Traveling Mike

Talk to the staff at MTD. I have found that I can always walk in at 5:30 or 6:00 pm. If you are willing to eat early, they can get you in without much of a wait. But there is a big difference between 5:30 and 6:30.

I have planned 3 cruises to or from Rome and all of them have been cancelled because of Covid or ship changes. One of these days I will get there. After hours of planning the hotel, I was going to stay at was Hotel Golden. It is a small family ran hotel where momma cooks your breakfast. Hotel near Spanish Steps | Hotel Golden Official Site (hotelgoldenrome.com) Note: Here is my google maps of things I wanted to see. Rome - Google Maps

I love 14-day cruises and longer. If you like sea days, you will love your cruise; it is a good mixture of good ports and sea days and one entire day going through the canal. On my long cruises I always take some Tide Pods. I drop one in the bathroom sink and hand wash my cloths, rinse them in the shower, ring them out using the bar in the shower, then wrap them in towels to suck the water out. Then I put them on hangers to dry. You can always use the hair dryer to do quick drying. That is a fair amount of work and if that is not for you the ship has a deal of everything that can fit in a bag for $34 (i think) for wash and fold. Food: They will change the food around but there is always lots of options you can do other than main dining every night. Have a pizza night, You can request an entire pizza with the toppings you want. You do not have to take it by the slice. You can always ask at the main dining room for your meal (or desert) to go and eat it on the deck or on your balcony. Kids: September 14 day cruise will have older people but with it being a Panama Canal cruise it will add back more kids and younger people.

1. Should we request the Royal king be split into twins prior to our embarkation day? They can add that on your booking but if they do not do it you will see your cabin steward on the first day and he can change it quickly. They always put ours a king when I cruise with my son and we just ask for it to be separated and they do that within the hour. 2. If we prepay gratuities, that is JUST for the daily gratuities not for the service gratuities when you buy or get drinks... (Also gratuity is still charged even when ordering with the refreshment package?) Am I understanding that correctly? The prepaid gratuity is for the Cabin Steward and your dining staff. If you purchase any of the drink or dining packages they add on a 18% gratuity. If you purchase a single drink they add on a gratuity. Anything you give a staff is above this. 3. CPAP users... what sort of request should I make? Extension cord (understanding I cannot bring my own)? Can I bring my own distilled water? You can request an extension cord from the Cabin Steward. I work on my computer all the time from bed. I always am able to get the extension cord from the cabin steward. I am not sure about the distilled water, I know you can bring your own bottled drinks. I am sure somoene else can help answer this. 4. I know this is going to be a LONG 475 days until embarkation day, but how far our should we expect to start seeing excursion listings on the website? I am starting to see excursions on my April 2024 sailing but not many. It might not be until 4 to 6 months before depending on the cruise. 5. Non-Royal Caribbean excursions... any input in looking into these for either cost or more variety or scamming issues would be appreciated. This can be a answer on it own. Just be carful about getting back to the ship on time. Also make sure there is lots of reviews. There is a separate posting area for excursions that can help you. Depending on the port don't be afraid to do the port on your own. Many ports lend themselves to wondering the port and experiencing things without a tour.

If I was doing it, I would book all under my reservation. It makes everything easier. I do the research and booking on my own then move it to Costco Travel to get the rebate cards. After you book you can always move it to a TA to get the perks.

I am used to not using the Diamond perks when he travels with me. Setting in the shows just seems a little different than taking him to the Diamond Lounge. Don't know why but it just did. On the other hand, I am the type of person that shows up early and likes to set in the second row of the theater, up close and personal.

I am D+ but my son is not. With us in the same cabin will he be able to set in the reserved seating with me?

It is funny how people doing the bad behavior (chair hog) can justify their actions. Does it bother me... when I have an inside cabin and I get up and go to the Solarium at 8:00 am to set and watch the ocean go by and there are no seats and also not many people... yes it bothers me.

I do not know if I can say this and not make you upset. Chair Hog Someone that sends one person early in the morning to reserve 10 chairs next to the pool. Someone that sends one of their kids to the show 40 minutes early to save 15 seats so they can show up at the last minute and get a front row seat. I really seen someone that took towels and a couple of bags to put on a lounge sofa the night before cursing the glaciers.

I have not used that VPN but my I have connected to Voom and used Cisco VPN to do work in the ship. My last cruise I used the new StarLink with my Cisco VPN to do online meetings and some computer programming.

@BethGR I drive to the port a lot in California. I have a 4-hour drive and a large mountain between me and the port. I give myself 8 hours before the final boarding time and that means I am there a couple of hours before my boarding time. If my car breaks down, I want time for my son to be able to come pick me up and get me to the port. Parking, In the winter time when there might be issues driving I get one of the hotels with a park-and-cruise package. I can park my car send the night and they drop me off at the cruise ship. It takes all the stress out of the trip. In good weather I pay the extra money to be able to park next to the cruise ship and walk on the ship. It also helps with showing up a couple hours early. I can sleep in my car until boarding time.

@Saylor don't feel bad about having 4 adults in a room. I travel solo most of the time but would not hesitate to bunk with 3 other adults. The cabin is there to sleep and shower.

Is there a new rule that you can only have one entree? I was under the impression that is only for the Lobster on Lobster night.

Just my advice nothing more... if everything goes smoothly there should be no issue. If you have issues or you want to know something or you want something changed you most likely will have issues. I book directly with the cruise line then move mine to Costo Travel because they give me a rebate Costco card and their agents are paid by the hour to take care of me. I am able to do this because I know exactly what I want and like doing lots of research. If I was not sure I would be going with a well know travel agent that know everything and will walk me though my purchase. A cruise is a few thousand dollars and I do not think it is worth saving a couple hundred dollars and risk having issues and a headache. Just my opinion

You might want to check with your travel agent or RCL. I see that cabin only holds 3 people but when I look on the RCL site it states it hold 4 people. The ship is going into dry dock and they might be changing the cabin layout. Mariner of the Seas Cabin 7628 - Category 1D - Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony 7628 on iCruise.com Deck Plans | Mariner of the Sea | Royal Caribbean Cruises

If you are talking about in the last year you can see them at Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass | Royal Caribbean Blog If you are looking for 2023 maybe someone can help. I know on my last cruise they stopped giving paper ones out. They told you to use your phone.

There is no way of answering that question. Guaranteed Cabin means that you are willing to take any type of cabin. You might get one that only holds 2 people (Two twin beds, that convert to a Royal King bed) or you might get one that holds 5 people (Two twin beds, that convert to a Royal King bed, One double sofa bed, Two Pullman beds)

I am confused, the weather in the ship is always the same. I did the Copenhagen to Iceland to Boston cruise in September. There were not many people on desk of the ship except for looking for the northern lights. During those times you were in close toes shoes in warm jackets with gloves to keep warm. When we got to Iceland it was layers and rain protection (not umbrella). Part of the excursions you were bundled up and part in a shirt and jeans. The one thing you want to do is the Blue Lagoon. The worse the weather the better the experience. Welcome To Blue Lagoon Iceland Resort & Spa | Blue Lagoon Iceland

I have done 10 cruises solo and before that I cruised as a solo parent. I have found out that I am never alone. I have thousands of new friends. If you are willing to talk there is always someone to talk to. On the other hand I love being able to set my own agenda and change it anytime I want. I do what I want. If I want to do every activity during the day that is what I do. If I want to stay in my room and watch tv and nap all day that is what I do. Solo is great.

I would not expect any insurance company to cover a Cruise Change fee unless it was because of medical and was arranged ahead of time. I also would expect them to cover the deposit. A lot of it depends on the insurance company and what policy you purchased.

here is a picture of a typical closet with hangers they supply. You can always request more hangers.

This should work to get to shore excursions [email protected] this page (document) has most of the contact information including emails for the different departments. 17056205_2018SalesContact_List.indd (rccl.com)

There are so many sketchy travel agents out there. This would not have been a problem for him if they just let him know up front, he was paying them a booking fee. Then he could have made a choice to pay for the cruise and their booking fee. When I hear this type of thing it makes me glad, I am part of this message board. You can ask questions before doing things and get good responses and information.

You can let it go and see if they catch it. I would be afraid that you get pulled into customs at the end of the cruise because you are trying to bring in a minor with a birthdate on the ship manifest that does not match the passport. Then you are trying to prove you do not have fake ID and the child is yours and ....

I found this great app for my iPhone that shows all the ships and dock information for Port Everglades. It's just called "Everglades".