Steppy08

We just got off Mariner on Monday. We had a GS (the RoyalUp fairy paid a visit). loved the suite, the balcony, and all the little concierge services but especially the suite lounge happy hour. It was empty most of the time. As much as l loved the GS, it would not have been worth it for the full fare difference in a JS. Although we almost drank the difference in prices in the suite lounge! id book the JS and see if a Royal Up offer comes along.

I would be very tempted to upgrade to a balcony for Alaska. We practically lived on our balcony for our Alaska cruise. Avoided the crowded public areas while sailing Glacier Bay, had breakfast lunch and dinner out there one day

Just got off Mariner yesterday and did the Tulum Ruins (and the cenotes). There were at least 3-4 variations of the Tulum tour that included a beach break, just Tulum, or the one we did. We’ve done many tours both with the cruise lines and on our own. Given the time frame we would never do this one on our own. We were the first group off the ship at 7am and the last group onboard at 4:40 (all aboard was 4:30). Royal arranged for the fast ferry to come right to the dock (as opposed to taking a bus to the other dock in Cozumel where the ferry normally goes) 45 minutes on the ferry, about 45 minutes drive to Tulum. We had about 2.5 hours in Tulum, about 1 hour was guided and the rest time to wander around. They provided snacks and a bottle of water. The ruins looked to be in the same condition they were in 2005 I guess? That’s the last time I was there. I thought it was a good tour and worth the cost. We enjoyed Tulum (my husband had never been before) and loved the cenotes as a refreshing end of the tour.

I had my known traveler number at the conclusion of the interview and the Global Entry Card within a week or two.

I got conditional approval within days (I applied February of 2022) but scheduling the interview took almost a year. I was hoping to do it at my home airport (PIT) and after months of waiting for open appointments I made one in Cleveland for January 2023 and drove 2 hours. For a 5 minute interview. 🙄 At least its done and now my husband and i both have it (and TSA pre-check!)

Remember getting loads of souvenir glasses on ships? I’ve kept only two since my mom downsized and made an Aruba Ariba today using the one from my first cruise ever.