Time 2 Cruise

 There are a lot of pros to decreasing the carbon footprint of even just 1 cruise ship, but when you think about the fact that there are now over 320+(and growing) ships currently in service, the impact is exponential.  But as cruise lines work to meet standards, either set by governments, or even themselves, they have to be careful to not step on expectations of the guests on board.  This is where some cons come in. The  (current) lifespan of an ocean Cruise Ship is between 17 and 30 years.  Once they are no longer in service, they usually go to a cruise ship graveyard to be dismantled.  The process is dirty and not environmentally friendly, but getting better.  There is a really cool article here that you can read about it.  Before that happens, a ship will go through a few dry dock refurbishments to improve guest experience and updates to remove the dated feel along with working on decreasing the carbon footprint of the ship.   Howev...

Whether you're a fan of themed cruises or not, they are definitely growing in popularity. I’ve personally experienced both sides of the coin. First, I sailed on Shiprocked, a music-themed cruise where my wife and I got to enjoy some of our favorite bands. Then, I unexpectedly found myself on a Carnival cruise where over half the ship was dedicated to a Country Music theme week, which we hadn’t planned for. There are generally two types of themed cruises. I’m focusing on those where passengers pay extra to join a theme—whether it’s Comicon, music genres, LGBTQ+, TV shows (yes, those exist!), and more. These differ from onboard seasonal events, like Halloween themes organized by the cruise line, where everyone can join the fun. I’ve done those too, and they’re a blast! Themed cruises offer a lot of benefits if you're into the theme. You can meet celebrities, connect with like-minded people, and fully immerse yourself in your passion. However, participating in these events usually...

 You may have seen that Royal Caribbean has recently added "outlet extenders" to their list of prohibited items.  This is any device that splits an outlet, including surge protectors.  But what other things should you leave at home beyond the obvious, like fireworks, irons, and electric kettles? To much cash:  When you re enter the U.S. you have to declare cash in excess of $10,000 regardless of where you started with it.   Drones: While this should be easily understandable, they don't want you getting any ideas about flying your toy off the deck of the ship, and many ports of call prohibit bringing them ashore, so it makes sense to just prohibit them in the first place. Straws and Plastic Bags:  This one was not something I thought about before but with cruise lines focusing on the environment, banning single use bags and straws makes sense.  We did notice that on our most recent cruise it was paper straws and only on request. Mini Star Link Sate...

Being a big Star Wars fan, I got to cross off a bucket list item I didn't think I would. Get to visit the Hyperspace Lounge.  But this post is not about that even though it was part of why we (I) decided to cruise Disney.  We had to be in Florida and we're looking for something to do on the weekend whe the Disney Wish popped up in our search. Being we don't have children, we were hesitant, but the price was right (we'll for Disney). Cost for 4 day, 3 night on the Disney Wish with all taxes and gratuities was just under $2000.  Being close to Halloween, it was a Halloween cruise, with trick it treating and encouraged costume wearing for all, not just kids, which probably added to the cost. This is about double what a comparable cabin on Carnival would have cost but we took the plug anyway. I'm going to start with our con list first.  No casino if you like to gamble Theater seats not very comfortable  Yep that was it.  Now the pro list. This isn't necessarily...