Giantfan13

Thanks Cheers Len

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what is the difference between a regular balcony and an extended one? Cheers Len

We just received our 3rd shot today ('Booster'). We are both in our 70's age wise. With this 'added' protection, do we still need a negative test to board. Our cruise isn't until Dec but, like everyone else, we need all the info in advance. Cheers Len

It is not a dumb question and one I had also asked years ago. You make a reservation for 7:00, you walk in, ahead of any line that is there and you will be seated in a matter of minutes. On another note, you are in port one day and you do NOT want to rush back to the ship to eat. When you make the reservation, you can adjust each day for whatever time you want to eat, maybe 7 one day, 8 the next--you set the time. AND, you are NOT locked into this reservation. Maybe you feel like eating at 6 and you have a reservation for 7. Either call and cancel the reservation or just show up and take your chances on whatever wait there might be. Again, you can eat whenever you want, the reservation just ensures that you will be seated approximately at that time instead of waiting. Cheers Len

When you made the reservation, you have to ask for MTD, or else they usually put you in an early or late seating. If your reservation doesn't specifically say MTD then you don't have it and that could be the reason why, when you clicked on the link, only the specialty restaurants are showing up. We had this same exact problem on a cruise we have booked for next year. They had us wait listed for MTD and we could not reserve a time. Same thing showed up when we went to dining options, only specialty restaurants. Now we are on the regular MTD and the Main Dining room has shown up and we did make the necessary reservations. Again, check your reservation and see where they have you eating. Once you get specifically MTD that will show up as a dining option for you. They you can pick a day and a time you wish to eat for each day of the cruise. Cheers Len

Thanks for all the great replies. We just had an Enchantment cruise for December cancelled and we were looking for some answers for rebooking somewhere, somehow. But, as has been said, what are the rules now, may not be next week, next month and who knows what Fall will bring. Cheers Len

That is exactly what I was looking for. I have read so many different opinions, different facts, it would be nice to get something that I can believe is so. Cheers Len

With so much info out there, I am thoroughly confused right now. It is hard to decipher what is true, what is just false and what is, well I don't know. So, can I throw a few questions out there and maybe some can supply some answers. As of now, you need to have a negative Covid test and be vaccinated to board a ship--correct? I would assume if you have a positive test before boarding, you will not be allowed to board Are people being tested while on board? Are passengers allowed off the ship, in ports without being on a ship excursion? Do you have to be tested if you get off the ship, once you return to the ship? And, maybe my most concerning question, say your ship docks in Tampa and you are flying home that day, do you need to show a negative test to fly? If so, when do you get tested, on the ship? at who's expense? If you do test positive and not allowed to fly, how long must you stay where you are before being allowed to fly (and test negative)? I know it's a lot of questions, but, I'm sure, others want to know also, just don't want to ask. Thanks for any and all replies. Cheers Len

My ship, the Enchantment, isn't on the schedule for this cruise for next year, so does that mean, I cannot do a Lift and shift and have to take either one of the other two options? Cheers Len

We had a cruise on the Enchantment out of Baltimore on Dec 11, 2021 and today we received the dreaded email saying it has been cancelled. As with past cancelled cruises they give you the regular 3 options, FCC, Lift and shift or cash. We have done a lift and shift several times before and had no problems. Has Royal changed it's Lift and Shift policy? This was the Lift and Shift email: Option 2: Select a New Sail Date Next Year (Lift & Shift) If you prefer to move your existing booking to a sailing next year - we're happy to move you! We will price protect the original pricing and/or promotion on a sailing that has the same ship, embarkation port, sailing length, product, and stateroom category as your original sailing within 2 weeks (before or after) of the original sail date the following year. For example, if you are moving from a Brilliance of the Seas September 4, 2021 sailing, you can move to another sailing that has the same ship, embarkation port, sailing length, product, and stateroom category, and has a sail date between August 21, 2022 - September 18, 2022. Please know, price protection covers your cruise fare/promotion on an applicable sailing only and excludes taxes and fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items, as these may change. You must decide to move to a new sailing by August 11, 2021. If not, we will automatically issue you a Future Cruise Credit. Complimentary Casino offers, Charter sailings, and select rates are not eligible for this offer. If I am reading this right, I can only Lift and Shift to another Enchantment cruise? I cannot Lift and Shift to a different cruise say in Jan, Feb, Mar etc. it has to be 1 year (give or take those 2 weeks) after this cruise was supposed to sail? I have been on hold with my travel agent for 90 minutes while she was trying to contact Royal about this and she came back on telling me this is the NEW Lift and Shift policy. Is this true? As I said, I have lifted and shifted from the Explorer to the Odyssey then to the Voyager all, not a year away. As long as the length was the same and the cabin were the same, we had no problems. So what has changed, or has anything changed and I am reading this incorrectly? Cheers Len

We WERE on the Enchantment out of Baltimore Dec 11 and it was just cancelled today. BOOOOOO Cheers Len

Thanks for the help. We are sort of worriers and I probably would spend most of t he cruise wondering if there will be any problems. We will rethink this. Again, thanks Cheers Len

We are looking at a cruise that arrives Tamp Nov 14, a Sunday. Is there any way to make a 10:20 AM flight out? Cheers Len

We have a 12 days cruise booked out of Baltimore in December and this is excellent news. We usually stay at one of the sleep and park motels around Baltimore where you pay for a night and park your car for the entire cruise. They have shuttles that take you to the terminal and then pick you up after the cruise. I am a veteran and every time we cruise out of Baltimore we always visit Fort McHenry--free for all veterans or with those Senior Golden passes. Cheers Len

I walk with a cane, but I always bring a 3 piece walking stick that screws together and I have never been stopped to have it inspected. It is great to be able to just pack it in your luggage and then viola, you have a 5 foot walking stick when needed. I always use it when we go off the ship, rather than my cane. Cheer's Len

We started cruising in 1999 and our first cruise was an NCL ship out of my hometown, NYC. When we boarded the ship, we were greeted by violins, a glass of champagne and a crew member showed us to our room. We thought, WOW, if this is cruising, we're in. We did out next cruise in 2000 again on NCL and that all was gone and has never come back. On that same first cruise, we boarded, went to eat in the MDR. After lunch we went to explore the ship. Right after she left, around 4PM, they brought out these huge grills and started grilling salmon, chicken and ribs, which, of course we indulged and after we finished that, gosh, it was time to get ready for dinner. Since NCL started that anytime dining, we waited till about 7 and enjoyed another delicious meal. Again, we were sold on cruising. So much has changed and much of it because of 9/11. There were no pictures on ship cards and security was pretty lax. Everything changed after 9/11 and it sure seems as if we have been nickeled and dimed to death since then. Cheers Len

Was the last time I was on a cruise-- or it sure feels that way 😀😄 Cheers Len

Just a suggestion that we have done on basically every cruise. At breakfast, in the Windjammer they ALWAYS have a few large bowls of chopped nuts and chocolate chips, sometimes even pumpkin seed. We never eat at the buffet, but every morning, while my DW is getting dressed, I go to the Windjammer and fill up a couple of cereal bowls with this said chocolate chips and whatever nuts they have out. Take them back to the room, put them in baggies and we have snacks for sitting out on the deck, just chilling out. These items ARE there every single day, Sometimes they might be by the waffle maker, another time by cereal fixings, but again, the chocolate chips (and they are delicious) are there every day, just at breakfast. Cheers Len

It does sound confusing, saying you can eat at anytime you wish, but people make reservations for a specific time. We have always done MTD, or whatever they call it on other cruise lines. You eat when you feel like eating and no need to rush back from days in ports or excursions just to be able to eat dinner at your time. That said, if you prefer a dining time of say 6:30 you can make a reservation on line for it. It doesn't cost anything and if you decide that night , you prefer to eat at a different time, just go when you wish. You are NOT locked into any specific time, but by making a reservation at a popular time, you can usually just walk in as they are holding a reservation for you, opposed to others who may have to wait. Also, the MTD is done on a different level than the regular dining options, usually upstairs. Cheers Len

Most people who decide to carry their own luggage off by themselves, are usually looking to get off as early as possible, most times, to catch an early flight home. If you are in no rush, just enjoy your last few hours onboard. You can go to breakfast at either the buffet or the Main Dining room. The night before you are to disembark, you have to leave your luggage out in the hallway. Just keep what you will need for that night and the next day with you, everything else you can let them take off. You will get tags to put on your luggage, usually by colors. You attach them to whatever you want to leave out and overnight they collect all the luggage. (It's the same way you get your luggage on boarding. You give it to them and they deliver it to your room sometime that afternoon, usually leaving it in the hallway, next to your door). in the morning, they call colors as to when you can disembark and your luggage will be off, waiting for you in a large area. You can get a porter to help you with it, if needed. Don't know if anyone has cruised MSC in Europe, but people are always getting off and on at basically every port, so there is always luggage in the hallways most nights. Cheers Len

The only way to learn is to ask questions. As has been said, there are no what we can call a supermarket on board, but maybe it might not be a bad idea one day. But there are so many options for food, that you will never go hungry. The Windjammer is the buffet, where you can help yourself to whatever is there 3 times a day and take whatever you wish back to your room. It is a huge buffet with everything you could possible want for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You want to make a peanut butter sandwich for later, go ahead, you want fruit, desserts, hamburgers, it's your choice. There is also a food station that is open 24 hours a day with some cold sandwich , pizza, cookies, and if you don't want to go out, there is room service (for a fee). Cheers Len

We were neighbors. What time frame are we talking about? Cheers Len

My DW grew up as a sort of Modern Orthodox Jew. She attends the Young Israel in the Yeshiva across from Wing Wong. In fact we live about 3 blocks from said restaurant. Myself, I attend any synagogue that I feel comfortable in. When my children were here with us, we were members of the JCC on Dogwood Ave, but I really hated the people who were sort of the overlords of that place and we left. The name you mentioned, if it is a different spelling, I known that name from somewhere. Very Familiar. Where on LI do you currently live? If you want, you can email me at Giantfanlen@msn.com Cheers Len

I graduated HS in 1963, spent a few years bumming around, went into the service (Air Force) in 1966-1969, returned to Brooklyn, met my Darling wife in 1973, go married in 1974 and we lived in Canarsie from then to 1980, East 92 St and Ave L, around the corner from the Canarsie movie theater. From there to Queens and then to Long Island where we are now. Currently hate it here and we are looking to relocate, depending on where my son and grandchildren move to. Cheers Len