VirtKitty

I won both of these 3 days apart on Liberty of the Seas last July

Black & White? Ugh, so inelegant. LOL!

It's not a Royal Caribbean rule either.  They're just following the laws.

Hey! 
So myself, my partner , my mother and my grandmother have a Royal Carribean cruise coming up in 2 weeks time. It's a domestic cruise to Australia and leaves from and returns to Brisbane on Quantum of the Seas - 7 day cruise. 
 
We did our check in a few weeks ago and asked over the phone about what ID we could put on the cruise pass for my grandmother as she doesn't have a passport (she has never left the country) or a driver's licence (she hasn't driven in over 5 years). So we put in her card number for her seniors card. 
 
All was good until a few days ago where I read that we need photo ID to get on board. So we have spent the last few days frantically trying to get her photo ID which we've been told is impossible unless she changes her name- the issue here is that her birth certificate says 'Rose Porteus' but when she was a kid everyone called her Bonnie so come the time for real ID everything she has says 'Bonnie Rose Chapman (married name, has been divorced for like 40 years now but still has her married name ).
 
So we have tried everything we can and our last resort is going to be writing a statement declaring she is who she says she is and getting a pustice of the peace to sign it. 
 
What are the chances Royal Carribean are going to leave an 86 year old woman stranded at the dock when we board in 2 weeks time because we have no photo ID for her? Has anyone encountered a similar issue ?? How did they handle it ?? 
 
We dont live in Brisbane either  we are travelling from Perth a few days beforehand.
 
Thanks in advance !
Sage Whitworth 

Better lock up the limoncello in the liquor cabinet now then.

Yes, there is usually lemonade for no additional cost

B&W is fine

Money-harvesting by CEOs has had a profound effect on the planet.  
Perhaps it's only a western problem, but at some point soon these companies and individuals are going to be taxed very hard.  I suspect it'll be the first item of business for the new UK government in May 2024.  Hopefully Biden and the EU follows suit. 

If the price is right…I would pay the extra to make it refundable.  I do that quite often.  That way you can cancel and rebook a different date…ship…destination.  And you can always change the refundable to non-refundable once you are absolutely sure of your cruising plans.

If you can drive to your cruise, I'd probably drive the day of the cruise too.

You must be a better sleeper than me.  Anytime I plan on sleeping on the plane, it never works out.  Plus pre-cruise excitement? Forget about it! :D

You'll be right above a lifeboat.  This is a photo from the room next door (from cruisedeckplans.com)
 
 

Truth be told they ought to just eliminate the lounge and turn it into a revenue producing space.
I mean they already provide 4 or 5 complementary drinks.  The hors-d'oeues are nothing to talk about, the only thing you could miss is morning coffee 

I'm not sure I could have avoided being a complete smart ass with him.

Well handled. I suspect you will be greeted well by the other loungers tonight. 
Few people like or support a jerk like that.

Now I know every ship and cruise isn’t like this, but our first impression:  
The Diamond Lounge isn’t all that and a bag of chips. 
 
We are currently on our first cruise as Diamond.  On boarding day we went in the lounge for a coffee.  It was really good coffee.  We went back after sail away for another cup and were approached by an old guy (a complete stranger) who asked how many cruises we had done.  When we said we’re on our 11th he started telling us how many he had and asked if we belonged in there. He asked how many points they lowered Diamond level to. 
 
Normally I’m aggressive to people like that, but we laughed, acted nicely deferential, drank our coffee and walked out.  After all, we know jerks exist all over the place, not just on cruise ships. 
 
We went back a couple afternoons later for a cup of coffee and he was holding court again.  He saw us and started in on C&A points, and number of cruises he has that he knows is more than years I am old.   This time I quietly stared at him until everyone became uncomfortable and found other places to be.  This  approach ended up with us being able to sit in some comfortable chairs since they were vacated after five or six  minutes of complete silence. 
 
Today we went in for a cup of coffee and he asked if we were still on our 11th cruise.  🙄  
 
I’m not looking for help with dealing with idiots, I work retail and am very comfortable doing so. 
 
My reason for posting this is to remind older Diamond Plus and Pinnacle cruisers that they aren’t the future of Royal Caribbean.  People like my wife and I are, along with the young families we’ve heard people in the lounge complaining about.  
 
Another reminder….no matter how much money you like to brag about spending, it costs nothing to be nice to someone else, especially people who obviously share a passion with you  
We’re heading back for happy hour tonight.  It will be fun to see what all the regulars do when we walk in  
 

First time I caught the Norovirus on a cruise ship. 🤦‍♂️ I was fortunate to just get home before it took full effects. 😂

Can I email you some questions for a blog post?

You can remove auto gratuity as a way to give gratuities out in cash. It's not a cost-savings mechanism.

Make it a service fee that's baked into the cruise fare and be done with it.

How many of these threads do we need? Seems there is a new one started every 2 weeks. I hope a mod just locks this. Nothing good will come of it.

Yes, we should all do this. It's Royal Caribbeans way to help it's customers save some money. Now you know. Thank you so very much for asking.
(Sarcasm for starting this in the first place) I wasn't serious.

I have a friend that says RCI stands for Really Consistently Inconsistent. 😄

I have a friend that says RCI stands for Really Consistently Inconsistent. 😄

I have a friend that says RCI stands for Really Consistently Inconsistent. 😄