monorailmedic

As someone who doesn't book suites and rotates through brands (so I haven't any loyalty status of significance) it doesn't matter much - plus I need access to scotch in more places and time ? That in mind it's always good to see better whisky options for all. It helps make the world a better place.

Don't confuse the ability to keep an older ship safe/reliable/sparkly for more than 20 years with the desire for some lines to have products that aren't practical to implement on older vessels. Silversea's oldest ship is 25, the average is 16 years. Azamara's oldest ship is 19, the average is 19 and change. Regent's oldest ship is 20, the average of their 3 oldest ships (out of a total of 4) is 18. Disney's oldest ship is 21 years old, and half of their fleet is 20.5. Oceania's two oldest ships are 21 years old, and two thirds of their fleet is 20.25 years old. You can bet those ships above are in top notch shape, and while at least five of those lines are building new ships, it's unlikely they'll be offloading their old tonnage anytime soon - especially as Oceania puts a ton of money into their existing fleet. Contemporary lines (RCI, CCL, and NCL) have to make tricky decisions, because they all have over the years (and RCI was the first to start) put more and more focus on size and wild amenities that either can't be built onto smaller ships or simply can't be practically built onto any existing ships. That means that while some companies may be able to hit that 30 year age with class, it'd be a real challenge to see Royal hold onto much tonnage for so long when they tout so much of their value around the experiences that can be had only on the largest and newest vessels in their fleet. I do think it's possible that we could see some resegmentation of the market, though I don't think it will be by RCI taking their older ships (or even new smaller ships) and moving them to a new brand - at least not unless they create a new brand with truly significant market distinction, like what we see Virgin doing.

We dined in 150 Central Park on Symphony in November and felt it was one of the best meals we'd had on RCI. I'd say there are Jamie's have been our favorites. This is where I should be able to chime in and tell you what we ate - but I have zero recollection. What I do recall is that when we told them we were vegetarian they offered up several options, asked if they'd be okay/needed any adjustment, and we let them roll with it. We have several different things (as like on land, Larissa and I tend to order different things and then split them so we can enjoy a wider variety). She's out and about right now but I'll see if she can recall any of what we had. I remember one dish was a cauliflower base (which is think is on the standard menu), but there were others and/or items they'd adjusted to be vegetarian for us. The key is though, while food is very subjective, we both really enjoyed our meal there and will certainly go back next time we're on an Oasis class ship. Beyond the food, I also liked the atmosphere. Candidly (and at risk of sounding like a jerk), I often find that some cruise lines work hard to create an experience that people find ticks some mystical boxes to make it "fancy", in the process, to me, comes off as fake. I was really pleased with the overall feel of 150 Central Park though. The decor, music, and service were all nice without feeling at all like I was worried, and while I don't remember what we had - I do remember having several vegetarian options and enjoying our food.

I've seen devices like this work in two ways. 1) They communicate with your phone via BT so that you can easily see a log of BGLs, get alerted to spikes/dips, etc. 2) The same as #1, but where it also transmits the data to your physician. If the device is sending data to your physician then it will continue to work except for that part - the data will be transmitted once you again have an internet connection. As such (and frankly, regardless of that point), I'd discuss this with your HCP. If it's not sending the information anyway, then it shouldn't matter, as BT communication with your phone will continue. As far as complimentary internet access based on a medical need - I'd be skeptical, but if after a chat with your HCP around how this device works, it seems necessary, I'd file it under, "it doesn't hurt to ask."

Here is the crawl schedule from Symphony. To be honest next time I'll remove the pool/mast bar as everyone skips it. https://www.cruisehabit.com/barcrawl/ The hard part is keeping people going. I set a timer and get people moving ahead of schedule and share with the stragglers where we'll be next. You may want to try adn give the bar managers a heads up if you can. Sometimes they're helpful with this - sometimes they're not. Also, big thanks to @BrianAlt (pretty sure I've got the right username for him) for helping me make this more organized a couple years ago by sharing his schedule.

When I read the release from NCL themselves it was confusing to be honest - as every line cancels your res if you don't pay. All they're doing is improving their reminders/notifications that final payment is approaching. My travel agent knows when to start harassing me, and smartly, he usually lies about the date to give me a buffer ?

Exactly. It's annoying, but for me, not that serious as I'd much rather wait 5 mins for an Uber than pay far more for a less desirable trip in a cab.

They can absolutely pick up there - I'm just talking about where they can stage. Cabs are allowed to line up at the airport pickup area just waiting for a fare. In at least some airports, Uber/Lyft have to wait outside the airport until they actually have a fare.

I can't speak to your specific experience, but something I learned from a friend of a friend who picked up some work for Lyft a while back was that for certain airports (and not sure if cruise terminals are like this as well), they require drivers stage in certain areas. This is largely b/c of the laws worked out with local authorities that allow only cabs to be in the cab lines. This means to pick up an airport fare, the driver may be required to be a bit of a hike away. It may not be geographically far - but you know how airport traffic can be.

Not too much around there of interest, but do check out Knauss Berry Farms while in that area. Great produce (esp the strawberries), fresh milkshakes, and awesome baked goods (people travel for hours for their cinnamon buns and pecan rolls). http://www.knausberryfarm.com/location.html Coral Castle could be another neat stop around there as well. https://coralcastle.com/ You may want to hit Key Largo since you're venturing that far south, too.

This is a non-issue. I take Uber/Lyft from my home about 40 mins north of FLL to MIA and PortMiami - trips that are over an hour. South Florida is dense, but not as vertical as other cities, and has no significant mass-transit options, so long drives around here aren't nearly as uncommon as in other metropolitan areas. I'd really avoid renting a car, you'll just lose a lot of time to logistics and I don't think there is anything to gain in your particular scenario. If you end up not wanting to use a ride-share service, I'd hire a car service. When you arrive at FLL you'll follow the signs to the nearest ride-share/commercial vehicle pickup area. There are two, and they're well positioned so it's never more than a minute's walk at most once you're outside. You can find pics of the signage and other Uber/Lyft tips for cruisers in S FL here: https://www.cruisehabit.com/uber-lyft-cabs-shuttles-how-get-and-your-cruise-easily-cheaply I will tell you that if you're sailing out of Terminal A, they should have made the pickup area much larger and changed when the lanes converge, so after your cruise walk all the way to the end of the pickup area before requesting a ride, and note the number of the post.

While I've never seen a "one to many" Seapass access configuration, I'd encourage you to ask Guest Services for it, as only if people ask might this ever happen. I suspect it's far more likely to happen as ships transition to RFID and unlocking via the RCI app.

Per their site you can bring them onboard but can't use them on the ship, or at Labadee or Coco Cay. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-guests-bring-drones-onboard I did this just last month and security saw it in the bag, told me not to fly it on the ship, and that was it.

There are plenty of exceptions to this for most lines. While it's not common at all as you go up-market, you do see exceptions with contemporary lines as well - but I get your point that it's common to see 7/7 or 3/4. The 7/7 is simple in that weekend embarkations make sense for guests who can use the leading Sat or training Sun (as the case may be) to go to or from the port of embarkation, plus I'd wager it's probably an easier psychological "sell" for folks to take a seven night sailing requiring just five days of vacation across a calendar week. The 3/4 pattern allows lines to offer weekend sailings (appealing to those local to the port for sure) as well as four nighters in between for those who aren't concerned with vacation time. Even in cases where the net of the 3/4 night revenue is less than some of that lines seven night sailings, it may be that the line doesn't think the demand is there for that particular ship running seven nights, plus, not everyone is looking to sail for that long - so it becomes an alternative offering for those who may not have otherwise sailed. This is especially true of first timers who may be apprehensive about longer cruises. In fact, that's why you saw RCI put so much money into Mariner, so they could offer a great experience on those shorter sailings and lure first timers in. For the sake of mentioning some "regular" exceptions in the contemporary space, and sticking with the Caribbean (obviously sailings out of the NE and in the Med are a different ballgame), Carnival Conquest alternates b/w six and eight night sailings (eight nights allows them to get to the ABCs), and Independence of the Seas is operating four and five night sailings, and Navigator often sails nine nights to get to the ABCs. Interestingly, there was one ship that used to occasionally sail seven night sailings from South Florida and visit the Southern Caribbean: Cunard's QE2. Her service speed was 28.5 knots, compared to Navigator's service speed of 22 knots. QE2 top speed? 34 knots, or 39MPH. She was the only passenger ship capable of those speeds that regularly visited the Caribbean.

As @JLMoran mentions we've got quite a bit of coverage on the podcast (and the blog), plus more to come covering specific topics and venues. Overall we loved it and can't wait to go back in 25 days!

We just got off Edge yesterday and are on the sailing right after your (Jan 13). Let us know if you have any questions.

We just got back yesterday from a three night preview sailing but we're back on in 34 days for the Jan 13, 7 night Eastern. It's going to be nice to have more time onboard not feeling rushed to see and do it all.

Hey Everyone! We're on Celebrity Edge for a three night preview cruise ahead of our seven night sailing in January. Follow the live blog at the below link, and of course look for loads of pics on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I'll answer questions as quickly as I can. Spoiler: This ship really lives up to the hype. Not perfect, but truly impressive. https://www.cruisehabit.com/tags/celebrity-edge-live-blog

You'll almost certainly see many new builds with a parabolic or straight bow design. There are many variants that have certain advantages or the bulbous bow, so it would seem unlikely that we don't see an increase in use moving forward.

Ahem - and sounding like me would be a bad thing? ?

It is abundant in many types of shops at and around the port - in fact once you look for it you'll find it hard to miss.

While I hate parking at ports in general (I live in Boca but usually Uber to PortMiami and PortEverglades) I've never seen an issue with regard to a lack of spaces. You can drop off your family (and the bags) right in front of the terminal and then park. This may make things a bit easier. Each garage also has a number of disabled parking spaces.

I've got a note to research this as Matt and I were discussing this when the announcement came out. There have been plans for extensive work to be done in the harbor in Havana including dredging, new facilities, and the movement of some of the cargo and tanker operations to the other side of the harbor so that side where cruise ships dock now is completely used for passenger vessels. I don't know the status of this project to be honest. What I can tell you is that a year from now, Carnival Sunshine is set to call on Havana, and she is about 103k GT with a capacity of over 3k pax. That's more passengers (though a slightly smaller ship) than Scarlet Lady. Havana can handle Panamax cargo vessels, but as best as I can tell, the current restriction is largely based on the cruise berths only being able to accommodate ships with a draft of around 29 feet, and the length is an issue as well - as they've already extended terminal 1 (possibly others?) to tie larger vessels. A ship of 900+ feet in length won't likely be accommodated there for several reasons (secure berthing, turning radius, obstruction of the channel, etc). In conclusion - possible changes to the port and harbor, or perhaps just tendering. Time for me to buy an updated nautical chart for Puerto Habana.

I rather like it there. It's not a museum in the traditional sense, and it's certainly no theme park. It's mostly life-size dioramas and recreations of scenes, parts of ships, and various items on display. It's fun, has some neat things and the folks that run it are pleasant. It's not going to keep you entertained for a very long period of time, but we enjoy doing it every so often. I think it's probably time to go again, been at least four years, actually.

Welcome! The dress code does not apply to the Windjammer. Not being a particularly formal person, this is often where you'll find me on formal evenings. The drink package question is a popular debate, and ultimately, it takes looking at menus and your itinerary, trying ti imagine what you might drink each day (including specialty coffees and such), and doing the math. For some it's a clear decision either direction, for others it can be a tricky calculation. If you do opt for a drink package, make sure you purchase it online ahead of time as it's much more economical. You can find more info here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-drink-package The daily service charges (which may or may not have been included in your booking, depending on various incentives bein offered or if you simply opted to prepay) is different than the bar service gratuities. 18% is added to each beverage purchase. If you purchase a beverage package, then 18% is added to the cost of the package to take care of that for you (though check, as sometimes sales seem to include the 18% in advertised package prices, but not other times).