LIVE from Radiance Apr. 21, 2023 - The Panama Canal - Canal au Niveau de la Mer

[little britain]

Wow Uber prices vary! Last night when I checked it was $5.70 for the trip and this morning they want $27!!  I never knew you could pre book a driver … ( we don’t have Uber where we live in England!).  Guess we will just wait for the rush to wane…

[twangster]

10 minutes ago, little britain said:

Wow Uber prices vary! Last night when I checked it was $5.70 for the trip and this morning they want $27!!  I never knew you could pre book a driver … ( we don’t have Uber where we live in England!).  Guess we will just wait for the rush to wane…

 

Departing guests on the way home are likely causing a surge.  Give it a few minutes.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by twangster

[little britain]

Red Roof Inn Plus hit by lightning last night here in Galveston… not a good start to someone’s holiday 😢

[twangster]

Just now, little britain said:

Red Roof Inn Plus hit by lightning last night here in Galveston… not a good start to someone’s holiday 😢

 

Hotel wifi is out here.  Suspect something similar.  It was pretty loud last night but I'm used it in Florida.

 

I'm grateful the storms have moved out of the area.  It would be miserable this morning if it was torrential rain like last night.  

[twangster]

Uber is still in surge pricing so I did the wait and save with Lyft.   $9.99 vs $38 with Uber. 

 

70F with no humidity so a nice wait outside my hotel.  

[twangster]

While I'm waiting... My Southwest flight here cost 8,900 points which is a pretty good rate.  I'm flying Delta from LA to home after the cruise.  I splurged For first class on the the flight home at 57,700 miles.  

 

For a last minute cruise booking it's proven to be pretty easy to keep the costs down.   There are flight deals out there despite the otherwise crazy rates.  

[Another_Critic]

38 minutes ago, twangster said:

While I'm waiting... My Southwest flight here cost 8,900 points which is a pretty good rate.  I'm flying Delta from LA to home after the cruise.  I splurged For first class on the the flight home at 57,700 miles.  

 

For a last minute cruise booking it's proven to be pretty easy to keep the costs down.   There are flight deals out there despite the otherwise crazy rates.  

I did pretty well with my 29 day out transatlantic booking.  Dirt cheap cruise.  Booked return transatlantic flight using FF miles (originally 36k, but rebooked at 30k).  One-way rental car for 7 days = $345 (double what I paid last year 😞 ).  2 BD/ 2 BA cottage for 7 days = $600.

[twangster]

On board!   Pics coming after I make dining reservations. 

[twangster]

No traffic and no crowds!

 

 

 

[twangster]

Up the stairs...

 

Suites and Pinnacle to the right. 

 

 

Through security to the waiting area for suites and Pinnacle. 

 

 

There I was checked in and asked the four health questions. 

 

Refreshments available:

 

 

The waiting area:

 

 

A famiar face pulled me aside to hand me an invitation.  It's Vernon!   Our L.A.  

 

 

Expecting 75 Pinnacle, 377 D+, 280 D.  

 

The ship was already boarding so after a brief chat it was around the corner to the ship. 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Brief stop at muster and I was done.  

 

I stopped into Chops to make dining reservations, no issues with any times. 

 

Texas beverage restrictions.  

 

 

[twangster]

Starlink:

 

[twangster]

My S22U phone would not connect to the ship wifi until I turned off randomize MAC.  Then it connected right away. 

 

Same with my Tab A tablet.  Until I disabled randomize MAC it would not connect to ship wifi.    

 

My macos laptop joined right away.

 

If you are having issues with wifi, turn off randomize MAC.  

[twangster]

With 75 Pins on board we have the Colony Club for our nightly happy hour.  

[twangster]

Day 1 cruise compass downloaded from the ship using this URL:

 

https://minio.rccl.com/compass/cruisecompass.pdf

 

RD day 1 cruisecompass.pdf

[twangster]

I see in the PDF above they have instructions how to disable randomize MAC on iPhone and Android.  

[Kathscof]

16 minutes ago, twangster said:

My S22U phone would not connect to the ship wifi until I turned off randomize MAC.  Then it connected right away. 

 

Same with my Tab A tablet.  Until I disabled randomize MAC it would not connect to ship wifi.    

 

My macos laptop joined right away.

 

If you are having issues with wifi, turn off randomize MAC.  

I swear that was half the problem with everyone at the voom desk last year on Radiance, I just started sharing the info with whoever I saw having problems hahaha

 

and I keep forgetting you are on her!  I like my ship! (its the only one I have been on and am going again next month hahaha) I will be looking forward to your impressions of the crew 🙂

Edited April 21, 2023 by Kathscof

[Sea Dog]

@twangster Looks like a great start. I am disappointed with the Starlink numbers as I wish it was faster. Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.

[twangster]

Cruise mode engaged. 

 

[little britain]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Departing guests on the way home are likely causing a surge.  Give it a few minutes.

 

$5.20 for Tesla Uber.. arrived in 2 mins. Result! 

[twangster]

On other ships I observed that Starlink internet was served using multiple addresses.  So far I've been stable and using a single address:

 

129.222.75.159

Edited April 21, 2023 by twangster

[twangster]

The couple in front of me on the gangway reported they had a fire in their hotel at 4am.  Yikes.  

[twangster]

Rewind a bit... On the road here my driver took the route that went past the old terminals.  There was flooding on the road and we hit one puddle a lot harder than I think she was estimating.  Apparently we got a lot of rain last night.

 

She likes the new terminals from a rideshare driver perspective.  I was her fourth trip to the new terminal so far today.  She is local.  She thought the traffic patterns work a lot better at the new terminal. 

[twangster]

Spotted: Children on board. 

 

Not a lot but there are some families on board. 

[twangster]

Lunch at Park cafe.   Roast beef sandwich. 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by twangster