notscb

My experience was the exact opposite at long beach. Birth certificate line was wrapping all the way up, the folks who kept walking were passport holders using facial scanning. Strange how that happens.

I've been scrolling through the comments on this thread and nobody has really pointed out that in the interviews with those cruisers and articles that have been linked in this thread, none of the stranded really blamed the cruise line for the situation. There's a lot of assuming going on in this thread without any real source where the group is cited as blaming the cruise line. It seems like they understand it was their responsibility. OP even used "blamed the cruise line" when their own source didn't mention the pax blaming anyone at all.

I don't think OP was suggesting it was the responsibility of the steward, thus the title including "themselves." OP, from what I've casually noticed just walking around while rooms are being serviced, people do all sorts of wild things to their rooms and some people make a hurricane in theirs. I don't see why you couldn't change it around to your liking while onboard as long as you put it back.

It still seems a bit weird considering how humid some of the ports are, especially Singapore.

Norfolk is a great city if you stay downtown so you have things to do before your cruise. I'd recommend staying in one of the hotels right near the waterfront (there's a Hilton and two Marriott hotels) or getting an airbnb in that area. It's pretty quick and easy to get from the airport to the port, though, but realize that there's not a whole lot to do out by the airport. Have a great cruise!

Glad OP figured this one out. Corporate bureaucracy is the worst and I can attest to the fact that at the customer service level, there often isn't a way to directly talk to someone in finance/accounting. At a job I worked, to get to that department I had to put an email in the customers chart and cross my fingers for a response. Obligatory leaving helpful resources to others who might need to find a way to resolve their issues with Carnival (and other cruise lines): -Elliott.org company contacts list- send a brief email with bullet point details (again, be brief, don't be emotional and don't over-explain) and exact resolution to one contact at a time. Wait one week between. -Consumer Rescue has a "help" feature where their consumer advocates will reach out to these companies to try to resolve problems.

I'd just delay, split the difference and arrive with them if it's important to you to get onboard together. Anytime after like 1:00pm you'll probably all be fine as the terminal slows down significantly after the initial rush (11am-12/12:30pmish). I actually prefer the later boarding time, it's so much less stressful 🙂

My favorite rule to break depending on time of year and flight duration (nonstop is best for this, of course!)!

My first Royal cruise was on Freedom- I'll try to remember and answer what I can... 1. There's a few bars on the main pool deck, only one of which was open later at night if I remember right. It was very quiet on the pool deck at night. 2. If there's a show, I remember it being offered twice so folks had a chance to get to it (ice or theater). 3. The Crown Lounge hosted a variety of events at night and was usually open late. One night the silent disco was there, which was really fun. 4. Can't help you there, sorry. 5. Can't help you there- i remember it being open for some time but can't remember the hours. Another user suggested checking the app, which you might want to try to find specific answers.

As others have said, it's really similar either way. MIA airport is a major hub for many south-american flights so it tends to be busier overall. FLL is a bit of a ride to Port Miami, but is well connected by car, transportation service (private van companies, etc.), Brightline rail, FlixBus (my personal favorite/cheapest), and Uber/Lyft.

While I agree with the authors take on the design of Icon overall, I generally dislike opinion based journalism despite it being the most common form of journalism out there these days. This article is screaming "old man yells at cloud" vibes and is just poorly done overall.

Here's a link to Elliott Advocacy's contacts list- start with the primary contact and secondary contact and give each a business week to respond before contacting the next.

To be clear I didn't say that you were an over-eater on vacation, and can read and contribute to a thread. OP was talking about 'chronic', not just travel, BTW. If you hover over my username to the left, there's a little button that says "ignore." I'm going to use it, you should probably do the same. Have a great day 🙂

Thanks for your input 🙂

I see and absolutely agree that there is a lot of confusion for average travelers, which is absolutely why the cruise lines website must be followed to the letter. edit: deleting the rest of the post. I see what you mean that passport cards added into the mix cause additional confusion. I never really consider a passport card a valid form of ID, but I see where some do.

It'd be easier to say you disagree, but I am contributing to the conversation. When folks are on vacation they tend to splurge in the diet department, which doesn't help and especially doesn't help when folks have chronic health issues. The change of diet on cruise ships is enough by itself to make things worse, so folks need to do what they can to control what they're taking in and not do the vacation splurge while onboard. The "real"est overnight remedy is, in part, to maintain as close to your existing food intake as possible to not exacerbate the issue.

Are you thinking REAL ID?

I think all fish is tasty and have had fish from Lake Ontario. The problem is that the Great Lakes (and not just Erie) fish come with a special warning. Fingers crossed HAL doesn't decide to venture into small-ship cruising

But on vacation self-control goes a long way to not worsen problems we already have. Travel already causes issues, so if we can keep to our diets, not gorge ourselves at the buffet, avoid the extra slices of pizza at midnight and practice good habits that alone will go a long way. I'm not invalidating yours or OP's experiences by promoting self-control while on vacation. I'm saying that self-control is a piece of the puzzle while on vacation where many folks tend to forget how important everyday choices are to their health.

What?

I know that- I was commenting on HAL's "fresh fish" initiative, specifically. Nobody should consume fresh fish from the Great lakes and HAL customers better hope that HAL never starts cruising there.

We all need to hope that they never start any sort of Great Lakes or St. Lawrence Seaway cruising, for all of our sakes.

A lot of this has to do with self-control, IMHO. Although you're on vacation, try to eat the things you would normally eat and increase the amount of water you're taking in. If you're flying to the port- you should start drinking more water the day before you fly and continue throughout your vacation. No matter what you do, increasing water intake is a good thing. As a last resort, increase fiber intake (veggies!) and consider adding a supplement like metamucil (which is just psyllium husk).

That's a string of words I haven't seen very often.

Not to belabor the point (it's been made in several other threads), the Key bridge was just one of three that ships need to clear to get out of Baltimore. The next bridge out is 186' clearance, so no chance that we'll be seeing bigger cruise ships anytime soon. Plus, you have to consider road grade and engineering guidelines set by the DOT. To raise a bridge by that much, you'd have road grading issues with the existing structure (the undamaged portion of road that still exists on both sides of the span).