prmssk

@catspaw1 The hiking sticks on the Xpedition were wooden. I assume the Xploration ones are similar. I never used them so I can't speak to how good they are. They aren't really necessary on most hikes unless you normally like to have a little extra stability but I know some people really appreciated them for the lava walk. We have really enjoyed the GSMNP a number of times. I haven't been to Acadia NP in a lot of years. I hadn't thought birding there. I remember it being a beautiful park. Thanks for the AK lodge recommendation. I'll have to look that up. We will be headed to Bermuda for our first time this fall and I'm looking forward to it.

@catspaw1 Thanks, bird (and wildlife) photography is a hobby of mine and the Galapagos is such an amazing place to do photography. If you have time, there is some pretty amazing birding on mainland Ecuador as well. The ship's binoculars are not the highest quality so if you have a favorite pair, bring them. My husband used his quite a bit, although interestingly not many in our group used binoculars. A lot of the wildlife is really close but the binoculars came in handy for bird watching and trying to see the different subspecies of the Darwin finches. I don't know what the wetsuits are like on the Xploration. The Xpedition had a mix of ones that zipped up in the front and some that zipped up in the back. They were more than adequate for us but we are not divers so don't have a lot of experience or preferences. We wore Keens closed toe sandals for wet landings and I often kept them on for hikes. There is time to change shoes if you need to before you start hiking. We used hiking shoes with good tread for dry landings. None of the hikes are truly that strenuous. Most are on flat ground along rocky paths. Any non-slip casual shoe works well for the boat. I understand the Xploration has more ladder like stairs between levels so keep that in mind when you decide on boat shoes. Dress is casual on the boat. My husband wore shorts and a t-shirt to dinner most nights. I brought a couple lightweight sundresses that were a nice change from the day clothes. The best underwater footage came from those with Go Pros or the SeaLife Sport Diver housing for my iPhone that I used. My focus with packing was shoes and camera gear (and money/ID documents). I figured I could make do with just about anything else. We tried to focus on lightweight, quick dry clothes. You may want a backpack for excursions (that can hold your water bottles, maybe shoes, maybe a small towel that they provide). My husband I made do with one backpack between the two of us and then I had my camera bag. I think I answered all your questions but if I missed one (or if you have more), feel free to ask it again. Your AK trip sounds exciting. We keep talking about booking another trip to Alaska but it hasn't quite made it on the calendar yet. There are too many places to go and so little time. 🙂

@catspaw1 Thank you! It really was a trip of a lifetime. We wore swim leggings and splashguards under our shorty wetsuits but were in the minority on our ship. I was glad to have a little extra warmth but most people did fine with just the wetsuits. Have a great trip!

It sounds like this is a partial transit. Assuming that is the case, you will go through the Atlantic side locks just after sunrise. The process takes a couple hours. Then the ship will drop anchor in Gatun Lake (which is in between the Atlantic and Pacific locks). Anyone on excursions takes a tender from Gatun Lake. Then in the afternoon, the ship will return back through the Atlantic side locks and then dock in Colon to pick up passengers who took an excursion and there may or may not be time for passengers who didn't take an excursion to get off.

The main dining room is only open for embarkation day lunch for those in Concierge Class, B2B cruisers, and Zenith. Plus, I believe this new premium pass they are now selling includes lunch. Retreat passengers can access Luminae for lunch embarkation day.

On one short cruise, it actually was both port days (November 2021 on the Constellation - 5 night western Caribbean). The MDR was open for lunch both those port days as well. This was a restart cruise when people were more cautious about getting off in port. On a more recent cruise, it was 4 of the 5 port days (May 2023 on the Eclipse - 12 Night Honolulu to Vancouver). The MDR was also open 3 of those port days for lunch. I suspect both of these cases were unique scenarios. I agree the general policy has been that Luminae is closed for lunch on port days but those remembering it being open may not be wrong.

Although I agree Luminae has not been open for lunch on port days as a policy, occasionally I have seen them deviate from that when they expect a lot of people to stay on board for a specific port. So for those remembering lunch on a port day, you very well may be right for the specific sailing/ port you were in.

We always do ours in the app against a white wall with good lighting (ideally during the daytime when the room has some natural light as well) and it is a new photo with every cruise. Rarely have they had to retake them at checkin.

But in this scenario they didn't give away the room the OP had hand-picked and was happy to initially book. It was the chance upgrade they lost out on, a room they weren't expecting to get in the first place. (And we don't actually know the circumstances of why that upgraded room no longer was available.) I would feel disappointed, sure. But I wouldn't feel Celebrity owed me anything besides a refund of the MoveUp bid.

I've been following this thread and although I would be disappointed to get an upgrade that was then taken away from me, I wouldn't walk away thinking I was entitled to anything besides the refund of the Move Up bid. If they gave me a couple hundred dollars of OBC in addition, I would actually consider myself ahead. I'm not sure OP is entitled to know all that went on in the background that led to this mistake so I don't know why it needed to be someone well-informed who made that call. I also think it is really disrespectful to call the initial caller a "flunky" just because she wasn't someone high enough up to know all the details. She was just doing her job. Sure, it would be nice to throw in something extra for the disappointment, but I'm still not sure OP is entitled to it. When something goes wrong, I just want to be made whole. I do not need to come out ahead because of someone else's mistake.

I usually start looking for the safety video in the app around 9am the morning of embarkation (it can show up anytime mid-morning). When it has a spot show a check mark that you watched it, you know it is ready. Then step two is just to check in at your actual muster station which is usually the first thing we do on our way to our cabin to drop off our carry on luggage.

@Avidcruiser321 I get that it's hard to watch that price drop. It happened to me on a Princess cruise in 2022. It didn't help that it was a cruise we felt like we overpaid for (we had booked it because family wanted that particular cruise). But when I think of my cruises overall which I usually track, usually the price has gone up. The going rate for my cabin category Celebrity Eclipse (Hawaii to Vancouver) last May was $1,000 more than I paid in the weeks after final payment. The going rate for my cabin category on my upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise is actually double what I am paying. I sure don't want them coming after me for more money so I accept their limits when it comes to reducing my fare with price drops. I hope you have a great cruise! We really enjoyed that itinerary last year. I had an amazing snorkeling experience from Kona. And we spent three nights in Honolulu ahead of time which gave us a chance to go to a Luau, take a tour of the Kualoa Ranch, hike Diamond Head, and drive some beautiful scenic roads.

There isn't space to substitute Coco Cay for a lot of them (Coco Cay already has 2 ships most days) and some of those ships that go to Labadee also have Coco Cay already on their itinerary. Like someone else said, I heard Grand Turks was a substitution for the Oasis (which already has Coco Cay on their itinerary).

People with stops in Labadee over the next few days are starting to get notified of a port substitution.

I think there is a difference between a community wanting tourists to return and being ready to handle thousands of them all at once just for the day.

I get your frustration. It happened to me on another line. But it isn’t a new policy and in my experience, it’s the policy of many cruise lines.

With the way port fees are constantly changing, they don’t always owe you money for a missed port. The amount you commit to at booking is just an estimate of your portion of port fees. So just because the cruise ship doesn’t have to pay Lahaina port fees doesn’t mean the fees haven’t gone up for other ports on your itinerary since your booking.

I’ve seen reports of the cancellation of snorkeling, kayaking, boat trips, and others in addition to the jet skis. Royal keeps making the statement on X that “Only guests and employees are permitted onsite”. Whether that means ship staff only, I don’t know but I doubt all the vendors are employees of Royal Caribbean. And from past experience, I have seen that the ship’s crew handle a lot on Labadee so I’m not sure how many local employees they actually have.

No, I’m just seeing RC repeat over and over on X over the last few days that only guests and employees are allowed in. I have a hard time believing the vendors are employees. I know Adventure is there now but have not seen anyone confirm the vendors are still there. It surprises me a bit if they are based on RC’s statements.

If they are cancelling excursions, only allowing staff and guests (so likely no vendors), bringing food from the ship, using ship crew, etc., what tourism money is making it to the average Haitian? The port fees and whatever other fees RC pays for Labadee likely are going to some government entity which is corrupt so not likely trickling down to the suffering average Haitian citizen.

Interestingly RC has started cancelling a lot of excursions for the next couple weeks in Labadee (jet skis, kayaks, snorkeling, boat rides, etc.) yet hasn’t cancelled any stops. The Adventure of the Seas is there now.

I don't smoke or gamble either but depending on the layout of the ship, smoking in the casino can affect other areas of the ship. On my last cruise on the Caribbean Princess (which is fairly similar to the Sapphire Princess), smoke from the casino made its way into the atrium and the popular bar Crooners, making those areas not so enjoyable for non-smokers.

On what Princess ship? On the Grand class and its subclasses (which includes the Sapphire), you have to get a mini-suite to get seating in the cabin (besides the desk chair). Balcony rooms used to have a barrel chair but I think those have all been removed. The Royal class of ships has a category called a Deluxe Balcony which does have a small loveseat but all the standard balconies and below do not. I'm not as familiar with the Coral and Island. I think this is changing with the Sun Princess though. Photos and deck plans of the Sun Princess look a lot nicer for those in standard balcony and below than the other Princess ships.

I do on RC in April. Celebrity doesn’t have it on any itineraries until October. This port is used far more frequently by RC than Celebrity.

You are talking two comparable lines and so will find opinions that go both ways. In my experience, the buffet on Celebrity is far better than Princess. I think MDR food is more comparable and can depend on who the chef is on the ship at the time. For anyone with food allergies, my experience is that Celebrity handles it far better. The Sapphire Princess will be a slightly larger ship than the Celebrity Summit. I have found some of Princess’s ships in that class to be more crowded but have not sailed the Sapphire specifically. If you are looking at a balcony or lower cabin, Celebrity’s are much more spacious. Princess puts a walk in closet in their cabins that takes up so much room that the space feels really cramped. And Princess does not put a couch or comfortable chair in any of their cabins balcony or lower. A mini suite (or Reserve Class it might called) is a bit of a sweet spot on Princess ships for space and costs but not everyone wants to splurge on that. The suite experience on Celebrity is far better with amenities but usually more affordable on Princess. I personally prefer Celebrity but like I said these are fairly comparable lines. You will have a great experience either way.