Traveling Mike

My cruise in July was the same as @SpeedNoodles and @SPS. We got on quickly. Getting off the ship was just as fast.

On one of my cruises, I got unlimited dining for $21. It showed on the cruise planner but right before the cruise I noticed it did not show on the phone app. I called them and they honored the priced and fixed it to be active on the phone (and ship).

I have cruised Alaska two times with inside cabins and did not mind at all. The nice thing is the inside cabin is dark when you want to sleep. The Virtual cabin was a waste of space. They did the projection wrong and skimped on the technology. The balcony is nice to watch the outside but are you the type of stay in your cabin or explore the ship.

Recommendation: On your way back to your room stop by and get some pizza, fruit or/and cookies for the cabin. You can find them at Cafe Promenade on Desk 5 (forward). Cafe Promenade | Casual Cafe and Restaurant | Royal Caribbean Cruises

I would not have told you this before last February, but I would do the Oasis class ship for the first-time cruise with a family. Last February I went on the Sympathy of the Seas and fell in love with the big ships. There is unlimited number of things to do. It is different and there will be 5,000 new friends with you, but it is a very big ship. I would save the smaller ship for a second cruise or one doing Alaska or Panama Canal.

On many of my cruises I tip with whatever currency I have handy. I often over tip just because I have extra of the local currency. On the off ship... I have never seen anyone reject a tip because it is in the US Dollar, but you are best in the local currency.

This strange timing. I just moved an NCL cruise because they would not let me use my next cruise certificate on the cruise I wanted. I love the way they handle Solo Cruisers but after that they are lacking. The other issue I am having with NCL is their sales people. They keep contacting me but when I ask them to do a little work I do not hear from them. I had one booked a TA Cruise and she had 3 things to follow up after the booking and that did not happen. I know people will tell me use a travel agent and I do. I just like booking the cruise and getting it setup the way I want with the cruise line then move it to a TA for issues and rebates. Now I am like you, and I think I am going to stay with RCL and Celebrity for my cruising.

June, July and first of August you will see lots of families. If you go in May or September, you will see a lot less kids.

@Steven W are you looking for help or giving us a warning. If you are giving us a warning can you please let us know what ship you were on and what cabin it was, so we do not make that mistake? I just checked and most of the dining rooms are on decks 3 and 4 without balconies below them. The rooms below the buffets are junior suites. I would really like to know what ship you were on so I can avoid it.

I would assume that is just Disney. Disney is a family-oriented cruise line, and they have things like no casino to keep the clean image. Most of the drinking age in the USA is 21.

From my past experience take more than what you would need. I had full physical and legal custody, but I found out that I needed to carry my divorce paperwork. Alot of the cruises they wanted a letter of release from his mother, and they would not believe there was not a mother in the picture. Disney ended up giving me a large upgrade because the person checking me in would not let us on and would not take my divorce paperwork. She kept telling me the mother had to sign a release. Once I got a supervisor they apologized and moved us up to a large balcony for the attitude I got. So, from my story, if you have issues, ask for a supervisor. I would have a release from your ex-husband and have divorce papers for your husband.

I have stayed here two times and have never seen the hosts. It is a good clean room and shower for $80. It is halfway between the airport and the cruise port. I am not willing to pay the hotel prices when I can get a good Airbnb Airbnb: Vacation Rentals, Cabins, Beach Houses, Unique Homes & Experiences Note: two things... this one you have to carry your luggage up a flight of stairs on the side of the house. There are many more Airbnb in the area.

I am going to be on the Ovation the 28 days before you would get on it. I am doing the New Zeland and Sydney to Hawaii. As a general rule the Pacific Ocean is much rougher than the Atlantic Ocean. I have not done the Hawaii back to the West Coast, but I would not expect it to be glass.

You know your older teen but if it was my son at 18, I would not worry about him being in a cabin away from mine. I would check and see if they have a room for 3 people. Check your price and it might be cheaper to get a fourth room. With the teens I would see if you could get two inside rooms next to each other. just had a thought... see if you can upgrade the 3 adults to a nice big room and leave the other 2 for the kids.

That happed to my son's account. It was a placeholder for his old cruise. They give it one point to hold it on the system then gave him the 7 points. I was told by C&A that this was a work-around on the computer system they found. When I look on the RC Website at past cruises it shows 7 points for one cruise and 1 point for the old cruise. But his total is 15.

I book through RC and Celebrity (same people). The nice thing is you can book now and change or cancel your flights up to your final payment. If the price of the flight goes down, you just call them, and they will adjust the price. If you have issues during your flight, there is a special number to call, and they will help you. One Note: I found out with my September flights that all the cruise lines have lost their power with the airlines. The airline changed my flight to the middle of the night, and I did not get to my destination until the next early morning. I called and all they could do is send a message to the airline. Then second leg was just dropped and all they could do is message the airline. None of the CruiseLine's have direct access to the airlines anymore. If there are issues before your cruise you are better off booking directly with the airline. If you have issues during your flight, you are better off booking with the CruiseLine.

Like @SpeedNoodles said it can take a couple of weeks. That is the major drawback; the money they take gets posted right away and the money they refund takes a couple of weeks. For me they normally end up on the same credit card statement.

If you want the real answer "Only the Computer Programmer really knows". You can find lots of videos on the internet of ship staff stating they do not know how it is broken down. They only know money is added to their checks from gratuities. The money goes into an account for the ship. Then some corporate management decides who gets part of it and how it should be broke down. They tell a computer programmer, and that person writes some code to move each staff members percent into their paycheck. It is not like the old days when I would put cash in an envelope and hand it to the people that get it.

@Genia I see you are new here. One of the things @Matt and everyone else preaches is do not wait for a sale of your items. Book what you want and then watch the prices. If it goes down cancel them and rebook at the lower rate.

I have been cruising those cities for years and from history two of the three have not been a problem. Cabo has always been a very safe place to go because it is all tourists and they make sure there is no reason for the tourists not to come. I love walking the city of Cobo (get off the avenue that is next to the bay). Puerto Vallarta is a larger city and has not had many issues. There are things to do but after being there a few times you start staying on the ship or going to one of all exclusive hotels. I used to worry about Mazatlan. There is always many military people going around the city. We used to take a taxi from the port to the hotel district on the beach. You get out of your taxi at one of the hotels and walk through the hotel to the beach. Once you are on the beach it is safe, and they have all the toys to rent. Last year when I was in Mazatlan it seemed much safer, and I took a shore excursion that showed me the town and I enjoyed it. If you are worried about Mazatlan just take a taxi to the hotel district and spend the day on the beach.

I have found you are better off using both your phone app and the computer website. Both are glitchy and between the two you can get everything done quickly. The most important thing is to grab your boarding time. Like the people have said above it is Midnight where your ship is. I am in California and my cruises out of Miami I can start checking in at 9:00 pm the day before the official check in day. Your official check in day is listed on the phone app.

Computer Programmer get $2.00 Ship Captain get $2.00 Hotel Director get $1.50 Room Stuwart get $3.00 Head Waiter get $1.50 Main Waiter gets $3.00 Assistant Waiter gets $2.00 Best Looking male dancer get $1.00 (placed in the G-string)

I really have mixed feelings. As a stockholder I want them to make the maximum amount of money per cruise. As a cruiser I want to cruise as cheep as I can and get as much as I can for free. I might follow your take a try a few with no extra's and see how it goes.

Does he need it... NO It the app helpful to have... Yes

I look forward to the Martini Bar. The bar is covered with ice (on some ships) and they make the best drinks and often give you a show.