rudeney

I live in the Birmingham, AL metro area which is over 250 miles from the gulf coast. We've had a few category 1 hurricanes make it this far north. I have a daughter who live about 50 miles south of me and they had a category 2. Of course this is based on wind speed, so there's no risk for storm surge like at the shore. But sustained winds 75mph and over are quite destructive.

If you ever went to Walt Disney World back in the 1990's when their original Fastpass system was implemented, there were some near brawls. People waiting in queues in the heat for an hour or more were getting very aggravated seeing others breezing by in the Fastpass line. I was never sure if they were just too ignorant to read the signs and use the system for themselves, or if they were angry that Fastpass actually made the standby waits even longer. Personally, I understood the system quite well and used it to my benefit, but regardless, when I found myself standing in a long queue and the Fastpass holders were skipping right ahead, I did feel a bit of resentment. And that was despite the fact that I probably had a Fastpass in my pocket and I would soon use to skip the line on my next chosen attraction. I have not sailed in anything but a suite for the last 15+ years. I don't want to act entitled, but I do pay a high premium for those few extra perks so I use and enjoy them. It's probably not worth the extra cost over a nice balcony or even a JS, but once we sailed in our first suite, we were hooked and just can't go back to a regular room. One of these days, we'll try Star Class, but that may have to be the last cruise we take because I can't afford too many of those rooms!

Yep. My favorite "stupid law" is the anti-road-rage law that states that you can't drive in the left lane of the freeway for more than 1 mile unless you are actively passing another vehicle. They passed that here in Alabama 3 or 4 years ago and I don't believe they've written the first citation. I mean, come on local LEO - that's easy pickin's around here.

My guess is that most people watching the suite passengers walk by them believe that this is line cutting, but if you told them that they, too, could do that if they paid a few more thousand for their room, they might say, "Um, no thanks," and calm down.

^^^ This.... ^^^ and this. You're fighting two things - the ship's equipment having a clear view of the satellite and your device having a clear path to the wifi access points. And one other thing - how many other people are using it at the same time. If the weather is clear and it's slow, try relocating to another part of the ship. Oh, and when you move around, disable and then re-enable wifi - their access points don't hand-off very well.

Personally, I believe many laws and rules are there not necessarily to be enforced, but to make people feel better because "something is being done." Some people may assume that because there is a rule, governing chair use, the crew is watching and those saved seats are really getting used at least once every 30 minutes. It's like when states all jumped on the bandwagon passing "no texting while driving" laws. We already have a law the prohibits distracted driving, but it's never enforced. And we all drive around now assuming that the anti-texting laws are helping us somehow. Yet at least once every 3 miles of driving, I encounter someone texting behind the wheel.

I think the reason why many players get angry at "wrong plays" is because they have this idea that some magical process has specifically ordered the cards so that the shoe/deck should play out a certain way. These are probably the same people who have a favorite team jersey in the closet at home that has never been washed.

Definitely! Our local Publix often has butcher-made patties infused with bacon and cheddar cheese chunks. I buy those and freeze them. They go straight from the freezer to the grill and I leave them slightly pink in the center. Hmm, I think I know what's for dinner tonight!

I always remember the phrase, "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Having said that, I once jumped line in front of over a hundred passengers waiting in line at the US Air desk in Philly. Long story, but basically every flight was cancelled due to weather - except mine. I had been in line for nearly two hours and everyone else was just trying to rebook. I needed to check in and check a bag (had to transfer a ticket from Delta). About 40 minutes before my still on-time flight was to depart, I decided to jump out of line and go to the desk. It nearly started a riot, but I did make my flight.

This may be helpful:

Hmm, I'd think if they'd allow the coffee card, they'd also allow the more expensive soda package. I'll be interested to hear what @grod19 ends up with.

That's also what I have always heard, but I recently saw two people claiming to be able to get DBP for one the coffee card as the 2nd "drink package" for their cabin mates. I know there is a lot of misinformation on the interwebs, and this could be that. It could be a bug in RCCL's system (I know, hard to believe) that would allow it, you just have to convince a CSR to key it in that way. It's worth a try - all you have to lose is time on the phone.

The only issue I have with that is ArriveCAN doesn't really have to be completed before you board - only before you arrive in Canada. I know it states you are supposed to complete it before boarding, but there are many people who haven't, and RCCL contacts them the night before porting in Canada to complete it. So, if you are on the ship October 1st or later and didn't complete ArriveCAN, are they going to require you to do it since Canada says it's no longer required? That was not a rhetorical question, but just sort of "food for thought". Canada's travel website and the ArriveCAN app itself are very "ambiguous". ArriveCAN will clearly tell you no testing is needed, when it is. And the website says "no testing for arrival by sea" but that doesn't count cruise ships - you have to find the not so obvious link specific to cruise ships. Canada's handling of this has been ridiculous.

Yep. I live in a very large subdivision and we have a neighborhood bourbon club with over 30 members. Several distributors have come to us to present their products and that's exactly what they said - plenty of booze, not enough bottles. The main issue is that the bottles come from China. The brands that source bottles from other countries (such as in the USA for bourbon) are doing better, but still challenged with a lack of trucks to deliver.

Thanks - I thought I remembered that but couldn't find it n the thread. I'm trying to plan out my UDP reservations and figured it was just Chops on boarding day so I'll book something different for dinner that night.

@alexgtp Did you notice if all the specialty restaurants were open for lunch on boarding day or was it just Chops?

This cracked me up. Love it! I make a darned good lasagna. I don't use no-boil noodles but I don't pre-cook them. I use uncooked whole wheat noodles and it comes out perfect.

Like I said, I heard someone say they did that, and it might have been a mistake on the part of the CSR, but apparently the system allowed it. I think if the first answer is no, I'd call back and try again.

It has Izumi (though I don't think it has hibachi), Chops and Giovanni's Table. The average dinner price among those three is probably $45. So if you eat 7 dinners (or less if you eat more at Chops) then you're coming out ahead. And that doesn't count lunches. I'd do it. I paid $245/pp for it on our 7-night cruise on Voyager next week and it has the same restaurants.

I hear a person recently say that they called and were told that both people were required to have "some" drink package, so the non-drinker bought the coffee card. YMMV.

Yep. I've had many other players admonish me for "screwing up" their hand. I do mostly play "perfect strategy", but sometimes I just feel a bit crazy and play on a whim. I was at a table in LV once and they had to remove a guy because he got so angry with another player who was just playing off the cuff. Ironically, the guy the removed was way down, and the "rule-breaker" was doing pretty well.

Yep, even for cruise ships: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise But RCCL hasn't updated their requirements yet. I suspect later today they will change the website: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-i-have-to-take-a-test-before-i-cruise#united-states

When I see people wearing masks, I assume they have a reason for doing so. Maybe they are sick, have immunity issues, or just feel better with a mask on. It's really none of my business, but when people in masks need to communicate with me and I can't understand them, I'll let them know, and end the conversation. If they have something really important to tell me, they can remove the mask, or miss out on that opportunity.

Great drone footage! Seriously, next time you come over this way, let me know.

So an hour is too far to drive? I live in the Birmingham metro area and it takes me over 30 minutes to get to Costco. I'm there once a week. If you ever want to go and don't want to make the membership investment, give me a ping and I'll meet you there. My email address is "my screen name " @ "my screen name" .com.