alfaeric

I always find it amusing how people claim some massive decline in food based on beef. We've been sailing RC since 2001, and I've rarely had a well cooked piece of beef in the MRD. It happens, but it's far from often. (by well, not well done, but done correctly) But somehow, that is an indication of a sudden decline in the food.. Ok. On the other hand, for every person not sailing RCI for *reasons*, the price goes down. Which is a good thing.

It's interesting the difference in what people think is small. Since the new class of ship is enough above 100k GT, it's highly unlikely to fit under the bridges to Baltimore and Tampa. Tampa fits Radiance class ships, which are ~90k, and Baltimore fits Vision, which are ~70k. Since GT is a measure of total interior size, that tells you a lot. If we are actually talking small ports that do require small ships, that's in the 70-90k GT size. I would put Discovery in the mid-medium sized ships- which the Voyager class ships are. But those ships are unlikely to fit into Tampa or Baltimore. And a lot of really small ports. So anytime I hear (and I heard it first hand, too, on the Vision) of anyone implying that the +100kGT Discovery ships will come to Baltimore, I really scoff at that idea. I guess they could make it wider than taller, but that would be pretty wide to be that big and still fit under all of the bridges.

They will still be there. The version of Hairspray is clearly specific for the Symphony. And SNF has been on Liberty for way over a decade- we first saw it on Liberty back in 2012, and then saw it again last December ('23). IMHO, the 5 year thing was more about the type of license they got- and once that was solidified, the Broadway shows have not changed. Grease is still on Harmony, how long has Cats been on Oasis? 2014? WWRY has been on Anthem since she put to sea.

They keep the B2Bs off the ship for a little over an hour, in our experience. Kinda sucked that we also had to pack ALL of our clothing for the fogging, too. But it was done, and we were able to unpack before the B2B lunch, and it wasn't a problem for the second cruise.

Yea, we had a noro scare on our recent Vision cruises, where the ship was fogged during the turnover. And the WJ was served by crew (including entertainment). Just happened at the end of the first cruise and didn't come back for the 2nd. I have personal speculation, but it's just that. We didn't get sick.

Or be smart with your smart phone and tell it what time it is.

And having tried to DIY a B2B booking (on various sites), I find it MUCH easier to call someone. Either Royal directly or your travel agent.

Didn't say that it did. What it did do is eliminate the worry if the 6 month rule was going to be enforced. When we boarded, we had a sub 6 month PP, so I got an EDL as cheap insurance. And I can use it to go to Canada w/o a passport, too. It was just a thing we did to make sure we can board the ship.

Again, the rules are not US rules, but other countries rules. The you can come and go up to the expiration date. RCI enforces the rules of the countries they visit. Do they enforce this, totally? No, not in my experience.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/do-i-need-a-passport-to-cruise Q Do I need a passport to cruise? A Everyone will need to present an accepted form of identification to board the ship. We strongly recommend that all guests present a passport as their form of ID on boarding day, and for some guests a passport is required. The passport must be valid for six months after the day your cruise ends. The name on your passport should match the name on your reservation. What if my name doesn’t match? While some other forms of ID may be accepted for your cruise, a passport is the very best option and here’s why: A passport is the hassle-free, gold standard for traveling between countries. Boarding and disembarking through customs with a passport is usually faster than other types of ID documents. If you have an issue while exploring a foreign port (such as missing the ship), it’s best to have a passport with you. Guests who do not bring required documents may be denied boarding.

Suggestion next time, quote the thread you are actually replying to. Or at least clarify what you are replying. It wasn't clear what you were answering. Still, the PP is required for the open loop cruise, the 6 month requirement is a country by country thing. Royal just applies that to all cruises. Whether its enforced on embarkation is the risk, as it seems that enforcement isn't 100%. Many others have sailed on a sub 6 month PP and we just sailed with one. I didn't trust that, so I got an enhanced driver's license that I can cruise on.

What do you mean? For Americans, you don't need a passport to fly to and from San Juan, since it's part of the United States. If that's what you mean. The 6 month *requirement* is a nation by nation thing. Royal "requires" it for that reason only. And by require, many times they won't worry about a sub 6 month time frame. Personally, I don't trust that, but people have pointed out multiple times that they were able to use the PP within it's last 6 months. And, actually, we just did a couple of sub 6 month cruses. At the same time, when doing an open loop/repositioning cruise, some of the document requirements may be different. OP- if you want to be 100% sure there won't be an issue, get new passports. For a fee, you can get them immediately by visiting a passport office near you (who require travel soon to get it fast).

We love the Broadway Shows, too. 1) Mama Mia 2) Hairspray 3) Grease 50) Cats. (note, Grease is also on Independence, while Saturday Night Fever is on Liberty). Can't say we have a favorite aqua show- love them all a lot. Nor the ice show for the same reason. Flight is an amazing second stage show. Anyway, the musicals are a very personal taste thing- many others will flip my list upside down. If you *had* to choose, I would suggest seeing if you can see highlights on the U of Tubes to see which one you like the most. I don't see any of them moving ships- the are pretty customized for the ships, and the original reason they moved from Oasis (Hairspray) and Allure (Chicago) have been "solved". Have fun, and see all of the shows for the ship you sail on!

When they say check in on the app, they only mean at the port. You should be able to do the hard check in on your computer, and then the app will have the day of check in stuff- check in seapass code, the safety videos and what not. At this point, you should at least try to check in on a computer instead of the app and see if you can finish.

Another thing to add- if you can eat early, there are generally more spots.