sparks1093

Since the passport office has to recoup the cost of producing the passports from the fees that they charge (that includes salaries and all other overhead) one can only expect the cost to continue to rise.

I suppose it can't hurt to have a new one, but the only requirement is that the birth certificate be issued by a government entity (not necessarily the state, we used a birth certificate issued by our town clerk on plain paper for one of our sons). As I mentioned, when applying for a passport the requirement is different.

Whether or not the casino is open is also controlled by local law and I believe Bahamian law dictates that the casino be closed.

Ah, I was going by the "22 pcs" that was written on each bag, didn't realize it was the total for the two bags. By the time you pay for the washing, drying, and laundry soap (unless you bring your own) you are pretty close to the $15 the bag costs to do. Factor in the convenience of not having to go and switch the laundry and otherwise babysit it and it is well worth it.

"They" is a very nebulous term. If it is a phone rep they can only go by their script and even they are ignorant of requirements. A government issued photo ID and a birth certificate are sufficient for a US citizen on a closed loop cruise. They might have been talking about a REAL ID compliant license, but even that isn't a requirement for a closed loop cruise. (And as mentioned California does not issue EDLs, only 5 northern states do.)

Now that DW and I will be flying to the cruise port it makes sense to fly to a place where there are more cruise choices instead of flying to a port in the Northeast (both in terms of itinerary and cruise line). In the past we've always booked our cruises a year or more in advance, but now I am thinking that we might want to re-think that strategy going forward. Basically what we would do is decide when we want to cruise and from which port (or group of ports, such as Florida) and then book the cruise inside of the 90 day window when many cruise lines will be trying to fill ships and be offering more attractive deals. We do realize that we would need to pay for the cruise in full at booking but that won't be a problem. What I am looking for are any pitfalls that we may face (we realize that on some itineraries that our preferred cabin type may not be available, for instance) because I know we won't think of everything and, if you've used this method of booking, how it worked for you.

Special thanks to Mysticks1 on the Celebrity Cruises forum for this idea. I would like to begin to assemble one for CCL. To the moderators, I would appreciate if we could make this a "sticky" at the top of the page for all to see. I have seen this on other forums also and it seems to be useful. Please, refrain from posting cabin questions here so this can purely be an informative thread, especially for those that are first time cruisers or seasoned cruisers looking for a great cabin. The template is as follows: Ship - Deck - Stateroom # - Stateroom Category – Starboard or Port Side - Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Was wind a problem? - If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - Any specific problems with this cabin? - Any other comments? -