monorailmedic

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Please remember that we are here to provide useful information to one another. While we may not always agree and/or may interpret the rules differently because of inconsistent enforcement of said rules, please be conscientious when replying to others. It is one thing to disagree politely with another; it's another when emotions become involved. Remember, there are real people behind these posts.

My son is hearing impaired and uses a pair of cochlear implants to hear.  The external parts have to be charged and electronically dried over night so I requested an extension cord with multiple outlets through the special needs link, just to make sure we don't run out of power options in the cabin.  Incidentally, I'm a diabetic and requested a sharps container for the cabin.  They confirmed back that both would be in our cabin prior to boarding.

The sensitivity points seems to be circuit breakers on power strips (in addition to other prohibited items of course), though on RCI's list of prohibited items you'll find that on this topic they really only mention extension cords.  Further, enforcement is often inconsistent which can make things confusing.
USB power hubs can be helpful as many devices now charge via USB anyway (almost everything I travel with does).  There are also 3-way plugs (if there is room on the vanity), EU power adapters (many devices now are dual power anyway), and the option of plugging USB devices into your laptop (if traveling with one).
You can find more information on this (including why cruise lines are funny about this) here: https://www.cruisehabit.com/power-strips-why-theyre-not-allowed-ships-and-how-safely-gain-some-extra-outlets
 

The sensitivity points seems to be circuit breakers on power strips (in addition to other prohibited items of course), though on RCI's list of prohibited items you'll find that on this topic they really only mention extension cords.  Further, enforcement is often inconsistent which can make things confusing.
USB power hubs can be helpful as many devices now charge via USB anyway (almost everything I travel with does).  There are also 3-way plugs (if there is room on the vanity), EU power adapters (many devices now are dual power anyway), and the option of plugging USB devices into your laptop (if traveling with one).
You can find more information on this (including why cruise lines are funny about this) here: https://www.cruisehabit.com/power-strips-why-theyre-not-allowed-ships-and-how-safely-gain-some-extra-outlets
 

As much as we all relish opportunities to cruise again and again with Royal Caribbean, you always have to remember that this is a business and the cruise line's primary goal is to return a profit to its investors.  Like all businesses, making money is why they do what they do.
In regards to the pricing models you're seeing, clearly you're taking a "glass is half empty" view of things, which is fine.  I disagree with the notion that there is a "room selection upcharge".  It's actually the opposite, with the option to have RC select your room for a discount (guarantee rooms). 
I think the bottom line is as consumers, it's up to you to determine what constitutes value and what you're willing to pay.  I still believe cruising in general offers a ton of value compared to a land vacation and competition among the cruise lines has never been more fierce.  Competition between Carnival, NCL, MSC and others works to our benefit as consumers and we see lower prices and better options.  Look at the price of WiFi onboard today versus 5-10 years ago.  Major drop in price and major increase in performance.

[comes in to see what people think of the show]
[matt commented]
::sigh::
Oh, the mean thing wasn't directly about me!
[happy dance]
Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, reviewed, and recorded outros.  Looking forward to releasing the next episode soon!
 

[comes in to see what people think of the show]
[matt commented]
::sigh::
Oh, the mean thing wasn't directly about me!
[happy dance]
Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, reviewed, and recorded outros.  Looking forward to releasing the next episode soon!
 

[comes in to see what people think of the show]
[matt commented]
::sigh::
Oh, the mean thing wasn't directly about me!
[happy dance]
Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, reviewed, and recorded outros.  Looking forward to releasing the next episode soon!
 

[comes in to see what people think of the show]
[matt commented]
::sigh::
Oh, the mean thing wasn't directly about me!
[happy dance]
Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, reviewed, and recorded outros.  Looking forward to releasing the next episode soon!
 

[comes in to see what people think of the show]
[matt commented]
::sigh::
Oh, the mean thing wasn't directly about me!
[happy dance]
Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, reviewed, and recorded outros.  Looking forward to releasing the next episode soon!
 

If you haven't listened yet, there is a brand new CruiseHabit podcast, and Episode 1 is all about Celebrity Revolution, the new revitalization project similar to the one they had a few years ago when they went and "Solsticized" their older ships.
https://www.cruisehabit.com/Podcast

I bought some from CruiseHabit.com; not Boca but colorful.

Welcome!
Unfortunately RCI doesn't have any self-service laundry facilities.
You can bring on board some beverages, and the policy just changed on this 19 days ago.  You can read about the current policy here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/08/28/royal-caribbean-now-allowing-guests-bring-non-alcoholic-beverages-onboard

Welcome!
Unfortunately RCI doesn't have any self-service laundry facilities.
You can bring on board some beverages, and the policy just changed on this 19 days ago.  You can read about the current policy here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/08/28/royal-caribbean-now-allowing-guests-bring-non-alcoholic-beverages-onboard

Is it really that much of a problem?

Indeed.  Kraken is 23% more expensive on Mariner compared to other recent ships including Radiance a few weeks ago, yet a Kraken Lavaflow is the same price.  

Welcome @redchacalit29 to the message boards!
I'm in 9392 right next door as I write this.  
The balcony of 9390 is triangular shaped.  The balcony of 9390 has a door that swings open and a round window aft compared to other aft balconies that have a sliding patio style door.
Your view aft will look like this:

The obstruction is a beam that runs through the balcony but the beam is very close to the divider wall between 9390 and 9392.  It's approx. 1 foot away from this divider leaving the bulk of the balcony open.  


Your balcony will have two chairs and a table.

All in all it's a pretty great balcony.
Apologies to @CruiseHabit Ric for hijacking his blog temporarily.  

Is it really that much of a problem?

Is it really that much of a problem?

Agreed.  While the demographics can obviously vary a lot by sailing (esp time of year and itinerary) a big part of what shifts the average age older is the smaller number of children, not a greatly increased number of centenarians.

Just caught this.
The button itself is pneumatic (like a hot-tub button) and the flushing operates off a vacuum bus.  Branches off the bus are dedicated to a set number of staterooms.  This means that it can run off a small number of vacuums, yet if there is a leak in the system it only affects a small number of rooms not every unit on that same bus.  Every however-many staterooms you'll find a small main panel in the hall when  the vacuum can be checked, adjusted, etc - along with other electrical, mechanical, and plumbing stuffs.  When you hit the button it's pushing air through a tube to open the valve that lets the force of the vacuum pull everything from the toilet.  
Not sure about the brand of grease.

Just caught this.
The button itself is pneumatic (like a hot-tub button) and the flushing operates off a vacuum bus.  Branches off the bus are dedicated to a set number of staterooms.  This means that it can run off a small number of vacuums, yet if there is a leak in the system it only affects a small number of rooms not every unit on that same bus.  Every however-many staterooms you'll find a small main panel in the hall when  the vacuum can be checked, adjusted, etc - along with other electrical, mechanical, and plumbing stuffs.  When you hit the button it's pushing air through a tube to open the valve that lets the force of the vacuum pull everything from the toilet.  
Not sure about the brand of grease.

You'll be able to quickly and easily change currency at the CADECA located within the cruise terminal.  We found it very efficient.  Cuban currency is now supposed to leave the island, so as far as I know you can not change any money before arriving.
It's important to know that with very limited exceptions, US credit cards are not accepted in Cuba (and cash is king there anyway).  There are also two currencies, CUCs and CUPs, and they're valued VERY differently, so it's important to know the difference.  The exchange at the terminal will only give you CUCs, which is what you want.  This article explains how to pay for things in Cuba, how to identify the two currencies, a way you *may* be able to save a bit when changing money, and more.  You may want to check the rest of the Cruising Cuba series as well.  
http://www.cruisehabit.com/cruising-cuba-credit-cards-and-changing-currency-cuba-how-pay-goods-and-services

I'm a vegetarian (actually, I don't like the label - I just love vegetables and end up eating sushi once in a while) but have a nunber of vegan friends and am sympathetic with the mission.  I can tell you on RCI they've always been eager to please, the key is communication (and this is honestly the key on any cruise line).  Your friend will want to have his/her reservation annotated and get in touch with someone in the MDR on embarkation day as well.  Each evening the next day's menu is available so that it can be reviewed to see if there is anything of interest, something that can be modified to be made vegan, or if nothing else, a special request can be made.  I personally love Indian food, which is easily made vegan, so this is just one option - but ultimately it comes down to making requests and not trusting signage.  Check out the below article to get some additional tips - and to understand why I say not to trust signage.  
http://www.cruisehabit.com/how-request-vegan-vegatarian-gluten-free-or-kosher-meals-your-next-cruise

Not quite sure which way this was intended to be interpreted -- surprised at how much extra capacity there actually is or surprised to find the visible lifeboats' capacity is less than the stated max capacity of the ship.
From the article about lifeboats on @monorailmedic's blog, he does have this (emphasis added):
 
So it's a pretty clear indication that even if the capacity of the boats you can see doesn't seem to measure up, there are enough emergency rafts around the ship that passengers and crew are more than accommodated.