Digjharper

6 hours ago, Jimbo said:

We had cabin #10329 when we sailed on Allure, perfect view of the Aqua Theatre , you can also see a little bit of the wake/ocean to the side of the large tv screens.....

 

From when I researched a while back even with the slide on that class of ships that deck will still give you a good view, not to high and not to low and is in one of the curved out section of the slide that still gives you a view.

 

@twangster had a good picture from the other end of the boardwalk showing what the view would look like I believe. He may try to find it for you.

That’s good to know, we are in cabin 10327 for the upcoming Transatlantic on the Wonder of the Seas.

On 1/5/2022 at 4:08 PM, topnole said:

Absolutely!
 

Of course you don’t need to be passed out to be robbed.  Take a visit and watch the pros work in Rome and Barcelona.   Also, people leave phones behind accidentally all the time when perfectly sober and not on vacation when completely distracted.  
 

Point being - Don’t just rely on a photo on your phone.  That is really bad advice and it is an insufficient back up strategy. Scan and email it to yourself too.  That is your most full proof method of accessing the documentation in the unlikely event you lose or are separated from your passport.  

I recall being over in Barcelona for a football match with friends and whilst sitting in the Ramblas enjoying a beer, we observed a team of 3 "ladies" attempting to dip the pockets of a few gentleman.

We decided to set them up and one of our friends walked past them with some Kazakhstan Tenge in his pocket (he removed all other valuables). The total worth of this currency was about 50 cents but the trap worked and the money was quite skillfully taken. When they looked at the cash they were not happy and went back and started shouting at our friend and calling him a cheat. We had filmed it all and showed the police the film and these ladies were taken away. We also put the film on a well known video hosting site but for some reason, they took it down.

Be careful if you are in Barcelona (or numerous other locations) as these gangs are still looking for victims.

I personally would be very careful on booking any flight home even the same day the ship should arrive back in port. This is based on personal experience on the Anthem in 2019. Arrival back in NJ was delayed by a full 24 hours as the ship diverted to Nassau due to a medical emergency. Thankfully we set aside a few days on arrival to do some NY site seeing so did not effect us but it did to numerous others on board.

Now we always allow at least one night in port coming back before flying home.

Apologies if there is already a thread on this but just wondered if anybody can advise how to check the value of any FCC that have been issued to you. I have received some over the last few months by email but not sure if these voucher numbers are stored on the RCI site at all and can easily be checked on their site?
 

21 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

Our local Costco mandates that if a customer is medically unable to wear a mask, they must wear a face shield in order to enter their store. Makes sense. 

In the UK, Costco will not allow entry to anyone without a mask on (except young children). This includes those with medical reasons for not wearing masks - they are not allowed entry at all.

My wife and I were booked on the TA from Galveston in a few months time and it’s still listed on my RC upcoming cruise page. We have not received any email notification about the cruise but obviously we know it’s cancelled. When I checked the “make payment now” tab and it’s still there and if I was that way inclined, I could give them some cash (which obviously I will not).

Note in the UK we have to make the final payment 57 days before the cruise starts.

Well after today presentation from our (Dear) leader here in Scotland, certainly need some cheering up as she tells us she is looking from next week to closing all food takeaways and even click and collect from various stores. Thankfully we have enough alcohol in our house to last until mid summer so we should be fine. However, to continue my previous post and some crazy answers, see some others from various quiz shows in the UK (mainly Tipping Point).

Q - Manuel Valls is Prime Minster of which European country?
A - Africa

Q - St Patrick banished snakes from which European country?
A - Spain

Q - In science, which electrical unit is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta
A - Amp

Q - The Churchill Factor is a novel about which former Prime Minister?
A - Margaret Thatcher

Q - Which tool is used for knocking in nails?
A - A chisel

Q - In 1841, who introduced the first package holiday?
A - British Airways

Q - The name of the Queen single is Bohemian…?
A - Devil

Q - What day is Christmas day traditionally celebrated in the UK?
A - Wednesday

Q - How long did the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel last?"

A - 14 days.

Q - What was Gandhi's first name?"

A - Goosey

Q - What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963?"

A - I don't know, I wasn't watching it then.

Q - What was Hitler's first name?"

A - "Heil."

11 hours ago, grapau27 said:

CBS on Freeview shows several hours each day of Judge Judy.

We watched other programs like the home buying.

A Place in the Sun.

We are very fond and familiar with the show “A place in the sun”. It’s a bit of escapism just now, making us quite jealous of better times but we know these times will be back with us soon.

We also watch “Tipping Point” on telly whilst preparing our evening meal, and we usually get great entertainment with some of the answers given. Unbelievable how some of these people get on tv at all. Here are some examples of answers given this week -

Q - What English County has a black flag with a white cross?
A - Wales

Q - Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on which ship?
A - The Titanic.

Q - In a standard deck of cards, there are two black suites. Spades is one, what is the other?
A - Aces

Q - The fandango originated in which European country?
A - Argentina

Q- how many tracks does a monorail have?
A - I know this one because we were in Disneyland last BUZZZZZ year, its two...
Ben - out of time.

He spent so long waffling about his holiday he missed the buzzer and was wrong as well.

On 12/26/2020 at 9:30 PM, mo&fran said:

Few years ago I got caught doing 81, probably about 8AM, light traffic, and I wasn't paying attention. Had to pay the ticket since GA has a reciprocal agreement with FL .  Then , I got a letter from Ga saying since I had paid my ticket, meaning I was pleading guilty, I was a Super Speeder, so I got an additional fine.  I think , all told, it cost me about $600.

 I don't think will drive through Georgia anymore.

That’s an expensive fine for sure.

I do a lot of road trips in the USA/Canada and over the years I have done more than 200,000 miles without any incident and only stopped once by the police. This was in rural Alabama and I must admit the speed limit had been reached and perhaps exceeded ever so slightly. I was driving a rented Camaro so I think I had a good excuse. Anyway, the policeman came up to my door and told me I was breaking the speed limit. I replied and he immediately he noted my strong Scottish accent telling me that his father was born in Scotland. For some reason, I did not get any ticket, only good wishes and some advise on a place to eat in the town I was staying that night (Huntsville).

I guess I have just been lucky 😉

I just discovered this thread - great reading indeed. Personally, I took early retirement in March last year and the plan was to do many cruises and even more road trips but obviously this did not go to plan. Thankfully we did get a trip in before all this kicked off doing a Cruise out of Galveston last January followed by a Texas and Louisiana road trip.

So I had to find something to keep me busy. We got a black lab puppy in May so many walks with him and so that keeps me semi fit. However, we decided to make use of some space in my back garden and we built a pub. It’s been used a good few times for watching the football here (Glasgow Rangers being our team) so it’s now officially classed as as a “Sports bar”. Due to the restrictions here, not much opportunity for our friends to come and join us having a few beers and even perhaps some “painkillers” (enjoyed a few of these in the Virgin Islands on last cruise) so it’s normally just the good lady and me cheering on the Gers.

Fingers crossed for our first cruise back in October (TA from Southampton) and my trip over in May to do some section hikes on the Appalachian Trail.

On 12/3/2020 at 5:00 PM, Digjharper said:

Thanks for this. I just used the online form to try and L&S my Anthem TA cruise from April 21 to the April 22 one from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona.

Just a follow up to this. I did not hear anything back within the promised 72 hours so called them up.  I spoke to a pleasant gent who told me my request to L & S was declined due to different amount of nights - 14 on the new one, 12 on the one I wanted to change from. (my original TA was from Cape Liberty to Southampton on the Anthem). I accepted this and went on to book the Allure for April 22 instead.

I just looked up my bookings on their website today and guess what - they have actually done the L & S as I had originally requested. I now have two TA’s booked for April 22 - one on the Allure leaving on the 24th and one on the Vision leaving on the 29th 😀

I have absolutely no issue with having to get a card showing you have had a Covid vaccine. Currently (certainly in the UK) some dodgy folks are offering fake cards for sale -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9038377/TikTok-user-advertises-fake-Covid-vaccine-ID-cards-sale-just-5-shock-video-post.html

It’s actually quite common to have to carry a proof of vaccine card. When I was working in Africa few years ago, if I did not have my Yellow Fever card, I was not getting into the country.

Pretty certain the Royal and numerous airlines and possibly countries will not be allowing anyone in if they do not have proof of vaccination and rightly so in my humble point of view.

16 hours ago, HowardK said:

I'm waiting until 2023 at this point - are the ships going to be able to recirculate air in the corridors besides the rooms as I read they would be working on air systems?

2022 is indeed pessimistic. Once the vaccine has been distributed we can expect things to change quite rapidly in the following few months. I am 57 with no underlying health issues and I expect the vaccine (UK) by the end of March at the latest. This should be the case in many countries.

We have TA cruises booked for March and April and they certainly will not go ahead but our one in October should. I also expect the USA to open up for foreign citizens flying in approx March/April. My wife and I have a 2 month road trip booked for Canada/USA arriving 26th May - I certainly expect to be able to do that one.

One thing is certain - no proof of vaccine, no cruising with RC.

Is this the one you are on?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/09/singapore-cruise-to-nowhere-ends-after-passenger-tests-positive-for-covid-19

Thanks for this. I just used the online form to try and L&S my Anthem TA cruise from April 21 to the April 22 one from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona.

10 hours ago, crazyank said:

Out of control in most of the world?  hardly,  large parts of the world are doing far better than the USA in controlling the virus.  Is it totally under control? No,  Is Europe and the far east headed in the right direction? yes. 

Really? Have seen any news from the UK recently? The only thing that will put us in the right direction is when the vaccine is actually approved to be used and a large percentage of the population have already received it.

On 10/22/2020 at 10:23 PM, DeputyDawg46 said:

Just booked a 16 days cruise from Galveston to Barcelona in Mar 21.  As a D+ getting the Single Supplement rate the RCI Agent called her next level and confirmed that I would get 16 x 2 x 2 for 64 points or 4 points per night.  When I asked about the cruises that I had booked earlier this year for 2021 she advised they would count for Double Points also, but since that didn't come to her from the next level I'm not sure it is correct.  We'll see.

My wife and I are also booked for that cruise but we fully expect that not to happen. We are also booked on the TA one from New York to Southampton in April, but like last one, I will be most surprised if this happens.

I expect the first one we can actually board is the TA from Southampton to Miami end of next year.

Looking to lift and shift a 2021 Transatlantic cruise on the Anthem in April 21 to a date in 2022. Do we know when these schedules will be released? I have already booked some 2022 cruises (February) so surely we must be finding out about the TA ones soon.

We have the 16 night TA one booked from Galveston in March 21, so perhaps 2 TA ones in a few month is too much hence the L & S. Very hopeful we will be back to some sort of normal by then.

10 hours ago, fandash said:

So how does the 14 days quarantine work?

If we have a Uk flight from Glasgow to Southhampton and going from Southhampton cruising Spain and France RCI cruise - yep still trying to be optimistic that we are going - do we still have to do 14 days quarantine when we come back home even if internal flights? Do you have to quarantine 14 days prior too?

 

I really do think this quarantine will make it impossible to travel and the travel/tourism industry will be destroyed. I mean who is going to be able to get 4 or 6 weeks off to go on a 2 week holiday.

 

 

 

If there are cruise ships sailing, then the quarantine/self isolating will be over.

On 5/11/2020 at 7:08 PM, bigeck said:

I think that's gone. Amsterdam isn't allowing flights yet.

My son is due home from work in Norway. He usually flies through Amsterdam but no go this time. He is going to stay at work instead of self isolating and then doing 14 days quarantine when he goes back

 I flew into Amsterdam last Wednesday from Central Asia and then caught a flight to Aberdeen the same day. It’s exceedingly quiet but flights are still operating.

On 4/29/2020 at 3:39 PM, ILoveScotland said:

Has Royal Caribbean discontinued its North Atlantic Route across the ocean?  I had considered that cruise in the past and was searching for it yesterday and couldn't find it listed.

 

 

Wow, your post is so hard to read. Might it be possible for you to change it to one that more acceptable on ones eyes?
 

6 hours ago, bouhunter said:

Wife is on phone regarding our 12 night Oct 2020 from Tarragona Spain.  In 2021 that cruise on Jewel is from Barcelona 40 miles away, they're saying no to the switch as it's not the same departure port.....

 

But there are NO sailings from Tarragona in 2021, they've simply changed to a nearby pier in Barcelona.  Will be interesting to see if they figure that out and let her lift and shift it......

This information they provided you is not correct. We used "lift and shift" to change to the Jewel TA cruise from Barcelona in 21 instead of the Anthem TA sailing from Southampton cruise this November. 

I suggest you call up again and get an agent who is fully aware of their new policy. 

54 minutes ago, CategoryQ said:

 

UPDATE: I called and spoke with a different agent, and after 2+ hours, she was able to make the change and do the price protection. She said a supervisor approval is needed for each Lift & Shift and the wait to get supervisor approval is approx. 45 minutes.

Really? I called up and got my lift and shift change done in precisely 19 minutes.
 

This is in UK.

3 hours ago, JBSteelerfan said:

On the phone now trying to change a fall 2020 TA to fall 2021 TA.  Same number of days, same departure and arrival ports, but different port stops in between.  Agent says itinerary must be the same.  On hold, waiting for confirmation of that.  Most of the time the TA's go to different ports each year!

I think your agent does not yet know the rules.

Today we changed our Anthem of the Seas Nov 20 TA cruise to the Jewel Oct 21 TA cruise with no issue. We had to pick this one since it’s the only TA we could see with 12 nights duration. Totally different ports so it can certainly be done.

We also got to pick our desired cabin and the price we have to pay (the original Anthem price) is a lot less than the one they are currently asking for their website for a new booking on the Jewel.

21 hours ago, jwattle said:

Monday morning quarter backing is such a luxury; there is no way that people could have known from the Diamond that COVID-19 would run the way that it would. At the time of the Diamond it was still just isolated to China essentially; nowhere else.

Really? The boards for most of the different cruise lines were full of people predicting what was going to happen but they were mainly criticised for being too pessimistic and their post vanished. They were also many posts from people who said they were going to “chance it” as (delete as applicable), if was just like the flu/saved up for a long time for this cruise/the cruise companies will look after us etc etc.

When you saw in February numerous ports not allowing cruise ships to enter you did not need to be a “Monday morning quarterback” to see this coming - note, obviously those who were on round the world (or similar) cruises when this disaster started unfolding in February had no way of knowing what was about to occur.

I know numerous people who cancelled their trips as they too could see what was coming, others evaluated the risk and took the chance and ended up suffering.