UkuleleCruiser

Some more info on luggage tags, in general: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/21/royal-caribbean-luggage-tags-everything-you-need-know

Thanks, Matt. Very helpful.

If you're an Amazon Prime member and order tonight, you should have them within 3 days. I would go for it and use the tape as plan B.

I am not. It will be Plan B for me this time.

I have done that before, it works. But for my upcoming trip I purchased luggage tags from amazon. They are reusable and can be used not just for cruising:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009PGOCUE/ref=as_sl_pd_tf_lc?tag=royalcacom-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009PGOCUE&adid=1FEG7A640D0M53WW66YB&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalcaribbeanblog.com%2Froyal-caribbean-luggage-tags

Too late! I cruise in a week! Bu NEXT TIME!!!!!!! This time, it's packing tape city!

I am not the expert on this topic, so take my comment with a grain of salt --- or pepper from a MDR pepper grinder! My understanding is that the tips pre-determined by RCCL will disperse te tips where they should go without any additional work on your part. Unless the Maitre d does something extra, like giving you a private table by a window or something.

  I am sure like anything some people abuse this that don't really require a service dog.

My father is 85, and requires a scooter or a walker to get around. He found an orange service dog vest which he puts on his dog, He doesn't cruise any longer and never took the dog on a cruise, but he does use it to bring the dog into restaurants.

Did you get it to go by chance? I have heard that they charge a la carte on did with a flat fee if you do this.

Didn't eat there, but looked at the menu.

Last year, on the Navigator, I had a bag go missing at debarcation because the tags were torn off.

This year, next week in fact, I am cruising on the Liberty.

I am considering reinforcing the tags with clear packing tape to make them more durable.

Thoughts?

My onboard breakfast tradition is to have the corn beef hash and smother it in the sausage gravy that they use with the biscuits.  

 

It's not my favorite food by far, but it is something I look forward to. And the impact in your cholesterol level is minimal, because you are at sea. :)

 

Favorite food would have to be the curries in the MDR - you have to ask the waiter for them, they are not on the menu.

Cholesterol doesn't count at sea? Good to know!

I have sailed the Navigator, and they had alacarte pricing at Johnny Rockets. I am sailing the Liberty (In exactly seven days!) and I believe they also have alacarte pricing.

I learned quickly not to buy anything mechanical, or any jewelry I expected to be valuable. My friend bought expensive watches that never worked, and has had trouble getting them replaced from the manufacturer. And the jewelry baubles bought for gifts never lasted longer then a couple wearings. I have always had a wonderful time on the cruise, but restricted purchases to t-shirts and ship models and such. YMMV.

What is your favorite food on board? This could be anything, but for me I am thinking of things I do more then once. I mean, Chops is amazing, and everything there was delicious, but without fail every meal in the dining room for me included... CHEESE PLATE! Weird, huh? And corned beef hash with breakfast.  Apparently, I am fairly easy to please. How about you?

We have only sailed with Celebrity, so I cant comment on any of the RCL ships. In January we will be on Freedom, and I can say we are really excited about it! We have a family panoramic room, which I cant wait to see!

That's cool! We have a promenade view on the Liberty, which is great since we expected an Inside Cabin. But the Promenade View sounds amazing. Will you even leave the cabin?

I'm not sure I can actually comment on this yet! I sailed on Navigator last time, and had a wonderful aft balcony. Incredibly memorable. But until I sail the Liberty in 9 days, that's my only Royal Caribbean ship! (I did like it much better then Carnival Conquest, FYI) What about everyone else?

Since its Christmas Day there won't be much open. If the weather is nice, go for a stroll along the seawall. You might enjoy the history display in the basement of the Galvez. It only takes a few minutes but is interesting and tells about some of the famous people who have stayed there and the ties to the entertainment, organized crime, and political figures of the last century.

Sounds about right. That may be all the time we'll have. Good thoughts.

Glad you brought the subject up. I am traveling with family members in a  total of 11 cabins. I think this would be great to get. Are the picture just taken on the ship or do they go onshore with you?

I am not sure. As I recall, they would have something at the gangway you could get your picture taken with. But not at sites other then the dock or tender.

We will definitely sit down with the cruise planners on the ship, and take advantage of the reduced deposit. But I know ahead of time if they don't have 2018 scheduled for July and December I'll be moving it later on...

Based on everyone's feedback, I do see the value at $250 or $300, but I think I will still pester people to take our picture and spend that money on drinks, food, and other non-essentials.

In Old San Juan we did La Casita Rones which is a rum bar and 'Puerto Rican Rum Embassy' located right at the pier downtown.

 

St. Maarten we went to Topper's Rhum Distillery

 

I skipped St Kitts; the group went to Brinley's, I took a catamaran to Nevis and had a "Killer Bee" at Sunshines.

 

On Antigua we toured Antigua Distilleries and had a tasting.  One was a bottle that was distilled in 1981 for their independence and aged 25 years.  Fabulous!  That bottle came home with me - the kids really don't need to go to college after all...

 

While in St. Lucia we toured St. Lucia Distilleries and partook of many rare rums the management set out for us.  They really went out of their way to educate us on the whole process, from cane field (or molasses tanker, depending on the brand) to barrel to bottle.  It was a fantastic experience.

 

On our last stop in Barbados, we toured St. Nicholas Abbey where they owners make an artisanal rum, and then off to Mount Gay's production facility at the north end of the island (not the visitors center near the port).  They gave us the V-V-VIP tour of the plant, followed by a session where we got to mix our own blend of rum (and take home a small bottle with our names on it), and finally we went into the aging facility where they gave us chalk and we were able to write our names on a barrel.  On the way back to the ship we stopped at the Visitor's Center and a bottle marking Barbados' 50th Independence Anniversary managed to make it home with me.

 

It was a fabulous experience for a rum enthusiast like myself!

 

Rob Burr is a rum expert and he and his wife Robin organized the tours.  

http://www.robsrum.com/2016/06/16/caribbean-rum-cruise-announces-vip-distillery-tours/

 

It was a fabulous experience for a rum enthusiast like myself, and I highly recommend it if you are interested in the spirit.

I don't know that rum is my favorite, but I did notice a rum tasting excursion at the museum in Belize City. Not too pricey, either.

This is great! I know you can also buy wine in Royal Gifts, too. Hadn't seen the hard alcohol until now!

I notice both Norwegian and Carnival has at least partial cruises available for 2018 for the months I would need.... Just waiting on Royal Caribbean now.... Still waiting.....still waiting.....still waiting.... Patient? You must mean that other guy! :-)

I used to have allergy issues with pets on airplanes, and always had to ask that I be moved or the pet be moved. However, unless I had a specific allergy or other medical issue with a dog o on board, I wouldn't car. I would file it all under S.E.P. (Somebody Else's Problem)

33 drinks goes quick....at least on my cruises it does...

 

I always get the drink package....and usually break  even for the cruise on the first day.....everything else after that is "free".....haha

Definitely want to party with you guys on the boat!

You're still my hero. :)

 

I've had the drink package on my two last cruises, and the most recent one was a rum tour where we visited distilleries and had tastings, etc., so wound up drinking on shore rather than staying onboard.  Even so, the drink package was worth it to me to try new drinks, have everything prepaid, etc.  

 

My wife on the other hand doesn't drink as much as me onboard so the package doesn't work for her.  Because she's paying for each drink, she'll have maybe one drink a day.  I wish they would offer the 10 Drink Card at the beginning of the cruise so I could pick one up for her and tell her to have fun with it.

We tried to do the rum tour in Jamaica one cruise, and the road got washed out. We don't have much luck with excursions!

So Uke, was this for like a 3-5 day cruise?

7 day cruise. (Liberty of the Seas, 12/26/16 -- 12 days YEAH!)

I doubt it. I think they'll wait until January as most people aren't thinking about booking cruises at this time of the year. Of course, I could be wrong. Celebrity just released their 2018 schedule and I booked for next summer 2018.

You are probably right. I have noticed that Carnival is slowly releasing all of 2018. It looks like they are releasing their harder-to-sell cruises first. (My opinion only). Norwegian hasn't released 2018. Mostly my concern is specifically with the closest ports to me: New Orleans and Galveston. I likely will need to book a cruise for the reduced on-ship deposit, and then switch it when the schedules become available. I lost my OBC upgrading the rooms on this current cruise, so I'm not really worried about that. I'm already booked for 2017, or this wouldn't be an issue. Geez, is this becoming an addiction? Is there a 12 step group for cruising? Can they meet in the ship's library?