mrp4352

I've found my clothes stay neater in packing cubes when packed 2-days before the cruise (to allow for the travel prior to the cruise). Personally, I don't use the compression for clean clothes - I worry about wrinkles. So - packing cubes going, compression bags coming home (which also allows for souvenir space!)

I enjoyed the aviary in the port area. It's raised above so there's a lovely breeze and connected by suspended bridges. I want to say it was $15-$20/adult and I spent almost an hour in there. Part of the time was spent watching the dolphin pool that's available in port.

And to add to your confusion - I did the opposite on my Alaskan trip. I really liked having more zoom available on my regular camera (A Nikon point-and-shoot) in Alaska. I would use it instead of binoculars in many places. For a beach-y cruise, I travel iPhone only, but for more scenery-based cruises (Alaska, N.E. US and Canada) I liked having my camera with it's zoom. I have tried the attachable lenses on my iPhone, but haven't found one yet that I liked for zoom (wide-range, however, is great!).

Last time I was there, we just stayed in the port area. The overhead aviary is fun and it gets you up in the breeze above the crowds. It was about $15/adult and the picture package was about $20, I think. I spent about an hour exploring (caveat: I am a bird person). The suspended bridges between the different aviaries are fun to walk on and the view of the ships is spectacular. You get to feed the birds, and when I ran out of food, they refilled my cup a couple of times. It made for a nice, low-key port day.

Thanks! So it sounds like I need to leave the reservation as is and have my TA remove the prepaid gratuity. I was going to purchase The Key, so I'll get with guest services once I board to have that sorted out. Excursions aren't booked yet and I'm not planning on a beverage package so I should be good there. I appreciate all the quick responses and great information!!

Hi all! I had originally booked a double-occupancy stateroom for a cruise next year, but it turns out I will be travelling solo. I'm completely fine with the single supplement (well, not fine with it, resigned to it is probably more the correct term to use). I had originally thought to call my TA and have them cancel the second guest, but wait until closer to the cruise just in case circumstances change and my Mom is able to go. However, I thought I read something recently that I would be better off leaving her on and no-showing at the terminal because when I drop the other guest, RC will reprice the stateroom at the current prices. Is that correct? I appreciate the help! I promise I tried to search before posting, but couldn't find a way to ask my question in search to get the information. ? Michelle

We booked the third person originally and then dropped them when it turned out they couldn't go. It gave us the ability to lock in prices and the stateroom we wanted! The first time we tried to add someone after the fact, we ended up having to change rooms because the price had gone up so much.

Makes sense - I'm assuming their bar staff instead of the wait staff that is auto-gratuitied...

I agree! I like to feel movement on a ship! That way I know I'm at sea and not just in a hotel. :-)

My Hmmm... moment on the Anthem was the 18% service charge for the robo-bartender! I just want to know how he's going to spend the money. ?

I was on the Anthem late last month and we had the same thing.

The forward area was my favorite place on the Empress!! Make sure you head out there after dark - there is little to no light noise, so the stars are SPECTACULAR!!!

With no change fees on Southwest - you can very easily cancel and rebook at the lower fare. It's also worth watching, if the fare goes down, you can do a flight change and "change" to the same flight at the lower price with the extra funds being held for future use (up to a year from the original purchase date). If you book on Rapid Reward points, the points simply return to your account when you change flights.

Taku Lodge by Seaplane!!! OMG - my favorite Alaska excursion of all time. Gorgeous flight out to a beautiful lodge across the river from a glacier; fantastic meal, bears, and a flight back! AMAZING!

Knee Deep - Zac Brown Band feat. Jimmy Buffett

You might try searching for pictures of 10510 - from what I can tell, 9510 is set up differently because it's a much larger cabin (Spacious Ocean View, I think).

I've found that the reading app on my iPad allows me to adjust text size. Sadly, I had to make the jump to a larger text last week...