DukeASUGirl

I've never understood the whole "I want to same waitstaff so they know my preferences." Maybe I'm just low maintenance, but what preferences are we talking about? Can't you just tell the new waiter your preferences? Why is it so important they know it in advance?

I'd be more concerned about August-September cruises than October.

Just to confirm, you don't need to upload the vaccine card and passports until just sometime before you cruise, but it doesn't have to be done at the same time as picking a check-in time? In other words, I can go on at 9 pm (I'm West Coast) and check us all in and pick a time to arrive at PC, and then take my time over the next 45 days to provide the remaining info?

MyTimeDining is basically designed for this very purpose. We have a port stop in the Caribbean that runs until 8 pm, and I wouldn't even consider having Early regular seating for this very reason.

If it helps, I'm going in October. But hopefully they'll be able to just refund it.

Were they able to accomodate?

The private companies literally set their tour times based on what ships are in port.

No, it is not. It is the most that VA offers, but that doesn't make an Enhanced ID, which has a specific meaning. It's incumbent on you as a traveler to know what you have.

Only way I'd feel comfortable with a same-day flight would be if it arrived early in the morning. I'm talking the 9 am and earlier window. Maybe I'd chance it as late as 10 am. Maybe. Definitely not noon, and definitely not during Thanksgiving week. No way. There is way too much that could go wrong here.

EXACTLY. It's not that "people don't want to work." It's that they "don't want to work for YOU" (not you personally, of course). If businesses are having trouble finding employees at the low wages they're offering, that tells you something. One of the biggest arguments people have made against raising minimum wage to $15/hr is that if people want to make more, they should educate themselves/improve their skills and get a better job or open their own business. Many, many people did just that, using the COVID shutdowns to go back to school or change to a different gig. So now they are unwilling to work the crappy jobs for low wages that they did in the past. They did exactly what folks told them to do.

Thank you so much for this! Yours is same itinerary as my Harmony sailing (there seem to be about 3 different itineraries), and I'd never found the exact same one (CocoCay, at sea, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, sea, sea) in the weeks I've been looking.

My daughter's skating coach is crew on the Harmony, and she has been posting her photos from when she goes ashore in the various Caribbean ports. I think they have to apply for shore leave, but as long as it doesn't conflict with their job duties it may be granted. I'm sure it differs between Caribbean and Europe, however.