Lugnut

This is hearsay, so take it as that. 

It's my understanding that kids indeed "inherit" their parents status and keep it when they turn 18. At that point they no longer benefit from any additional cruises taken by their parents, and to progress further upward they must earn the required points on their own. That is, using the example offered above by wordell1 a child with 60 points who has parents with Diamond status will remain as a Diamond but they'll have to accumulate another 120 points (totaling 180) to become D+. 

Another catch is that the child retains the status they enjoyed on the child's last cruise before turning 18. If the parents have Diamond status and the child cruises with them, but later the parents cruise alone and acquire D+ status, the child will not have D+ status unless they go on yet another cruise with the parents. 

YMMV. 

Indeed, I just have a B&W laser printer at home, and I just print luggage tags with it. 

I have, on a few occasions, used a colored highlighter to color the tag. However, if I don't have the correct color (which is usually the case) I don't bother. No problems with B&W tags so far. 

I guess my experiences are different from many others. I've been on three RCCL cruises this year, from three different ports (Galveston, Pt Canaveral, Miami) and each time I arrived earlier than my scheduled time. Each time I was told to go right in. 

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Sorry, but I don’t buy their “efficiency” explanation.  IMO this is cost savings move and nothing more.  The MDR continues its downhill slide.  I’m shocked that they haven’t yet declared that this “upgrade” to the menu is intended to “enhance your cruise experience”.  I’m sure that’s coming….  After some period of time, once people stop going to the MDR altogether, they will enhance our cruise experience again by ending the complimentary MDR option altogether because passengers were “choosing other options”.  Penny-pinching at it’s finest.

I think RCCL is saying they're reducing the menu in order to speed up the MDR service. So in a way, they are saying it will "enhance your cruise experience". As for me, I have sometimes chosen from the 'classic' menu, particularly the French Onion Soup or the Caesar Salad. I just got off Grandeur a few days ago and I did select the Spaghetti Bolognese one night. I also frequently get Crème Brûlée for dessert. If the classic items indeed disappear I'll be disappointed. 

5 hours ago, Matt said:

But I think it's important to attend otherwise I fear they'll roll back these sort of customer loyalty perks because of poor attendance.

OTOH, if no one cares to attend, perhaps RCCL should cancel them. 

Having said that, I typically go. It's a relaxed event with a free drink so why not? 

SO, scheduled for departure Thursday (4 Nov) on Grandeur out of Miami, and wanting to print luggage tags. Travelers are myself and spouse (Diamond level) and SIL who is Gold. All luggage tags indicate Gold status. I figure it's not a big deal, the room number is correct so we'll get our luggage, but wondering why this happened. Has anyone else ever seen this? 

Just curious, not real upset or anything. Gonna have a good time regardless of how the luggage tags are printed. 

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One of the things i like about the Grandeur is that, as coneyraven mentioned, the Centrum is somewhat the heart of daily activities. There are (relatively) quiet seating areas on several deck levels in the Centrum where one can watch the ocean go by while relaxing and reading. In May, out of Galveston, they had an egg drop contest that was quite interesting. 

If husband is paying for the cruise, and the reservations are linked (which, if not, they probably should be to ensure things like dining together) he can do their check-in. I've done that when we travel with my wife's sister. I just ask her what credit card she wants to use on board and enter it for her when I do her check-in. 

I took a couple of courses in German at a local community college, then some more via an adult education program (non-credit) with another college. I had a basic grasp of German, and it was useful in getting thru a two week bus tour several years ago. When COVID hit I started doing some German lessons on Duolingo and I like the format, but it sure helped that I already had some basic knowledge. I don't know how it would be to start from scratch without a live instructor. Still, under the circumstances I'm fairly happy with what I've learned. I feel like I have a fairly good knowledge of "Tourist German", although there's no way it can be considered as conversational quality. 

I don't know how Duolingo compares to Babbel or Rosetta Stone or any other on-line learning program, but it's not bad for learning some basics. 

2 hours ago, Kim C said:

I bid on a Royal up for my upcoming cruise. Still unsure how the process works, but thought, heck… it’s my honeymoon, might as well see what happens! So, am I understanding that I may not find out about whether we got the upgrade until the day we arrive?

You are absolutely correct. You may not know if your RU bid was accepted until you arrive at the terminal for check-in. Actually, you might not find out until you're actually on board the ship. 

On 10/16/2021 at 5:12 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Can you no longer go to Guest Services and get cash if it is refundable OBC ?  I have never had to resort to such tactics but I thought you used to be able to get cash at GS.

I did this on Mariner in August.  I had a refundable OBC and went to Guest Services on the last cruise day. I knew I wasn't going to use it, so I asked about the best way to get it. They said it would be refunded to my CC, or I could take it as cash right then. I took the "Show me the money!" route and they handed it over. 

They're good anywhere on the ship with the exception of the Bionic Bar and Starbucks, with no time restrictions (any time of day) other than that they expire at midnight each day. That is, you get five/day but unused drinks simply expire and are not carried over to the next day. 

On 9/12/2022 at 6:30 PM, CanHardlyWait said:

Anymore anything goes. You will not be turned away in anything but wet swim clothes. Many, many people have jeans and t shirts even. Yes, some dress. But most tell you that because for some reason it's important to them what others have on. Polo and khakis are the norm middle range. 

Yep, I think this describes the situation well. On Mariner in August there were guys wearing shorts to dinner on the formal night (or Dress Your Best or whatever it's called now). 

12 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I agree with Ampur85.  The drink vouchers are assigned to the Diamond member, if you are each Diamond you each get 4 drinks.  With that said, your 4 free drinks can be used for you, you can use them for your mother (on top of her free drinks if she is Diamond) or you can use them for complete strangers. 
Mon a recent sailing with my hubby (both of us are D+) and  my MIL-Who is Emerald, I’d “buy” her a drink at dinner and  I’d ask the waitstaff to use one of my Diamond drinks for her.   At another bar they told my husband he had no drinks left and  asked if I wanted to use one of my drinks for him since I was drinking as well. 

I had a different experience recently (August) on Mariner in the dining room. My wife & I are Diamond and we were traveling with her sister who is not. At dinner I asked if we could get three glasses of wine and the answer was "no". The waiter said we could get two (one each for my wife & myself) but not a third for her sister. They said they could "wait a little while" and then put in a request for more wine so we said okay. Later they brought two more glasses of wine which was not really what we wanted. 

A Birth Certificate along with a state-issued Photo ID (Driver's License) works, but the BC MUST be a long-form certificate with a raised/embossed seal. Many (if not all) states also issue 'short-form' birth certificates that are not acceptable for obtaining a passport nor for traveling outside the USA. 

As ChessE4 noted above, the Crown & Anchor information should allow each individual to log in on their own, but one person can do pretty much everything for all reservations that are linked. 

My wife & I, being Diamond members and therefore each getting 24 hours of internet access per voyage, typically log in separately so that we can each check our individual email accounts (and text our friends to ensure that they're properly jealous). 

On our cruise in early May on Grandeur out of Galveston we had a hold for ~$100 placed on our credit card. When the bill was settled at the end of the cruise it disappeared. We checked with guest services and they said it was done to ensure that the card was valid. Overall it caused us no problems in any way. 

My personal opinion (it's worth TWICE what you're paying for it…): 

When you get to Mykonos, take the ferry to Delos and tour the ruins there. 

YMMV. We booked an excursion thru the ship but you can apparently do it somewhat on your own. 

https://www.davestravelpages.com/visiting-delos-island-greece-mykonos-to-delos-day-trip/

On 7/15/2022 at 9:09 AM, Moby Dick said:

I'm sure you are right.  BUT, if it is important enough for me to seriously complain about something, I will send a written letter, certified.  I have a great friend that I grew up with who is a retired police chief and mayor of a city.  He once (many years ago) told me what he does.  That's find out the name if the CEO, and Corp address, don't ask or be demanding of anything, be somewhat humble.  Personalize the letter by addressing the envelope directly to him/her and in the salutation.  I took his advice and it has always worked for me, both in Military life and as a civilian, except for Brand X Cruise Lines.  

I've done this a couple of times in the past, and it's worked most of the time. However, Royal Caribbean may be another of the exceptions. In 2013 my wife & I were on a cruise with RCL and made a deposit for a Future Cruise. Before we could take another cruise w/ Royal our dog became very ill and required constant attention. She died about the time COVID hit, further preventing us from cruising. We finally got going again this year and attempted to use our FCC from 2013. It's been a comedy of errors tragedy. The FCC was associated with a local travel agent who went out of business during COVID. I requested that RCL reassign the FCC to our new agent. They said (via email) they'd done this but the new agent couldn't find it. After a month with no news I decided to call customer service and was told that instead of transferring the credit it had been refunded to the original credit card. That card, however, had been cancelled in 2016. CS said they'd alert "someone in finance" and get it resolved. After six weeks I emailed again asking for help and was told to call CS (initially they gave me a number for a psychic service. I replied with a ???? msg and they gave me the correct number). I called, and sat on hold for an hour before being told I'd be transferred  to a supervisor. Then the line went dead. Undeterred, I called back. I went through all the explanations again, and was told I'd be transferred to the "Resolutions Department". After 30 minutes the CS rep came back and said he was still waiting. After another hour and a half with no further contact I hung up. That was early July. 

On 4 July I wrote and mailed a letter addressed to Vicki Freed, whose name and address I'd obtained from the internet. She is supposedly Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of Sales, Trade Support and Service. I have yet to hear anything back. 

You call this the question of the decade? 

I mean, what about things like "Why does Scotland have a Unicorn as part of its' national symbol?" 

"Why is New Zealand's 90 Mile Beach only 55 miles long?" 

"Why do you have to have matching luggage? Can't you each get whatever you want?" 

Enquiring minds want to know… 

When I was (considerably) younger my job occasionally took me to the Far East, mostly Hong Kong and Malaysia. My father worked in Sumatra, Indonesia at the time and I once took a side trip to visit the folks for a week while I was in the area. I got to do a little sight-seeing a couple of times, and I'd like to make a trip there with my wife in the not too distant future. Places to visit would include Penang, Bali, Borobudur, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. I also spent a year in Vietnam in the early '70s but I wasn't on the tourist plan. While I have no particular interest in seeing Ho Chi Minh City again (most of my time was in the field, but I spent my last month in Saigon) I would like to see Hanoi. I worked a while with a S. Vietnamese officer who was born there and he had some nice/interesting things to say about it. 

Per the Walgreens web site as of today (02 July) it says if you're "High Risk or Pregnant" the test may be free*. 

 * You will not have out-of-pocket costs if you meet the criteria for no-cost testing through your insurance or a government-funded program. You should contact your insurer before scheduling to confirm the test meets coverage criteria. You may be billed by Walgreens and, if applicable, the laboratory for up to the full price of the test if your insurance denies coverage or you don't meet eligibility criteria for government no-cost testing programs. 

According to the HHS web site at https://combatcovid.hhs.gov/i-have-covid-19/how-do-i-know-if-im-high-risk  "High Risk" conditions include being age 65 or older. SO, might I (as a certified Olde Fahrt who is north of age 65) still get a test done at Walgreens and have them bill Medicare? Does anyone know what truly qualifies as meeting the "eligibility criteria for government no-cost testing programs". 

Totally ignorant regarding labor issues, but since RCCL ships are flagged in Liberia don't they sidestep US labor laws? 

Actually Princess sailed from the Bayport (Houston) terminal. The first cruise I ever sailed though, was on Celebrity Galaxy out of Galveston in 2005 which visited Panama, Costa Rico, & Cozumel.