JLMoran

To quote Ted Lasso... "It's the hope that kills you." ?

So... for those of us who left Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc and won't go back if you pay us to.... Are there any other such groups elsewhere, or at least some reasonably up-to-date web sites I can look at? I'll be on an Athens-to-Rome sailing in July/Aug next year, and we want to spend the night in Rome so we have a day or day and a half to explore the main sights at our leisure before flying home the next day. My mom still has friends who live there, but I'd prefer not to hammer them with a million questions unless I'm out of options.

I lucked out and didn't get either of my kids' passports until they were over 11 years old. So only one renewal for each (younger is due now ?), but I hear you. I was going to wait until January to renew ahead of our August Med sailing, but after seeing this here and now even on the local cable-owned news channel (News 12 NJ) I've decided I'll just send in her renewal now, plus my own that's also coming due. Can avoid the expedited processing fee and should still get it back in plenty of time.

Your liver just called. He's crying and saying "UNCLE! UNCLLLLLEEEEEEEE!!!"

Tonight's forecast is looking dark & stormy... I know some instructions say to mix the rum and ginger beer by stirring. But on Anthem it was made this way -- rum second so it floats on top, with no mixing. Quite honestly, I feel like it's the right way; this actually looks like a dark and stormy sky in the distance, with the brighter sky still visible below like I'm looking across the open sea.

I'm... a little confused. I thought Royal had said that sailings out of non-FL ports were going to be fully vaccinated (and therefore not require any test sailings)? Did I misunderstand that, or did something change, or is this because it's stopping in Port Canaveral and ends up subject to the FL law indirectly?

Unless you've upgraded Puck with cutting and climbing tools, no dice. ?

Hit the liquor store today to restock on beer and wine, decided I wanted to also get dark rum to make Dark & Stormy's here at home. Just wanted a small bottle, but the Goslings Black Seal was only available in the huge ones. Since the "official" rum wasn't to be had in a size that I'd need about 2 years to finish off, I went to... let's admit it... the better option. And look what I found sitting on the shelf! I've locked it away where @twangster can't find it. Can't have him absconding this rare find! ?

Freedom of the Seas, April 2018. Also our first cruise ever, after years of trying to convince my wife it wasn’t the experience she’d been raised to think it was. (nonstop eating, nothing to do on board, broom closet cabins, etc)

See, I disagree for the exact reason you just gave. This is a free market and if FL's law didn't block it, NCL could require proof of vaccination while RCL and Carnival don't. Consumers have choice here, they can choose to sail on a fully vaccinated sailing or one that's mixed vax'ed / unvax'ed. Market will speak, all businesses get to operate and see who has the more desirable / profitable option. Yes, I'm aware that prior to this law going into effect that RCL was also going to have only fully vax'ed sailings in FL as well. But Carnival notably wasn't, and was proudly marketing that fact. So even then you still had a free-market system working. But it was never given a chance to play out because Florida's governor decided he knew better, and IMO overreached badly with this blanket law that impacts every business.

Unfortunately, as with all things involving these kinds of suits and our legal system, it ain't over yet. I'm also not thrilled with this particular line in the article (emphasis added): For frick's sake, Today, that area is not a children's play area!! That's just the spin the ambulance-chasing scumbag lawyer has used. The Solarium is no more a children's play area than the Schooner Bar or Boleros is. Do just two minutes of homework so you can give a truthful statement. ?

This is something specific to Air2Sea (and sister Celebrity's "Flights by Celebrity" service), and I think will vary by airline. If you did not immediately pay for the airfare and the payment doesn't have to be made until final payment date of your cruise, some (most?) airlines will not count the flight as "ticketed" until the payment is made and received. Until you're officially ticketed, you cannot reserve seats or do any other pre-flight things like pre-pay for luggage (where needed). It does vary -- I had booked a flight on Iceland Air for my aborted Iceland & Greenland sailing on Celebrity back in 2020, and even though I hadn't paid at the time of booking I was still counted by the airline as fully ticketed. I could reserve seats, purchase meals if I wanted, pre-pay for extra bags, etc. But when I booked a flight on United for my Vision sailing out of Bermuda this year (also canceled), I couldn't reserve seats or anything until I had passed final payment date and they received the payment from Air2Sea.

Gentle reminder about what “freedom of speech” actually covers: https://xkcd.com/1357/ NCL saying their first amendment rights were violated is complete and utter BS. Sounds like their lawyers need to go back to third-grade Social Studies and pass the class this time.

It's like you've never even READ me... ? ??? @Patta_Conna, big congratulations on winning that. I'm betting though that now you're both spoiled and can never sail anything less than SC ever again. That's what @WAAAYTOOO and @Lovetocruise2002 and all the other SC addicts say, anyway....

That's my BIL's go-to beverage as well whenever we get together for dinner. I seriously had no idea tonic water (bitter bitter bitter bitter!!!!) had sugar. I thought it was just the rude cousin of regular ol' seltzer water. Please don't tell me club soda / seltzer also has sugar. That's my go-to (with a slice of lemon), and I've been happy believing it's just water, carbonation, and a bit of salt.

Having done the Mission: Space ride on the Orange Line and experienced the full simulated G forces, I would have to say "no" to doing the real thing. Nearly blacked out and got serious tunnel vision at the peak G-forces, and I'm already very prone to motion sickness. I think I'd be a... sub-optimal... passenger for one of those LEO / sub-orbital trips. Which is a shame, because I would seriously love to see the earth from that high up in person, not just on the TV screen. Never mind experience weightlessness and not feel any stress or strain on my arthritic ankles and heels.

Is that a "Strike that. Reverse it"? I don't recall tonic water having any sugar in it.

Royal (and I think Nassau) requires it for all passengers as part of their entry / boarding protocols. Not unique to them, I had to get a negative test before surgery even though I was fully vaccinated at the time.

@Wanderer, that must be really new. Definitely wasn’t available in 2018, and I didn’t see that in the Royal app when we sailed her again in late 2019. Thanks for sharing that. Always good to learn something new.

There are two types of people in this world. Those who can drink gin, and those who can't ever hear that word again!!!! I fall into the latter camp. ?

@joshgates, that is so cool that you're shooting in black and white. I can't remember the last time I saw photos taken that way, outside of some select shots from my wedding day 23 years ago. I forgot how striking b&w shots can be.

In addition to places like the Bamboo Room, nearly all of the available wines in Vintages, the MDR, and elsewhere are over the drink package limit as well when buying by the glass. Pretty much the only thing you'll find in either red or white is stuff you'll find at home for around $9-$12 a bottle, not per glass. No knock on wines in that price range, my daily table wine is $9 a bottle and I love it. That said, I'm on vacation so I like to step it up a notch or two, and try some wines I probably wouldn't buy at home unless it's a special occasion. I've found that unless you're buying the really frou-frou stuff, it'll be an extra $2-$6 up-charge (plus gratuity) per glass.

Yes, specialty dining bars and any “only available here” cocktails are included.

Sorry you’ve had to cancel after so many delays and postponements. Hopefully you’ll be able to resume sailing later this year or in early ‘22.

My advice is that if you feel the package is too expensive, it probably is... for you. I've bought it and skipped it enough times to know that what price works with my personal drinking habits (alcoholic and non), and I'll come out better if I just buy a la carte. I'd recommend that everyone make that calculation. While I agree it's nice to have that particular expense paid up front and not be wondering how much I'm racking up over the trip, it's also really nice to know that I can drink what I'm totally comfortable drinking and actually come out ahead vs what the package price was the whole time I was checking the Cruise Planner. And do it while letting myself slow down after the first couple of "I'm finally on vacation!!!" days, because I'm not feeling the pressure to "get my money's worth".