Gears

Yes, I did.  This is waaaytooo expensive for JR.  I will continue to eat their free breakfast on the O class but will not be enjoying the other meals at that price.  Even premium hamburger joints on land do not charge $20+ for a burger meal.  Push, push, push.  That's all they know

Did you see they are "test" a higher cover charge for Johnny Rockets on the Oasis?  Going from $6.95 to $9.95.

Guess what !  Royal is now charging for some of the shows in the main theater !
My cruise planner for my upcoming Allure sailing has an option for an "insider" view of Mama Mia ! for $79 PER PERSON.  This special "event" includes a cocktail, a photograph. preferred seating (whatever that means) and a meet and greet with the cast members.
What a joke !  I wouldn't even watch Mama Mia ! when it was free I'm SURE as he** not going to pay $79 PP (plus gratuity, I'm SURE) to see a bunch of cruise line singers and dancers perform.  It's even $79 for children - not that I would take a child to this show in the first place....
Are there going to be "free" showings of Mama Mia ! on this sailing ?  Hard to tell.  The only option for reserving this show in my Cruise Planner was the paid version but that MAY mean that you will be unable to make a reservation for anything except for the paid version.  There may still be free, unreserved performances.  I just don't know at this point.
It seems that this new paid option is showing up on many sailings (new CC thread) and everyone seems universally outraged.  I sure hope they end up with empty theaters for these paid performances or this may be something we will be seeing more of.
This is just a bridge WAAAYTOOO far as far as I'm concerned.  When they start charging for this second-rate entertainment they've gone waaay off the deep end.

Unless I meet the girl of my dreams AND she is a Pinnacle, this is not going to happen anytime soon.

I think Mr. Van Fleet is guilty of spreading some "fake news". The Allure did the bearing swap out in 2015. This trip to the dry dock is to replace a damaged propeller. 

Sorry, couldn't resist

Have a look in Cruise Planner. In your reservation there is a tab at the top 'Cruise Planner'. Click on that, BUT...don't click on get started. Scroll down to "Shop Royal Gifts".
Under 'Choose a Category' pick On Board Delivery, then Choose a Category again and choose Wine Cellar.

Welcome aboard! The port in Falmouth has a very large shopping area that is fenced in and very safe. There is even a Margaritaville also that offers free wifi. If you are adventurous and do not mind being constantly badgered by street salemen in a "shanty town" environment, then take a step outside of the gate towards downtown Falmouth. We preferred to stay within the fence where it was a lot cleaner. Or, you can always stay on board and enjoy the ship's amenities.

Everything is locked in the safe unless you need it. That includes passports. If we're getting off the ship, we take just enough cash we might need and a piece of gov't photo ID other than our passports. Credit card only in the case we foresee needing it to buy something.
We wear no jewelry either on excursions. That includes watches other than our recreation watches already covered in sand and sea salt.

i still say they should tow a dinghy behind the ship with a rope ladder attached, and smokers have to climb down to it to smoke

Since ya’all know that I like to flaunt my status.....I’ve decided to show you all my cards I’ve acquired over the years of cruising with RCI...are you ready to feast your eyes on all these cards?   
 
Here they are!
 

First, if you bought with a credit card, check to see if your credit card covers you for trip cancellation for non-preexisting medical conditions. Mine does.
Second, it's only a cruise. Only from my opinion and experience with others with cardiac issues...what you need to evaluate is RISK. While they have great medical facilities on a ship, they are NOT equipped to handle post-op complications.

Looking to book a 3-night dining package on Brilliance of the Seas and I think I found a cheaper alternative than the 3 night package, but would appreciate someone double checking my math.
There are 3 specialty restaurants on Brilliance: Chops, Giovannis Table and Izumi (yes, there's Chef's Table but I'm not counting it since it's not included in any dining package).

Three night package is $75 per person.
However...
BOGO 2 night dining package is $40 per person.  So if I did BOGO 2 night (for Chops and Izumi) and then booked Giovanni's Table individually at $24 per person for night 3 or 4, that would get me 3 restaurants for $64 per person.
Am I missing something, or did I stumble upon a good strategy?

You only need to reserve this under one guest name.  It is confusing the way it is presented.  I reserved it under my name for my husband and myself.

I had that too and just rebooked Voom. Was $15.99 now $13.99, hey every little bit helps right! LOL

No corkage fee if it's bought on the ship.

@Boston Babe  - check your cruise planner also. Just got an email re our May cruise on Adventure. Prices are now the lowest I have seen since I bought on Cyber Monday (and then they went back up). Refreshment package dropped from it's regular $26/day to $18 and an excursion we were looking at dropped from $79 to $63. On Jan 10, I called and saved $201 on the cruise ($101 fare and and extra $100 OBC). That was the third drop since we booked last June.
Sooo... everyone--it does pay to check often! Happy cruising!
 

RCL used to have that kind of wine package. I found it worked well, but as soon as the drink packages came out they disappeared. However, some of the dining packages allow you to buy bottles of wine at a discount (40% off bottles under $100 and 20% off bottles over $100) when in the specialty restaurants. I don''t believe there is a restriction on how many bottles you can buy and take them(?) with you.

It depends on the ship. They are not all the same, even in the same class. It's usually written on the track somewhere.
But that does not include hurdling lounge chairs with people laying on them across the track...or stopping for a Margarita.
Many ships have deck 4/5 which are awesome for walking the circumference of the ship instead of the top deck.

My guess is a shipping container.  They fall off cargo ships from time to time.  Apparently one propellor blade was dinged.  The imbalance and bent blade caused a lot of vibration and issues.  They cut off some metal to make it more streamlined but now it wasn't balanced.  The result was speed restrictions causing the high speed run to St Kitts to be impossible.  This caused itinerary updates.  Western Caribbean routes don't need the high speed leg so they were okay.  
This is based on some unconfirmed tidbits so who knows.  Maybe they ran over a Carnival tug boat. 

I wanna be...your Windjammer! (a la Peter Gabriel)
Sorry...always wanted to do that! 

Or be in a suite (if you're not a Pinnacle, I think Diamond and Diamond+ too.). 

Allure?

40 & 47...B2B!! Wooot! Wooot!

3!