Rubyfisch

If it's Holland, I got the same email. I live in Boston - there is always traffic and construction, it's nothing new (and provided there are no actual tunnel closures like last summer) it shouldn't be an issue. If there are taxis waiting, that is an easy option. If there aren't, I've never had an issue getting a Lyft or an Uber anywhere in Boston (I usually check both, as the price and the wait times vary between the two).

It looks like you all are currently docking in Boston:

Any guess on when those itineraries will be out?

Definitely - my point was there wasn't an extra fee for using a credit card, which is how I read other posts.

At least last year, the funicular in Quebec City was cash only (they accepted both CAD and USD, but at a 1:1 exchange rate). That is literally the only place in Canada I have ever needed cash (although I've never taken a taxi anywhere in Canada). My US credit card has worked in all situations (and I don't have a chip and PIN card). No added fees, either.

The fixings for a PB&J are definitely available in Windjammer. Also, while there is a delivery fee for anyone not in a suite, it's also available on the room service menu:

Trying to find a hotel the week of Christmas that doesn't have horrible reviews under $400 a night proved very difficult. And there definitely decent options in the just over $100 range. Again, I have done this twice and am going out of Port Everglades this year (and did in 2017, where we paid over $700 a person for tickets on Spirit - American would have been over $1,000).

I've flown to Baltimore twice, once on an Enchantment and once on Vision. And would do it again for my annual Christmas cruise, but their holiday savings in 2024 in 2024 start way to early for my schedule. It is so much cheaper to fly to Baltimore than Florida - like, a fifth the price, and the hotel is a quarter the price. And I like old style ships. Many people do drive or take Amtrak to Baltimore, but a lot of people fly.

This from the NYTimes reporting on it:

Yeah - it's a working industrial port - it's going to be a mess, without easy solutions.

The news reporting I read this morning said there were two pilots aboard. When I've sailed out of Baltimore, the pilots are with you all the way to the mouth of Chesapeake.

I was quite happy with the food in general - a few things I didn't love (would not recommend the Chicken Marsala), but otherwise very good. I thought it was better than Enchantment (which I also found to be fine), particularly Windjammer. Although the flow around the buffet stations is a bit odd (and when both sides are open, there is some overlap but some different stuff).

And normally an Uber from the cruise terminal to any touristy part of Boston will also be relatively inexpensive.

I took the Royal Caribbean shuttle to BWI, and was there by a little after 9:00 am - I think you should probably be okay with a 11:30, particularly if you do self assist and take a cab (and probably even if you didn't).

Having flown into BWI twice for cruises, I swear it is the slowest luggage delivery ever. I think there is coffee available outside security - maybe a Dunkin Donuts... I can't remember for sure but you could check the airport map. It's a light, bright terminal building and would be a terrible place to collect you stuff, collect yourself and wait.

According to my waiting in December, all of the MDR chairs were replaced in the last dry dock. All the public areas furniture seemed in good repair, so that doesn't seem like it will get any changes.

I loved Vision, but it is smaller ship with fewer bells and whistles. I'm totally fine with that, but I understand others may not be. I did a live review of my cruise on her, which as pictures commentary throughout:

They had it when we were on Zuiderdam in late August last year.

Do remember that many accessible rooms also sleep more than two. On the first cruise I took my parents on, I booked an accessible cabin because my mother is a wheelchair user. Sometimes, like if we were going to the pool, just my father and I would leave the cabin. So yes, we were two able-bodied people walking out of an accessible cabin. But the room wasn't for us - it was for my mother who just happened to be staying in the cabin for whatever reason. I'm not saying people don't abuse the system - I'm sure they do. But things aren't always what they seem.

Understandable - my partner is definitely a "leave me alone until I wake up" sort if person.

We were on Zuiderdam last August when it docked at Quay 30. The shuttle ran in a constant loop - but it isn't so much to town as to the end of the port. It's a couple of blocks from the Museum of Civilization. There is a hop-on, hop-off bus stop at the museum, and it's not far to the funicular. We waited no more than about ten minutes (we ended up taking four times, as we went back to the ship in the middle of the day and out again the later afternoon). There were handicapped accessible shuttles as well. It was a mixture of different sized buses. There were cabs availability right at the dock, as well (without taking the shuttle).

Don't forget the MDR for breakfast as a way to meet others as well. I am much more of a breakfast person than my partner, so several mornings I got up and went to the MDR. They ask if you don't mind sharing. The shared tables were at the back with the best water views. I met lots of folks doing that. Same for lunch and/or tea on sea days

On Zuiderdam last August we had no trouble watching YouTube videos of any length with Premium. This was obviously post Starlink. I'm also curious if we'll need to get Stream to use YouTube. I asked my travel agent (who had just gotten off a Holland cruise) and she said they had Premium and could use YouTube.

The other stuff doesn't populate until very close to the sailing (or even during the sailing). The production shows are the same every week, and are generally on the same days on every cruise, so they populate first. You can take a look at this week's cruise in the app to get an idea. On my Christmas cruise on Vision, there was a comedian the first night and the last night, the two production shows, a Christmas show, a juggler (who was surprisingly entertaining), a Celine Dion tribute performer (this was the only one I skipped), and an acoustic set with a reasonably famous singer (he was from the band Little Texas).

On the cruises I've been on, they've been hosted by the sports staff - so the same people who run the stretching classes and the rock wall.