ChrisK2793

That's me I''m so over packing suits to wear on cruises, when I'm on vacation I don't want to wear a suit I wear one to work everyday when I'm not working from home.  On cruises I pack some nice jeans and button down shirts and of course fancy shoes to wear to dinner every night.  I think I stopped wearing suits on cruises in 2017, I get some people love the formality of formal night and I did enjoy it for quite some time. I took my first cruise ever in 2008 but by 2017 I was over it, no more wearing 2 piece suits on cruises for me.

In the 5 to 11 age group if there were a large number unvaccinated and sailing  ….. as of right now and even with the changes coming on March 1, that age group is not required to be vaccinated to sail.

Formal nights aren’t what they used to be ….. you’ll commonly see anywhere from one third to half the passengers now where men wear nice jeans and a polo shirt and women wear something similar.
 

Being allowed to smoke in a casino isn't required to cruise, either. But we saw the uproar over that

We were just in a Crown Loft suite and in those you have 2 stateroom attendants who we always give between 200 and 250 each for the week ….. so that was a big chunk of it.
We have a 10 year old son and all our friends who travel with us also have kids in the same age range …… so I don’t think any of the luxury lines would be fun for the kids and probably not for us either.
We would like to try Celebrity Beyond though!

Can we differentiate “pre-paid” gratuities vs Auto Gratuities? Both are the same. I believe what most are referring to are the auto deducted daily gratuities per person which can either be pre paid before the cruise departs or added daily to the sea pass account. Personally I think gratuities should added and anything above in beyond should be paid on cash. RC should be more clear on where that tip money gets dispersed though. 

I’m starting to rethink doing the pre-paids myself.  We’ve been on Symphony since Saturday and thanks to this thread ….. this is the first cruise where  I’ve kept track of what we’ve been giving out on our own in cash tips …….. between room stewards, suite concierge, bartenders, specialty dining servers, and a few others we’re at over $900 in cash tips above the pre-paids….. and at least I know the people actually got the tips, I handed out because really I have no idea what they end up getting from Royal out of the pre-paids, ….. maybe it’s only pennies on the dollar, especially after taxes are taken out as well as what Royal may or may not keep out of the pre-paids.
 

I’m starting to rethink doing the pre-paids myself.  We’ve been on Symphony since Saturday and thanks to this thread ….. this is the first cruise where  I’ve kept track of what we’ve been giving out on our own in cash tips …….. between room stewards, suite concierge, bartenders, specialty dining servers, and a few others we’re at over $900 in cash tips above the pre-paids….. and at least I know the people actually got the tips, I handed out because really I have no idea what they end up getting from Royal out of the pre-paids, ….. maybe it’s only pennies on the dollar, especially after taxes are taken out as well as what Royal may or may not keep out of the pre-paids.
 

Correct me if I am wrong, it says that all kids have to wear masks while in the child program. So they are doing what the entire school system and government is doing? Making the least vulnerable mask up? If I read that right, that is awful 

I’ve been on Symphony since Saturday and they  already have not been enforcing masks in any of the vaccinated areas since day one.  So far the casino has still been nice and smoke free though.
 

February 25 no masks!

The new CSO allows mask optional as long as you've gotten your initial vaccination series.  Boosters are encouraged, but not tied to mask wearing.

That’s good to see the children under vaccination age are excluded from 95%.     But, it’s sad to see that all adventure ocean youth still need to mask in those facilities.   Poor kids. 

Just make sure you grab each person’s boarding time separately ……. you can’t get a time for the group at once, not even for the people in the same room ……… if you forget to grab a boarding time for 1 person and go back later, it could be hours later than everybody else’s time  ……. They’d most likely let that 1 person on with the rest of your party, but it’s better not to have to deal with that stress.
 

Florida is run by somebody with common sense ….. the CDC isn’t lol 😂 
 

Just make sure you grab each person’s boarding time separately ……. you can’t get a time for the group at once, not even for the people in the same room ……… if you forget to grab a boarding time for 1 person and go back later, it could be hours later than everybody else’s time  ……. They’d most likely let that 1 person on with the rest of your party, but it’s better not to have to deal with that stress.
 

‘We’re on symphony now and even though the casino has been non-smoking since mid-December …… you can still smell the cigarettes when you go into it.

For those not familiar with tipping:
First:  Americans are NOT "used to" the automatic gratuity added. This is a BS resort area thing.  I remember the first time I ran into it, in the Bahamas, in the 70s. I thought it was a crock then, and still do. Automatic gratuities are not "tipping", they are just a separate, hidden, line item to ping tourists with. It does nothing to reward good performance, as those who perform above and beyond get the same "tip" as those that do nothing.   Now I'll step down off of my soapbox.
Second: TIPPING some believe the origin is "To Insure Promptness", is rewarding someone for good service.  As such, it's an incentive. And I am wholly and completely in on that. During the pandemic, our tip rate in restaurants has been in the 40-60% range, with good service.  Typical is 15-20%. Here in the US, so many service people were paid to stay home, we rewarded those who actually worked.  So, in the US, if you just assume that service workers (other than retail and fast food) have no income other than tips, you will be just fine.  Tip them based on an hourly rate (it took them 5 minutes, at $30 an hour, that's $3).   Anyway, I generally spread a lot of 5s and 10s around on the ship.

I’ve been on Symphony since Saturday and they  already have not been enforcing masks in any of the vaccinated areas since day one.  So far the casino has still been nice and smoke free though.
 

I don’t smoke and hate cigarettes so that part I’m ok with lol 
 

Formal nights aren’t what they used to be ….. you’ll commonly see anywhere from one third to half the passengers now where men wear nice jeans and a polo shirt and women wear something similar.
 

We really need to book a Wonder sailing.  Between this and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen? We'd be set.

The 2 blaring things I see screaming out in there are 
 
For cruise ship operators opting into CDC’s COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, CDC will continue to exercise enforcement discretion regarding the requirements of its January 29, 2021, Mask Order, applicable to operators of, and crew and passengers on board, cruise ships.
and 
 
Vaccination Standard of Excellence: ships with at least 95% passengers and 95% crew who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.  
“UP TO DATE” meaning you have to be BOOSTED as many times and the CDC decides they want you to be boosted to be “up to date”
 
If Royal goes along with this, I’ll probably be done cruising until everything goes back to the Pre-Covid experience!  I’ve had 3 Pfizer shots and had covid …… I’m done with the vaccine FOREVER and will never take another shot!  I’m also done booking trips that require masks in vaccinated areas  …… if that comes back again, I’m done as well!
 

Florida is run by somebody with common sense ….. the CDC isn’t lol 😂 
 

I’ve been on Symphony since Saturday and they  already have not been enforcing masks in any of the vaccinated areas since day one.  So far the casino has still been nice and smoke free though.