UkuleleCruiser

If the price drops on your cruise before final payment date, you can call and have the cruise rebooked at the lower rate.  You must be aware, however, that any promotions that were in effect at the time you originally booked (OBC, grats, bev pkgs, etc.) would be forfeited unless they are also in effect when you rebook.  In other words, you will rebook under whatever prevailing promos are being offered.
 
If the price of your cruise goes down below what you paid after your final payment date you can still rebook at the lower fare but whatever applicable cancellation penalty is in effect will be applied so it is rarely profitable to rebook after final payment has passed unless the reduction is REALLY substantial (and they never are).  What you CAN do after final payment date has passed is upgrade to a higher level cabin if the higher level is less than what you paid originally for your lower level cabin.  In other words, if you originally booked an inside cabin for $500 and the price dropped to where an oceanview cabin was now going for $499, they would upgrade you from the original inside using the current rate to an oceanview cabin with no additional charge.  The same rules apply regarding promos though.  It is rare for prices to drop that much but it does happen occasionally.
 
Cruise lines do not want to rebate money to you that they have already collected (or that you have already obligated) so they make it as difficult as possible for you to rebook at a lower rate.

I do this, too, but by credit card as I get 3â„… back on travel purchases. The key, of course, is to pay off the balance each month or the rewards end up costing you more than what they're worth.
 
One of the things I like about cruising is that the bulk of the expense is paid up front so that you don't return home from vacation with a huge bill.

My plan involves checking daily.....but its never really about the deal on the cruise for me. It's the airfare to get there from Canada which can be insane.
 
I do try to book out as far as I can, with  low deposit deals and lots of time to watch for price drops or upgrades and keep an eye on flights.
 
However, my most recent booked cruise for January  was booked early in the morning after a few bottles of wine...and it turned out to be my cheapest flight and cheapest cruise yet....so maybe there is something to Klaconqueso's method of booking!!..haha

I carry a little Swiss Army pocket knife -- The usual size, about 3 inches long, with toothpick, wine corkscrew, tweezers. It's incredibly handy. It's never been confiscated, but I have always worried about it. Should I continue to bring my knife and risk it? Maybe go to the tiny 1.5 inch model and just bring a corkscrew? (I'm bringing a corkscrew anyway!)
 
Anyone ever had one confiscated? Or are they not even forbidden?

Drink a couple beers and start booking things that sound good, and then thank myself later.
 
Kidding... mostly.

This would be great if you only want to drink at dinner

Duck tape, that'll help in all those situations, and should be ok to carry on ;-)

At least the first official blog vote was in my favor , 1-0 baby !!!

This may be the first application of Robert's Rules to the forums. Not sure if that's good or bad. ;)

Dan has a small Swiss Army pocket knife too and he's always very careful to leave it at home.  I'm surprised that they haven't confiscated yours yet, Ukulele Cruiser

Not weird at all. For a lot of us, this is the "luxury hotel at sea" concept -- Why leave that? My wife and I will get off the ship. But then we just spend a little time in the port area, look at a souvenir shop, grab a bite to eat and a local beer, and get back on the ship.

So, this Culinary celebration appeared as an option for our 12/26/16 sailing on Liberty. Has anyone had experience with these? They are charging quite a bit more, and it's not clear exactly how it's different from a regular Chops or Giovani's visit. Yes, you get champagne ( a glass), but do the "something extra" items come included? Why exactly is this worth more? I'm interested, and am a big fan of Chef's Table, but not sure how this is different...

No worries: We're all friends here. Often I prefer to dink my coffee (or cold beverage in a Yeti cup) on the balcony, or out on deck, or sitting by the pool... The places where coffee and other beverages is available is often not close to your cabin/balcony/deck/pool. The cups provided by RCCL are smaller and have no lid. So your coffee could spill on the way, and you might not have enough to be satisfied. Thus, many people choose to bring a travel mug. Or Yeti cup. Or 7-11 Extreme Ultimate Giant Big Gulp Mug.
 
Looks like your first cruise is coming up in just a few days! What ship are you on? What are you most excited about? I remember my first cruise. It was awesome!
 
You may see a lot of complaints on these boards, but remember: A cruise is a week you are not cooking, cleaning, working, driving, or worrying. You will have a phenomenal time!

First timer so be nice.. what is the travel mug for??? :)

I always bring a travel mug with me on cruises, and have never regretted it. This year, I am considering my choices:
 
1) inexpensive travel mug from Starbucks. These actually only cost $1.00, and I use a hotsleeve I have for another ceramic cup. (Not bringing the ceramic) This hods 16 ounces. Disadvantage: It doesn't keep the coffee hot that long. Advantage: It is an actual cup which I could use for ice water or other beverages on board. here's an article about it: https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/10/14/trash-talking-starbucks
 
2) I have a Stanley travel mug that resembles a Stanley thermos. It also holds about 16 ounces. Advantage: Keeps coffee hot a good long time. Disadvantage: you can only really use it as a travel mug type drink container, so putting cold drinks with ice makes it difficult to access the ice. http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/68928?searchid=7SPFGPLA&feedid=googlenonbrand&product_id=68928-GRN&adpos=1o3&creative=60642850578&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CLnajLOhn9ACFYaGaQodeyYG-w
 
What travel mugs do you guys bring? And what do you think?

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need"........Rolling Stones

Just for the record, there are two cruise ship berths in Galveston. Although there are five ships sailing from Galveston (including Disney Wonder here over the holidays), their schedules are such that no more than two ships are in port on any given day. 

We just noticed there are benefits to our Crown and Anchor Gold level that we can take advantage of on our upcoming cruise. Namely:
1) Special breakfast before Debarcation
2) Priority Embarcation
3) Special offers on the ship
 
Will we be provided information on this with our packet of stuff when we get on the ship? Do we have to inquire about them separately?
 
What sort of special shipboard offers might I be looking at?
 
Thanks for your feedback as the excitement builds -- 34 more days!

We just noticed there are benefits to our Crown and Anchor Gold level that we can take advantage of on our upcoming cruise. Namely:
1) Special breakfast before Debarcation
2) Priority Embarcation
3) Special offers on the ship
 
Will we be provided information on this with our packet of stuff when we get on the ship? Do we have to inquire about them separately?
 
What sort of special shipboard offers might I be looking at?
 
Thanks for your feedback as the excitement builds -- 34 more days!

Awesome! Thanks!

In your stateroom you will be provided a list of the shipboard offers. 
 
Sailor_to_Cruiser was kind enough to provide a pdf of one of these sheets in a recent post. That was for Oasis, but your's will be much the same if not identical.
 
To use the benefits you just need to provide your SeaPass card to the appropriate crew member. You'll get one set of offers for each person in the stateroom (i.e. two of each for a couple).
 
My advice is to use the ones that interest you as early as is convenient (i.e. don't "save them for later") ... the end of the cruise comes quickly.
 
Also, if you've lost track of what you've used on what card, crew members can generally look up what's available to you.

No! Don't break anything! :-)

No worries. Besides, no tradesies! Lol.
 
I'm up to date in my models, until I break one that is.

So, this Culinary celebration appeared as an option for our 12/26/16 sailing on Liberty. Has anyone had experience with these? They are charging quite a bit more, and it's not clear exactly how it's different from a regular Chops or Giovani's visit. Yes, you get champagne ( a glass), but do the "something extra" items come included? Why exactly is this worth more? I'm interested, and am a big fan of Chef's Table, but not sure how this is different...

So, this Culinary celebration appeared as an option for our 12/26/16 sailing on Liberty. Has anyone had experience with these? They are charging quite a bit more, and it's not clear exactly how it's different from a regular Chops or Giovani's visit. Yes, you get champagne ( a glass), but do the "something extra" items come included? Why exactly is this worth more? I'm interested, and am a big fan of Chef's Table, but not sure how this is different...