SPS

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I will not volunteer for The Quest! FYI: I notice that the volunteers are usually young, first-time cruisers that don't know they are in for!

So last week we became another victim of Grand Cayman not being available to cruise ships for early 2022. Our itinerary has been changed to visiting Nassau, Bahamas instead. Has anyone that has had the same/similar itinerary change noticed how long it takes the Cruise Planner to update to include excursions for the new port of call?

Matt won't be at his mansion for Christmas. He'll either be at his Aspen ski chalet, his chateau in the south of France, or his New York penthouse.

oh! and in el loco fresh! Good to know! Sailing Odyssey in January. Thanks!

On our two visits to St Maarten, we did a couple different things. First Visit: We rented a car at the port, drove over to Orient Beach and went parasailing (Awesome!) and then went to visit Topper's Rhum for a tour and tasting. (VERY good rum. Second Visit: We booked a tour to visit Topper's Rhum again (had to re-stock!), followed by a lunch at Topper's Restaurant (same owner, different location), and a very nice visit to the beach nearby. We booked this through a third party site. FYI: Topper's Rhum and Topper's Restaurant have now moved into a new location in the same facility since we last visited in January 2020.

Does anyone else think it kinda looks like it's wearing a flat cap? (taxi driver's hat)

+1 for direct messaging RCL on Facebook or Twitter. Very responsive and helpful. This is a good time to remind people that if you have an issue with your cruise, you should always seek out a resolution to your issue(s) while still on board. It is much more difficult to receive an acceptable solution after the fact. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/08/15/the-top-crew-members-find-if-you-have-problem-onboard-your-cruise

Original itinerary was a sea day followed by Grand Cayman then on to Aruba/Curacao. (Sea/GC/Sea/Aruba/Curacao/2-Sea) Now we have Nassau followed by an additional sea day on the way to Aruba/Curacao. (Nassau/2-Sea/Aruba/Curacao/2-Sea) HOWEVER, the cruise planner has GC replaced by Falmouth, Jamaica,but the "Falmouth" excursions are actually Grand Cayman excursions! (Not very hopeful that we will get Jamaica instead of Nassau)

PD at CC would be great! Even Grand Bahama would be nice. I'm not really that thrilled to go to Nassau again.

So I guess it does look like Grand Cayman is closed to cruise ships for all of January. We were due to visit on January 31st and I just got word that those plans have changed. Not sure if those plans would be different if we were stopping there in February (literally the NEXT day). Looks like we'll try to take advantage of the low amount of people onboard that day to do some of the things Odyssey has!

I find that the freestyle machines refuse to accept a tip when you offer it to them! Gratuities have already been included as part of your complimentary soda package. FYI: When purchasing beverage packages either onboard or online, an additional 18% is added to the total at checkout for gratuity.

No and no. I suspected that for both questions. Someone at RC has some schedule adjusting to do.

So it's going from Port Canaveral on/around November 14th to Hong Kong to start cruising there by November 25th? Can an Oasis class ship pass through the Panama Canal? Can it get from Florida to Hong Kong in that amount of time?

I've really only heard of this happening at the Bionic Bar where the programming controls the pour. (The robots know they're not gonna get a tip so they don't care! ) I've seen every drink that I've been served at an RC bar prepared right in front of my eyes. The bartenders typically pour the jigger full and continue to pour liquor into the glass as they dump the filled jigger into the glass. (Possibly the bartender did not do that?) The only similar experience I've had is being given the wrong drink in the MDR. I could distinctly tell that the drink served to me had spiced rum instead of the whiskey I ordered.

This is VERY good to know! I'm a AAA member for about 20 years, & we plan to take a cruise with our adult children in 2023 and one of our granddaughters will fall into this category. Thanks @emmef!

That good for CVS customers. Too bad I'm a Rite Aid guy! LOL

Rather lucky you were driving to the port and she remembered soon enough! Those of us that need to fly would be screwed! This is why I have a checklist on my phone's notepad for EVERYTHING we need to bring. (And I do mean EVERYTHING) CVS not honoring their original commitment is disgraceful. I actually wish we had an acceptable electronic copy (QR code, photo, pdf doc, etc.) instead of having these easily lost or destroyed pieces of paper we're not supposed to laminate in the name of boosters. I bought us a couple passport/vax card holders just to have something that makes it easy to travel with and keep it in good condition.

Cafe Latte-tudes is what it is on smaller ships. @Mick gracey Are you asking specifically about sailings that depart from England? Here in the U.S., tea time is not really a thing.

Birth certificates will be fine, but you really should have been considering this sooner. (OFFICIAL Birth Certificates as stated in the link @smokeybandit provided) Given the long lead times required to get passports right now, you would be lucky to get them in time with only two months until your cruise. Even with expedited service, it can take up to 10 weeks to process your passport request. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html If you do feel like leaving the ship in Mexico, it is not necessary to carry passports or birth certificates to get off the ship. The only time you will need to provide any passports or birth certificates is while checking in on Day 1 and to U.S. Customs at the end of your cruise.

For this kind of money and commitment to RC, you'd think they could offer the shore excursions everyone.

Me: Looks at checking account balance. Looks at available PTO. Looks at annual income. Looks at mortgage statement. Looks at other financial commitments. Looks at other life commitments. NOPE.

News of a world cruise would be disappointing. A world cruise sounds amazing, but, it's just so unaffordable/undoable/inaccessible to the vast majority of their customer base.

I call these "zombie threads". They're dormant for a year (or more) and then someone brings it back from the dead. Another post today brought back a zombie thread from DECEMBER 2017!!!

Don't put much stock into titles. My first job out of college with zero job experience in the field had "Senior" in the title.

Has anyone toggled from one cruise to another on the app with spotty/slow network connection? The developers put some fun messages that scroll through while the connection tries to make the switch. The last one even acknowledges how long it is taking before it starts the messages over. (Found this out in my dead zone office building when wi-fi was disconnected)