same people for several days or more. We come in close contact with people all the time, we we all spread out by miles or even continents in short order so we don't see the affects of disease spread as easily as we do on ships. You already mentioned ports, and as you seem to have thought through, unless you're going someplace particularly exotic, no extraordinary precautions are needed. On the ship, I'd say regular handwashing is the most important thing you can do for your sake as well as the benefit of everyone else on board. Again, no different than we should govern ourselves anywhere in public. For what it's worth, I've been on scores of cruises and haven't become ill once (I did unwittingly bring on a bit of a cold last month, sorry other passengers :-/) Below is a link to what the CDC says about this, as well as a link showing recent 100% scores on CDC inspections. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/inspectionquerytool/inspectionwith100score.aspx http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/cruise-ship

Generally speaking those drinks will still be in the $10-12 range. Makers Mark, with or without the mixer, will probably run $12. Note that oddly, the cost of liquor can vary ship by ship even within the Royal Caribbean fleet. I'm not sure that RCCL distinguishes between a single pour of alcohol and a single pour of alcohol with a mixer - as is reasonably common on shore as well (at least in the US).

At last check, yes, they are allowed to open these dividers. The Voyager class seems to be off limits. Check out more info at the post below: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/30/royal-caribbean-secrets-opening-the-balcony-dividers

This all depends on the location and severity of damages (if any), the status of infrastructure, etc. Bermuda, generally speaking, has very good infrastructure, strong buildings, etc - so significant damage is completely possible, as Nicole is a strong storm, but it's just too early to know. As things unfold Royal Caribbean will get information out to passengers as quickly as possible, but depending on when your cruise leaves and the timing of the storm's progress, they may not know until your cruise has left.

You can (and probably should, to take advantage of sales/discounts) purchase drink packages ahead of time and pay via credit card. If all of the reservations are together you can very simply do this from the Royal Caribbean website or through your travel agent. I don't beleive there are alternatives to the Sea Pass cards. There are wrist bands, but they're for Adventure Ocean, and don't open doors and such. Will the 8 year need to carry his/hers? I don't have kids but I'd suspect at that age it would still be best to hold onto that for him/her. For the 12 year old I can see where losing it could be a concer, and as someone who isn't a parent, I'm reluctant to make this suggestion (speaking a bit out of turn), but perhaps the agreement is that if he/she looses the card, it is his/her responsbility to wait in line at guest services and get a new one. Ya know, that, or secure it to the 12 year old's arm with a roll of clear packing tape :-)

This one threw me a bit the first time. The button to get the luggage tags PDF is at the bottom of the check-in screen. See screenshot: http://imgur.com/a/TMHYD

I thought about refueling as well, though depending on the operating range, it may not be much of a concern so long as the home port has LNG. The safety aspect is one I'm sure that's being carefully considered. Highly compressed gasses aren't new to ships - boilers are still out there, powered by various fuels. Outside of the compression factor LNG has a flammable range of 5-15% in air, whereas diesel is .6-7.5%. A different concentration, but somewhat similar range. Gasses like acetelyne for example have a LFL of 2.5% and an UFL of 81%. I'd be very curious to understand the efficiency by volume when it comes to actual propulsion. Inherently, LNG has about 75k BTUs per gallon, compared to diesel's 129.5k BTUs per gallon, but of course, this doesn't necessarily represent how well that energy is manifested. To me, this means that if the engines were the same size, and identical in efficiency, LNG would only occupy about 60% the space the diesel does on the ship to accomplish the same range. I'm gonna go back into my nerd corner now.

I was recently in an OV on Freedom that had upper-berths (though they weren't down). The configuration of the stateroom seems identical to what you'd bee looking at. While I don't see it as impossible, it would seem to restrict access to the upper-berths not only by guests, but also by your stateroom attendant. The uppers come down directly above the lower-berths, so pushing them together would result in a gap between the uppers that spans the center of the lowers (if pushed together). something like this: _ _ __ instead of this: _ _ _ _ I realize this doesn't answer your question, but wanted to try and make it a bit easier to visualize.

I agree with what Kayla said with regard to Royal (and other cruise lines) working hard to keep everyone safe (which sometimes means re-routing, changing itineraries and such). That in mind, the current forecast is for Nicole to be well to the NE of Bermuda by your trip. Forecasts can change, but as of now, this seems like it will likely be a non-issue.

I'm not certain how unversal this is, but several years ago the EU required Visa and Mastercard to expose their exchange rates. You can actually check here: https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html https://ferates.com/mastercard/usd https://ferates.com/visa/usd As a US resident and holder of a 'no fee' US Visa, I'd get the following rate: CAD = 0.758477USD The market rate: 1CAD = 0.760248USD Now, if I go to the Travelex down the street, I'd buy 1.181CAD for 1USD, which means I'd be get a rate of .8468, paying about .08USD more for each CAD compared to using my card - of course this business would flip that if I were selling them CADs, they're in the business of making money. At least, this is how I understand it for my circumstance, but could be mistaken as this isn't my bag :-) Let me know if I'm missing anything.

I'd tend to agree. Canadians aren't paying 33% more anymore than those on the Euro are paying 11% less.

In most places I think USD are best. That in mind, there are some places a bit off the beaten path that may inflate cost when they give you a price in USD (they know you're a tourist, can afford their inflated rate, and count on you not calling them out). This isn't common, but I figured I'd point it out. I carry USD and use credit cards that don't charge an international transaction fee (be sure to check on this if you don't travel internationally frequently) but as Matt mentioned, once in a while I'll end up with change in pesos.

Yup, $17.28 CDN at last check. I'm not sure how common it is to have cards that don't charge an international transaction fee, but in the US some cards have this feature, and others don't.

And now I'll be researching how to escape out of emoticons in Community Forum Software - it seems to have converted "B )" (minus the space) to a smiley

Unless something has changed in the last month, you have the option of RCI converting to your currency, or your credit card doing so. This is an option on your Set Sail pass, which you'll turn in at the port upon arrival. I've copied the wording below: A) I choose to pay my onboard charges in the currency of my card. I choose to use Royal Caribbean International's currency conversion program. This currency conversion transaction is based on wholesale exchange rates collected from Bloomberg plus a 3 percent international currency conversion fee. My choice to have charges billed in the currency of my card is final. I accept that the exchange rate used will be the rate in effect at the time the amounts are charged to my card. B) I choose to have my credit card issuer convert my onboard charges to the currency of my card in lieu of participating in the Royal Caribbean International currency conversion program. If I opt for my charges to be converted by my credit card issuer, or if my card is not billed in one of the billing currencies listed, my charges will be processed in the onboard currency (USD) and the issuer of my card may charge a service fee for currency conversion.

BLAST!

Funny enough I've always been of the opposite opinion. I enjoy Key West, but even as a South Florida resident I refuse to drive there. Slow (and constantly changing) speed limits, lots of speed traps, one road in and out means a fender bender can cause hours of delay. I only go by plane or ship :-) Hope you manage to enjoy your day nonetheless. Look at it like a sea day if nothing else.

Bob - Disclaimer: This is *not* advice or a recommendation in any way. I've never read the cruise contract (I'm confident I'm not in the minority), but I wonder what risks you'd assume or rights you'd forfeit if you booked a US rate and leveraged a friend or family member's US address. Even if not practical, I'd be curious to know. As a note without risk or deceit, I believe MEI can now book Royal Caribbean sailings for those in the UK, so you might contact them and seek some clarity. BH

Nothing special needed for the two bottles of wine you're bringing on except that you should make sure to carry them on - don't put them in your checked bag. These are RCCLs rules, but also, will probably help reduce having a new wardrobe of red clothing. Keep in mind that if you're traveling with friends who perhaps don't drink, or have drink packages, you could always ask them to be your mules, err, helpers, and bring on bottles they might not have chosen to bring on otherwise. In terms of the C&A 2-for-1 drink coupons, if I recall they don't apply each time - there are only a certain number (one or two I think) per member. Someone can probably chime in and add clarification there, though.

Any day of the year.

Welcome Belinda! I'm actually sailing on Indy in 56 days (not that I'm counting). I'll be sure to sare my experiences here, as well as on Facebook and Perscope. If there are any specifics that you want to know, there are plenty of pros on this board, and I'll be glad to investigate while on board if we can't find the answer here.

If the cruise is cancelled by the cruise line, you'll likely be presented options including a refund. If you don't show up because of the storm, or because you can't make a flight (unless booked via RCI), that's a different story entirely Royal Caribbean will contact you via whatever means you specified at check-in (email, text message, possibly others) to ensure you're kept in the loop. Know that these storms are somwhat unpredictable, it's still early to tell. Also, if the ship is able to leave, they may simple alter the itinerary to keep your sailing from running into bad weather. Lastly, while the most important updates are those coming directly from Royal Caribbean, you'll likely see updates on this site if anything significant changes.

She's scheduled to be in Saint John (New Brunswick), Canada. She appears to be beconing via AIS and as of ~10 minutes ago was exactly where she's scheduled to be. http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:991737/zoom:14

I wouldn't worry at all, RCCL and Celebrity seem to "run out" of slots quite early, but that doesn't mean there isn't actually space. If you used a travel agent, make sure that he or she has properly annotated your reservation with your desired dining time. Once on board, head to the MDR and ask for a head waiter. It seems like on Royal, in addition to every line I've sailed, they're able to squeeze you in without an issue (assuming you're not sailing with a large group or anything of that nature). Report back after your sailing, but I'm quite confident this will work out.

Yep! As long as you purchase the Surf & Stream plan, you're able to use any number of methods to make calls, event WiFi calling provided by carriers which is now available on many phones. Check out the post below for the details. http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise