Ditchdoc

Ships are dangerous......so are airplanes, trains, automobiles, movie theaters, malls, Walmart, schools, concerts, night clubs, riding a bike, riding a motorcycle, scuba diving, foul balls at baseball games, swimming, hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides, forest fires, ice storms, earthquakes, getting too close to wildlife, boating, guns, poor diets, obesity, smoking, alcohol, second hand smoke, vaping ......
 
I guess I'll just assume a fetal position in my basement and hope for the best.

Ships are dangerous......so are airplanes, trains, automobiles, movie theaters, malls, Walmart, schools, concerts, night clubs, riding a bike, riding a motorcycle, scuba diving, foul balls at baseball games, swimming, hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides, forest fires, ice storms, earthquakes, getting too close to wildlife, boating, guns, poor diets, obesity, smoking, alcohol, second hand smoke, vaping ......
 
I guess I'll just assume a fetal position in my basement and hope for the best.

There are a number of issues here. The primary one being that anyone with a few dollars can buy a "Service Dog" ID and vest from any one of a number of on-line stores more interested in getting the dollars than they are validating/verifying/vetting the training of the animal.
There are a few lawful, government rules that apply to service animals.
Emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals per the American Disabilities Act.
Service animals must be on a lead unless it interferes with their job.
Any service animal out of control or not house broken can be asked to leave the premises.
 
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

My wife and I are always punctual. Most appointments we show up in the parking lot 10-15 minutes early. For something as major as airline or cruise travel, being there an hour or more early is normal for us.
I never "freelance" cruse excursions. Excursions booked through the ship are vetted by RCCL and are generally guaranteed to return you on time. I have heard that if an RCCL booked excursion you are on is late due to some thing out of their control, the ship will wait a reasonable amount of time or RCCL is responsible for getting you wherever you need to be next. Generally, RCCL excursions are well run, deliver on the experience as promised and get you back in time. That does not mean you can not forgo all personal responsibility. I SCUBA dive often on cruises and though transportation, boats, gear and leaders are usually good to excellent, you still have to be responsible for your own safety or you could die. That is a bit extreme but the point is, no matter how well your off ship activities are planned and organized, if you are not prepared or act stupid, bad things can happen.

My wife and I are always punctual. Most appointments we show up in the parking lot 10-15 minutes early. For something as major as airline or cruise travel, being there an hour or more early is normal for us.
I never "freelance" cruse excursions. Excursions booked through the ship are vetted by RCCL and are generally guaranteed to return you on time. I have heard that if an RCCL booked excursion you are on is late due to some thing out of their control, the ship will wait a reasonable amount of time or RCCL is responsible for getting you wherever you need to be next. Generally, RCCL excursions are well run, deliver on the experience as promised and get you back in time. That does not mean you can not forgo all personal responsibility. I SCUBA dive often on cruises and though transportation, boats, gear and leaders are usually good to excellent, you still have to be responsible for your own safety or you could die. That is a bit extreme but the point is, no matter how well your off ship activities are planned and organized, if you are not prepared or act stupid, bad things can happen.

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-bridge-says-bye-as-two-passengers-miss-the-cruise-ship/33381
 
There is a lesson to be learned here.

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-bridge-says-bye-as-two-passengers-miss-the-cruise-ship/33381
 
There is a lesson to be learned here.

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-bridge-says-bye-as-two-passengers-miss-the-cruise-ship/33381
 
There is a lesson to be learned here.

We never buy drink packages. We drink enough, but in moderation. Utilizing Diamond perks, happy hours, party invites ... purchased drinks amount to maybe one by the pool around lunch, wine at dinner, a drink for the show .... etc .... so we end up purchasing maybe 3 or 4 drinks a day per person, maybe less some days. Our OBC usually takes care of that. I remember one trip with pre-paid gratuities and such where the bill at the end of the week after credits and perks was $4 and we had had a marvelous time.

We never buy drink packages. We drink enough, but in moderation. Utilizing Diamond perks, happy hours, party invites ... purchased drinks amount to maybe one by the pool around lunch, wine at dinner, a drink for the show .... etc .... so we end up purchasing maybe 3 or 4 drinks a day per person, maybe less some days. Our OBC usually takes care of that. I remember one trip with pre-paid gratuities and such where the bill at the end of the week after credits and perks was $4 and we had had a marvelous time.

IMHO Royal Caribbean is only a target because their net worth is near 10 billion and because the family will not accept responsibility for their own stupidity.


The bottom of the window is about 3 feet off the deck, about the same as any guard rail at the edge of any precipice. It would take an absolute fool to not recognize the window is open for anyone of a number of reasons including sight, sound and feel. The same thing could have happened from similar scenarios or construction in virtually unlimited places almost anywhere in the world. You can only protect the public through reasonable safety measures to a point before stupidity takes over.


In my opinion grandpa was holding her up the to window, she was squirmy and he lost his grip. Now he is just too butt hurt to admit his stupidity and the family is trying to blame cash cow RCCL in hopes of reducing grandpas guilt and striking it rich.

I cant wait for the plexiglass hot tubs built into the wings.

I concede to your experience and agree with your viewpoint about anger and grief over greed. I am sure there is a big hole in the life of the parents right now that is a storm of emotion from sadness to disbelief, anger and even confusion. They will grasp at most anything that will explain,  resolve and maybe through some miracle change what happened. In their anger they are striking out. It has to be extremely hard to put the blame on a close family member. RCCL is an obvious target. They should have done something, anything to prevent this. All this and more is probably going through their minds. No doubt attorneys are right there like buzzards looking for a meal and trying to turn emotion into cash.

IMHO Royal Caribbean is only a target because their net worth is near 10 billion and because the family will not accept responsibility for their own stupidity.


The bottom of the window is about 3 feet off the deck, about the same as any guard rail at the edge of any precipice. It would take an absolute fool to not recognize the window is open for anyone of a number of reasons including sight, sound and feel. The same thing could have happened from similar scenarios or construction in virtually unlimited places almost anywhere in the world. You can only protect the public through reasonable safety measures to a point before stupidity takes over.


In my opinion grandpa was holding her up the to window, she was squirmy and he lost his grip. Now he is just too butt hurt to admit his stupidity and the family is trying to blame cash cow RCCL in hopes of reducing grandpas guilt and striking it rich.

I concede to your experience and agree with your viewpoint about anger and grief over greed. I am sure there is a big hole in the life of the parents right now that is a storm of emotion from sadness to disbelief, anger and even confusion. They will grasp at most anything that will explain,  resolve and maybe through some miracle change what happened. In their anger they are striking out. It has to be extremely hard to put the blame on a close family member. RCCL is an obvious target. They should have done something, anything to prevent this. All this and more is probably going through their minds. No doubt attorneys are right there like buzzards looking for a meal and trying to turn emotion into cash.

IMHO Royal Caribbean is only a target because their net worth is near 10 billion and because the family will not accept responsibility for their own stupidity.


The bottom of the window is about 3 feet off the deck, about the same as any guard rail at the edge of any precipice. It would take an absolute fool to not recognize the window is open for anyone of a number of reasons including sight, sound and feel. The same thing could have happened from similar scenarios or construction in virtually unlimited places almost anywhere in the world. You can only protect the public through reasonable safety measures to a point before stupidity takes over.


In my opinion grandpa was holding her up the to window, she was squirmy and he lost his grip. Now he is just too butt hurt to admit his stupidity and the family is trying to blame cash cow RCCL in hopes of reducing grandpas guilt and striking it rich.

IMHO Royal Caribbean is only a target because their net worth is near 10 billion and because the family will not accept responsibility for their own stupidity.


The bottom of the window is about 3 feet off the deck, about the same as any guard rail at the edge of any precipice. It would take an absolute fool to not recognize the window is open for anyone of a number of reasons including sight, sound and feel. The same thing could have happened from similar scenarios or construction in virtually unlimited places almost anywhere in the world. You can only protect the public through reasonable safety measures to a point before stupidity takes over.


In my opinion grandpa was holding her up the to window, she was squirmy and he lost his grip. Now he is just too butt hurt to admit his stupidity and the family is trying to blame cash cow RCCL in hopes of reducing grandpas guilt and striking it rich.

We did westbound in November of 2013 on Legend of the Seas. 15 days and I believe the itinerary was:
Fort Lauderdale Cruising Cartagena Columbia Colon Panama Crusing Puntarenas Costa Rica Puerto Quetzal Gutemala Crusing Puerto Vallarta Mexico Cabo San Luca Mexico Crusing San Diego It was a fantastic cruise. The highlights were obviously traversing the Panama Canal with took most of one day. The low point was Colon Panama. There was a tourist area at the dock with security guards stationed around advising you not to go into outside that area. You see Panama City in the distance as you enter the Pacific and it looks like a fairy land city or something from a science fiction movie. There is a lot to learn and it is all fascinating to me.
Along the way, Costa Rica was absolutely great. Among other things we did the Tarcols River that is absolutely teeming with crocodiles.. In Guatemala we hiked a volcano and roasted marshmallows over lava. Cabo San Luca has a gorgeous waterfront and shops that seem to go on for miles with the ocean on one side and rocky hills as a back drop. We finished up by spending 3 days in San Diego and could have easily spent a week or more.
We were initially concerned about 15 nights on the ship but it was pleasant and we found plenty to keep busy. We met nice people and ended up making a nightly pre-dinner trivia contest in the Schooner Bar that was casual and fun. At the end we were looking forward to getting off and spending time in San Diego while at the same we looked longingly at Legend knowing it was going back to all those fabulous places on the return voyage. We could have spent another 15 days on board going back.
 
 
 

I cant wait for the plexiglass hot tubs built into the wings.

Not having been there, I cant really offer an opinion on how this event was handled.
 
However, if the kids were being truly annoying (which itself is subjective), I do not think it is 'out of bounds for an 'adult to remind them the solarium is generally a quite area for adults to read, relax and nap so please be considerate of others. There are other pools where you can be loud and energetic.
This can be done in a mean/hateful way which is wrong and probably counterproductive and it can be done in a pleasant/learning way that gets your point across and most likely will produce results.

We did westbound in November of 2013 on Legend of the Seas. 15 days and I believe the itinerary was:
Fort Lauderdale Cruising Cartagena Columbia Colon Panama Crusing Puntarenas Costa Rica Puerto Quetzal Gutemala Crusing Puerto Vallarta Mexico Cabo San Luca Mexico Crusing San Diego It was a fantastic cruise. The highlights were obviously traversing the Panama Canal with took most of one day. The low point was Colon Panama. There was a tourist area at the dock with security guards stationed around advising you not to go into outside that area. You see Panama City in the distance as you enter the Pacific and it looks like a fairy land city or something from a science fiction movie. There is a lot to learn and it is all fascinating to me.
Along the way, Costa Rica was absolutely great. Among other things we did the Tarcols River that is absolutely teeming with crocodiles.. In Guatemala we hiked a volcano and roasted marshmallows over lava. Cabo San Luca has a gorgeous waterfront and shops that seem to go on for miles with the ocean on one side and rocky hills as a back drop. We finished up by spending 3 days in San Diego and could have easily spent a week or more.
We were initially concerned about 15 nights on the ship but it was pleasant and we found plenty to keep busy. We met nice people and ended up making a nightly pre-dinner trivia contest in the Schooner Bar that was casual and fun. At the end we were looking forward to getting off and spending time in San Diego while at the same we looked longingly at Legend knowing it was going back to all those fabulous places on the return voyage. We could have spent another 15 days on board going back.
 
 
 

Not having been there, I cant really offer an opinion on how this event was handled.
 
However, if the kids were being truly annoying (which itself is subjective), I do not think it is 'out of bounds for an 'adult to remind them the solarium is generally a quite area for adults to read, relax and nap so please be considerate of others. There are other pools where you can be loud and energetic.
This can be done in a mean/hateful way which is wrong and probably counterproductive and it can be done in a pleasant/learning way that gets your point across and most likely will produce results.

Not having been there, I cant really offer an opinion on how this event was handled.
 
However, if the kids were being truly annoying (which itself is subjective), I do not think it is 'out of bounds for an 'adult to remind them the solarium is generally a quite area for adults to read, relax and nap so please be considerate of others. There are other pools where you can be loud and energetic.
This can be done in a mean/hateful way which is wrong and probably counterproductive and it can be done in a pleasant/learning way that gets your point across and most likely will produce results.

I think most US companies start with 2 weeks and you typically earn more with years service to the company that tops out at around 4 weeks with an option to carry over a week from one year to the next. Add another 5-10 days for various paid holidays, usually Christmas, Easter, .Labor day, Memorial day, 4th of July, New Years. Depending on what day the holiday falls on you might get a extra Monday or Friday thrown in and occasionally an extra two days if for instance Christmas falls on a Wednesday. Its nice to get those 3, 4 and sometimes 5 day weekends. Its not uncommon for people to take a vacation day or two in conjunction with those 'long weekends' and get a week off for the cost of a couple of vacation days.
Add to that, inclement weather days or snow days. Depending on the part of the country, its not terribly uncommon to get a few of those each each year.
I have been an advocate for years for a clement weather day holiday. Here in the south where summer temperature and humidity can be miserable, occasionally you get a day between 65 and 75 with low humidity  that should give you holiday to be outside and enjoy it ?
I have also advocated for getting one week vacation for each year of service. That way, by the time you put 30-40 years in a company, you are there so little you just retire.
Neither one of my ideas have garnered much support from employers for some reason. ??

I'd check your schedule but generally:
Ships arrive early ... often by 5 or 6 am.
Disembarking is usually arranged by stateroom color codes and designated meeting areas where you are called.
Having said that, I am sure that passengers with early flights can let the room attendant know or work with guest services and they can arrange for you to be among the first passengers to disembark. There is a good chance you can get off by 7am.
Couple that with Uber so you have a ride waiting and I think you have a good chance of getting out quirk.
Also pre-enroll with TSA for airport security and save time.
With planning, forethought and good communication you should do OK.
Good luck.