Moby Dick

My wife just hit me with something that I just don't know how to deal with it. I didn't think I'd have to deal with this for at least another year or so. I am at a cross roads and I don't think I can handle the old bag anymore. I've been think of getting a new one but it's cheaper to keep the old bag. So I'm asking for your help, any and all comments are welcome and please be candid with your suggestions, answers, criticisms, I'm a big boy and can take it. My wife want to buy new luggage. I've told her the old bags are just fine, at least until our next cruise in Jan 2024. So, my question is: Hard side or soft? Which is the most durable. I like soft sided but I've never had the hard sided ones. She wants hard, imagine that. Besides the B.S. innuendo, this is really a serious question.

Of course! Look at my signature, there are several of me!

If nothing else, you should enjoy the size of the suite. Corngrats!

I'd rather they ban the lock box!

I have very little doubt they will. I don't hold out much hope for Royal's landside, though. Your post made me think of something else though. What if so many other venues/services on a ship have gotten so bad, the Genies are embarrassed or shying away from the complaints their suite passengers may have. That's not an excuse, BTW. I'd be willing to bet that things are actually getting better all the time now. Just a slow recovery.

They are and a much better quality than I would expect for a $12.XX item.

When I cruise, I don't like to carry anything except my TIP cash. No wallet and 99% of the time, no phone. Although, apparently many Genies are trying to get their party to communicate with Whatsapp, it's becoming more and more important to carry a phone. But, I digress. I like a lanyard with my card on it because I don't have to reach into my pocket (especially hard when adult beverage is involved, I've fallen off of many a stool, LOL) to get it and maybe accidently pull cash out and not realize it as it's falling on the floor/deck. Also, I like the recognition by the ships crew when they see the Star Class Plum colored card. No, I don't care if other passengers notice, I couldn't care less what they think of me. I just want top notch service and having cruised not in Star Class or or other suite classes, there is a difference, big time. BTW, many men's swimsuits don't have pockets either, in fact lots of athletic type shorts don't, as well. So, I'm in the lanyard camp!

BTW, I flew my drone from the top of Roberts Mtn, at the Tram Station up there. It didn't respond properly so I discontinued. I thought I lost it once. But, not problem from the beach at Nugget Falls. I flew it all the way over to the base of the Glacier, it lost connection to the controller and flew back to the home point, as it should have.

So, the bottom line, bring a NASA search light from the Cape and find the antenna. LOL

You'll note that Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls aren't in any controlled airspace. And there, at this minute, no VIP or any other temporary restrictions (FAAsafety.gov) in the area.

But, will they tell you where YOU can punch a hole in it. It really doesn't matter, if you punch a hole in the wrong place, get a new one. They're free, or at least at no extra charge. I've also heard that the Casino Host will punch a hole for ya.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/search.html?search_input=cruising&data-sia=false&data-con=false&segFilter=international-travel&starton=0 I Am Taking A Cruise. Do I Need A Passport? 12/30/2021 - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html We recommend that everyone taking a cruise from the United States have a passport book. Though some "" cruises may not require a U.S. passport, we recommend bringing yours in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port. Also, your cruise company may require you to have a passport, even if U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not. Cruise Ship Passengers 04/27/2022 - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html If You Choose to Travel: Make sure you review the latest . Read ouru202fTraveler's Checklistu202f. Research youru202fdestinationu202fto learn about important health and safety precautions to take. Check ouru202fcountry informationu202ffor the countries you will be visiting. Make a list of theu202fcontact informationu202fof the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in case of an emergency. Always bring your passportu202fin case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port in an emergency, even if your cruise says you won't need it. Apply early for youru202fpassport, or make sure your current oneu202fwill be valid at least six months beyond your travel dates and has two or more blank pages. Your cruise company may also require you to have a passport even if U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does I Heard You Can Get A Passport Card Instead Of A Passport Book For A Cruise, Is That True? 12/30/2021 - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html You can use the passport card to reenter the United States at sea ports of entry from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. However, if you are not able to return on the cruise ship for any reason (e.g., for an emergency evacuation, you will need a passport book to fly back to the United States.Additional Resources:

Similar story: On our Symphony cruise, we went to Hook's for dinner one night. We don't do seafood much but we love shrimp. Anyway, Hooked has an appetizer, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail that is fantastic. Our service was fantastic and the shrimp dishes we had was great. The next day, we went back to Hooked for lunch, our server from the night before was there but not our server. I asked our server for the Mexican Shrimp Cocktail and our server said that that is only available during the evening meals. Our server from the night before overheard this. He, immediately, went over the the manager and told her that we were Star Class and that our server refused to serve us the Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. Now, keep in mind that we didn't complain about this and we just thought that that is what it is. Well, in the matter of minutes there was all kinds of activities going on in the seafood island where they prepare many of their dishes. And shortly there after, I got the biggest Mexican Shrimp Cocktail delivered by the Manager with the longest apology I've ever heard. I actually felt bad for our server. But, the cocktail was Fannnnnnnntastic. I did TIP our server, the manager, and the server from the night before. No Genie involved in the experience.

I wouldn't think that the RFID Chip is very big at all. I assume it resembles the chip in your Credit Cards that is very visible. I'd take your card to Customer Service and ask them to punch a hole in it. OR ask them where, in the card is the RFID chip. To be clear, I'm talking about the proximity transmitter. I believe, if you know where the chip is, you can safely punch a hole in the card. We always take a single, hand held hole puncher with us. I haven't had to use it yet. I just take it incase my lanyard card holder breaks or something like that. Well, we did use it a lot when we were loyal to Brand X.

The point, it didn't matter if my Disney visit was the very top of their VIP guided tour and the top of the amenities, "A" list, these venues weren't available to even the richest (Musk) of folks and the dirt and blowing trash was readily visible and in some cases brushed up against. It ain't perfect. In premise, we are almost exactly aligned. "If you promise it, deliver it". NOTHING is perfect, though. Let your discontent be known at the time of discovery and give them a chance to correct it. As a former leader in the military and civilian life, my job was to train the youngers, reinforce the training and correct any discrepancies on the spot. Nothing will change/improve if nothing is done. People don't know if they are doing something wrong if they don't know that they are doing something wrong. I think, as I just stated, we are on the same sheet of music, just have a little different approach and expectations. Before my last cruise, I wrote/emailed to our Genie that my expectations were very high and I wouldn't accept anything but excellence. I let him know exactly what I expected (we don't like champaign and told him so. But, I did tell him that I wanted my ice bucket filled ALL THE TIME and it was). Other than going through 3 Genies, as mention earlier, he did not disappoint. Before he "hurt" himself, he had the entire cruise planned out for us. The replacement Genies only had to visit with us, at various venues, to make sure things were going on as expected and accomplish the reserved seating, they were except for the none Star Class amenities/venues that I already mentioned. Those amenities/venues weren't available to the none Star Class folks as well as the Star Class folks. Just like I alluded to with my experience at Disney. No matter what class you are, there IS going to be disappointments and the feeling like your not getting the most Bang for Your Buck. Also, as I've been told, I don't look like the kind of guy that takes any crap. I promise, I'm an over stuffed teddy bear unless you are breaking the law or an enemy of the country. We complained to the Customer Service Manager about the many disappointments that we experienced on that last cruise. She said that she was sorry and that she was going to take care of us, exactly what, I had no idea at the time. We did tell her, up front, that we weren't looking to get something for nothing. She said she was going to do something anyway. Well, we got a letter in our cabin later that day saying that we were going to get a 5% discount on our NEXT cruise and an email confirmation will be sent to us in a couple weeks. We got the email a lot more than a couple weeks later, we actually for got about it until it showed up. There were so many limitations, IFs, AND's, or BUTs that it wasn't even worth trying to use it. OUT

I/we always carry our full passport off the ship, in Port's of Call. If an emergency happens and someone needs to be airlifted back to the U.S., only a full passport will be accepted to travel without issue and delays. A passport card can not be used for international travel by air. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B099W49R45/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've been thinking about this since my post where I said I'm out. This really has got my goat for some reason. Here's why: First, I'm no apologist for Royal, not one bit. However, I can think of a lot of, supposedly first class, state of the art, the best, and/or remarkable venues I've visited with my family, including with my Grandkids, pre-COVID (decades before) and post-COVID. Well, just to make this as short as possible, DISNEY WORLD, supposedly the best, most beautiful, meticulously maintained theme park in the world. We visited when my Grandkids were really at the age to fully enjoy the majesty of Disney. I'm guessing this was circa 2005. We load up the Grandkids, we go to Shades of Green (and that's where we stayed too) and get our military discounted tickets. The next day, here we go kid, lets have a great day and enjoy ourselves. Get to the park and the Haunted house is down for maintenance, the Racetrack is down for maintenance, it's a small world (which I hate) is down for some reason, the presidents animatronics is down, I can't remember the rest that were down, this is terrible, the kids are so let down. OH, the trash blowing around, I/we were really disappointed. That is not the Disney World I grew up with. I did find a member of management, I don't know if he managed the horse poop shovel guys or the food services in the park, I really didn't care. I told him that I was very disappointed in the state of the park and I didn't understand how, with a clear conscious Disney could not reduce entrance fare because about 25 to 40% of what the kids really wanted to do wasn't available to them or us. I also told him that we talked to another couple (which we really did) that paid FULL price (not military) and they were very disappointed, too. I have been back to Disney since but NOOOOOOO more as of a year or so ago, enough said, to political for here. Well, we got what I would call the usual Corp canned response that amounted to word salad and nothing resolved or even attempted. So, this is how I now judge my criticism of services for then on because I have since realized, or I should say, reminded that NOTHING is perfect and NOTHING is fair. That's not to say that I turn the other cheek, far from it, I voice my discontent and move on. But, other than for political reasons, I'll always give a venue a chance to improve or correct themselves. AND, I voice my opinion/discontent at the time of first discovery, I don't wait to see if THEY notice it and self correct. Again, nothing is perfect, as much as we would like it to be.

Yes, our first Genie, Rahul, two days in, apparently hurt his ankle. Our second Genie, Dexter, 4 days in, apparently hurt his ankle, leg, or back, I never did get clarification on that, not that it was really any of my business. The funny part about it, we asked if we were going to be able to see them on debarkation day to give them a token tip for their time with us. We were told that they were restricted to their cabins and couldn't come out. So, as a person that made a living reading between the lines, I was a little skeptical about the excuses we were given. I am naturally and professionally (now retired) suspicious/doubtful of most people at face value. I'm slowly rehabbing myself to civilian level.

I hope you can understand that my post was a dry attempt/opportunity at humor.

You raise some very valid points. However, the deficiencies you describe, I have not experienced. So, therefore, I'll back out of this.

More specifics please. I have done many Star Class cruises pre-pandemic and only one, post-pandemic. Other than going through 3 Genies, on our last cruise because the first 2 supposedly got injured, most, if not all of the things we felt that we didn't get our money's worth had nothing to do with Star Class. Activities canceled, some foods not available, mechanical items/venues out of service, services impacted and maybe a few other things I can't remember right now. Obviously going through 3 Genies has some impact with the level of contact we would have had with a dedicated Genie throughout the entire cruise. However, I can't think of anything, Star wise, that has changed, reduced, ignored, whatever. I have noticed, and this is obvious, that different Genies offer different experiences/levels of service, some better than others. I'd like to know what you have heard or have first hand knowledge of what's missing, loss of luster, whatever. That may make me realize that I was missing something and didn't know it.

I heard she was a suite concierge. Yep, I like any customer service provider to be intuitive, as long as they're good at it, obviously. I don't think we had to ask Marla for anything after we filled out the pre-cruise questionnaire and the initial Q & A with her when she showed us to our suite and sat down with us for about an hour. She just seemed to take it all in, truly listen, absorb it all and that was that. EVERYTHING else was done from that point on without any, or at least very few other questions and decisions. We got an itinerary made up for us and that was that. She was almost always in our back pocket, at a distance making sure we got the best of service from every venue and crew. Everything we put on our Pre-Cruise questionnaire was satisfied, actually exceeded our expectations. When we got into our suite, there was a complete, as requested in the pre-cruise questionnaire, ice cream sundae bar with ALL the fix'ins. I was amazed. The Grandkids were in their happy place. We've only had one Genie that I hope I never get again (I'll keep his identity to myself). He wasn't bad, just not real good. I expect real good when I pay 10s of K on a cruise. But, then he was our Genie right after having Marla. Nobody can live up to that. So, maybe I should cut him some slack because of that. LOL

LOL, I miss the good old days when you asked for a coffee or tea and the only options were, cream and/or sugar with that! Now a five person line takes about an hour and a half just for the people to order their coffee or tea. "I'll have a cafe latte, mogopichu, crem al la puke, semi sweet dark chocolate sprinkles, with marmot stool, vegan sweet cream, milk chocolate shavings, grande in a vente cup with Hershey strawberry syrup and a cherry on top of the whipped nondairy cream". Served exactly at 192 degrees with a side order of a glazed donut.

Oh for sure, you missed out on the appreciation of the differences of size and abundance of shops, entertainment, wide open spaces, and relaxation.

Yep, thanks. I see it on Google Earth now. I was looking blocks away. My memory is fading