SuitCaseBears

We've been in various crown loft suites they are all the same (except the accessible one) so while I've not been in THAT ROOM, they all have a king bed upstairs and at least a double fold out sofa (quite comfy) downstairs. But a double could be a little small for some adults. But for two kids it should be great. I think some have queen pull out beds but it will be at least a double. 

Your cabin attendant (the ones on 17 are generally great) will make up the bed while you're at dinner and turn it back into a sofa in the morning.  And there are two full bathrooms and TVs on both floors. and lots of closet space. You'll love it. 

THANK YOU. that's great to know. I realized that my momentary panic was partly a result of the fact that the Bahamas cruise took us nowhere near any decent sized port so I couldn't even use my cell phone as a hot spot which is normally my back up. 

Again I appreciate the reassurance. 

19 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You won’t know for sure till you sail, but normally ships with O3B internet, like Oasis have good performance. Sat internet can always have issues and if totally reliable internet is the criteria for you to cruise, cancel now. If you can live with some potential outages, enjoy your cruise. 

Thanks, I should have been more clear. I have cruised enough to know there are always potential outages.  I get them at home (I work from home) too.  Even with hard wired fiber optic when we lived in California we had occasional problems. I don't believe in totally reliable internet. 

CLARIFICATION: 
What I really wanted to know is if internet access is "as usual" (which I know includes occasional hiccups) or if there are some unusual ongoing problems due to the whole industry having been closed down for a while. 

When I was on Crystal, which admittedly doesn't have the fastest Internet at sea, the Internet was abysmal. That was in early July. We were on their first cruise out of the Bahamas.  Apparently part of the problem was not with Crystal but with the Satellite systems or the space ships or whatever that beams the interwebz to the ship. 

I just found out my biggest client has a huge project that's going to happen when we're sailing. My work will mostly be done before we set sail but I can't sail unless I know I'll have at least normal Royal Caribbean Internet access.  Have any of you been on any RCCL ship or better yet Oasis recently and how was the Internet Access? I really don't want to have to change my cruise date and I don't mind working on the ship at all. But if I can't connect I'm going to be a wreck. 

Thanks for any information.

12 hours ago, Spurschick said:

...

All speculation I know but just passing on what I heard.

What you said makes sense. And one way or the other, I assume I'll hear probably by the beginning of July for an Aug 31 sailing. It's only 4 nights, which we usually wouldn't do, but we were going to try a smaller cabin than we usually take. But with all of the issues with Covid, I upgraded because if we do get to go, I wanted the option to be comfortable staying in our cabin or on our balcony. 

I'm scheduled to cruise out of Galveston on Enchantment on August 31 and it's not been cancelled yet

4 hours ago, LXA350 said:

Once the cruises from the US will begin RCL will very likely start with it's largest ships and rather shorter cruises out the FL ports.

I'm not sure why you'd say that unless you've read something i haven't, which is possible. But River cruises are running in large part because they are SMALLER ships.  I think getting things organized and implemented is easier on a smaller ship.  So I'm optimistic.  Possibly delusional, but optimistic. 

I'm loving this thread. Like the OP's DW I'm a non-drinker, by choice not medical need. My husband... not so much. I've always tried to get the best drinks package for him because he also likes his adult beverages. It always amazes me that the most it ever does for him is make him a bit sleepy.

For us, the big "savings" is not money, but my not worrying about money; and him being able to enjoy his cocktails without constantly checking to see if I'm getting upset about the cost.

While I trust we've always come out ahead on the drinks packages, I've never logged all of his drinks because NOT paying attention to what he drinks is the selling point for us.

All of which is why I'm really enjoying this thread because I can sort of read along and say "yeah he would have had that, and that, but not that, but then add the cognac at night."

So I'm back up on deck 15 and speed is faster again but...

Latency... Failed!

Connecting to VPN... not happening

Connecting to gotomypc... not happening which I don't really understand but I R not a real geek I just like playing with my toys.

But... IM works just fine.

Great question, I'm interested in that answer too.

On the sea day trying to get into my VPN timed out almost immediately. Today, in port, but on my balcony with only about 2.6 Mbps (the 8Mbps was up on the solarium) - - it tried and I think had more hope since it took longer to NOT connect. I gave it two tries.

Will try again both later and from St. Martin. If I weren't being a totally lazy slug, not to mention sitting here waiting for the running of the drunks, I'd go back up to the solarium and try from there. If I get ambitious or finish my book I may try and will report.

In port today and with clear skies and the ship docked, the speed on that premium plus thing (the $350 plan) is 8Mbps downstream, fast and consistent, which means my email runs instead of taking a frustrating 30 minutes (try to log on, error message; try to log on, error message; log on; down load messages; log off to save minutes; respond to messages; try to log on etc.) I log on, get my messages, respond, log off - and I'm back in the pool in 5 min.

For us - it's been a wonderful feature.

I didn't look at any of the prices after I saw the package I bought. And it really is consistent and fast. Really. I'll see if I can find a full list and paste it in here.

Thank you for the information, even the bandwidth. I'm not sure I would pay $350 for unlimited 2 Device internet, but if work demanded it at least then I know I could write it off on our taxes.

I quite understand it's not at all for everyone. But I'm hoping enough people who can use it - will; and wont abuse it so it doesn't get hinky and bogged down that they continue to have this plan and it continues to work this well.

Thanks for the information. It sounds like Allure might be up on the O3b system now?

I don't know -but if that's something new - my guess is that's what it is. I remember someone posting a week or so back (maybe a little more) that they were on the Allure and there was a day when everyone was given free wifi "to stress test the new system" So that sounds right.

I'm on the Alure right now - not fretting over my minutes. I hadn't seen this plan mentioned but I'm not the most consistent CC RCCL Board reader. But there's a Premium Plus Voyage Plan with unlimited time. Here's the description:

Because DH and I are self employed we always buy a lot of minutes and use them because it's actually more relaxing for us to check in with work 2X a day. Anyway - this IS faster and more consistent than anything we've had on the cruises we've been on.

I'm on my balcony now and the speed is quite good. I just did a test (which I would never even try in the past) and got a consistent 2+Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps up. And did I mention consistent?

Well we did lose connectivity earlier during a really really heavy rainstorm. But that only lasted about 15 minutes.

The plan is for 2 devices and costs $350, with the 10% discount we had it was $315, which I know is more than most people want to spend for internet on vacation. But for those of you who do need or want connectivity - it's about what we would normally pay when we had time limited connections. So I'm happier and even more relaxed.

Also remember that while your brothers might not be turned away, other people have looked forward to a special night with a different ambiance. They've spent time and perhaps money to have that special night and sadly your brothers are part of the ambiance.

So if they can't even wear a tie - please sit at your own table because getting all dressed up for that special night and sharing a table with your brothers would quite frankly harsh my mellow. I would ask to be moved.

Better yet - why not try the buffet or some specialty restaurant or room service that night?

I'm curious how many folks here like to stay connected (i.e. with Internet/email/etc) while away on a cruise vs. how many will detach. I've always detached 100% in the past and likely will again on our upcoming cruise next month, but am curious about others.

 

DH and I are both self employed, and both happily love our work. So we tend to be very connected. I have a private professional practice so staying in touch is pretty important for me. I do email runs morning and night - and on sea days I do one or more mid-day. I can actually relax better knowing that everything is under control.

I also sometimes save projects that keep getting sent to the back burner for cruises. For example, I might write articles for my newsletter - and that often requires I go online to do a little fact checking.

And as I said, I really love what I do so I don't see vacation as a time to "escape" from work so much as escape from cooking, cleaning, routine etc. and a time to be pampered, eat "out" every day without feeling guilty, see new places, do new things etc.

I know people tend to think it's terrible that we work while we're on a cruise, but I personally I think it's pretty cool that we're both lucky enough to love our work and not want to escape it.

OK, I went a little crazy. I don't think I needed the small bags. We use folding luggage because DH is a clothes hound and men's suits just do best in them and they have little compartments at the top on each side, for undies and small things.

But I did buy a set of tubes to put in the spaces between the handle of the BIG boxy rolling bag. And I bought us each a set of medium and large bags (pink for me, blue for DH) and I'll see how it goes.

I really appreciate the responses.

I do think that if we were still doing multi-destination trips (I don't consider 1 cruise to a few ports in the same area multi-destination) I would definitely invest in some cubes to organize the different clothes. A few years back we did NJ in the winter and the Caribbean and it would have been great to have our sweaters and warm stuff in separate cubes which we didn't even open during the cruise.

And I can see if we didn't unpack everything - again it would make sense. But I'm happy unpacking everything (well we leave the rain gear in our suitcase unless needed.

So as of last night I was thinking that for this upcoming cruise... I can't quite justify the cost and I'll stick with my zip lock bags.

BUT I am also intrigued by the possibilities that maybe I haven't thought of. So I'm going to add up the cost of buying a big enough assortment to allow me some flexibility without going too crazy. Because generally I know myself, and if I keep looking at something I know I'll eventually get it - and I might as well order it in time to have it for this cruise... if I'm not too late already.

ACK... I need to check potential delivery dates.

Like Sandy in Spain, I find them useful when we are going to more than one destination. I can pack "outfits" per cube, complete with all the things I'll need for that destination (underwear to jewelry/accessories) without disturbing the things I'll need for another stop. I find this especially useful if there are more than one climates to consider. After the cruise or other long stay, when I'm packing to come home, I'll sort it out by dirty and clean, whites/darks, etc. The bags go into the wash too! (Zipped up, but not in dryer)

I did think this would be great for multiple destinations. But for various reasons our multiple destination trips seems to be diminishing. But I will remember if that changes, And I like the idea of sorting the laundry going home.

good for separating clothes for pre-cruise section so there is no need to rummage through every thing . Also we cross pack in our 2 suitcases, so it mesns we can keep individual cubes for our clothes, which makes unpacking easier.

love my cubes and folders

 

sandy in spain

Cross-packing, this is something I always think about in advance and rarely do. An other good justification.

I think packing cubes are a bit like over-the-door hangers. Some of us just can't imagine why everyone doesn't use them, others see no benefit.

 

I love mine and use my own color coding - when im looking for electronics they are in the light blue one; my meds, toiletries, and other grooming small items are all in the green one. underwear and socks in the dark blue one. - the colors help me find the right stuff and keep drawers organized.

See this is a justification I can ... well justify. I love to color code, and my husband has that genetic issue that some men have where they can look right at a cabinet or refrigerator or shelf and not find anything. But I bet if I said "look for the dark blue cube, he could find that.

I think a feel an addiction brewing.

The caution is if you need to stick with a weight limit. Using any device to allow you to pack more' date=' and possibly going over. And you have to include the extra weight for the cubes too.[/quote']

 

Good point. When I roll my clothes I can pack more in the suitcase and my big bag tends to go over 50 pounds.

 

I use plastic bags for all of our electronics, and meds (one bag reads "bad tummy" another "Colds and Allergies" etc.) gadgets and gizmos. But I've not for my clothes. I may do that if they keep things less wrinkled. But the cubes are so CUTE.

The boss wants to know

 

What's a packing cube

 

Where does she buy them

 

What sizes do they come in?

This is just a teeny tiny peek at the tip of the packing cube iceberg: Amazon packing cube search

Hi everyone

I adore the look of those packing cubes. But I wonder if they are worth it for us.

We are NOT light packers. We carry multiple suitcases and if need be we will take another one, so getting as much into a small space as possible isn't that big a concern.

AND I am a "unpack everything when we arrive" person. I don't like living out of a suitcase.

So I'm not sure what use, other than being cute, the packing cubes would have. But I'd love an excuse to buy some. Does anyone have any ideas as to why they might be useful in our situation?

Pack dressy things in dry cleaner bags - that way things can move without wrinkling. Most dry cleaners will give you a few bags if you ask nicely, or maybe they will charge you $1 for a bunch of them.