Griff4AU

Anyone who has actually flown through RDU will tell you it's very doable... actually easy... The problem is that you need your baggage to make it.

With a evening flight, I am guessing that the Ruby sails the next day and that you're flying in to MIA. Since AA is the dominant player in MIA, if you miss the flight or your baggage doesn't make it, AA will be most likely be able to get you (or your baggage) on another flight and still have plenty of time for your sailing.

I would go ahead and book AFTER making sure AA has other flights either that night or early the next morning "just in case..."

....and bringing the dry dock with her! I'll try to see her dock this afternoon.

Yes Sir, it was a good sign last night when the bridge cam showed the rescue boats moving back and forth....

Still my favorite Princess ship as she's the one who "reintroduced" me to cruising several years back, I'm glad she's coming this way to pick up Griff, my smarter half, and about 3000 of our closest (for the next few days) friends....

Does anybody know what exactly is going to be done to the Caribbean princess in it's May 2014 Drydock?

I think all of the other replies were wrong.... She was in drydock to spruce up the ship for Griff and his lady.... We'll be on board in less that 44 hours, not that I'm counting.

(I guess all of that other stuff, including the new cabins and such, were done out of convenience...)

She is due in to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow afternoon per the harbormaster report that someone posted, so she should be pulling out of Freeport soon. I can see the port from my office, so it wil be nice seeing her come in during daylight hours....

Harbormaster's report says 1400 on 14-May

That means she must be "escaping completely" (really bad pun) from the drydock soon.. Excellent...

chrysalis makes a good point.

It depends on which RCCL ships you've been on. I am far from a RCCL expert, but know them well enough to see the very different styles between their larger and smaller ships. I can't stand the RCCL mega ships (floating shopping malls), I very much enjoy their medium ships, and think the smaller ships are "just OK" with their postage stamp cabins (not as if we spend much time in there anyways)... I'd probably label them my 2nd or 3rd favorite line.

Although both owned by the same parent, I find nearly zero in common with Princess and CCL.

One of the many things I enjoy about Princess is the familiarity amongst all of their ships, big and small. While I haven't been on the Regal/Royal, I feel I can find my way around nearly any Princess ship in the fleet.

So maybe if you shared your likes/dislikes about some of your RCCL ships, that might help this group compare/contrast for you.

This will be my 3rd time on the CB, and I always look forward to seeing her. We will also be on the sailing this week (Thursday) and I am sure she will look great.

I can see the port from my office and due to the drydock I hope she actually arrives during daylight hours on Wednesday and I can see her dock. I am guessing we might be able to board early since they don't need to "kick any other passengers off" in the morning...

Geeze.... some of you folks are just looking for a conspiracy or scam... Step away from the keyboard and enjoy life...

Why don't you talk about real conspiracies, like "did Oswald act alone?" or complain that Princess doesn't do enough for Ruby (Platinum, Elite) members like comp their drinks....

go4AK: Fountain sodas.....

Quick comparison between the Princess and NCL packages..... It was easy,EASY, to stay in the Princess price point. Sure, there were a few wines we didn't try, but nearly everything else was covered. Some great wines and super-high end (not high end like Bombay Sapphire, but Super high end like Johnny BLUE) weren't included, but everything else was. As NCL, we did find we needed to pay attention to what we ordered as many drinks were outside the package, including several drinks of the day... In this area (and most IMHO), Princess is leaps ahead of NCL.

And Kelly, if my post made you laugh, then we both know you're a receipt collector and statement auditor at the end... That's OK, I was too.. for every cruise I have taken... It's worth a ton to NOT have to look at bar bills on the final bill! I feel like I have picked up several extra hours on my cruise because of the Bev package!

I live in spreadsheets every day (for work), and I'm suggesting that the non-monetary (thus "non-spreadsheatable") reasons for the package are awfully compelling:

1.) NOT having to review every bar receipt

2.) not having to keep the bar tabs and "audit" them when you get your final bill

3.) trying new drinks and wines and such that you wouldn't try otherwise

4.) the simple convenience of getting a bottle of water before bed, or before you head out to an excursion

5.) not having to keep the bar tabs and "audit" them when you get your final bill

I know, #5 is a repeat, but if you are making a spreadsheet, then you're probably the type that does #2/#5 towards the end of a cruise. I know I did.

We've now been on two sailings (NCL and Princess) where we have purchased the beverage package, and honestly will get it every time we sail from now on....without question.

FWIW, the Princess package is FAR superior tot he NCL package.

We're very possibly moving to Spain and thought we'd pick up the Regal, in Venice in August...

So of course I jumped over tot he Princess page once I saw the thread.... Guess what... the price literally went up over $1,000 (900 after OBC) overnight... Literally overnight as I had checked the page yesterday... Well done...

I am sure they'll fix that one as I am not thinking $226/pp/per day for an inside is going to fly (or sail) real well with their potential guests.

Edit: I guess I wasn't the only one to comment on it... IT literally corrected itself within the last 5 minutes. No one is perfect, and I am glad they corrected it quickly.

I was hoping for some dating offers from Laos... Haven't had any of those since my long-ago days on Match... but that's another story...

No, not every link you get is a scammer nor a sales pitch, and as others have said it's pretty harmless... Unfortunately it looks to be pretty worthless also. If you didn't receive an invitation, you're not missing much..

Oasis is fine, but I'd prefer not to use them again as they need to cater to the cruise ship excursion.

I appreciate the comments about GT Divers and I have sent them a note to see what sites they typically do for cruise ship passengers.

Has anyone actually used (meaning, not "I heard this and that") Blue Water Divers?

I think that's oversimplifying drift diving. If you don't have control of your buoyancy and your body, you will have problems in medium to strong current.

Oversimplifying? I really don't think so. In 30++ years of diving, I find drift dives are the easiest, especially for newbies or those who do not dive regularly. They also allow the longest bottom times as the exertion is minimal.

"If you don't have control of your buoyancy and your body, you will have problems in nearly any diving condition and need to work on your diving skills, possibly through a DM or instructor led refresher, before you engage in any big-water dive."

thanks for the all the info I am a little nervous about drift diving...

May I ask why? For those who don't have a lot of experience, and my impression is that you don't, a drift dive is about as easy as they come. A DM will be drifting with you and be carrying the dive flag... the group stays together.

I understand Roatan, and you'll have a wonderful time, but to dismiss Cozumel because of the drift dives is a little confusing to me. But then again, I get confused easily (I'm blonde and I have earned it!)...

Griff

Some very good suggestions... But the Ultimate Balcony Dinner and /or the Chef's Table are two of the options that Princess themselves don't publicize a lot that are absolutely worth doing. We never grow tired of either one.

We always bring our own and wash in the shower and dry overnight in the bathroom. Works out great. And, yes, one time we had an inside and it was fine.

Ditto...

Just did it 2 weeks ago with 2 sets of full SCUBA gear....

LeisurePro.com

Online SCUBA and snorkel retailer out of NY.

For anything water related, I always first try my local dive shop... when they can't fir the bill, it's always LeisurePro. Very good and consistent service over the years, and I have purchased several dry bags from them.

Try these two threads as a start.

Based on what you shared, I think you'll be fine whatever you do.

I really like Aldora in Cozumel. With them, you'll get steel tanks (100's and 120s) pushed to 3500 psi for much greater bottom time. They are the only operator in the Caribbean that I have used (but I am not as experienced as some on this forum in this region) that uses steel tanks standard. Increased bottom times and less weight on your belt/in your BC, with a very good and attentive crew // DM, and they are a great choice if you're willing to not use the ship's excursion.

But stick around this subforum, do some homework, and suck up some information.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1912882

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2006383

Please look around... there have been lots of very recent (like on page 1 of this sub-section) asking the same question. Hey, we're all going on the same ships, right?

Most will say you can't go wrong with either IF YOU PICK THE RIGHT DIVE OPERATOR. As you do some homework, do it reading the reviews of both the independents (unquestionably more dive bang for your buck) and the cruise ship operators. For example, if you only use the ships excursions, you may get a different answer than if you're going to use an independent.

You may also want to consider how "heavy" of a dive you want to do. I know PADI loves to tell new divers to say you're "PADI certified," but to many that really doesn't say much. Are you current? What level of certification? Open Water? Advanced? How deep of water is your comfort level?

To directly answer your question.... I'd pick Cozumel, Roatan and Belize, in that order for "bank for your buck," but you can have a great dive in any of those locations.

Have fun!

1025 is correct, you need to go to your roll call.

Another place to "look" is in the SCUBA and snorkel sub-section. Although you can't "ask for dive buddies" in that section (per the rules), you might just see someone posting about different dive operators and might notice if someone will be down there on that date. IMHO Roll Calls are a horrible place for finding someone to join you for a pretty unique (divers make up a small percentage of the the cruise ship) excursion, but we all need to follow the very reasonable rules around here.

But you need to reach back for the good stuff. Just saliva don't work . . .

Classic! LMAO, but very true...

Hmm, I grew a beard about 6 months ago. Maybe I'll shave it off for my cruise. It's not often I get to snorkel these spots and i want to make the best of the experience. I never even thought of the beard affecting my mask fit.

Well, that is very likely going to make a difference. Many mustache wearers put some lotion or Vaseline on their mustaches to help form a better upper lip seal with the mask.

No possible way to pre-buy it at this time.

When you get on board (after getting your cruise card) they'll put a sticker on your card letting the servers know you have the package. Big stickers for beverage package, little stickers for the soda package.

I live in Miami, and head "up North" to Orlando about once a month. I also deal with 95 daily from Miami to Fort Lauderdale (30 miles) and twice a week from Miami to West Palm....

Unless I know I was going to miss all rush hour traffic from Palm Beach County down to Miami, I would stick to the turnpike as long as possible before the crossover, especially if you are on any sort of schedule. Doing the crossover can and will save you time if you miss rush hours and major events (weekends), but the turnpike is nearly always "safer" in terms of time management.

I agree with the poster who said to keep a copy of your passport with you.

Respectfully, you are taking a risk carrying your passport when you don't need it or are not required to have it. If you lose it, drop it, or worse your backpack/wallet/whatever is lost/stolen, you will be without the only single document that proves both your identity and citizenship. Keep it safe unless you need it.

Few knowledgeable and experienced (they are NOT synonymous) travelers carry a passport everywhere they go when traveling, especially cruising. Copies of passports, or even better the passport cards, are perfect for this purpose.

Do what you are most comfortable with, but even the cruise lines discourage carrying your passport on every port stop.