WAAAYTOOO

Having a plant named Potato is way funnier than having a dog named Potato ! …but I’ll be Potato, the dog is way more fun than Potato the plant !

Potato. What CUTE picture ! She looks like a sweetie. We also love hanging out in our room. People often say, “…the room is just a place to sleep and shower so we don’t care what kind of room we have…”. Not us ! We are in our room a LOT and need to have a bit of space. I say, if you can get Hideaway Beach for $20, go for it ! That’s a pretty reasonable price and you’ll know whether it’s worth paying [most likely, more $$$] for, in the future. I’m still pi$$ed that they originally said it would be complimentary and then turned it into a for-fee thing, so I refuse to go, but I think $20 is about as low as I’ve ever seen that fee.

You are very welcome

There are certainly less desirable locations for JS but there aren't as many as there are for other cabin categories. Usually my main concern with booking any kind of GTY is that it will either have an obstructed view or it will be a connecting room. No, JS do not have access to the Suites Beach on Labadee unless you are booked in a cabana.

Yippee ! Really enjoy your live blogs. Sorry to hear of Halley’s medical concern. Hopefully she will be back on the job the next time you go. Having a rookie Genie is probably a good thing. He will be working hard to get it right ! Boy, that does look like a LONG gangway ! Yikes ! Have a great, safe trip.

Not that I am aware of, but maybe I will conjure a voodoo trinket or something….maybe if that sells I’ll be able to go back to Star Class. Oh wait….that doesn’t seem to be very supportive of my recovery program…I guess I need more time…

You can definitely use his vouchers but he will probably need to be with you when they are redeemed. Having said that, so far, on every cruise Dan and I have taken since the voucher system has been implemented, the servers seem to be very “casual” with redeeming the coupons. By that, I mean they just seem to give both of us whatever we ask for without much scrutiny. Perhaps if you just sauntered up to a bar with a card that obviously wasn’t yours, there might be a question, but they just seem to be pretty flexible is all I mean. Also factor into the equation that I have never, ever, not once used all of my vouchers on any given day….so that could have something to do with it !

If this is the worst thing that happens on your trip, you’ll be fine ! I do love Chick-fil-A myself but rarely get it down my way.

As a recovering Suite Snob, let me offer some hope. There was a time when I thought I could never go “back” to GenPop cruising. I was wrong. It definitely takes an attitude adjustment, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I miss the big suites - don’t get me wrong - but not as much as I thought I would. For us, the decision was simple: either learn to enjoy the simple life or find another hobby. We chose #1 and we found that we still enjoy cruising ! Hopefully you won’t have to choose.

Laszlo ! He's one of my favorite Royal people. That man loves his job !

As you noted, being Star Class is going to make this a WHOLE lot easier. The Chef's Table thing is a great idea but you would probably have to do that far in advance of any contact with the Genie b/c you are going to be filling a whole table with that group ! That will mean that all of the fees associated with CT will have to be paid up front if you choose that option. Which suite are you in ? If you are, by any stroke of luck, in one of the Aqua Theater Suites, I would recommend doing a lovely catered dinner in your suite ! There should be enough seating for everyone and it would be very special. Just know that if you choose this option, you would need to all order from the same specialty restaurant. It's one of the SC "rules" for specialty in-suite dining.

No, the Genie’s tip is not included in your fare or in your gratuity. The Genie is excellent at helping arrange activities for all guests but they are not babysitters (realizing that in your situation they are not “babies”). On standby ? Not sure I understand the question but rest assured, they are there to help you enjoy your cruise. Genies can be elusive, if that’s what you want, or they can be very involved with your schedule, if that’s what you want. Genies will help with scheduling meals, arrange for snacks to be delivered to your suite, arrange reserved seating for theater events, etc. Basically, anything for which you need a reservation. Yes, they are super-charged concierges. Have you read any of the Star Class live blogs on this site ? There are many and they will really give you a great idea of what the Genie does. Enjoy your SC cruise on Allure. Your grandsons are very lucky and frankly, they are the perfect age for enjoying the benefits of a Genie.

While I have never done this myself, a prominent Travel Agent that I know and trust, has declared that the “original person” on the reservation CAN be a no-show without any repercussions. I will admit that his answer to this question surprised me. I have always heard that one original person must sail but apparently that is incorrect. Good luck with the switcho-change-o. It sounds like a good solution.

Since we almost always have a couple of specialty meals stuck into the itin. somewhere, I suspect we will stick with MTD. I don’t want to take up a “fixed” seat when chances are I’m going to be somewhere else more than half the time. I guess we have been extremely lucky with MTD. We’ve never really had a bad experience. As long as it continues to work for us, we will continue to use it.

Exactly. What do manufacturers do when they want to increase profit without you noticing ? They package their goods in smaller amounts/volumes and charge the same or slightly more for it. So instead of getting 12 oz of dried beans you now get 10 oz and they hope nobody will notice. While this is not the ONLY strategy at play here, it is certainly one of them. The other reason for the shorty cruises (IMO) is that they are trying to force each and every ship to call at PDCC since that has been such a cash cow for them. With the shorty cruises arriving and departing at different days of the week, they can have ships at PDCC on days that they otherwise, could not. I think this strategy will backfire b/c frequent cruisers (which Royal no longer values, I realize that) will do exactly what we do and just quit getting off at PDCC. Their only hope is the new cruisers...but even they will get tired of PDCC at some point.

Calling on Costa Maya today. It's very windy and the seas are very rough. Frankly, I am surprised that we actually docked. The NCL Joy was docked adjacent to us earlier but was not able to get her gangway deployed so she left. We had planned on going ashore and spending some time in Mahahual/Krazy Lobster but it doesn't seem like this is an ideal day so we're staying onboard. Tomorrow is COZ again. I plan on getting off and getting some Azithromycin. You can get it in Mexico without a prescription but you have to be careful that they actually give you the real deal. I bought some once and it was fake. Not sure exactly how to DO that (ensure that it is real) but I'm hoping that if I tell them I got some bogus stuff there once before, they will give me the good stuff. It wouldn't be first time I ever wasted money on something I bought ! Having the same tech issues here that I had in COZ last cruise. Once we're in port all of the website ads are in Spanish and I cannot get onto some sites at all. So frustrating.

My win on night #1 was at Ultimate Texas Hold’Em. I usually avoid slots but I did play some tonite. They just bore me. I played some Gold Rush game and I was lost the entire time. Even when we were playing a bonus I had no idea what to do. I got frustrated and just cashed out even though I was staying “even” to slightly ahead on it. It was so crowded, noisy and Smoky, I just had to get out of there. I left Dan at the bar. He’s “home” now.

I really don’t know ! I have no idea how they work it. I assume (but don’t know for sure) that the Seapasses for those not invited to the SL will be “locked” and not be able to open the SL door. That’s why one of my first drills is to see if mine will open the door. So far, it has. The casino is absolutely awful tonite. I had to leave.

I cruised right up until a week or so before my passport expired. As @billdauterive said, I started bringing my BC with me just in case but I never needed it. I did have to cruise with my BC once I sent the passport off to be renewed. Also no problem. I was fortunate. My passport got back very quickly. I didn’t pay nor ask for expedited service.

There was a Top Tier Event today. I was surprised that a sailing less than 7 nights was having it. We didn’t have one on the previous leg, which was 4 nights but did on this 5 night sailing. No Cheers with an officer, though. It was pretty routine.

Well, I may have a $hitty room but I was a winner in the casino tonite so I’m happy !

That’s fantastic news, Brian !

I have not sailed on OY but the GLS on Anthem in that location is a great suite. There is some significant noise bleed from 270 so I would recommend deck 10 if possible, but stick with the middle suites and avoid those dreaded corner loft suites. Actually, if memory serves, they have eliminated the corner loft suites on OY. Yes, it’s a long walk all the way aft

I can’t believe I missed this ! I guess the [small] size of the room mesmerized me….but we have an obstructed view, too ! The top of the lifeboat overhang is directly off our balcony ! I normally go out to the balcony almost first thing but I never did today. Just now realizing we have an obstructed view. Too funny. I don’t know that I even stepped foot out on the balcony of our first room…but it’s still nice to have a full ocean view. I’m not sure how I selected this room but obviously I need to hone some cabin selection skills.

Congrats on making D+. Very nice milestone !