Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Cheers friends 🍻  From Emma and I.

 

Enjoying and unseasonably warm day (about 88 Degrees ) today.

 

 Having a pre game beverage.  Steelers play the Cowgirls (as @George C would say!)   tonight.  Here We Go!!

 

 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Having a pre game beverage

And a fine one that it is! Cheers!!

[Sunshine3601]

30 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 

I use an Amex Gold card and never considered what insurance it might provide.  I just looked and it covers rental cars and lost luggage (if the full fare is charged to the card).  Not enough to replace separate travel insurance.

Just a FYI, The Amex Platinum card covers a lot more than the Gold card.   

 

[Ocean Boy]

7 hours ago, h20skibum said:

The email I got from SW said they would start selling seat assignments in the second half of 2025, for flights the first half of 2026.

SELLING seat assignments? I knew it.🙄

[Ken at the beach]

Does anyone know of a credit card that does any better than 3x points on all travel purchases?  

[jmh2006]

6 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

A few pictures from our time in Michigan. We visited Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Fishtown and took the ferry to Mackinac Island. Along the way we had great meals, visited wineries, enjoyed beautiful scenery, shopped a little and shared many laughs.  
It was a truly wonderful trip.  
 

 

Dunes along Lake Michigan

 

Andy putting his feet in Lake Michigan

 

Wine flights and pumpkin smashes.

 

Fishtown

 

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

 

And a couple of lighthouses for @Ocean Boy

 

It truly was a wonderful time together!  Dave and I are so thankful the weather cooperated for us and we can't wait for more shenanigans and laughs on Bella 2!

[George C]

1 hour ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Cheers friends 🍻  From Emma and I.

 

Enjoying and unseasonably warm day (about 88 Degrees ) today.

 

 Having a pre game beverage.  Steelers play the Cowgirls (as @George C would say!)   tonight.  Here We Go!!

 

 

I am rooting for the Stealers , I root for anybody who plays against Dallas. I am lucky Buffalo Bills play in a weak division.

[Momof3gurlz]

2 hours ago, maggieq said:

@bobmacliberty @Momof3gurlz  have you ever used up the credit card you purchased your cruises with? Most of them state they cover travel issues.  

We have Chase Sapphire which has the following travel insurance provided you use that card to pay for the entire trip cost:

 

20 minutes ago, Ken at the beach said:

Does anyone know of a credit card that does any better than 3x points on all travel purchases?  

The Chase Sapphire gives 5X points. The hook is, to get the 5X, you have to book through their travel portal which may or may not have the best prices.  Other travel purchases earn 3X.  

[h20skibum]

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

SELLING seat assignments? I knew it.🙄

Yeah, if you are happy with that middle seat at the back of the plane, you are ok.  Otherwise……………………….

 

This is part of what was in the email. 
 

———————————-    
 

Dear Mark, 

 

We recently announced changes that will enhance your flying experience with us and hinted at more news to come. Today, we’re sharing details about our transformational journey to becoming an Even Better Southwest®. 

 

While there are a lot of changes ahead, our 53-year-old core values of flexibility, transparency, and Hospitality are stronger than ever. In that spirit, I’m happy to announce what’s changing and what’s not.

 

Bags fly free®1 is here to stay.

You love Bags fly free,1 and we’re keeping our industry-leading policy. Every ticket with us comes with two free checked bags. 

 

NEW: Assigned seats for an elevated cabin experience. 

For your comfort, we’re introducing seat assignments with different options based on the experience you prefer. Our lowest fare offer will still come with two free checked bags, no change2 or cancel fees,3 travel credits that never expire, and a seat will be assigned to you prior to your day of travel. If you prefer to select your seat when you book your flight, including seats with extra legroom, you will have a few options to purchase these benefits. 
 

Our boarding process will be similar to what it is today–we will board in order, preserving our fast boarding process to get you on your way as quickly as possible. We will begin selling flights with seat assignments in the second half of 2025 for travel in the first half of 2026.

[h20skibum]

Found some giant puffball mushrooms on our walk today. 

 

So, time to make a mushroom man.  Would this be rushing the season?

 

 

 

[Ken at the beach]

11 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We have Chase Sapphire which has the following travel insurance provided you use that card to pay for the entire trip cost:

 

The Chase Sapphire gives 5X points. The hook is, to get the 5X, you have to book through their travel portal which may or may not have the best prices.  Other travel purchases earn 3X.  

Thsts the best I've seen for insurance.  The 5x is nice but wouldn't work for me as it wouldn't be through their portal.  Right now I'm looking at the Amex green thst has 3x points on travel and a relatively low $150 annual fee

[Keksie]

19 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Yeah, if you are happy with that middle seat at the back of the plane, you are ok.  Otherwise……………………….

 

This is part of what was in the email. 
 

———————————-    
 

Dear Mark, 

 

We recently announced changes that will enhance your flying experience with us and hinted at more news to come. Today, we’re sharing details about our transformational journey to becoming an Even Better Southwest®. 

 

While there are a lot of changes ahead, our 53-year-old core values of flexibility, transparency, and Hospitality are stronger than ever. In that spirit, I’m happy to announce what’s changing and what’s not.

 

Bags fly free®1 is here to stay.

You love Bags fly free,1 and we’re keeping our industry-leading policy. Every ticket with us comes with two free checked bags. 

 

NEW: Assigned seats for an elevated cabin experience. 

For your comfort, we’re introducing seat assignments with different options based on the experience you prefer. Our lowest fare offer will still come with two free checked bags, no change2 or cancel fees,3 travel credits that never expire, and a seat will be assigned to you prior to your day of travel. If you prefer to select your seat when you book your flight, including seats with extra legroom, you will have a few options to purchase these benefits. 
 

Our boarding process will be similar to what it is today–we will board in order, preserving our fast boarding process to get you on your way as quickly as possible. We will begin selling flights with seat assignments in the second half of 2025 for travel in the first half of 2026.

Still a hard pass for me.  

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

SELLING seat assignments? I knew it.🙄

Yup.  I think they all charge.  We don't fly often, but we flew American to Phoenix, United back from Phoenix, and just booked Jetblue to Florida and paid for the seats we wished to sit in.  United even charged us $35 for our carry-on, which they didn't allow us to carry on, but had to be checked.  🤨

[bobmacliberty]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Just a FYI, The Amex Platinum card covers a lot more than the Gold card.   

 

I consider the Platinum card every year when they send the invite. It offers a LOT of benefits. I don’t think that I could add up enough benefits though to cover the very high annual fee. 

[Sea Dog]

47 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

in.  United even charged us $35 for our carry-on, which they didn't allow us to carry on, but had to be checked.  🤨

 That’s highway robbery.

[cruiselvr04]

Not really happy about the changes with SW.  However Dallas Love airport is about half the distance to drive for us rather than DFW. Love is SW and some Delta. Plus as I’m not a light packer so bags free is a big deal for me. TBD if the new changes will work for us.  If other airlines are cheaper we’ll be changing. Right now we’re booked with SW through April. 
 

Coach is fine for us on domestic flights. Rare for us to have more than a 3 hour flight from here. 

Edited 6 hours ago by cruiselvr04

[c-leg5]

On 10/5/2024 at 5:45 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

Steve doesn’t recommend Allianz.

Allianz in particular? Does he offer any annual plans?

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Not really happy about the changes with SW.  However Dallas Love airport is about half the distance to drive for us rather than DFW. Love is SW and some Delta. Plus as I’m not a light packer so bags free is a big deal for me. TBD if the new changes will work for us.  If other airlines are cheaper we’ll be changing. Right now we’re booked with SW through April. 
 

Coach is fine for us on domestic flights. Rare for us to have more than a 3 hour flight from here. 

 

By the time you add the baggage fees, I'm guessing SW will still be cheaper, even with the assigned seats.  For example, domestic flights with Delta charge $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second checked bag, which is an additional $160 round trip if you use both bags.  

With United, it's $40 and $50 for the first and second checked bag, but you can save $5 each if you pay for the bags in advance -- also $160 if paid in advance. 

With American, it's $40 and $45 for the first and second checked bag, but you can save $5 off the first one if you pay for the bags in advance -- also $160 if paid in advance. 

Since I'm going for a B2B next weekend and will likely end up with two checked bags, I used the $160 in baggage fees as my justification for going First Class -- when adding two bags to a Main Cabin fare, it was only an extra $65 to bump it up to First Class (which includes two bags up to 70 pounds each... and I tend to over pack).  Anyone who has ever flown First Class knows that for a three hour flight, it's totally worth an extra $65!!!!!

 

[aussielozzie18]

Good evening.  It’s been a beautiful day in Sydney.  
 

Dogs of Pittwater living their best life.

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

We did a 10km loop from the trailhead of The  Basin walk.  Early on we came across a beautiful Waratah on the side of the track.

 

 

This how the rangers attempt to prevent them being picked

 

The paint them blue.

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

We hiked down to an area overlooking the water for morning tea.

 

 

From here, we hiked back up to the main trail, then found an unmarked trail down to the waters edge, following along the water, doing a water crossing to Bonnie Doon Ferry Wharf.

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

Waited at the Bonnie Doon Ferry Wharf for 10mins.  Tables inside to sit out of the sun.

 

View from inside

 

Our ferry

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

Our lunch spot at The Basin.

 

View of The Basin from our trail on the other side.

 

Popular shallow & netted spot for swimming for families.
 

Also, a popular spot for boaties to visit for the day.

 

 

And very popular spot for camping.  Rather than hike in, you can catch the ferry with all your gear from Palm Beach.

 

Lots of lace monitors and wallabies at sunset and sunrise.

 

After relaxing at The Basin for a hour or two, it was time to hike back up to our car.

 

On the The Basin walk, there are Aboriginal carvings to see.  Lots of carvings of Wallabies and other figures.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 19 minutes ago by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

If anyone is interested, this is the walk we did:

 

Parked at trailhead of The Basin walk (9) walked 2.5km along the road (early when it was just cyclists on the road) to the Bairne Trailhead (1) then walked down the Bairne Trail to  (3) walked down the Soldiers Point track to the lookout.  Then back up to (5) then through an overgrown bush track all the way down to the water and around to (6) and ferry to (7) The Basin then back uphill to (8) Aboriginal site and finally to car at (9).  DH and I got home and promptly fell asleep for 2hrs!

 

 

 

 

For overseas visitors who wantto visit The Basin and beautiful Pittwater, they  can catch a bus from the city to Palm Beach Ferry Wharf and there is a ferry that takes you to The Basin and you can catch a return ferry an hour or two later.