Traveling Mike

What @Ryan79 is describing is what I am seeing. I see 10% off being the same cost as 30% off. If the price is what I am willing to pay I purchase it. Then I watch the final price and see if it goes down. If it does I cancel my purchase and re-purchase at the lower price. One thing to be careful of is the gratuities. Dinner and drink packages will look lower but when you get them into the cart you will see a price that is 18% higher.

I have never had an issue. I have been on the ship but I always use my credit card when I bring my son and his companions. We started it when he was 8 but now he is 28 and I still pay for him and his friends. If you are worried you can always get a RCL Gift Card and use it for all onboard expenses. Royal Caribbean International eGift Card

Me and my son are going on "The Best of Japan" in the end of July. Other than that I had to stop cruising Celebrity because Celebrity has decided they do not want Solo Cruisers. I have no problem with paying double the price but now Celebrity is charging Solo over double the price. Royal has started giving solo cruisers big discounts on Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific crises. I cruise with the company that wants my buisness.

I use this perk every cruise. You can get Diamond 1 day, Diamond + 2 days and Pinnacle one device for the cruise. I am not Pinnacle so I do not know if it is automatic or you have to request it. For Diamond people you need to figure out what days you want your free internet. I always get internet because I work on my cruises so I decide what days I want my second device. The internet is a 24 hour period so I always start it in the afternoon so I will have two days. I also do not pick port days because I am not on the ship to use it. Most of the time I will use my 2 days on the last two 1/2 days of the cruise. That way I have it to do all of my plane flights and have streaming to put on a movie to help me go to sleep. When you are ready just call or go to the Internet Desk and request the days.

I just got the mattress topper added to my Crown & Anchor request on my cabins. I knew the room stewards can see all my information and my likes for setting up my cabin. I emailed Crown & Anchor and asked them about the Mattress Topper. I just got a replay letting me know they added to my requests for my reservations. They also gave me a direct phone number to contact Crown & Anchor directly (Should you have any questions or need an immediate response, please contact our office directly at 1-800-526-9723).

Lately I have noticed the cruise planner will tell me the discount is because I am Diamond Plus. I have also notice many of the items are at a 30% discount and when I post others do not see the same discount. I am starting to think the website knows and adjusts.

Last time I cruised out of Port Everglades I stayed at Tru by Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Airport. They had a shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel. They also had one from the hotel to the port but there was to many issues and the price was not much different than an Uber or Lyft. I took the shuttle from the airport but in the morning I just called a Lyft to take me to the ship. It was a good midrange hotel with a good restaurant across the street and a 7-11 a block away. I paid 145.79 USD total for a night. Before that I used this Airbnb. The last time was Thanksgiving week and she wanted 2 night minimum. The couple is semi retired and work at the port some of the time. For a little extra they picked me up at the airport and took me to the ship in the morning. Private room with bathroom and balcony. - Houses for Rent in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States - Airbnb They have 3 other rooms.

I have not gotten a soda or drink package in the last year but last time I did they could tell I had the Soda package just by looking at my sea pass card.

Check with your cell phone carrier to see what packages they have. I have T-Mobile an data and test in almost any country in the world. I know ATT has where you can add international calling for your trip. I cruise 4 to 6 times a year and have to stay connected. I get one device on the ship and use my data in foreign countries to make calls.

Some things are not adding up for me. @Frogfather is a big Royal fan and has 39 cruises but this is their first post on the Royal Caribbean Blog. And they did not know a brand new ship that is doing 3 and 4 day cruises out of Port Canaveral would be a "Party" cruise. What is next, we are surprised a Carnival 3 and 4 day Cruise has people that dink and fight?

When you get to the port there should be an area for checking in your bags. There will be staff there helping to make sure you have room tags on your bags and if not they will help you get one on each bag. Then you will go to the single line to enter the building and start you check in process. There will be two different lines; one for people in Suites and one for everyone else.

Still Water Not Still Water

When you are on the ship you are on the ship. No matter where I have cruised in the world they run under and take the US Dollar. We often have the opposite problem of being in Spain, Australia, Japan and they do not have that currency on the ship. As far as extra cash tipping on the ship, the staff makes the same amount of money no matter where in the world they are. So if you like to tip cash in the Caribbean I do not see any difference in SE Asia.

I use Costco Travel all the time. I like doing the research and have traveled enough where I know as much as most travel agents. If I do not know something, I have Royal Caribbean Blog to ask questions. If you have questions or need help with your booking you can always call Costco Travel. They are paid by the hour so they do not care how long it take to deal with your request. I also, often book on the Royal Caribbean site and transfer it to Costco Travel. After making the booking you can make payments anytime you want on their website. On price drops, you do have to keep track of prices and call Costco Travel to make the change. I did that yesterday and they gave me the new price right from their computers. They have a direct access to RCL reservations. Below is screen prints that show you what you will see on both the Costco Travel site. Note: Costco Travel website does not take Crown & Anchor numbers. It displays an error. I found out today it does it for all cruise lines and they are working to fix it. You will need to call to get your loyalty number included until they get it fixed.

for anyone that is not from California here is a map of the Los Angeles area with the fires and I pointed to the airport and the port area (the circle).

I love seafood and Hooked Seafood was a one and done for me. I felt I could get the same quality and service in the buffet. For a good steak Chops is always good. I like Giovanni’s Italian because the filet is as good as Chops and I can also get good pasta. I have never done it on a cruise but when I am at home we like to do Hibachi. I do not know if how great the food would be but Izumi Hibachi should be a fun dinner.

Royal Caribbean has transportation that does Miami port to Fort Lauderdale Airport. They also have Miami Port to Fort Lauderdale Port for Back to Back Cruises that is free.

All of my luggage has built in TSA Luggage locks. If your don't I would just purchase some TSA Luggage locks and lock your bags.

I do not get comp cruises... but... I always book on my cruises or I book online. I make sure everything is set the way I want it and then I transfer the booking to Costco Travel to get their support and rebate. If I have anything to change Costco can change most of it without calling RCL. If it is something they cannot do they will call and get it taken care of. They are paid by the hour so they do not mind how much time they spend on my issues or changes.

I have that trouble all the time on the Costco site. If the price is the same as on the RCL site I just book without it and then have them add it after it's booked. lately they have been answering the phone very quickly so you can call them ( (866) 921-7925) and book the cruise. Most of my cruises I book directly with RCL and transfer them to Costco. If you'd like to transfer your reservation to Costco Travel, please follow these steps: Complete the Royal Caribbean Travel Agency Transfer Form directly on their website Include the following details: Travel Agency Phone Number: For US reservations: 425-657-1900 For Canadian reservations: 613-221-2000 Travel Agents Name: Costco Travel Complete the Costco Travel Reservation Transfer survey After your survey is received, the transfer process takes up to 10 business days for us to complete When the process is complete, you'll receive an emailed invoice from Costco Travel with your booking information

I thought all of the B2B were the same until I did one in Sydney. On the ones in the United States they have you wait until everyone gets off the ship and they walk you off the ship, make a U-Turn and go right back on the ship. Then we would do kick back time and do the B2B lunch that most of the time is very good. In Sydney they made us get off the ship and stay off the ship for 4 hours. I was not prepared for that and I spend 4 days in Sydney before the cruise so I just found a bar across the street and watched everyone getting ready to board the ship. I can say when I went back at 11 am they let me bypass all the lines to get back on the ship. When you are done let us know what they do in Europe.

This question is a personal one and the trust you have in your children. I trained my son from a very early age to handle himself in public. I would let him venture out but within my sight. Then when he got a little bit older, I let him venture a little bit more. The entire time I kept communication of what he is doing and what he needs to be looking out for. He made some mistakes but we had discussions on how he should have handled it and what needs to be done going forward. By the time he was 10 or 11 I trusted him to go to the kids area and leave the kids area as he seen fit. The other big discussion I had with him is how to pick friends and how to walk away from the wrong type of people. I can say until he was about 13 he spent 90% of the time in the kids area. Now with that said, I recommend not going from one extreme to the other. Teach them as they get more freedom. (and have patience)

I know it is the same amount of money but I do not like that. It just makes me feel better seeing the money on my OBC when purchasing things before the cruise.

I almost never use the freestyle machines. I always just get my sodas from one of the bars. The taste of the soda is better than what you get out of the freestyle machine.

I just double checked on two of my reservations; one in April and one in October, different ships and both let me book reservations after I added it to the cart and before I pay. Even after I pay I can go back and change the reservations or add new ones.