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

[helen haywood]

13 hours ago, Ken at the beach said:

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

I have the Wells Fargo Autograph card.  Three points on travel and restaurants…one point on other purchases…no annual fee.

 

https://creditcards.wellsfargo.com/cards/wells-fargo-autograph-visa-credit-cards/?product_code=CC&subproduct_code=MC&sub_channel=SEM&vendor_code=G&Placement_ID=71700000117789761_43700079741526850&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjY64BhCaARIsAIfc7YZdaFAMVyGkXtkC9umqwGNfFyEMo2-OSswS6wTAiKNOtSvEG7HnA94aAnXlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[George C]

2 hours ago, Keksie said:

That is what we do.  First class gets us 2 checked bags plus a carry on and a personal item.  It also means I don't get stuck in the middle seat between my husband who needs an aisle seat with his long legs and creepy guy.  I always seemed to get a seat next to creepy guy.  

Yes if needed I rather travel less and go first class , that also counts on suites at hotel’s and cruise ships. 

[Ken at the beach]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

I have the Wells Fargo Autograph card.  Three points on travel and restaurants…one point on other purchases…no annual fee.

 

https://creditcards.wellsfargo.com/cards/wells-fargo-autograph-visa-credit-cards/?product_code=CC&subproduct_code=MC&sub_channel=SEM&vendor_code=G&Placement_ID=71700000117789761_43700079741526850&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjY64BhCaARIsAIfc7YZdaFAMVyGkXtkC9umqwGNfFyEMo2-OSswS6wTAiKNOtSvEG7HnA94aAnXlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks, that is nice and no annual fee!

[George C]

Good luck to all Florida residents with hurricane coming in Wednesday, I have a brother and family in Ft Myer and we have a cousin just north of ft Myer. My brother had huge damage from a hurricane a couple of years ago. 

[BonTexasNY]

12 hours 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. 

We also prefer Love Field compared to DFW airport.  Closer to us as well.  We've flown SW numerous times and never had a problem. No fee baggage is a definite plus.  I'm happy SW is keeping that benefit.

 

Just read an update that Harmony of the Seas which @firefly333 is on switched from Roatan to Costa Maya.  Wishing safety for all in Milton's path.

[bobmacliberty]

37 minutes ago, George C said:

Good luck to all Florida residents with hurricane coming in Wednesday, I have a brother and family in Ft Myer and we have a cousin just north of ft Myer. My brother had huge damage from a hurricane a couple of years ago. 

 

I really feel for the west coast of Florida.  The storm surge from Helene was already pretty devastating to the coastal areas near Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota.  Several areas that were already severely damaged could see a direct hit from Milton.  Hopefully, we will again just see some tropical storm level winds and 3-5" of rain.  I'm ready for this year's hurricane season to be over.

[DaniDanielle]

Good luck to all you in Florida

[HBE4]

On 10/5/2024 at 7:17 PM, Luckynana said:

Wow!  How do you people do that??  I wish!!

 

I wish I could do it more often! Being a bit of a night owl, I'm rarely in bed before midnight, usually closer to 1-1:30 am. Often times, I will wake up at 6:00 am and usually it's a 50-50 chance that I can fall back sleep for a few more hours.

[HBE4]

On 10/6/2024 at 3:43 AM, brillohead said:

 

Same here ... night shift is the BEST shift. 

 

All this talk about getting up at 5-6am has me baffled... I'm not even in bed yet at that hour most days!

 

Growing up, my father always worked non-traditional shifts, alternating between 4 pm - midnight or midnight to 8 am.  So he was always getting up at 10 pm to start his "day" or getting home at 1 - 2 am at the end of his day. And of course, he'd need a few hours to wind down after work so he'd be going to bed as the sun was coming up. My mother would always wait up for him to make sure he got home safe, then would be up early the next morning to get us kids off to school.  She used to joke that our house was open 24/7, which was pretty much true as there was always someone awake.

 

Pretty sure that's how I developed my poor sleep habits.

Edited 2 hours ago by HBE4

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

Just read an update that Harmony of the Seas which @firefly333 is on switched from Roatan to Costa Maya.  Wishing safety for all in Milton's path.

It would have been difficult reaching Roatan in time I imagine they are going behind the storm. They also  had to return to port last night - possible medical emergency.

[h20skibum]

48 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I really feel for the west coast of Florida.  The storm surge from Helene was already pretty devastating to the coastal areas near Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota.  Several areas that were already severely damaged could see a direct hit from Milton.  Hopefully, we will again just see some tropical storm level winds and 3-5" of rain.  I'm ready for this year's hurricane season to be over.

Some predictions say you may also see a storm surge in your area, depending on the track.

 

Friends in New Port Richey are still doing cleanup, and Milton’s path looks like they will get a direct hit.

[HBE4]

12 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

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!!!!!

 

 

JetBlue baggage fees are even worse. $40 first/ $60 second and that's with the $10 discount for paying 24 hours before flight time. That's during peak travel time, i.e. summer and every major holiday period like 3 weeks in Dec, the entire month of April, etc,  Off-peak is still pretty high at $35/50 with the $10 discount.

 

Like you, I sometimes would use the baggage fees to justify First Class. Recently, I was torn between a $134 Jetblue fare & $320 Delta first class fare*. At first glance, I wasn't going to pay more than double the price until I did the math. $134 + $100 in baggage fee + $89 to get Even More Space seats (7 inches of extra leg room, similar to Delta first class) = $323.  And I haven't even factor in the no middle seat, unlimited beverages including alcohol and "upgraded" food selections that comes with Delta first class.  Even though I was going to just check 1 bag  & bring a carry-on (so JB would be "only" $263), the extra $57 was worth all the perks.

 

*One-way

Edited 1 hour ago by HBE4

[HBE4]

11 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Friends in New Port Richey are still doing cleanup, and Milton’s path looks like they will get a direct hit.

 

Isn't that where our long-lost friend Singinalot moved to?

 

[h20skibum]

3 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Isn't that where our long-lost friend Singinalot moved to?

 

I seem to recall she was in that area, but not sure if she remained there.

[bobmacliberty]

5 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Isn't that where our long-lost friend Singinalot moved to?

 

 

She is in that general area and close to the coast.  Hoping that she is OK.

 

Edit: I'm not sure if she is still there either.

Edited 1 hour ago by bobmacliberty

[TravelGirlinDallas]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

Isn't that where our long-lost friend Singinalot moved to?

 

 

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

I seem to recall she was in that area, but not sure if she remained there.

 

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

She is in that general area and close to the coast.  Hoping that she is OK.

 

Edit: I'm not sure if she is still there either.

She does still live in FL. She mentioned elsewhere that she is evacuating today.

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

I wish I could do it more often! Being a bit of a night owl, I'm rarely in bed before midnight, usually closer to 1-1:30 am. Often times, I will wake up at 6:00 am and usually it's a 50-50 chance that I can fall back sleep for a few more hours.

Get Leonard to come sleep on your chest.

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

It would have been difficult reaching Roatan in time I imagine they are going behind the storm. They also  had to return to port last night - possible medical emergency.

Just checked cruise mapper and they are high in the gulf waiting for the hurricane to pass through.