LB_NJ

Some PAX have booked on the Royal April 30 to Rome. Poor substitute of course but if you want to get to Europe I guess it works.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I can't really determine yet what the course will be. I think I will look at the GPS on my phone periodically so I can plot the course when I get back to see what path we took.

We will be traveling New York to Maderia and wondering if the ship generally follows the Great Circle route or do they follow some other course?

Even without the issue of rockslides you are talking about 30 minutes to get off a 4,000+ PAX ship and get to your meeting place. With the rockslides you have to add in time to board the buses, buses go down the dock, and then get off the buses. Plus, the ship may try and give priority to PAX that have excursions booked through the ship. There is also the issue of the ship might not start letting people off right at 7AM. It might be early but it also might be late.

FYI, sometimes the train has cars of varying age. If there is a way to make a request go for the newer cars.

Our first stop is Maderia so that is where we do customs?

Is there a separate vegetarian/vegan menu on Enchantment of the Seas?

I would never book this far in advance. Just too many unknowns. You may decide you don't like cruising anymore, you may not be able to get medical coverage for pre-existing conditions, the cruise line service may go significantly downhill, the cruise company could go bankrupt, the itinerary could radically change, you find that there is a family commitment come up for the date of travel, etc. Also, the non-refundable deposits seem to be $500 plus so a lot of money to lose if you decide not to go.

I also would like to hear how things are? I am scheduled for Brittania class this June for Alaska. Last time I was on Cunard it was the QM2 several years ago and had a great voyage. FYI, I have traveled on Royal and Celebrity post pandemic and quality definitely went down on Royal (didn't cruise Celebrity pre-pandemic). So I would expect some drop on Cunard pre vs post.

I would be happy to get it back in OBC.

The process tends to be cruise line and ship specific. You might want to post a question in the Princess forum. Just as an FYI, it usually takes longer to load and unload the tender than the trip actually takes. Also, as a guess, if you aren’t on a ship excursion and you don’t have any priority as a passenger think maybe an hour. Again people who have tendered on Majestic should have a better idea of the process and time.

I have tendered using both the port's boats and the ships boats. It is usually better with the port's boats but not great in either case.

Any word from anyone on the Norwegian Bliss on how it went?

I just noticed that for a new booking on a cruise I have booked taxes and fees have gone down. It is about $150 for the both of us. Not sure if it is because they cancelled one of our port stops (Juneau). Am I entitled to a refund on some of the fees? What do I have to do? It is worth at least a call I would think.

If we can't do Skagway I have no idea where they will substitute.

They never really said.

Has there been any hints that they might extend this to those who booked through Travel Agents?

I hope it works out. We are supposed to be at the RRA dock in June. They already cancelled our stop in Juneau and I don't want another sea day.

Rockslide mitigation leads to unique seasonal job - The Skagway News. Skagway is hiring a rockslide watcher.

Great cruise. Did this while we were on a land trip in Alaska. Sit anywhere. I got up and went outside when there was something to see. FYI, this is in a temperate rainforest so could be wet ride.

Absolutely correct.

I haven't taken a selfie in my last 3 cruises. Not sure if it even adds 10 seconds at the port.

We are booked on Enchantment and booked lunch at Chops. With all the changes going on can you order 2 appetizers (eg, WILD MUSHROOM SOUP and the Wedge) and 3 sides with your entree? Only 1 desert. There is nothing on the sample menu that has any limits.

I would not feel comfortable with that flight. However, if everything goes well you should make it. Usually when an airline makes that big a change to a flight schedule, they will allow you to make a no cost change to another flight. You might want to see if there are other slightly later flights.

Formal nights are not that formal. To give you an example a man in a button down shirt and kakis are fine on a formal night as opposed to jeans and a t-shirt other nights.