RCVirgin22

Yeah I prefer a credit card for shipboard charges for that very same reason, Cash is more for local mom and pop type places that may not have access to or don't want to pay the fees involved with processing cards. It's also useful in situations when POS systems may be down, that's one main reason I started carrying cash again after being out of town and the gas station's terminal went down.

Ah yes, my mistake.

There was an interesting article on tipping that I watched the other day, and it seems like some companies simply took advantage of people's good will during the pandemic by asking if you'd like to tip on just about everything non service related. I mean why am I tipping on a carry out that I drove to your establishment for? All you did was cook the food which is your job. Plus you've got this whole new thing where people order via apps which have you tipping prior to being serviced, which makes you think if you don't tip then how will your order arrive and will it be delivered expediently? Because you can opt to tip in person but the driver doesn't know if you will or not. As for the percentage, that shouldn't be dictated by a Company. Who are you to determine how well the customer was served before the fact? I also feel 25% is way too much for anyone, it's not my fault if that person is overworked or in a potentially bad work environment. And the games Cruise Companies play to get around paying them a decent/legal wage in the first place also isn't my fault, and perhaps that should be looked into more. I'm also not confident the people directly involved with my services will be getting "my" tips, it feels like all tips are pooled and the dispersed evenly among the employees regardless of who might have worked harder or gave a more enjoyable service to passengers. They've taken the "personal" out of a thank you and made it corporate.

I think I'd be more open to that or something entertainment related over yet another bar. lol

Are you thinking this because of the mechanical problems that ship is having, thus causing shorter stays at ports?

I feel your pain, I've tried multiple ways to book with my Sister and her Family but no matter how I went about it I just couldn't get a good deal. It all felt haphazard and designed to work around any deals/saving promotion they were running. For me I'm used to the gouging as I travel solo, but my Sister's family doesn't have a lot of funds to send on some things and it seemed too expensive for them. I thought for sure my placing one or two of the kids in my cabin then at least me paying double occupancy wouldn't go to waste, then the other kid would sail free. IDK for some reason it just didn't pan out like I thought it should. And I'm not on for playing games.

Part of the appeal of a cruise is that fact you can get a good deal versus a land based vacation, the issue becomes when you raise you prices to match it now loses that advantage/appeal. I might as well just go on a land vacation now as I have more freedom than on a ship that visits only specific ports. I also see people try to compare room prices, and for a land vacation you can get a cheaper price on a room that's the equivalent of a standard stateroom on a cruise ship. Sure that also means food is extra but a lot of places have cheap cafe's versus high end restaurants. A dinner doesn't have to cost $50. What I find most often is that "Cruisers" are the ones who most defend this aspect, just the same as Disney fans defend every decision that company makes regardless of the absurdity of it. As someone above mention they don't mind being slapped in the face while their credit card is charged. You simply can't make an argument to them for the case of anything else. And if we remember correctly Disney park was created for all creeds to visit, not priced like it's a high rollers club that it seems to cater towards now. My family had to save for several years before we could go to Disneyland, and that's when it was still only $100 for every ride in the park and had been so since my dad went as a kid. If we had to pay the prices they're charging today we'd have had to wait even longer all the while prices increasing annually putting it out of reach with each passing year. What I find the most distasteful is when they do gratuity increases, yet cut back on said services that they encompass.

Considering the tonnage of these new ships Displacement of the Seas seems fitting, or Encroachment of the Seas. Joking aside maybe Poseidon of the Seas, not really fond of Star as it just doesn't seem to make any sense. Unless they're suggesting Star as in a celebrity not an actual physical star.

Unless you changed the locks, shut of the water and electric while gone then probably so.

Maybe the chairs should come with timers, I mean it shouldn't take long to dip in the pool and come back, right? Or go get a drink/restroom break. I don't advocate for "reserving" a chaise all day or while you go take a nap, eat lunch or whatever takes 2-6 hours time. But it would be a pain to have to change chairs every time you had to get up to use the facilities or get a drink. Since I have nothing to leave behind because I don't carry much beyond my MP3 player to listen to while sleeping and sunburning, so there's nothing for me to eve use for "reserving" my chair. Now I've never sailed RCL, but others I've not had too much difficulty finding a place to sit. Though it might be different if you're trying to seat a family of four.

Due to all the various travel restrictions I always just buy whatever I need, such as bug spray, sunscreen etc. wherever I'm going. Surely there is some place that offers Bear spray in Alaska, just as you sure to find a pub in Ireland!

This. No matter where you go it can be a dangerous place, in fact most people don't quite understand their own City can be just as dangerous (if not more) as the place they're thinking of vacationing to. I think it's safe to say you don't purposely go to a war-torn part of the world for a vacation so just about any other place is less dangerous when not being shelled by artillery. Staying within the tourist areas will generally be safer because even the Cartels don't really want any fallout that comes with endangering International travelers, most of the incident involving such travelers stems from them going to place they probably shouldn't and getting caught up in whatever chaos is ensuing. You're probably just as likely to get hit by a bus walking to work as you would be getting involved with nefarious people in a Foreign Country, but you should always be aware of your surroundings and the activity near you. Worse case scenario you are scammed by a Taxi Driver for more than it should cost, or being pickpocketed. I mean we hear of situations happening on cruise ships yet people still cruise quite often, you simply feel safe on boar because it's never happened to you.

Glad that this affect me in absolutely no way. When I take a vacation I block out the rest of the world and enjoy why I'm there in the first place, everything I left will still be there when I get back.

At this rate you might as well ask if you can bring along your own private dingy to take out in ports. lol Joking aside, both items just seem like a huge hassle to me, more so the dog. But either of them seem like potential "suspicious" items for someone on mere vacation. Robotic animals used in all sorts of well shall we say non normal uses, then a dish that could be seen as spy tech which most governments wouldn't be too keen on.

Pretty sure there were several factors involved with the change, as someone already mentioned removal of less popular items. Another aspect is the short staffing issues that have plagued the industry for the past three years, it's far simpler to streamline the menu in the wake of less help. A top reason possibly is the Money factor, when you figure out how much you can save by making the change it certainly is a compelling reason. If I were to put Money on the main reason for it, it's likely the time factor, due to having fewer staff it takes even longer to get meals to people and impacting the guest experience negatively isn't something they really want to do as it brings about an overall sense of dissatisfaction/disappointment.

I'm curious how you know which ship belongs to which class though? Unlike NCL where if you click on ships it tells you most all relevant data such as tonnage, guest capacity, year built and year renovated. As well as destinations. Yet when I click on ships at RCL I cannot find any of that, namely class/year built. All I do know is that Oasis are the latest five ships which feature the openings in the center for boardwalk and central park along with cabins overlooking. And only because they feature a button for that class while the others not so much that I've found. I would like to experience the Oasis class one day but at present none of them are assigned to the destinations I'm currently looking at, specifically Alaska and Mexico, and I'm not sure what to make of Ovation and Quantum which sail out of Seattle. Or Navigator that sails out of LA. People say you can't go wrong with any RCL ship, and maybe that's so from RCL loyalist pov, I just would like to read more about the ship to know how old and when renovated if really old. I sailed on NCL Getaway and while it had been refurbished it felt old, not that it's that old as some were built much earlier. It simply felt quaint.

Yeah I doubt very much they're in the joking mood with regards to any of that kind of stuff, heck i don't know that there's any scenario you'd want to prank/joke with them about as it seems a quite serious job. Exchanging pleasantries is about the furthest one should probably go with customs or border agents, just provide docs answer their questions and move on.

I'm actually curious why it needs to be six months after the cruise, I can understand mere weeks being an issue but in what scenario would you be detained for six months or longer if something were to happen at a port? Aside from illegal activities of course.

It can also be from raw food coming into contact with other non cooked foods such as fruits though, which can happen especially with short staffing issues.

The only issue I'd have, and amu currently experiencing, is that for Alaska they don't seem to offer oasis Class ships. The reason for my interest in that class is the central park balcony room would be preferable to and outside balcony in that instance since I'm not into the cold weather nor looking at snow my whole trip but I like the option of having airflow into the room. So far none of the other cabins on other class ships have windows that open. If it wasn't for the fact that I need at least a window looking out and for daylight I'd just go with a basic inside cabin. it's just too claustrophobic.

My scenario is that my sister has two kids and her partner, thus 2 adults and three kids. Then me as a solo. Well I thought I might catch a break by putting one of the kids in the same cabin as me instead of paying full fair for one plus it also lessens the guest count for their room since 3 kids would require more space and a 4-5 person cabin is very rare. I also did this because every time I booked solo it wanted to place me on the complete opposite side of the ship from them, I couldn't ever find a scenario where we were next door to each other. So by booking one of the kids with me it at least put us closer together so we were only 4 cabins apart. lol Another issue was since I've already cruised in a OB room I wanted to experience a Balcony over the promenade or park central, and then book them in an OB. In only one scenario did it let me do so but we were still several cabins away from each other. I feel like I almost have to get a TA for this particular arrangement. Cruising solo is so much easier.

I sure am glad that I don't drink soda or alcohol, Coffee/mocha is my only vice in that regard and I don't exactly need one every morning/day. I drink mostly water or the occasional juice or milk during a meal. So Ala cart drinks suit me fine, after all it's no more than I would normally pay at home for a Mocha. I'm sure the Cruise Line doesn't like me because I don't buy all the extras I won't even come close to getting my Money's worth on, but it certainly frees up extra cash for souvenirs/trinkets and other expenses at the ports.

I'm not into virtual anything so I would likely never book a one. The main reason is you're still couped up in a room w/o a window and for me it feels too Closter phobic even though I'm not Closter phobic. Second is that it doesn't have outdoor airflow for fresh air and for some reason I like that, as well as being able to sit out on the balcony during a sea day or at night while enjoying the ambiance.

Here in the U.S. they offer a a non DL photo ID, which is pretty much a requirement to have. At some point you'll need phot ID for some interaction/altercation. Heck, if you happen to encounter the Police and are asked for it and do not posses any it can be quite the ordeal. Without the photo part any other cards mean very little in the way of identification.

Which is annoying because in most cases when only booking 2 people there's already the pullout that can sleep 1-2 small kids, so why they opt to charge more to compensate for said "freebie" sounds like just game playing to make it appear you're getting a deal. I've tried multiple bookings and it never seems to work out right regardless of guest combination.