Russell in MD

We have sailed on Ruby twice and never felt crowded. Same for Crown. We are going on Enchanted P and Im trying to not set myself up for a disappointment with balcony size and the number of people. I specifically chose Ruby out of SF to AK in 2025 to go under the bridge and see Alcatraz. Im glad to read so many recommendations for this reason. R

We have been on Ruby twice and Crown once. We just booked Ruby to AK Aug 2025. We have the same corner aft on Ruby as we did the last two times. They can build all the monster ships they want but give me one of those corner aft balcony's any day. R

My cruise wouldnt be complete if I didnt spend some time on the balcony with a bucket of beer and a book on a sea day. I like books. No electricity needed. I spend way too many hours a week looking at a monitor. In my neck of the woods we have Ollies Outlet stores and they have a huge selection of hardback and paperback books cheap, like $6 for a hardback. They are the ones that were front of the shelf at the usual bookstores and they needed to move them to make room. Most everyone has a sharpy mark from culling. I may snag one or two for later donation on the next cruise. I take and cut off the corner of an envelope and that makes an awesome bookmark. A little sharpy action on the edge to give it some color if white. I really need to find time to read more. R

Ive done this once and honestly I consider my self lucky to have pulled it off. The crush of stuff to be scanned on embarkation day is certain to limit securities attention to things that pose a real danger like electrical items that could cause a fire or weapons. That being said a bottle that looks like a liquor bottle will certainly draw attention. Getting back on from an island visit they certainly have more time to look more closely at things. R

The only container I trust with liquid in a checked bag is narrow mouth nalgene bottles. For sure some ports are worse than others and dont have all your eggs in one basket.😉 They dont stock my favorite gin and Ive never been able to get a decent martini on any cruise. And it would be warm by the time I walked back to my cabin to enjoy on the balcony. I have a mid size (one size up from lunch pale ~16 qt) hard sided cooler with a handle that I use as a carry-on. The very first time I meet the cabin steward I tip him $20 to keep it loaded with ice everyday. The fridges in the cabins never get cold enough. Bottle water and soda cans I bring on (I drink Dr P instead of coffee in the morn) along with leftover beer from beer buckets go in it. We enjoy our balconies so there is the hassle part of going back and forth to the bars while engaging in this. Even then I pay my share for sure. We are sailing with the plus package next time tho so we shall see.... R

The only thing we do on the web is to check email in the morning then off to do whatever. We do print out our SW boarding passes the bay before disembarkation. I think I still have a dot matrix printout of the AP news headlines from my first cruise. Thats how you got information back then. Three channels on the TV I think looping movies. A spicy channel if you wanted to upgrade.😁 R

I have googled the ship and cabin number and was able to find the pictures of cabins that way. It is like a backdoor. R

I absolutely hate people who do this any time, let alone on a cruise. R

I have done this multiple times. I pack a small roll of packing tape and hit the store the day of embarkation. Then I tape up the weak places and make a luggage handle on a 12 pack then write the cabin number on it and check it with my other bags. R

As far as surge protectors we use one of these. Small with a short tail. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/koppla-3-outlet-power-strip-grounded-white-00086428/ Id use blue painters tape on the sensors to be nice to your cabin steward.😉 I personally always bring my own cold medicine, Alka Seltzer Plus is the only thing that works for me. It has sucked when I came down with a cold on the cruise and they only had one kind in the ship store and had to go looking in an island. Another med must have is mole skin in case your feet start to get rubbed up. A couple clips like they sell for chip bags is good for weighing down a pesky shower curtain that wants to stick to you and also for closing up that crack in the drapes when you are trying to sleep in. If your near a dollar tree... https://www.dollartree.com/blue-light-led-night-lights/195860 These are the bomb for any kind of traveling and are dirt cheap and take up no space. Post it notes if no one has mentioned it. R