lx200gps

I just "walked" the route on Google Street View, and it looks like there are plenty of places to sit down along the route. As you exit the Crowne Plaza and head due east, you come to Harbor Blvd, which then runs north to the Cruise terminal. The first place to sit down are the benches at the USS Los Angeles memorial, 300 yards from the CP. Farther along Harbor Blvd, there are benches near W 5th St on a walking path which parallels Harbor Blvd. So yes, there seem to be plenty of places to sit down. Keep in mind that the total walking distance from the CP to Piers 92/93, though very flat, is 0.8 miles. Have a great cruise ;o)

Wasn't there a thread in the last few days announcing Nespresso machines in some cabins on Princess ships? I wonder how this latest announcement fits in. In any case, the addition of a decent coffee maker in each cabin would be great, were it to happen. Fingers crossed.

...and don't forget that we only pay the difference if we order a drink that is more expensive than our package "allows". So if you have the Plus package and have to have, say, that $18 glass of wine, you'll only pay $3 + tax more. We've been on the Sky twice since November, and I find it interesting that the MDRs have a much wider selection of wines than any of the specialty restaurants.

Sorry, not following. What choice are you referring to? Boarding time? They have to disembark then re-board the next sailing, which they get to do before the rest of us.

Excellent summary, but aren't you forgetting the B2Bers, who get to (re)board before all of us (and who get a head start in the race upstairs to grab the Sanctuary ;o)

FWIW, at PE in February, the upstairs lounge was not even used. We all sat in the downstairs hall until boarding started. A HUGE number of B2Bers boarded ahead of us PES folks.

On the Sky and Enchanted, pretty much sister ships to the Discovery, we've had great luck with Take 5 when we need peace and quiet. During the day, aside from occasional game shows and lectures around mid-day, it's been VERY quiet for us, usually almost deserted and is our go-to place for a quiet reading spot. Great window seats to boot.

That's one of the benefits of Uber, when you use the app and input your exact origin and destination, the driver will know how short the trip is before accepting. That way you know they are OK with the short fare. We tried this in Fort Lauderdale a month ago, getting an Uber from the Renaissance on 17th to Terminal 2, a distance shorter than from the Crowne Plaza to the dock in San Pedro. No problems finding a driver for such a short trip

I guess that was pretty obvious but thanks for correcting us.

Not just the UK. Here in Canada the check-in and gate agents (often the same folks, as once they check you in, they head to the gate to board you) are becoming increasingly tough on carry on size and will frequently force pax to shove their bags into the testing frame. I've been flagged a few times, though fortunately my carry-ons always pass the test. Oddly, our usual carrier, Air Canada, will check carry-on dimensions, but seem to have no formal weight limits for them. Checked bags are subject to very strict limits, but not carry-ons.

Some airlines are getting strict about carry-on size and will make you test the bag in one of their sizer rigs, either at the check-in counter or the gate. Those tester frames require you to insert the entire bag, including the wheels, so please be sure.

Looks like it... https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/nexus-program-to-resume-by-april-24-after-yearlong-standoff-1.6320817

Hey Jon... If you're not aware, there's actually a dedicated Cruise Critic forum dedicated to all things photographic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/72-photo-camera-discussions/

TSA Pre-Check certainly does help. The last dozen times we've flown from FLL Terminal 2 we've breezed through the Pre-Check line and actually never had to wait at security, walked right up to the scanner every time. That being said, there's definitely something amiss at FLL, certainly at Terminal 2, which is only Delta and Air Canada. Both airlines, and particularly Delta, are really clamping down on check-in times, greatly reducing the time folks can check in and drop off bags thereby causing grief to those folks who arrive too early. On our last trip out of FLL T2, we were not allowed to check in with Air Canada until 2.5 hours before the flight, and Delta were telling pax that they could only check in for their flight if it departed, IIRC, less than two hours away. The result of this was a HUGE crowd of pax sitting on their luggage in the departures concourse, having arrived too early and unable to check in. It's happened to us twice now, in November and in February. I can't speak to other terminals or airlines, but if flying Delta, don't show up too early, or be prepared to stand. Hopefully this is only temporary, but it's been going on now for months.

It's one device at a time. If you have more than one you want to connect, all you do is disconnect one and log on to the other. If you try to log on with two devices, the system warns you that you are already connected with one device and kindly offers to disconnect you from the first one so you can connect with another.

We always sail with the basic/Plus plan. On the Sky in Feb, out of Port Everglades, I had a pre-sail drink that came in a bit over the "deductible" for the Plus plan and was charged for both the difference ($1.77, so $1.50 + 18%) as well as a "Ft Lauderdale US Sales Tax" of a whopping $0.11.

It was a surprise to us as well, as we did use the upstairs room just a few months earlier. I suspect that they were aware that boarding was going to go so fast that there was little need to set up the upstairs "lounge" with it's coffee and munchies service, as we only sat a comparatively short time downstairs before boarding started. Problem was, given the size of the downstairs holding area, we were much farther back in the boarding line than we would have been had we been in the upstairs lounge. That meant that a lot of folks got to board before us, and we were very late in getting upstairs to the Sanctuary

Montrealer here, that pretty much sums it up. Downtown Montreal has major hotels every 50 feet or so, but the QE is a good bet, especially given its proximity to the rail system. It's a short walk to St Catherine street, arguably the main shopping street. Old Montreal is a very nice area and in October the tourists will have largely disappeared, it would be a half hour walk or short taxi/Uber ride from the QE. Montreal has a large "underground city" centered near the QE, with connections to the Metro system, allowing you move around large swathes of downtown while staying nice and warm. Keep in mind that you will be there in mid-October and by that time, nighttime temperatures will be at or near the freezing point.

The vast majority of folks who fly in the "day of" will say the same thing and have never had an issue doing it, but it's all a question of statistics and the probability of disaster. You absolutely DO stand a higher chance of having your vacation wrecked by circumstances out of your control if you fly in the day of vs the day before. Think flights from the snowy Northeast in February. We've been delayed many times flying in the day before and would have missed our sailing had it been the day of. A few times we've even been on delayed flights where folks have been flying in the day of their cruise, and guess what, they MISSED their sailing. You seem happy in accepting the elevated risk and its consequences, all the best and have a great cruise.

It will vary a bit from sailing to sailing, but in February, T2 at PE for the Sky, we checked in around 9:30 give or take a few minutes. Arriving that early, we did have to sit in the waiting room (as mentioned above, there was no Elite/Platinum waiting area this time) until boarding started around 11. Depending on how things went with the previous sailing, arriving that early, you may or may not have to stand in line outside until the check-in lines open. Then again, arriving that early means there is no lining up for anything, you just walk from station to station checking in, collecting Medallions etc then head for the waiting room.

On the Sky in mid-February, it was not playing, but had been on the list when we sailed her in November. Can't speak to "Inspired Silliness" is, it was not showing on our 7 day itineraries on the Sky.

Yes, i did sample it before turning it aside. Apologies for my loose wording

We've eaten at both the CG and Sabatini's multiple times on each of our last three trips, in September, November and last month. Once on the Enchanted, the last two trip on the Sky, for a total of at least 14 meals between the two restaurants. Hands down, the best bet was at neither of them, but at La Mer. In our experience, both Sabatini's and CG have declined noticeably. Service is still wonderful, though sometimes slow, particularity at Sabatini's, but the real problem is the tremendous variation in food quality. We found that on each visit, at least one of the courses was a disaster. Tasteless Onion Soup and inedible, uncuttable rubber lobster at the CG, or my personal favorite, the Braised short rib penne at Sabatini's, prepared so utterly devoid of any taste I turned it back untouched.

I always Email the Princess request form, and it does state, in the fine print: "Shares certificate and brokerage statement should be dated no earlier than 3 months prior to cruise departure date." That being said, in the last few years I've sent them in as much as six months in advance and the OBC were posted within days.

What's the itinerary? According to the Princess site, the Caribbean Princess doesn't sail in or out of Montreal and the October 9 sailing of the CB starts in Brooklyn and ends 10 days later in Quebec City, three hours up the St Lawrence river from Montreal.