Steppy08

We just got off Mariner on Monday. We had a GS (the RoyalUp fairy paid a visit). loved the suite, the balcony, and all the little concierge services but especially the suite lounge happy hour. It was empty most of the time. As much as l loved the GS, it would not have been worth it for the full fare difference in a JS. Although we almost drank the difference in prices in the suite lounge! id book the JS and see if a Royal Up offer comes along.

I would be very tempted to upgrade to a balcony for Alaska. We practically lived on our balcony for our Alaska cruise. Avoided the crowded public areas while sailing Glacier Bay, had breakfast lunch and dinner out there one day

Just got off Mariner yesterday and did the Tulum Ruins (and the cenotes). There were at least 3-4 variations of the Tulum tour that included a beach break, just Tulum, or the one we did. We’ve done many tours both with the cruise lines and on our own. Given the time frame we would never do this one on our own. We were the first group off the ship at 7am and the last group onboard at 4:40 (all aboard was 4:30). Royal arranged for the fast ferry to come right to the dock (as opposed to taking a bus to the other dock in Cozumel where the ferry normally goes) 45 minutes on the ferry, about 45 minutes drive to Tulum. We had about 2.5 hours in Tulum, about 1 hour was guided and the rest time to wander around. They provided snacks and a bottle of water. The ruins looked to be in the same condition they were in 2005 I guess? That’s the last time I was there. I thought it was a good tour and worth the cost. We enjoyed Tulum (my husband had never been before) and loved the cenotes as a refreshing end of the tour.

I had my known traveler number at the conclusion of the interview and the Global Entry Card within a week or two.

I got conditional approval within days (I applied February of 2022) but scheduling the interview took almost a year. I was hoping to do it at my home airport (PIT) and after months of waiting for open appointments I made one in Cleveland for January 2023 and drove 2 hours. For a 5 minute interview. 🙄 At least its done and now my husband and i both have it (and TSA pre-check!)

I feel like our crew member was new or didn’t know what to do… they are absolutely supposed to go over the life jacket wearing and when to assemble at the muster station and he did none of that, and obviously didn’t correctly check us off! This was our third cruise since the restart and the previous two did their safety spiels for muster. we sit there and complain about the people who still haven’t done theirs at 4pm when technically it was us! 🤣

We did the same. Our muster station was literally at the aft end of the Royal Promenade and on our way to everything, so it was the first thing we did on the ship. The crew member scanned our SeaPass (digital) and said “okay!” I was like, um, “don’t you need to give us the spiel and life jacket talk?” He said no. We thought we were done. later that night we get a letter in our stateroom saying we missed the drill and please go to the lounge for a makeup drill at 7pm. (We got this letter at 7:30pm) I was mad bc it’s literally the first thing we did. Somehow we didn’t get checked off. 🙄

Mine was validated right away, my husband’s (same booking etc) took until a few days before boarding.

Very cool! Were the teacups given away or purchased? I honestly don’t remember them giving you an option to NOT get the souvenir glasses at first. We ended up with so many of them. I was also underage and not paying for any of it so I didn’t pay attention. (This was also back when you could drink on the ships at 18 and no one really checked IDs to begin with)

To each their own. it’s still a gorgeous island, even if they have a money grubbing government. my 70 year old mother wanted to see it so we still went.

There’s a reason it’s one of the most expensive places in the world to live. That and their government is 1) pretty corrupt and 2) trying to recoup 2 years of pandemic loses especially w their new airport

I was on the Enchantment June 24 6 nt Bermuda. The service was good but they were short staffed ESPECIALLY in the bars. One bartender and one waiter for a crowded bar. MTD always had a line, even w reservations we waited every night. Not long but it was a bottleneck. Enchantment was nice, but not the same level of product or quality as on the bigger ships. And I’m not talking about entertainment options or all the crazy extras. The food and service was just better on the Allure two weeks after my enchantment cruise.

Just off Allure to both these ports. We were the only ship in Aruba, and Mariner was docked with us in Curaçao Both port areas seemed congested but honestly the only places that seemed overrun with tourists were the obvious tourist areas (the lighthouse in Aruba, the caves in Curaçao). Both ports were able to handle the amount of people. They even built a giant pier in curaçao to handle the big ships. We did not do beach things at either port, we toured the islands. Loved both ports, especially Curaçao

I bet Bermuda will drop the negative test requirement but they won’t drop the $40 “travel authorisation” form. 💰

Any of the testing sites will walk you directly through it on their website or app. You don’t need to open up a separate window or Zoom or anything. It’s pretty easy. You just need good Wi-Fi. They will email you results. You can screen shot it or print it out and have a hard copy for check in.

Remember getting loads of souvenir glasses on ships? I’ve kept only two since my mom downsized and made an Aruba Ariba today using the one from my first cruise ever.

I haven’t sailed MSC since 2016, but I found their food very comparable to the other lines, perhaps a bit better in some areas. The cheese selection on board was something I still talk about. I ate so much cheese that week. 😂 the one thing I was disappointed in was the pasta. I guess I was expecting it to be better since, you know, they are Italian and European. It was mediocre. That was of course in the main dining room so the speciality restaurants may be better.

Just off Allure last Sunday and it was decent. Weirdly sometimes it was better in our cabin than in public areas. WAY faster than the internet on Enchantment. Either because it’s a newer ship or because the amount of ships in the Caribbean means there’s way better satellite connections than out to Bermuda.

The Aqua show was good. It seemed like it hadn’t changed much, if at all, from 2013. We didn’t really notice any lack of activities, but then again we don’t really participate too much in the organized stuff. Only airport/airline related trivia which was apparently in port at Curaçao. I actually thought the Indian food on Enchantment in the WJ was far better and better variety than what we saw on Allure. did not try the jerk chicken, we ate at Johnny Rocket’s the last lunch (it was kind a disappointing too so bummer). Mama Mia was well performed. But IMO both it and Cats are terrible shows. But hubby and I are both musicians so we are picky about such things.

Husband handles this card and most of our travel stuff… I think it’s the reserve? I thought the yearly fee was $350. You get a credit back if you spend at least $300 on travel during the year, so it’s a no brainer.

Please don’t encourage my husband. I took my mom on a cruise so I’m 6 points ahead of him. He’s already got eyes on a 3 day cruise by himself to catch up since I told him I wouldn’t share my Diamond status unless he behaves. 😂

We’re sitting at 71 points right now and planning (hopefully) a 12 day arctic cruise next summer. it is cheaper for us to do a jr suite on Grandeur for a cheap 5 night to get to Diamond than it is to get the drink package next summer. We’re all about fiscal responsibility.

I believe it’s on all the cruises. We saw it last week. it was really well executed with a great cast and orchestra. The show itself? At least it wasn’t Cats. 😂

We also have the Chase Sapphire for travel. It’s paid many hotels and flights for cruises and what not with miles. It also has no international fee and gets us into the priority lounges in airports.

Is it too late for me to fly to Alaska and stow away???? 😂 we are looking at Arctic circle for next year!