ghulett

Currently onboard the Majestic from Whittier to Vancouver.  I enjoy the southbound since I can get the long flight done pre-cruise and take the shorter flight home at the end.  Boarding in Whittier was easy, probably the easiest I've done in the past 15 cruises.  It was much like boarding at a port stop, as there was not a large cruise terminal.  

Majestic had Starlink switched on yesterday afternoon.  Starting the day in Whittier, AK, we were on SES, and before we left port they flipped the switch to turn on Starlink.

There were several guests on the ship having trouble accessing the wifi this morning.  My iPhone would connect, but my iPad would not.  The internet manager took down my MAC address and IP to do some troubleshooting.  He said a team of engineers on board from shoreside was working on tweaking the settings.  

Everything was up and running about an hour later, and there was no line at the internet desk.  

We are still very far north in Alaska, so we don't have extraordinary speeds, but the latency is way down compared to the SES speeds.  

Just talked to Mom on the ship. Medical emergency onboard had to turn back. It will put them two hours late into Bermuda. 

Probably more and more medical emergencies as the ships carry more and more people. This particular cruise has lots of children due to spring break. 

Looks like Anthem of the Seas is headed back to port after leaving at 15:00 today.  Does anyone know why?  

I'm flying southwest and my garment bag does not fit the "standard" carry on measurements. I emailed southwest and their response was not an answer to my inquiry.

Has anyone used their garment bag as a carry on even though it's not the standard carry on size?

...regular "xray machine"...

You keep referring to this x-ray machine or x-ray scanner. Are you talking about the walk-through metal detector? Just to let you know, they use an electromagnetic field to detect metal. Not x-ray in any form.

Where do you pick-up the FlyAway at LAX? Thanks.

It stops at every terminal. Check out their website: http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=4696

People are always asking about the distance between port and airport at Ft. Lauderdale, so here's a quick shot I took of Oasis of the Seas from my plane last weekend, while taxiing toward the east end of runway.

 

[ATTACH]310505[/ATTACH]

Spitting distance!

Now kenish, I read on the Internet that TSA agents are regularly confiscating food to feed themselves. And the Internet is always right!!:D;)

A year or so ago, a guy in front of me at a checkpoint was required to surrender his half used tube of toothpaste. He demanded to see the TSA officer physically put it in the trashcan because he thought they would take it home and use it. YUCK!

I know that people can bring sandwiches or other food items through security and on the plane. If I have a sealed tub of hummus, will this be an issue going through security?

Basically, if it pours, jiggles or doesn't hold its shape when removed from the container and is larger than 3.4oz (100ml) or is smaller but doesn't fit in your 3-1-1 bag, it is considered a prohibited item.

Pre and post Hawaian cruise. We are from RI and want to spend a few days pre and post in California

Are you thinking the Los Angeles area? Being from LA, I have lots of suggestions. What are you interested in; arts, museums, movie studios, sports, amusement parks?

...No one else offers non stop to the best of my knowledge...

At this point in time, Southwest also offers non stop flights.

Thanks all for the informative answers! I will quit worrying about THAT issue. Now for the other ones........:D

 

Penny

Yeah, if your name doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. They can't change the size of the font on the boarding pass to make it fit! Happens all the time.

My name on my airline booking is incorrect for my middle name. It is SUSANNE and the airline has it as SUSANN because "there is a letter limit on names". I guess it is 20 letters, so my full name does not show up entirely correctly on my online booking (the first and last are correct). Does anyone know if this will be a problem with the TSA?:confused:

 

Thanks for any info,

Penny

Don't worry, it's not a problem at all.

I'm surprised that you even considered booking on RCI with all this residual anger. Seems like an extremely long time to hold on to it. If it was (and is still) so upsetting to you, why on earth didn't you book your upcoming cruise with Disney instead? Just saying.

How come none of you warned me about the terribly narrow, bizarrely shaped toilet seats on the Serenade? :confused:

 

They were so uncomfortable! It is a narrow ledge, more akin to the bare rim below it, then the flatter, wider expanse we are all used to here in the States.

 

I actually made a tour of public restrooms hoping to find the normal ones - to no avail.

 

Having cruised on Radiance 2 years ago, I am positive these were not present. I made note of it on my survey, it's uncomfortable and looks so cheap. It really sends a terrible message to new cruisers. I was very disapointed to see them. It is so cheap looking and tacky!

Did you take a photo of this seat. I'd love to see what you are talking about.