island lady

We were there on Serenade last Dec.....start of the WC as first port stop from Miami. Indeed felt like a ghost island! Plus our ship was far from fully booked.

We have been there when there were 4 ships at Coco Cay. Two of them just off from the dock....they were doing crew transfers just after Covid restart. One would dock up, unload/load, back off and then another came up. It was a strange sight. Will try to find the pictures.

Oh you such a bad boy...that is why I always liked you! 😄

We are boarding in Milwaukee. No land based hotel in advance there and no pre tour.. but Octantis is doing an overnight that first night there. Thus I guess you could say the ship itself is the pre cruise hotel. 😉

With the transfers they will have to make, I am thinking each flight should not be that long. We live on east coast US...so it won't be much different than flying to our boarding city in Milwaukee for us. (We are back to back). Luckily we DO have layflat seats on our upcoming Viking trip to Sydney. 🥰

Thank you...thank you! 🙂 I love the GS cabins on 17, so convenient and just the right size for us. Though we prefer the side opposite the door to CK/SL. Less foot traffic.

Same thing once on Wonder with another O class ship in. We always walk onto the island early, do our walk around the area, grab a couple Coco Locos at South Beach, then an early lunch when they first open at Chill Grill. When two big ships are in...those picnic tables fill up quick. South Beach bar way less busy than the others, especially early like that. We are headed back to the ship by 1 pm when it gets nuts.

I detest that on Wonder. No one ever seems to shut the door behind them when they open it with their sea pass card in the keyed entry. I blame that more on the ship though. Other Oasis class ships have the keyed entry door with a self closure on it. Witnessed many times pax walking up one flight from the WJ and just wondering around. Some of them unruly children in still wet swimwear. Really bad on a sea day. DH was coming out of the keyed access deck 18 to go to the suite's sun deck one day, when a group of 20 something young girls shouted to him to hold the door open for them. He asked "Why don't you use your key"? They admitted they were not in a suite, but like to go up there a lot to hang out up and party when they find the door left open. He shut the door before they reached him.....much to their disgust. 😉 Why even have a keyed access?? 😣

I resemble that remark! 😉

Indeed they did. 😉

Good point. So the OP is not going to go inside for a bathroom break? 😉

Many, many years we attended the "pre-meeting". Yawn...but after that, we never went. Actually I am surprised they are still doing those? Did not know that. The letter is pretty spelled out.

I was going to simply book our own flights, until I researched what a complicated mess the return flight from Nuuk was going to be. 😬 So I quickly added on the Viking flight option. Will let them deal with it. 😉 At this point, it would totally be a guess...but probably they are chartering a flight out of there for their pax.

This thread is not about being un American if we do not hang a flag off the balcony. Please don't go there. I love my country, and I love my flag. The actual point is that hanging anything...anything ....off a balcony is not allowed and is as such printed in the rules of the contract you signed with RCI before you were allowed on the ship. The question was asked if it was permitted...it is not. Clear enough now?

I guess I don't understand why you even posted this thread and asked if it is permitted. You got your answer. It simply was not what you wanted to hear?

The point you are missing...is not that we are un American, we love our American flag like anyone else...just that it is against the rules posted with RCI to hang it (or anything) on your balcony that you agree to in your cruise contract. Once again, the OP innocently asked a simple question "Is it permitted"?. The answer: No, nothing permitted to hang on your balcony. End of discussion.

Oooooh.... 🥰 That sounds nice! We will be on X in Feb/March 2026 with Gary and Mary. Then following that...we are back to Viking out of Hong Kong to Vancouver. So afterwards, later in 2026 is also available. 🙂 Soooo much out there to enjoy!

Sounds like fun! Will be looking forward to that on Connie, and later on with you two on Apex. Thanks! Hope you and the bride continue to enjoy your time on board! 🙂

We used the complimentary coffee machines quite a lot on our Viking cruise. Mmmm...Lattes. Problem is they just "have" to temp you with those donuts and pastries right next to the machine. How dare they!!....errr....munch...munch. 😊

Thanks...have been checking them out closely. I have a big "hole to fill" from Dec. 2025 to Feb. 2026. Nice we are now status match as Venetian too! I think (due to that time of the year) it may be another return to Antarctica again. Saw one of the newer Silverseas ships down there a few months ago. 🙂 In a perfect world, it would be an embarkation or overnight visit in Ushuaia. Gosh I love that town! Food is not bad either. 😉

This exactly!! ^ Though on ships like Oasis class, we love to sit at the bar in the SL just before dinner at CK. Easier to transfer existing drink to table. 😄

Yeah, we are always issued a Pinnacle color card when we sail in suites on Royal. Then the concierge likes to chase us down to change it to suite's color. IMHO..I think that is mostly for the SL bartenders to get clued in to not charge our vouchers though. Usually not a problem for us, since they get to know us pretty quickly. 😉

Hide that card!! 😄

Gary, does X have an upper tier party like Royal does, that shows total loyalty numbers? Or can you ask what the breakdown is? I usually will ask the concierge or LA if there is no event.

And for those that may not know (as I know that you already do) the big theme park ships cannot fit under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. So, unless the cruise lines decide to build new smaller ships...there will only be the leftover small older ships. Older ships...no amusement park atmosphere...less kids....more of us old farts. 😉 And no...the majority of older more relaxed cruisers don't need to spend a lot of money on flash and splash things on a cruise. But those older cruisers sail how many times a year, versus the maybe once a year 3-5 night cruises that the families do?