Bryce G.

I just wish they would let you combine the balcony discount (which used to be the "free balcony upgrade" and far more valuable) with other promotions. They're getting more and more restrictive on the promotions. I'd rather them keep the "loopholes" and the discounts that you can combine but raise the overall price of the cruise--that way, I at least FEEL like I'm getting a deal!! ;-)

I'll be on Harmony in December. If you don't find someone before then, give me a holler. E-mail is my bgriffler[at]gmail[dot]com.

HAHAHA. My partner and I will randomly look at each other when we pass the art gallery, and GASP, saying things like, "HAVE YOU HEARD OF PETER MAX?! HE'S AMAZING!" "Did you hear the history of Peter Max?" "Peter Max basically FOUNDED our country!" Too funny.

In this particular instance, especially for collecting, I utilize eBay (for general RC stuff) and Cruise Critic Roll Call (if there's a specific ship item I'm looking for).

Royal ships typically do a good job at spreading out crowds as previous posters have mentioned. For a 9-night sailing, I would never buy a drink package. As a previous poster mentioned, it would equate to about 6 drinks per day--and with several days in-port (where I wouldn't consume 6 drinks onboard), I'm immediately losing money right there! Consider pre-loading some funds onto your account PRIOR to your cruise (estimate how much you might drink), so that you're not overpaying for the package, but you still soften the blow of the alcohol bill at the end!

Haha, that song. ABSOLUTELY gets stuck in my head. "Wash your hands like 50 times-a-day..." I sanitize my hands EVERYWHERE that I see the dispensers--every single opportunity I get. The people who "dodge" the hand sanitizing people remind me of the anti-vaxxers: "I don't want to vaccinate my child--don't tell me what to do." That's NORMALLY fine, but when your decisions affect the health of those around you, that's when they start to "impose" rules. In this case, the crew can't distinguish who are the disgusting cruisers that leave the restroom without feeling the need to wash their hands, so sanitizing everyone's hands is an easy and non-harmful practice to implement. I'm sorry to those who feel as though agreeing to sanitize their hands upon entry into a restaurant venue threatens the joy of their vacation. I LOVE the gloves idea! I didn't think about that...But I do sanitize, put my food on my plate, sanitize my hands again, then eat. Hm...gloves.........may have to go buy some!

December 3, 2016 Harmony of the Seas (honeymoon!) February 25, 2017 Independence of the Seas

Matt, I agree. Royal Caribbean and rules? Doesn't really happen--ESPECIALLY in the dining room (though my partner was turned away at breakfast in the dining room for wearing a tank top on Majesty--WHAT?). HOWEVER, on my most recent Enchantment sailing, I saw a pool deck supervisor (the person in charge of all of the pool deck attendants) approach a boy that was (surprise!) not being supervised by a parent. She said "i spoke to you yesterday, and again today--you cannot continue to jump into the pool right in front of people." (This was in the main pool, but not the kids area). She was NOT having it. She wasn't rude or mean, but strict. I later went over and thanked her, telling her that I'd imagine it's difficult to do that job sometimes, but she should know that MANY cruisers REALLY appreciate it. She nearly cried. Then I nearly cried. Made her day.

They are? Any idea what the stipulations are? Like a 7-day or longer cruise? UPDATE: They have BOGOHO, but it's for 5 nights or longer. :-( I have a 4-night in August

BOGO drink packages?! That'd be SUPER nice.

I also wonder if this will change the level of service. For example, if this change causes significantly more people to purchase the package (who will NOT be tipping extra, since they were strongarmed, in a sense, into buying the package anyway), will the bartenders/pool servers be less-inclined to deliver WOW service? I always tipped extra for pool runners, but I will be hard-pressed to do so if I feel obligated to buy the package...

I'm big into Specialty Dining (as Matt knows), and will often go to a Specialty Restaurant every night of a cruise (if the ship has at least 3-4). For my August cruise, if Chops is as underutilized as some people say, then I expect them to be offering 20% off deals on-board, etc. So for the first time, I'll hold off on booking Specialty Restaurants in advanced (you used to HAVE to book in advance to get a seat at the time you wanted!), in the hopes that I'll get a good deal on board!

When I was on Radiance in Alaska 1-2 years ago, Rita's CANTINA (at the time) was CONSISTENTLY empty. Probably explains their refusal to go back.

I have a feeling this was a one-off. Especially since Radiance was just in dry dock like 3-4 years ago. May have just been a bad mattress that they got from the factory, and they just kept it as-is. I think you should be fine on Voyager.

Aug. 17 2015. Enchantment