WHStoneman

In Costa Maya if you want the best Mexican food and drinks and a relaxed day you have to go to Maya Chan.  It is fantastic!  Check them out on TripAdvisor.  We were just there and hope to go again in February.  Haven't been to Belize so can't help you with that one.

? Fundamental reading isn't in my dictionary...?..... I'm a master at skimming....Sorry WHStoneman you were correct! I was wrong...that will teach me...open mouth wide and insert foot! ?

I think both mworkman and you were the ones that actually skimmed the article.  He quoted from it.  This article from 2018 is talking about an incident from 2017.  Please read it again, more carefully.  As you said, reading is fundamental!
 

Just remember to pack your luggage and leave all that baggage at home.  

Just remember to pack your luggage and leave all that baggage at home.  

Just remember to pack your luggage and leave all that baggage at home.  

Just remember to pack your luggage and leave all that baggage at home.  

I just make my own monthly payments and don't have to pay any interest rates. 

I put my final payment date into my calendar to remind me ahead of time.  The OCD in me has a spread sheet with my schedule to pay cruise off accordingly.  I divide my balance out with the months left until cruise and make sure that I have it completely paid for at least 3 weeks before the final payment is due.

When I booked my cruise with RCI, I knew exactly when the final payment was due.   RCI makes it very clear and I can understand why rules are made.  Unfortunately, none of us here have any power to come to your aid.  

My friend and I are also not doing Voom, we're planning on a small whiteboard or even just a notepad and going old school.  ("@ Solarium if you need me", "Wandering around, be back 4:30 to get ready for dinner")
Also packing two different color highlighters for the Compass to highlight what we each think we're interested in going, as that will also probably provide a tentative help to track each other down at any point in the day.

Most of those things I don't even have at home....can't imagine why I would go buy them to go on a cruise.  

No corkscrew....NO problem.    First, you remove the protective foil covering the top of the bottle (known as the "capsule.") Then, you place the bottom of the bottle inside the shoe to protect the glass, and then bang the sole of the shoe against the wall repeatedly until the cork eases out of the bottle.

No corkscrew....NO problem.    First, you remove the protective foil covering the top of the bottle (known as the "capsule.") Then, you place the bottom of the bottle inside the shoe to protect the glass, and then bang the sole of the shoe against the wall repeatedly until the cork eases out of the bottle.

No corkscrew....NO problem.    First, you remove the protective foil covering the top of the bottle (known as the "capsule.") Then, you place the bottom of the bottle inside the shoe to protect the glass, and then bang the sole of the shoe against the wall repeatedly until the cork eases out of the bottle.

No corkscrew....NO problem.    First, you remove the protective foil covering the top of the bottle (known as the "capsule.") Then, you place the bottom of the bottle inside the shoe to protect the glass, and then bang the sole of the shoe against the wall repeatedly until the cork eases out of the bottle.

Most of those things I don't even have at home....can't imagine why I would go buy them to go on a cruise.  

No corkscrew....NO problem.    First, you remove the protective foil covering the top of the bottle (known as the "capsule.") Then, you place the bottom of the bottle inside the shoe to protect the glass, and then bang the sole of the shoe against the wall repeatedly until the cork eases out of the bottle.

Most of those things I don't even have at home....can't imagine why I would go buy them to go on a cruise.  

FYI: Be prepared to have a LARGE extension cord provided. The cord I was given was a heavy gauge cord at least 50 feet in length! ?
 
That made me laugh...the one they gave us was at least 100 feet long and probably weighed 20 pounds.  During the day, it was just a huge mass of cable stuffed in the corner so we could navigate through our cabin.  I have since learned to take my own 15ft cord since we both use a CPAP.    They have always provided us with distilled water complimentary.

Fill out the special needs form: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do (or send an email to [email protected] )
Should get a reply back in a few days saying they'll have distilled water and extension cord provided in your stateroom.
If it isn't in your stateroom upon arrival, just talk to your stateroom attendant.

For Royal Caribbean having some of the most high tech ships and all... I can't believe how terrible their website is when trying to use it after you booking a cruise....  this should be a priority..
just frustrated .... 

Solution: Bring RED food coloring with you. Order a chocolate cake and pour the RED coloring over it. Voila! Instant RVC!! ??

History tends to have a way of repeating.  Remember when most people would only buy American cars?  The big three automakers thought they could make junk and the American people would keep buying them, well now most people swear by Japanese or German automobiles.  Remember when, if you wanted electronics, you would only buy Sony if you wanted the best then they started making sub par items allowing Samsung to dethrone them.  Don't get me wrong, I love Royal Caribbean, I've been sailing with them since the early 80's and have been on most ships at least once, their ships continue to be amazingly innovative (exclusive of the Quantum class) but their continuous downgrading of customer service, lack of appreciation for long-time repeat passenger and the constant nickel and diming grows old after a while.  We sailed on the Adventure this past May (2018) and the Diamond concierge never had us listed as Diamond Plus, we never received any of the benefits and were never invited to any of the events, when we tried to bring it to his attention he said he'd look into it but did nothing.  Like I said we love Royal, and I do understand it's a business and the economics behind it (we actually sail basically for free on a few cruises each year using the dividends from our Royal stock) but little things like good customer service and recognition of loyal repeat customers goes a long way (many people would actually pay a premium for these things!).  So to answer your question HeWhoWaits, we've decided to try MSC, we booked on the new ship out of Miami, the Seaside.  MSC has a loyalty status match program where they'll actually match and reward us for our Crown and Anchor Diamond Plus status.  Will we be back to Royal?  Yes, but if they don't realize they aren't the only option for repeat guests (cruise lines bread and butter) they might just learn what many other companies have when they took their customer base for granted.          

So you'll be switching to which cruise line moving forward?