JLMoran

@Matt, if you're a wine drinker you should definitely ask your CK waiter to recommend a wine to pair with your entree. I did the difficult task of relinquishing control and trusting him after the first couple nights, only letting him know what types of wine I typically liked and didn't like so he'd have an idea where to start. He never suggested a wine that I sent back. My first time trying pinot noir was during that week, and I think he also suggested a good white for one of the other nights. And the UDP is perfectly usable for lunch and second dinner each night, so there you go! You just have to find some other option for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, and afternoon tea. ?

I have a neighbor who is originally from Portugal, and he's brought over some amazing Portuguese cheeses for me from time to time (along with some good wines he's discovered while working in a local liquor store). He also made us a fantastic fish stew one time, I'm hoping as the pandemic winds down and gatherings become more common that I'll have a chance to try more of his cooking. ?

Great news! Especially when you're from the land of custard tarts. If that was me I'd have had to buy two completely new wardrobes after a year of Covid confinement (and the tart consumption that would require for sanity maintenance). ?

@Marlena, NCL has stated they are only taking vaccinated passengers. No children under 12 allowed on board for these sailings, and all children 12 and over must be fully vaccinated and have the same proof of vaccination as the adults.

Looking forward to following this, even if Star Class is something I'll likely never be able to afford to book. It's still fun seeing just how much it comes with and how much the genies work to make the trip a cut above. Question -- You're Tiffany and he's Steven, and your handle here is Tiffeven. So should I be looking out for co-blogger posts from Stevany? ? ?

Absolutely correct, and a good thing now that we've learned vaccinated people can carry enough of the delta virus to be contagious themselves, even if they have only mild symptoms. That said, I'd much rather sail knowing I have a 10x (at least) smaller chance of "being hit by lightning".

Once the flight is booked and you have your confirmation number, you should be able to go to the Air Canada site and enter it there to proceed with seat selection, etc. Air2Sea doesn't actually do the seat selection for you, and if you ask them to check it they'll just use the same web site. If AC isn't letting you select seats, or isn't showing them on a second login with the flight confirmation, then it could be that they're not allowing seat selection until the seat is ticketed (paid for). I've seen that with some airlines (e.g., United), while others consider the flight ticketed as soon as you have your confirmation number.

The pool looks amazing! I also want to see a pic of it lit up at night. Is that something that is also tied to the 1-week service mode run? Congratulations on finally getting this big project (almost) completed. Hopefully those last few bits will happen quickly and without further incidents.

@BrianB, what's the most straightforward way to get to Elbow Bay Beach? That's one of the ones I'd heard about and wanted to make a point of seeing next time I'm in Bermuda. Also, have you heard of the beach that has a cliff people jump from into the ocean, and then they swim to a cave with carved stairs that take you back up to the... lighthouse? Fort? Some building that's also there and gives access to that jumping cliff. Might be Admiralty beach?

Paging @coneyraven! Paging (not a doctor) @coneyraven!! He and I love Tobacco Bay Beach over by St. George's. It's not well-known, and a bit of a "rougher" / more rocky beach, but it's always available. If you go to my live blog of our first Bermuda trip, you'll find lots of pictures and get a rough idea of how to get there. The beach itself is rather small, and faces onto a little bay surrounded by steep, jagged rocks. Water level varies with the tides. There's a bar / restaurant there where you can get food and drinks, and also rent beach chairs and an umbrella if you want. Oh, and if you feel like you're not finding the right road from town, just ask anyone. They'll all wave in a vague direction you need to go and mumble, "That way to Tobacco Bay." ? Horseshoe Bay is the super-popular one you're thinking of. And yes, if you go later in the day or on the first day of a multi-day stop it is hugely overcrowded. But if you get there right at 9 AM when they open, the beach has hardly anyone there. Especially if you ask the people who rent out the loungers and umbrellas to set you up as far down the beach as they're allowed to go; it will take hours before the crowds get close to you. And it is definitely a very scenic and enjoyable beach, you just have to time your visit right. That said, there are lots of other beaches that we learned about from other people on the ship, including Admiralty Beach, Long Bay Beach, and Elbow Beach. But I haven't been able to get to yet so I can't speak to how good or bad they are. From pictures that people I talked with showed me, or descriptions I got from my table-mates at dinner, more than a few of them are just as nice as Horseshoe Bay without the massive tourist crowds, and even have some neat features of their own. The main draw for Horseshoe is its convenience, thanks to the constantly running shuttle vans to/from Royal Navy Dockyard; but if you get an all-day commuter pass then you can use it to find some of these other beaches and spend some time on them instead. And I was told a lot of them even have their own restaurants and amenities, so you wouldn't really be giving up anything you'd have at Horseshoe Bay. I forget which one of those particularly piqued our interest, but it's north of Horseshoe Bay and only reachable by pink bus or taxi. It's got a cliff that people like to jump from into the ocean, then swim into a nearby cave that has a carved stairway leading back up to the ground.

So sorry that your trip got canceled, @bossdog421. Understandable that you're taking a leave of absence, given the challenges around having to pre-plan time off from work. Hopefully things will get better and it will be a brief leave for you. This more than anything is what has ticked me off the most about all of this. Royal knows a particular cruise won't be sailing, for whatever reason, but they wait until after final payment to make the call and lock in everyone's money for an interest-free loan. I know they're a business, I know they need cash on hand for stuff, but it is the worst customer experience they could possibly provide. Especially when they then say that any refunds will take up to 45 days to issue (and that after whatever final decision date for FCC or refund is given, itself at least a month out).

Free for all to use is how I would do it. With the river running right past the other side of the swim-up bar in Oasis Lagoon. You enter your order on the app while getting into the river, and pick up your drink while floating past the bar. ?

Don't let my wife hear this. She'll only ever want to go to Coco Cay and nowhere else. Well, except Bermuda of course... ?

Hi Miguel, welcome to the forums! New C&A rank will be applied on the cruise after the one where you earn it. That said, if you would effectively hit the new rank after the first or second night then you could go to Guest Services, let them know about your situation, and ask if there was a way they could "enable" it mid-trip. They don't always, I've really only heard about it happening for Pinnacle or Diamond; not sure if they'd make that kind of accommodation for Platinum.

Really sorry to hear you've had to cancel. Hopefully December will pan out!

They had this wedge-style Caesar salad in the MDR on Freedom in 2018. My wife had it every night of our 8-night sailing as her appetizer. For sure. The "garlic bread" biscuits in Jamie's Italian.

Ah, if it was Endicott then no need. But thanks for checking that! We actually stayed at the hotel right across the street from Endicott (Wylie Inn & Conference Center).

@GregD, the school was Montserrat College of Art in Beverley, MA. If that’s the same one, would definitely like to hear about your friend’s daughter’s experience. Feel free to pm me and I could relay to my daughter.

So, we went up and did the college visit. And the college that had been my daughter's first choice for close on two years is suddenly one she isn't even going to apply to. Few reasons: First, she went onto niche.com and found it has a lot of negative reviews from students on just about every front. The quality of the professors, the academics, the housing... Biggest issue being that multiple students reported that professors don't take students experience into account. They reportedly teach everyone as if they're rank beginners with no accommodation for people who, say, already know color theory quite well or have a lot of experience drawing in perspective. Or just did the work of creating an AP-level art portfolio that got a 4 or 5 when evaluated. The small size of the school was also worrying her. With only 400 students total, she was very worried about being able to find friends or develop a decent social circle. But the final nail in the coffin was the town the college is located -- Beverley, MA. To be clear, it's a beautiful town. Lots of old houses that look like they've been well-kept, very picturesque, and right on the water. But it's also a very quiet town with not a whole lot for a college-age kid to do with her classmates. The main street through town has a small movie theater and a handful of restaurants and bars, but almost everything was closed at 8:30 PM when we were driving back from dinner the first night there. Even the very nearby town of Salem was closed early, except for a couple of restaurants. And the mass transit all closed down at 11 PM, too, so she wouldn't even be able to go into Boston (an hour away) with friends for a late night on the weekend. Some of this might have been due to Covid and not being in the peak tourist / college season, but it gave my daughter enough concerns that she spontaneously told us on that first night there that she didn't want to even attend the college tour at that point, and she wasn't going to apply there any longer. She realized that she wants a larger college than Montserrat (closer to 1,500 students than 400), in more of a city setting; or at least close enough to a city setting that it's an easy option for a late night on the weekend. So while it was a disappointing visit, it did do what a college visit is supposed to do. She saw exactly where she'd be and what the reality of attending there would be like in some measure, and had the chance now to realize it wouldn't be a good fit at all. And now we're looking at other schools, including some she hadn't considered before. She has a reach school in mind (RISD) and is also looking at some additional schools in NYC, maybe one in Chicago. =================================================== After we got home, I had my final visit to the wound center. I'm officially discharged, and I'm following all those caveats I outlined earlier. So far it's looking great, just have to keep it lotioned up through the day while it gets used to being in the open air again. Question for everyone -- I know I said I wouldn't post pics of the procedure or anything, but now that it's healed would any significant number of you want to see the final result? I'll be honest -- when this has had a few years for the scars to settle down, I'm probably going to get a tattoo to either cover it up or else totally embrace it. Would love to hear ideas of what to get based on what it looks like. But I won't post those pics unless I hear some overwhelming votes to do it.

@SpeedNoodles is right that Cafe Promenade does not offer the kummelweck. That's on Oasis and Quantum class (Q class offers it in the Cafe Two70 area).

Be careful with this, even on a closed-loop cruise from the US. My first cruise in 2018 had a port stop in St. Kitts, and as we were approaching the checkpoint to return to the ship there were boards everywhere stating you had to have a passport to get through, and that drivers license + birth certificate would not be accepted. We had our passports with us, so I just pulled them out and showed them. It's possible that in the hurry of the moment I misunderstood that sign and thought it was for all travelers, when it might have only been for residents of the island. But I say better safe than sorry, just in case something like that should happen.

I vote for option #1. You get two of the three ABC islands (only missing Bonaire), the new port stop in DR, and a nice relaxing day in Labadee.

Yes, I'm back! And you know what that means, right? I'M HEALED!!!! ***with a few caveats and provisos... All of the skin is completely regrown (if a bit ugly), and the suture lines around the flap are fully closed and clean looking (but with a visible crease or seam along the bottom edge). And just in the nick of time, as we're going up for our college visit on Monday. The doctor gave me the green light to go, but there are a few strings attached. First: I'm still in a compression wrap until I'm back home. The doc told me that healed wounds like this are still quite delicate for a long time, typically at least a year. No way am I going to be wearing a shoe or walking around for miles after just getting healed. Fair enough, I was able to find a loaner folding transport wheelchair that we'll take with us, and my wife and daughter (or maybe the college tour guide) will just have to take turns pushing me along. Second: Even after the compression wrap comes off and I'm back to wearing my regular compression socks (Bombas makes a great line of these), I have to very gradually get back to wearing a shoe. And because my shoes are custom-made for my feet, they'll guaranteed require some modification from my orthotist before they properly fit again without rubbing or pressing on the area. Third: I was hoping this meant I can finally stop elevating the leg when I'm working, but no dice for at least a few months and maybe longer. It's fine to put it down for a bit and gradually rebuild that "stamina", but right now I need to baby the scars and give them enough time to solidify. If I feel it swelling, I have to elevate again and not try to power through. Otherwise I'll just be tearing everything open all over again. Good news on this last point is that once I'm tolerating my shoes again, I can at least start going on short walks and build back up to longer ones over a couple of months. Walking and moving around isn't any issue since that keeps the blood pumping and cuts down swelling. It's just the sitting around that's no good. And my garden really needs me able to get out there and do some major pruning! With a 1-year clock, things will be truly solid right in time for my Mediterranean cruise next July/August as long as I treat everything right. Which is good, because that's when I'll be doing tons of walking and need the strength / durability this procedure is supposed to provide. I won't quite call this blog done and closed just yet. Since we're going up for the college visit in less than a week, I figure I'll let y'all know how it went and whether it's still my daughter's number 1 pick. She's already picked another school as her new #2 choice, so this could turn into a horse race! ?

My go-to on boarding day is the Mango Melon 'Rita in Boleros. Per the drink menu, it's "Avion tequila, melon liqueur, mango juice and margarita mix". Sorry that I can't give exact measurements on these, but I imagine it's the standard amount of tequila, somewhere between 1/2 - 1 oz each of the liqueur and juice, and then mix to fill the glass. Pour all into your cocktail shaker with ice, shake very well, and pour into an unsalted glass. (I definitely remember there being no salt on the rim of this one, since it's sweeter) My other favorite is a dark and stormy, the classic drink of Bermuda. To an ice-filled glass pour in 6 oz of ginger beer (traditionally Gosling's; make very sure it's not ginger ale, which has a very different flavor!) Follow with 2 oz dark rum (traditionally Gosling's Black Seal, but any good dark spiced rum will work) You can leave the rum floating on top of the ginger beer for that threatening sky look, or stir with a cocktail spoon to mix

Hi Sharon, welcome to the forums! I've been to Cape Liberty twice now in recent years, can't say that I recall seeing any charging stations in the area near the port. I think the on-site long-term parking garage has charging stations on some of the levels, but I wasn't able to confirm that on their web site. May want to call them and confirm. If they do have charging stations, I doubt they'd be FAST type. Since it's a long-term garage, no real need for super-fast charging when the 240V or even 120V slow-charge type will be more than sufficient to charge and maintain.