DCThunder

Thanks. This is very helpful. I'd thought of Santa Monica or Venice, but the Marina del Rey idea is very intriguing. We're flying Fiji Airways (in Business) which is a OneWorld partner with American, but I'm not sure we'll be able to check bags all the way through. It would be nice if we could...

Later this year (late November 2024) I have a flight from Sydney to LAX after my cruise ends. I then have a roughly 10-hour layover at LAX before flying back to the East Coast on a redeye. Any suggestions as to what I could do for an afternoon and evening without having to rent a car? Do any of the airport hotels have day rates and are there places to store luggage for the day? Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

American refused to accept our bags for check in until 4 hours before the flight began boarding. This was Terminal 3 and we were flying first class. Unfortunately EZ Check wasn't available for this cruise, because it was a trans-Atlantic.

Thanks!

Wrong thread. I meant to post it in another one. I thought I'd deleted the post. Oooops! But thanks for the information.

I have an Alaska cruise RT from Vancouver but my flight back east is a red-eye not departing until 10:00 pm. So I will have all day to kill in Vancouver. I don't want to be schlepping luggage around to do a little sightseeing, but I also don't want to sit around the airport all day either, especially since I can't check my luggage until late afternoon. So, is there anyplace to temporarily store luggage in the downtown Vancouver area, before heading to the airport in the afternoon?

I have an Alaska cruise RT from Vancouver but my flight back east is a red-eye not departing until 10:00 pm. So I will have all day to kill in Vancouver. I don't want to be schlepping luggage around to do a little sightseeing, but I also don't want to sit around the airport all day either, especially since I can't check my luggage until late afternoon. So, is there anyplace to temporarily store luggage in the downtown Vancouver area, before heading to the airport in the afternoon?

I was on the last Oosterdam sailing of the South America itineraries last spring and they had all the South America stuff on deep markdown. They set up tables at one end of the amidships swimming pool and had all the merch laid out. Tee shirts, stuffed animals, and various other trinkets.

Easter is March 31st this year, so the week of March 24-March 31 would be Holy Week. I was in Aruba on Good Friday last year and most everything was closed except for the big chain stores. Is Holy Week a big deal in these parts of Mexico?

I'd say if you want to cruise in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden for the next while, you'll need to enlist in the US or Royal Navies.

At this point on January 28th, they have told you that the February 8th cruise has been cancelled. If they believed on the day they made that announcement that the Feb. 18th sailing wouldn't be able to go, they'd have announced its cancellation at the same time. But they didn't. So at this point, I'd expect the Feb. 18th cruise to be as close to normal as is possible for an inaugural cruise on a new class of ship. If that changes in the next week or two, they'll tell you. Do you want them to swear on a stack of Bibles that the Feb. 18th cruise will occur? Or tell you that it's 50/50? Or 60/40? Or give odds like they were in Vegas or Monte Carlo? It seems you are looking for certainty in an uncertain world. And we all know how that works out.

What exactly do you want them to tell you? The "punch list" of items that have to be fixed or completed before the shipyard turns the ship over to Princess? And do you want a daily update on the progress of that punch list? I find it amusing that many of the many cruise bloggers and vloggers always advise "don't go on the last cruise before a drydock or the first cruise after a drydock" but there are many people upset because the inaugural cruise of a new class of ship isn't going off without a hitch. And that includes people who aren't even booked on the Feb. 8th cruise.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

I always wondered whatever happened to Andrew "Dice" Clay. The Diceman used to tell nursery rhymes too...😈

So the Curse has spread to the Great White North. Will the spread NEVER stop??? 😉

That's one of the many reasons I hate the Boston Red Sox and their fans. They unleashed the Curse of Sweet Caroline on American sporting venues across the fruited plain.

No "Sweet Caroline"?

You might be interested in this video of the complete building of a cruise ship. It's incredible how complex these machines are.

And you get to wear a cool visor/helmet!

I posted upthread about a 1 year delay in the delivery of the first guided missile frigate that Fincantieri is building for the Navy at a shipyard in Wisconsin. And that's for a ship that was originally supposed to be delivered in 2026. Methinks that Fincantieri might be a little "overextended" right now. And there are rumors that Carnival is about to announce plans to build some "Icon of the Seas" sized ships, although I don't know the shipyard that supposed to build them. Is Princess already selling cruises for Star Princess in 2025? People might want to temper their expectations on the first sailings if they are.

I'm not carrying water for Santa Clarita, but do you seriously think the wailing and gnashing of teeth would have been any less is this cruise was cancelled on January 1st? Or December 15th 2023? The lead ship of a new class is always going to be delayed. That's the way of the world. Does any massive project come in on time and under budget? I know it's impossible to compare naval warships with cruise ships, but look at the issues the USN had with getting the USS Gerald R Ford super carrier up and operating properly. Sun Princess isn't nuclear powered or have electromagnetic catapults, but LNG ships are relatively new technology, and this is the first Princess ship with Azipods not to mention all the whoop-de-do stuff for entertainment. A better question to ask is should Princess have scheduled the Inaugural Cruise on Feb. 8th or waited until March 1st or some other date to give themselves more leeway for the inevitable delays.

Land line??? What's that? Are you an 80 year old Boomer? Us 'utes don't have no land lines! 😎🍷

I totally agree with this. I'd much rather lose an hour a day than lose 5, 6, or 7 hours all at once on an eastbound flight to Europe from the East Coast of the USA, let alone 8 or more hours flying eastbound to the Middle East. I'm flying home from Sydney via Fiji and LAX next November and I'm already dreading it. Will be doing a Trans-Pac to get to Oz, but have to fly home when it's done.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine is also building new guided missile frigates for the US Navy at a shipyard in Wisconsin. It was just announced earlier this month that the delivery of the first ship the USS Constellation, will be delayed a year into 2027 because they can't hire enough welders and other shipyard workers. First Constellation Frigate Delayed At Least a Year, Schedule Assessment ‘Ongoing’ - USNI News

I meant buy the FCD on board BEFORE you talk to the Future Cruise Desk about booking something. The FCDs process in a day or so and then they're in your account. You can buy them from the app or on a paper form.