leaveitallbehind

As indicated, all specialty restaurant dining packages, with the exception of the placeholder reservation typically made for night one, are made on board. Just go to any specialty restaurant after you board and the Maître D can confirm your preference for the placeholder reservation and book the rest of the nights and times for you at the restaurants of your choice. It generally takes about 10 minutes.

I think it is more likely that making an actual helicopter landing at sea on a ship - moving or not - is rather dangerous and perhaps when you factor in the actual number of times a helicopter pad is used for an emergency evacuation it becomes less necessary to have one. We have been on a ship when a helicopter evacuation was performed and they hovered over the moving ship above the pool deck and airlifted the passenger from there. I guess the seriousness of the passengers' condition outweighed the risk of the airlift. We have also been on a ship that turned around to meet a coast guard vessel an hour or so away to evacuate an ill passenger rather than do so by helicopter. I think airlifts are very risky.

It is one or the other, whichever is better, but not both in combination. Anecdotally, we just used our CC discount to upgrade from classic to premium beverage and base to premium wifi on our upcoming Eclipse cruise. The CC discount was significantly better in our case.

Thanks for the update. I wasn't sure if they reversed that decision or not as we received one on board after that from the Loyalty Ambassadors inventory but its been a while since and I wasn't sure what the situation was.

I had mentioned this earlier and could be wrong but I was told several years ago that they were no longer producing them and that supply could be sketchy as it would be based on remaining inventory on hand with the ships. Again, I could be wrong and things may have changed since then. It has been a while since we got our last and based on our current RCCL bookings and planned ones it may be a year or so until our next one. (Do more on Celebrity now). Have to wait and see what happens then,

Maybe decide things that would not be of interest and reduce your search by that. The excursions should be categorized by type and activity and that may provide a way to reduce the options for consideration.

I am not aware of any consolidated version of the excursions in printed or other format to simplify the website research task. Unfortunately I think you have realized the available method of printing this out and I don't know of any shortcut to the process. Is it possible to download the information maybe in a PDF format that could be flipped through easier than looking at the webpage?

Sounds like a much better plan. Not too far off what actually was done not too many years ago where they would announce with fanfare and recognize all of us extra special big wig ultra high mega tier cruisers with a cocktail in hand and a smile on our faces. Not that it ever made an impression on me, of course!

You mean you won't be wearing a 3 pound glass block around you neck on a lanyard? Shame on you - where's your loyalty?? LOL

I certainly could be wrong, but unless things have changed, I believe the blocks are now subject to remaining inventory availability.

The port the ship is returning to will be notified of the situation so they can prepare how to best receive the ship and the passenger. The Captain will then determine the total time lost due to the emergency in comparison with the remaining itinerary and will make a determination regarding any missed or possible alternate ports of call, or additional time at sea as a result. It is one of those unexpected situations that can and do arise during a cruise, and the Captain will adjust accordingly.

Are you a ship Captain? Or Coast Guard pilot? Or medical personnel? Do you know the facts of the passengers' situation? I would put my faith in the Captain of the ship, the Coast Guard authority, and the ships' medical staff in making what they feel is the best decision to address the passenger's situation while maintaining the highest level of safety for both the helicopter, the ship, and the passenger over any lay person's uniformed opinion.

Since the cruise line sees a back to back as two separate cruises that happen to be consecutive, it depends on stateroom availability when you book each cruise. If the stateroom you select on the first cruise is available on the second one, you can select the same one for both and not have to change staterooms. But that is based on availability of the desired stateroom on both cruises. Certainly when you are booking either directly or through a TA they will try to find the same available stateroom for each cruise. But that isn't always the case. Normally if you do have to change staterooms the stateroom attendants will move your things for you, or at least assist.

In our experience the hours typically run from around 11:30 to 2:00, and the menu typically offers four items to choose from: salmon, short ribs, chicken, and a pasta dish. This also includes a choice of soup or Caesar salad as appetizers and desert. While I would never book Concierge just for the lunch, it is a nice amenity to be included in that it IMO provides a decent menu and a quite atmosphere in which to relax and enjoy your boarding day lunch, which I think is a nice option to the buffet or other possible complimentary venues.

In general, it is impossible to predict sea conditions, especially well in advance, as they can change short term based on weather, winds, currents, etc. Your previous experience unfortunately may have little bearing on what to expect next month. However, that being said, the inside passage is sheltered and typically relatively calm as a result.