CrimsonCruiser

A comedian with sources that I can look into myself (though admittedly, the age of the video means one of the sources is now behind a paywall). But, here I fixed it: the Cornell university study cited both by Adam and in the New Yorker: " In an extensive survey of tipping studies, Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell, found only a weak correlation between the quality of service that people report receiving and the tips they give. On average, exceptional service raised tips by about 1.5 percent" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/09/05/check-please-3

I'm just here to say I read the title of "drink tipping" like "cow tipping" and my first thought....well that's a waste

NGL I only use this site on my computer where I have ad blockers installed. I've tried checking in on my phone before but, I agree with others, the ads take up sometimes 50% of the screen and pop up where I'm trying to scroll and now I'm opening something I didn't want to see

Adam Ruins Everything taught me that our(ie American) tipping custom actually dates back to gangsters and the like sliding extra money (aka bribery) to their servers for better service (and you know...to ignore the crimes happening probably). Then, when big bad bosses caught wind of this they figured..oh well why should I pay you when the customer is paying you?, so then they cut back on employees wages. Only that practice stayed even though most of us aren't gangsters, because cutting employee wages nicely lines the pockets of corporate. And corporate always cares about corporate first. So, tipping wasn't/isn't about - do good and you'll get some undisclosed amount of money. If anything it was, "here's some extra money, keep serving me better than you do the others and I'll give you more of what you're already seeing" So tipping up front and then adding more later...very classic way. Also, modern tipping, in my view, should be a sign of appreciation for someone going above and beyond the expected services. So like when my stateroom attendant made towel animals every night, or made sure to keep our suite stocked with large coffee cups, or when they chased down to find our missing luggage. Things outside of their normal duties that they do because they want to make my experience better than average. Anyway - here's the video. I think this is a clip from a longer show but i skimmed and it should talk about it and cite sources.

They will adjust appropriately but be warned it will take some loooong time before it's properly reflected. Maybe around springtime... We had a cruise to Aruba, Curacao etc during the super high gas prices in 2021 and, to save on gas, the itinerary was changed so we left Aruba at like...9 PM or something instead of 11 PM. We had booked a late night excursion that was, with the new times, no longer going to happen or at least need to be changed... It didn't even get pulled from the site for almost a month and it didn't get cancelled for us for almost 6 weeks after the change. Apparently all of the changes that happen on the site when a time changes are done manually and so, because of that, Royal adjusts things for sailings set to happen sooner.

I can't even imagine... I once THOUGHT I was going to see someone jump in front a train and just the idea of it has burned itself into my memory....I cannot imagine actually seeing someone take their own life like that...

I do hope that everyone who had to witness this incident is able to find mental peace. I cannot imagine the trauma from seeing someone take their life in front of me, especially if I was trying to stop them....

Idk....I've gotten some great recipes and book recommendations. I get concentrated cat videos to break up the end of the world and of course...mini cruise vlogs. Plus...idk...some funny folks on there. I'll always love me a good Karen skit

Free on port days paid on sea days. same with north star. My mom paid for each for me on our last day on Odyssey because I was bummed at having missed all the free slots

Bedazzle it and no one can tell the difference after enough drinks!

If you're looking, you would see it in the Main Dining Room menu for the second "formal" night, usually night 5 or 6 on 7-8 night cruises. It won't specify lobster night anywhere, but you will see the tail mentioned as part of the day's offerings. (all this is via the app)

Someone shared this image on La Lido Loca's facebook group as a screenshot from their app so this is where I'm getting the information. Looks like its the retail price.

I think iFly runs about the same cost, and you're getting about the same amount of time, so there is precedent. I can't see it going for much cheaper - maybe in the $30s for port days if they're even allowed to run it fully in port.

It's now showing up on some sailings as $49 so they clearly heard the outrage. I think this price is much better and more reasonable.

what ship are you looking at that the prices are that close?

I definitely love the Suite Life but I think splurging on a suite as large the crown loft for just 2 people isn't the kind of bang you want, especially if you're not planning to host other people. I'd downgrade to a smaller suite (Grand or maybe Owners) and book a second cruise in a balcony or something.

Those are honestly all great ships with lots to do for all ages. Galveston departures and Allure are bound to save you the most money, if that's a factor. But, I, like the others here, recommend choosing by itinerary. For example, we're repeating Harmony later this year but it'll be 2 new stops for us and one we like going to. We're excited about the new stops AND about getting to explore the ship more and try new things or do things we didn't take in enough last time (*side eyes mom sleeping through the aqua show*)

unfortunately I'm sailing in late august and the price jumps up $187 for 2 beds then

Uggggh human interaction

I can't speak to the coffee as I do not partake, but the soda is only at the bars and would come in cans. They do have bottles for mixers but I believe they give full cans if you just want soda to drink

Oh trust me #UltimateWorldCruise had Tiktok by the throat for the first two weeks or so. Since I was already (via algorithim) on the "cruisetok" side of tiktok, I started seeing lots of them and through that realized that cruisers and noncruisers alike were HOOKED on the idea. I think the accessibility of Royal Caribbean makes it so fascinating. I mean Oceania does world cruises every year but no one cared to talk about those Lol. And I'm pretty sure Viking has been in the world cruise game for a while too... But yeah, there's actually several people vlogging it in different ways and many of the people documenting their experiences have met up and become friends (or at least friendly). I saw a funny video with a Full House style theme introducing the "cast" of the World Cruise hahaha

Hmm...I don't remember seeing this when I looked before. We're sailing in August and need 2 beds but the price is still round about the same budget... I'll take another look in the area using this one as an anchorpoint. Do you know if they offer a shuttle from the airport? Or to the port? Or both? I don't see any mention on their site but sometimes they put that information in hard to find places and since we don't intend to rent a car (too much work) or want to drop an excessive amount of money on ride shares, shuttles are our best friends lol

Ah Spectrum that's the one. In that case...I have no idea why it has a habitable deck 13 lol

If you booked through Royal, go straight to the shore excursion desk once you get on board and tell them about your concerns but that you want to do something similar. You can cancel or change shore excursions up to 24 hours before they are to take place, so you're not stuck with it. If they can't recommend something similar that you want to do, you can still cancel and there's good chance there will be tour operators at the port that for similar excursions. Usually there are multiple operators doing tours to popular areas simply because they know they are popular. Also, an option, take a look at trip advisor, shore excursioneer, or shore excursion group online and see if there are other operators offering something like this. Shore excursioneer lets you book with a deposit and most of them are 100% refundable even after the excursion if you end up missing it

If I remember correctly, Ovation was made for the Chinese market and in many east Asian cultures 4, not 13, is a superstitious number (because the character or word for '4' is often similar to the word for 'death'). And since deck 4 on Quantum class ships is a public deck, Royal had no need to skip a deck