melski94

This has prompted me to read the fine print on my policy. I had another question about my insurance so I called and asked what happens if my flight is canceled. This is a lesson learned as my assumptions were wrong and thankful for the opportunity to learn through others. I thought I'd share what I learned about my policy for education purposes. I buy my trip insurance from C&F Travel insured through USAA and so your results might be different. If my flight is delayed by 3+ hours and I miss the cruise, it is considered a "Missed Connection" (look that up in your policy). I will be reimbursed up to $500 per person to join the trip plus $200 per day for hotels, etc. If I am delayed by 6+ hours, then it is considered "Travel Delay" (once again in your policy with different amounts). Reimbursement is up to $1000 per person. The bottom line is that insurance expects me to meet the cruise at a port. However, if I am unable to get there with at least 50% of the cruise left, then and only then, will I be reimbursed the cost of the cruise. I wonder what RC would say if I tried to meet the ship at a port? What is the process for that? We also have passports so this is possible but if you traveled on birth certificates there is no way to meet the ship. Go Preds!

I've said this before but thank you for blogging this for us. This is a real eye opener. I would have assumed that if my flight is cancelled, I could get the rest of the trip refunded. We do fly in the night before but not 24 hours before as taking another full day off of work/school gets to be hard. Between the Boeing Max problems and weather delays so many flights have been canceled recently that I wonder if this a way for the insurance to not pay out. I think it would be rare to have your flight cancelled and then the airline can book you immediately. My experience is that the airline (SW) can get you to your destination 2 days later if you are lucky since most of their flights are full. It makes me wonder what we would do if we had to deal with canceled flights. The Max 8 planes were grounded 2 days before our spring break cruise so I was thinking through all the possibilities in case that happened. Rent a SUV and drive one way? It would be a long miserable 16+ hour drive but we could do it. Purchase on another airline? Its spring break so many flights are flying full. I wonder if I'd have been covered. Time to break out the fine print and see what my policy says.

Here is @twangster blog. He was there on Christmas day

Bungalow capacity is 8.

We will sail both Symphony and Navigator for short sailings this summer. I have a feeling I know where Symphony will fall in the list. I'll be interested if I'll rank Navigator higher than Independence. Here is where I'll rank my list so far. 1. Harmony 2. Independence 3. Liberty 4. Adventure 5. Brilliance

We just leave our cards in a beach bag on our pool chair.

Yes, it is they typical hair dryer found in a hotel. If you have long or thick hair, you should bring your own. If you do a google search for flat iron, the only results that come up on my main page are for hair.

I bring a hair dryer, flat iron and curling iron every cruise and have never had it taken away.

Your March 2020 on Oasis should show up soon. MTD is available to book on my on Harmony for March 2020. March 2021 is too early. I can also book some specialty and of course CoCo Cay.

I've done MTD on 6+ cruises and all my MTD reservations have opened up 9+ months in advance. My 3/20 Harmony cruise has MTD already open. I've never had a problem getting the time I wanted.

Royal has no exact date on when entertainment opens. It is typically somewhere between 90-120 days but my next cruise on Symphony opened up 58 days before. Just keep checking.

Paris Spring Break 2013 was really tough with 4 kids ages 2-14. Looking back I can tell my now 7 year old, yes you saw Notre Dame and you cried the entire time we were there. She cried at every landmark in Paris except Disneyland Paris. That Paris Spring Break was one of the reasons I started cruising and our first family cruise was Spring Break 2014. I've been keeping our cruises easy to the Caribbean but I'm glad I have Alaska 2020 booked. I may need to look at a Med cruise or SE Asia for summer 2021. My bucket list cruises: Galapagos, Antarctica

I also think that if there was an excursion offered it would most likely be in Chinese as that is the primary market and for the most part not really needed. Most Western hotels in Beijing will arrange for a private car and driver. You can look at Trip Advisor for private guides, cars and drivers which would probably be cheaper than what the hotel can arrange. This way you can maximize your time for a great tour of exactly what you want. The day of your cruise, you can arrange with the hotel to take you back to the airport to meet the bus to take you to the port.

If you don't see them under Labadee shore excursions for a 6/1/19 sailing, then I think they could be sold out. Usually I will see something that says "not available to book online, check onboard" if it is sold out and other times I may not see them at all. If you really want one, go to the shore excursion desk first thing and ask if available and if not see if they have a wait list.

Possibly. Where did you book (North America, UK)? How did you book, refundable or non refundable? When is your cruise? Did you purchase trip insurance? In North America, you can receive a refund up final payment date (typically 90 days before sail date). If you booked NRD (non refundable deposit), you lose $100 per person to change sail date. If you booked refundable deposit, no penalty to move assuming before final payment. If you move your reservation to another sailing, you will pay the current rate for the new sailing. I hope it works out for you.

Yes and you will get double cruise points for being solo.

I would make a price comparison to what you paid. What you are looking for is for a price drop from what you paid. A 2D cabin will *probably* be higher than what you paid. That being said you could always check both and if either is less than what you paid, I'd ask for a price drop. I've never done a GTY booking but I've seen others who have received their cabins early and others right before sail date. In typical RC fashion, there is no set timing.

I think my issue with this is that MDR staff still serve other venues at breakfast and lunch (Windjammer, etc) and I'm eating somewhere on the ship where I'm getting service from these people. It isn't the wait staff's fault where I'm assigned that I chose not to eat in the MDR at night so I feel that they are getting stiffed and thats the bulk of their pay. I really wish RC would stop playing the gratuities game and just call it a service fee.

You should tip the porters as they are not included in any gratuity you have paid. If you pay your gratuities, whether pre-paid or added to your daily charge, then you don't have to pay anything extra. That being said, I also tip extra at the end of the cruise but that is completely our choice and you wouldn't be a cheapskate if you choose not to tip extra.

Here's Matt's article from a few days ago: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/04/08/royal-caribbean-temporarily-shuts-down-skypad-inspection-and-review

So glad you are doing this live blog for us. This is seriously crazy as the first agent didn't even suggest that you look at flights to the first port of call. Would Allianz have paid what I would imagine to be a very expensive last minute airline ticket to Cozumel?

1. We can walk it the whole way. I've seen a water taxi that will take you from the pier to the water park area and then walk the rest of the way, however that wasn't available on my last cruise. If we do walk, cut through Nellie's Beach towards the slide to avoid the market. I find that the shuttles when you get off have a long wait and you still may have to walk through the market. 2. Buffet is really close. We grab food and bring it back to the cabana. 3. Yes, the attendants will bring you drinks. We always tip them at the end. 4. I feel that the Labadee map isn't the best. You can google search it but I think it is more confusing. 5. There are only 8. Some people will want to be closer to the food and others closest to the water (which is very close to a wall so I don't like that one). I really don't think there is any one that is significantly better than another. We've been there 6th and still happy with the bungalow.

Last November, we were watching sailaway from Independence's helicopter pad. We grabbed a bench and enjoyed the view. There was a know-it-all lady with a large family group who was impressing her family with many "facts" about cruising. Our favorite was her showing her family the 2 bridge wings and how there was a captain on each wing to maneuver the ship. As a former Naval officer, we had many giggles about this "fact". Then again she maybe she is right with at least 2 non-RC ships crashing into piers over the last year! ?

I would love to know your opinion of NCL. I've looked at the reviews of Bliss + class and priced out a few cruises. For my cruising weeks, the price was the same if not more than Oasis class so I'm sticking with RC. However, would also love to see a comparison of the pros and cons.

Are you on the July 1st or July 5th Nav sailing? We are on the July 1st