L454S

Hey, take care of that ship.....no mess!! We sail out in a couple weeks going across the pond on that boat.

Grew up on boats down here in south Louisiana. Duck hunting, fishing, crabbing, trapping, crawfishing, water skiing, etc. Still feel the best when on a cruise ship. Nothing else comes close.

My understanding also as above. One block per cabin.

Celebrity did a 14 night round trip from Newark, NJ to Quebec and back. What was different was instead of just combining 2 one ways(7 up and 7 back with same ports), they did all the US ports on the way up and the Canadian ports on the way down with an overnight in Quebec. Not sure if they still have this itinerary. Balcony is preferred, but these sailings sometimes come at a premium price. We did a 7 night round trip(New York) in a balcony, however the trip mentioned above was quite expensive for a balcony. We did that one in an interior and still enjoyed the sailing very much.

The quoted charge was for $38 and when done we added a $5 tip. That afternoon (after boarding the ship and before turning airplane mode on) I got a notice from Uber of an additional $11 charge. I questioned the charge and was told it was for "using the left lane". I got the CC to remove the $11 and cancelled my Uber account(it was my first attempt with Uber). Use Lyft now, and am sure it is not without it's own faults.

Last time we did this Uber was about $40 between Miami and FLL. If they drive in the left lane though, Uber added $11 to the CC charge after the fact. Ask ahead of time. Your plan is very doable though.

Not worth $1500 for me. The balconies are close to the same size, so the larger cabin and double points are the difference. We have a B2B(T/A) booked on the Vision 2020 now. 7652 for the T/A and 8088 for the following 9 night Canada/NE. Reason was 8088J/S was only about $300 more total on that sailing.

Or...just arrive at 1PM or later. Go directly to your room and drop it off. I agree with others as posted above though. I would not want to tote my garment bag around the ship till cabins were open if I board before then. We pack a small "overnighter". Laptop, passports, wallets, kindle, any cruise paperwork, etc. to carry along if we board before cabins are open.

Agree with above about using the stairs as much as you can. We do 3 miles every morning before breakfast just walking. Even with doing this, we still gain some weight. Just trying to gain as little as possible.

Only got a dozen different RCI ships. As others have said, have several ships with multiple sailings. Our problem is, we still "test" other cruise lines as well. Some we like very much.

If not purchasing wifi by the day or a package, at least while in Key West you can make your phone a hot spot for internet access. In the end it's up to you how much you need the phone or internet.

On our eastbound T/As in April and May the weather has been very moderate to warm across the Atlantic. Also have been fortunate to have had very smooth seas all the way across. Northern Europe might be a couple degrees cooler as compared to a Mediterranean destination, but not that much to worry about. We will be heading to the same region just a week ahead of you on the Serenade out of Ft. Lauderdale. Only difference, we end up in Copenhagen, Denmark. I think you will enjoy your sailing, we just did a Brilliance T/A a few months ago from Holland. If you have any questions about the ship, I am sure folks here would be glad to help......enjoy!

You can book flights as early as about 330 days out from your sailing. I would book as early as possible, haven't seen too many price drops. If you are looking for overseas flights, I would go to RCI website and search the Air2Sea website offerings. They can and usually do come in at a fraction of the cost. Domestic flights are usually not any better priced than you can shop for yourself. Have also found that Air2Sea has cut back on its overseas flights. It now seems to depend on which CITY in the US you are flying into or out of. We have always been able(up to sometime in 2018) to get from or to New Orleans and any European embarkation/disembarkation for between 3 to 5 hundred a person. Have been pricing for the past few months and it is well over a thousand PP on some future bookings. It seems now, you have to get a bit creative. We have found if we fly from/to Houston, Boston, Atlanta, JFK, Chicago, etc., the prices are back to $300/400 PP. Then we add a cheap SWA connector and we are just about where we would be in times past.

I saw this discussed over "there", and it seems that RCI has come to do this just recently. The reason I paid attention to the thread was because we had booked several flights over the last 4 years with Air2Sea. Yes, payment was made upon booking of the flights. Recently, we made flight bookings with Princess EZair and found they offered payment at cruise final payment date, as well as being able to choose seats now, and no change fees. It was after we booked these flights that I noticed the thread about RCI starting this practice. Could keeping up with the Jones's be in play. Whatever the case, it does help sometimes.

On a port intensive sailing(almost a port a day like a Baltic sailing), I don't mind an inside cabin at all. Much less expensive even with the D+ discount. Would not get the use from the balcony. We like a balcony on transatlantic or transpacific sailings though with several sea days. Have tried suites a few times. The grands were very nice, but the perks don't justify the money. Junior Suites are nice too if you can find one a couple hundred more than a balcony(not very often).

Early riser here too. On Liberty you can go to the Cafe Promenade, port side just in front of the rear elevator lobby. Lots of seating early to have coffee and read a bit with your laptop if so inclined.

Enjoyed Rhapsody very much, some of the best dining room service we have ever had. Never seemed crowded. Internet was a bit slow, but good enough to make wifi calls back home on the cell phones.

I don't mind repeating ships, we don't make an effort to do so however. Sometimes it just works out that way. Been on Serenade 3 times and am going again in April. Always itinerary and price driven, not to mention when we want to go. Been on Golden Princess 3 times in different parts of the world.

January - Vision 7 night from New Orleans April - Serenade 16 night T/A to Copenhagen May - Serenade 7 night Baltic(B2B) November - Pacific Princess 12 night Venice/Greece December - Pacific Princess 17 night T/A from Rome(B2B)

We found out about the change from reading a roll call thread on another forum, not from RCI. That came much later.

That's true , BUT, they kept advertising it as a stop even though they knew it would not be on the agenda. All while touting the pleasures of their island.

New Orleans Airport is not that busy. You won't generally need a lot of time to get through security checkpoints at the concourse. Yes , as you said, it is about a half hour cab ride and ride time depends on the day of the week. All things going right and if you do a self disembark, you could make a 10 or 11 o'clock flight. Wouldn't want to guarantee it though.

I will be leaving on Saturday, I can get you one. Let me know. I'm next door in Louisiana and can ship. L454S at eatel dot net.

First time sailing on the MSC Seaside and in the Yacht Club. First time trying the Empress OTS. Completed the Radiance class with a 21 day sailing on the Brilliance. First D+ cruise First time on Grandeur OTS and port of Baltimore First time in Amsterdam, Azores, Belfast, Waterford 210 crystal block

12 - L454S (Vision of the Seas)