Z'Loth

I apologize for the error in geography. I should have re-checked Google Maps before posting. But, I still stand by my advice to depart from Vancouver rather than Seattle. While boarding the ship, you will pass through US custom and hit all of the US ports.

The only recommendation I would make is to depart from Vancouver, BC rather than Seattle, WA. Vancouver qualifies as a "foreign" port, while cruises departing from Seattle, WA have to make a quick stop at Victoria Island to meet the "foreign" port requirement.

Like several other people have stated, there is a dedicated insurance forum on Cruise Critic. I usually just purchase my cruise insurance through the travel services of a nationwide automotive club. More importantly, I purchase that insurance at the same time I book that cruise to get that pre-existing condition waiver.

Right now, I have a single cruise that is scheduled to depart one year from about now. The concerns have less to do with the cruise line and the state of travel and more with adult caregiver issues. I already had one trip blown to smithereens in late September booked one year in advance with a highly-desired sunset veranda because my mother had health issues and her doctor told her that any travel was highly inadvisable. It was just the latest of several trips (all others being road trips, train trips, or other trips) that were carefully planned and booked, only to be blown apart at the last minute.

If you go into Settings → System → Date & Time , you can turn off the option to "Set Time Automatically", you can set the time on your mobile to match the ship time.

Per Mexico government, "The Mexican government only requires that your passport must be valid during the entirety of your trip." Also, see this State Department info: "Passport must be valid at time of entry." The six-month validity rule does not apply here.

How many days has it been since you last disembarked a ship after the conclusion of your last cruise, and, if you want to, the reasons behind the extended delays. I just checked, and the number of days since I disembarked the Celebrity Equinox was (per this site😞 1,554 days Or 4 years, 3 months, 2 days. Or, looking at it another way, 51 months, 2 days. My reasons... I was job relocated to Texas, and purchased a new home. Covid Cancellation of planned cruise in September, 2022 due to adult caregiver issues

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Unless told otherwise, once you board the ship, you put your passport in the ship safe and carry a scan of your passport front page on your mobile device. If something goes wrong, an authorized person from the ship will open your safe and grab the passport to provide to the port agent.

Merry Christmas. I'm a solo cruiser by both choice and circumstance as I am perpetually single never married. My last cruise in 2018 was by choice as it was a birthday cruise by myself, and the cabin steward even set up my cabin for my birthday. My next cruise in 2024 will be by circumstance as my 81yo mother is medically no longer able to cruise. My biggest gripe, like so many other travelers, is the single supplement. If it weren't for that, I would book myself a balcony, but with that, it's an inside cave or a Oceanview cabin I haven't had many issues with traveling solo. It is so relaxing to travel and not have someone second-guess your decisions, bug you about being on the ship by a certain time (just so that the ship doesn't sail off without you), or remind you several times of an item that is already on your agenda.

In my limited cruising experience, I have not done anything shorter than a seven day cruise. One of the factors is the travel time to the actual embarkation port which, in some cases, can be an entire day's journey in itself. For my last cruise in 2018, I had to travel from Sacramento to Washington DC to Miami as there are no non-stops to Miami. (I live in DFW now, so flight times are shorter), and airline travel can be stressful. For some people, they are working on a Friday, then flying out and boarding on a Saturday. You actually need several days to put work behind you, and start enjoying your vacation. That just isn't possible with a four day cruise.

Fair enough since not all people have signatures enabled. It's a 10 day "Ultimate Southern Caribbean" cruise that will be departing from Fort Lauderdale. My preference is for a non-top flight, and that makes my options limited. Thank goodness DFW/Love Field is a hub for both American Airlines and Southwest. Hopefully, 2023 will be a better airline travel year than 2022.

I know, I suffer from advanced planner syndrome. I've booked an early January 2024 partially to make up for a cancelled cruise from last September. The plan is to fly in on either Friday, January 5th or Saturday, January 6th, board the ship on Monday, January 8th, then fly home on the afternoon of the ship's return. My passport was just renewed, my Global Entry card is good, just that I can't book a flight or hotel room at the moment. When can I do that?

I suggest checking out Google Maps Parking Feature. While intended to mark where you parked your car, you can also use it to mark where your ship or tender is "parked" as well. Very handy when multiple ships are docked at port. It is normal for the cruise line to advise passengers to be on board 30 minutes prior to sailaway time, and I usually shoot for 30-60 minutes. Just make sure your watch is set to ship time, not shore time, as sometimes that adjustment isn't made. Of course, if you want some pre-cruise amusement, you can watch "Pier Runners" on YouTube, Of course, you don't want to earn the ire of Carnival's John Heald on your cruise for being perpetually late. Heaven help a crew member who misses the ship.

Each cruise line has it's "reputation" and audience that it caters to. I lean towards Celebrity because it targets a more mature audience. It's parent company, Royal Carribean, targets families.

Why not have the 18yo get a passport? They are good for ten years, and if they are college-bound, they may get some opportunities for overseas travel.

Food for thought... back in 2018, I had scheduled a birthday cruise out of Miami, and thought that I would stay a few extra days beforehand. I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Miami Brickell Downtown because it was right near the Brickell Transit center. Both the Miami Metromover (free) and Miami Metrorail were served by this transit stop, and the Metrorail Orange goes to the Miami airport. (Lesson learned). With some minor planning, I was able to visit places such as the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Freedom Tower, HistoryMiami Museum, and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. While I paid a little more for my hotel room, this was more than offset by the fact that I didn't have to rent a car. I had to do some walking, but the cost of a Metrorail ticket offset that cost. I think I paid $10 for a shuttle to the cruise terminal.

If you have a US Passport, guess what? You already have a RealID-compliant identification for accessing airports and Federal facilities. What bothered me is how the State of California (somewhat intentionally) botched the rollout of RealID. My California drivers license came up for renewal, including photograph, in September 2017. Four months later, California became one of the last states to offer RealID, but that meant that I have to get a new license. Fortunately, one year later, I moved to Texas, and my license is RealID compliant.

For the purposes of this post, I just was comparing the departure times of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines for a non-stop flight. Both airlines are headquartered in the DFW area, and thus DFW is a major hub for American and DAL is a major hub for Southwest. Other major hubs include Houston and Chicago or United Airlines, and Atlanta for Delta airlines.

Actions have consequences. Sometimes, those consequences are unplanned, unintended, and unexpected, yet can last for years, decades, or an entire lifetime.

Hmmm..... TSA Pre-check is $85 for five years while Global Entry (includes TSA Pre-check) is $100. That's only a $15 difference. The biggest challenge is just getting a interview slot for the initial interview, and the limited Global Entry interview offices. When my mother and I moved to DFW (major airline hub), one of the first things we did was get Global Entry with the intention of international travel in 2020 and 2021. That... didn't work out as planned.

You can try either GlobalEntryNow or AlertEntry on Twitter for open interview slots. The other option is "Interview on Entry".

Ideally, you should be flying in the day before the cruise instead of the day of and stay the night at a hotel near the port. For a 3:30 PM departure time, you need to be on the ship 90 minutes before, plus the time to go through check-in (30-60 minutes), plus time from the airport to the port. That means you'll be taking a early morning flight around 6-7 AM, which means you'll be getting up at 4 AM. 😮 By the time dinner comes, you'll be tired. 😴 For the main dining room, you would make the request through the cruise line or your travel argent As for excursions, it depends as some excursions can sell out prior to the cruise. When is your cruise booked?

That's good. I just thought it was annoying that my choice is to ignore good advice and book my flight prior to noon, or waiting in the airport for several hours just wanting to get home.

In the name of planning purposes, I thought I would check on the flights for my next cruise in January, 2024. Since the schedules aren't available yet for that date, I thought I would just stare at a closer date and see what flights are available for the flight home. Since I'm in the DFW area, I prefer to take non-stops. First off, how about Southwest airlines? Here are the non-stop departure times from FLL: 5:45 AM (NOPE!) 7:25 PM (WHAT?) WHAT? Even when I turn off the "non-stop" filter, there is a huge gap from 11:30 AM to 6:40 PM for flights. So, I check with American Airlines "non-stop": 7:17 AM (NOPE!) 9:18 AM (NOPE!) 11:42 AM 3:45 PM 5:29 PM (WHAT?) 7:25 PM (WHAT?) Again, WHAT? Hopefully, when the actual bookings open up for late January, I have more options available, but for now, I'm challenged. I know that the general advice is to not book a flight before noon, but that means I'm in for a several hour wait at the airport. 11:42 AM is cutting it close, but the last few times I cruised, the ship was in port hours before noon, and I know that the airport is only a few minutes from the port. Thoughts? Oh, and in case you are wondering... my plans are to arrive on the Friday or Saturday prior to Monday cruise departure.