Traveling Mike

Yes, they do. There are things you can do on a cruise that will get you band for life from the cruise line. I have seen a couple of instances where security was stationed outside of a cabin and the next day the cabin was empty and you did not see them again. I think you have to be on Santa's really really bad list to be on the cruise lines bad list.

The Pool... I am on vacation and do not need to deal with the crowd and stress of the pool. I will do the hot tub in the adult area but that is it.

I am like @Matt and have gotten the double points for a no-show. The one time they did not give it to me and I just called C&A and they applied the extra points. It never hurts to ask, all they can do is say no.

They don't make the one I purchased a few years ago but this is similar. I like it because it does almost every combination you would need including having multiple usb and usbc. EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter One International Wall Charger AC Plug Adaptor with 5.6A Smart Power and 3.0A USB Type-C for USA EU UK AUS (TA-105, Grey) - Amazon.com

The one I purchased a couple weeks ago I was able to use it for RCL Cruise Payment, Celebrity Cruise Payment and put the remaining amount on my On Board Account. I did all three with my TA.

@ropeadope13 is correct but I have had some slightly different. If I am not mistaken it is ship time and the ship can be on different time zone than the port time. It should be close but if it is not open at midnight check an hour later, or earlier.

I find all the responses interesting. I will never go on a Carnival 3 or 4 day cruise out of Long Beach again but I recommend them to lots of people I talk to. Those cruises have their place and the people I recommend on to are young adults that want to party and stay up all night. Now I like booking the RCL 4 and 5 day cruises out of Los Angeles because they are more family oriented and new cruisers. It is a nice short / Inexpensive getaway and you spend most of your time in port. I am getting ready to book a 25 day cruise for 2026 and I expect it to an older crowd with few children. They are all great cruises and I enjoy all of them. What a lot of people do not understand is you have to look at the cruise line, location and time of year.

the cruises for 2026 are filling up. Once a cruise ship is full it will not show up on your search. I am already booking 2027.

You are talking about going on the Serenade of the Seas. It is an older smaller ship for RCL. It holds 2400 cruisers and that the size of lots of other cruise lines. I like to cruise on smaller ships lots of the time because it is more personal. I also like the large ships that hold 6,000 because they are a small city and have everything. I would not wait; take her and her daughter and and have fun on the ship. Then you can make plans to go on the big ship and see what you like better. I have lots of cruises behind me and I like to mix my cruises up between small, medium and large ships. Extra things on Serenade Rock Climbing Wall Miniature Golf Kids Pool with Slide Regular Pool with 2 hot tubs

I almost always book on bord unless I see great prices. What i get is a deposit of $100 a person and on board credit. The $100 deposit is low enough where I can cancel a cruise and not worry about losing lots of money. The OBC is a few hundred dollars that pay for my next deposit and an excursion or two.

I checked my 5 booked cruises and 2 of them had lower internet price. They went from $18.99 to $17.99 USD for a single device. They range from $16.99 a day to $19.99 a day.

Now that is going to look strange when I get 2 sodas and a sports drink at 11 pm and they open them all and I do not except the ticket. I always finish off my Diamond drinks with things to take back to the room for the middle of the night and when I get up in the morning.

Just so you understand how it worked. I selected the $2000 amount and added it to my cart. Then clicked checkout and it showed that I was getting a $2000 gift card for $1600. I entered my CC information and made the purchase. They sent me an email to link to my gift card. I then was able to call my TA and was able to pay off two of my RCL cruises and put the remaining amount on my Celebrity cruise. It was actually a good process.

I know times have changed but years ago I was booked on a cruise that was chartered. They moved me from Ocean View to a Suit. You might ask for a free upgrade or drink package. All they can say is no.

It was fun while it lasted. @nate91 thank you for sharing. Anyone sees it restarted post and let us know. I like the additional 20% discount.

They are hoping you will give them to new cruisers that will get hooked on cruising. Or you will book cruise because you get the 20% off. They are not thinking about people like us that have 4 or 5 cruises booked all the time.

I am digging in the cobwebs so do not trust me 100%. If I remember the ports correctly New York changed us tax for the drinks we had before leaving port. In Texas they limited the types of drinks we could have before we got out of Texas waters. Some ports have their own rules.

I do not need a travel agent to help me decide when or where to cruise. I have been on enough cruises that I am very secure with the process. Now with that said I always use a travel agent. I use Costco Travel because I get a percent back on a Costco Card after the cruise and they are there to take care of my issues. I have had them spend days taking care of some of my issues. Now there are some drawbacks like they do not do Royal Up and they will not watch my cruise to see if there are better rates. But if I see a lower rate I can call them and they will get me the new rate. They are also paid by the hour so they do not care how much time they spend with me or for me. With prices going up I am going to start shopping around to see if different travel agents can get me some better group rates. What one person once told me is when a person calls RCL with one booking are they going to listen the same as someone that has 20 or 30 bookings on the ship?

It is not a RCL ship but the Queen Mary 2 (Cunard) cruises New York to England and England to New York all year long. I know nothing about the company or ship. You just asked how to find a West Bound Transatlantic and that is the one I know about that is year round.

I agree RCL is so terrible. I called the main office and told them that they should give me a free cruise because I am a nice guy. they refused and sold me one for $100. But then they told me I would not give me more than my 6 free drinks a day. So I ran around the ship in my Birthday Suit and they did not like it for some reason. .... I give up It is hard to tell a outlandish story

Just remember what you can legally smoke in places like California you cannot have on a cruise ship. I have herd of people not thinking about what they have or had in their vape.

both me and my son has ADHD. It helps me to not pack until the night before I leave. This way all of my thoughts are on the packing task and I lay everything out on the bed and go over the entire list of everything I need and have. Then I take my backpack to the safe and get my money and passports out of the safe and put them in the backpack where they stay until the ship. Now I will double check my backpack for my wallet and passport 100 times between the house and the ship.

My luggage getting lost. I am a Big Guy that cannot purchase cloths at a normal store most of the time. If my luggage gets lost in flight I will have to do the cruise in the cloths in my backpack. Missing the ship.

I cruise solo and they let me purchase the dinner on the first or second night then take my free one later in the cruise. I have never asked about lunch because it is about 1/2 the price as dinner.

I know you will be refunded her port fees and taxes. I would not take the chance on the booked items. You have until a few days before the cruise to cancel her drink package, internet and excursions. As soon as you know there is not someone else going with you I could cancel the purchased items.