Pima1988

My bad, that link is in Italian. Pics are correct. We used AMEX, and told them this was our hotel we wanted (we stayed there on our 1st cruise...belated honeymoon). The room that AMEX booked for 5 of us, was INSANE. All of our hotels in Italy were connecting rooms with our kids. Splendid Suisse, went over and beyond. Yes, we had to walk through different stair cases (they brought the luggage up), but when we finally got to our rooms, it was a door that entered into a small room, think foyer. Opened the next door and it opened to a living room, with a bedroom to the left and a bedroom to the right, both having their own bathroom. Best yet, it was the typical Italian feel, you had to open up the shutters on the windows to see outside. When you did, you looked down to the canals. We stayed there 2x before just the hubby and I. We were young and took the cheapest room. Honestly, the only other hotel in Venice that peaked my interest was the Best Western in San Marco Square. Cipriani, being an NY/NJ resident is like the Plaza or the Pierre. Go there for lunch or cocktails, but not worth the cost when it comes to sleeping in a bed.

Waytoo, you are correct. Imagine how stupid I felt that my 16 yr old son knew the answer and I didn't. It actually continued all day long, regarding statues. I will also say, as a Catholic, I walked away ashamed. The artifacts there really are ill gotten gains. Hundreds of yrs ago Popes cared about acquiring wealth and their own safety. I learned so much on that tour, and again I think I learned more bc of that tour guide. I am a cheap wad overall, but I do spend big $$ when it comes to bucket list or experiences. This trip I am referring to was my bucket list, not for Rome or Venice, but we took our kids to the Winter Olympics in Italy, and those cities, plus Milan were included in the trip. FYI we hated Milan. We are NY/NJ people living in DC area, and felt that we never experienced such rude people as we did in that city. OBTW, we also lived in the UK for 4 yrs., so I get Europe. Just saying from a cruise aspect, if it comes down to an ocean view with private tours or a balcony and group tours, I would take the ocean view.

If you are going to Venice, look into the hotel Splendid Suisse Venice, Star Hotels. This is where we stay. The location is ideal. 5 min walk to San Marco or the Rialto. It has a rooftop bar that overlooks the canals. It is a very unique hotel. It does not look like a hotel, due to its location. Basically, it is hidden on a well traveled/busy street to get you from the Rialto to San Marco. The hotel is basically two insanely old building where every time you turn there is another hallway. Our rooms have always been on the canal. Little known fact about Venice, almost every address has a street entrance and a canal entrance. Here is a link to the hotel. https://www.starhotelscollezione.com/it/i-nostri-hotel/splendid-venice-venezia/

Do you have Amex? When we went we used their concierge service to get a personal driver for 2 days. We had the driver basically all day, or about 9 hrs. each day. It was worth the cost because not only did he wait for us in the car at every stop, including when we would have lunch, but also took us to places that are off the beaten track and not typically touristy. Took us to some not famous churches and explained why they had multiple placards outside...basically it was to show the floods and how high the water rose. He also was kind of like a tourist guide, giving tidbits about the city as he was driving like why there are Bumblebees on top of certain buildings.. Some of our best photos we took was bc he knew where to go to get the best background shot for their iconic buildings. I want to say it was $85 a day per person, impo it was well worth it, especially since we didn't have to worry about finding a taxi or getting an Uber every time we went from 1 place to another, IE Catacombs to the Pantheon. We also used Amex concierge service to hire a private tour guide for the Vatican. These tour guides are licensed, can't remember by whom.. There are many perks using a private guide, and you will notice them starting the minute arrive. Private tours enter in through a different line than if you just showed up by yourself. I think we arrived at 9:30 a.m., and the public/group tour line had hundreds of people in line. Our driver dropped us off at the other entrance, and we were in the Vatican within a minute. The public tour groups go at their pace, but bc we used our own tour guide she went at our pace and was able to show us the little hidden areas. My DS is a huge history buff, and she kept trying to stump him with questions, but he usually won. Her questions were unique, IE why is January named after Janus? The only time on our tour we were with the group tours was entering the Sistine Chapel, bc they time it due to occupancy levels. You pay the same amount to enter with a regular ticket and then pay the private guide cost. IMPO, the Vatican is a bucket list aspect. We spent a solid 4 hrs there. OBTW, FYI, if you go, right next to the Vatican is their "store". You can ask them to have your items blessed by the Pope and have them deliver it to your hotel, or at least that was what we did, but I don't know if that was bc we had a private tour. You also need to buy a postcard bc the Vatican has it's own postal code/stamp, it is not Rome. You just drop it off there. Hope that helps. If you are going to Venice also, let me know. Venice is my favorite city in the world, we have been there several times. Be prepared in Italy the food in the North is much different than in the South. Think of it like getting pizza in NYC and getting pizza in Chicago. Lastly, people expect leather to be much cheaper in Italy, but that really isn't true. What is true is the quality is much higher, so expect to spend the same amount, but the leather to be like butter(soft/supple) and not like toast (hard/unpliable) Back on topic. Our 1st cruise was the med. Started in Venice, did the entire boot, plus Greece. Ended in Nice, France. Very port intensive, Yugoslavia, Greece, Sicily, Naples, Elba, and Portofino. Just like any cruise, you have to decide whether you want the bigger ship with all the bells and whistles, but can't fit into smaller ports, or the smaller ship with fewer bells and whistles, but can fit into the smaller ports. Obviously, for that cruise we opted for the smaller ship.

You are correct. I recall that too. Or you could keep it too, and return it later. IE, decide go straight to the pool. We just decided to take our personal towels with us instead of theirs when going to beach resorts.

On Anthem last yr they made us show a sea pass. Hubby went to get 2 for him and I, they only gave 1. I had to go back and show my card. On Enchantment the yr before we could take multiple towels. It might be each ship, or it could also be the person on duty. Just saying, for us on the Anthem last fall, for everyone in our group (10 people), we all had to show our sea pass card to get 1 and only 1 towel throughout the cruise. Personally, I will probably bring my own beach towels on this cruise. I will still use their pool towels, but I'd rather take mine with me for many reasons. 1. Chairs on the pool deck. Easier to see my chair quickly than from a sea of powder blue towels covering chairs. 2. If I forget to pack up my beach towel, I am not out 25 bucks for theirs. 3. They are bigger than the ones RCL offers, and really take up very little room in my suitcase. We drive to the ports, so I am not worried about luggage costs compared to someone that has to fly.

Anthem has a lot of tables and chairs around the pool areas, including the Solarium. However, if memory serves me correctly they are in the covered areas of the pool deck. IE on the outside edges, which is why you probably don't see a lot of pictures. If someone is taking a picture of the pool directly, the tables and chairs would be behind them when they took the shot. You can keep the towels as long as you want, they do not have to be returned that day, but why would you keep an old wet one in your room when you can get a new one the next time you go to the pool? The only limitation is 1 towel per sea pass card at any given time.

The thing is what twangster stated you can't go into salt water for days after getting it, unless it is Bamboo (I believe), thus it is not compatible with cruising. They are going after the millennials, and I wonder how long this model will last. I think he should name the ships Frat Party of the Seas. Bachelorette's Aboard of the Seas, etc. Oh, can you imagine the medical dept with those that did not heed the warnings of no salt water, no sun, etc.? PS I did see this on tv a few months ago with Sir Richard being interviewed, I was shocked that he really believes he can do this, but let's admit back in the late 80's Virgin Air was thought to be a silly idea too.

They definitely will have biters. They don't do these type of things unless they can make money. My niece is getting married next summer and her fiancé was someone about to do this until we screamed NO! They are young (25), millennials. He saw this as easy peasy. Just have them take care of it. I swear he knows nothing about credit! At their engagement party he was sat down by our side and explained to him how he was losing money by many people. ~ Fiance, I just sign up and they will take care of it, I don't have to do anything more, except give them my bank account for them to take the money monthly. ~~US: You do realize you could just put that monthly payment into an interest bearing account and pay it all 90 days prior, gaining interest for you and her and not for them? ~Fiance: Really? ~~US: or you could pay it all off on a credit card that gives you points at a lower interest rate! IE AMEX, use that card to buy gas, groceries, pay cell phone, etc and than you can use the points to fly 1st class there. ~ Fiance: Really? ~~US: Head shaking, YES, REALLY!

I don't see the need for outlawing that at all. My Hubby is not a big drinker at all, but we always buy the DPP. He jokes about that if he doesn't like the drink he will just go up an order a new one. So, in your theory yes, he has the right to waste every drink he orders. He is not giving them to anyone else. On the ships we have been on I have seen some bartenders flag passengers. Sometimes it is because the passenger has ordered too many drinks within a specific time period (clue in the using their card for friends and family). Also, even on a large ship like Anthem, they are constantly walking around picking up drinks and taking orders. There are a lot of servers, so don't think if you are 1/2 the way through your drink and order a new one that they won't pick up that old drink before handing you the new one. I wouldn't also assume that while the cocktail server or barkeeper won't take note that you only ordered with one 5 mins ago and now going to the other person to order another. OBTW, I worked in the bar business, trust me even with the amount of waste from people dumping/spilling drinks they are making hand over fist. A 1/5 bottle of Jack Daniels runs @20 retail, probably 15 wholesale. I believe they get 16 shots...do the math. That means at 8.95, for a shot, they are netting @ $115 a bottle. The same is true for a glass of wine...seriously, 8 bucks for a glass of Mondavi Chardonnay equates to @$32 per bottle, and I can buy it for under 10 at my local grocery story. It is business. They have shareholders they must report to regarding their bottom dollar line. It would be like you going to Ruby Tuesday or Olive Garden with their unlimited salad bar. You order for yourself and not for your mate. Is it okay to give a bite or two off your plate for tasting purposes? Sure. However, that is different than getting a salad plate for you, taking a few bites off of it, and hand it off to them to finish it while you get a whole new plate, the latter is what you are implying, and wanting posters to agree with you that it is a no harm, no foul. ~ Don't mean to offend you, just saying, maybe some of us are now paying a higher DPP bc RCCL has to take into account that some passengers will do just what your are asking if it is okay. OBTW, I get cruises are expensive, especially when you start adding in the excursions and beverage packages.

Last yr on Anthem we tried to download our pics, but it would not take it. My brother and sister in law were traveling and able to do it. We traveled together to the port. They entered a different line than us due to the fact they downloaded their pics. We both got cleared the exact same time, even though they had to take both of our pics. My brother laughed...soo much for saving time! We laughed and hubby said YEP, bc your line was longer than ours since everybody downloaded their pics!

I am still sitting on the fence with my Adventure cruise regarding pulling it now, it is still at 52. I have stated it before the DPP is not just the alcohol it is the specialty coffee and bottled waters whenever I want. I am reluctant to do it because our cruise is 8 nights. I think by day 6 it just wouldn't be worth it from an alcohol aspect. I can't see spending that much in beverages every single day or the total cost of almost 1K when I spent only 2800 (taxes/ports inc) for an Outside Balcony for the two of us. Let's be real that would be @1/3 of my bill for drinks only! Matt made a comment the other day, paraphrasing, this is not a fleetwide thing. I am wondering if the increase will really be seen more on those 4 night trips compared to longer cruises? 250 pp for a short cruise is a lot easier to bite off than 500 pp for a longer cruise? Flip side of the coin, many shorter cruises are port intensive so maybe they will keep it cheaper for fear the consumer will not buy it since they will not be on the ship as long. I get they have a bottom line dollar and have a duty to their shareholders regarding profits, but at a certain time there will be a tipping point. It maybe loyal to Royal customer will go to NCL because they feel they are getting nickel and dimed more. It maybe they only buy it on a "GOOD" sale, thus the price point has yet to go up. As someone that works for a national retailer and have watched this happen multiple times, my bet is for lack of better terms, they are testing the waters. If consumers don't bite at the increase, and they lose customers to a competitor, such as NCL or Carnival, they will pull back. Trust me I have done many permanent mark ups on products to only do permanent markdowns to the original price 6 months later bc sales slumped, even when they increased the discount on sales.

It is 7 up/Sprite with a splash of grenadine and a cherry. It makes them feel special because they are ordering a specialty drink.

I haven't been on Navigator, but if it has the freestyle machine, than it is more than just fizzy drinks. You can get Powerade, Minute Maid, and if I recall correctly flavored Dasani water. You need the refreshment cup because it has an RIFD chip that allows you to use the machine. She also can get lots of Shirley Temples for dinner!

I am with you dandi799, we are on Adventure July 2019, I am really on the fence right now. We booked a Chill Island Cabana for 449 only a month ago and now it is at 649. Thrill Waterpark is at 899. My fear is by black Friday I will see no savings and may pay even more. My hope is they are playing a marketing game...up the price and the % for promotions, making the consumer they believe they got a steal. IE now it will be 40% discount instead of 30.

Twangster, Do you know if in the MDR you can ask for the wedge salad instead of the Caesar? I have yet to see it offered on the menu, but it is one of my favorites. Thanks.