WhoCruiser

For St Maarten, if you happen to be into Star Wars and related things, be sure to check out the storefront museum/exhibit/shrine/giftshop of The Yoda Guy if you're there during opening hours (listed on the website.) Not your usual cruise destination attraction, but quite interesting if you're into such things. Here's a link: The Yoda Guy Website

But hopefully not all in the same cabin...

It goes against the grain...

No, not in front of you at the table, but what they bring to you from the kitchen was clearly brewed there, and is not the swill they are serving in the machines upstairs in Windjammer.

Good to know. I'm Android and English speaking, my Sweetie is iPhone and Spanish speaking, will have to see what happens when we download the app to her phone in Colombia the day before flying to Spain to meet the ship.

On the website now and not only is there no announcement visible about the increase, there also does not appear to be any possible way to prepay the gratuities from the website, other than selecting to do so when you first booked the cruise. God knows I can't find it, looks like I'm stuck waiting until they start answering the phones tomorrow morning to do it the old fashioned way.

They are not very forthcoming in these matters, several people in my own group who received similar mistreatment in the "Deck 3 Jail" have still not received a full proper resolution since our Voyage in April. I wouldn't hold my breath...

Does anyone know if there is an alternate version of the app that can be downloaded for guests whose primary language is Spanish, or any secret method of switching the standard English app to another language on the app, as there is no obvious language choice option that I can find on it? Or is the only real option cutting and pasting things back and forth into Google Translate as needed?

We are boarding Wonder Of The Seas exactly two weeks from today, and this is the first notice I've seen of an increase, nothing has shown up in my email inbox. If true, looks like I have a choice, either I flush $21 down the toilet when we arrive, or I prepay my gratuities online tomorrow...

I don't know if it's the same fleet-wide, but on all of the half-dozen or so Royal Caribbean ships I've sailed on over the years they do not use the same iced tea in the main dining room as that horrible swill they have up in the Windjammer machines. It is not excellent, but it does appear to be brewed there in the kitchen, and is much superior to the crappy stuff upstairs. Mind you, I get it unsweetened and add Sweet and Low, if you asked for it sweet with sugar I don't know if they would brew it properly with the sugar added while still hot, but it is certainly worth a try.

"Leave the port, take the cannoli..."

On our Doctor Who celebrity/fan cruises, a BBC is obviously a popular choice, LOL! www.scificruise.com

We're a week behind you, so I'll be watching how this develops...

A trip to one of the Mayan ruins sites is definitely top of my list for Costa Maya. For Roatan, if you happen to want to do a dolphin encounter, they have the very best one I have ever seen, both in regards to how you are treated and also to how well and how humanely treated the Dolphins themselves are. It is run by the Roatan Institute of Marine Science, and is an actual research facility, not just a tourist trap trying to get your money. I know the management there, and have visited many times over the years, and they are absolutely the best I have ever seen. Every time my regular recurring group of actors and fans from the Doctor Who TV series finds ourself cruising on an itinerary that includes Roatan we always make sure we are there. We have actually come to know several of the Dolphins families over the years, seeing first the parents, and then their children, visit after visit. Here is a pic from our first visit with "Gracie" way back in 2003, we saw her again in 2006, and both her & her daughter "Maury" in 2013. The entire main facility is built in a natural cove and the Dolphins are well enough treated that they stay ther of their own volition and are free to jump the fence that protects them from predators and come and go as they please should they wish to do so, I doubt many other Dolphin facilities can boast that.

I can highly recommend the "Sunset Harbor Cruise" offered by the ship's tour office and conducted locally by Red Sail Catamarans. Tons of fun! My regular recurring cruise group of actors & fans from the Doctor Who TV show has done it three times over the years and is the best & most fun party booze boat we've ever done, and one of the few I've seen that runs a full open bar, not just a vat of rum punch to casually refill your glasses from.

They play games like that with the pricing all the time, nothing matters except the bottom line.

Likewise, as we're sailing that ship & itinerary on 14 August and a little advance intel on likely highly similar scheduling would be nice to see.

For once this sale actually did deliver a little bit of savings, in my particular case, for Wonder of the Seas 7-night Mediterranean on 14 August 22, I got the deluxe beverage package with Voom at $90 per person whereas it had previously been at $96. For the beverage package alone without the internet added it's currently showing $68, the previous Memorial Day sale it was at $73 having actually been two bucks lower at $71 the day before that so-called sale. My savings are not anywhere near as much as we've seen in the past, but at this point I'll take what I can get, and if by some miracle it drops lower I can always cancel and rebuy.

And now the next day it's up to $78. It's enough to drive me to drink, if only I could still afford it...

So-called sale indeed, for my 14 August Wonder of the Seas out of Barcelona the "BOGO 50% Off" sale price was actually $2 more per day than the non sale price I screenshoted the day before, LOL. Royal math at it's worst!

Complete and utter bull$hit! I screenshotted the page for the deluxe beverage package for my voyage, 14 August on Wonder, the day before the sale, and it was $71. Now the "sale" is going on, calling it "buy one get one 50% off" and it's $2 more than before the so called "BOGO" at $73. Royal math at its worst! I wouldn't be so angry if it wasn't so goddamn blatant! Question: were they lying 2 days ago, or are they lying now? Answer: yes to both, they are lying all the time!

We're on Wonder in August too, sailing on the 14th, will be watching with interest for any helpful info...

For what it's worth the ones I got in the mail 4 days ago have an expiration date in January 2023.

Cool, I didn't get the extra space balcony on my guarantee cabin assignment, but down the hall a few rooms, and quite happy anyway. We're on board 14 - 21 August out of Barcelona, can't wait!

Same here the pack of four I received is from Roche. I will order another pack and see what arrives. In the meantime I have already ordered two three packs of the official approved Royal Caribbean ones through Optum that should be delivered later this week while I only need one for myself I am part of a group of about 30 several of whom will be traveling in from out of the country and will have to retest between their flight out of England and boarding the ship because the Gap will be greater than 2 days. Any of them that I don't use Ike presumably can keep for my next personal Cruise coming up in August.