twangster

I have, I did not make huge deal out of it, she had no idea what was going on, but her kids knew something was coming!  I waited until formal night and told the person that was taking our pictures what my intentions were and to please catch it on film, which she was more than happy to do.  After she was done taking the pictures of all of us she gave me the nod and I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me.  I liked it because it caught everything on film including her expression when she realized what was really going on.  

I was looking on another website and this was posted.......interesting and informative!  
 
http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/277322/big-interview-michael-bayley-president-and-chief-executive-of-royal-caribbean-international

WJ this morning had a small chocolate buffet setup. Located all the way in the back section in the middle.
 
Did get a few smiles from the crew in WJ for wearing this...

I've spoken to a couple people on St Thomas today.  Island life is getting better and power is coming back on in many places.  Ships full of utility poles arrived weeks ago and crews have been busy replacing downed power lines.  The Charlotte Amalie area is very close to pre-storm conditions.  My friend told me in places you wouldn't know a hurricane had passed through.  That's not to say every home that was damaged has been fixed or that everyone has power, far from that.  However the curfew is no longer in place and life is so much better he tells me.  Paradise Point remains closed while they make repairs and work towards the goal of reopening as soon as they can.   This is a process and it will take time but they are definitely ready to accept tourists and they need the money that tourism brings.  I am looking forward to my visit there in December.   

Thanks, glad you've liked them. May not the caliber of @twangster but it has been fun.
Never hurts to check out WJ... well other than the waistband...

Oh....@twangster is on a whole other level lol...but I am a sucker for cruise food photos 

My TA manages to get specialty dinners thrown in once in a while.  If I have to pay gratuity on top of those free dinners I'll accept that but in general this has demotivated me to choose specialty dining.  I can only see this as a price increase under the excuse of gratuity rather than simply raising prices.  If there is a counter perspective I am missing I'd love to hear it.
Fortunately I'm happy in the MDR and remind myself that specialty dining is purely optional.

Hi.
Anybody on the Ovation in March from Sydney, the cost of the refreshments package and shore excursions are all cheaper today than they have been for last few weeks.
Refreshment package down to £15.96 ($20.85 US based on currency rate) which includes the drinks gratuities. Bargain IMO - but will still check back every day as you never know what deal they have hidden away!!
Having picked up tips on this great site I have cancelled everything I had already booked and now re-purchased on the lower rates - even if only to save around $60 (every little helps!)....not bad for 5 minutes work.

For my December stop in Canaveral on Anthem, the Kennedy tour isn't on sale this weekend while a number of other excursions are.  Hope you have better luck on US turkey day.

Lots of good details from @twangster...wanted to add that JS access to CK is for dinner only (still a great perk as I am also a huge fan of CK). Grand suite and above get all day access. Also, while you do get priority boarding with the JS, you do not get priority disembarkation. 
Are they worth it?  It all depends what type of experience you are looking for and your reasons for booking a JS. If you are looking for a bit more space, a small upgrade in dining, or wanting to collect C&A points faster then it is worth it maybe depending on the price difference between that and a regular balcony room.  However, of you are looking for a true suite experience then this is where the JS is lacking a bit. Royal had 3 suite classes: sea, sky, and star. JS is in Sea class and does not get many of the amenities that Sky class and above receive. So you are sort of getting a suite while missing out on many suite perks. 
Hope that helps a bit more too. Any other questions don't hesitate to ask. People are great here ?

Pictures or it didn't happen 

It is a complex issue to operate ships based in many different cultural norms.  Currently Radiance and Explorer spend the North American summer in Alaska then make their way across to operate in the South Pacific for that summer season.  In many cases crew contract timing works out so they end up working in both regions.
The crew need predictable compensation while the ships have to adjust gratuity to suit local norms.  Gratuity and tipping is very engrained in the American culture.  I'm confident that RCI doesn't simply inform its crew that there are no gratuity in Australia so you will receive less compensation, it's more likely base fares are adjusted to suit local norms when operating in areas where that is the norm. 
I've never seen a crew contract but I don't imagine they all gather around after we all disembark and split the tip jar figuratively speaking.  I've always assumed that contracts specify a wage but how that wage is delivered varies region to region.  While in North America fares are lowered but gratuity charged while in other regions fares are raised with no gratuity added.  All the money goes into the big wallet and crew are paid just like fuel and food suppliers are.  When averaged over months of operating fares are adjusted to be profitable yet competitive.   
In any service industry, motivating employees to provide great service is always a challenge.  Gratuity and tipping from a North American perspective is supposed to motivate employees to provide great service.  That is the justification here in many states to exempt restaurant workers from minimum wage laws.
How are beverage purchases on ships based in AU/NZ billed?  Do they add 18% gratuity to individual beverage purchases? 
In the US beverage packages are subject to an 18% gratuity charged at time of purchase.  Often these packages are offered at discounts or on sale pre-cruise.  When I buy a beverage package at $41 per day on sale, less gratuity is received compared to someone on the ship that buys the same package for $55 per day.  Yet we all expect great bar service despite some of us paying less gratuity having bought it on sale.
I find it very interesting and informative to have participation in this forum from different regions.  Thanks to all who participate in a healthy and respectful discussion.  

On demand handshake is $5 but no gratuity.  If you buy the Captain and Crew handshake package it is subject to 18% gratuity at time of purchase.

Yesterday @Matt informed us of a big reveal planned by RCI next week on Nov. 7.  Watching his periscope yesterday and in response to his call for speculation and guessing what could possibly be announced in the big reveal next week, I put my thinking cap on and started making wild guesses.  One guess is that Coco Cay may be making some big news soon.  
This post is purely speculative with no basis in fact or inside knowledge.  It's almost certainly going to be proven wrong next week, but let's have some fun!
What got me thinking last night was Matt's comment about a concept of staying overnight on Coco Cay and possibly arriving on one ship but departing on another as mentioned in this blog.  
Guests on CocoCay may be able to get off the ship and stay there overnight, "we will be adding some private cabana accommodation for Suite Class guests who may want to get off and stay for a few days in total luxury and privacy before hopping on another ship to come home." Coco Cay is also known as Little Stirrup Cay and it is located right beside Great Stirrup Cay (GSC) which is a private destination for Norwegian Cruise Lines.  Last year NCL announced plans to refurbish GSC including a private lagoon retreat for certain suite guests.  I had also heard rumors about a hotel operation on GSC although finding information on that is more difficult. 
On a recent trip to Coco Cay aboard Grandeur of the Seas I spotted construction on GSC. 
In this photo of GSC just right of photo center you can see construction trailers and right of that a row of concrete buildings.  Left of the trailers is the beach that GSC visitors use when visiting there.

Here is a closer photo of the GSC beach area showing row and row of loungers.

Here are those concrete building under construction in an undeveloped area of GSC.

These are presumably building to fulfill the NCL vision of a lagoon retreat but could they also be part of that rumored future overnight hotel operation on GSC? 

A distinct disadvantage for any port of call is the lack of a pier.  That has an impact to daytime visits and lacking a pier it makes the idea of overnight stays from a cruise ship very challenging.   
All too often cruise ship visits to tender ports are called off due to slight seas.  That moment of stepping off a large and stable cruise ship onto a tender bobbing up and down in even a small amount of waves can be very dangerous.  Not only do you need calm seas in the morning but if seas are forecast to become larger later in the day that can also impact a visit to a tender port.   
That soon won't be an issue for Coco Cay, the pier is under construction and scheduled to start receiving ships in June 2018.  A pier will be a game changer for Coco Cay.
Maybe the big reveal next week is going to announce some very big upgrades for Coco Cay.  Will that overnight Coco Cay hotel hinted at earlier this year become a reality?   
Wouldn't that be the ultimate back to back cruise adventure?  Arrive to Coco Cay on one cruise ship, spend a few days and nights on Coco Cay, depart on a different cruise ship! Will we get Crown & Anchor points for Coco Cay?  
Maybe Mariner's post dry-dock relocation to Miami plays a role in this concept.  
What other new and exciting features will Coco Cay receive?
Back in 2013 Matt wrote a blog describing how Carnival would be making some stops at Coco Cay.  What if NCL was to use the Coco Cay pier as a mean to access GSC on less than perfect days?  Both have sheltered harbors were boarding a water taxi can be done safely and it would be a short ride between islands.  What if the cruise lines shared island resources?  Highly unlikely but hey, this is all about wild speculation. 
So let's hear from you.  What wild and crazy ideas can you come up with for the big reveal next week?
Dream on...

On demand handshake is $5 but no gratuity.  If you buy the Captain and Crew handshake package it is subject to 18% gratuity at time of purchase.

Didn't mean to pick on Canada.  I was born and raised in Canada before moving to the US and becoming a US citizen later in life.  I'm proud of my Canadian roots but can see this from an American perspective as well having lived in the US for 20 years now. 

To an extent Canadians can find themselves in similar hot water when traveling in the US.  There is a long standing joke that US restaurant workers say of Canadians... "What's the difference between a Canadian and a canoe?...  A canoe tips".  
In the US it remains common for some restaurant workers (in some states) to not be eligible for a standard minimum wage and much of their income is based on tips alone, even to this day.  That's a very 'foreign' concept for many outside of the US.  

On demand handshake is $5 but no gratuity.  If you buy the Captain and Crew handshake package it is subject to 18% gratuity at time of purchase.

I had always assumed that the portion of automatic daily gratuity that covers dining staff would include the dining staff of specialty restaurants.  Was that not the case?
If not, my first thoughts were the dining staff in the MDR are receiving gratuity even though I am in a specialty restaurant and I now have to pay additional gratuity to the specialty dining staff and at first glance the MDR dining staff receive gratuity for nothing as I am not in the MDR that night.  The counter argument is that dining staff also work in other dining venues at breakfast and lunch, the portion of daily automatic gratuity for dining staff isn't just for dinner.  Do specialty dining staff also work other venues during the day?
If specialty dining staff were missing out on their portion of the automatic gratuity that covers dining staff that is unfortunate and I regret not tipping them better than I have but if so I have a hard time not finding fault with the line for this mistake.  You would think with computers and automation they'd be able to figure this out without simply asking guests to pay more.
The automatic daily gratuity was already a smoke screen to obfuscate wages and crew compensation.  I'd prefer they do away with automatic daily gratuity and just increase base fares, but that's a whole other can o' worms.   This change however adds another layer of cloud cover to the topic and it is related.
I was already there for some specialty dining and this just puts it that much further beyond the value threshold for me.  I'm still waiting to see how this shakes out with respect to dining packages.  At the moment prices in the cruise planner haven't changed but I am taking screen shots of them so I have a point of reference as this works itself out over the coming months.  

Coming soon to the boarding process ...
Please step to the next window to process the gratuities for the engine room crew ... the next window after that will be for the accounting team and then the next window will be for IT ... oops wait we still don't have IT so you can skip that window.

In the Main Dining Room all you have to do is ask for more than one of whatever you desire.  I frequently get an app or two, a soup, 1 entree, a curry, and generally I get a dessert forced upon me even though I'm stuffed. :)  
On lobster night some people order multiple tails.  Not that I've done that personally, LOL.
For the specialty dining options like Chops you get a bunch of apps and sides, one steak or main entree, and a dessert (or more than one if you ask for it).  Places like Giovanni's, well, if you leave there hungry you are doing it wrong. :)  They bring out so much food you risk physical harm to your internal organs if you eat it all!

Can't comment on the floating in a pool part. Don't eat anything that has been floating in one.. 

On demand handshake is $5 but no gratuity.  If you buy the Captain and Crew handshake package it is subject to 18% gratuity at time of purchase.

On demand handshake is $5 but no gratuity.  If you buy the Captain and Crew handshake package it is subject to 18% gratuity at time of purchase.

I've watched several YouTube videos of this ride, there are definitely not restrictions on GoPro or phone use for recording. Just make sure of two things:
Whatever device you use is secured to your person in case you lose your grip or it comes loose from the mount If you're using a device hand-held, test the hand brake on the car before you get going and make sure you can manage it one-handed. Even if you plan to ride at full speed (>30 mph), there is a section at the end where it says clearly that you must slow down. If you can't control the brakes well with one hand, put your camera away. I've also observed from those videos that people are basically free to go down at whatever speed is comfortable, so if you want to take video you can slow down a bit and be ready to capture the vistas that open up during the ride. Looks like there are two points where you get a great view of the ship.