DoomSlayer

That is withholding tips from those in the tip pool you don't interact with regularly. Automatic gratuities extend beyond just your room steward and dinning staff. They go all the way to the laundry person, who I am extremely grateful for. Don't stop paying automatic gratuities.

I don't see how this is different from current standards in the US. Under US Federal Law, the absolute minimum wage of a tipped worker is $2.13 per hour. The employer must see that the tipped worker receives a true minimum wage of $7.25 per hour but can use the tips received by the tipped worker as part of that compensation. If the tips received by the tipped worker are less than $5.12 ($7.25 - $2.13), then the employer must make up the difference. This happens every time we go to a restaurant where tipping is expected, tip our valet drivers, or tip the hotel bell hop. The customer is expected to help pay the wages of the tipped worker, it is part of our culture. Granted, this is Federal Law, and State laws may raise these minimums to something higher, but the principal is still the same. I am going to go out on a limb and guess this is probably what we are seeing here. Nothing odd, nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing to cause a panic about -- same practice as we are already used to in the US. RCL operates as a Liberian company and its vessels are registered in the Bahamas, so I am sure the minimums are lower than US standards, but still fair, or even more than, what the tipped worker would receive in their home country. Also, I would assume the CBA defines these minimums and provides better protections than Liberia or the Bahamas do. These are the guidelines from the US Department of Labor for reference: Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | U.S. Department of Labor I wish we had a copy of the RCL CBA referenced in the picture to validate my assumptions, but I am going to guess my assumptions are probably correct. Moral of the story -- Don't withhold tipping as it will almost certainly impact tipped workers' livelihoods.

2 Rooms, end of debate We do this all the time exactly for the reasons you mention. As others have said though, your travel agent will have to call in for an override to allow minors in the other room, but it is a simple phone call they make to Royal on your behalf and 100% in line with Royal's policies.

It is more about how much you played in the casino on your last trip, what types of games you played, and what your average bet size is than your actual casino tier status. You do not technically have to reach prime to get casino comped cruise offers. I started receiving casino comp offers immediately after my first cruise where I only earned about 1800 points on. The casino uses a complicated, proprietary formula to determine a player's expected value, which ultimately determines what offers you see. Points are secondary, and levels like prime just give you a target to shoot for with some tangible goals, like free drinks and a free annual cruise, to keep you motivated to play. Slot players betting $2 to $3 per spin will be seen as more valuable than a blackjack player betting $10 per hand because the expected value of the slots player is higher than the table blackjack player. This is similar to how land-based casino comp programs work too. As a casual cruiser that wants to get quickly rated without having previous status, apply for a casino marker (loan) and they will start giving you offers almost instantly if they deem you as a high value player. The credit and background check will not only look at your traditional credit history, but also will check your play at other casinos that report thorough the CentralCredit system, as well as your financial status with bank and broker accounts you share with them (average balances, cashflows, etc...) to see if you have the potential for sustained play at a given bet size for a period of time. Also, be sure to introduce yourself to the casino host if you plan on doing this. How do I receive casino credit? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Grand Bahama is a tough one. The port is in the industrial area and nothing is within walking distance. My recommendation is to catch a cab and go to the Port Lucaya Marketplace. It is about a 20 minute drive, but has good restaurants a nearby public beach. My wife and I like to eat lunch there at Zorbas Greek Restaurant. There is also a resort nearby that is subsidized by the government where you can buy a day pass if you want on the spot, no need to pre-order in resorts for a day or anything like that. The challenge with Grand Bahama is that it never really recovered from hurricane Dorian that hit in 2019 because covid shut down a lot of things and prevented a good recovery. A lot of casinos and other tourist destinations there are all closed still.

Going over x-mas on Harmony. My wife and I have been to all 3 several times. This trip, it is with our kids and relatives, and some have some minor mobility issues we had to plan for. For excursions we chose: Roatan -- Maya Key Private Island which is perfect because those that want to sit on the beach can do so while everyone else explores the island. It is kind of like a mini Coco Cay with a zoo. Costa Maya -- Our least favorite port, but still can be fun. A group of us are just going to go shopping around the port and the kids are planning on the Dolphins for this trip. My wife and I really like Maya Chan beach resort, but it is a private booking and not offered by Royal, you would have to book directly with them via the internet. Maya Chan has good food and drinks, and also has beaches if you want to swim. Cozumel -- Has a lot to offer. We decided to do the Ray and Shark snorkel because that's what the kids wanted. If you want to do the Eco Sur Park, I would just do the Royal Caribbean excursion to it and let them handle the transportation for you. Also, we sometimes just get a cab and go to the town center of San Miguel, eat lunch, shop, and enjoy ourselves. The ruins on the island are fund to do once, and we also like the seasonal excursions, like the Christmas excursion (did that a few years ago). We have always had a good time with the ATVs regardless of which port, and zip lining in Roatan is fun too. But these are a little more challenging physically and there are age requirements for the ATVs that prevented us from doing them as a group this time. Hope that helps a little. Have fun!

I did a leap for Dec. 2025, so I doubt they will be called away too soon, but you never know. I am definitely capped on any further upside gains right now though. I plan on sending in my statement when I get it on Friday for the onboard credit assuming I am not assigned before then. All-in-all, about $4.2k in paper profit so far and the potential to keep receiving dividends and on-board credit over the next year.

Visa and Mastercard are the two card types mostly used there. You won't see AMEX or Discover used much outside of hotels and high-end tourist stores and restaurants. When I lived in Germany and UK years ago, Mastercard seemed more accepted among them all.

I've done both the beltway, and have also gone straight through the belly of the beast downtown many times. If it is a weekend, holiday, or not rush hour, I much prefer going through downtown as opposed to the beltway as I feel it is quicker. But I also live in a big city and am used to negotiating traffic. The beltway will have less traffic during peak rush hours, but lots of tolls and speed checks along the way.

US Dollars are the universal currency and well received by staff onboard the ship and is what they use onboard for their personal purchases. I would not go out of the way to convert to Euros for tips. However, if you happen to have some extra Euros, they will still be appreciated as they can use them while on shore.

I would just call Royal and ask about what documents are required for your wife. They will be the most authoritative source for your answer. I would not necessarily rely on a third-party travel agent to know answers for specific and complex situational questions like this.

Look in the planner to make sure you have the OBC first. Depending on who gave you the credit and how it was entered in the system, it may not be available until you are actually on board. If it was from a Royal promo or NextCruise, you should see it available immediately. However, if it was from your travel agent, it may not be available to use until your cruise actually starts depending on how and when they enter it in the system. My travel agent makes it immediately available, but others wait until cruise day.

Sounds like your wife needs to train someone to manage the business besides just relying on her business partner. If this was such an issue, what would you have done if you had been on the cruise and her partner had this happen? Ended your trip by disembarking early and paying to fly home from the Bahamas? I am sorry about her business partner's health, and wish him the best recovery possible, but Royal has done nothing but follow the terms you agreed to when you purchased your trip.

Going to try and do a little swing trading with earnings coming up next week. Plan is to buy 100 shares tomorrow and let earnings results determine if I sell for a quick profit or turn my short-term trade into a long-term investment. Best case, I walk away with some extra cash I can use on my upcoming cruise at XMAS. Worst case, I get $100 OBC for my upcoming cruise at XMAS and become a long-term shareholder. I am adding RCL into my portfolio anyway (and have cash ready for it), so really all I am doing is moving my timetable up from my already planned dollar cost average approach over the next few months. Only thing that has me a little worried is the $5 per share expectation, but I think they have it. RCL will stand for the "Royal Caribbean Lottery" for me next week. Update: Sold puts last Friday and was assigned 100 shares over the weekend. Sold some 210 calls due December of 2025 this morning. Overall, got in for an adjusted price of about $170 per share with upside growth potential to $210 a share and downside protection to $170 per share. Assuming my shares don't get called away early, I will get the onboard credit and dividends over the next year.

I stopped with the photos during the online check-in all together. As @KJones said, more times than not, they ended up retaking the photos at the port anyway. Saves a lot of hassle by not worrying about them, especially if you have a lot of people to check in and they are not all nearby when you check in.

I think it depends on the TA. I see credits from my TA in the planner about 90 days out from the cruise, about the same timeframe as final payments are due. I assume since it is the TA giving the OBC, it is at their discretion as to when to apply them to your account. This is in contrast to OBC from official Royal Promos however. I see those immediately after booking the reservation and paying the deposit.

That's what I do. This year I was on Symphony from Mar 31 to Apr 6, 2024. They had a sign at the casino host's desk stating that all points before April 1 would count towards 2023 and all points after would count towards 2024. I resisted the urge and waited to April 1 to put my first dollar in the slots for that trip. I have the same situation next year on Jewel sailing Mar 29 to Apr 7, 2025. I will be chilling by the pool for the first few days waiting for April 1 to come around.

This Texan is extremely excited. Costa Maya needs to be spiced up a bit.

Just the "Charge it to my Sea pass" package unfortunately. Not included in any of the drink packages.

If any of these cruises are casino comps, then there is actually an expectation that you will still play and maintain a certain level of play on the trip. I just don't know what the threshold is if you decide to just go "light and fun". From their terms and conditions: "Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to withhold any offer and/or future offers based on inactivity or a decreased level of gaming play by the Recipient or any gaming play in violation of any rules or regulations. Any Recipient who redeems a Casino Offer with no play may be removed from future offers." Casino Promotions | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Sorry, could not resist!

Same. However, I have used their computers to print a few things a couple of times which was handy.

Wish I could do that and join the secret club. Not enough bandwidth to support me working remotely

Just as @smokeybandit said. Just make sure you understand how to enable wifi calling on your phone and put your phone in airplane mode while on the ship to avoid accidently connecting to their super expensive cell services while at sea.

Cashing in my instant cruise certificate from my last trip's casino play. Strategically planned so I can start working on my Prime status renewal starting April 1. Will be my first time to have Belize as a port of call, so definitely looking forwards to that.