Baked Alaska

I’m not old yet, but I’ll be 75 in 2045.   While that’s not old either, I’ve abused my body some over the years.  I might not be very spry. 
 
I’m glad I had the opportunity to be in path of the eclipse this time around. 

I'm guessing a staffing issue. Most of the staff used to run the operations on the island come from the ship- bartenders, servers....etc... so if they keep the island running all night, they would have a skeleton crew on the ship all night, and I don't see that working when Dinner times roll around. 

Another thing to consider:
I rarely drink alcohol.  In fact, I drink a couple glasses of wine a year, a glass or two of scotch a year, and maybe 2 beers a year.  Yes. That is more more than 6 or 7 alcoholic drinks in ONE YEAR.  LOL
BUT--when I am on a cruise, something magical happens.  I drink.  Not a lot, but I drink.  3 or 4 cocktails, 1 glass of wine, and 1 beer per day?  What is it that makes this happen?  Is it the fact that subconsciously I am trying to recoup the cost of my DBP?  Is it the fact that I don;t have to drive home after drinking?  Is it the fact that I am simply on vacation?  I dunno.
Now, I also drink about 6 to 8 tall glasses of water a day, 3 coffees/lattes a day, and maybe a soda per day.  This is when I am not on vacation.  
On a cruise, my daily regular beverage consumption changes only slightly. I end up drinking a little more water and maybe one less coffee.
If I based any costs of alcohol consumption based upon my regular daily habits, I simply would not choose the DBP.  
But like I said, something magical occurs when I board a cruise ship.  More Kraken Rum please!

Just a note….the prices on the dining packages have been going up, up, up.  Waiting might not be the best strategy.

My symphony trip in two weeks is going to Falmouth...yuck. That's ok. I will get off the ship for an hour or so and then get back on and enjoy an emptier ship. The kids will enjoy less lines at the waterslide, and I will take advantage of the deluxe drink package.
 

Too bad we can't resell our current bookings and make a profit. 

And after his nice parents do the triple points trick it sounds like he is just a 7 night in an interior from diamond
my kids all get Emerald perks but were no more than platinum points when they turned 18 and disconnected from my level

Yeah, normally I would grab those points, but DS still vacays with us. He will be on his own C&A point pursuit once he has graduated from dental school (that's his plan. We'll see). 🙂

I agree. Speaking for myself, something that I could handle today felt insurmountable back when I was 20. 

Sounds like suicide.... A good friend of mine in college did this same exact thing on the Carnival Destiny back in 99 or 2000. The cruise was a graduation gift from his parents. He got trashed and broke down to his friend on board said he couldn't go on any longer... Walked to the back of the ship and jumped. He was never found. 

And he would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling bloggers !

ngl, I had to check the post date of this multiple times to confirm it wasn't an April Fool's joke.
Matt! Matt! Why hast thou forsaken us?!?
 
😉

You can reprice for the OBC, but it would be at prevailing rate, aka way more than the $150.

Yeah, I would compare the price difference between what you paid versus the cost to rebook with the OBC factored in. I have a cruise that I booked in February 2023 for December that is now twice the cost what I paid. Now if RC wants to throw down a few grand in OBC…I’ll certainly consider rebooking! Even if you booked last week, the net gain, if any, would be minimal as they would just build that OBC into the cost of the cruise. Don’t lose sleep over it. I’m willing to bet you are coming out significantly ahead if you booked a year ago!

My guess is that he didn't leave it.  It was probably an Albatross around his neck.  
I wonder if a 3D printer could...

Ok, I looked it up. So someone has a lot of disposable income. To me the big deal isn't that someone is rich/stupid enough to buy it. The big deal is that he is leaving a $100k cup sitting on a table at a beach.

It's one thing to take an independent tour with a company reliant on cruise passengers.
 
It's quite another to take a tour where cruise passengers are a rarity and they don't respect the importance to get you back to your ship on time.

Okay…upon further investigation, I found the nonrefundable note on both of the excursions, the 3 night dining package and the embarkation lunch for my 4-5 EX sailing.  Interestingly enough, that note does NOT appear on the purchase of the Hideaway reservations for the second third on our EX B3B (4-14).  For anyone else interested in looking, go to your “Order History” and open the reservation.  This is where I found the notes.
 
I find it hard to believe that they are going to implement a non-refundable policy on excursions.  On their private island experiences?  Maybe.   I really don’t see how they could enforce a nonrefundable policy without stating that information clearly at the time of purchase, so I think this is a glitch BUT it is a strong hint that this might be coming.  Not a fan…

I just purchased 2 Day Passes to Hideaway Beach.  I want to check out Hideaway Beach but I was surprised by the message I saw after buying the day passes on the Cruise Planner.  Is this going to be the future policy for Cruise Planner purchases???   Hideaway Beach (Adults-Only) — Day Pass
$59.36 You're good to go! Reservation is non-refundable and cannot be modified.

I have been told by employees at Royal Caribbean and Celebrity that the Quantum Class ships were originally designed for Celebrity. That is why there is similarity between the Quantum Class and Edge Class.
As many have also said on here, personally the Quantum Class is my favorite Royal Class of ship. I especially love 270 for both breakfast in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon and enjoying the view, and entertainment in the evening. Also, I want to rave about the Junior suites on the Quantum Class and their split bathrooms. I also love that Royal has a newer, beautiful class of ship that has fine touches.
It's also smart of Royal to have different ships for different needs. Cold vs warm weather, young children focused vs more adult focused. Even if Royal is a family brand it doesn't mean that's all they have to do. It is important for people to research or to have a travel agent to research the right ship for them. If you have children in your traveling party, then definitely book a ship with all the slides, skating rink, etc. Twangster did an amazing job breaking down the size differential between Quantum and Oasis Class and the restrictions in venues/neighborhoods that imposes.
Just because it is spring break in the Caribbean, doesn't mean that every ship has to be for families that want all the bells and whistles. I was on Odyssey with my 10 year old nephew over Christmas and he loved it. We did the research, saw the activities in Playmakers, and other activities in the ship, and knew it would work for us. If my nephew needed slides and everything else, we would have booked another ship. 
I will agree though that the elevators on Odyssey were horrible. Even the captain joked they are a horrible design choices. 

I enjoy Quantum class because they are different.  I've sailed four of them and mostly to bucket list destinations like Alaska, Hawaii and New Zealand.  
Oasis class, until Icon came about, have always been in a league of their own and can't be compared to any other ship class.  Oasis and now Icon are very wide ships, much wider than all other classes of ship.  It's the extra width that allows things like Central Park and Boardwalk.  On any other platform without the extra width it's not practical to install these areas without removing all guest cabins in those areas.  Removing guest cabins to add more venues and features isn't practical for any cruise line.
Oasis class are much larger ships at 225,000+ GT while Quantum class are around 168,000 GT.  That extra 30% of space allows them to put more venues and areas on Oasis class.  
Why doesn't Radiance class have ice skating rinks and zip lines and central park and boardwalk and aqua theaters and so on?  Because Radiance class is one third the size of Oasis class and obviously you can't put the same features and venues on a ship that doesn't have the space for them.   
The Windjammer on Quantum class is my favorite across the fleet.  I really dislike the Windjammer on Oasis class.  The food stations are all over the place with some on the side and some around the corner on the back.  It's really hard to find seating on Oasis class Windjammers at peak times.  Oasis class Windjammers are truly jammers slammed with people.  Some Quantum class Windjammers have outdoor seating which I love.
The lack of waterslides is known before booking.  It appears odd to me to complain they are missing.  That's like buying a sedan then complaining it's not a 4x4 pick up truck.  Given where most Quantum class are deployed waterslides are impractical.  
It's okay not to like something but that doesn't justify calling it a dud.  
Royal's next class of ship, Discovery class, is not going to be a mini Oasis class ship.  They too will be much smaller ships that won't have the space for all Oasis class features.  Like Quantum class the smaller footprint will allow them to sail into ports that Oasis class can't fit into.  That's kind of the point.  They will be different too.  Different doesn't make them duds.  
Oasis and Icon class ships are the destination and the ports you visit are less important.  If the itinerary is boring it doesn't matter because the ship is as much the destination as the itinerary may be.
Other classes of ships can visit more unique ports of call where mega ships can't sail.  When visiting these areas the ship isn't the destination as much as the ports of call are the destination.  
Anthem out of Bayonne was a perfect pairing with two sea days down the coast and two sea days on the way back home in the cold Atlantic ocean where few would be using waterslides most of the time.  The indoor family pool means kids are not trying to sneak into the adult only solarium pools on those colder sea days in winter months.
What I love best of all my 14 Quantum class cruises are the memories of the destinations.  Alaska, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand for example.  Greek islands and Europe for Odyssey is a great summer pairing.  
I like that Royal's fleet is diverse and not just ships that are variations of the same thing.  With research I can choose a ship that fits my needs based on the region I'll be sailing.  I suggest doing more research next time and avoid booking a ship that doesn't have features that are important to you.  

I thought I was the only one... not just on PDCC... but on the ship. We never use the servers on the pool deck and even rarely at the bars- I'm a walk up to the bar and get our drinks kind of guy. I even got "in trouble" on the rising tide because I walked up to the bar to order... he said "I got you this time..but next time use the server please"  

I'll report back about my experience next month (as long as my 4th attempt at attending the beach club isn't cancelled like my 3 previous attempts...)

This !!  You absolutely MUST address this kind of issue while still onboard.  Once you disembark, there is virtually -0- chance you will get any assistance.  If your room attendant is no help, and you speak with the floor supervisor and get no help, then next step is the Hotel Director.  You must escalate these things yourself and do not cease until you get some kind of resolution.  I'm not saying that there is anything they could have done....if they don't have any spare mattresses, they just don't....but if there is any kind of compensation looming, this is where it would come from.  Once you're off the ship, you are pretty much SoL.