leaveitallbehind

Allure is currently planned for early 2025 (around Feb). Liberty also early 2025. Independence was amplified in 2018. Not sure her next drydock dates, but as I understand it they typically run about every 5 years. But note that there is a difference between routine drydock maintenance and drydock for Amplification / refurbishment. And since Independence had that in 2018 I would not expect that another is in the works.

Many hotels - do you have a brand preference? Budget? Suggest as the above poster indicates to go to the FL Departures Board at this link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/ As to shuttles, an easy option is Uber / Lyft, which are plentiful around MCO for that port.

Everything has a time and a place, I guess - LOL

Are you saying you will wait to link your bookings until you are on board, or to wait to schedule your reservations until you are on board - or both? If you don't use it pre-cruise for scheduling then you are kind of defeating its purpose, which is to synchronize pre cruise bookings and reservations within your group with desired events at desired times. Reservations availability and preferred times are likely to be rather limited on board. BTW, once all final payments are made, that information is no longer on the linked bookings. The OBC's - which are likely the same for all - will disappear as well if used in advance for on board bookings. (And really, what difference does it make if everyone can see that - they all have it). As long as all in the linked group are aware that any action taken by one can affect all, and one person is designated to make those bookings, all should be fine. Its somewhat of a Catch-22 I guess, in that to your perspective, the negatives of the linking set up outweigh the benefits of the process, but waiting to eliminate those negatives on board eliminates the purpose of linking in the first place. Hope you get it worked out to your satisfaction.

Not clear what you are skeptical about - whether the tour operator changed the schedule, or whether there is accurate availability information regarding the rescheduled excursion? Let me attempt to address both. While not good, tour operators can, and occasionally do, change their schedule for a number of valid reasons. The cruise line does not control the excursion and would not normally be the one to cancel as that potentially is taking revenue away from them. So I would believe the CC rep when they say the tour operator changed the schedule. As to space availability, Celebrity only sees what the tour operator shows as available and it is possible that in real time, that information may not be completely accurate. Maybe the website update was not posted when you were on with the CC rep, maybe it was booked but someone canceled, etc. Who knows, it could be any number of reasons why that information was in conflict. If you decide to do that excursion I would just try to book through the planner and failing that, call the CC rep back and try through them. Or you can follow the suggestion made by @Liao. But, again, as they are not the tour operator, I would not necessarily be skeptical of the CC rep's information in attempting to help you. They want nothing more than to have you book the excursion.

We have always changed in our rooms and, my wife with a coverup and I with a t-shirt, have always walked to and from the pool in our swimwear. That is perfectly fine. If the stateroom supplies you with a robe, that is fine to wear as well. But although there will be restrooms near the pools, in our experience unless the pool is located near the spa which typically will have showers and changing rooms, there have not been dedicated changing rooms for the pool. But even in that situation, we have not used the spa as a changing room as it is too difficult to carry clothes, shower, dry off, and change - as well as it not being necessary. (Ex: RCCL / Celebrity).

OK I just did a quick google check. Did you try these: https://ididaride.com/tours/ https://sleddogtours.com/ I didn't explore them too far but I think they are direct booking sites?

I've not had direct experience with this so hopefully someone can confirm, but my understanding is that as long as there is adequate snow on the ground they will use a true sled. Otherwise the "sled" that is pulled is on wheels. The typical cruise season occurs when the snow is the least. I also know that there are helicopter based excursions that might take you higher / farther to where more snow might be found. Sorry - can't help with direct tour operators.

"Best" is difficult to answer as that depends on what your expectations are for your cruise and tours. There are a number of very good cruise lines that offer Alaska cruises and cruise tours, from mass market cruise lines with large ships that focus on families, to those focusing mainly on adults, to premium smaller ships with all inclusive pricing, different cruised lengths and itineraries offered, etc. In other words, many choices and options depending on what you are looking for. My suggestion would be to contact a live travel agent who specializes in cruises and review your expectations, preferences, and budget with them and let them sort through the various cruise lines to help you determine the best fit for you. That is their expertise.

At the very least you would have to discuss this with the cruise line to make sure they are aware of your plans and OK it, and they would also let you know of anything needed to do through them. I'm sure you are also aware that there would not be any financial credit issued by the cruise line for your time off the ship.

As @Shmoo here suggests, it will likely vary by cruise line as many cruise tours are specific to the individual cruise line. Knowing that would help.

Rather than list them, in general, most cruise lines have them in their suite level staterooms. Most, however, do not in their standard staterooms. (RCCL offers kettles for tea on European sailings in non suites as well). Aside from NCL, you would have to google each line to see. Hopefully others can identify if any do.

In our experience this has never been an issue, and is in fact usually a desirable location in terms of ease of getting around the ship. Most elevator banks are in and away from the staterooms on either side towards the center of the ship. Most staterooms are down a hallway and separated by walls and some distance from the elevators, which are also typically in their own hallway or setback. And their ding is usually rather quiet. Also the staterooms are individually well sound insulated. Point being I doubt you will hear anything from the elevator banks - we never have.

While there a number of good third party tour providers, whenever possible typically just do our research on any given port and book directly with the tour operator. In that manner we are dealing directly with them and not relying on a third part to handle the transaction for us - for a fee.

I've seen it both ways. It may have to do with who the person is in the group who is doing the scheduling. Who knows. But in earlier years I don't recall seeing that so maybe it's something relatively new.

We have gone to Paradise Beach Hotel on an all inclusive day pass and liked it quite a bit. It is located on West Bay Beach which is a prime beach area about 20+/- minutes from the pier, depending on traffic. The resort provides transportation as part of the package and will pick you up just outside of the pier shopping area and will return you there about an hour or so prior to departure. (Sooner if you wish) Here is their website: https://paradisehotels.com/inicio/ If you just want to go to a beach, you could take a cab to West Bay Beach. There are a number of beach hotels and resorts as well as restaurants up and down the beach. The island is very safe and the taxi service inexpensive and reliable. I would suggest arranging a return pick up with your driver, however, to assure a timely return. I can't confirm public restrooms or dressing areas as we were at the resort, which provided all of that. But certainly the restaurants would have bathroom facilities. Search West Bay Beach, Roatan, on google maps or other similar search engine to see more about the area. Here is the link to the board reference by @Essiesmom if you want to post your question there as well or just search the threads: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/15-roatan/ Other related sources of Cruise Critic information would the the Royal Caribbean board here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/51-royal-caribbean-international/ Or you could search for your sailing dates' Roll Call to talk with other passengers on your itinerary at this link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/21-royal-caribbean-roll-calls/

I don't think that is the case as we booked our most recent Oasis through a TA with linked reservations, and I was the scheduler and could see all the payment information for the linked guest. That has also been the case on previously linked reservations of ours booked through a TA.

Good plan - give them a call and be sure to talk with someone live. Have your booking numbers at hand and I would suggest providing a brief review of your concerns with whomever you talk to, but confirm with them that they are the right rep and in a position to assist. Some reps are more experienced or have the ability to make those changes than others. If they are not, ask to elevate your call to a supervisor or other capable representative as you want to be sure your situation is understood and correctly resolved without hassle with that call. Good luck!

With RCCL, the exposure to all those with linked reservations of payment dates, etc., is a factor of the linking process. My understanding is it takes the whole reservation data of each and does not (and I think cannot) deselect certain information out of the view. This is perhaps a downside of the tool. The RCCL reps certainly should be able to assist with scheduling questions, but may not be well versed with the details of the tool, and as a result, not able to make the adjustment you request. I think linking works well with dining and shows in that it helps coordinate and simplify the reservation process with the assurance that all of those linked together will have the same schedules, etc. Caution must be taken, however, because any individual adjustments by anyone in the group will similarly affect all. So you just need to communicate and coordinate your scheduling input - usually best if one in the group has that responsibility. Understanding the process, we typically link reservations when traveling with others.

Just a suggestion. You will likely receive various valid responses to your situation, but as this is a rather complex question, if you booked your cruise through a travel agent I would suggest contacting them for direction and any steps that may need be taken with the cruise line. That is part of their responsibility in managing your booking. If you booked directly or on line with the cruise line, you may want to reach out to them via a phone call to discuss your options as they are the ones who will ultimately have the final say on how this is resolved.

Repositioning cruises (trans Atlantic / trans Pacific) are just that - a way to shuttle a ship from the end of one seasonal region to another new one. Coming at the end of one peak season they typically are not in the best temperature and weather conditions, and also typically lack a lot of ports of call en route with a large number of consecutive sea days. (Our 14 day has 5 ports, which is actually pretty many). The plus side is they are usually very economically priced and often not at passenger capacity - both of which are nice benefits. Easy to understand your comment of it being too long, however. For many, this type of itinerary might be. But long itineraries that are in season and closed loop (or at least point to point within the region) would typically have a commensurate number of of ports of call during pleasant weather conditions. The off ship opportunities and day to day activities would keep you pretty busy with more frequent changes of scenery. These are itineraries of a whole different nature and may not seem to be too long on the ship as a result. Just two completely different types of cruises. And we like both - LOL.

LOL - risky at best!

As @ldubs and I mention, there are some cruise lines that expressly do allow it, and some that prohibit them. You would just have to google the different cruise lines to see which is which.

We are booked on a late October - early November RCCL Odyssey for a 14-day Rome - Newark that was chosen primarily due to the logistics of when and where we will be in Italy prior to our return and the proximity of Newark to Philly. That being said, the vessel is 168,000 GT with numerous venues to help occupy the time. Agree that in the grand scheme of things relative to the vastness of the ocean it likely won't make much difference. But the larger ship may handle the larger waves somewhat better in comparison. But I would like the Ociania experience as well for the same reasons as those pointed out by @cruisemom42.

Agree, but there is another CC poster who in years gone by took one on just about every cruise he was on. I used to kid him about it and wondered as well if they were allowed, but to my surprise, there are some that do and some that don't.