Cactus527

This post reminds me of one of my favorite cruise pastimes - walking the halls early in the mornings to admire magnets/door decor. If I find one I really like, I take a photo on my phone for posterity's sake. In fact, I found a magnet once that I loved so much I immediately went and found it online to purchase. Just can't fathom stealing a magnet - I'd have that constantly hanging over my own conscience whenever I looked at it.

@George A Stephens - yes, and it's typically Day 2 dinner that is formal.

If I was a cruise director, I'd give out actual prizes for winning things.

I just rechecked as well. I'm SUPER impressed with some of the pricing for PDCC!

I'm considering buying the UDP for an upcoming cruise. I currently have two lunches reserved individually. If I go ahead and buy the UDP, will the cruise planner automatically cancel my other reservations? I'm still on the fence about whether or not I actually want it, which is why I'm thinking about getting it with the Black Friday prices and then thinking about it some more. Does anyone have experience with this? I would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!

I got refreshment package for $23.99/day for both my 2024 sailings, $20.99 cooler bag with water, Giovanni's for lunch at just under $18 total with gratuity, and Izumi's for lunch at just over $28 total with gratuity. Those are all wins for me. Seriously considering that $42 pickleball clinic too!

I've been contemplating a massage lately and so the prices are very much in my mind. The cheapest massage with gratuities is $122 for a 50 minutes swedish massage. Couples massages start at just over $220 base price. Massages are definitely cheaper on day one, and they get progressively more expensive as the cruise continues. I have noticed that they are most expensive on sea days. Hope this helps!

@AndyPandy where did you find that deployment schedule for Independence? I'd like to see if I can view a few other ships...

@brdjnr and @WAAAYTOOO - I'm curious about your love of promenade-view room. Are you late-night people so the sound of parties/get-togethers on the promenade doesn't bother you? How can it possibly be quiet?!?!? Really would love to hear your feedback. I'm on Navigator again soon and thought "NO WAY" for these type of rooms, but now I'm questioning aaaaaall my choices.

There's a reason California is so popular for people to visit/live in - the weather (especially in SoCal) is ideal year round! You'll see differing sea creatures with passing seasons, and there's still hurricane season in the Pacific that could affect things in the fall, but overall it's nice any time. Navigator is a wonderful ship too, you won't regret being on there!

I was just going to say the same thing @Lovetocruise2002 said: Cortrans. I just used them on my last cruise from Port Canaveral, and they were excellent both ways. Their vehicles can easily accommodate 10 and they provide excellent service. I think I paid $60 round trip for myself.

Uber or Lyft.

I just saw $6K+ for 2 connecting interior rooms on Quantum in May 2025. Um... ...and $2600 for a solo cruiser in an ocean view room in September 2025! Definitely going to wait for the Caribbean itineraries to come out before deciding.

I've already got prepaid gratuities on all of my current bookings. Does this mean I keep the same gratuity rate that I had when I reserved it? In other words, my gratuity rate will remain at what it currently is and not go up?

You CAN do either, but you'll be so happy to zoom through the port check-in if you've got everything done ahead of time. Also, if you do online check in, you can reserve what time you arrive in advance and get on faster.

Just to show you visually too, app vs. TA:

I have GTY listed on an upcoming cruise as well. However, when I look at my cruise documents from my travel agent, it says "balcony guarantee." Maybe RC just knows internally that it's a balcony guarantee and an interior guarantee for you, but it just shows up in the app and on the website as GTY?

I have a GTY for a March sailing too. I looked at my specialty dining that I booked but I don't see anything about a room. Where exactly was that number located? Curious if I'm just missing it or if it really is missing/unassigned yet.

@Allie Hubers accidentally made my day with her article just published: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/10/27/celebrity-cruises-adding-customer-loyalty-lounge-weeklong-cruises It's not the article content, it's one of the photos she included: LOVE the choice of photo!!!!!!!!

I'm curious if I can make a reservation at a specialty dining restaurant but specifically get it to go? CAN you get speciality dining to go? Thanks in advance for your experiences!

I have to tell you, I laughed SO HARD at this. After the planning/travel to/actual cruise/travel from you've endured, you even had SWINGERS coming after you! Oh, you're a peach (but not a pineapple).

As I recall, RC sends emails a few days before the Cruise Planner closes to remind you to make purchases. Are you signed up for the emails? Glad your cruise is going well.

OMG just...there are no words. You win for Cruise of the Year!

The credit cards I have are for Southwest Airlines and through our bank. The bank one I really like because I can use those points anywhere that they have a partnership, which helps with hotel especially when traveling. I just booked all of our summer vacation hotel reservations with points on the card, and I think we ended up paying somewhere around $200 for 10 nights of hotel stay. Those points are worth it! The Southwest credit card is really nice since we are near an airport that has many Southwest flights, and if I use it for purchasing things through the airline, I get multiple times the points that I spend (e.g. $300 in airfare translates to 900 points). The best thing is that I can also transfer my bank points to Southwest Airlines!

I don't know how old your kiddo is, but I know for my daughters' Kindles we have to log in as ourselves in order to get them hooked up to any sort of Wi-Fi because they are under 18. Then we go back to their account and they can do all the stuff that they want in there. Could that be the issue?