BigKarl

Just my $2 (That is my 2 cents plus inflation).  I have been told by an officer onboard (Whom I will not call out by name or ship) that the reasoning behind RCL not rolling in the Gratuities to a cruise fair is that RCL would be responsible for the taxes both as income and payroll taxes.  Otherwise, calling it a gratuity means no income taxes or Payroll taxes for RCL and lays it solely on the employee to disclose the income and pay taxes on this income.  This alone makes quite a difference for RCL to not claim the income and pay the taxes.
Disclaimer: I have no idea if this was just the officer's opinion or whether he has any knowledge of RCL's tax accounting.  But it makes a bit of sense to me why they would not want to "Roll in" Tips into the cost/profits.

I am D+ and I figure there's little chance of us making Pinnacle.  We got a very late start into the cruising lifestyle, and  we lost some momentum during the Covid cruise curtailments.  
I cruised extra heavy to make D and D+, but now I'm just gonna cruise to cruise.😎  And knowing I probably wont make Pinnacle, I can spend more time trying the other cruise lines. 

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

I want to start a new trend.  I have decided that since my wife will not be accompanying me I will not be hiding Ducks for the "Cruising Ducks" craze and instead will be using these https://www.amazon.com/DolliBu-Global-Buddies-Yellow-Rooster/dp/B075FJDRR3/ref=sr_1_3?adgrpid=1332608660666258&hvadid=83288255932860&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=79947&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=p&hvtargid=kwd-83288395280504%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=4097_13164447&keywords=rubber+duck+chicken&qid=1698682441&sr=8-3 
I will call this new craze "Cruising for Chicks"    

Hello everyone, I am new here to the Royal Caribbean Blog & the message boards. 
Since I did not see any roll calls for the January 19 - 26th 2024 cruise, I thought I'd start one. My mom & I have booked ourselves on this cruise to mexico. I have been to mexico on land of course, but it will be a fun and unique experience to see it on a ship. I'm 30 years old btw and excited to experience a Royal Caribbean cruise ship for the first time as I sailed with Princess Cruises when I was 10-15 years old to see Alaska. I am nervous that we would have to cancel this cruise due to weather, as I hope our canadian winter weather doesn't give us a major snow storm on the day we are about to fly out. I am glad we booked a flight out the day before to give us some leeway, but also I hope the flight issues get resolved by then which I am not hopeful. We are flying out of Calgary, AB to LAX.
Also if there is a roll call for this sailing and I missed it I apologize. 

Get rid of 70s night.  Anyone old enough to remember them are no longer in the target demographic. 

Very simple. Create a contest in which Royal Caribbean give one lucky person a lifetime cruising pass. Enter the contest. Rig things so that I win the contest. Resign in shame. Keep the pass.

I never do well in these exercises because to be king for a day requires that I think like a king for that day. 
That means I must stop thinking about my personal needs or desires and I must think about what is best for the kingdom.  Rarely are the two the same.  

Good man for not mentioning the wife 😉 

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Oh! and I have two adult children that have lived with me for 15 years and 3 dogs so just being away for months at a time far outweigh any Pinnacle perks!

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Oh! and I have two adult children that have lived with me for 15 years and 3 dogs so just being away for months at a time far outweigh any Pinnacle perks!

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

Excellent question !  currently I will be retiring in 2 months but unfortunately my wife doesn't want to retire for two more years so at the risk of being bored I have decided to spend 200 days aboard a Cruise ship (Not all 200 at once but all within the year).  The first reason is to determine if I would like staying on a ship for extended periods of time so that when my wife does retire we can do the same for her.  We have only taken one B2B cruise because of my wife's dedication to her job. Me....  Not so much. The second reason is that I am not in great health and have always wanted to try "Living on a cruise ship."  I may never get the chance if I don't start soon.
I am not actually "Chasing" pinnacle per se but it will be a bonus when my wife does retire as she will enjoy the added Perks as well. After 40 years of work I am convincing myself that I deserve this while I can still enjoy it and am healthy enough to do it. Also, I live close to the pier in Los Angeles and it is a minimal cost to get to the Cruise ship. After calculating everything I will be spending less than 30K for B2B2B2B2B2B...  (You get the idea) cruising.  I will be out nothing if I do not choose to continue and will not be disheartened if I do not or can not reach my dream of spending my retirement years on a Cruise ship. Pinnacle is just a milestone and not a goal I am reaching for in this endeavor. I am hoping that I will enjoy it as much as I have been wanting to do this for over 40 years since my first Royal Cruise in 1983.

You can't count on the 340 point single supplement discount. It isn't available on every cruise or every category of room. If you don't count it in your calculations you err on the side of being much more conservative with your estimates.

Keep an eye out for transatlantic deals if you really want to climb the ladder fast and have time.  Great value especially on older ships.  Twelve to fourteen nights doubles to a nice big number for climbing the ladder.  Splurge on a suite solo transatlantic and 14 x 3 = 42 points.  
Also keep an eye when they have to re-deploy a ship like Rhapsody in Panama.  Sometimes they waive single supplements or offer reduced single supplements quietly without telling the world about it.    

For some reason I am hearing "Highway to the danger zone"

I guess it is better than Rhapsody getting a flyby right now given its position .

For some reason I am hearing "Highway to the danger zone"

I guess it is better than Rhapsody getting a flyby right now given its position .