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At the time at the pool, I only had a few $2 bills on me. The main reason I was using them is it's much easier to carry the $2 bills to carrying a bunch of singles. I certainly did not do it to be showing off or a ego boost or to stand out. This thread has made me aware of the trouble the crew has in exchanging them. I will be bringing singles from now on.

It seems to me that comments about people being somehow uneducated or undereducated because they are not familiar with two dollar bills are overly critical. Their lack of knowledge regarding these bills has nothing to do with education and everything to do with whether they’ve come across something that is extremely rare. The bottom line is that a $2 bill is rare and thus a lot of people are not familiar with them… therefore a lot of people are not going to want them… thus it’s more of a hindrance to the people receiving one and probably should be avoided.

Right? Who knew that the Inside Passage was so sketch!

I've come across servers who truly don't want $2 bills because they can't exchange them in their home countries.

On my last sailing on Odyssey while I was sitting around the pool I ordered a drink and when the server brought it, I gave him a $2 bill as a tip. He looked at it and told me it was "funny money" and gave it back to me. I tried to tell him it was real but he insisted it was not. Anyway, it was no tip for him. Has anyone else ran into this problem?

I have to get better about taking notes in the moment... Day 2 Evening It's taken me a while, but I'm finally realizing that while kids are pretty adaptable, tossing them into a new environment really throws them off. Everyone's bit groggy, over-stimulated, being pulled in different directions. Putting myself in their shoes, I can imagine it's hard to adapt when you're still learning the concepts of planning, strategy, where are we going to eat next, etc. The parents always figure that stuff out, but it may not be what you (as a kid) want. Our youngest (M3) came out of Adventure Ocean in a great mood, but by the time we got to lunch, he was really cranky. We first chalked it up to tiredness, but his crankiness read a little differently. We decided to bring him back to the room to nap while the older two did "boat school" (some school lessons while on vacation). I stayed back and monitored nap time while writing yesterday's Day 2 Morning post. He slept most of the afternoon, and the girls came back from the pool to change for dinner right around the time he woke up. We all changed for dinner, and went to 150 Central Park. What a classy place They had our table for 9 ready, a 5-top and a 4-top, but similar to Chops, we put all the kids on the bench and wrapped four chairs around the other side and turned the 5-top into a 9-top. The servers adapted perfectly, and were fantastic. I ordered the garden martini, and it was sooo good. Super smooth, no taste of alcohol (but it was there!). All of the food was great - the wife got the scallops and the Tenderloin for one, I got the pork belly and the lobster Thermidor. The pork belly was a little tough, but had a great flavor. The scallops were smoky and wonderful. I'm a sucker for lobster, and the lobster Thermidor was a great hit. Then came dessert. You guys, the fried cheesecake is everything. All the reviews are true. It's unreal how good this dessert is. It's the fried sweetness of funnel cake, with the creaminess of cheesecake. I'm 100% going back again sometime this cruise to get it again, somehow. The caramel popcorn on top is a great garnish. After wrapping up at 150CP, we headed over to the carousel to give the kids a few rides before heading off to bed. Insert record scratch here We're coming to realize that, while dinner with our three kids is one thing, dinner with five kids (our three, plus two from the other family cruising with us) is a whole other beast. So many more dynamics to wrangle, while trying to teach good manners in a "fancy restaurant" and not bum-rush the cocktail cart. The youngest was also in rare form at dinner, both refusing to eat and saying he was hungry. I wrangled him and took him down to Cafe Promenade where we got him two apples, and he completely changed and turned back into a happy, bouncing boy. Kids are weird. Add to this that we've eaten at four different restaurants in two days (Playmakers, Chops, Izumi, and now 150CP), we're desperately missing the consistency of MDR. We LOVE the specialty restaurants, and want our kids to have these experiences too. We did MDR last cruise, and know the menus, know the food, and wanted to branch out and try ALL the specialty dining on Oasis, but the lack of routine is taking its toll on the kids. When we were on Anthem, it was a Windjammer lunch and MDR dinner every night and the kids thrived at that routine, and so did the MDR staff, getting to know our family and our needs. After some discussion and sleeping on it, we may see if we can shimmy our way into a 5:30pm MDR seating for dinner starting Day 4. We want the kids to have a great time too, and if they're fried from the lack of routine, it kinda makes us all miserable. Happy kids, happy parents, happy vacation.

I would suggest not getting routine bloodwork done shortly after a cruise as it might really mess up the data on your liver function. Not that I ever had that happen to me.

I only drink when I'm alone or with someone

Sucks to get old but I have sadly come to the conclusion that, although I might have 5+ drinks a couple of days, I can’t do it every day anymore. Thankfully after this next cruise, we’ll be Diamond. I’m pretty comfortable with 4 comped drinks per day & paying OOP for the few extras.

Hello. I’m new around here but I’ll be on the Mediterranean cruise this Sunday. I’ll try to remember to check and ask for you

I get my money's worth out of the DBP. And then some. I drink a cup of coffee in the am, and another after lunch with an espresso shot generally. I get a bottle of water with every cocktail (and in between). And I generally drink cocktails. A lot. My wife does not get her moneys worth, but will drink soft drinks and such. I think it averages out. The comparison of the '$14 on land cocktail' is not apples/apples to me because I have found the quality of the drink on board to vary wildly. Sometimes from drink to drink, bar to bar, tender to tender, even ship to ship. June/Independence this year was really good, August/Harmony was MUCH more hit or miss. That is not to say every $14 cocktail I have ever bought on land has been fantastic (of course not), but part of the DBP for me is getting the next one if the last one isn't good.

When I waitressed, lots of older Americans would leave me $2 bills, folded sort of Origami style. I would save them because I thought they were unique; no store in my neighborhood would accept them even though they were legal currency. I hated this if it was the actual tip, was annoyed if it was something extra. I personally don't understand why people want to give these to cruise crew members. I don't understand the thought process that barely used tender in our country would be appreciated by someone with a different currency........who already needs to convert one into another.

The porters at Bayonne are unionized Longshoremen. They are very strict about who can touch your bags and who cannot. For example, when we sailed out of Bayonne in Star Class, we insisted that our bags remain with us rather than being handled separately. It turned out to be a very complicated process. One set of handlers did the screening (and OBTW, even our biggest roller bag and the folding valet suitcase fit through the screening machine. Barely, but they did fit), another set of handlers took the luggage from the screening area to the elevator that went to the ship and shipboard porters had to come and take the luggage onto the ship. Maybe this is the process that the bags always go through, but b/c we don't stay with the luggage, we had never seen the entire process before. I don't know....I can only comment on what we experienced. Another time at Bayonne (we weren't SC on that cruise), we had our luggage tags cut off the luggage and it was "lost" for a period of time (recovered on the ship a couple of days later). I know for sure that those tags did not "fall off" b/c they were fastened with steel bands. No way they fell off. I can only guess that the porter thought that I had dissed him and not tipped (I had tipped one of the other porters but I guess he wanted a personal tip). Anyway....Bayonne can be different from the other ports. Not bad, just different.

I feel like.....this is a thread of people who ALL BUY the DBP, have thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of the DBP, perhaps even kindred spirits who have experienced the delightful impact of the DBP and are looking to others who affirm the same position.....we ain't cruisin' without the DBP. Just pay it! My point was to say.....you have to accept the absurdity of $14 a drink (just like at a local restaurant) as the baseline in your calculation, then throw out that metric so as not to buzz kill the daily fee of DBP. Bottom line, it sounds like everyone in this thread would be pretty fun to hang out with on the next cruise. Just sayin'

I don’t get the novelty. One would have to go out of their way to obtain (or amass) a bunch of $2 bill. Why would you bother? Tip in bills the crew recognizes!

Since drink packages increased I think it was inevitable that individual drinks would as well.

You need to cruise in a better neighborhood. lol

Day 2 Morning Rough night for the youngest, plus still getting my sea legs meant a rough night all around. Our middle child woke up around 5:30am, and the oldest around 5:45am. I got them to play quietly while I took a shower and got dressed, then got them dressed and left at 7:00am to go get a coffee for the Wife. Heading down to the Promenade for Starbucks, and it was EMPTY. I was surprised at how energetic the ship was yesterday, that the Promenade was so dead. No line at Starbucks, so we bring coffee back to the Wife, and then take the girls to the Windjammer. We got to the Windjammer by 7:15am, and only one half was open. The second side opened by 7:50am, and most of the seating was taken by 8:00am. This Windjammer definitely feels smaller than Anthem - less seating, fewer service stations, and the stations themselves are smaller. I understand the intention of this, but still feels baffling (and glad they did an about-face on Wonder). We wrapped up breakfast around 8:00am, and headed down to Oasis Dunes to burn off some time until Adventure Ocean. Drop-off at Adventure Ocean was painless for the two oldest, and the youngest took a little bit longer because he’s still a Nursery kid. Once everyone was dropped off, the Wife and I headed up to the fitness center to prep for this week’s reckless abandon with UDP. After the gym, we headed to the hot tub for a bit, then back to the room to shower and change for AO pickup and lunch at Izumi Sushi. AO Pickup went smooth, and we headed down to Izumi. Table for 9, we shared with the other family in our party. Food was ordered within 10 minutes of arrival, and mains showed up 30 minutes after arrival. Great service, great timing. Kids were coursed with adults, but it wasn’t as noticeable because of the quick service. I got the vegetable fried rice, and the wife got the spicy shrimp spring rolls, enjoyed by all. For the mains, I got the sashimi and the poke bowl, and the wife got the champagne lobster rolll, also enjoyed by everyone. Okay, everyone who says UDP is a lot of food: they’re not lying. The fried rice is a small bowl, but very filling. Both mains are a hearty size, and combining both is a crazy amount of food. Unfortunately I didn’t finish it all, because I’m not a masochist We closed with the strawberry mochi, and all the kids loved them. I have some photos on my phone, the wife has the food photos. Those are coming later. We came back to the room to change to bathing suits and do a little bit of “boat school” to keep the kids sharp. The wife headed off to the spa/salon to get her hair done (formal night tonight), and we have 150CP tonight. Talk to you all soon! Random thoughts: Definite sound spillover from the pool deck to the CP balcony rooms. Everything here seems about 5% “off” - service isn’t as crisp, soap dispensers are empty, one of the interactive screens outside AO isn’t working. Coming from the impeccability of Anthem, Oasis feels a little more mainstream. The carousel on the Boardwalk remains the favorite of all the kids. Cruise Compasses are still MIA for us. I’ve seen B&W copies at some stands (like Starbucks or behind a bar), and I saw a live copy in the hand of another guest, but every request we make falls on deaf ears. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it feels they’re definitely pushing away from them. This ship is big. Lots of walking everywhere. It’s exhausting D

Last time we tried to do the 5+ on day 1 , we missed our Chops dinner reservation - pretty lame right?

If going the magnet route get one that is personalized so that no one else would want it, otherwise it will be stolen by magnet grinches.

Check out our list: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/09/26/best-shore-excursion-every-caribbean-cruise-port

Breaking News!

I am cruising from Bayonne in November, next month I can provide an update on how it was / is

It does say that. But so do all counterfeit bills so it doesn't really help if the person thinks $2 bills don't exist. They're just reacting the same way you would if someone handed you a $3 bill that says "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation?fbclid=IwAR1W4u3ueCvr8yA53MczF6XTEgHcxLv9qNJo6amX2LFbFbOX7LrlaoGAeBU

I know when I worked retail, we were supposed to ask if they had anything else, but not outright refuse them. For us it wasn't because our bank wouldn't take them; rather it was because our automated deposit system in our POS (either translation of the acronym applies here) couldn't reconcile them. The banks slowed down the deposit if the counts didn't match exactly, even if the totals lined up (like entering a $2 as 2 $1s or counting it as a nickel roll to make it stand out). As long as we got it early enough in the day, I was usually able to return it as change because I asked everybody from that point on if they wanted a $2 back. 99.99% of the time I found a taker. All of this being said, I wouldn't consider giving them to foreign-based crew, they were a big enough of a pain for me in a NJ mall!

I did not know this about the $2. I love to use them and educate our US retailers about them. But if they give me grief, I am more than willing to swap the $2 for $1's. Of course the $2 just don't go very far any more. I would do this with the $1 coins. Interesting story, I was behind someone at a bank in 1982. They had a Silver Certificate bill and wanted to know if it was real. I tried to buy it off them but they turned me down. I have not seen a Silver certificate bill since the 1990's.

A FEW? I've never had more than one $2 bill on me, EVER. I'm also pretty sure I've only had a $2 bill no more than three times in my 51 years, and I'm certain that two of those times were in my childhood. Frankly, I'm not sure why they even get printed anymore , given their low desirability and that many people don't even know that they exist and are legal tender. When my daughter waited tables, she thought a previous customer was both pranking her and stiffing her on the tip. She didn't know it was real. Thankfully, she didn't throw the $2's away!

I think people mean well by giving $2...but the same people don't realize that many people in the USA don't even realize they are real, let alone people outside of the USA. I have 2. I still don't know what to do with them.

Lol, the CLS is popular but there are very few rooms that a person staying in one could actually upgrade to. Once you book a Sky class room, the only other options are Star and they are usually sold out since there are so few. Regardless of capacity it will be far easier for interior, OV, Balcony and JS to upgrade.

I have read many cruise board threads on this issue over the years. There are apparently some cruisers who love the $2 bills for easier tipping, but in my reading the vast majority of crewmembers do not like them as they have a difficult time converting those bills. I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that many individuals have never heard of them. I am a 60 yo US citizen and I may have seen two of these $2 bills ever; those outside the US likely would not consider these bills legitimate money as they are rarely used. IMHO there is no sense in creating bigger problems for the crew with the $2 bills if one’s’ purpose is to show appreciation by tip when giving them two $1 bills is really just as easy. Definitely not worth whatever ego boost people may get by “standing out” as @FSUFAN indicated some travelers do.

Why would you want to make things more difficult for staff that are already working long hours at difficult jobs? Hand them currency they are familiar with and will be able to bank with no issues. Setting yourself 'apart' from the other passengers as someone mentioned is making the tip all about the giver instead of a thank you to the receiver.

We thought the Ice show and the Aqua show on the Wonder were the best we have seen so far.

Anyone can go to any bank and ask for $2 bills. Same with $1 Sacagawea coins. If the bank doesn't have them on hand, they can order them. People on another travel board talked about using them all the time as a way to "separate" yourself from other passengers.

Here a short summary of our latest cruise on the Adventure of the Seas. The good stuff first: · Ports of call were great: Boston, MA - Bar Harbor, ME - Portland, ME – Saint John, NB – Halifax, NS. Regardless of the colder and mostly rainy weather we enjoyed mostly self-guided tours. The Hop-on/Hop-off “Pink Bus” in Saint John was great and provided a good overview of the area. The final walk through the city was nice too. The 7-hour “Top 10 best of Halifax tour” was nice, but way too rainy and cold. We even had a leak in the bus dripping water on us due to the heavy rain. Tour guide was great, and we heard some really good stories. · Stateroom 6694: This was our first Junior Suite. The location was on deck 6 in the aft. Perfect for this cruise, because of the location the balcony was never too cold. The obstructed view did not bother us at all. · Staff: As always, the staff on Royal Caribbean ships are extremely friendly and helpful. We noticed a few novices, but they did their best and we felt always welcome. · Embarkation: Except for a small hic-up ad the port where they had issues checking us in, we were boarded within 30 minutes of arriving at the port at 11:30am. We could even access our stateroom around 12:45pm – Great! · Specialty Restaurants: We had the UDP and enjoyed the good select of food and hospitality of Chops, Giovanni’s, and Izumi. Here some not so good things: · Organization: This was one of the worst experience we had with Royal Caribbean. Not sure who was in charge, but that was a mess! o Tender in Bar Harbor: You had to get tickets (good idea), we where told our group could leave the ship approximately between 9:00 am and 9:30. Well, they were an hour late. The staging area was crowded. Some may believe COVID is over, but it was not pleasant sticking together like cattle. o Shore excursion staging for Halifax: Everybody had to go to the Lyric Theater around the same time. Get in line, all the way down to the stage, show their tickets, get a sticker (for the bus number), get all the way up and wait, and wait and wait. Until they got call. Again, more than 40 minutes delay for us. o Disembarkation: Same story as above, everybody cramped into Studio B (the Ice range, and of course it was cold). The overhead monitors were unreadable. We were supposed to leave the ship at 8:30am but ended up with roughly 50 minutes delay. · Headline shows: Some shows where not great at all. The Comedian Michelle Balan on the first night was really bad, we left ½ way through the show The show on the 2nd night didn’t impress either, the singers where off a few times. Dario’s “El Caucho” show was nice and the Ice show was good, too. We skipped the rest of the shows. · Windjammer Café: I am pretty sure the selection on the buffet in previous cruises was more divers, changed more often and catered to special dietary needs. There was absolutely no change on the breakfast buffet in 9 days I could see. The lunch had some varieties, but besides craving station it was always something like hamburger, cheeseburger, Hot dogs. There was a small selective change for dinner, but not much. On a different topic: When looking for transportation to the airport, stick with official taxis, Uber of Lyft. We walked past the lane towards the taxi signs and ended up in a small van with 9 people as a group taxi for $22 / person. Generally, not a bad idea, we had done this before in other places. This was not a good choice! The loaded the van full, I was in the back, the luggage constantly slipped towards the passengers, and I had to hold it back, so it did not hit anybody on the head. The driver wasn’t driving carefully (OK, we were in New Jersey you could argue), but he hit every pothole at full speed. Most unpleasant drive in a long time. My wife asked for a receipt – nope, asked for a transportation license – nope, we took photos of the drivers license and the license plate. This was reckless. Anyway, overall we enjoyed the cruise, but the next trip will be back into the Caribbean for some warmer weather. Markus

You do have to go through security where the luggage is scanned and you go through a metal detector. Rooms are ready typically between 1:00‐2:00pm so if you don't give your bags to a porter you have to carry them with you until then.

Our last cruise was in November 2021. Then we were blessed with our daughter and had to stop cursing. Doctor’s orders. Now we’re ready to cruise again and we’re booked on this sailing. We will be with our 9 month old daughter and will be mom’s first Mother’s Day. Very excited!

We sailed on the Mariner over Christmas 2021 and decided to do both! Many families had matching pajamas on Christmas morning and it was great fun! It was fun to see all the outfits and everyone was in a festive mood and so happy to be cruising again. 65% capacity didn’t hurt either. Also wanted to decorate our door and found this fun Christmas Gnome on Amazon. We will be on Anthem over Thanksgiving and plan to do the same. I purchased matching t-shirts on Etsy and found a fun magnetic turkey for the cabin door. Can’t wait to sail again. 🛳

The only time I’m not drinking something while onboard is when I’m sleeping which is about 6 hours out of 24. So do the math

CocoCay will be NO WHERE near capacity with only one ship there, even with Harmony there. Capacity is about 11,000 people. A full Harmony is about 1/2 that number. There will be tons of places to sit all over. If you got the cabana for a great price, go for it. When else are you going to have something like that available to you? As for your food question, many people have had other food brought to them other than the Beach Club. That won’t be an issue in the least.

Depending on how much you drink $700 dollars per person (which includes gratuities and taxes) is still a great deal. If you take out the taxes and gratuities I think the price is around $539 dollars per person. And divide 539 by 7 nights that comes out to 77 dollars per day BEFORE taxes and gratuities are added in. Divide 77 by $14 dollars (per drink) and that comes out to around 5.5 drinks per day. I don't know about you, I can only speak for myself and I can assure you I drink MORE than 5.5 drinks a day when on a cruise as does my husband . When I break down the price like that it becomes a no brainer for me to buy the DBP for both my husband and I.

A friend cruising on Mariner OTS confirmed the vouchers are good for the new pricing! Cheers!

Stayed there as well...very nice.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/10/11/spotted-royal-caribbean-raises-base-price-cocktails-and-drink-package-benefit

Thanks for the info no the Key, we have not used it so I only know that there is a bag drop. As for my comment on the porters, they rumor is they are organized, unlike at many other locals, and are more efficient and really do not let checked bags get by them.

Also if you edit the very first post, that's where you can edit the title. Click the three dots and pick Edit.

Nov sailing around a holiday = low probability of a Royal Up winning bid. Why would you cancel the bid there’s absolutely no reason to? I’ve been notified of a win at noon while drinking a beer by the pool on embarkation day. It’s easy, your bags are re-routed to your new stateroom it’s a seamless process.

There’s an app called “MaskerAid” put out by the hosts of one of my podcasts. It uses AI to detect faces and then overlays an emoji. You can change the emoji to any in the standard library, as well as move and rotate: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1590163828

Mariner was officially mask free when we boarded last week. Most of the staff seemed to be happy with the change with a handful that preferred to keep wearing their masks.

The only ship it's on is Freedom. They're in the process of adding it to other ships but we're not aware it's been activated yet on any other ship.