mjldvlks

The staff may not be sining . . .

I thought maybe this was a mathematical thread [no more sining, but perhaps a bit of cosining or tangenting].

While I am relatively certain special needs will let you bring a case on board, for your own convenience you might consider the powder that you can mix yourself.

Ok how did that happen? My fault I fear -- Sorry.

Thanks for this thread. Part of the logic in booking the Nov 2015 trip is a trial run making sure that's an OK time to be out of the office, and trying to move that Big Annual Time Off in that direction. Lobsters scurry in fear from DW, and a change of scenery would be appreciated - but that's not exactly a good early January option like we've done in the past.

It's a great cruise. But I don't think the Canada/New England itineraries run that late in the fall. If October will work, I highly recommend these cruises.

As another retired reservist/commander, the above advice is good. Two things I will add:

1. While you may not have the official training schedule yet, most units I have been associated with have a typical weekend for drill such as the second weekend of the month. Make sure you use your best guess [based on prior experience] to avoid the most likely weekend.

2. Coordinate with the chain of command immediately if that has not been done already--from the immediate supervisor to the commander. Make sure they know your plans and that you are doing your best to pick a free date. No commander likes surprises and the more they are kept in the loop, the more accommodating the chain of command will be.

Good luck. Like most others above, assuming it is an ordinary drill and no major deployment is imminent, I would put my money on the commander being real agreeable for a honeymoon. As a commander, if I had refused to let a soldier off for a honeymoon [especially if he had tried his best to avoid a schedule conflict] I would want to make sure the training that weekend was spectacular. I wouldn't want to be around if that soldier found out there was a lot of down time or no really special training.

Echo most of what others have said. We did a 7 day on Jewel hitting the same ports. We did mainly private tours. Did a tour around the city and a harbor tour in Portland. Highly recommend the Acadia tour in Bar Harbor. One of the bits of information stored in my brain from 6th grade is that the Bay of Fundy has the greatest change in the world from high to lo tide. So in St. John NB we went to the reversing falls and out to one of the areas where they show the bare sea floor at low tide. In Halifax we got a comp ship's excursion to Peggy's Cove because it was a members cruise. If we had not, we would probably have done a private tour there as well. The Titanic museum in the port area is also worth seeing. Al in all, one of my favorite cruises.

The ages will skew a but higher, but in August maybe not so much [we went in mid-October].

One disagreement -- I do NOT recommend the HoHo bus in Boston. Seems to me that it is too slow and you miss a lot. When you get off, you have to wait quite a while for another bus and when it gets there, there may or may not be seats for you. Boston has great public transportation. I think you are much better off figuring out what you want to see and getting there by public transportation. But take that with a bit of a grain of salt -- I am not a fan of HoHo buses in general. Boston is a great City in any event. Many sites to see and great restaurants. In August, you might be able to take in a game at Fenway -- definitely a must [in my book] if you can do so.

Enjoy your cruise. Here is a picture from one from our stops in the Acadia Notional Forest:

On our one and only B2B we were required to leave the ship. However, I have heard others [on other cruises -- everyone on our cruise had to disembark] say that they were not required to do so. In our case, we were told we had to leave because of some periodic inspection or customs check that required the ship to have a zero passenger count. I emphasize we were kept clearly informed and had our hands held through the entire process. They took good care of us.

As to packing, typically you will have to pack loose items [anything not hanging] into your bags, but the things hanging in you closet will be moved on a rack. Our steward came to me the day before and went through the whole process so I would know what was going on. We were fortunate that we did not have to move. I am guessing by the 3d cruise you will have a pretty good relationship with your steward.

. . . Hopefully that means they will accept a CRBA for adults the same as CBP does.

I agree. Since the government entrance requirements are theoretically the basis for RCI's documentation requirements, I am pretty sure the RCI ambiguity is the result of sloppy drafting by somebody who didn't recognize that, even though a CRBA is a basic citizenship document is not a "birth certificate." In any event, for the purposes involved here [entrance into the United States on return from a closed loop cruise] they are equivalent. I think "government issued" [as opposed to hospital issued or anything other than government issued]is the point RCI was trying to make. I can't think of any incentive RCI would have to be more restrictive than the government.

Personally, my passport resolves any such questions. But I really don't like the idea of kids born abroad to soldiers [like my DD] and other government servants being treated as second class citizens to any extent. If any thing, they should get extra considerations.

. . . .

Note that a CRBA is listed as an acceptable document for a minor under 16, but is not listed for an adult. I don't know if that is an inadvertent omission or deliberate policy. To avoid doubt, my advice would be not to rely on a CRBA for an adult if at all possible.

Thanks for the clarification. I was afraid that your comment could be interpreted to mean the exception for closed loop cruises only applied if you were born un the US. As a father of a child born abroad solely because I was there at the behest of the government, this is a pretty big issue to me.

The comment about the CRBA/Certificate of Naturalization I quoted from the CBP website is in a parenthetical at the end of the paragraph which discusses the closed loop thing generally. The last specific thing discussed before the parenthetical is the exception to the birth certificate requirement for infants where the government issued certificate has not yet arrived. This could lead to an inference that the parenthetical refers only to minors. But, since the paragraph refers to closed loop cruises generally and everywhere else in the CBP website where birth certificates are mentioned CRBAs and Naturalization certificates are stated as acceptable alternatives, I am pretty sure the parenthetical, however awkwardly, was intended to apply to the paragraph generally -- minors and adults.

The RCI statement, while perhaps even more awkward, appears to parrot the CBP comment for the most part. While allowances may need to be given for the over zealous pier worker, I am confident the CRBA is within the intended definition of "government issued birth certificate."

Assuming you go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before and don't over indulge, you should be fine.

A few caveats regarding the use of birth certificates on closed loop cruises:

 

You must be a US citizen born in the US

. . .

Not according to the US CBP website:

U.S. Citizens on closed-loop cruises will be able to enter or depart the country on the cruise with proof of citizenship, such as an original or copy of his or her birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born) and, if 16 or older, a government issued photo ID. If the child is a newborn and the actual birth certificate has not arrived from the Vital Records Department, we will accept a Hospital issued birth certificate. The United States does not require you to have a passport. (A Consular report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State or a Certificate of Naturalization is also acceptable.)

Whether the RCI staff at the pier will be satisfied may be another question.

:eek: Well, you do have nice knees.

 

Marci

I would like to see a picture of Bob in those dresses.

I am not a drinker so I cannot speak to the premium drink packages, but I have always gotten a soda package. The only time I ever experienced bad service that seemed to be attributed to the soda package was on everyone's [well almost everyone's favorite ship Jewel. Waiter in the Schooner bar took my order ["diet coke please"] and never returned. It took a couple of times by the same waiter before I put 2 and 2 together and decided he was stiffing me because of the soda card. By that time, he was gone and it hadn't even occurred to me to get his name.

By far the worst service we have ever had on a RCI ship was on that cruise. I laugh a bit when I see the frequent posts gushing about how great Jewel is with such wonderful service. Even had a waiter in the MDR verbally assault a member of our group at dinner for eating a dish he had served her by mistake. Given that the standard response to a service complaint seemed to be chocolate covered strawberries, lets just say we ate a lot of chocolate covered strawberries that cruise. But given the people we were with and the places we went it is still one of my favorite cruises.

Good rule of thumb -- bring the smallest luggage possible.

Our Canada/New England cruise was mid October. As others have said, layers is a good policy. For me, a light, waterproof jacket with a heavy sweater if it got cold was a good solution. Most days the jacket alone was fine. Looking back at our pictures, most people wore their jackets most days but some afternoons you can see a few with jackets ties around waists or necks. I also took a pair of light weight gloves and, in lieu of an umbrella, a water resistant hat. Really had only one colder port day and that was the first one in Portland, ME. Especially on the harbor tour we took, the gloves were a welcome addition.

First RCCL cruise, Majesty of the Seas, 1994. I'd never booked a guarantee before and had no idea what to expect. They didn't assign the cabin until 2-3 days before sailing.

 

Cabin was LOVELY! Outside (first time I'd ever had a window), very far forward.

 

Then we hit the first port and I knew why they kept that cabin vacant until the last minute. I heard every link of the anchor going into the water. It was like waking up on a construction site on port days.

 

Lesson learned.

We had a cabin fairly close to the anchor on Monarch. To me it was not a big deal: (a) it is only used at tender ports [and we only had one in 7 days]; and (b) it takes only a few seconds to deploy. Now there are other noises that you may hear more in a lower deck forward cabin, such as the bow thrusters, that are used at pretty much every docking. But again, these are fairly short in duration. Also, if you are on 2 or 3, you are likely to hear the things going on the pier -- moving equipment, supplies, workers talking/yelling, etc. But personally, I had no problem with the cabin --deck 2 and far enough forward that the hallway was angling in to the bow.

Wife and I are lookin to take a 2016 cruise and we're eyeing one of the front balconies on Freedom with the glass enclosure looking forward. As of now, we're travelling alone, and we do see that the specific staterooms we're looking at (7214 and 7514) are connecting staterooms.

 

Has anyone been in these rooms, and would you say the positives outweigh the negatives? The way we see it, there won't be too many opportunities to get a room with an unobstructed forward balcony view over the bow of the ship, so we're kind of jumping at the chance to experience.

I have been in one of those cabins [pretty sure it was on 7] on Independence during a cabin crawl. The folks from our group who booked it love these cabins -- had been in them before and went out for their way to get one for our cruise which was a TA. The forward looking glass gives a very unique perspective. I thought it was a pretty cool view. I think I would like staying in one of these cabins. These are one of those unique cabin categories [maybe including hump and aft balconies] that you just have to try to see if you like it. Some may, some may not. Be aware, that you may be visible from the bridge wing so govern your balcony activities accordingly.

LOL --hope my earlier picture helps. Here is another of the outside, but of the port side of Jewel. I doctored it for someone else's question -- the red circle is cabin 7160. If you count back, the fifth cabin aft is 7170, the same as 7670 but opposite side. I don't have a good pic of the starboard side unfortunately.

I use to run. Most people, including the ones I know, that run are running for cross country. Being outside, in the environment, dodging chairs, people walking, "the wind" etc is part of training. Running in a controlled environment, on a treadmill, while watching TV is not the same....My guess she trains for cross country running and the jogging tracks give a great option on the ship. Running in place for 1 or more hours in one spot, while a parent has to watch, just does not seem right. I am an old school runner, where the wind in my face (not the air conditioner) is part of the task!

LOL -- why is it so important to you that everyone [including OP's daughter] agree with you?

If you have preferences that are so set in stone that any deviation is a "crappy" cabin then the guarantee game is not for you. But if, like me, cutting the cruise bill in half for the same type of cabin appeals to you, give it a shot. We have played the gamed several times and have always been satisfied with our decision. Just go into it with an open mind and willing to accept whatever cabin you get in the guaranteed class. And don't do it because you expect to get upgraded. The biggest upgrade we have ever gotten was from an "E" balcony to a "D." I realize the guarantee is not always a 50% deal. But if it isn't a material savings, then I wouldn't do it. It's all about the savings.

. . . That's going to be up to her.

And therein is the bottom line re treadmill vs. track.

Usually 6-8 decks....if it's a continuous shuffle machine....they will beat your ass everytime!

Isn't reshuffling irrelevant to the odds on the next card drawn?

. . . why would it be an issue to run on the jogging track? Give a much better workout, in the outside environment, plus the nice view etc. . .

By the way, many of the facilities [including the ones on the Freedoms, Freedom being next up on OP's cruise list] have pretty good views from the treadmills. And you'd have to show me some evidence for me to buy the "much better" workout bit.

Cool photo, even still.:)

LOL -- My holy grail of photography is a great picture of a bald eagle. So far all I have managed to get are this fuzzy one and a picture of the back end of one fishing at the reversing falls in St. John, NB.