WAYNO

I have tried to like the Royal Broadway shows, but I just can't. If you've seen one break-dance show, you've seen them all. I just asked my wife if she remembers any Broadway shows we liked, and her answer was Grease. She must've experienced that show without me, as I have never seen it. And that's the show I always looked forward to.

When I know ahead of time, and when I have the opportunity to tell the wait staff I wont be at a given dinner, I do try to let them know I wont be there. But there are circumstances where I am unable to let them know. I feel it's a courtesy to let them know, but they must understand the best of intentions are not always doable. I think too, with the the number of empty tables and empty seats at any given dinner, I don't believe we're taking dining opportunities away from anyone by not showing.

I've learned to use the free wash n fold also. Everything comes back just as well as if I did it at home.

I experience these Royal snafu's more often than I would like. But the next day, maybe two, it works okay again. All the more reason I try not to wait til the last minute to order anything.

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: That would work. We have a 12:45 flight. I assume that'd be the 9am shuttle since there's either that or 8:15. You're an experienced cruiser, so you know how to make things work. For me, I would still insist on the earliest shuttle. I don't have enough room left for more worry lines.

Actually, Royal has different times depending on when your flight is. We always book a post-noon flight so Royal puts us on the last shuttle. We get dropped at the airline terminal roughly 10-10:30. But beware... we booked the shuttle one time and seems Royal overbooked the shuttles. They had to find other buses and ultimately we didn't hit the airport til noon. All the more reason we book our flights after noon. That was also the time there were no ubers available, and the folks with early flights missed their flights.

We cruise from LA often. Being a West Coaster, we fly in on the morning of our cruise, so a motel is never in our scheme. But transportation issues and options apply regardless of LAX to the cruise terminal and/or from LAX to the motel, and ultimately to the cruise port. We always use https://www.primetimeshuttle.com/#/search and they are terrific. From LAX to the cruise port is $133 for two of us including a pre-paid tip. That's in a huge Cadillac SUV and handles any and all luggage very well. They have other and cheaper options. They wait for us directly outside baggage claim, are always aware of our flight schedule including changes or late arrivals, and it has always worked terrifically. And at the end of the cruise, we always book a shuttle to LAX from Royal. It can be done at Guest Services or from the cruise planner. I think it's 30-bucks each. It also works very well for us. Yes, yes, yes, I know other folks do it differently and uber seems to be also popular. I also know on one cruise, uber was completely unavailable and folks missed their early flights. We do what always works.

I worked a lot of years. I was out the door many years at 6AM. Lunch-ish 11AM. It is difficult to un-do a lifelong schedule. My days are still long and productive. And we don't drink tea.

We eat at home at 5PM, so a 4:45 slot works well for us. Plus, we've missed a lot of shows or other activities, as the 5:30 time slot did not allow enough time to finish dinner and make it to the show. 4:45 helps.

I am now broken hearted to say I am under the weather and unable to be on this cruise. I am now discovering how difficult it is to cancel the cruise and flight.

I have asked managers, onboard, about the question regarding if we've been asked by the crew wait-staff to provide 10's on the survey, and the answer to me has always been, yes, we encourage our wait-staff to ask for tens and yes, we want to know they are doing so. This answer is contrary to some answers given, or assumed by others, so just possibly, even the managers are fabricating an answer to a question they don't understand.

@InmyElement .. This has been a spectacular photo session for me. Thank you. Although we cruise later this month, these photos just reinforce the fact that I just can't wait! Thanks again for this great blog. .

Personally, at any expense, I absolutely prefer a Junior Suite to any lesser cabin. Preferably booked at the outset, or thru a Royal Up. But if a Royal Up gives you an accessible cabin, and that's distasteful, then don't do it. Personally, it's a non-issue. They assigned me an otherwise unused accessible Junior Suite one time, and it was great!

Good for you! We will be on Icon for the first time, next month. Can't wait!

We love the ship, and we love these Mexican Riviera cruises! Ensenada was recently a new experience for us, and we loved it too.