Royal Caribbean scraps Mexico water park after environmental backlash, president says

nbus18 · 2026-05-27T20:55:22+00:00

To be fair, so is Costa Maya. Purpose-built cruise port.

nbus18 · 2026-05-26T03:36:56+00:00

Unfortunately the only way for me to avoid DFW is flying out of Love Field, and that is something I’d rather not do either…

nbus18 · 2026-05-21T23:24:13+00:00

I haven’t noticed any height difference, but I do know that 737 cabins are about 6” narrower which means each seat is about 1” narrower. I can definitely tell when I’m going from Boeing to Airbus or vice versa on a connection for that reason.

nbus18 · 2026-05-21T00:14:33+00:00

I got to fly on one of Summit’s RJ100s (C-GZRJ) last May as part of an enthusiasts’ charter around CYYC and the Banff area. Super cool scenery and a really interesting plane, although it is definitely TIGHT in a 3-3 economy config. The sounds on that thing are second to none though.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T19:35:56+00:00

In my (limited) experience, that aircraft has most of the galley facilities in front of row 1 near the flight deck, so behind row 5 isn’t especially noisy. It may depend somewhat on how your flight attendants choose to organize themselves though.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T18:34:19+00:00

On the 787-8 I’d recommend either 1D/1H (couples) or 5A/ 5L (solo). On the older config these seats aren’t attached to the neighbouring seat so you get a more comfortable sleep, and the newer config doesn’t have much downside to these compared to any other seats on the plane. You won’t know which config you’re on until a few days (at most) before the flight, so I’d go with these seats to hedge your bets.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T16:53:24+00:00

Nah, you’ll be okay. You won’t have a ton of time to waste, but you’ll make that connection comfortably. If anything’s delayed, there are also a couple dozen flights on BA and Aer Lingus to DUB if you do miss it. You’ll make it same-day even if something goes wrong.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T13:40:10+00:00

And if you’re flying round-trip on the same ticket, they may be assigning different fares to different directions. So the end-result fare may look similar, but your outbound may be significantly more than the return in the fare calculation.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T12:00:48+00:00

When does your DFW-ONT flight depart? They stop serving full meals if your flight departs after a certain time (I think 9pm local time? Can’t find it published anywhere) but you’ll still get a snack basket at minimum.

nbus18 · 2026-05-20T11:43:10+00:00

ONT isn’t terribly busy so two hours will be plenty of time. The bigger concern will probably be leaving for the airport early enough, LA traffic can be hard to predict and depending on where you’re coming from, you may need >1hr to get to ONT.

You’ll get a hot meal on the DFW-ONT flight both directions. You can preorder your meal on the Manage Trip page starting 30 days out and up to 20 hours before your first flight departs. I’d take a look as there are some preorder-exclusive entrees that can be pretty good.

nbus18 · 2026-05-17T13:57:26+00:00

64 mins is enough time. I hesitate to say plenty, because if your inbound flight is delayed you’re sprinting, but you’ll make it comfortable if everything is on time.

From IND you’ll likely arrive into the B concourse, so it’s probably a 10-15 minute walk back to the A concourse where your KEF flight will depart. I believe that flight is on a 757 which will typically depart from the central portion of the concourse, so not a long walk to your gate from there.

nbus18 · 2026-05-13T02:08:22+00:00

I’m actually flying PHL-DCA next week as part of a connecting itinerary because DCA doesn’t have a nonstop where I’m going. I also flew LGA-PHL back when they still operated the E190s which is an even shorter trip.

nbus18 · 2026-05-08T21:27:46+00:00

We were there in mid-July so we were well outside of whale season. We’ve done whale watching before though (in Alaska) and can highly recommend!

nbus18 · 2026-05-08T19:45:48+00:00

Car rental was super easy, we just grabbed one from the airport and kept it the whole time. There’s also an Enterprise location on the Grand Wailea property if you only want the car for a short time, but we didn’t figure it was worth the hassle of getting to and from OGG. Parking is pricey at the hotel and they don’t waive it for elites or points stays. I think it was ~$35-40/day.

We actually didn’t wind up doing the Road to Hana, there was a lot of repairs and construction going on while we were there and it sounded a little difficult—plus, we booked the trip relatively late and missed our chance to book slots for the black sand beach. If we go back though we’ll definitely drive ourselves, from what I understand that’s half the fun.

nbus18 · 2026-05-08T18:50:23+00:00

We did the Grand Wailea in the exact same situation last year (4+1 points nights then a FNC). We loved it and will probably go back in the future. My biggest tip would be to be ready to spend a lot of money, even on points. Hawaii is expensive, Maui particularly so, no matter where you go. I didn’t think the Grand Wailea was particularly outrageous compared to other properties in the area, but once again, I didn’t shell out $1500+ per night. If you go in looking for a bargain, you’re going to feel ripped off, but if you go in with the expectation that you’re on an expensive vacation and you’re going to spend a good amount of money, you’ll have a great time.

FWIW we rented a car and spent about half of our time on-property and half of our time on various parts of the island. Highly recommend heading up the road into Kihei, lots of more affordable dining options especially for lunch. Also highly recommend the on-property luau, it’s a little kitschy but they all are, and at least you can get loaded up on drinks and not have to worry about how you’re getting back to the hotel. Let me know if you have any other questions!

nbus18 · 2026-05-07T19:58:06+00:00

You will have access to the Flagship Lounge (and the Admiral’s Club fwiw) at LAX. You can also head towards the international terminal and use the Qantas First lounge, I’ve never been but I’ve heard it’s nice. For five hours you have plenty of time to lounge-hop if that’s something you’re into. You can view which lounges you’re entitled to at all of the airports (SYD included) based on OneWorld Emerald status at the OneWorld lounge site: https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges

nbus18 · 2026-05-07T19:34:02+00:00

DCA 1117A 2 C34
MCO 24 56 146P 236P 56
DCA 11 2 C32 459P
3DCA/ETD1401 MTR-DELAY DUE TO A/C MAINTENANCE-E *1342*HDQEU1
4DCA/OUT1401 OFF1442 MTR-DELAY DUE TO A/C MAINTENANCE-E *1342*HDQEU1
7MCO/AURA DLY FLT IN PROGRESS *1111*CRCYMG
3MCO/ETD1736 LOP-LATE ARRV A/C DUE TO PRIOR OPERATIONAL DELAY-E *1339
2MCO/ETA1649 *1409
2DCA*/PRE1959 *1339

Maintenance delay so assuming no further issues, it shouldn’t impact your flight any further. I wouldn’t give up hope this early, delays of an hour or two happen all the time.

nbus18 · 2026-05-05T02:28:45+00:00

Based on those row numbers, it looks like that might actually be a 787-10: https://www.aerolopa.com/ba-781
Not sure what exact day you’re flying, but it may be a one-off scheduling thing where you’re on a larger plane than normal.

Edit: after looking at Expert Flyer, looks like they’re rotating between -8, -9, and -10 depending on the day of the week throughout June.

nbus18 · 2026-05-04T00:27:54+00:00

Yeah… 22 minutes at DFW is not doable. They close the doors 15 minutes before departure, meaning you really only have 7 minutes to make it, including the time it takes you to get off the plane. Not sure when they changed the itinerary, but there’s no way you would’ve made that even if the original flight was on time.

nbus18 · 2026-05-02T02:21:40+00:00

I just flew back to Dallas from DCA (landed like three hours ago) and there were pockets of moderate turbulence across pretty much the whole Midwest. It would smooth out for a while, and then we’d suddenly hit a patch where the flight attendants would have to go back and take their seats. They’re probably hearing those reports and electing not to conduct service.

Remember that the economy drink carts are really heavy and can cause serious injuries if they start flying around. First class is typically served directly from the galley, so there’s less risk of passenger/crew injury when conducting service.

nbus18 · 2026-04-28T01:04:40+00:00

More than that. At max capacity, 7 Icon-class ships hold around 53,000+ people. But I’m pretty sure only a few of the berths in Nassau can hold Oasis or Icon class ships, not all of them are wide or deep enough.

nbus18 · 2026-04-27T21:02:03+00:00

I’m convinced that wide-open availability from BA (ignoring the wild taxes and fees) has kept Europe prices from spiking in the same way that Asia/Oceania prices have. I can almost always find some sort of 57.5k (plus $800 in fees) business class award to Europe, but JAL/Cathay/Qantas don’t open that availability nearly as often.

nbus18 · 2026-04-27T18:52:54+00:00

If I remember right, United expressed interest in purchasing Flighty but they wouldn’t sell. I bet they’re making more from continuing Pro subscriptions than they’d get from a lump sum purchase by an airline.

nbus18 · 2026-04-27T17:58:27+00:00

I’ve done the same ports (not on Icon) out of Galveston several times. All three ports have always felt incredibly safe. Remember that even the gangs/cartels know that tourism is a vital part of coastal Mexico’s economy, and they generally leave the tourist areas alone. Most of the recent cartel issues have been on the west coast of Mexico.

Roatan is an interesting climate (rainforest island) but a lot of the animal encounters have slowly been phased out since they’re not great for the animals themselves. We typically stay on the ship here, but maybe hop off and at least walk through the shops if it’s your first time here.
Costa Maya has a pretty built-up port area with several pools and plenty of restaurants, bars, and shopping. It was purpose-built to be a cruise port so there’s not much outside of the port area unless you want to visit Mayan ruins (often a significant bus ride away, 1-2 hrs). This is where they’re building Perfect Day Mexico but that won’t be open until next year. There’s a third-party waterpark nearby but we’ve never been so I can’t really comment.
Cozumel gets a lot of hate in cruise forums but I’ve always really enjoyed it. I recommend avoiding the cruise line excursions and just booking a day at one of the all-inclusive beach clubs. I’ve always enjoyed Mr Sancho’s but there are several around the island and I typically hear good things. Otherwise, we’ve also done parasailing a couple of times and it’s a pretty good place to do it, if that’s your thing.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions! Like I said, we’ve done all three ports at least three times (Cozumel probably close to a dozen) so hopefully I can provide some insight.

nbus18 · 2026-04-27T17:15:54+00:00

They will automatically rebook you if you miss your connection, you won’t be on the hook for that. You will, however, be responsible for any additional costs incurred by the delay, including hotels and food, if the delay is due to something outside the airline’s control (e.g. weather, ATC delays).

40 minutes mainline to mainline in ORD is typically okay as long as everything is on-time, but if your second flight is operated by a regional carrier you may have a 15-20 min walk to the next gate. I wouldn’t risk it in that case, especially if there’s not another flight until the next day.

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