monorailmedic

Haven't used facetime but have used Google Hangouts video chat (same deal) and it was crystal clear and smooth. @Todd - good info, thanks. corroborates my thoughts about AK sailings. to give you an idea the mouth of the Columbia river is at about 46N latitude.

Tests on Oasis have been positive. People regularly stream video to and from Oasis OTS. As mentioned above however, I greatly suspect this is more based on location than it is the ship. As all schedule Oasis sailings are in the Caribbean/Bahamas, all should be well.

Marc, I'm not sure that I'm right, but I'm inclined to believe that without significant variation, all ships are using the same technology, that it's the itinerary that is the variable here. Voom worked great on Allure, but I have a hunch that the footprint of the primary (fast) service being used likely doesn't extend to the middle of the Atlantic, or the Northern end of the Gulf of Alaska. Have anything that anecdotally supports or contradicts this? Either way, RCCL should probably work on setting more realistic expectations. BH

Keep checking the site. If people cancel, slots open. This happened to met when I first applied. No slots for six weeks...except for one, the next week. If anyone is technically inclined, there is a project on git to check for openings automatically. Also, with regard to not needing it by the time you get the appointment, I'd argue that the time and money involved in getting GE, while not great, is really such that it's not meant to be logical to get for a single trip, it's for those who frequently travel. One last note, once you have your appointment, you get the card in the mail in just a couple days. My wife and I were both shocked how quickly we got them, and in most circumstances, you don't even need the card (at airports), and you can use the GE kiosks the day after your appointment. BH

I just added a beverage package yesterday (a Sunday) and the charges hit my card the same day. The same thing happened a few weeks ago when I booked a cabana. As an additional data point, this is for the Sept group cruise sailing, so final payment hasn't yet been made.

Thanks for coming out. It was nice hanging out face to face, I look forward to it happening again, maybe on a day that it's not 94F. I can't speak for Matt or any RCLBlog plans, but sometime over the summer it'd be fun to watch sail aways at Port Canaveral. Brandon and I are certainly down for this, just got find the right date.

Alaska weather is a gamble, so it does unfortunately make packing hard. We were there in May of last year and it was beautiful almost every day. T-shirt weather during the day, but chilly in the first few hours of daylight. That in mind it could have easily been rainy and cool. The point is, plan for the unpredictable and know there will be significant changes throughout the day. Layer. I'd bring some light shirts (maybe long sleeve tees or similar, and a light jacket. If you encounter a day that you expect to be cold the whole time, bring along a slightly heavier jacket for that day only. If you can, suffer through mornings as you may think you need a heavy jacket, but when we were there, the fog and cool temps quickly burned off.

Thanks for posting. I miss watching this on trans-Atlantic crossings.

They do. The USCG patrols and governs US interests in the ocean, as well as the Great Lakes, and certain major rivers. For this reason and others, frequently, things that apply operating craft in the open water also apply to the Great Lakes. Also, why re-invent the wheel?

The only bag I had any issue with was my larger rolling bag, which is very deep. I just unzipped it/split it in half and it fit with minimal finesse. That was on Allure. This is the bag (the xtra large variety): http://amzn.to/1Pr9xNr

What we see if tracking via internet relay stations with AIS receivers. If the ships aren't within a couple hundred miles (depending on conditions) of a relay station, we won't see it on the various tracking sites. I'm actually planning on bringing a Raspberry Pi and SDR (software defined receiver) to act as a relay while we're at sea on future cruises. This will provide data to those online, but also means I'll be able to see our information, and that of vessels around us when not near relays. This sometimes happens in poor weather (poor radio performance) near Cuba, as there don't seem to be relay stations there, also of course, when not near land. edit: I should add, there are satellite-based AIS systems that communicate this data, and you can access it, but it costs quite a bit to get access

FYI, the way you received texts (and likely could make and receive calls) through WiFi calling. Newer iPhones and many Android phones support this on the major US networks. It allows calling and texting to happen over WiFi, without a cellular connection (airplane mode on). It's also possible that you were receiving iMessages, which look like texts, but are sent only between Apple devices.

She's currently in Aruba. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:374485/mmsi:311263000/vessel:ADVENTURE%20OF%20THE%20SEAS https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/ADVENTURE-OF-THE-SEA-IMO-9167227-MMSI-311263000

I obviously can't speak to what you will experience, but I've seen others do this successfully. I've personally done this on Celebrity (an RCL brand) without any issue at all.

While I like to joke about the fortress of security that is putting your wallet inside of shoes at the beach (thanks Seinfeld), one great reason to cover your valuables, aside the 'out of sight, out of mind' factor, is that protection from the sun. Leave our seapass card and cellphone on the chair uncovered and on the right day, you may come back to a broken phone and a warped seapass card.

Cruise lines have security staff monitoring in person, responding as needed, and monitoring CCTV. The Chief Security Officer is usually a former law-enforcement office from the US, Canada, or Europe. Anecdotally, after 60+ cruises I've never encountered any issue, and honestly let me guard down more on cruise ships than anywhere else, wrong or right. It's not to say things don't happen, I'm sure you can find bad things happening anyplace. It's in a cruise line's best interest to make sure everyone is safe and feels safe on their temporary home. This article has a nice interview with a Chief Security Officer for HAL who used to be with the FBI: https://www.yahoo.com/style/confessions-of-a-cruise-ship-security-officer-032437936.html Other info: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-08-01/business/fl-cruise-ship-security-20100801_1_security-guards-ship-security-security-leaders

I personally carry on too much every cruise, and look like a Sherpa at embarkation lunch. Things to be sure you carry on: -travel docs -money -medications -anything that might break if 47 other bags are stacked upon it -items of particular value (expensive jewelry, camera equip, etc) -any clothing you want/need for day 1 (pool clothes, change of clothes for dinner)

Here is a review of the loungers in which Matt indicates you can indeed reserve them on board. http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/05/18/spotlight-labadee-beach-loungers

Generally a schedule or port will only be changed because of weather if it becomes unsafe or impractical to berth (tender ports are easily cancelled because of this). Geographies like Cozumel frequently have fast moving weather systems, so while anything can happen, don't be too concerned as frequently storms in these areas are quite fleeting.

On Oasis class ships both Sabor and Izumi are a la carte. On some ships Sabor is a flat fee - this is why some are known as Sabor Modern Mexican and others are known as Sabor Taqueria Allure Izumi Review: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/03/02/review-izumi-allure-of-the-seas Allure Sabor Review: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/03/17/review-sabor-taqueria-tequila-bar-allure-of-the-seas In either of these restaurants pretty much everything carries a cost (sans a glass of water). While I very much enjoyed both experiences, Sabor was a bargain in my opinion. Three decent sized tuna tacos and an order of handmade guac was $9. The guac can easily be split several ways.

The US Department of State hasn't issued anything for Jamaica: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html The US Embassy in Jamaica has information on Zika and Chikungunya but warnings and advisories are always issued by the Department of State: http://kingston.usembassy.gov/travel_alerts.html

I'd suspect, as mentioned, that even if you find travelers cheques, you'll have trouble finding someone that knows what to do with them. I'm 33 and even living in South Florida (lots of tourists) I don't think I've seen one in 15 years or so. Now, remember that for international cc use, you'll not only want to tell the issuer that you're traveling (where and when) but also try and only use a card or cards that don't have international transaction fees. Check your card-member agreement, but off the top of my head, the below cards don't charge international transaction fees: AmEx Gold AmEx Platinum Chase Sapphire Preferred Most CapitalOne cards Most travel related co-branded cards (airline MasterCards and such)

I haven't used it personally, but can see where it may be very convenient. I don't recall where you leave/bring your bags for this service but I'm sure someone can chime in. I do recall that you aren't charged overweight baggage fees by airlines if you use this, so the costs is potentially negated depending on how you pack. RCCL has very minimal info below. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithHero.do?pagename=luggage_valet_service

As Matt mentioned, figure out what you'd spend otherwise. 5-7 drinks is frequently the break even point, but it of course depends on if there is a sale on the package, and what you drink. You'll find menus at the link below (in addition to others around and about the internet), but as a very vague average, I'd say $9-11/drink is a reasonable enough way to think about things. http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/menus

Not looking good for me...or the long list of people about to receive my emails of disappointment ;-)