crzndeb

I used the apple wallet trick on my daughters gty cabin and was able to see hers. We are on New Years cruise. Wasn’t able to do it until check in at 45 days.

Right now I am cruising on Royal, but have also gone on other lines, Carnival the most. I’m not solo on my next cruise, which is New Years on Navigator. Going with daughters and grandkids. Not sure how I will do sharing a cabin..😂 My next solo is B5B on Ovation next year from Sydney.

I have traveled solo for years, and it is my preferred way to cruise. I don’t normally attend the meetup, because it’s not really my thing, but I know others that do. I did meet a couple of solos on my recent Wonder TA, on the Roll Call, and would meet up for drinks and play trivia together. I personally won’t book single cabins, since my goal is to get to 340 points, which then gets you a discount as a solo cruiser. They can add up pretty quickly when booking double occupancy cabins. Also make sure to check out your Roll Call.

I don’t see mine listed anymore and it didn’t pop up when I purchased internet for cruise next month. I do have the email from when it was credited a few months ago. Will probably just go to guest services when I board, rather than deal with hold times right now.

I never assume that posters even know what a closed loop cruise is. So to simplify for OP, if you embark and disembark from the same US city, you don’t need a passport. Then all the other “what ifs” can come into play.

Photo is saved to Favorites on my phone. One less thing to lose 🤦🏼‍♀️

So very sorry…😢

Check out the FAQ’s on Royal website. A lot of questions can be answered there. As far as pros and cons, I just got off the TA on Nov 13. It’s hard to say pros and cons, since what may bother you, may not bother others. I am a “go with the flow” person, and very little bothers me. But, I am also a solo traveler, and need to only worry about myself. I personally loved the ship.

I bought my 2 grandkids the soda package for upcoming New Years Navigator cruise. Easy Xmas present. 😉

If your ship has freestyle machines

In Nov/2019 on Voyager, I did a 3/4 day B2B including Penang. I can’t remember the exact name of tour, but it included going up to Penang Hill to The Habitat, which included a walking tour. It was a great tour. In Phuket, I did the elephant sanctuary. The sanctuary was one of the best tours I have done. These were both ship tours. You are still over a year away, so I wouldn’t worry about tours yet. They will populate closer to date. I am also sailing on the Navigator for New Years, and plenty of tours listed. Can’t remember when they actually showed up.

Nope, you have to keep checking.

Was on the Wonder TA and saw nothing about Starlink. I had purchased the Surf only and was surprised to be able to stream some shows on my Apple TV app.

Check in time 😉

It’s not a cruise line requirement. It’s the country requirement. Spain was still on 270 rule, so I got my first booster to sail TA. Italy did not require a booster.

I always travel solo, and have always gotten my shareholder benefits. Here’s another case of under trained employee. Use the above posted link, don’t call.

Passengers still need to disembark, and the ship needs to be cleared of all passengers. Please don’t get there any earlier. It can cause a real crowding issue with disembarking and embarking passengers trying to be first one on ship.

If you have no cruises booked for the near future, you probably haven’t been checking protocols. Royal has been pretty much updating for the upcoming month ONLY, because of constant changes. Since TA’s for the Spring are a few months away, those protocols won’t be updated, at the earliest, until Feb or March 2023.

It’s simple. Different cruise lines offer different dining packages and drink packages. If you don’t like what one cruise line offers, there’s others to choose from, if drinks are important. If you like a cruise line itinerary or price, but not the drink package, then one has to adapt. I haven’t checked lately, but on Royal, they also have 375ml bottles of a few alcohols for your cabin.

I just checked in for Navigator New Years sailing a couple of days ago. Granted, I woke up at 0430 (damn all those Wonder TA time changes) and 10:30 check in times were available. I looked yesterday afternoon, and 11:00 still available. I would never get up at midnight for a check in, but many do. And many are just up at that time.

They will cover drinks up to $14.

I loved it and saw it twice. Just goes to show, there is something for everyone. But I love high tech stuff.

Although I do have some sympathy for situations like this, I’m always amazed at somebody who all of a sudden finds Cruise Critic to complain. As others have said, the rules for TA’s are pretty clear. I am a 71 yo solo traveler, and I just got off the Wonder. I checked, and rechecked almost daily on the rules. I have NEVER depended on anyone to tell me what I needed for my cruise. Rules were posted and emails were sent out. I remember some had to change plans because vax rules changed from 12 and over, to 5 and over. So when 2000, 3000, 4000 people know the rules and a couple don’t, where is the problem? And if you’re spending a whole lot of money for a cruise, it’s always good to find a message board or social media site Before you cruise.

A couple I played trivia with, mentioned their son got off Independence (hope that’s the right ship) on Sat. and they were using facial recognition and it went down. It finally came back up, but after everything backed up from manual checking. Sounds like they were having issues with it.

I think there were several factors. Not enough custom agents, people not understanding, wait in your cabin until luggage tag number called, etc. They were ahead of ESTIMATED departure times, until they came to a halt after they got to 20. I had 27, and waited in my cabin for an hour. I finally went to deck 5, because I had a 0915 shuttle (not Royal). There were already people in line with tags in 30’s and 40’s. The cabin attendants also want to get into cabins to start cleaning, and I don’t think this process worked for 4300 passengers, especially with all the hoops the ships has to go through, being from an international location. The line stretched all the way around the dining room, and they stopped several times to clear gangway. It was definitely a cluster****. And this is exactly why people don’t have BOARDING times. No telling when they actually started boarding new passengers.