OldCaver

OK, we got in with our new passwords, and now it's time to check the set sail pass. Mrs. Caver can only view and print our daughter's set sail pass when she clicks on hers. Same when she clicks on mine. Yours truly can see my own set sail, but when I try to see Mrs. Caver's or our daughter's, they both appear as me. My set sail for all three of us, in other words. OK, so daughter's shows all three correctly. And wife is the one who booked all three of us, and the cabin is in her name. When we get to the terminal, we can hand them all three phones and shuffle them under a set of Red Solo Cups. See if we get on the ship.

oops

then today is embark day! Have a great cruise!

That's us, exactly. A trans-Atlantic in a Vision Class ship, with lots of sea days.

One thing to remember about cruises, and why they may be the "best" for some people, is the fact that you can leave all responsibilities behind. If you make sure you get back to the ship by all aboard time, you can completely relax. Dinner? You don't have to prepare it. Getting to places? You don't have to drive to get to them, or look for gas stations, or any of that. Entertainment? Well, you might have to make a reservation or two on the bigger ships, but then you can walk to the theater. I agree with some of the other posts - it isn't the best for everybody, but that's usually the case for any activity you like. I loved caving when I was younger, but that sure isn't for most people.

Wife says they'll eventually build ships so big they won't go anywhere. They'll have giant TV sets showing the ocean going by, and on port days they'll let you off to visit the beach, and on the next port days, they'll change the decorations and tell you it's a different island. Could save money, so don't laugh.

That's our favorite class of ship, too. But we have to settle for the next size up or so, because we always sail out of Galveston these days. We'll be on Voyager in less than two weeks. Our favorite ship was Splendour, but they sold that sometime back, to some guy named Popeye. I thought about booking a cruise with him, but I looked at the menu and every dish has spinach involved somehow.

This absolutely does not apply to everybody, but for some very few people, the ship's water can make your ankles swell a little. After desalination, some sodium remains (not enough to taste), and if you're one of the lucky few, you may have a little trouble getting your sandals on toward the end of the cruise. It is not a health risk, but if your ankles swell a little, switch to bottled water, or maybe something with a lime wedge. Me, drink lots of water, to wash the beverages down. Don't want to burp rum all day.

Sneaking onto Voyager on the 25th of April. So less than two weeks now. It will be almost all sea days, except we're getting off in Cozumel. Love those virtual sea days.

Rainstorms in the Atlantic can take you by surprise. But I suppose it would be a wake up call you'd never forget! 💦

No problem. They'll just add it to your seapass card.

Required or not, I'd not go with open toed shoes. Imagine if a knife got knocked off a counter somehow and hit your toe. You'd miss your old friend...

OK, I successfully changed my password. I'm starting to think maybe this started out as an attempt to get people to change their passwords as a security measure, but they didn't do it right. That's just as suspicion, I'm not saying that's what's going on. Some companies require their employees to change passwords once a month. But if so, it's a good idea to tell people that up front. I had already decided that if we didn't get this fixed by boarding time next week, so that I can't do the last minute stuff to board, I would just assume I ain't the only one, so they'd have to figger something out to get us on board so we can spend our money on drinks and key chains. 😎

There's another thread with discussion about having your password refused so you can't log in. People are reporting workarounds, but something that works for one won't work for others. I'm going to quit trying to use the app for a few days until they can find Dennis Nedry to fix it.

Maybe they should fire Jethro and rehire Dennis Nedry.

Best post on the thread, right there!

I absolutely hate the Atlantic. Bunch of scumbags. Of course I say that with all due respect and Christian love.

Some cruises in my vast experience had a coffee package, but I don't know if that's still a thing at all. The coffee you can get in the Cafe Promenade is free, and pretty good quality, but my complaint was that the milk they provide for it is colder than a politician's heart, and cools the coffee down too much. But this next cruise, on the Voyager in a couple weeks, my daughter is bringing a box of those little creamers that don't need to be kept cool. That may well solve the problem. Just bring a few with us when we stumble out of the cabin, tear their little lids off, and presto! Cream in your coffee without turning it into an iced beverage.

Oooooh. Good question.

What caused this is that back many years ago, during the Crimean wars, your status depended on the number of cruises, not the number of nights you were on the ship. This means that somebody (looking at you, Florida residents) could take short little weekend cruises and shoot up in the ranks in short time. I resented that because I was taking Trans-Atlantics, and my 14 nights on the ship was worth the same as a 3 night cruise, as far as status. Didn't seem fair. So they made the adjustments, but grandfathered in your status, which is fair as far as I'm concerned, even though there could (theoretically) be Pinnacles on board who had spent less time than me on the ships. Relax, Pinnacles, I don't think it likely. But that means that now, theoretically, you could have half the ship filled with Diamond Pluses. So they wisely renamed the lounge so they wouldn't have to argue with angry Diamonds when they had to be turned away due to a full lounge. Even though I earned my D+ status the hard way, I'm OK with the drinks being loaded on my sea-pass card any time of day. I wouldn't be interested in squeezing into a crowded room just to get a snack or a coffee, but I do love stopping by in the wee hours to score a latte. I think given the situation, they did the best they could. I do kind of wish they'd establish something between D+ and pinnacle. But I don't cruise for the status, I just enjoy whatever perks they'd like to issue.

I could have posted this except for the one about bump ups. We've never gotten that, ever. We just this morning found out we're on deck 6, and we have no room number yet. Most of us who like GTYs think of the cabin as a place to sleep or shower, and that's it. And the savings will pay for more important extras.

My wife says it's when she looks down just before boarding, steps over the water, and onto the actual deck. This makes sense, of course. But for me the moment is when they took my seapass card, scanned it and I heard the ding. I guess the difference is between physically boarding, and being officially recognized as a passenger. Very little difference, I know.

"Yeah, that's the ticket. I wanted to make sure I was doing the cabin to their satisfaction. Yeah." 🙂

Great advice. What if you forget any of those things? Especially the safe combo. And leave it on the desk in case you forget where you left it. (we have to have a little fun.) 🙂

You can also go to Guest Services and get one, in case Stewart forgets to bring one.