denamo

So glad to have found this information via a search.  This was extremely helpful.

2 hours ago, Outerdog said:

That is not a closed-loop cruise. Open-jaw is the term commonly used. You will require a passport.

 

The validity period (the 6 month rule) is entirely dependent on the countries your ship will visit, whether or not you intend to disembark the ship in that port.  

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html

 

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/complete-guide-to-the-six-month-passport-validity-rule/#

 

Thanks for the clarification of closed loop vs open-jaw.  Thanks for the links. 

25 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

What countries are you visiting?  And what passport do you hold? (I'm assuming US, as you've mentioned birth certificate, etc for travel - but double checking).

The vast majority of Caribbean countries only require a passport to be valid for duration of stay, and - assuming US citizens - your passport only has to be valid at entry to US (and even then, there's special circumstances if it were expired).

So - in reality - it varies.  There's no blanket 6 months rule. That's a suggestion by travel advisors, but doesn't apply in many, many cases - and Princess doesn't have a blanket 6 months rule either - it depends on the itinerary..

 

 

reedprincess,

Yes we are US citizens.  Going to Mexico, Aruba, Antigua, Curacao, and Tortola.  

Thanks for the info.

Know that on a closed loop Caribbean cruise, an "official" birth certificate can be used.  We'll be on the Regal in March leaving Galveston and heading to Fort Lauderdale.  Is this considered a closed loop since not returning to the same port?

We have passports that will be cutting it close to the six months needed to use for this cruise. Have always read six months prior to passport expiring were needed.  Not sure if we have to meet the six month requirement for each port or just from the day we embark.

Thanks for any information.

Was looking for this exact topic. Several cruises ago, just one of us booked specialty dining and then used the BOGO (before the cruise pause).  Specialty restaurants still allowing to book this way?

6 hours ago, toxicfairy said:

Just a heads up. Back when hurricane Harvey hit Galveston we were were set to cruise. I called the day before RCL said it was a go. We changed our flight to get there earlier ( turned out to be the last flight allowed to land). Royal kept telling us the cruise was still a go. Sunday they said it was delayed but still a go. Monday night they finally canceled after the port was officially closed. Unfortunately so were all airports and rental cars. We were stranded 5 days in a hotel with little food. Roads were closed. It was mess. Looking back  I wish I had just rebooted. My daughter was so anxious my step daughter got a UTI and got really sick from it. 

So just be safe and be smart. We finally got a rental van day 5 and drove around 37 hours home. Constantly being turned around due to flooding.

 

What a stressful experience.  Will really take your experience to heart as we are on the Wonder in late September. We were on an Alaska cruise when Harvey was in the Gulf. Son kept telling us it was headed straight for our area. We actually live near the Gulf of Mexico in TX. About 30 minutes from South Padre Island.  At the last minute, it all changed, and Harvey decided to head to Houston! YIKES.  Probably why you were being told it was ok to come until it wasn't. We were delayed getting home, but no where near what you experienced. That was tough.

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

Back to the original question.  We - a group of 6 adults and 2 kids ages 8 and almost 4 who don’t move very fast - did regular disembarkation on the Caribbean Princess in early July for an 11:10 jet blue flight. We walked off the ship at 8:15, retrieved all our luggage, got thru immigration/customs by 8:25 and called for 2 Ubers (time could have been saved by taking one of the taxis lined up by the terminal).  We were at the airport by 8:45 and, after using kiosk check-ins, thru security by 9 am.

 

There was only one other ship in port IIRC and the concourse was starting to get crowded around 10 am but we had the seating area pretty much to ourselves for over 1/2 hour.  If there are lots of ships in port and if you can handle your own luggage I would recommend self disembarkation although if you are in one of the early regular disembarkation group you shouldn’t have a problem (if you aren’t assigned to one just ask for a change at customer service).  It also helps to have TSA pre check but 3 in our group didn’t and that only held us up by less than 5 minutes before 9 am.

Enjoy your fantastic itinerary!

 

Thank you for sharing your experience.  Just two of us and both have TSA Pre, so definitely looks doable.

6 hours ago, thinfool said:

You leave out the details of your sailing....the Regal, if not already, will soon be homeported in Galveston which makes the airport at least 80 miles away.

Are there details that would make this different?

We will actually be on the repositioning of the Regal from Galveston to Fort Lauderdale.  Maybe we should just stay on and do a transalantic since the day we reach Fort Lauderdale the Regal will be heading to Southampton, England!😄

17 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

If you look around the board, you will find this a very common topic.

 

Are you fully mobile? Can you carry off your bags and grab a cab? If yes, you should have no problem with a 10:50 flight.

Yes, fully mobile.  Have done carry off before. Was concerned about how soon they might let us disembark. Thanks for your response.

Just now, Thrak said:

No. If you order Room Service using the telephone in the room there is a fee of $5 each time. If you pay the one time fee of $14.95 you can order to your room using the App. The fee "activates" your Ocean Now feature - which is what they call having food or drinks delivered to wherever you are. They consider this different from "Room Service".

Thank you so much for the explanation. 

We do not typically cruise on Princess. It has been several years, so trying to learn about some of the differences. Have booked a cruise in spring 2024.  If you cruise as Princess Standard, then anytime you order room service there will be a $14.99 fee plus if you order any pay item?  Pretty steep.  

Been awhile since we've cruised on the Regal.  Wondering if it is possible to make a 10:50 AM flight?  I know the airport is very close to the cruise port.  Always heard a safe bet is not before noon.  Sadly 10:50 AM is the latest flight to our final destination without having to spend the night in Fort Lauderdale.

Wondering if we did self disembarkation, what's the earliest flight we should book when cruising out of Port Canaveral to fly from Orlando?  TIA

Just now, tvo7 said:

So I can plan trivia, rock climbing, pools and slides all to myself.  I won't use the 50% off spa services.  Are specialty restaurants open and giving good deals on port days?

Specialty restaurants usually not open on a port day for lunch.  In our experience, only open on sea days.  Occasionally, Sabor might open mid afternoon.  Have seen that.   Johnny Rockets also.

13 hours ago, D4 said:

When Oasis is at the Port of Miami, there a taxi line justt outside the terminal.  

Thank you for your response.  We did a Royal transport the last time we were in Miami.  What a fiasco.  Totally disorganized.  Never asked if we actually had a transfer. We could have simply just gotten on the bus. Nope, won't do that again.  We have a noon flight, so we need to get off the ship and to the airport much quicker than happened through Royal.

This one shows the new terminal in Galveston.

https://www.visitgalveston.com/webcams/north-galveston-webcam/

You will be able to watch ships sailing from the new terminal on this webcam.

How easy it is to get an Uber, Lyft, or taxi after disembarking from the Oasis to go to the airport?

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Did you ask any of the crew why  they are putting the masks back on? Their own choice or instructed to do so from Royal?

On our last cruise a couple of weeks ago, a crew member told us they were new to the ship and were required to wear them for the first five days they were out working.

51 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

 

As I am speaking to the concierge, the MDR manager insists we are a table of 5, nothing more. “Linda” is apparently  a figment of everyone’s imagination. 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

 

The head waiter vibes over We learn our Linda has a rep in the MDR for being “difficult” . We have two head waiters and the Assistant dining room manager stop by to offer apologies. Linda spent the evening complaining to the dining staff that she was “tired” of dining alone. And guess what? Our friend Linda is doing a back to back……😳. ….. be afraid, next week sailing 

 

 

Certainly, the waitstaff probably wishes "Linda" is a figment of everyone's imagination.

Too bad for the waitstaff to have to endure a second week.  Glad your group was able to be seated at a different table.

Thanks for an episode of never knowing what to expect on a cruise ship.  😳

We've been to a Martini tasting "workshop" on the Allure pre-Covid.  We kind of stumbled into it, or maybe out of it more likely! 🙂  Had a great time.  Haven't seen one since then on Royal and we've looked.

2 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

 

but after the concierge calls  the MDR, there’s more  confusion. Apparently , there is no “Linda” assigned to our table…. 😳😳😱

 

off to dinner, have to finish this up later! 

Yikes! Funny but maybe not.  Did you think you were being punked?  Anxious to hear if there was more to the story....in Paul Harvey style....Now for the rest of the story.

1 hour ago, Donsyb said:

We had MTD in November and it was fine. We had reservations for either 7 or 7.30, and the most we had to wait to be seated was 10mins on lobster night, which I think was because the restaurant was busier that night than usual.

That is so good.  A 10 minute wait is acceptable.  Hoping for that in January.

1 hour ago, Husky1987 said:

 

Not sure these days on Oasis.  Last week on Symphony really the only things that changed night to night were the soup and the rolls.

 

Also, this was the first time for us in SB that the main courses were set out in the buffet rather than served.  They had the same salmon, chicken, snapper, and lamb each night.  Not sure how long that has been going on.

Thanks.  We'll be giving the Solarium Bistro a try in the evening.

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Look at the current sailing, not yours, in the app for the menu.

Thanks, that worked!

37 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Look at the current sailing, not yours, in the app for the menu.

Ahh.  Will do.