Bethany Beach

Thanks for the comments - I realize there are a lot of variables in the mix.  I think I will take my chances, try to get an early off number, get a porter, and hope for the best.  If I miss that flight, hopefully I can get on the 4 pm one.  

RC Voyager.  We are supposed to stop at Portland before coming back to Boston so hopefully customs will be done there.  We also have Global Entry.  

Flight is American (but apparently "outsourced" to Jet Blue).  

Just found out that our flight out of Boston has been changed to 10:30 am (Oct 2 - Sunday).  Have been to Boston several times as part of a land vacation, but never flew out of BOS so know nothing about it.  We will have luggage to check.  Appreciate thoughts as to whether it is feasible to make it off the ship and to the airport on time.  We are TSA precheck.  The next flight for us would be 4 pm and I don't really want to hang around the airport that long and it is imperative that we get home on Sunday.  Before I change to the 4 pm flight, would like opinions from those who know the airport situation.  I'm going to post this on our roll call board also.  

I was told by the in store staff to check after midnight for that day.  I got up at 6 am on Thursday morning and appointments for that morning appeared.  Those same appointments were not showing Wednesday night at 10 pm when I went to bed.  

I should have added that I decided to take the Covid test Thursday morning because we were leaving to drive to the Philly airport Thursday afternoon for an early morning flight to FLL on Friday morning.  I didn't want to test in FLL, find out we are positive, then have to figure out what to do in FLL.  Turns out that our Friday morning flight was cancelled (not due to weather so I have no idea why) but I got us on a flight that night that left at 8.  Didn't arrive in FLL until around 11:30 pm.  So, having the negative test results before we left really reduced my stress level.  

The CVS close to our house (we now live in Maryland) would only take appointments through the CVS website.  The rapid antigen test appointment availability was only opened after midnight for the next day.  I checked the second box on the questions asked and was able to get test for free (with insurance).  If I didn't check the second box, I couldn't even get a test opening to appear.  

March 27; Fort Lauderdale; HAL Nieuw Statendam S. Carib Cruise

Took rapid Antigen test Thursday morning (for a Sunday departure) at a CVS in Maryland.  Asked for hard copies of our negative test results which we were given 30 minutes after our test.  I saw no reason to be messing around with my phone. 

Didn't even bother to mess around with Verifly.

Got to the terminal around 11:30; our check in time was noon.

Walked right into the terminal - no lines.

Went through security - no lines

Walked over to one of several health checkin stations for vax card check and test result check.  Took about 1 minute if that.

Walked right onto the ship.  Slight backup at the ship to enter.

Granted, we were told there were only 936 passengers on this trip so that certainly made a difference.

I know this is going to end up being a "I should know" question - but I just booked the March 27, 2022 10-day S. Caribbean on Nieuw Statendam.  For those of you that booked with the Have It All promotion displaying on the page, it states included in the fare.  My travel agent said that the promotion actually costs extra so she did not book it as I didn't want to pay extra.  However, I have read the promotion over and over and it still sounds like to me it should be included in the fare shown.  Am I just being dense?  Is my travel agent wrong?  I just don't want to miss out anything "free" that I should be getting.  My booking confirmation does not mention anything about any promotions.  

Thank you for the information.  Yes, the date is 12/11.  Based on your map I'll try to figure out how far the meeting place to the Skylork meeting place.  Judy

Does anyone know if the Koningsdam docks at the Heritage or the Radcliffe Quay pier OR can it be either?  I want to book a private excursion with Skylork for power snorkeling but it looks like his pickup point at the Radcliffe Quay is quite a walk.  I'm trying to figure out if we can make it to the pickup point on time before I go ahead and book this excursion.  

At what pier did your ship dock?  I notice there are two possibilities mentioned on the skylork site and our ship itinerary doesn't specify a pier.  We are on the Koningsdam.   The Radclif Quay looks like quite a long walk from the ship; the Heritage Quay looks like a much shorter walk.   Concerned about getting off the ship and to the pickup site on time.  

I might post this question separately as well..... but hoping those of you who were on this cruise are still reading this thread.   We were also on this same cruise and are seriously thinking of booking it again for one of the Caribbean island itineraries.  Only one issue that I couldn't get a straight answer to while on the ship.

We were in balcony cabin 7066.  From the moment we stepped out on our balcony in Baltimore to the second to  last sea day there was a noticeable sewage like smell.  Our cabin was perfectly fine - the smell was only on the balcony.  Obviously on this cruise we weren't concerned about sitting on our balcony except for the last sea day (when the smell mysteriously disappeared).  We spend a lot  of time in our cabin and on our balcony for Caribbean cruises.  I couldn't be out there even for 15 seconds without putting my hand over my nose to try to block out the smell.   Anyone else notice this?

For those of you who have sailed Grandeur before - any comments about this occurring on your cruise(s)?  I'm trying to figure out if it is something that occurs on that side of the ship at that particular section.  We also slightly noticed  the smell when walking on the promenade and on the "track" when we would get to what we figured was near our balcony location.   Trying to figure out which location to select for a future cruise.

BTW at this point in our cruising life - we only eat in the buffets (Windjammer in this case).  My husband said that the carved meats were some of the best he has had (better than Royal Princess).   We are pretty plain eaters so we stuck to the basics but people who are more adventurous eaters would probably love the way they change the "speciality" each night.  Actually the only thing we didn't like about our cabin was the extremely small shower.  I am 5'5" and 128 pounds and barely was able to function.   Lots of storage space everywhere in the cabin.  First room steward (Roy) that we ever had on any cruise that actually serviced our room EVERY time we left.   Missed the music walk area like on the Royal Princess as I didn't care much for the music choices on this cruise or the band that played in the Centrum.    We didn't participate in any activities but I don't think I have ever seen a daily schedule jammed packed with so many of the typical cruise activities.  People who like trivia, games, etc., would love this cruise IMO.  We liked having a real promenade deck and the "track" on the upper level was also nice.  The desserts were pretty terrible as usual BUT the soft served ice cream machine has the BEST creamy soft ice cream on any ship we have sailed - none of that grainy junk.  

Judy

Did you snorkel right from the beach?  

The hotel web site mentions snorkeling.  We stayed on one of the high rises on Palm Beach a few years ago and I don't remember that there was any even average snorkeling from the beach    Did you notice any information about snorkeling while you were there or do they have snorkel trips that leave from there?

Here is my experience with Sea Cow. I am an experienced snorkeler. Have gone with Woodwind 3 times. We had money toward shore excursions, so one time I decided to book through the ship and it happened to be on the Sea Cow. The trip was in the morning (only one time was available when I booked). The boat was packed with people (but really, so is Woodwind as far as people sitting pretty tightly together around the boat.) Luckily it takes very little time to get to the snorkel spot. When we returned to the dock (Sea Cow drops you right off at the ship and WoodWind requires a few block easy walk to get to their boat) I noticed a small group of people waiting to get on. I found out that the excursion was so popular that they decided to offer a second trip right after our trip. That trip only had about half the people on the boat.......so, it depends on the situation.....but I can assure you that they had the maximum people on our boat.

Secondly, the thing that stands out in my mind was at least on the trip that I took that day with Sea Cow it was definitely not a drift snorkel. Woodwind always does drift snorkels. I don't know if the current was particularly strong that day but the weather was beautiful, etc. We got in the water with the guide and had a great snorkel. The problem was getting back. I am a good swimmer and I was tired by the time I got back to the boat. I was so glad my husband didn't come along because he would have been exhausted. Perhaps Sea Cow sometimes does drift snorkels and or maybe they now only do drift snorkels, but that day stands out in my mind because of how difficult it was. I never felt unsafe, just tired.

They did have a photographer in the water who took great pictures by request as well and I forget what I paid, but it was very reasonable.

I just read the Shore Excursioneer site regarding the Laughing Bird Caye snorkel trip. To read the description it sounds like just hop on the cruise ferry from Harvest Caye to the mainland, take the excursion, ferry back to the ship. Sounds great EXCEPT I can't find out how long we can actually stay on the mainland. I called NCL and they just said that I should book one of their many HC excursions. I will call Shore Exc this week, but just hoping that someone has taken this excursion and can provide feedback.

Couldn't book the Cirque on line. Just got off the phone with a NCL rep who couldn't figure out why she saw No Availability as well. After her research, she came back on line and said that the Cirque show is no longer on the Getaway that is the Illusionarium. From what I read on these boards, that is not so. Any one else have trouble booking online?

Actually, I was worrying a little about time since two of the times when we disembarked in FLL the lines were quite long getting through customs - I believe we were in line the one time for over an hour. Other times, not so bad. I was hoping to have our global entry by that time, but won't. Really my vacation mode since retiring is just making things as easy and as stress free as possible. That is why we always fly in a day or two early and even just stay the night after and fly home the next day. We have always had the time but this time something came up after I booked this cruise that requires us to get home the same day of disembarkation. EZcheck seemed like a great way to do that by eliminating one layer of concern - finding and lugging luggage around. We have also never been on a ship as large as the Royal so I am imagining longer lines - which might not be the reality.

I'm going to do as others have suggested - go to the desk and request the EZCheck form, make sure it is turned in early, and hope for the best. If that fails, I'll decide whether to take our luggage off ourselves or ask to be in the first group after walk offs and hope all goes smoothly. As you can tell I am an over planner.

Thanks. I will inquire when I get on board. The only other flight is much later in the day. We have cruised out of FLL often so I know if everything goes as planned I can still make our flight, I was just overly excited about trying the EZCheck this time around and felt confident that EZCheck would help insure that we get to the gate on time with less stress. Usually we just stay at the Embassy Suites the night after the cruise and leisurely go home the next day. This time around it is important we get home the day the cruise ends.

I was all set for the first time ever to NOT stay an extra day after disembarking. I thought I had it all planned out - but I know how plans go sometimes. I was going to use EZ Check (for the first time). Flight out of FLL was 11:50. We are TSA precheck. HOWEVER, just received a flight changed email from AA that departure time is now 11:25. Has anyone ever been able to still get the EZ Check service even though the cutoff departure time is 11:30 when they are only going to miss the cutoff by 5 minutes?

It might depend on the day you book but it seems from all the posts I read about Woodwind that they are usually fully booked. The one time we went (and I have booked again with them for our March 2017 cruise) we were closely sandwiched in next to one another. As someone else said, this is not a luxury catamaran or even a comfortable boat for that matter. People were sitting around the outer edge and then around the middle. I'm sure you can find pictures of the boat on their website or by googling. It isn't a situation where you get up and walk around the boat. But, the boat trip is so short, the staff so great, the fact that they do drift snorkeling is fantastic, that I will book on Woodwind every time I am in Bonaire.

Have been on both Woodwind and Sea Cow (Sea Cow through the ship excursion). We are experienced snorkelers. On both trips the boats were full so you sit closely side by side. Not a big deal as the trip to the snorkel sites is very short. Both had helpful staff. Sea Cow had someone on board who took lots of underwater pictures that could be purchased. I don't remember if Woodwind did that. What I do distinctly remember is the difference in the approach to snorkeling.

On Woodwind, both stops were drift snorkels. Of course, that is always easier for everyone but we particularly like that approach since our time can be spent leisurely drifting without having to often swim hard to get back to the boat. When we went on the Sea Cow the approach was the usual drop anchor, follow guide(s) or off a little on your own, but at both stops we first snorkeled with the current. Both times and particularly on the second stop the swim back to the boat against the current was difficult for me and I am a strong swimmer. It wasn't that people couldn't make it back to the boat but I remember thinking that I'm glad that my husband didn't come along on this one as he would have found it exhausting because I was tired from actually swimming to get back rather than leisurely snorkeling.

I will say that I didn't hear any complaining except for how the swim was a little "hard." It could be that the current was stronger that day. I bought the CD and the pictures were great. I had requested that the photographer take specific pictures and she was happy to do so. Sea Cow also picked us up right at the ship. Have to walk about 5-10 minutes to where Woodwind is docked. Both are strictly snorkel trips which is what we look for. Woodwind passed around some snacks - I don't remember if Sea Cow did.

Don't get too excited. We just got off the Dawn (2 weeks) and before I give my experience I will say that I didn't think of looking at the movie schedule until the second week when we had an unexpected sea day. What I found was that both channels pretty much showed the same movies and they same about 5 movies were shown repeatedly throughout the day. That was fine until I decided to check the next day and the next day and the exact same movies were still being shown. Didn't bother to check after that.

Thank you for taking the time to post a response. Didn't even think of clicking on each port.

I am starting to research the possibility of taking the June 2, 2015, Royal Princess British Isles cruise. We would mostly be arranging private tours. I just realized that on the itinerary it never mentions any port being a tender port. I know that on cruises with other cruise lines the ports that are tender always have a note to that on the itinerary. It has been rare for us to take a cruise that doesn't have at least one tender port so I find it hard to believe that this cruise won't have any particularly since the Royal (for us) is a larger ship. I also realize that sometimes a ship might tender even if it isn't posted as such but I'm looking for ports that would always be tender ports.

Guernsey, Cobh, Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Greenock, Invergordon, South Queensferry (Edinburgh) , Le Havre.

Of course, even though I have looked at the itinerary many times, I might be overlooking the obvious note somewhere :o