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FManke

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  1. Love
    FManke reacted to Thorntor in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Couldn't agree more.  It is not the wearing of the pin, but the "better-than-thou" attitude that a very, very few exhibit from time to time.  Our experience was once trying to get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale early in order to start our 800 mile drive home, some Pinnacled Princes complained that the early departure was supposed to be for the Pinnacle guests.  
    The few Pinnacle exhibitionist remind me of of man I met in Arlington, VA who years ago lived on a neighborhood with a lot of retired generals and admirals who had their name and rank on their mailboxes.  He put his name and rank on his mailbox as well, "Private (Retired)."
  2. Like
    FManke got a reaction from Big Tule in When is your next cruise?   
    Brilliance of the Seas leaves Sunday. Flying out today for 3 nights in Venice on the front end. 3.5yrs and two cancelled cruises in the making. Excited its finally here!
     
    Happy Cruising!
  3. Like
    FManke got a reaction from CrimsonCruiser in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  4. Like
    FManke got a reaction from AandD in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  5. Haha
    FManke got a reaction from Neesa in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  6. Haha
    FManke got a reaction from Morganno in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  7. Haha
    FManke got a reaction from JimnKathy in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  8. Haha
    FManke got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Beam me up to Izumi Hibachi, Scotty! 🤣
  9. Haha
    FManke got a reaction from Neesa in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    Piercings are very in!
  10. Like
    FManke reacted to Ampurp85 in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    I got all my pins up to Diamond, making D+ in Jan, but they are still in the thing they came in. I am indifferent either way, wear them or don't.
    My issue is the people who throw their status around: i.e. "I am diamond do this, give me that, pledge your soul.......etc." My last cruise had about 5 pins, they were are pretty nice and they all wore their pins. People would indeed come up to them.......but people would also come up to me and ask questions. Lots of newbies would ask what "diamond prime" means when they read my seapass card.
  11. Love
    FManke reacted to twangster in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    I sometimes wear my pin knowing it absolutely gets under some people's skin.  I think it's absolutely hilarious that it bothers some people so much these threads exist.   
    I also very much enjoy those moments when I'm not wearing it and some blabbermouth D+ is sitting at a bar like they are king of the cruise world telling everyone within earshot how much they know, most of which is wrong, then I throw down my Pinnacle sea pass card on the bar to order a drink.  Go on... dig that hole a little deeper.  You were saying?
  12. Thanks
    FManke reacted to smokeybandit in Concierge e-mail?   
    4-7 days
  13. Like
    FManke reacted to twangster in Who wears their Crown & Anchor pin? WHY?   
    The best parts of wearing the Pinnacle pin are not the published benefits.  Crew deal with an ever changing guest population one cruise to the next.  On a typical cruise roughly half of the guest population has never cruised Royal before.  Crew are constantly dealing with newbies who don't know how anything works on board.  
    When crew see a Pinnacle pin they instantly know that guest has been around... a lot.  They know they don't have to explain things like to a newbie.  It's not the kiss ass relationship some people assume.  Crew instantly let their guard down and it's like greeting an old friend or fellow crew member.  It's an ice breaker.  
    It is said that the Pinnacle pin opens doors.  That's not literal, as in crew holding a door open, but a metaphor.  It does make onboard life easier in subtle ways.
    It starts walking to the terminal doors where the terminal contractors see a Pinnacle pin and instantly know that you know the routine.  If there is a suite and Pinnacle queue they are already welcoming you without having to show a set sail pass.   
    When I didn't wear my Pinnacle pin boarding and I've had to show my Set Sail pass to enter the right queue I've had terminal contractors suggest that I wear the pin next time.  It's easier on them too since they know instantly you are in the right place.  Having boarded many cruises I have learned it makes life easier in the boarding process so why wouldn't someone wear it?  Why make it harder than it has to be?  When it's time to start boarding and they call Suites and Pinnacle the terminal folks that are gatekeepers looking for eligible guests for that moment in time can instantly see you are Pinnacle.  No need to examine your papers, keep the line moving.  It's just easier.  Why make it harder?
  14. Like
    FManke reacted to KJones in Coffee card question   
    Just got off Radiance last week and this was my experience: coffee card had my name and room number on it - no ship name. My first drink was a grande (16oz) chai latte - so no espresso shots - and that took 2 punches. Next drink was a small 12oz chai, which was only 1 punch. So if getting a non-espresso drink, I would recommend ordering the small each time to maximize the benefits - 2 smalls = 24oz for the same "price" as (1) 16oz drink.
    Since I didn't use all the punches on this sailing, I will be saving the card for a future cruise. May have to white out the room number though 🙂
  15. Like
    FManke reacted to wordell1 in MDR differences between US and Europe?   
    We were on Wonder of the seas this past summer and there were definitely some changes to the MDR menu.  There was a "British" addition or two each night.  Different pot pies and fish and chips come to mind.  
  16. Wow
    FManke got a reaction from PPPJJ-GCVAB in MDR differences between US and Europe?   
    You know, I did that and cannot see any menus. I must be doing something wrong.
     
    Happy Cruising!
  17. Thanks
    FManke got a reaction from Robert M in Coffee card question   
    The refreshment package would be the way to go then, you'd get everything you got before, sans the alcohol and the huge price tag.
     
    Happy Cruising!
     
  18. Like
    FManke got a reaction from LJay0301 in Favorite treat on board?   
    The mushroom risotto at Giovanni's 
    Escargot in the MDR
    Any dessert on our balcony at night
  19. Like
    FManke reacted to Matt in How do you pick a travel agent?   
    Word of mouth. Recommendations from friends or family of a great TA is what to look for.
  20. Like
    FManke reacted to smokeybandit in How do you pick a travel agent?   
    It's hard to know (other than reviews of past performance) if a TA is a good TA until you need them to be a good TA
  21. Love
    FManke got a reaction from Eyeonhevn in How do you pick a travel agent?   
    I like many others here have great success with MEI. They are a sponsor of this blog. That's why I started to use them, but that's not why I continue to use them. They have great service and have saved me quite a bit of money over the years. Everything is done online with us, so it doesn't matter that I'm in Illinois and our TA is in Washington state.
     
    Happy Cruising!
  22. Thanks
    FManke got a reaction from Done in Coffee card question   
    It's been a few years since we used a card and unless they have a Starbucks onboard it's just small, medium and large and I think it was 1, 2 and 3 accordingly. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will correct me if I'm wrong.
  23. Thanks
    FManke got a reaction from Done in Coffee card question   
    As @ChessE4stated it is usually one punch per shot, but like a lot of things on RCCL, this seems to differ from ship to ship and crew member to crew member as reported by many people here.
    Happy Cruising!
  24. Like
    FManke got a reaction from Swar in Drink Voucher and gratuities   
    I also like to be "proactive" 
  25. Like
    FManke reacted to Done in Drink Voucher and gratuities   
    On our last cruise (7 night B2B) we left the bar staff $10 day 1 and every day beyond.  Starting day 2 of the cruise we didn't need to show our Sea Pass card and they started fill our order when they saw us coming.  We never had an empty glass and we learned to tell them when we were on the last drink before dinner or they would have had to carry us to dinner! 🙂 
    We had a late excursion day 4, 2nd cruise, didn't go to Schooner, and the next night we were asked by all the staff where were we last night.
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