JimnKathy

Uber or Lyft can easily handle your needs. Just request a party of 4 so a driver with a larger vehicle can handle your luggage. Easy peasy.

Fresh ice, extra hangers and wine glasses. I always like to give our attendant $20 on the first day while making these requests...their smiling reactions are awesome!

On 6/15/2020 at 2:11 AM, SpeedNoodles said:

We did the escape room on Symphony last February.  My husband enjoyed it.  He's much smarter than me. I'm clearly an idiot - it was just painful to be in the room and not understand anything that was going on for 45 minutes (or whatever it was). 

I'm always feel like I'm a 5th wheel in these things. 

Allianz offers options with COVID protections. Check them out.

Happy sailing!  

15 hours ago, cast530 said:

I agree with the OP. As a diamond member, they have given RCI thousands upon thousands of dollars over the years. Clearly, someone trying to scam RCI for their deposit back would not be trying to re-book the same cruise...it is clear that she is being honest and just wants to enjoy her 40th Anni cruise at the original rate, since it was canceled due to illegal fraud / impersonation. I have dealt with many narcissists over the years. The decision to finally go no-contact takes years for most victims of narcissistic abuse. They can be incredibly manipulative, charming, and deceiving when trying to "apologize" for former bad behavior so they can be allowed back in. I feel very sorry for the OP. This cruise industry *could* help her, yet they are choosing not to. Airlines and hotels make exceptions all the time for genuinely extenuating circumstances. She clearly has proof this is an extenuating circumstance with the police records and voice calls stating she canceled due to a granddaughter that she does not have. They could make an exception but are making it clear they care only about the bottom line and not human beings who fund them. A pity indeed. 

While this entire story is certainly unique in many ways, it does highlight a benefit of using a good travel agent instead of dealing directly with Royal's call center. No doubt a good agency would have better success working out a quick financial fix with Royal on the cancellation of the original cruise. 

From the perspective of me being a fellow RC Blog "friend", if it were me, I'd take the FCC and move on.

Wasting time, emotional energy and $$$ on something like this is a fools errand...all you've experienced is a bit of inconvenience...nobody died or suffered permanent injury.

All this will do is keep you in a state of perpetual anger and prevent you from enjoying your life while the legal process grinds away for a year or two...just ain't worth it in my humble opinion.

Good luck and Godspeed to you, Rita.  

We completed a Symphony B2B two months ago and really enjoyed our experiences at 150 (we had the UDP 2 weeks in a row). Food was excellent on 3 separate visits, but the service level from our waiter, Ben, was absolutely spectacular! 

Wonderland was interesting, but the flavor profiles of weren't up to the hype. The Mad Hatter was new to his role and didn't really add much to the atmosphere of the place. I wish Wonderland would focus a bit more on amazing flavors to appeal to us "foodies".

We did a lanyard on our last cruise and decided that's a winner going forward.

I like the crew-serve option to eliminate touching utensil handles.

This combined with good handwashing protocols makes norovirus transmission a non-issue.

Considering their debt load has more than doubled during the pandemic shutdown, it's perfectly understandable they pushed back the delivery of these new ships.

12 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Seems that it's only Chops (at least in our experience).  We've had multiple entrees at many other specialty restaurants.

You may be correct. We're usually so stuffed with all of the food that it's pretty tough to nibble on additional entrees...hard for this kid to eat more than one filet mignon at a sitting. 

If you opt for the UDP, you can get multiple entrees as well. 

On 10/28/2021 at 1:51 PM, mickjacket said:

Thanks, just noticed that wife's passport expires in May 2022, so now have anxiety of getting renewed during long renewal times lol. This stress of cruising these days. 

 

2 hours ago, Atrain said:

I recently renewed mine, paying the $60 expedite fee and that was a 12wk max wait time.  I received it last week and it was 2 weeks door to door, so either wait times arent what they used to be or i got lucky.  There is a spot to indicate booked international travel (Jan 29 sailing), so maybe that moved me up line, not sure. 

We renewed my wife's passport and paid the little extra for expedited processing...only took about 3 weeks from door to door. I would do this every time it's up for renewal.

I always remind myself they're human beings just like the rest of us...anyone can have an off day here and there.

They should make a sincere apology and throw in some OBC ($100 or so) to makes things right. Their true "cost" of the $100 OBC is likely in the $20 range or so, but the gesture would be priceless, as it would probably make you a repeat cruise customer for life. Good luck and happy sailing!  

In order to save time, I know that the bars on the ships are heavy users of Monin-brand flavored syrups (and yes, they do have a mojito flavor as well). As a former bartender, I can tell you that stuff is EXTREMELY sweet and has a tendency to overpower most cocktails. You may have received a mojito that contained a little too much syrup, thus overwhelming the white rum flavor.

Here's my tipping strategy:

I tip my stateroom attendant $20 on day 1 and let him know any specific requests we have (fresh ice, soap, etc.) and tell him I'll give him an extra $20 on the last night of the sailing.

For specialty dining, I'll tip the server $20 at dinner and $10 at lunch per meal. The amazing the level of service and extras we enjoy because of this are amazing...let's just say your wine glass will be magically refreshed for the remainder of each meal AND it's not unusual for the managers to comp wine bottles when they learn you take care of their servers.

For Main Dining, I'll tip $10 to $20 depending on the level of service.

For wine bottles we bring on board, I hand $10 to the server while he opens the wine...no corkage fees for us AND see my comments above about wine comps as well.

While we are light drinkers during the day (we usually hang around the Solarium on sea days and after port visits), I'll tip the bartender $5 for each pair of cocktails we order. Striking up friendly conversations with a good bartender will pay dividends when they know you appreciate them for a job well done.  

While this tipping strategy isn't for everyone, I will add that getting bottles of water for free isn't an issue even though we don't buy the Deluxe Beverage Package.

Happy Sailing!  

4 minutes ago, Linda R said:

I am sure there is a limited number of people who can go to Coco Beach Club.  And assume it could sell out easily with just one cruise ship.  I haven't been yet, but have it booked for December cruise.  Anxious to try the esperience.

You'll love it. We enjoyed it twice on our Symphony B2B ending a few weeks ago...the lunch is absolutely amazing! Enjoy!  

I've never paid for a bottle of water, but I always spot my bartenders and servers a little cash upfront and receive amazing service the remainder of the cruise.

Izumi has some amazing tables right next to some windows for several couples...be sure to request them when making a reservation.

Hooked has some nice views, but the food at the other specialty dining venues is better.

All I know is that we've booked a 3/11/21 Central Park Balcony on Wonder...152 days away from sailing the high seas!  

2 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Yup! same! There's something both really relaxing and really exciting about putting them on at that stage. Like both 'finally we're at the last step' and 'OMG IT'S HERE!'

We'll be feeling the same way twice...passing the Antigen test AND putting the luggage tags on just before the embarkation process...it's a two'fer! 

4 hours ago, griffinjam22 said:

I know how you feel. On top of it my hotel has cancellation policy of 48 hrs prior to stay so if by chance my test comes back positive then out the hotel $$. Also dealing with airlines. Ugh. This will be cutting it close. 

Travel insurance is your friend in this type of situation. Check out Allianz if you haven't already done so.

B&W or Color will work for you. We also acquired these RCL-approved luggage tags from Amazon that fit the printed tags perfectly.

Royal Caribbean Luggage Tags

I love the tips from everyone...I'll post our "results" when we get back from our B2B.