Traveling Mike

When I read the first post I thought it had to be a parent controlling their children. After reading other people that have seen it on different ships I realize the parent is RCL and they are treating us like little kids. I know some of the time they must do this because to many people behave like little kids.

I always pre-pay my gratuities because it is nice not having a big bill at the end of the cruise. It also keep the bill cleaner so I can see what I am spending.

I have been on 3 different ships with JR and all of them were open for lunch on embarkation day.

On many of my oversees cruises I use my left over foreign currency for extra tips. If I don't have any I use US Dollars. They are happy with anything.

This is from the RCL site: Theme nights are offered onboard Royal Caribbean Cruises of four nights or longer. Because these events vary by ship and itinerary, dates and times will not be available until you board the ship and this can be found in the Cruise Compass. Some common themes we may offer include Black and White Night, 50's/60's/70's/80's, Country Western, Masquerade Ball, Toga Parties. These are examples and are subject to change.

I have never did one of these but why not try. This is for the Back-2-Back cruise from Singapore to Tokyo to Seattle. I know there is lots of people doing the B2B. If you are only doing one, that is OK, join the conversation. Or if you are like me doing the B2B2B we are going to have fun. Anthem of the Seas Apr 13 — Apr 25, 2025: 12 night Singapore to Tokyo cruise Anthem of the Seas Apr 25 — May 9, 2025: 15 night Tokyo to Seattle cruise Anthem of the Seas May 9 — May 16, 2025: 7 night Alaska experience cruise

You will get good service without a tip. If you leave a tip with the same bar crew they will often go out of their way for you. My last cruise I was on the ship for 27 days and I gave the late night bar tender $40 at the start of the cruise. After that all I had to do is walk up to the bar and he would bring me my sodas that I picked up every night. Some nights that would save me from waiting in a long line.

two things to know: There are two main cruises, Inside passage and one way cruise to or from Anchorage area. Know what one you are booking because they are very different and the cost for flights and land transportation is different. All of the ports you will stop in Alaska are walkable. After the first time I do not book excursions. We walk the town and find things to explore and enjoy.

If things have not changed it is available right away. When we were coming out of Covid I had a lot of FCC. A couple of times I canceled the cruise and rebooked and the FCC was available to put on the rebooked cruise.

Years ago I got a haircut and shave on one of the cruise ships. I loved it but I always love when women give me attention. Just make sure when you book it you request a woman so they do not match a man with a man; it is just not the same. I like going to a barber ship but the experience is different. The other think you might consider is a pedicure for him. For one of my birthdays my cousin purchased me a pedicure. I though it was strange but it was delightful. I would love to have more of them but I cannot bring myself to spend the money on that.

For anyone interested all the cruise Facebook groups are done by cruisers. The cruisers on the ship will start a group and other people join. I have had one cruise that had two different Facebook Groups and both refused to close and consolidate them. I have also had crises where was not a group. Join a group and have fun.

When I worked on my son's account I did not trust online. I called and talked to a person. Crown & Anchor Society 800-526-9723 Mon-Fri 8am-11pm EST / Sat-Sun 9am-8pm EST

I seen the same thing. the main thing is everyone in the cabin has to have to have the Premium Access. If you want WiFi for one device is it cheaper. If you want it for everyone to have WiFi it is a good price.

I only have 2 Alcohol drinks a day. I get 5 drinks a day so I use the other 3 for sodas, Red bull and juices. Every once in a while they make a mistake and charge me. I just call customer service and they fix it and put it on the drink voucher. My last cruise was 27 days so by the end I was using them to get sodas for the Cabin Steward. Until the bar tender learns your preference make sure you tell them to put them on your voucher.

I have used AIG travelguard and have never had an issue. I have collected from them a few times and they pay without a hassle. Right now I have Annual Insurance with Alliance.

It might be the start of merging information. It seems that the Celebrity software is newer software and better written. I would guess they are starting to merge systems to take advantage of the newer software and save money on not having two completely different systems.

When I travel with my 28 year old son (and friend) I use the same credit card for each of our accounts. Everyone has their own account but we use my credit card for all three because the cruise is my treat.

I found this out on my April Cruise: There is a manager that oversees a group of cabin stewards. My cabin steward mentioned her supervisor and I called Guest Services and requested the manager get hold of me. Within 30 minutes she was knocking on my door. In my case I wanted something special for my cabin and I wanted to do something special for my cabin steward. She showed up and made sure I was taken care of and later that day called me to confirm everything was done the way I liked it.

Thank you for the information. I was on the Suez Canal that was canceled and there was nothing good to change to. Now I just have to wait until these cruises show up to see if they are in a price range I am willing to pay.

I used Costco during all of the shutdown and did not have issues that were unbearable. You just had to be patient and understand they were like a lot of companies and moved staff around and were short staff. Some of my best deals were with Costco in 2020-2021; they always helped me move canceled cruises and get my FCC. With that said, Costco is not for everyone. I like doing research and have been on enough cruised to know what I want and why.

You are always on ship time. Make sure you keep track of what time it is on a ship. Some of the time it is not local time but most of the time it is what ever time it is in port. Also it does not always change at night when you are traveling time zones. I did a trans-Atlantic and the Ship Captain changed the ship time in the middle of the day. We never could figure out why but someone said it helped the staff with their shifts and sleep time. The short of what I am saying is it is different on every cruise and keep track of the ship time. (ship time is on the app)

I have been on over 40 cruises, a lot of them RCL, and never thought I needed a fan.

I purchase the internet package and also add on the free days i get for Diamond status. You get 24 hours and you can pick any day you would like. I usually pick a sea day where I can do streaming and phone at the same time.

I am sure it is just me but I feel sorry for my cabin steward on the change over day so I have them give me fresh towels and have them skip cleaning my cabin. I can go one day without a cleaning to make their day easier.

I do not know if it is common or just me. The first day when I see my cabin steward I request extra towels and a towel for swimming. When I leave the swimming towel wet the cabin seaward leaves me a fresh one. When I leave the ship I leave the towel in my cabin and never has been charged for it.