LeeW

Normally this is in Studio B (ice rink). Doesn't list it on Royal website but could easily be done. Kind of depends on whether they are willing/able to cover the ice. Might not show up until you are onboard.

Do you feel you need extra insurance while traveling in US? Basically the entire cruise is in US. However you might need transport home. If you had to leave the ship Princess might pay to send you to an Alaskan hospital which is likely already in your Medicare network. Check the Platinum policy to see if it repatriates you home.

Your guess is more likely - sea lice are kind of like mosquito bites so not likely to bleed unless scratched. I have pulled broken bottles out of the water in that area. Not common, though.

In addition to no big ships, Tampa has a fair problem with fog. Depends on time of year, of course. Pier is within walking distance of a couple of hotels, including Embassy.

Strapped mine to chest but angle of body during descent mostly picked up the sky. You might want to strap to helmet.

Pacific Island boards have a ton of suggestions. Unfortunately our trip got cancelled and we haven't booked another since shutdown. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/62-pacific-islands-all/

There is a large fresh water lagoon there, although they don't have any innertubes. We do use a couple of inflatable noodles although for the most part it is around 3-4' deep. Just make sure you either turn in your towel or bring it back to the ship. They charge $25 if you don't.

If you book through the cruise line it will include transfers unless you specifically request not to. Note that the cruise line charges roughly the room rack rate per person, so for two expect to pay double the rack rate. They can easily afford the costs of transfers.

You should be able to book quite a bit once you connect to the onboard wifi system. Only regular shows, aquatheater and ice shows have booking. Trivia and games do not - first come first get seats. You can get onboard pretty much anytime (arrival time typically isn't used any more) once the ship opens for boarding. Likely just one line for everyone plus a suite line. Drop bags and get in line whenever you get there. You may be able to connect to the ship wifi while in line. Or not. When you get onboard head for whatever dining room is open for lunch. The host/hostess should be able to change your dining. They also usually have a team doing dining changes - check the app or a printed copy of the schedule from Guest Services for time and location. Likely in a dining room around 1 PM.

Yup. A dining room will be open when you board (assuming it isn't late in the boarding process) and the host can move times for you. We do this often when we can't get an earlier time. Have never been able to get modify links in purchases to work.

Not sure introducing friends to cruising is a favor. It gets very expensive once you get hooked. Even DIL and grandaugher with vertigo issues are now hooked. The real advantage of having you around is showing them what they can do and experience.

Apparently Kona isn't an option due to the Ironman there but at least they could have done scenic cruising around the islands. Victoria and Seattle are useless for this itinerary. More interesting is how they will handle immigration. Normally you go through US immigration in Canada Place before sailing and emailed notices indicate that once you get on the ship you can't get off. But next port is now Victoria, so US immigration in Vancouver is a waste of time. I expect that everyone on the ship will have to go through immigration again for the Seattle port stop.

Have seen high wire artists use these to get to the stage area.

Haven't considered the homes (Colorado has better weather and fewer bugs) and we get a ton of cruising in. Would likely do a bunch more if we lived where you are going. You can take advantage of the last minute deals from both ports! Let us know how it works out.

The bid page does show a bar of bids from minimum to maximum. Max bid can easily be more than cost of upgrading by phone or TA. Minimum doesn't show unless you move the slider a bit and can be as low as $40. Even a max bid doesn't guarantee you will get an upgrade.

Haven't ever been able to download books on any cruise line on Kindle. The one time we succeeded we downloaded to laptop, but then had to read on the laptop. We have an old Kindle Keyboard, which is great for reading - large screen and great contrast. DW has a newer touch and she likes it as well. My Fire can be used for reading but color screen doesn't have near the contrast and I need to use reading glasses if I use that. And the Fire doesn't work with various slot games onboard either - latency of satellite connection messes this up even though connection works. Similar problem with many account websites.

On Navigator we did have one cruise where you needed tickets for the ice show, passed out early in the cruise. Haven't seen that since the cruise line started using the app.

Their corporate website always has discounts, although not huge. Can be the difference between getting an encounter versus a swim package. The one in Cozumel even has packages that include photos (typically $100-$150).

They price the soda package differently for different cruises. I have $9.99 and $10.99 for the upcoming cruises I have booked. Waiting and hoping for discounts, especially for the cruises after Black Friday. In answer to your question, you can't use a cup bought for the first cruise on the second legally. But if you don't use the cup on the first cruise and you have purchased the package for the second cruise the cup might work in the machines if not activated on the first cruise. It will certainly work at any bar if your cruise card is marked as having purchased the package. They will ask for it.

You can still cancel once onboard before getting any drinks but refund will be OBC, not back to your credit card.

There are two places that do dolphin encounters, one on the sound side of the island and Dolphin Discovery up by the turtle farm. Done both, including one that was a sound-side bundled with a trip to the rays. On that one the island closed the ray sandbar due to visibility and Royal cut our tour price in half. Of the two places, Dolphin Discovery is more modern and has other exhibits and things to do. BUT: Highly recommend booking direct with Dolphin Discovery https://www.*****grand-cayman/ Much cheaper than ship, but do it early and try to go before the ship tours tie the place up. And, go across the street to the turtle farm and book the Turtle Adventure tour. Ship gets you access to a couple of turtle pools in the front of the park. OK, but the Turtle Adventure gives you access to the whole park, including being able to snorkel in a large lagoon-like pool with a bunch of turtles. Costs only around $40pp https://www.turtle.ky/ versus $24 for what the ship tour gives you. Few people buy the upgrade and last time we were there we had around 20 people in the back of the park (sharks, rays, turtles) and we were the only ones in the water with the turtles. Bus out to there is around $5pp or you can cab for around $20. Buses look like minivans and run from a plaza two blocks inland from the north tender dock in Georgetown.

We have a ton of old cups (sail B2B but don't bother opening the second cup we get for the second cruise). Usually bring one or two in case it is difficult to pick up the new cup (have had long lines). Sometimes works in machines, sometimes doesn't. Did have one bartender ask about the old cup design since it was different from current design. Once he saw our cruise card had the soda package he had no problems filling it. Having an old cup can be handy if you drop the cup on the pool deck and shatter the bottom - they may or may not give you a new cup to replace a broken one.

You don't have to make dining reservations for Anytime dining. But if you really want to, you can. One dining room is set up for the Reserve (minisuite/suite) dining and will have less room. This is usually Soleil on 5 on the right side facing the restaurant (could change, check onboard). Other entrance on left, both entrances to Estrella on 6 or aft dining room Cielo on 6 will be less crowded and easier to get into. They will sit your group at your own table unless you ask. In the past Soleil was tough getting into because of early fixed dining and Reserve (can't remember old name) taking up a lot of space. Since they got rid of fixed seating should be easier now. Just remember that once the dining room fills they can't take more people until the first group finishes dinner. So arriving an hour after the dining room opens can be impossible to get a seat.

On TA from England to NYC the Captain woke us up at 6 AM to point out the huge icebergs around Greenland. Kind of cold outside - 40 degree and 40 kt wind. Stopped in Nanatorlik. We had 1700 passengers and island has 1400 residents. Great people - showed off old way of living in tents, dancing, food. Great little (about 15x15 ft) gift shop. Calendars were $30 (imported) and elbow length ladies reindeer fur gloves were $17 (locally made).

Good point. Also includes apples picked up off the ground. Still tasted great though, especially when hot fresh donuts were also available.