Rogueperson

I haven't done it on the Anthem since 2016, but when i did, it was in a room off of Chops. I've always done Chef's Table on every cruise i do. The menu unfortunately hasn't changed much since 2017, but since you've never done it, it will be new for you, so that will be great. I have actually heard 2nd hand that they have charged more onboard for Chef's Table. It was only once. I was on Brilliance on its first revenue cruise back in December of 2021. I was actually doing a live thread at the time, so someone came up to me and asked me about Chef's Table who saw my live thread while I was onboard. She then told me that they were trying to charge her 130 bucks for Chef's Table!!! It might be on shorter cruises where the supply is lower and the demand higher. I have never had @Sea Dog's experience of a reduced price like he has, but what i have seen is that onboard, they will many times offer Chef's Table as part of a package of dinners, which may save you about 20 bucks overall., but not anything of real substance.

I'm not 100%. I *think* i've booked nonrefundable rates. I've transferred it to my TA who then said "I got a group for that, let me put you into that", my price drops, and it became refundable. This last time, I KNEW my TA had a group already before boarding, so when I booked, I booked refundable, and then my price dropped by 300 when i transferred it into the group when i got home. I know i normally book non-refundable onboard. I know i've been put into groups after booking. But i can't remember if i've ever done it like this or not.

i had no problem. It was slow at noon.

Its not worth the savings, especially when dealing with unknowns. I would only do that with people I'm sailing with. I had a 4 device plan split between friends of mine in different cabins. It worked fine. In fact, I had more problems with the 2 device plan with my wife because she was trying to switch between her phone and laptop, and Voom did not log off correctly on her phone. Voom can be finicky about logging off sometimes.

You really don't make reservations for day 1 lunch. However, since you have the UDP, you should go to Chops or Giovanni's to make your reservations anyways. Then after you're done, you have lunch there and its included. I did that with my Adventure cruise back in September. Its best if you have an idea of your eating schedule before you get there so they can just plug it in. Otherwise, it can drag out easily.

YES! When i was planning our honeymoon, we found that Princess at the time did NOT stop in Panama. It just goes right through and onto Aruba. Celebrity did, and since I wanted to stop in Panama, we ended up going on Celebrity.

When i did it on the Navigator, it too was between deck 4 and 5. On Allure, they had it on the 2nd floor of the Diamond Lounge, however, some of the other Oasis Classes do not have the same Diamond Lounge setup, so i'm not sure where they hold Chef's Table.

Here's a way to decide. Take the difference between a 1 device Voom package vs. the Key. With that upcharge in mind, are the benefits worth the hassle? 1. Special Lunch. Is this worth it? As well as the luggage dropoff? This can be easily mitigated by getting your own lunch prior to boarding, and then boarding closer to the time your stateroom is ready. As a solo, you could probably manage lunch wherever you want without a logistical hassle. I had the Key Lunch once. They combined the b2b lunch and the Key together and we all got the same menu. I wasn't that impressed, but to be able to eat lunch in the MDR without dealing with the WJ on embarkation day is a nice perk. 2. Private hours with ship activities. I heard this doesn't work well, because the times are usually not very convenient. 3. Early access at reserved shows. As a solo, this would be of limited usage as you Plus as a solo, it would be easy for you to get a seat wherever there's a gap. 4. premium debarkation breakfast. I heard this was decent from a friend of mine. 5. Priority debarkation at ports. I found this to be of limited usage as if you have a Royal Excursion, you automatically get priority and if you don't care when you get off the ship, its moot as at some point, debarkation will become free flow. This only works if you have an independent excursion AND you have to be off the ship quickly. If the upcharge is low enough, get it, but if its a significant bump, skip it. As a solo, you only have to worry about a single upcharge as everyone in the cabin has to have it.

I did a B2B on Adventure in October. All b2b passengers were to meet at the Imperial Lounge where there was a customs agent. They just confirmed ID and that was it. We hung out in the lounge until it was time to disembark. When it was time, we went out the back gangplank. They took all our cards, but returned it later. We were given new ones and entered the front gangplank. We never had to exit the building or even go back to the first floor. They give you instructions on what to do. It was pretty easy. If you're unsure, just let guest services know that you're on a b2b just in case, but they should know. We had the same room, so we could go back to our room if we wanted.

Its been over 14 years since i did this, but i remember one thing. Because of the length of this zipline, wind has an effect on your experience, causing you to possibly speed up, or slow down during the length of your run. When i went, the wind shifted, so as i actually did not make it quite all the way to the end as I slowed down too much. Initially, the wind was behind me. There are instances where you could come down too fast and could injure yourself if hit the end too hard. They have safety measures just in case, but its best not to test those.

Avoid the duck. That thing was tougher than shoe leather. I rarely send things back, but this one went back.

I've sailed out of Bayonne, Baltimore, Tampa, and Port Canaveral in recent times. They've all had lines set up for different check in time, however, no one has ever really checked the time before getting in line. They do check the sail pass at the door, but I have never seen anyone turned away.

FYI, did you know that your kindle CAN actually play music and games? I have a paperwhite. There ARE games you can get for the Kindle. I have one that is like a deduction game but can't remember the name of it. I got that game for the previous paperwhite kindle version. I had to upgrade because the 3G shut down and I would no longer have accessibility without wi-fi. Granted, the functionality isn't as good as if you played games on your phone, but you can do it. You can also download mp3s AND audible books. If you have an older paperwhite, there's a jack for headphones, but the newer paperwhites actually have bluetooth!!! In fact, one of the new features is that you can have audible read your book while you have it open as well as continue reading where you left off on audible. Oh, as i was fiddling with it. I found out an interesting feature. You can actually email documents to your kindle. I sometimes get free books from other websites. I can send it to my Kindle!!!! This guy is probably nuts because if you didn't know your Kindle could do that, it would not accidentally pair to his hearing aid. It IS a possibility that there maybe interference from your Kindle's signal if you have the LTE/wi-fi activated. I have some old speakers on my work computer and when its connected and transmitting, I actually do hear the interference in my speakers. Also on another note, on my last cruise, I had the nightmare of actually leaving my Kindle on the ship. They actually got it back to me!!!!

We might do one in 2024. I think flights hopefully will settle down by then. This year is Greenland, so its unlikely i will do one before that. I need to actually visit the islands this time around. Technically, I only missed Labadee and Curacao.

I was told that back in 2019. There was a slight chance my wife could not join me on an Allure cruise back then and I was told that if she was a no-show, then I would get the bonus points for sailing solo in our room.

I was told that if there's a no show, you do get the points. Am i mistaken on that? If that is so, your best bet is to book both of you, and then have your hubby be a no show. You will get the taxes and port fees back, which is usually (but not always) the difference between a solo fare and a couple fare unless the solo supplement is waived or reduced. Otherwise, you run the risk of it getting repriced higher to the current price. Or, a lower price might present itself, and you might get OBC for the difference.

I miss the 9 nights they used to have. I'm actually reading one of my old live threads i did on Grandeur from Baltimore. I've always enjoyed going to Charleston. I think that port is underrated. The 9 nights used to stop in Charleston, Canaveral, Miami, Nassau and cococay or Freeport. They do 8 nights now, but i thought 9 nights had a better schedule. 8 nights seems rushed. I found Miami to be a great port as well. I've usually used Miami as a boarding post and never really explored it until I visited on my 2 solos out of Baltimore. With uber/lyft, you pretty much have the freedom to go wherever you want. You're still in the states, so most people have data on their phones without extra hassle.

The 12 night itinerary that goes all the way down to Barbados is AMAZING. Granted you need 3 sea days to get down and back, but all those ports, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St Lucia and Barbados are awesome ports.

Universal has Escape from Gringots. It is officially an indoor rollercoaster, but the initial drop is only about 30 feet. For scale, splash mountain's drop height is 49 feet. It combines high tech scenery, with the ride to give you an unique experience. The Mummy, if its still open (I heard it maybe down for extended maintenance) has a drop for 40 feet and is a similar experience. Neither of them have any inversions. In my opinion, they are equivalent to kiddie roller coasters, though the Mummy does have a launch that can be a little intense. I say this because if you are in any way a Harry Potter fan (and it sounds like you are), Escape from Gringotts is a must do, in my opinion. The only caveat is that if you physically do get sick because of these rides, then skip them, but if you're worried that the ride is too intense, i think its worth it for the experience.

Jewel was my first cruise with Royal and unfortunately, stands also as the worst cruise i've ever taken. Royal has since proved to me that that cruise was an aberration. To this day, I did not know why that particular cruise was just so bad. The food was bad, the signature restaurants were bad. The service was abysmal. The passengers were just rude all over the place. Fortunately, this level of service and quality never resurfaced for me, but booking on the Jewel always scares me because of this experience. I am on a 14 night to Greenland in September. Irrationally, I know it will be okay but a part of me still remembers that experience. This time, instead of boarding a ship as a new customer, I'm going as Diamond Plus! It will also be the first time i'm back on the Jewel since that cruise.

Get butter beer. Unless you get a two park pass, you're only going to be able to see 1/2 of the Harry Potter experience. You will have to choose either Diagon Alley in Universal Studios, or Hogmeades at Islands of Adventure. You can get butter beer on both sides fortunately. My opinion, the rides are better (more thrilling) at Islands of Adventures. You have quite possibly one of the best roller coasters in the country with the Velocicoaster. Plus an awesome fun Harry Potter coaster with Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure as well as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey indoor ride. On the Universal Studios side, you got Escape from Gringotts, kind of a hybrid indoor rollercoaster like ride. Outside of Diagon Alley, I think the rides here explore the imagination better, like the Mummy Ride, Men in Black and Simpsons ride as well as a Transformer ride and the Fast Furious. Also, without a 2 park pass, you cannot ride the Hogwarts express. The issue is that in the short time your there, a 2 park pass may not be worth the extra money to experience everything Harry Potter has to offer unless you have an express pass. If you have money to burn, get a two park pass with an express pass and you will be able to do averything and have time to spare. We got the hookup when we did that (I had a friend who worked there).

I was expecting a punchline that after all that, you went into the wrong room and someone was shocked that you broke into their room. That would have been hilarious.

Fortunately for me, I usually have a cruise partner in my wife. My first two solos were both primarily for points in 2017 and 2018. It was jumpstarting me to diamond. I took 2 9 night cruises from Baltimore, 1K each. Amazing price. The last two solos were also amazingly price in 21 with the double points promo. They had dropped solo supplements for cruises so i did a 3 and 4 night cruise for 300 each and those were from Port Canaveral and Tampa.

This was WAY back in 2009 when i went to Colon with an ex twice. Once we drove across Panama on a tour, and then ended up in a boat that went through 2 of the locks, got off and finished off the tour. A second time, we went on the Eco Tour, which, if its the same guy, he was amazing. Panama is one of my favorite stops. My wife and I went on a Panama Canal cruise for our honeymoon. It was a full transit, but it was on Celebrity. We ended up doing the Embera Village Tour. That was a good excursion too. I don't think i've ever been disappointed with my visits there. In fact, when i was planning our honeymoon, I found that many of the full transits do not even stop in Panama.

Personally, I find a good deal for solo is if you can get it for around $100/night. So, for a 7 night, if you're paying 700-800, you're good. 1600. I think is too much for an interior.