Geezer Of The Seas

Dunno, but I'm thinking the absolute last thing I'd be worried about was getting 30 seconds of fame on Tic Tac, Tic Toc, whatever the hell it is.................

We have a Visa issued by Chase. What you're describing happens to us with some degree of frequency with any type of purchase. Posts to the credit card today, gone tomorrow, returns a day or two later. My wife watches financial activity like a hawk since we've been victims of a lot of funny business over the last 6 years to the point both of us pretty much have eternal free credit monitoring from a variety of companies. If Cruise Planner is showing your purchases ordered/paid, check the card activity daily. They will likely reappear. Alternatively, call the card issuer's customer service. If you don't have a transaction #, provide them with date of purchase, amount, and merchant name. That should be sufficient for them to track it down. As long as the excursions didn't vanish from Cruise Planner, you're still good on Royal's end and it's likely a card issuer faux pax. Chase has never explained why this happens beyond "it sometimes happens".

Ironic. Save the trees was the reason offered for the introduction of plastic bags; yet a paper bag will break down and degrade in a landfill. Last sea day on Mariner, I was on our balcony and watched as a plastic bag took flight from somewhere above and forward from our cabin. Sailed way up in the ship's air draft until it cleared the stern.....then unceremoniously crashed into the wake to begin its drift for how long and who knows where.

Igor, grow me a tenderloin for 2, rare!! Nah....... Maybe a pizza from Sorrentos.......

Supposedly, allegedly, the parking garages (like CT 3) will be equipped to accept E-Pass & SunPass; even better than stuffing a credit card in a slot. An attendant at the CT-1 garage told us last year that was the plan and it was shelved because of the precipitous drop in port revenue due to the Pandemic. But anything other than a paper ticket will be a welcomed improvement.

Our experience last November on Jewel at CT 5 influenced our decision to use portparkingspace.com. Not huge savings ($21 less than official port parking) but the convenience and the stress free ride to the terminal and NOT being in that hideous line of cars futilely seeking parking in the garage was worth it. And, since the bus entrance is different, I was treated to views of a dope sniffing dog doing his thing with the luggage carts at the Carnival terminal. Also noticed contractor is preparing to sink pilings for a new parking garage in what was an overflow ground lot in front the CT 5 garage.

Shame on me, I didn't mention the last WOW moment on Mariner. Despite the conflicting disembarkation group tag/app info, it appears Royal Caribbean has perfected the disembarkation process (at Port Canaveral anyway). Left our cabin at 7, Windjammer for breakfast at 7, reported to Star Lounge at 745, waiting on our 815 group call which came at 8. Off the ship and through baggage claim/CBP at 815. Walked to the shuttle parking area where the Portparkingspace.com bus was waiting. Luggage loaded, Mr & Mrs Geezer aboard, back to the parking lot and on our way out of the port and to Death Race SR 528 at 845. Our best embarkation/disembarkation experience yet. Saw the southbound Brightline train hauling the mail west of Cocoa. How I wish there was at Station in North Cocoa.............NOW!!!

Home again. Enjoyable cruise, other than some rock and roll ocean on the way down and then the Yucatan Channel heading back to the Gulf, the weather was great. Think we've ruined ourselves with suites though. The "Extra Spacious Balcony really spacious, nor was the balcony. Missed a table to sit and eat, however big or small, and Mrs. Geezer missed a bathtub. Ship and crew were wonderful, but the vapers vaping where they shouldn't, the disciples of smokable herbs, and the falling down drunks, not so much. Had a 'carnivalesque' air to it. Now for Royal Caribbean, who screwed the pooch on 2 counts. We selected 5:30 MDR seating (on the reservation receipt), we got My Time. Talked to the dining room manager to try and get what we requested and received the venerable "there's nothing we can do" response. Completed our disembarkation procedures preferences, we received luggage tags for Group 8, the info. on the app which is allegedly gospel said Group 26. And Royal should hire me to prepare the Chicken Parmesan and Mrs. Geezer to do the Chicken Cordon Bleu. What a profound, bland disappointment. However, I discovered how to get the paper thin NY strip in the MDR cooked to perfection. Just asked our waiter to bring it out still mooing! Way better than the shoe leather that was served in the MDR on Wonder & Jewel.

Third visit to PDCC first ever to be the only ship. Docked with Wonder and 3 of their "closest friends" in Cozumel Wednesday. Probably totaling 15-18K passengers. It was a zoo.

Another WOW! moment. Day 5 here at beautiful, deserted Coco Cay. Mariner is the only ship here. Weather is not perfect, but we'll take it.

This horse has been beaten to a pulp. Tip if you wish, don't if you don't wish to do so . Whatever melts your butter.........

No that was deliberate. That's the gin and tonic typing.......

So, as the sun sets and Port Canaveral disappears, thought I'd share this. Mariner's crew had to have set a new land speed record for cabin turnaround today. We boarded around 1230, went to our assembly station, and barely wet our whistles at the Schooner Bar while fighting with Voom setup when the announcement was made cabins were ready for occupancy..... at 1pm! Bravo Mariner! Also......there was apparently some IT infrastructure upgrades along with Starlink conversion. First trip on Mariner of February '22, the internet was abysmal to the point a plug in WAP was placed in our cabin. This time our phones are displaying WiFi 6 icons and the service quality is smoking........ Why, we even received our C&A platinum pins. I feel so impotent.....

Purple indicates you are willing to pay for pizza at Sorrentos.

A fun fact about Jewel we learned last November. We did the All Access Tour on a sea day. During our time in the engine control room , the engineer on watch told us (and rather proudly), Jewel is the hot rod of the entire Royal Caribbean fleet. She's capable of a maximum speed of 29 knots....... that translates to around 33 mph.

Mariner. A special place in our hearts for her. First cruise ever for myself and Mrs. Geezer last February. Sailing her again 11/6, not in a grand suite like first time, and certainly will be a bigger crowd than the capacity restricted first cruise. Not the amusement park like the Oasis ships, but as long as there's an adequate supply of gin and tonic, mojitos and the odd glass of bourbon and DiSorrano , we're good. And Mariner's just a few months out of drydock. Should I get the barnacles scraped off my hull?

Sailed an 8 day Southern Caribbean itinerary on Jewel November '22 (Thanksgiving). Loved the ship; especially the Solarium. Was sad to see it moved from Port Canaveral.

Amazingly enough, on our April trip on Wonder, the cruise director did a 'by the numbers' breakdown of passengers. Started with first time cruisers (Royal or first timers period, I guess) to Pinnacles. Interesting info; that seemed like an occasion to order a drink................

I just regained consciousness after opening the "100 Days til Icon" email this morning. I passed out when I tapped the "book now" button and started reviewing itineraries and pricing (most of what I viewed were 2025 sailing dates) Looks like they want to pay off the debt on the ship in one year....................... Cute email though, with Icon zipping back and forth as you scrolled down.

Not an identical situation but....... My younger brother fractured 2 crowns on a bone fragment in a deli sandwich he bought from a grocery deli. He took the sandwich remains and the bone fragment to the store. Spoke with 2 managers who documented his story. Long story short, the store loss prevention department punted the claim to the meat supplier, who punted it back to the store chain. In the end he received a payment for the cost of the repair procedures less his deductibles. He supplied all documentation including Xray copies obtained from the dentist (the claim was paid after treatment and in a fairly timely fashion).

You don't mention the cruise line involved. You might begin by reading your ticket contract if you printed it. If they are like Royal Caribbean, information regarding filing of liability claims, whether or not such claims are addressed by binding arbitration rather than a judicial process, and what legal venue any action should be brought if pursued through the legal system might be detailed. Unfortunate incident to be sure. Where you were when the incident happened is not likely relevant.

Wife and I have done far fewer cruises than you, but with ships sailing at 100% (double occupancy) or greater, there will be public areas that can be "suffocating" regardless of ship size. We sailed on Jewel last November (Thanksgiving week). 100% occupancy, it was busy, but our place of 'refuge' was specialty dining, our balcony, and the Solarium. In April this year, we sailed on Wonder. The main pool deck was...............well, unenjoyable for us; spent a lot of time in the Solarium (folks aren't in love with the pools/water features, but seating availability was never a problem). We didn't eat in the main dining room (by choice), the Windjammer only a couple times. Winged it the rest of our meals with Room Service, Sorrentos, El Loco Fresh, Johnny Rockets, Giovanni's, and 150 Central Park. A security officer told me the ship was 263 passengers short of a head in every bed. The elevators? They are a zoo with high passenger loads and as you observed, the law of the jungle applies. Wonder was a phenomenal ship, but we won't go on anything that large again. We don't need a floating amusement park, but that's us. We are fond of Mariner and Jewel, but Jewel isn't home porting at Port Canaveral any longer. To experience the 'smaller' side of life, we booked a reservation on HAL Nieuw Amsterdam for November '24. Saw her docked in Aruba last year while we were on Jewel. Comparable in size to Jewel, think we'll enjoy her.

Gee, this is making me feel good. We had 2 NCL cruises booked before we ever cruised with Royal Caribbean. After our first trip on Mariner, those NCL cruises morphed into an 8 day trip on Jewel & 7 days on Wonder. That first cruise on Mariner really made an impression...........

Striking while the iron is hot (demand) to whittle away at that debt. A lot of the debt amassed was through issuance of junk bonds with high and variable yields with rather short terms. Suggests even the folks underwriting the paper know there's considerable risk. I'm no finance, guru, but my perception is if there's a Chapter 11 filing looming on the cruise line horizon, it's NCL. Their debt to equity ratio is nuts, and their net margin is way more in the red than Royal Caribbean or Carnival. Maybe that's why Frank Del Rio thought it was a good time to retire..........

USA Today's story is like the reinvention of the wheel. Self serve soft drink dispensers and ice bins have been a fungus farm like forever. I've had the occasional Coke that tastes like the cleaning solution used to sanitize the machines. The machines are on their way out at McDonald's . The self serve machines in the dining area are being phased out and will be completely gone by 2032. The store closest to us underwent remodeling; tables and chairs occupy the area occupied by the drink machine and the kitchen was slightly enlarged. IMO, the big fail with Freestyle machines on Royal's ships is the nasty floor, mats or not. in front of them. But, a great way to have non slip soles on your shoes for a bit...........