Charles4515

That is because they are not rules. They are dress suggestions. I don’t really care. Not my problem how other passengers dress.

I have had tablemates a couple of times who I didn't know were wearing shorts until they stood up. That made me realize it didn't matter. I am not going to look under the table to see what either men or women are wearing. That said I have seen men in shorts turned away. So if people go with shorts they should understand they might be turned away and not get mad if the host or hostess turns them away. No shorts is not kept secret. There are signs at the entrance to the MDR.

Take taxis to avoid waiting around. You can also take the ferry. There is a free tram that circles around the Dockyard. At Horseshoe Bay which you can take a taxi to they will drop off close to the beach. Don't take the public bus there as it is down a long hill that buses can't go down but taxis and the minibus shuttles can. They also have beach wheelchairs at Horseshoe.

It would be solved if passports were required but they are not required. We have to live with reality that you can cruise with a birth certificate on most closed loop cruises. If passports were required on all cruises we would be arguing about 6 months left and people here would be spreading FUD about that.

If you just take a taxi to the caves from the Dockyard it is going to be expensive. With the new fares at least $70 plus tip each way. The caves are not worth the expense in my opinion. I am a believer in taxi but only combined with the ferries. I never had a problem getting to the caves area combining a ferry $5 with a taxi from St. George. Probable about $25 for the taxi now.

Declaring on the form is the key. They probably won't be interested in looking at itvif it is prepackaged.

Same here. I don't pack jeans, Khakis or Dockers. I pack Prana brand which are made of a technical fabric which has sun protection, good for hikes and sightseeing. They have jean style and chino style but I wear the five pocket Brion pants, have for years and they look good and are accepted. A bonus is they don't wrinkle. I wear long in the evening and shorts during the day. They are very comfortable.

On the customs form say yes to the question if you are bringing back food. They might ask you what you are bringing back. They might want to look at it. They might not. What you don’t want is to be inspected and they find something prohibited and you declared no. If it turns out to be prohibited and you declared yes you will be okay, confiscate the item is all because you are not expected to be an expert. It can be complicated. For example I bought spices in Turkey but since they were vacuum packed they passed them through. If you don’t declare you could be fined if it is a prohibited item.

I can’t wait until Real ID goes into effect and people who decided not to go to the DMV or pay an extra fee arrive at an airport and are not allowed to fly. In my last two states US citizens have to get Real ID but many states it is not mandatory. (kind of bizarre too that if you have Real ID in one state and move you have to provide proof again) There might be chaos or the TSA might have to allow those people on the planes anyway.

I have a different spin than the previous post. Americans are traditionally opposed to national identity papers. For historical, political and some for religious reasons. Some believe it is authoritarian. That is one reason our social security cards can’t be used as ID. After 9/11 many lawmakers believed a secure form of ID was needed for US citizens but would not have been able to establish a national ID card for the reasons I stated so they came up with Real ID as a stealth way to do it. Real ID has been resisted and delayed for the above mentioned reasons as it had to be implemented by each state and some did nothing for years so to this day it has not gone into effect although it looks like it might actually happen in 2025. A Real ID is not mandatory to drive in all states so right there it is two classes of license. Real ID is domestic, it has nothing to do with crossing borders. It is not recognized as meaning anything outside the US. The EDL is like a passport combined with a DL although can’t fly internationally with it as ID. It is meant to facilitate land an sea border crossings. It exists basically for trade, like for truck drivers etc. although any resident of the five states that issue them can pay extra for one. Some Canadian provinces used to issue them too but they stopped. Only a limited number of countries in the western hemisphere recognize it. So the Real ID is for secure identity and the EDL has a passport type function. Since Real ID, EDL, Passport Cards and Passport Books could require Birth Certificates that causes confusion.

The secret balconies did exist. I watched aqua shows on them. I believe during refits they were turned into cabins.

It is not usually pretty rough. Been on a couple of somewhat rough sailings. March tends to be a time of year of rough seas in the Atlantic. There never used to be much Bermuda cruise activity in March except Trans Atlantics that had a stop that was often missed because of high winds but NCL has added a number of winter sailings. I have noticed that a larger percentage of February and March sailings are cancelled because of high winds ( can’t dock) than other times of year. September is hurricane season so rough seas might be encountered as a byproduct. I have been on sailings with very calm sea in June, July and August. I have also encountered rough seas in other parts of the world like the Caribbean. I would suggest not booking Bermuda in the winter. I never have and over done over 15 sailings with only had a few so what rough sailings. Disclaimer, I don’t get sea sick.

I never took a bus after they started the shuttles so I don’t know how crowded they are now. It would be up to the driver whether to let you bring all that stuff. The shuttles are convenient, right off the dock. They are packed though. 24 years ago I easily walked up the hill but not sure about now. 😀 The last few years we don’t take a shuttle or bus, we take a taxi.

Going down the hill is not a problem. It is going up. The bus fare is $5 exact change to Horseshoe Bay as the fare is 14 zone to Horseshoe. However depending on when you will be there a digital fare app coming, Shorelink. Right now projected July 8 so it might be available for you. The drivers are currently undergoing training on the app. The bus stop is across from the entrance to Clocktower Mall. You would need to take the #7. As for a bag on the shuttles I always have a beach bag. I don’t if there is space for a cooler.

Amazon has them on a pre prime day sale right now. 20% off for a 4 pack. The single price is also discounted.

On a round trip out of Seattle with only one Canadian port I can see why some might skip a passport. If there is an emergency they could probably wait until the next port which will be a US port if they don’t have a passport. They might wait anyway even if the passenger has a passport.

Allure is like Harmony and Escape is like Getaway so you would have a good idea what they are like. Choose whichever ship you would enjoy. I would not worry about the adult children. They will find late night stuff on either.

That is your opinion not backed by facts. It is legitimate to take some closed loop cruises without a passport, with birth certificate and DL. Whatever reasons Oceana and Regent don’t allow that are irrelevant and we can only guess. The key thing is that whatever cruise people take they need to find out and follow the document requirements.

A very small segments of the cruise industry. It is irrelevant. They don’t do many closed loop cruises.

You are exaggerating. You and some others just hate that there is an exception to having a passport. The CBP and cruise line have personal and procedures in place or they would never allow the birth certificate as a valid document. They are prepared for that and of course they make it happen.

I would not travel on those cruises without a passport but the odds of that happening are pretty low. When the government made the rules that allowed using a birth certificate on closed close loop cruise they did an analysis and concluded that there wouldn’t be major problems and there have not been. Most problems are that people can’t get on the ship because they didn’t bring the right document. I wouldn’t want the hassle but people do get through it if they have an emergency.

I advise friends and family to get passports because I think travel will broaden their life and experiences but some are not interested. Many can’t for one reason or another. It seems arrogant to demand one size fits all. I am not talking about you but some posters on the board sound arrogant and elitist.

Is Celebrity on the stock exchange? RCI? Those are just brands. The company is Royal Caribbean Group. The allocation of ships and berths to the brands can be adjusted to market conditions. The investors who own the company only care about RCG profits.

Americans have the option of taking some cruises without passports. When you have options you have choices. It is understandable that some will make that choice. Since it is a legal choice they are doing nothing wrong. You don’t understand the reason because you don’t have a choice. If Canadians had a choice I have no doubt they would be just like Americans.

True but now that I am D+ on RC by reciprocity I would still rather book on Celebrity.