fonemanbob

Global Entry is well worth the few extra $. And any travel you may have to do to obtain it is so worth it. The pay off to not have to wait in long lines is worth any trouble in obtaining G E. And yes corn huskers works for me when I have to be finger printed. I learned that many years ago. Their is nothing like starting or ending a trip and not having to wait in long lines.

We have seen those shows. It is amazing the turnaround of any ship for that matter. To say they work their butts off is an understatement. We get to the pier by 10-10:30 and are in awe at the process going on in regards to turnaround. It is well orchestrated.

We are fortunate that we don`t gain weight on long cruises. Lucky or whatever. Do what all the previous posts have recommended. First and foremost is to hydrate all day long. Eat smart. Hit the gym if you can. Ride the bike, walk on the treadmill. Walk outside on the upper deck. A strong wind offers great resistance. Hot weather makes you sweat. We have yet to be on a cruise and see the gym crowded.

There is plenty of signage to direct you to what pier your ship is on. Yes you can drop off luggage. We like to arrive at the pier by 10:30 a.m. Drop off the luggage. Park the car. And the rest is history. Getting there early allows you to get a good parking place in the garage. I drop off the wife and go and park the car. You will be just fine. Don`t panic. Welcome to the blog.

We would rather do New Years eve in the 80 degree Caribbean then below freezing temps or a monsoon in Times Square. Mingling on the Promenade is a no brainer . Heat stroke is better than frostbite. We are looking into a cruise to do both holidays. We hate to be UN LOYAL TO ROYAL. BUT !!!!!!!!!!!

Talk to your cabin attendant. Also an extra gratuity goes a long way. As far as T.S.A. goes. T.S.A. pre check is great to have.

The question is what week. Just keep an eye open. Good luck.

We got ours at the dock.

We did Alaska on Princess per numerous folks and we were not disappointed and will do Princess when we return. Their itineraries are great. For the most part we are Loyal to Royal.

We have found that an extra gratuity at the beginning to the bartender and room attendant has served us well on many a cruise. True you are not obligated to produce an extra tip. Let you conscience be your guide.

Very nice. Great looking layout. We still talk about our Alaskan rail trip from 5 years ago.

This will be on a Saturday. Ship docks 7 a.m. Sometimes the ship is cleared by customs early and then sometimes not. Also weather and so on and so forth. We have TSA pre-check and are carrying our luggage.

What are our chances of making a 9:30 a.m. flight if the ship docks at 7 a.m.??? We plan on doing carry off. Cruise is next Sept. on Anthem.

Worth the money for a coffee card or one of the beverage packages. Ship coffee is adequate at best. Now if your ship has Starbucks on it the card and drink packages don`t cover Starbucks. Nothing like a latte to start or end the day.

We did the same in Tampa in February.

Customs is a real breeze now that their are no declaration forms to process.

Start booking as soon as you can. You can always cancel or reschedule . Also watch for sales on : Excursions, Drinks, Spa, Specialty Dinners; especially on Black Friday. Booking early allows you do those things as they sell out quite fast or shows are all reserved. You are prepaying now and not hit with a large Folio tab at the end of the cruise which helps with the budget and gives you a nice piece of mind. Welcome to the blog and enjoy your first cruise of hopefully more to come. P.S. we miss Chicago.

Carrying off your bags is the "ONLY" Way to go. Just go down early and off you go. No more waiting for a time and herded like cattle at the stock yards.

Arrive at 10:00 a.m. Make specialty dinner reservations. Make spa reservations. Make any show reservations unless already done on line. Check out M.D.R. table location. Off to the Windjammer. Then explore until the room is ready. During that time of exploring put the drink card to use. Then unpack. turn off and lock up the cell phones. Bonn Voyage.

We are also looking into the 2020 back to back in Australia.

Enchantment was our first cruise years ago before being stretched and refurbished over the years. It was our first and only family cruise and all of us were in awe at her size. We actually love that ship and have been fortunate to have sailed on all of the other classes of ships. And I thought cruise ships were big till we started going to several Navy ship yards over the past 10 years to see our son. Now those are some big ships. You will not be disappointed at least we were not. And you will have something to look forward to on future cruises.

Bring or buy a hair dyer. The wife found out after our first cruise that those on board are BAD NEWS. Like you stated after you arrive go to Walmart and get the items that you did not pack so as to keep your luggage space and weight down. And if you buy an inexpensive dryer just leave it and some employee will love you for it. We buy an inexpensive fan for the cabin to make some background noise on cruises when we have to fly to the port and just leave it. Also we buy toiletries and snacks etc. to keep luggage space and weight down for souvenirs when we go back home. Sure beats paying for an overweight or extra suitcase. Welcome to the blog and enjoy your cruise.

Royal is a recommended buy stock according to the top analysts. Travel and medical related stocks are some of the best stocks to invest in. And by all means get your future cruises in order. Book now with the refundable option. You can always change them. That avoids the: would of, could of, should of dilemma. And you will get the best price and the best choice of cabin. We learned that lesson the hard way years ago.

If you have 2 or 3 sea days and are in the Caribbean and drink then a deluxe drink package is worth it. We are doing a 9 night 3 sea days in the fall to New England & Canada so we will buy drinks as needed as it will be very cool and no way will we spend $800 on booze. Being Diamond helps immensely also. Our cruise in Feb.to Mexico. saw the bars never crowded like we used to see them on past cruises. We like to hit up the local places and imbibe on the local products.

Bigger ships means less ports. To get a true Alaskan experience consider a cruise on a small ship cruise line. Also whale watching on a small boat excursion is worth the money. The big excursion whale watch boats don`t have the horsepower to turn on a dime and rush to a sighting. We are loyal to Royal most of the time unless we want to get a great experience like we did in Alaska and in some other countries. San Fran to Alaska round trip won`t give you many stops. One way will offer several stops.