Mr. Candyman

·         If you use the cabin safe, put small items in a Ziplock bag so you don’t mistakenly leave them behind

It's like accidentally stepping in that ant pile.....a few seconds later they're coming from everywhere....LOL

It's like accidentally stepping in that ant pile.....a few seconds later they're coming from everywhere....LOL

Words that I live by....keep the expectations low and you'll never be disappointed.  

For 12 & up the club can stay open up until curfew which is 1:00am  There isn't a charge for that age group because they can come and go as they please 

Not sure if it's worth mentioning but the one under the desk, on Allure, listed 230V
 

Thanks for pointing that out. My 2nd oldest will be turning 15 so I need to capitalize on the lower rate before we sail next year.

The photographers are probably contracted through Royal just like the designer shops but the company in charge of it all is called The Image Group   

Have a plan but stay flexible.  We had all our shows booked in advance, but on our last sea day we realized there was a teen rock wall competition that my 16yo son wanted to do that conflicted with a show.  We ditched the show for some spontaneous fun, and I had to stop myself from feeling like we lost out on our plans.  You just can't do everything and that's ok.  BTW, my son won the rock climb and his joy was worth the change in plans. ?

I wish I would've known about the benefits of booking your next cruise on board.... at the time, the lower deposits to go along with the OBC.

Pre-purchasing shore excursions. A relative always booked our reservations, so never had access to the cruise planner site. We always booked excursions on the ship - so at full price. Wasn't until cruise #3 when I booked on my own and found out about the cruise planner and sales ?

Even with most one post wonders, I can understand coming into a place to "vent" where others may have experienced something similar and/or can relate.  But having already made up their minds about the company, and then lurk around the boards waiting for that one specific post that coincides with their experience, makes no sense.  I already spend way too much time online looking up stuff I'm interested in.....definitely don't have time to troll.

Even with most one post wonders, I can understand coming into a place to "vent" where others may have experienced something similar and/or can relate.  But having already made up their minds about the company, and then lurk around the boards waiting for that one specific post that coincides with their experience, makes no sense.  I already spend way too much time online looking up stuff I'm interested in.....definitely don't have time to troll.

Yes

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that some members that have said they will never sail with Royal again, it's usually their first and only post and that post is always towards the tail end of a topic, that they didn't even create.....but yet they are on a Royal Caribbean based forum.  

Mic drop! 

I think the ones that are using the codes block you but the ones under the created accounts just knock you off.  Like I mentioned, it would knock someone off when the 5th device tried to log on but it did give me a warning, before proceeding, that 4 devices were already logged on.  

Interesting idea, Mr Candyman, thanks for ‘talking out loud’! ?

Ovation has been upgraded to the new system that uses a user name and pass phrase.  
You can tell if the new system is in use when the wifi is no longer "royal-wifi" but "WiFi-Guest-Shipname".
This change was required for multiple ships to use CocoCay at the same time so it seems ships in the Caribbean were upgraded first but the upgrade is moving fast to all ships.  I don't know for fact that all ships have been upgraded but since Ovation was recently upgraded it stands to reason that all ships will soon be upgraded.   

Sorry, end of next year.?

I'm talking out loud here but maybe it's possible for you to reach out to your Roll Call group to see if anyone (a party of 2) wants to share the cost of a Cabana with you so you can get their wristbands?  Based on the conversation, you only needed the wristbands for access so that your family can join you at your cabana. Plus you said there would only be 1-3 of you there at a time.  Offer them $10-$25 per wristband or whatever you think is fair.  They've already paid anyway so it's just money back for them.  You'll save them money and you wouldn't need to pay for a wasted cabana.

Just to have the peace of mind that it's taken care of.....no advantages at all.  In my case I was paying for 6 of us; so to not have an additional $605 at the end of the cruise added some comfort.

You can't download Royal IQ any longer and from my understanding it's been taken out of service on the only ship left that was using it.  I think RCI app only has 18 ships listed so eventually the rest will be added.  Each update we try to figure out what's been added but it takes awhile to check each ship.

I can't think of any situation on a cruise where it would be rude to offer one.
Tipping is very subjective and with added gratuities to drinks, room service, daily gratuities for room cleaning and dining it isn't really expected but is always welcome.
I usually expect to tip for:
The porter when I arrive to the port.  This will be the person that rushes you to take your luggage to a cart so it can be loaded onto a cruise ship.  This is probably the only point where I ever feel pressured to give a top.  They often do expect one.  The porters are NOT employees of the cruise line.  I generally tip a few bucks per bag.  Depends on what I have convenient in terms of small bills.  They also are around when you get off the ship and can be a big help to get you through customs faster.  I would tip more for that for sure but I've never actually ended up using one. Bartenders.  Even though you are charged 18% with your drink I find that you can brighten someone's day and even get better service by handing over the occasional cash tip.  You can do it drink by drink, every other drink, or if you visit the same bartender over and over again just do it in a larger amount one or two times. Room service.  Unless you are ordering continental breakfast or are in a Grand Suite or above, there's a charge for room service.  It's a single charge per time but you can order as much food as you want at once.  You are charged an 18% gratuity to your room service order.  I always tip whoever delivers.  If it's just a tray with coffee in the morning it may just be a couple of bucks.  If it's stacks of room service plates, then they will get tipped more. Dining.  If you eat in the specialty restaurants you have the chance to leave a tip on your bill just like at a regular restaurant.  I tend to tip $5 per person for lunch and $10 per person at dinner.  It's been a long time since I've eaten in the MDR..but when I used to we would give a tip to the waiters at the end since it was a set dining time and you always had the same waiter team. Room steward.  I end up tipping $20 at a minimum to the room steward, even if they don't do their job.  If they are excellent and I have a good rapport with them I will give them more..usually hunt them down the morning of embarkation to give them the tip. Excursions.  I tip for rideshares, taxis, tour guides.  Some ports have folks out in the port area that expect tips if you take photos with their pet iguanas or monkeys..so be aware of that.  If you have a cabana or waiter at a beach, you tip them. That's all I can think of off the top of my head that I deal with regularly on cruises. 
Ride on the gratitude that you feel when you give them the tip..I know that tends to make me want to be even more generous.

It's dead!  Ships are converting over to the Royal Caribbean App...https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/royal-app