Anders11

A not so fun fact for those of my age: The height of the Spice Girls is as far from modern teenagers as Elvis and the Beatles were from me when we were teenagers. And yet Elvis felt like ancient history but the Spice Girls now feel quite recent. The deceptions of time can be depressing.

Thanks for the replies so far. What are the things you like about Mariner?

I have a a cruise scheduled on Mariner next year because it has an itinerary I like but I’m wondering whether it may be a let down due to its size. I’ve previously cruised on Quantum class so Mariner will be a significant step down. What are people’s views on Mariner?

I’’m pleased to see Mariner mentioned a few times as I’m sailing her next year. What do you like about Mariner?

As shown here in the link below Royal Caribbean ships tend to have significantly higher space to passenger ratios than Carnival: https://cruisefever.net/most-crowded-cruise-ships-by-passenger-space-ratio/ Mardi Gras is a huge ship but has a relatively poor space to passenger ratio.

You are the one who has turned this personal. The reason the Macdonalds comparison didn’t compute in your mind is because you can’t see the relevance of analogies that don’t affect you personally. Someone above said above that if they were a shareholder they would feel bad about RC “overcharging” their customers in this way. I doubt many, if any, shareholders could care less about this issue. Shareholders do care about business ethics, but this applies to, for instance, whether companies are supporting despotic regimes or enabling exploitative labor practices in the third world, not whether someone can take their child on vacation for free.

But they don’t know they won’t be at 100% when they set the pricing policy. On cruises where they don’t expect full capacity they will have all kinds of offers to encourage business, including children sailing free. They will also special offers closer to sailing date if they do unexpectedly undersell.

The “Royal Caribbean should do this” comments seem a bit of a tantrum to me. I cruise solo so could be thanking RC that they only charge extra for the empty berth and don’t adjust for the lower on board spending, but know it’s simply part of a longer term business decision not to do that. As someone else said, Royal Caribbean is a business, not a charity or public service.

It seems common sense is not that common. No wonder there is so much fraud going on. It doesn’t take expert financial knowledge to know the risks of using a debit card as opposed to a credit card.

Is ginger beer available on ship?

It’s an easy mistake to make. If you’ve never cruised before, it’s natural to assume that a balcony has to be facing the sea. One thing to bear in mind if you go on another cruise is that it is essential that you research your cabin before booking, and by that I even mean your individual cabin number not just the cabin type. Booking a ship cabin is not like booking a hotel room - you want to know specifically know where your cabin is on the ship as there is so much variety.

He is usually referred to as Leo, which is his nickname, although Lionel Messi is his actual name.

I understand that the room service fee includes gratuity but are we expected to tip on delivery and collection? We don’t tip where I’m from so I find the whole tipping process very awkward, especially when gratuity is “included”. In the past I have tipped even when gratuity is on the bill because it feels awkward not to.

I’m considering getting the Voom WiFi package but wasn’t sure what was safe or not safe to use it for. Can I check my emails safely?