CruisinCons

I don't remember seeing the tender boats when we sailed Majesty. Maybe there was specific life boats that served as tenders? The Norway (not Song of, but the big one) has separate ones that she carries on her bow. http://www.captainsvoyage.com/norwegian-cruise-line/ss-norway/ss-norway---little-norway.html

Don't you love that the Norway carries her own tender boats? No waiting for boats to come from shore! It's so much fun to watch them lower the tenders over the side. Make sure you check that out! We're booked on the Song of America soon, she's going to seem so small after sailing on the Norway. But we're anxious to try her out.

For the Dec 8th sailing, we have a Journey tribute band, Resurrection, in Music Hall.

I can't wait to see on Empress what we'll actually get to do for lunch. Chops is the only specialty restaurant on that ship, and it's such a small ship I can't imagine they sell many. There are only a handful of suites, most of them junior. Maybe we'll actually get to eat in Chops. LOL

For this sailing I mentioned, we're really torn. We're Diamond, so already have some embarkation perks with that, and Empress is sailing from Cape Liberty which is a 45 minute ride from home, so no flights to worry about. We'll have no carry on other than my purse - everything else goes in checked luggage - so no carry-ons to drop off. It only has a rock wall, and the main theater for shows. We're docking in Hamilton & St. Georges, Bermuda, so no tendering. There really is no huge benefit other than the lunch. If we didn't want the Voom, I would never have purchased it. For us, we

I meant to say stream. LOL

Worked well for us! We got off Summit the sailing before you. Customs lines were super long - we grabbed a porter and that line was only about 10 minutes. We must've left at the most popular time. We didn't rush, as we knew there was no hurry. Our baggage number was 10, and when we got there I'd say there was 4-5 other bags waiting to be picked up. At Barachine, we were not told it was a $5 fee, but that the guy "works for tips" and we gave him $5 for each bag. They were doing construction on the restaurant and the bags were stored in the lower hallway. I think we were there before

Is this my post you are referring to? Sorry my wording wasn't clear. What I meant is that I usually buy a surf & stream, as I periscope while at sea, and my husband either shares my S&S when I'm not using it or buys surf only for himself. With the Key, he gets his own 'stream".

It does, and that's the real benefit for us. Hubby gets his own Voom. 😄

I'm thinking the ships with the lower amount of Key amenities will have the lower prices. My Allure May 2020 sailing is $26.99 a day, as is my Anthem in December 2020. My December 2019 Oasis is $22.99 a day.

You can expect to have an amazing vacation!! My best suggestion is to use the search function and see what others have posted about your specific questions. Visit the Ports of Call section of these boards, and research your port stops. You can also look for information on your embarkation and disembarkation ports as well. There is a ton of resources here.

Cost is the same either way. It depends on if you want to see the larger charge on your seapass account at the end of the sailing or not. If you want to put your cruise week charges on a different credit card than your gratuities, then call and do it now. I try to use my cards so big charges hit on different billing cycles. Makes my monthly budget happier if I pay things like this in smaller increments. 😄

That will vary by sailing. Usually 90 days out, they will start to appear in your Cruise Planner. I start checking around 120, but only because I'm stalking the prices for excursions, internet, drink packages, etc...

16.99 on Empress August 17, 2020. We didn't think it a value worth paying on that ship, but grabbed it as we have plenty of time to change our mind. LOL It's a Monday to Monday cruise, and we are both expecting to go to work when we get off the ship (we live 45 mins from port.) Being able to walk off and not get stuck in a long self-assist line may be worth it. It's currently priced at about $38 more than the 2 device Voom, and once we eat our Chops lunch in the MDR we figure we got the equal value. My hubby is usually stuck either sharing my 1 device Voom or being stuck with surf only,

Definitely losing Sabor. Are those margaritas available on ships without it? Not sure. I've only been on the smaller ships lately. We are on Oasis December 8th. If no one reports in before that, I will. My husband loves the avocado margaritas.