gmerick

Just one more means of keeping the hoi polloi from the haut monde.

On 10/8/2023 at 8:35 AM, fenton04 said:

To get to Tel Aviv international airport you have to travel nest to the West Bank.  The West Bank!

No.

To get to Tel Aviv, you also have to travel next to the Mediterranean.

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

Is that authorization hold only on prepaid cards?  I have never seen a hold larger than what I have charged and it clears within a couple of days.

I really don't know.  I only discovered it myself a couple days ago.  It definitely was not there when I used pre-paid cards a year ago, or 2 years ago.

19 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I'm confused how you are "out" $500.  Why not just pay $2500 with the prepaid card(s), then pay the other $500 with other credit/debit card(s)?

13 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

If I understand correctly, you're not "out" any money.  You can still use that money for groceries, gas, and other things you use in your everyday life.

Of course you are both correct.  I can use the small remainders on the cards at a later date.  I just have to wait until the hold expires.  My disappointment with the new policy is the inconvenience of many small pre-paid balances remaining, and the 30 day loan to RCI.  

It's not something I will "fix", as I have already simply made the final payment.  I'll have 6 inconvenient reminders of the experience in the coming months as I use up the prepaid cards, but other than that, I'm done with it.

On 9/30/2023 at 1:28 PM, Advanced Diver said:

Just to clarify you don't go to an optician for prescription lenses for a dive mask. I'm not sure if they are actually able to produce the correct tempered lenses to the correct shape. Rather you get your prescription and the Dive mask manufacturer will supply the lenses for their dive mask (at extra significant expense of course). Not all masks will take replacement prescription lenses (have to be two separate lenses for instance).

I'd like to address this mis-conception.  Yes a dive manufacturer will accept your prescription, and sell you a custom mask.  Yes, you will pay "at extra significant expense of course".  I didn't include that option, because quite a number of optical suppliers will sell replacement mask lenses with precision prescription optical lenses bonded to correctly fitting flat glass mask lenses.  This bypasses the middleman.  This is also how cost conscious spectacle wearers buy glasses.  Purchase a frame (mask?) from a quality source, have an optician (not an optometrist) grind and install a lens blank.

I am approaching final payment date for my 18 Jan 2024 AN sailing.

I proceeded with my previous years practice of collecting my credit card Rewards as prepaid VISA cards.

I can no longer charge $500 on a $500 gift card.  RCI now places a 120% "Authorization Hold" on credit card payments.  That hold will remain in place for what appears to be 30 days after the charge is processed.  Result:  only $416.66 of the $500 can be applied to the cruise fare.  The remaining $86.34 will be unusable until the "Authorization Hold" expires.

I'm in a nice fix, instead of paying off my cruise fare with $3000 in pre-paid cards, I can only apply $2500.  The remaining $500 will have to be spent otherwise, and in small amounts.  I have to use "real money" to pay for the remainder of my vacation.

Before my friends here pop in with advice to e-mail Mr. Bailey, I've already done so -- and received replies from several offices.  Yes, I am out-of-luck.  Had this 120% policy been better publicized, I would have used the pre-paid cards earlier, and been able to make 2 charges  per card, and only been out ~$80 instead of the $500 by making the first payment at least 7 weeks prior to final payment.  

I refuse to start my much needed vacation off with moaning about a bad experience, so I'll simply be making my final payment, and saving the pre-paid cards for fun elsewhere.  

Just a bit of google-ing, CruiseCritic is part of The Independent Traveler, Inc. (look at the bottom of the web page here) owned by tripadvisor.com.  The Wikipedia page for TripAdvisor will list a whole boatload of travel sites.

It's all about name-dropping.  Go to a top-tier event, shake hands with Capt, CD.  When some travel agent or blog site mentions a name, folks can chime in with "CD Incognito is a good friend of mine" because they've shaken hands.  Nahhh, let me touch the forward bearing block of a Wartsilla 16V46D.

Balcony cabin, Anthem, 17 Jan 2024.  I repriced 17 Mar @ $217/day.  Now it is $851/day.  

Don't even need to buy something.  Simply make My-Time Dining reservations.  The reservation is done through Cruise Planner.  If you reserve for all 11 evenings on a Southern Caribbean, when it's cancelled you get a whole InBox full of warnings.

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

How in the world are you paying $500 for a single device voom service.  I can buy a 4 device package for less than that on my next Harmony cruise and it isn't even a particularly good price right now.

My Jan 2024 Anthem -- 11 days, internet for 2 (they need two devices, as I'm fairly sure hubby and spouse aren't sharing the same phone to leave voice mail for each other) is $518 at the non-discounted rate.  Today's 30% off sale is $362.89 .

BTW: VOIP is the industry name for Wi-Fi calling.  That protocol is standard on iPhone, and most newer Android devices.  If not provided, there are many free alternatives; I use Google Voice.

No cost option:  When you leave port, put phone on Airplane Mode (this turns off cell phone service, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth).  Turn on Wi-Fi, and connect to the "guest" network.  If you want to use earbuds to listen to music / games, turn Bluetooth back on.  This texting option is using messages in the RCI app.  This is not normal text messages.

$500 option:  I need to receive phone calls and e-mail while on vacation, so I buy the internet package.  I use a cell phone feature called "VOIP" which lets me make voice calls using internet instead of cell service.  As such, making and receiving calls is not affected even when hundreds of miles from land.  I have even called people on board the ship using our cell phones.  (this option also lets me send normal text messages, and e-mail to those I'm traveling with)

Please don't leave us hanging -- what does AOS mean??  Anthem, Alure, Adventure?

smokeybandit

• •  6.3k
• January 1, 2015

On 9/4/2023 at 9:01 AM, renysmom said:

We have had The Key in the past but it’s been awhile. Do you still get priority boarding ( after the suites, pinnacle) guests or do you just get to enter port easier?  We are sailing out of Port Canaveral.  Thanks

The sign for Cape Liberty's priority lane lists Pins, Suites, and Keys.  One line, no waiting.  3 years running hotel shuttle left for the port at 10:30, and was in the MDR eating salad at 11:30.  I've had boarding reservations for the early afternoon on each sailing, but that Key thing apparently means "Advance Token to GO!".

carciofo, aglio, acciughi

Cruise prices are way to high on my sailing, but Anthem is offering TWO Discover scuba excursions on the 18 Jan 2024 sailing - St Thomas and San Juan Puerto Rico.  This also was offered Jan 2023 in San Juan (Escambron Marine Park).  I didn't do the discover, I rented two tanks and went solo, but I did get to watch the three Discover groups get going.  The excursion stayed inside the reef, but apparently had a good time.  Plenty of placed features, maybe 15 ft visibility due to left-over storm surge.  I'd call Escambron more of a bucket list item, not a great dive site, but more to check off one more cruise port where I used up 2 tanks of air.

23 hours ago, omeinv said:

St. Thomas currently has no dive operators close to the port, and you're dealing with a very expensive cab ride.  Otherwise, the sites there would be OK for a Discover Dive, but you can find better many other places. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

My upcoming Anthem sailing has a "Discover" shore excursion on St Thomas.  I have booked the 2-tank excursion there.  That usually indicates that even though the LDS may not be close to the port, the operator does pier-side pickup of Cruise guests.

Looking at google maps, there are 5 operators with shops on the cruise pier.

Why are you set on a "Discover" package as a teenager's introduction to diving?  That program delivers minimal training, just enough to somewhat mitigate the risk of a fatal accident.  Almost nothing to address pressure equalization in ears and sinuses.  

A much more rewarding experience would be to visit a local dive shop.  If your son remains interested, he could still complete the full Open Water Diver course before any likely sail date, then could go on a two-tank boat dive with you.

Fortunately, there is a NJ that can help with recommending a local dive shop.  https://njscuba.net/

Labor day sale -- same prices as @GimmeOcean said.  (Anthem 18 Jan for me).  I bought it.  I'm traveling Solo, work requires me to have Voom.  so for $100 I get early embarkation, MDR Lunch day 1, MDR Breakfast departure, leisurely debarkation, good seats, no lines for theater, private flowrider.  Yes, I was waiting for the sale, I knew it would come eventually.  

What are your needs?  Full prescription masks are very expensive, an optician will create optical lenses using the supplied blanks, and install them in your mask.  

Somewhat less expensive are bonded prescription lenses that can be attached to an existing mask.

An economy solution are "Gauge Readers"; essentially reading glasses lenses attatched to the lower part of a standard dive mask.  

Still less expensive are stick on reading lenses that can be added to an existing mask.

If your vision is not adequate for distance vision, unfortunately the only real option is the expensive one.  If instead you only need reading glasses for day-to-day use, either of the less expensive options will be more than adequate.

And if you reserve an interior guarantee as a solo, you could end up in 2W; and no double points for you.  Same goes for balcony guarantee and 2F.  Fortunately most times guarantees are not shown as available for single guests.

I've switched to using Pelican cases for cruise travel.  The cases are almost indestructible, waterproof (they even publish buoyancy figures, if you wanted to use it as a buoy), and most have wheels.  I can leave them on the balcony with no worries.  Even pressure washing has no effect.  Several cases are perfect size for carry-on, and 3 others are exactly sized to slide in under the max size for checked baggage.  Packing for one -- a backpack (3 computers, plus accessories), a 1535 case (about 65 lbs, because it contains SCUBA and photography gear), two 1626 checked cases (right at 50lbs).  Flying first class to the port, there are no baggage charges.

Two I've dived with, and can recommend.  

Barbados Blue.

Antigua Scuba School.

Eat after the show.  What is so pressing that you need to get to bed early for?  

Done enough cruises so the wonder of the first few cruises has aged (rather well).  Not every meal on my last cruise hit the same high notes as the highlights I best remember from my first few cruises.  I have a few favorite menus, and some have exceeded expectations, some haven't.  There have been some new highlights that do get up to that initial level of awesomeness.  

Overall, MDR meals are still much better than I would cook for myself, and also better than my favorite restaurants at home.  

The expectations bar does get set rather high, because I have such good remembrance of the truely exceptional meals.  I'm happy with the MDR, the menus, the service, the cuisine.  If I ever reach the point where I want more High Notes, I still haven't tried the Specialty dining venues yet.