flamingos

Doesn't matter. No smoking on balconies.

We are cruising on Jewel on January 6 and the app still has the old menus.

I was looking at some short 3-4 days out of Canaveral on Independence, normally about $5-600 for a balcony. They want over $900 - the $500 is now for an oceanview. We'll be saving our money and doing land vacations until they can settle this out.

That's a new one on me. 🙂

This makes no sense. We have always had waiters practically beg us to take a second lobster, and if one person at the table says yes, they bring 3-4 and try to give talk someone else into taking one.

Just a whiteboard magnet, so we can leave notes to our friends and each other. I usually write a 'Welcome to Cozumel' or 'Enjoy your sea day' on there, and get some fun replies. The fact that it helps me locate my door a little faster is a side benefit. 🙂

We use old hotel keys. 🙂

Their Scotch selection is abysmal. I have put it on every evaluation for the past two years. It seems they have decided that their money is in mass-market well brands, and they simply don't carry any top shelf single malts. 😞

Just got my email and checked my excursions for January - both of them were $45 at their previous 'sale' price but were now $38. Cancelled and rebooked, saved $36. 🙂

I am so very sorry for your loss. Be at peace.

If they were already booked up, or there was no staff available, they can't magically make it ready for guests. 😞

CocoCay is not guaranteed. We missed it on the Odyssey last winter because of high seas, to rough to dock. Because we had no place to go and it was the last day before returning, the captain kept circling and bringing us back. He made announcements for us to please look out and LOOK AT THE DOCKS with the waves breaking over them to make sure we knew he had no choice but to skip the port. It got to be a running joke, but at least he shut down the whiners. 🙂

We're sailing on Jewel in January to the ABC's, our first time on this ship. Thanks for the tips. We absolutely loved the Serenade.

And Ted Drewe's. Can't leave that out. By the way, I found gooey butter cake pastries in a bakery in Berlin, so I guess that's where it came from.

I've been seated at the bar many, many times and have never seen a 'more generous pour'. They measure each drink, even when they are slammed and in a hurry.

Umm, I didn't know you could do that. Huh. 🙂

A public social media post by John Heald of Carnival, in response to this question: Well, as I mentioned in my video safety comes before anything else. Nothing, nothing is more important. I know of no plans to do this and while I am not in a position to never say never I want to state again that the training our crew receive is constant and of the very , very highest order. I have no doubts having been on board in a real emergency situation ( Carnival Splendor Fire ) that our crew would no exactly what to do. And my other take from that emergency was the brilliant and total cooperation of our guests. I saw this first hand. The new way of doing the drill shows guests where to go in a real emergency and how to wear the life jacket. And in a real emergency that is what guests have to do and from there listen to the Captain, listen to the crew. Trust the captain, trust the crew. I think that the vast majority understand this and do not want as Warren does and a return to the previous way of doing things.

There are enough life vests at the muster station because they do not want people who are out and about to run back to their cabins to get them.

Wow. Tell us how you really feel. 🙂

The Legislature at one point this year tried to tailor language to address only Key West’s rules, but fears that would be indefensible in court nearly sunk legislation near the end of Session. Sen. Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican, brought the matter back through an amendment to a transportation bill. The new wording made clear preemption applied to all ports in the state, but only to voter measures, and only those related to maritime commerce. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/438656-gov-desantis-tanks-key-west-cruise-rules/

That is not a concern of the current administration. 🙂 What surprised me is how quickly the other port authorities caved when they were cut out of the new law. 😞

So if you want to fly to Bar Harbor, can you force airlines or bus companies or trains to take you there, if they don't service that city? I'm confused as to what you think is unlawful about this.

Good question - I would hope you would hear something within a couple months or so. It will take a while to work out alternate ports.

That's what happened in Florida - the governor claimed a 'state interest' (but never defined it) and changed the rules about port authority to take away Key West's home rule. Miami, Tampa and Canaveral objected because it might have affected them, but when it was rewritten to be specific to one port that defied him, the other ports looked the other way. A fine example of democracy in action......

So you're going to go to Bar Harbor and force them to change their votes? I'm curious as to how you plan to accomplish this.