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LOL...My wife received an email from RCI that stated "here's the requested receipt" which i asked her if she had requested one. She had not. So i logged into RCI to check what was going on, as our cruise was paid in full. That's when i noticed we were on a different floor...then i noticed we had been upgraded from a JS to 2BR suite. No phone calls asking for additional money requested...just a fantastic upgrade that we enjoyed and are willing to take at any time. :-)

On most cruises, I like a cigar after dinner, so my wife and I go up to the smoking area to be legal, we meet a couple up there doing the same thing, they were new cruisers so they were asking us a ton of questions, we asked if they had been to the main dinning room yet, they replied no, they hadn't packed anything nice to wear so they didn't want to go, it had nothing to do with what social status they were, their entire cruise plan was to lay by the pool and scuba/snorkel at every stop, so they packed mostly causal clothes, I told them if they wanted to go to the MDR to wear the best they had and go, they would be missing out on a huge benefit of the cruise if they missed the MDR. So a couple of nights later my wife and I saw them on deck again, she was in a nice dress and he was in shorts with Polo and dock siders, they said they had taken our advice and went to the MDR and where glad they did, I asked if they planned on going back and they said probably. I'm like most people on here, I don't wear a tux any more on formal night but I always wear slacks, nice shirt and jacket on formal nights, other nights just slacks and a polo, but that is my personal preference, like @Ray says, Royal is the one to enforce the no shorts rule, but remember, maybe that is all someone has...

Way i see it, it's RC who make the rules not the guests, so if RC dont want shorts in MDR on formal or any other night ban them!!! TOTAL BAN No one should judge or look down on anyone due to what they are wearing if RC says it's ok. In my opinon a nice pair of shorts with the right shirt or polo shirt can in fact look way better than a pair of trousers, it's not what you wear but how you wear it

Jay assumed James' identity from pre-school on in a grave conspiracy about the letter M on chalkboards...

First, I want to know who gets 92 texts?? LOL! We depart in 12 days. Hubby, "Suppose I win $10,000 in the casino and you're at the pool, how do I get in touch with you", Me, "I only purchased one Voom", hubby, "Can't we text?, Me," NO"..... So do I need to purchase a second voom and then will texts work? On Lady G, older ship so not sure anything will work and then odds of Hubby winning $10K in the casino are zero to none.

RIPPLE!!!!!!

Bonus post So during the flight back yesterday I had few hours (its a short flight) to review some old pictures. During this semi live blog I described many other tour options that can be done from the ports , so here are pictures from tours we done while we were on the Harmony of the seas during October 16 sell at the same itinerary. Marseille - The tour was to Cassis , a small city with wonderful view , the pictures are from the near by cliffs : In La Speza we rented a car a drove first to a viewpoint over the port and later to one of the old towns near by. Here some picture from the area : In Napoli we to ok a tour to Sorento (with making pizza) and in the way to the city we stop near Amalfi coast :

Day 8 – departure ☹ Lucky for us we went sleeping quite early for a last day (around 1 AM ) so we could catch few hours of quality sleeping time.I found out the hard way that one of the departure day depression is lacking good sleep on the final day. Our departure time was schedule to 9 am so we had time to organize things and catch some last breakfast in WJ , this was the first day I saw the WJ full but still we found some space to seat and eat a quick one.We left our room around 8:40 directly to the gangway, In Barcelona they have two terminal for Oasis class , terminal C and B , even tag numbers are sent to Terminal C and odds goes to terminal B , as I was not paying attention we found ourselves in the wrong terminal … so we had to do all the way back to the other terminal , the advantage was that we could take one last picture of the ship. As our flight was schedule only to be the next day (500 $ less) we waited for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Beware , taxies lines in Barcelona port can take up to 30 minutes (that’s the cases if you are not leaving the ship at 7 AM anyway). We arrived the hotel (Crown Plaza 10 minutes ride from the port and 18 $) as no rooms were available yet we were given access to the launch were we had our second late breakfast , rooms were available around 11 AM so we went up put our stuff and left to tour Barcelona for few hours.The hotel, although not in the main center, is located near Espania square (10-15 minutes walk) which has a metro , a very impressive fountain nearby and some museum/shops We took some picture and went to the Subway so we can catch a ride to boqueria food market and to La Rambla avenue. Boueria became a very touristic place although still there many stores which sells fresh food for locals. If you can avoid it during weekend it is best as the place is very crowded. Still I would not miss it . We took some small mixed Jamon plate and fresh exotic fruits cups. Off we went to walk at Rambla until we decided to add back to the hotel. Later we went to a Supermarkets to buy some Jamon and Cava to bring back home (remember we promised some Jamon to the cat ? ). Flight back was 6 am so we went to sleep early, during the cruise I found out that I will come back home , do my laundry and fly day after to South America for some meetings. So some thoughts about the ship : First , it is wonderful ship , I am so happy we will be on it again on September. We discussed with some crew member which told us that RC brought many people from other ships for few weeks , I do hope they will continue with the excellent service. The same crew member told us that the new bar, Playmaker was a big success, I could so that every day it was full of people. Internet was excellent in the entire ship , when we wanted to work on another device we just had to login on this device without logout the other (which is good but can also create some internet wars, sure I need to buy the travel router for next time as suggested by @twangster , will do it next week when I will catch my connection flight in EWR) We brought two bottles of wines and open them one in Hooked and one in the MDR , we were not charged for any fees. The laser tag is fun, I would recommend to try it, if you come as family maybe even try to be on opposite teams. The ice show is not to be missed. Hairspray is very nice, well performed. We did not took the drinking package as there was only one sea day so with two bottles of wines , three paid drinks and some very drinks in the Casino we managed to handle it. RC were very generous with the sparkling wine, almost every day they gave it free in the WJ. Going on one of the first cruise prove itself to be very good, the ship for sure was ready with 98% of her features. Another cruise came to its end, thanks whoever followed, as always it was enjoyable to write it , let me know if you have any question on the ship or the ports, would happy to answer.

It can happen on any ship but Anthem has had a bit more reports than other RC ships. I've noticed that too from my readings. Just remember, not all sanitizers kill Norovirus. If you are going to purchase something, make sure you read the labels carefully. There are only a small handful of products that kill the virus.

We once had a free upgrade on Liberty from a Grand Suite to an Owners Suite. We were so surprised it should happen to us.

Yeah, I think this is one of those situations where you ask yourself, "which should I be more nervous about ? Whether they ARE cancelling flights to check for mechanical issues or whether they AREN'T cancelling flights to check for mechanical issues". It's kind of a lose-lose for them. Hopefully it's all win-win for the pax.

If I'm supposed to dress up, I will. If it's formal night and and I'm not in the mood to wear a dress and I have nice pants and a top on, so be it. My travel mate last time took formal night to another level - it was a borderline costume - she looked beautiful. I, on the other hand, had a little black dress on. Nothing fancy. I'd prefer people to put a little effort for the overall feel of the night BUT, at the end of the day, you do do. Mr-I'm-Wearing-Shorts is not ruining my night or my experience. I judge others on manners not their clothing on a vacation.

Children and spouses get the same status as the highest C&A member in the family. A Crown & Anchor Society member can be added into a relationship with other family members in the same household and receive equivalent tier status; however Cruise Points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the Program level accrual system described above. Pinnacle Club member tier status will not be awarded to dependents if earned by their parent and/or guardian. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual, spouse or significant other by one of them accumulating 700 Cruise Points or more in the CAS program.

Not yet. 2 more years 'til then !!

She doesn't really exist...except in Bot World ?

Yes. I’ve been upgraded twice. The first time was in Jan 2015. Royal called my cell phone about 5 days before the sail date to ask if we wanted to move from our current cabin on Oasis (Boardwalk balcony) to an ocean view balcony. It was our first cruise as D+. We took the no-cost upgrade. The second time we had an ocean view on Grandeur (about a year ago) and when we got to the port and started checking in, we found that we had been upgraded to a JS. On the second one, we had no idea we had been upgraded until we got to the check-in counter. In the first case I cannot remember whether we had booked directly with Royal or whether we had used our TA but I know for sure that with the last one, on Grandeur, we had used Michelle with MEI. We have never been called and offered an upsell. We have only had “free” upgrades.

Royal Carribbean CEO Michael Bayley just did an interview with Business Insider and dropped this gem: Contrary to what clueless CEOs think, it's a stupid idea to insult people you'd like to be your customers. There are few things that irritate me more than watching middle-aged entitled people who are typically waited on hand-and-foot through their entire daily lives whine and moan about those selfish entitled millennials. He goes on to talk about not specifically chasing millennial cruisers and once they start families, their preferences tend to align with other families regardless of generation. That's fine, I don't think Royal should chase fads and make assumptions based on opinions not backed up by the data of actual spending habits--all the more ironic, since he starts out doing that very thing by throwing a barb at millennials at the top of the article . . . My advice to Mr. Bayley is to remove his foot from his mouth and avoid insulting large swaths of your guests, check his own entitlement at the door when he comes in to work, and redirect that energy to thinking about how he can improve his cruise line for all guests. A good place to start might be on the apps and websites which are an absolute horror show right now. And if that's too millenial-focused (us and our silly obsession with technology and smartphones and all), take a look at the main dining room food quality which has been taking a nosedive for the best 15 years.

Saw one of those on Freedom, was one of the rare times I very consciously held onto my paper towel post-washy-washy for opening the door. ?

Abe Hughes got CD after 3.5 years with Royal and was mid-20's at the time. He is one of their very best. Quite the opposite in fact - I've seen several move up within 8 years of employment with RCI, many in 5. The CD on your Freedom cruise, Drew Devine, joined Royal Caribbean in 2001 and was Cruise Director in 2005. It's a massive undertaking, and you are right that there is a great deal of management involved, but I have rarely seen a CD that has taken 15 years to get to the position from joining. Can actually think of none.

If you don't use all the cash in your onboard account by the end of the cruise, go to guest services to settle your account and they will refund you the money not spent.

No. Work

I think this was a mistake. The children should get the same status as the parents until they are 18 years old. After age 18, they retain whatever status they have accumulated (if they are Diamond b/c of their parents, they remain Diamond) but they will not get to the next level until they accumulate enough points on their own to warrant the next step. It should not matter whether children are in a cabin of their own or in the cabin with their parents. They rate the C&A level of the parents; it is independent of what type of cabin arrangements they have. If your children are not the same C&A level as you are, you need to check again with C&A. They should be. This, however, does not extend to other members of your family. You have to have the same address in order to acquire the same C&A level. Even then, I'm not sure they would extend the C&A level beyond spouse, parents and children. I know that sisters and brothers do not get that extension.

We are booked for the Symphony during February break of 2019 - ugh!!! Prices right now are $676 and there are FIVE OF US!!! I sure hope it changes - started tracking so thank you for all the advice!

I don't think so, there was a big discussion on here last year, had to do with a young lady and her boyfriend, he got her status because they proved they lived at the same street address. So if I understood what I read last year, your extended family would all have to reside at the same address, then they could benefit from your status.

Amen to That!

Ah....ol' Napoli. I will be there next week.

Great job on the blog and thanks for the bonus photos!

I’m about to get one after my horrific casino experience on Enchantment. I’m hoping for GS to Royal Loft Suite but most likely it will be GS to crown loft suite. Either way, I’m satisfied with the resolution and will continue to gamble in the casino on Allure.

The short and long of it...it is no longer the deal it was..nor does it provide the perks or incentive to use it any longer. Royal does not want to give away anything or lose any $$ that they don't have to. Cruise bookings aren't suffering so why give a break to anyone?! That being said.I only used the next cruise desk once in 10 cruises...usually it was way too busy to visit or it was already booked up...now, they look so lonely sitting there.....and I am smart enough to know its not worth it any longer to even waste that 20 mins on the cruise talking to them. Best advice for the best price/deal is to do the leg work yourself...visit 3-4 different cruise travel sites....you can even track cruises on some sites. Book the best deal you can and then continue to watch it up to the final payment date for a better deal that may work in your favor once you consider all the penalties and incentives.

That is a possibility, hubby has lost quite a bit of weight and if he wears his existing suits they will need tailoring

Oh, and as for how to adequately deal with the withdrawal symptoms, I recommend paying a visit to the Merry Monks

Si wiil check out the live blog TIA??

There are cruise compasses on the drop down menu on the home page. You do need to use your card to turn on the lights on the Anthem. There were about 1/3 if the doors in my deck that had something on their doors.

I Am Deleting The Following People in This group As They Do Not Contribute or post. Kendra Pertilla Reida Nichols Irene Dennen Rachel Brantley Jivenia Porter Renee Simpkins Andrea Bogle Danny Smith Vicky Cumming Marica Dickert Elmira Chouinard Buddy Veg Jason Hail Danielle Grimes Deonna Foerster Lorean Rothschild Nola Dick Lucille Delariva Nolan Wohlers Shoshana Kozak Bari Strous Douglass Houser Leonarda Otero James Jenkins Kaleigh Didonna Lyndon Lanclos Renata Schillaci Lisa Arrigo Charlotte Calvin Yelena Dunnam Ron Lawhead Quinn Sines Jeanmarie Cabaniss Keena Prado Hank Hoover Noemi Repp Eliz Timbers Melina Avallone Virginia Mccomb Kory Demery Lucille Delariva Nolan Wohlers Shoshana Kozak Bari Strous Douglass Houser Leonarda Otero Kaleigh Didonna Lyndon Lanclos Renata Schillaci Lisa Arrigo Charlotte Calvin Yelena Dunnam Ron Lawhead Quinn Sines Jeanmarie Cabaniss Keena Prado Hank Hoover Noemi Repp Eliz Timbers Melina Avallone Virginia Mccomb Kory Demery Amberly Toole Lanell Slaton Murray Casperson Leonardo Barrio Vashti Magnes James Matthenson Kathryne Philips Mahalia Smallwood Eileen Machin Lillie Mull Tanika Morris Seema Keough Reatha Poche Gwenn Seip Kendra Pertilla Reida Nichols Irene Dennen Rachel Brantley Jivenia Porter Renee Simpkins Andrea Bogle Vicky Cumming Marica Dickert Elmira Chouinard Buddy Veg Jason Hail Danielle Grimes Deonna Foerster Lorean Rothschild Nola Dick Lucille Delariva Nolan Wohlers Shoshana Kozak Bari Strous Douglass Houser Leonarda Otero Kaleigh Didonna Lyndon Lanclos Renata Schillaci Lisa Arrigo Charlotte Calvin Yelena Dunnam Ron Lawhead Quinn Sines Jeanmarie Cabaniss Keena Prado Hank Hoover Noemi Repp Eliz Timbers Melina Avallone Virginia Mccomb Kory Demery Amberly Toole Lanell Slaton Murray Casperson Elmira Chouinard Buddy Veg Jason Hail Danielle Grimes Deonna Foerster Lorean Rothschild Nola Dick David Ell Lucille Delariva Nolan Wohlers Shoshana Kozak Bari Strous Douglass Houser Leonarda Otero Kaleigh Didonna Lyndon Lanclos Renata Schillaci Lisa Arrigo Charlotte Calvin Yelena Dunnam Ron Lawhead Quinn Sines Jeanmarie Cabaniss Keena Prado Hank Hoover Noemi Repp Eliz Timbers Melina Avallone Virginia Mccomb Kory Demery Amberly Toole Lanell Slaton Murray Casperson Leonardo Barrio Vashti Magnes James Matthenson Kathryne Philips Mahalia Smallwood Eileen Machin Lillie Mull Tanika Morris Seema Keough Reatha Poche Gwenn Seip Kendra Pertilla Reida Nichols Irene Dennen Rachel Brantley Jivenia Porter Renee Simpkins Andrea Bogle Vicky Cumming Marica Dickert Elmira Chouinard Buddy Veg Jason Hail Danielle Grimes Deonna Foerster Lorean Rothschild Nola Dick Lucille Delariva Nolan Wohlers Shoshana Kozak Bari Strous Douglass Houser Leonarda Otero Kaleigh Didonna Lyndon Lanclos Renata Schillaci Lisa Arrigo Charlotte Calvin Yelena Dunnam Ron Lawhead Quinn Sines Jeanmarie Cabaniss Keena Prado Hank Hoover Noemi Repp Eliz Timbers Melina Avallone Virginia Mccomb Kory Demery Amberly Toole Lanell Slaton Murray Casperson Leonardo Barrio Vashti Magnes James Matthenson Kathryne Philips Mahalia Smallwood Eileen Machin Lillie Mull Tanika Morris Seema Keough Reatha Poche Gwenn Seip Kendra Pertilla Reida Nichols Irene Dennen Rachel Brantley Jivenia Porter Renee Simpkins If you went through this entire list looking for your name, I do apologize for completely wasting your time. I'm not even an admin and have no clue who these people are. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I should put down my drink and go to bed! True Admins...feel free to delete. Cheers INSIDERS!

Maybe I didn't read enough of the article...but it doesn't say if there was a tragic ending to the jump or not. So, I have no problem with the original post, or any "jokes" thereafter. Maybe it was a millennial YouTuber looking to make a name. Maybe it was suicide because of medication being taken. We don't know. Let it go. Thanks to @ellcee for posting the link, that's what this site is for, cruise news.

Very funny, even though I haven't met him yet ?. Does he maybe fit into the same group as my mother-in-law?..."before dirters"?

I feel the same way, just adds to the my personal enjoyment of the cruise!

Great blog @Traveler! Thank you so much for sharing. It looks like you had a great time!

C&A discounts are sometimes combinable with other discounts. It's impossible to predict. You can search for a cruise fare and then apply your C&A member number and see if the rates drop. There are three ways to search with your C&A status applied: 1. Use the "More Filters" search The problem using this approach is that you can't see what "normal" pricing is (without C&A discount). 2. Use the "See if you qualify for exclusive rates" link. Once you are in a specific cruise you can see the price without it then use the back function to step back to the # of guests page and clink the link to apply your C&A status and search for pricing using it to see if the price changed. This can be done on a cruise by cruise basis, it forgets your C&A number if you click the "change itinerary" link and search a different cruise. 3. Ask your travel agent. I often ask mine to price a cruise with my C&A and without it. She normally does so anyways and reports the lowest rate of all the fares she can access including with and without my C&A status applied.

An approach I've done for multiple cruises was to rent a tux. Saves some luggage space too...

It's anybody's guess. Cruise planner sales are unpredictable. Just keep checking. Sometimes they happen around holidays. Sometimes out of the blue. @Matt does a great job posting it here on the blog whenever one does come up. You can also purchase now and re-price if the price goes lower prior to your sailing. Just as long as you are not within 3 days of your sail date. At least that will protect you from the price increasing on you, which that could also happen.

Excellent blog, Joe! Great pictures and well written recaps of all your adventures! Thanks for taking the time to do this. It's a shame that our Anthem cruises are two weeks apart (we're be onboard for Halloween). As a fellow New Jerseyan, I feel ya on the Sorrentos! Although, we were on Oasis in 2016 and I have to say, it wasn't HORRIBLE there - especially after exercising the drink package :)

Would his suit fit into this scene...

I’m sure he will look fine, some people wear T-shirts on formal night. I wouldn’t worry about it especially if it’s not something he would much in the future.

If this were true, the technology offerings would be much better. A lousy website and limited app availability are NOT the hallmarks of a millennial-centric organization.

Wow ! Nice lineup !

I'm ten minutes from the terminal in Charleston, and it's quite common for me to consider "scratching that itch" by just jumping on a Carnival tug for a few days. Then I get some calamine lotion and that problem goes away. Now, if RC came to Chucktown, that would be a !

I knew she was a bot. USB-Hub? Ethernet-Hub? Regardless, I knew you were a bot. Takes one to know one...

I'm huge on not having my name fully out there. There are some very strange people. I've been "found" online when using my full name on sites and harassed. Very long and super creepy story short - I have a physical disability (that means nothing in my daily life) and there is a fetish associated with it that took me until I was 33 to find out about THANKS INTERNETS. Someone saw a picture and my name and him and his girlfriend found me on multiple social media sites. Plus I work in the entertainment business and my name used to be in the credits of a few shows. I go in and check every year to see what loveliness google pulls up and delete what I can. While my story is a more than a little crazy and over the top I just like a little privacy. I think it's better you changed your name.

Unless someone's cigarette from a balcony above lands on your underwear (not suppose to be out there in the first place). Then you are out of luck ? Not making this up. Read this on another board. Think it was on Liberty of the seas...