LeeW

Normally they put your group at the smallest table that will fit. Exception would be if you wanted a larger table.

If you are caught sharing with anyone they cancel your package without refund and make you pay for all drinks obtained up to that point. A one type single drink might never get caught but going to a bar and ordering two different types of drinks close together will get noticed. Although folks with packages will often get a drink to try it, not like it, and return for another drink fairly quickly.

Sky tendered in Loen a week or so ago right next to skylift. Long lines on that. Free buses ran continuously between Olden and the lift parking lot. Olden Adventures did a pickup right at Sky Princess for the Troll Car tour. We booked mid-June for late August visit for non-car tour but once we found out they were picking up at Sky Princess we switched just by sending them an email. Very nice folks to work with. By the way, VERY steep walk up to the the glacier viewing point, with the Troll Car eliminating 90% of that. We had 11 cars booked up (7 people each). Had about an hour after the Troll Car trip back to shop or get food. People trying to get Troll Cars on the spot had two hour waits.

A bit of a mob scene for train loading but we had lots of folks with walkers and canes last week. Tour groups (like Princess) get reserved sections of train cars. Recommend you sit facing forward on right side of train, although lots of folks swap sides at the top so they can get a different view on the way back. The "Train on your own" stops a few times for photos up and back. The "waffle" takes one train up, goes to restaurant, and takes a different train down (and cost $40 more). It is also possible to book the train directly - didn't try that.

DW makes ours out of felt. Sometimes hung on magnet, sometimes magnets sewn in. Had one stolen by kids down hall that wasn't personalized, so now they all have our names on it. Last one was the "Troll Road" sign (although the real sign is so covered with stickers you can't read it).

On Sky the light would nail you when you headed for the bathroom at night. If you were hanging things up in the closet or putting items in the wardrobe it would go off after a few seconds. Painters tape disabled it, although turning off the bed lights turned it on for about 20 seconds.

Door unlocked when DW was 4 doors away from cabin. Door recognized me and would hang in "authorizing" for up to a minute, even when touched to the pad. Didn't even try ordering anything this trip - last trip it would always say it didn't recognize my location and with the new charge for ordering wasn't worth the time. Saw very few food deliveries from the grill, either.

If two people watch on app, it only credits the one logged in. Didn't seem to matter that DW never got credit for watching before we sailed. The critical part is checkin at the muster station.

If you actually are assigned a cabin early then Royal Up should open up for that new category. Might take a few days after the official assignment.

Problem I have had is that the search screen on the Royal website defaults to North American departures and Puerto Rico is Caribbean. If you switch to that region it shows up. Or use a travel agent web site to identify the cruises/timeframe you need.

Normally this is in Studio B (ice rink). Doesn't list it on Royal website but could easily be done. Kind of depends on whether they are willing/able to cover the ice. Might not show up until you are onboard.

Do you feel you need extra insurance while traveling in US? Basically the entire cruise is in US. However you might need transport home. If you had to leave the ship Princess might pay to send you to an Alaskan hospital which is likely already in your Medicare network. Check the Platinum policy to see if it repatriates you home.

Your guess is more likely - sea lice are kind of like mosquito bites so not likely to bleed unless scratched. I have pulled broken bottles out of the water in that area. Not common, though.

In addition to no big ships, Tampa has a fair problem with fog. Depends on time of year, of course. Pier is within walking distance of a couple of hotels, including Embassy.

Strapped mine to chest but angle of body during descent mostly picked up the sky. You might want to strap to helmet.

Pacific Island boards have a ton of suggestions. Unfortunately our trip got cancelled and we haven't booked another since shutdown. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/62-pacific-islands-all/

There is a large fresh water lagoon there, although they don't have any innertubes. We do use a couple of inflatable noodles although for the most part it is around 3-4' deep. Just make sure you either turn in your towel or bring it back to the ship. They charge $25 if you don't.

If you book through the cruise line it will include transfers unless you specifically request not to. Note that the cruise line charges roughly the room rack rate per person, so for two expect to pay double the rack rate. They can easily afford the costs of transfers.

You should be able to book quite a bit once you connect to the onboard wifi system. Only regular shows, aquatheater and ice shows have booking. Trivia and games do not - first come first get seats. You can get onboard pretty much anytime (arrival time typically isn't used any more) once the ship opens for boarding. Likely just one line for everyone plus a suite line. Drop bags and get in line whenever you get there. You may be able to connect to the ship wifi while in line. Or not. When you get onboard head for whatever dining room is open for lunch. The host/hostess should be able to change your dining. They also usually have a team doing dining changes - check the app or a printed copy of the schedule from Guest Services for time and location. Likely in a dining room around 1 PM.

Yup. A dining room will be open when you board (assuming it isn't late in the boarding process) and the host can move times for you. We do this often when we can't get an earlier time. Have never been able to get modify links in purchases to work.

Not sure introducing friends to cruising is a favor. It gets very expensive once you get hooked. Even DIL and grandaugher with vertigo issues are now hooked. The real advantage of having you around is showing them what they can do and experience.

Apparently Kona isn't an option due to the Ironman there but at least they could have done scenic cruising around the islands. Victoria and Seattle are useless for this itinerary. More interesting is how they will handle immigration. Normally you go through US immigration in Canada Place before sailing and emailed notices indicate that once you get on the ship you can't get off. But next port is now Victoria, so US immigration in Vancouver is a waste of time. I expect that everyone on the ship will have to go through immigration again for the Seattle port stop.

Have seen high wire artists use these to get to the stage area.

Haven't considered the homes (Colorado has better weather and fewer bugs) and we get a ton of cruising in. Would likely do a bunch more if we lived where you are going. You can take advantage of the last minute deals from both ports! Let us know how it works out.

The bid page does show a bar of bids from minimum to maximum. Max bid can easily be more than cost of upgrading by phone or TA. Minimum doesn't show unless you move the slider a bit and can be as low as $40. Even a max bid doesn't guarantee you will get an upgrade.