EleventyBangBang

I would go by: Which one could you easily get something just as good, or better, back home?

I still remember my first cruise. (This was out of Miami.) The porter says, with a slow, ominous tone, "So, do you have a donation for the bag man?" The implication was very clear that I risked angering the Bag Gods if I did not offer at least a token sacrifice. I gave him 4$ to handle a bag and a case of water. They arrived in my cabin without incident so I assume the Bag Man was pleased with my offering.

Same question, but for Vibe. Would Vibe be worth it on Bliss in Alaska in May?

Usually prefer to pick location, but one time we did do a GTY interior. Ship was RCI Anthem. They put us directly under the kids pool area. I figured this would be a nightmare, but actually we never heard a thing. I suspect this is because we were in an interior, and that the balcony cabins across the hall probably got a lot more noise. I had a balcony a couple decks below Spice20 on Getaway and it was quite noisy at all hours.

Disclaimer: I didn't catch the entire announcement from the captain, but I believe it was something to the effect of: We had to stop in the middle of nowhere for a few hours because of an engine issue, and as a result we basically had to "floor it" to get to the next stop on time. (This must have happened multiple times, because there were a few nights like this.) So that being said, I did indeed get a LOT of noise and vibration on a few nights, to the point that it was literally knocking full bottles of water off the counter. There was also frequently a strong exhaust/soot smell in the air, even with the balcony door closed. At the time, I figured that was just normal for an aft balcony and decided I wouldn't get one again. But now, I suspect that probably wasn't normal. I think I was on deck 12, IIRC, and I did also notice some noise from Spice2O at night.

I traded straight across, same price, from a studio to an aft balcony on Getaway a few years back. At the time it seemed like a no brainer, but I ended up regretting it, there was a lot of engine vibration aft, as well as noise from Spice2O, and for some reason the solo coordinator kept the studio solos separate from the non-studio solos (which they did NOT do on the Escape.)

Booked a balcony on Bliss for next May. Used two CruiseNext certificates, because they are running that promotion. But now I'm hearing that you can use two for balconies at ANY time, doesn't have to be a promotion? So at this point, if the price drops, between now and, what, 120 days out, I can cancel/rebook without penalty, and reuse my certificates? And... Is it worth getting Vibe in Alaska, in May? I had it before on Escape and Getaway, when it was warmer, and enjoyed it...

1. Considering the price of a cruise, I wouldn't think the cost difference of gas station snacks would be that much. But I'd err on the side of wanting to not stop unless necessary I guess. 2. If you have two drivers I would think 12 hours straight through should be fine. But I would still stay at least one night before boarding the cruise. (personally I would choose flying over a 12 hour drive.) 3. That's a decision everybody has to make for themselves, but personally I would not want to leave my weapon in the car for a week. 4. It should be warm. I would think the only reason anybody would want long pants/sleeves would be formal wear or dinner where shorts might not be appropriate.

10, maybe 20

Is it possible to just get chips and salsa, perhaps for a small fee, instead of paying the 30$ for a full meal? (I've seen other Mexican restaurants do this.) And when do they open on embarkation day? (Already have the murder mystery dinner scheduled that day, but we're going to want chips and salsa.)

We bought a block on Independence back in October for about 15$. It looks like the crystal block shown in the picture a few posts back, but is much smaller, maybe 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall/thick.

Probably a dumb question, but are these different from the souvenir blocks you can buy at the gift shop? Decided to make it a point to get one of those for each ship we go on, so now we have to go back and get one for Anthem...

Did my online check in today, entered my passport, and RCI's website "strongly encouraged" me to ensure that my passport is valid for six months after my trip, which it is not. Cruise is leaving from Galveston and going to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. Do I need to get it renewed now? Googling seems to indicate that Jamaica maybe USED to have a six month rule but maybe doesn't anymore? Seems odd considering IIRC that a passport isn't even technically required at all for a "closed loop" cruise from the US, but... Anyone have any recent personal experience with this? (I'm going to be moving after the trip, so I'd rather just renew at that time and put that address on it.) Side question, I assume all those ports I've listed are "bring a photocopy, leave the original in the cabin safe" ports?

Yes, we pre-booked the Observatorium on Indy a couple months out last year.

You can just walk in. But there could be a line. IIRC we stood in line for about 20 minutes a couple nights.