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Keeves

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  1. Thanks
    Keeves got a reaction from Martin-Lynda in Would you be worried if you found this....   
    Definitely! Maybe even the police.
  2. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from 2Mariner in Would you be worried if you found this....   
    Definitely! Maybe even the police.
  3. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from CarlaB in Kosher food - snacks too!   
    To the extent that we grew up with these beliefs, and that we sincerely believe them, we usually don't feel deprived. There's no denying a certain amount of difficulty on a practical level, but we accept it as a "given", much like the salary that gets withheld from my paycheck for taxes - I don't miss it because I never realistically saw it.
    In any case, I keep reminding myself about people with unusually severe allergies. Compared to them, I have it very easy.
  4. Wow
    Keeves got a reaction from Baked Alaska in Refundable/nonrefundable deposits not offered on cruises anymore?   
    This sounds quite bizzare. Someone can get all the way to the credit card page, and only then is he told what he gets for the price???
    So I'm trying it myself, as an experiment... Let's see, let's go from Miami to Bahamas in March 2019. It tells me that this will be on Mariner, stopping at CocoCay and Nassau, there are 5 dates available, and the *average* price is USD $399 per person. So I click on it...
    And now it shows me five different dates (March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29) with five different prices for an Interior room. The average is not $399, the *lowest* is $399. Huh? Oh, now I see, the previous screen had said "from USD $399 Avg per person". Gotta watch those "from"s!!! Caveat emptor!
    So the 5 prices range from $399 to $470. I'll pick the middle one, $420 on March 29 2019. I'd like one room for 2 adults. I'm now at a screen titled "Select your room type". That surprised me, because I thought I had already selected an Interior room. But this is actually a good thing, because this screen gives me some useful information about the price:
    "INTERIOR / from $395 Per Person / $50 Stateroom Savings Included / + $25 Free Onboard Spending Credit"
    I don't know what "Stateroom Savings Included" means; my guess is that they are advertising this room somewhere for $445. But where did the $420 figure comes from? It seems that the $420 that I saw a few screens earlier means that if I pay $420 up front (remember, we need to pay RCCL in full way before the vacation begins) then they will give us a room worth $395, and they'll also give us $25 to spend on board.
    A real cynic (such as myself) would say, "So what's really happening is that I'm giving RCCL a $25 interest-free loan for a couple of months, which they will pay back via liquor and cappucino." But wait, that calculation works only if I will actually pay then $420, like the other screen said. But THIS screen says I'm paying only $395. Which is it? I don't know. We'll have to see...
    But THIS PART is really important!!! Before we go to the next screen, please read the fine print at the bottom, which says:
    "*Price is per person, cruise only, reflects any promotional savings, and is subject to change and availability until booked. Non-refundable deposit booking ("NRDB") cancelled prior to final payment due date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit minus a $100 per person service fee. FCC is non-transferable and expires after 12-months from issue date. 100USD/100CAD per person service fee applies to changes to NRDB ship or sail date."
    So I don't know how much I'm paying, but I DO know that it is NON-refundable.
    Okay, let's press the yellow "SELECT" button...
    Drum roll.. (it took a while for the next screen to appear)
    I now have two options:
    $395 USD Per Person ... includes $50 instant savings ... Non-refundable deposit [SELECT]
    $445 USD Per Person ... includes $50 instant savings ... Refundable deposit [SELECT]
    Regardless which option I choose, the next screen asks me to choose between a standard Interior Room (for $395 or $445), or a Promenade View Interior Room (for $40 more, i.e., $435 or $485).
    I now consider this experiment over. I still haven't picked out exactly which room number I want, and quite a way until I have to enter my credit card number. But IF I READ THE SCREEN CAREFULLY, then I have already chosen whether or not to pay an extra $50 for the privilege of a Refundable ticket.
    WAIT! It's a good thing I didn't press "Submit Reply" yet. Is $395 the actual non-refundable price, or is it $420. I am so confused. Now I understand some of the complaints that I've been reading on these messages boards.
    Let's go with the $395 price, and pick a room. There are 3 rooms remaining on the forward section of Deck 10, and I'm picking 1531.
    I am finally at the screen with the total price, which is:
    "Subtotal $790 + Taxes&Fees $183.86 = $973.86"
    That would make total sense if the price was $395 each, so that two is $790. I also see that it includes "$25.00 Free Onboard Spending Credit - FREE", meaning that the actual price (after they pay back this $25 loan) is only $370. (Pretty cheap for a three-night vacation that includes meals, if you ask me.)
    But I am going to totally ignore the line that says "BOGO NO REF DEP - $414.00 discount". I didn't see anything like this on any previous screen, and I am too tired to look into it.
  5. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from Baked Alaska in Royal Caribbean to remove onboard credit offer from non-refundable fares ???   
    Suppose there is a cruise that has a $1300 fare that comes with $100 on-board credit (I'm just making up these numbers)
    Then the prices go up. Do I care whether it goes to $1450 with $100 OBC, or if it goes to $1350 but zero OBC? No, I do not care; either way, I have to pay $150 more than otherwise. In fact, I actually prefer the zero OBC, because that will make it a little easier to meet the payment deadlines. (And people who plan to spend zero on board will certainly prefer that setup.)
    Or maybe I just don't understand what the attraction of on-board credit is to begin with...
     
  6. Thanks
    Keeves got a reaction from Mljstr in Tipping on the Dinning plan.   
    It seems to me that there are two distinct gratuities here, and some people in this conversation might be confusing them.
    There is a gratuity that is added to the cabin rate, which is shared among lots of people, including the MDR staff, Windjammer staff, housekeeping staff, etc etc. There is also a gratuity that is added to whatever packages you also buy, and those gratuities are shared among the relevant staff. My understanding is that you are allowed to pick and choose, and opt out of whichever gratuities you want to opt out of.
    For example: Suppose you buy the all-alcohol-included package. There is an automatic gratuity added to that package, and that means that you don't really have to tip the bartender. If you got great service (or want great service in the future) then it is nice to give an additional tip, but this is acknowledged as going "above and beyond". You also have the option, technically, to opt out of this automatic gratuity, but if you choose this option, you really ought to give something to the bartender at time of service. (If I am mistaken about any of that, I hope someone will correct me.)
    Now, let's apply that to the dining situation: If someone never eats in the MDR, then he might consider opting out of the gratuity on the cabin, while happily paying the gratuity on the dining package. Such a person should keep in mind that while it is okay to stiff the MDR staff (because he is not using their services), it is NOT okay to stiff everyone else in the process, and he should consider making an extra effort to give tips to those other people personally.
  7. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from LGeastbay in Still have so many questions - from a Newbie   
    I brought a wad of $1 bills for tips, and ended up bringing most of them home. I gave a few out here and there, especially to the bartenders. But for the staff that really went out of there way for me, I didn't think that was enough, and I gave them larger amounts, so the fives and tens that I had came in very handy.
  8. Love
    Keeves got a reaction from ThreeBuddies in New Cruiser - room fan & Starbucks questions   
    Starbucks cards can be used on some ships but not others. It depends on the specific deal between starbucks and rccl.
  9. Love
    Keeves got a reaction from Ashlynne12 in Water, Tea availability not at a meal   
    It drives me crazy when I go into a convenience store at night and there isn't any decaf. I do understand the importance of caffeine for those who need to stay awake. But is there really a bigger market for decaf at 9 AM than at 9 PM?
    (sorry for the rant, but its one of my pet peeves)
  10. Love
    Keeves reacted to alamode123 in Cancelled Cruise Update   
    Sharla and Annette at MEI have gone above and beyond and have gotten a vacation that at least I am happy with and at no extra cost to me. My daughters need some convincing, but I have 8 months to do so.
  11. Love
    Keeves got a reaction from Baked Alaska in A Case for Trip Insurance. . . GET IT!   
    Happy Birthday!!!
    and many prayers for BakedAlaska's husband too!
  12. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from twangster in REVIEW - Mariner of the Seas 4-Nights 7/9/18 – 7/13/18   
    I know several people in the food service industry, and I have come to learn something interesting:  Customers tend to estimate value by the type and amount of food, and are blissfully ignorant of the labor involved. For the providers , it is all about labor costs, and the food itself is a distant second.
    This is why your restaurant plate will tend to be overflowing, which seems almost wasteful to the customer. But to the restaurant, they can make you very happy with a lot of food, and it costs them only a little more than a regular plateful.
    So in the case of cocktails, they're not charging for a dash of bitters and a bit of syrup. They're charging extra because it takes three times as long to mix a fancy cocktail, compared to pouring a shot of whatever.
  13. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from antarec in REVIEW - Mariner of the Seas 4-Nights 7/9/18 – 7/13/18   
    I was on the Mariner the previous week (July 2-6). I wouldn't say that the elevators were particularly slow in terms of moving X feet per second, but rather in other ways. For example, when you press the button to call an elevator, it only calls the two elevators immediately next to the buttons. The other two elevators (six feet in back of you) are unaware that you are there, so you have two choices: (a) wait a long time for one of the two elevators in front of you, or (b) press the call button for the elevators behind you also. If you choose option B, you'll get an elevator in half the time, but you slow down the system for others because the elevator will stop on your floor and you're already gone.
    Yes, the stairs will indeed be your friends. At least, they were mine. I was fortunate to get a cabin on Deck 8, exactly 3 decks above the Promenade, and 3 decks below the pools/Windjammer. So I frequently used the stairs to go down, and occasionally up too.
  14. Haha
    Keeves got a reaction from hayley_bopp in Haven't cruised in 15 years. Questions!   
    or maybe my Solarium attendant was too easy-going. Here's a photo of me:

  15. Haha
    Keeves got a reaction from JLMoran in Haven't cruised in 15 years. Questions!   
    or maybe my Solarium attendant was too easy-going. Here's a photo of me:

  16. Haha
    Keeves got a reaction from Lovetocruise2002 in Haven't cruised in 15 years. Questions!   
    I should add that I'm the kind of nerd who tends to  read signs. And if there was a No Drinking In The Pool sign, I didn't see it.
  17. Haha
    Keeves got a reaction from Lovetocruise2002 in Haven't cruised in 15 years. Questions!   
    or maybe my Solarium attendant was too easy-going. Here's a photo of me:

  18. Thanks
    Keeves got a reaction from hayley_bopp in Is Rooibos (Red Bush) Tea Available?   
    Which ship? This is what was in the Windjammer on Mariner a week ago today.
  19. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from Lovetocruise2002 in Voom Connection   
    I was on Mariner last week. I  prepaid for Voom with one device, and I  got a small piece of paper taped to my SetSail pass immediately on boarding. The instructions were essentially identical to the letter posted above.
    I would like to point out that "one device" means "one device at a time, regardless of who owns that device". For example, a couple can share one access code, but when one of the uses the access code, the other will lose their connection. It also means that if an individual goes to the library to use their pcs, they'll need to use their access code, and that will knock their phone off, so they'll need their access code again when they're done with the pc. So save that code!
    (On the newly remodeled Mariner, the library is tiny compared to the photos on the website. There's only one stack of books, and four desks of pcs, and a black/white printer. It's on deck 4 near the theater.)
  20. Sad
    Keeves got a reaction from henrysea13 in Kosher food - snacks too!   
    You may have missed where I posted that I did ask this at the Customer Service desk. She answered that toothpaste is available at Port Merchants, but candy is not. It turns out that both categories (and some others too) are indeed available at Port Merchants, except that none of those items are visible from the Promenade. From outside, it looks like they sell nothing but liquor.
    By the way, I did not actually need any candy or toothpaste. I was simply surprised that the ship did not have the sort of gift shop where one could buy these things. But once I actually entered Port Merchants, and discovered the area where they did have these things available for purchase, I found and purchased a USB hub, so that I could charge two of my devices on the same 110-volt outlet in my cabin.  I told the workers there how frustrating it was to finally discover that these things were available, and they seemed to sympathize, but what could they do about it?  once I get home, I do plan to write to Royal Caribbean about these problems.
  21. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from Traveler in Kosher food - snacks too!   
    To the extent that we grew up with these beliefs, and that we sincerely believe them, we usually don't feel deprived. There's no denying a certain amount of difficulty on a practical level, but we accept it as a "given", much like the salary that gets withheld from my paycheck for taxes - I don't miss it because I never realistically saw it.
    In any case, I keep reminding myself about people with unusually severe allergies. Compared to them, I have it very easy.
  22. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from jayde43 in Kosher food - snacks too!   
    To the extent that we grew up with these beliefs, and that we sincerely believe them, we usually don't feel deprived. There's no denying a certain amount of difficulty on a practical level, but we accept it as a "given", much like the salary that gets withheld from my paycheck for taxes - I don't miss it because I never realistically saw it.
    In any case, I keep reminding myself about people with unusually severe allergies. Compared to them, I have it very easy.
  23. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from Baked Alaska in Kosher food - snacks too!   
    To the extent that we grew up with these beliefs, and that we sincerely believe them, we usually don't feel deprived. There's no denying a certain amount of difficulty on a practical level, but we accept it as a "given", much like the salary that gets withheld from my paycheck for taxes - I don't miss it because I never realistically saw it.
    In any case, I keep reminding myself about people with unusually severe allergies. Compared to them, I have it very easy.
  24. Thanks
    Keeves got a reaction from Rose City Cruiser in Total Newbie MDR/Beverage Package Question   
    Got em! Two next to each other in the Windjammer, two next to each other in the Promenade, and I think I saw one someplace else also. I wish they had one out by the pool; granted that it's on the same floor as the Windjammer, but it's so far to walk!
  25. Like
    Keeves got a reaction from Lovetocruise2002 in Total Newbie MDR/Beverage Package Question   
    Got em! Two next to each other in the Windjammer, two next to each other in the Promenade, and I think I saw one someplace else also. I wish they had one out by the pool; granted that it's on the same floor as the Windjammer, but it's so far to walk!
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