Gears

You've abandoned CK...or are these four reservations at Chops for the ????? No such luck on my reservation...?

Izumi is a la carte...there won't be a charge upfront, you would have made a time reservation. You're sure about the rest of them?

Yes, but... Izumi is a la carte, so you get $X each per visit to use (I think it's $35(?))...so it works a bit different than the non-a la carte specialty restaurants. If you order $55 of food per person, you would have to pay $20 each at the restaurant...in the example above. Personally, we find we get better mileage from non-a la carte restaurants with the dining package.

That's news that you eat outside of CK... ?

Correct...for testing. There have not been any reports of individuals diagnosed as having the virus.

According the the 'current' news reports..."There are folks on the ship that have a history of travel to China and so CDC and local health officials are going to board the ship when it docks to do an assessment in port for coronavirus." Have not seen any report of anyone on the ship being diagnosed with the virus.

Hmmmm...maybe embark out of Cozumel with no US port stops(?). Some cruise lines have passengers embarking and disembarking at several ports on an itinerary.

Before 9:00 am and usually after 5:00 pm you should be good. Between that...obstacle course, steeple chase and hurdles. Go down to deck 4 and walk around the perimeter that way...you will go up to deck 5 at the aft and bow, but you will be able to walk laps far better down there.

We've been to a few over the years and most have been a hoot. Not sure about all ships, but I guess it's a function of the Cruise Director how good it is. We were on the FOS last month and it was sad...very sad. Two RC Singers and Dancers singing 70s songs from the catwalk...no costumes or anything close to others we have seen. We thought there had to be more...but nope...just a couple of people singing.

It happens but it's not a regular occurrence. They do extra checks/drills sometimes. In 2008 we were at the port to board the Jewel of the Seas and the Coast Guard executed a surprise drill on them after the previous cruise had disembarked...complete with untying from the dock and crew emergency drill with life boats. They didn't start boarding until close to 2:00. Have only seen or heard of that once in 16 years. Royal bused us to a hotel and had us in their conference facilities until the ship was ready to board. Threw the first day out of whack for the crew!

We're also consistent stair users. Also 100% agree with the water consumption! It is sooo easy to get dehydrated quickly. But, I find the biggest impact to the shrinking clothes phenomenon is what we eat for breakfast and SUGAR. It is so easy to walk into the Windjammer and pile it on for breakfast and that's when your body is looking for calories to intake and store. Keep the breakfast in check! Fruit, some cereal and some protein. Hash browns, bacon, biscuits, danish, omelet, etc...just beggin' to cause you to break out the stretchy pants. Sugar, stick to low sugar desserts and minimize the sweet drinks. We did a B2B last month for a total of 14 nights...I was up four when I came home, so not too bad this time, but it has been MUCH worse before. ?

Not really. I do it that way every cruise. I just make sure my shirts are washed before I pack, then hand them over for pressing service as soon as I unpack them on the ship. Tip: Paying for some laundry to be done on the ship often costs less than checking a second suitcase with an airline...twice (there and back)...and you don't have to drag around two suitcases.

Yup! Even if they don't you can call Royal with your C&A number and they will connect it.

Top right, click the three vertical dots, click 'New incognito window'. Websites like Royal's use cookies to help them track your activity on their website and present you with specific content. Incognito mode in Chrome prevents websites from using cookies (thus the name incognito). I can tell you for a fact the Royal web pages have a history of not working well with cookies and different browsers handle them differently...it's not you and it's not just today. Running in incognito mode seems to eliminate many of the problems people like yourself experience. In fact, if I go to the Royal website I always use incognito mode regardless of what I am looking at or doing.

Oh ya, of course it's the browser's fault, nice of them to point that out to you. ? Another clueless IT/Developer department...

I'm not buying the food waste explanation. Either the food is on the ship and available or it's not...if it is on the ship it has a shelf life and it will go to waste at some point. If someone orders a second entree it has to be available...not taken out of a freezer and prepared. This is either a cost saver (reducing consumption and thus cost of food per sailing) or a revenue generator. Imagine being told you have to pay for more than one plate of food in the Mounthjammer...errrr...Windjammer? When it comes to Holland America I sail on the Idontgiveadam.

Yep, that's it.

Squeeze Bar on 11 out on the Deck. Also the Solarium Bar on 11...is that what you are calling the Plaza Bar(?).

@Sweety

Awesome post. A couple of items on travel insurance. 1. Print and take the certificate of insurance with you (two copies). It has all the contact information and process/procedures in case of an 'event'. I am familiar with travel insurance and can tell you people are angry to find out they are not covered because they didn't follow the prescribed process/contact/procedures. 2. Make sure you understand how long your insurance covers you, especially medical. If your insurance is for 14 days and you are delayed to 15 or 16 days for example, you risk not being covered for events. If you are in your coverage window, and suspect a delay beyond your coverage time, it's usually a simple telephone call (and a fee) to extend by a day or two. Different insurance companies, credit cards, etc. all have their policies and process. Your mileage may vary.

I can tell you for a fact that RCL will convert using their rate and apply a service charge that would be higher than a CDN credit card changing to USD. Everything we buy from RCL, a TA or anything else is done with a USD credit card. We exchange CDN to USD online and pay the USD CC bill that way. Anytime you have a service based in a currency that is something other than your CC (and they tell you what the $$ would be in your currency) you leave yourself open to them layering on whatever exchange charges they want.

That is Royal's policy, yes. The policy is actually that if you are on an excursion booked through Royal, the ship doesn't leave until you get back. As opposed to the excursion gets back before the ship leaves.

Shhhhhh...don't bring up computerization, simplicity and common sense with respect to the RCL website. It's like a massive dumpster fire here. ? Have your list ready with time options 1, 2 & 3 for each reservation you want to make on your list. They will have a kiosk in the promenade...find it when you get on the ship as soon as you can.