bcarney

I don't see this happening. They had enough difficulties trying to re-integrate Empress back into the fleet - a ship they built, sold, and then repurchased. I can't see them trying to shoehorn another line's build back into the fleet. Also, what larger ships are for sale?

Carnival changes loyalty program where you start to lose points after not cruising for two years... Click here for the article.

Slots are pretty simple. Just put some money in the machine, hit the button or pull the lever, and repeat until all your money is gone. At least that's my experience.

I'm of the exact opposite opinion. One of the things about cruising that appeals to me is visiting other nations and being exposed to different cultures. These "Perfect Day at Whatever" amusement parks have absolutely no interest for me. We've actively avoided cruises that go to places like Labadee whenever possible (been there twice which was one time too many), but with RC including those type stops on so many cruises, we've been forced to look at other lines unfortunately.

We were on Brilliance over Thanksgiving and Nate Goodlet (the best performer and most talented guitarist in the fleet!!!) was playing until just a few weeks ago when the ship went over to Europe. I followed him on Facebook, and he's going to Alaska soon (if he's not already there). Here is the first half of his "winter tour". (edited to correct spelling of name)

I sent you a PM with our experience, @Bowen.

I picked up one of these (the 12 bottle), and it's a surprisingly nice piece of luggage, very flexible, you can put clothing in it as well if you don't need the room for all the bottles. Has brought home many bottles of Caribbean rum! https://vingardevalise.com/collections/vingardevalise-wine-travel-suitcase

I second this - anything by Spencer Ambrose is worth booking!

Since you're on Brilliance run down to King & Country for the musician Nate Goodlet. He's AWESOME!

If you have a chance stop in at Lovango Rum Bar in Cruz Bay. Great cocktails and food! And an incredible rum selection if you are into that (I am!).

We did it with our kids who enjoyed it. The one we picked also took us to a beach to look at starfish, and had a jerk chicken lunch that was nice. The excursion was called "Stingray Sandbar, Starfish Point, Beach & Bites".

In my world 5pm is considered a late lunch. Or an appetizer.

When we sailed with our 9 month old and 2.5 year old almost 15 years ago. my wife said "same sh!t, someone else's space" - meaning, she was happy for the respite of meal planning, cleaning, etc. It's no different than leaving your house to go to a local restaurant, just a few days longer. People freak out about cruising with kids that young, but I have to tell you - every crew member treated my kids as if they were their own. It was a happy experience for us. Just do it.

Is it just me, or does this look like one big wave is going to wash this sandbar away?

We did the same since I think I got it for $22/day and internet was $18 or $19. A big factor for me was priority disembarkation at tender ports (Caymans Islands in our case) but our excursion was the last off and we wound up having to stay in the theater for an hour and a half. But for the nice steak lunch and them handing carry-ons, it was worth it.

I think that has been standard policy for quite a while. This is a medivac from the pier at Labadee from 2011. You have to zoom in quite close, but there is a phone number on the tail that starts with 809 which is the DR's area code, so I googled it and it appears on the US Embassy in the DR's Medical Assistance page.

Ok, first, think of Thanksgiving with mashed potatoes and gravy. Now, picture yourself on a ship, and for breakfast one of the sides is corned beef hash as the base, and sausage gravy as the gravy, like Thanksgiving. Your cardiologist will thank me.

And if you do want to do this, make your appointment and get it done at the beginning of the cruise. Towards the end of the cruise the lines get longer.

So guess what just showed up in my Inbox?

How do you get on RC's C&A email list? We're just a few days away from Diamond+, and I don't get a single e-mail from RC. I've got the checkboxes in my profile marked for marketing emails.

For those sailing, we recently finished a Brilliance sailing over Thanksgiving. Head on down to the King & Country Pub when the musician, Nathan Goodlet, is performing. The guy is incredibly talented, funny, and a genuinely nice guy. Enjoyed many hours listening to him.

Three words I have never seen put together in that order, and now suddenly I need them, badly...

We did Stingray CIty at the Caymans last month. Just stingrays and sand, no other aquatic life, and a hundred or more tourists to run into if you tried snorkeling. I think there were seven boats there in total. It was packed.

We sailed over Thanksgiving week. Had such a great time it reignited my passion for cruising!

If you want to try something a little different, I'd suggest doing the sushi making class that is offered onboard during a sea day. We've done it twice, and you of course get to eat the sushi you make.