whitsmom

I want to thank whoever mentioned that renewing your passport on line was quick and easy.  My passport was expiring in October 2025 and we fly to Europe the end of December.  I went on line and had my passport back in less than 2 weeks and my hubby got his back a 7 days.  To say we are extremely pleased is a understatement!
I have learned so much in this group!

I want to thank whoever mentioned that renewing your passport on line was quick and easy.  My passport was expiring in October 2025 and we fly to Europe the end of December.  I went on line and had my passport back in less than 2 weeks and my hubby got his back a 7 days.  To say we are extremely pleased is a understatement!
I have learned so much in this group!

I want to thank whoever mentioned that renewing your passport on line was quick and easy.  My passport was expiring in October 2025 and we fly to Europe the end of December.  I went on line and had my passport back in less than 2 weeks and my hubby got his back a 7 days.  To say we are extremely pleased is a understatement!
I have learned so much in this group!

I want to thank whoever mentioned that renewing your passport on line was quick and easy.  My passport was expiring in October 2025 and we fly to Europe the end of December.  I went on line and had my passport back in less than 2 weeks and my hubby got his back a 7 days.  To say we are extremely pleased is a understatement!
I have learned so much in this group!

We were by there this past weekend and they didn't have much product ruined thankfully!

We were by there this past weekend and they didn't have much product ruined thankfully!

Thank you @smokeybandit and @RCIfan1912. That eases my mind. Our room is bigger and I would offer to trade, but it's nice to know in advance. This will be an extra special cruise whether my youngest decides to go or not. Celebrating 40th and 70th birthdays (middle son and husband). And more importantly celebrating getting through an unexpected and scary open heart surgery this past month. My husband pulled through with flying colors. Each day is a blessing!

For my cruise on Vision in July, same update
 
Enjoy unlimited can and fountain soda at any dining venue or bar onboard, and at any of our private destinations, including Perfect Day at CocoCay Unlimited Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine beverages including sodas, sugar free sodas, Minute Maid lemonades, Powerade, vitaminwater®, iced tea, fruit punch, still water and sparkling water Coca-Cola souvenir cup

We have used Welcome Pickups and they were excellent.  We had friends that used them on their cruise.  We used them for the airport to our hotel, hotel to port, and port back to airport.  I highly recommend them.  They picked us up in a Black Suburban (big enough for three of us (one being a teenager so lots of luggage).  Very prompt and reasonable priced.

Bring books and chill. Relax and deprogram. 

Thanks. We opted for cabroma which came recommended as well. 

As an individual of partial Irish descent, it pained me to type about the superiority of Scottish whisky to Irish Whiskey (thus the caveat that read generally).
As for American whiskey, I do not include bourbon in the discussion. Bourbon is an entity unto itself to be savored appropriately (yes, it's technically whiskey, but...).
Best alcohol-based extra activity I ever participated in was a "Bourbon and Bacon Tasting" on Holland America because everything is better with bourbon AND everything is better with bacon - the ultimate combination!

You can use your Starbucks card at the Starbucks kiosk to pay for drinks and earn reward stars. But you can't redeem rewards.

You can definitely use Starbucks gift cards at the Starbucks kiosks located on ships, allowing you to enjoy your favorite beverages even while at sea. Additionally, while you're onboard, you can earn Starbucks Stars, which accumulate with every purchase you make. However, it's important to note that although you can earn Stars during your time on the ship, you won't have the option to redeem them at the onboard Starbucks kiosks. So, while you can benefit from earning Stars, you’ll need to wait until you're back on land to enjoy any rewards you've accumulated.

+1 ..Exactly what we do and I started giving a little to our cabin attendant in the beginning of the week..wow what a difference. Every quirky request (we get extra comforters not blankets), picks up our dishes right away, cleaning times, and of course paper compass..

We like to prepay gratuities also.  We do give additional cash in hand to our room steward, wait staff in the main dining room, and when we use our Diamond drink vouchers.  We usually find a bartender that we like and stick with that one then we have never been disappointed with service or drinks.  We consider the extra "tip" money as part of our vacation expense and plan accordingly.  We have found that a little appreciation goes a long way in making our vacation even better.  We always use the set time for dining to have the same table and wait staff as we like the extra personal service we get. 

We like to prepay gratuities also.  We do give additional cash in hand to our room steward, wait staff in the main dining room, and when we use our Diamond drink vouchers.  We usually find a bartender that we like and stick with that one then we have never been disappointed with service or drinks.  We consider the extra "tip" money as part of our vacation expense and plan accordingly.  We have found that a little appreciation goes a long way in making our vacation even better.  We always use the set time for dining to have the same table and wait staff as we like the extra personal service we get. 

I have started pre-paying gratuities for two reasons.  1.  It makes me feel better about my budget and at the end of the cruise I do not have a large charge on my CC.  2.  I am booking 2 and 3 years out and it is protecting me against large increases in pre-paid gratuities.
 
The pre-paid gratuities cover a large range of people; more than I thought before.  I watched a video that the ship person talked about it going to people that clean room, wait on you at food venues, people that bus your tables at eating venues and other jobs.  If you purchase a drink package, they add on a gratuity.   If you purchase a drink, they will add a gratuity on the price of the drink. 
Now who is not covered with the gratuities above are when you get free drinks because you are a Diamond member of above.  It also covers the minimum gratuity and does not cover staff going out of their way for you.  It is like everyplace you go out.  Some people earn the minimum tip and other earn as much as I can afford to give them.

Same here.  I think they have sugar free vanilla too if I remember correctly.
 

We were on her in the summer of 1995

Majesty of the Seas May 1, 1994 for our honeymoon. Miami to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, CoCo Cay.

You bring up and interesting point.  I'm not sure I see it that way but am receptive to hearing different opinions.  To me, with internet packages you're distributing a commodity which is, for the purposes of this conversation, practically limitless (no single Voom user is doing so much with their phone/laptop that there is a notable difference in overhead to RCI).  With a drink package, two people consuming alcohol on one package actually does represent an increase in overhead.  Further, with the alcohol package, that's someone who would otherwise be paying for drinks (a la carte or w/ another package), whereas with Voom, if you didn't need to be connected all the time, and your friend didn't need to be connected all the time, but you both wanted some access, you'd simply pass a phone/tablet/computer back and forth using the same package, something I don't think most would argue is problematic.
Another factor is that many (if not most) guests wanting to be connected want that connection constantly (I know I do), and the percentage of guests with this desire will only increase.  Wanting to maintain that connection means you won't be able to share, and I suspect the percentage of guests who want that constant connection will only increase over time (essentially, this is why we see everyone moving away from metered connections, where you buy X minutes or X megabytes).
Looking at it yet a third way, sharing a drink package would be like paying for one person to eat at a buffet but actually having two people eat there.  You're doubling consumption.  If however there was a conveyor belt of food which never stopped, and uneaten food went into the abyss, then you'd be paying for the access to the food, and not the food itself.  Being as how time you didn't use the internet connection is gone (it's a perishable commodity in this way), I see Voom like that conveyor belt, and the movement as time.
It's a genuinely interesting thing to think about - so I really am receptive to hearing differing opinions on this one.

If you really want to avoid the cell network then yes, stay in airplane mode. You can enable WiFi on your phone without turning on the cellular function. As far as accessing those networks goes, it would be like any other WiFi network on your phone once you have WiFi enabled. Just find the network and connect with whatever information they provide (if there's a password).
 
I'm not sure what type of phone you have but here's a guide for Apple devices: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108785
 
For android you would need to click around the guides a bit but here's a good info "hub" to start at: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/12639358?hl=en

We (Burnie & Judy) have this cruise booked to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary (a few weeks early).  We have friends from Texas (Tina & Robert) that are booked also.  This will be our first transatlantic.  I hope the weather will be nice so I can put my balcony to good use.

I take prefilled med boxes and leave the prescription bottles at home; none of my prescription meds are controlled substances. I also bring a printout from my pharmacy showing all the pertinent info about my prescriptions with my name and dosage.