RoyMartin

Oh, how I longed for a Selectric. Never happened. Next stop, dot matrix printer and a desktop computer with 8 megabytes (8 million bytes -- approximately since computers don't work in base 10) of memory. Ridiculous now. My laptop has 16 gigabytes (16 billion) and that's by no means that much anymore. For a time in the early "90s, I was in the IT field. It was the twilight of the mainframe era but they still us stuff like how to flip a single bit because memory was so precious. They called it "learning to program a toaster", which in those days was a joke. Now you toaster probably has a computer chip or two. Suffice it to say no one is flipping bits anymore. Software engineers work through layers of software, each level compiled upon the next. They can create stuff that accomplishes so much more. As an example, it was in the late 90s that we began to see home computers that could run crude video. In the 2000s, we began to see streaming and streaming services. Stuff no one dreamed possible back in the day except as an exercise in "someday", a form of science fiction.

Makes sense. I was a very serious junior high school student before the personal computer was a thing. I remember studying typing in school (something my children just picked up on the fly) and then wrestling with a manual typewriter until I managed to get a bottom line electric typewriter as a gift that my mother considered two years worth of Christmas presents and my next birthday. In other words, I went into a sort of family debt at the age of 14 because I wanted to succeed academically. It was a time when teachers would accept hand written reports, projects and lab results but I wanted to make sure my presentation was top notch because nothing less than an "A" was acceptable. For some crazy reason, I got it into my head that I wanted to go to an "elite" university but was from a working class family. Looking back, that was nuts. Wound up getting in and getting a degree from that sort of school but I didn't get any better education than I could have had at a state school for a fraction of the price. Got to walk on marble floors and look out through stained glass windows, so there was that. Had to pay off something like $12k in debt back at a time when that was very real money. A time when one could buy maybe three cars for that amount or make a down payment on a nice home. Oh well. We live and learn.

I had originally booked the kind of balcony room that RCL picks. Then I began looking at those videos and decided to pony up the extra $500 to choose my own. Saw some of those obstructed rooms and I know myself well enough to know that I'd not be happy. Even though my wife said it would be fine and she'd rather save the money. I'm really sensitive to aesthetics. No matter how beautiful Alaska is, I'd be unhappy having part of the view blocked by a piece of industrial looking metal. At the end of the day, I rejected rooms considered unobstructed because supports running from higher in the boat would be in my view off to the side. To each his/her own. I'm sure some folks wouldn't really care if a lifeboat were partially blocking the view. Or a cowling. Someone posted video in which he said he preferred it that way, as the cowling blocked some of the wind. It's a great idea to watch the videos. Then us new cruisers can at least do our best to not make a mistake booking a room that won't satisfy us. These are obviously very much first world problems. There are billions of people who would be thrilled to be on any cruise ship in any room. Who would be thrilled with much less. Just to be able to feed their children, for instance. But once we're paying for an experience like this, it makes sense to do it in a way that's likely to feel satisfying.

I agree with both perspectives. In some ways it was easier to be in the world when life was simpler. In some ways, these devices help us and make life easier. They are, over time, becoming less optional. I remember going to my grandfather's factory in the 1970s. I was a kid, there with my dad. The woman at the front desk was telling my dad that they had just gotten some sort of computer (rudimentary no doubt back then) and were struggling to implement the system. Everything had always been done on paper until then. Imagine trying to run a business, any business, on paper now. Would be impossible. I'm an attorney. My computer is almost a part of my body. I have no secretary to type documents, no dictaphone, none of the old infrastructure. If I submitted documents with stray marks to the court, they'd get kicked back to me. Our standards for what's acceptable are way higher since so much more is possible these days. Try telling someone in the 1940s that you've got a printing press on your desk. They'd think you had gone mad.

Very cool. Thanks!

That's a good idea. Problem is our son has type one diabetes. He wears a glucose monitor which needs to wake us if his blood sugar drops too low or goes too high.

Yes, a cell phone is one of those things that, in my experience, goes from a ridiculous and unnecessary luxury to an absolute necessity as fast as a rocket accelerates into space . . . once one begins using it. Computers aren't much different. When I was a child, my mom went to community college to learn to program computers. In those days they had these big ponderous mainframes. Whole buildings were designed around them. She trained to become like one of the high priests to the digital god no one uninitiated understood. Desktop and later laptop computers changed all that. Heck, now our phones are computers. Even our keys are computers. Our cars, refrigerators and toasters incorporate computers.

For me it is. My phone is slim and fits in my pocket. Charges overnight and never goes below 50% no matter how much use I give it during the day. Depending on your phone and usage patterns, YMMV.

Thanks. I'd like to read more about it. Do they allow the parents to participate too? My son isn't used to being far from us given that we home school and work from home.

We'll get off the ship in each port. Just not sure we'll venture beyond walking distance. We'll see. It's our first cruise so we're figuring it out. I'm not investing in excursions in advance though. If we enjoy it, we'll do it again and perhaps do more next time.

Ideally my wife and I will be able to chat when we're not together on board. We'll see. Hoping for the best. Preparing for the possibility we'll be doing it the old fashioned way. Just talking about where and when to meet up.

Thanks for that heads up. I like to know what to expect. If there's any excursion that interests me, it's the train ride but my wife thinks our son will prefer to stay on the ship. She may be right. He'll be more interested in the room (he loves hotels), the dining and the ship itself. So that's the plan but I guess we could reevaluate.

Thanks. The only way we'd be flying home from Canada could happen is if the ship made an unexpected docking. We land only in Vancouver, from which the fastest way home is the train. We're in Bellingham, which is maybe an hour by car from Vancouver plus the time it takes to stop at the border. Presumably the train doesn't stop.

Thank you.

I wonder if that works on our Androids.

Thanks. We're on Royal Caribbean. The phone agent who made the reservation, since transferred to an agent, said Nexus cards would work. But I'm not sure how knowledgeable he was. He placed me on hold to speak with someone and then came back on the line. That's why I'm wanting to confirm.

Thanks. Safe travels home!

That won't happen. We don't drink. We're just wanting our cabin to be nice and quiet.

If it works for air and land crossings, we're set. The ship only docks in Alaska (three ports) and then to Vancouver, B.C. for us to disembark. We live in Washington state so we'll be traveling home by train. I've already purchased those tickets and Amtrak took our Nexus info. The cards will be with us in case they need to be seen. If there's an emergency, we'll be flying from Alaska to Washington so there's no border crossing. Can anyone find fault to this logic?

We're taking an Alaskan cruise in September that starts in Seattle and ends in Vancouver. My wife and I have expired passports that we could renew but our 8 year old son does not have one. It would be a bit of a hassle to get that remedied, as we have no plans to go overseas anytime soon. We have valid Nexus cards which are good for crossing between the United States and Canada. They are a form of trusted traveler card, so we get to wait in the short lines at the airport too. I'm thinking our Nexus cards should be adequate for this cruise. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks.

Looks like notifications are already turned on. Must have downloaded that way. Maybe it asked for permission and I gave it when downloading; don't remember. Will check out the FAQ. Thanks. PS: I see you live right up the road in Lynwood. -- Thus, the "neighbor" tag. Just realized. Duh! :0) Tell me what you love about Ovation. You must really love her to take a trans-Pacific journey.

Thank you. Sets my mind at ease. It's funny. I've traveled to places far and wide, typically with just a pack on my back and a prayer. Places where no one spoke a word of English. Without reservations at hotels or even knowing where my next meal or place to settle my head for the night would come from. I've looked forward to the adventure and had incredible experiences, being invited into people's homes and lives. Met my second ex-wife on one of those journeys and, though we only lasted five years as a couple, it was one of the great experiences of my life, one without which I'd be infinitely poorer. And yet despite all of that ease with the unknown, I find myself anxious over this cruise, which promises to pamper my family in every conceivable way. It's not because it's on water. We own half of a 38 foot sailboat which gets tossed around a lot more than any cruise ship. I'm sure once we're onboard, it will seem like a piece of cake (while they're stuffing us with cake). Obviously, humans are not completely rational creatures.

Thank you! That's awesome. I'm looking at the app now. I see a little bubble in the upper right hand corner. I assume that's it. Doesn't work now. Says I need to connect to ship wifi. If I can do that without purchasing a plan, that's super.

I'm new to cruising. My wife and son are too. We're going on our first cruise in September. Since the ship, Ovation of the Seas, is quite huge, I'm wondering how we'll keep track of each other without access to cell phone service. We're planning to take the week off from the internet so we have no plan to purchase a wifi package. I'm wondering if Royal Caribbean offers an app that allows us to message each other without also purchasing wifi service. Someone in another thread said HAL does so I'm wondering about RCL. Thanks.

As a new, first time grandparent, I find it oddly similar and different than parenting. The love I feel for my granddaughter is identical to the love I feel for each of my children. A kind of unconditional love that exists for no one else. Even love for a spouse is different because in a healthy relationship one has expectations and so our love is conditional. As an example, if a spouse cheats on us we're likely to leave the marriage. Nothing would ever cause me to reject a child or grandchild. If, heaven forbid, one grew up to become a dangerous or violent person, I might agree that he/she needs to be imprisoned but I'd never get over it. I'd never stop mourning the loss. What's different is that, as a grandparent, I have no responsibility and no control. As a parent all of the responsibility falls on me and with that goes a myriad of decisions I make regarding my child's well being. As a grandparent, I'm completely at the grace of the child's parents, my daughter and son-in-law. They decide how she gets raised. They decide whether they want my input and I know not to offer it unless asked. They decide how often I get to see my granddaughter. All of which makes it a very different sort of experience. When she's older, my approach will be to ask my daughter and son in law what standards they want me to hold and impose when she comes stay with us. If they give me carte blanche to do it my way, that's fine. My wife and I are much more tolerant and easy-going with kids than they are. That's not a criticism at all. I don't think there's a "right" and "wrong" way here. Just different styles. My son in law is a former army captain and brings that sort of military mindset to family life. My daughter mostly subscribes to it. So they do meals at specific times and a lot of structure, whereas we tend to be more "free range" with out son. What's odd is that I'm parenting and grand parenting at the same time. Our son is 8. My daughter from my first marriage is 36.