ontheweb

Yes, I have seen that. On our second cruise, we had a hurricane and got into Fort Lauderdale 2 days late. We were put on standby and luckily were the last ones called on the next flight. (We knew as the list got smaller that even if we did not make that flight, we were sure to be on the next one and get home that day. However, there were people not so lucky. As we waited to get to the airline representative, we heard passengers who were told they would not get a flight until the next day scream at the airline representative as if that would magically make flights available to them.

I hope when that denial of boarding occurred somewhat regularly in that time frame, you and your colleagues were not routinely yelled at.

If I am reading you correctly, it is the rule of the country that matters, not of the cruise lines that you deal with. (And I do realize that there are cruise lines that you do not deal with that do have passport requirements even for closed loop cruises and might have a 6 month rule.)

You are no longer being charged for the excursion that has been cancelled. Why would you even think that you should be getting a credit?

I would hope that at all ports, it is the same as @Ferry_Watcher described---they are looking to allow you to board. She would have first hand knowledge of whether Royal Caribbean insists on 6 months left for a passport (at least for Canada). It may be different if there is a country being visited that has a 6 month rule.

Still nothing that interests us like Chagall and Matisse in Nice. The second time we were there we walked around Cannes, a lot more interesting than a harbor full of luxury yachts or a funny changing of the guard,

What about the experience of the people doing the checking at the dock like @Ferry_Watcher? Granted her knowledge is limited to Canada, but she does deal with Royal Caribbean among other lines?

But the contract is the legally binding provision, while the website is basically marketing. And to make things worse, they basically say it's your responsibility, don't count on us for an answer. Maybe the best thing is to go by what experiences other passengers have had with this question.

And they can even be helpful when not doing a cruise. In it was either 2021 or 2022, we did a land vacation in Boston. I asked in the East Coast forum how to get from the airport to our hotel and got really specific directions that worked perfectly.

In fact, quoting the contract language that has been posted, they say they take NO responsibility for advising guests what documentation is needed!

You are welcome. That was actually our first port ever and still probably the best do it yourself days we ever had going ashore. The cruise was actually for our 25th anniversary.

Cannot answer why they would still be selling cruises including Israel. My best guess would be they have not yet formulated what alternative ports they will be sailing to. As for Russia, even if you wanted to book a cruise going there, there are none, and have been none for quite a while now.

Well said. I would add that DW and I can do our own things (such as trivia for me and swimming for her) apart and yet still spend a very lot of quality time together.

No one but you can answer that as it depends on what you like. We are not at all into gambling so never considered Monte Carlo. The first time we were at that port we had a truly wonderful day going to the Matisse and Chagall Museums in Nice. (DW is an art teacher, now retired). But if museums are not your thing, this would be anything but a wonderful experience.

My wife had her birthday on our river cruise, actually the day we went to Brugge. Every time we bought a souvenir, I said that could be your birthday present. But she usually replied that we would have bought it even if it was not her birthday. So today when grocery shopping, I bought tulips for her and told her they were an additional birthday present. Not very expensive, but I think it was a thoughtful gesture. She has put up with me for 46+ years (had our last anniversary on a sea day between Norway and Iceland), so I have to try to be sweet and considerate sometimes. 😊

The best (actually only one) I put together through a roll call was a 10 person private Alla tour in St. Petersburg, Russia. I have also joined from a roll call.

On another thread, our on site expert about what documents are needed @Ferry_Watcher has said that in Seattle an expired passport would be acceptable as long as you also have an official Birth Certificate. If they would accept an expired passport, how could you turn down a valid one with less than 6 months remaining! I do believe Royal Caribbean is one of the lines she and her colleagues handle in Seattle.

You really did not answer the question about the learner's permit. I would think it would be valid with a picture id as it would be issued by the same agency, state DMV as a license. But we count on you as the expert in these matters.

We docked in Ghent, but missed seeing it as we took an optional tour to Brugge. If we had not missed Brugge on our ocean cruise London (Southampton) to Reykjavik this past August, we would have seen Ghent. My impression was about half our passengers took the optional Brugge tour and half the included Ghent excursion. We also would have seen I am sure at least one of these ports previously if we had not had a river cruise chartered out from under us after final payment on the Christmas/New Year's break back in 2003/2004. The one we went on from late March until early April this year ended up as our first river cruise, a long time coming.

OK, but it is still a nice gesture.😉

You couldn't get the book to fit in your carryon?

We sailed on the Prima this past August and had booked the cruise and BOGO back in late 2021. This was done through out TA.

That's a really nice gesture. I am sure everyone appreciated it.

Thanks, you're probably right, and if a next time happens, I will know better. At least with the survey, I did let them know it was a problem. And I emphasized MAJOR!

That is interesting. On our roll call from our cruise that ended in Reykjavik this past August, there were people who complained that NCL would not book them for flights this early and booked them for flights the next day.