Bob_KY

They’re making money on me.  I never EVER use all of my vouchers.  Most days I don’t use any of them.  I’m sure I’m not the only one…

But with the post covid addition of another drink voucher, that can be used anytime of the day, as opposed to 3 hours in that tiny room slamming drinks, you have really gained benefits.  The fact that they may lock you out during Happy Hour is really inconsequential as long as your allowed in for your morning coffee machine

@OasisQueen if you're super curious about what your chances are for getting the Royal Up, you can run through a mock booking on the Royal Caribbean website to see how many rooms are still available in the categories you bid on. That will show you how many rooms are still available.
The other thing to remember is that this is a tool for Royal Caribbean to use in order to not lose money on last minute cancellations. 
Good luck!

Lately my Chef's choice has been a couple of pieces of fruit or some kind of sweets.  We almost never eat any of the stuff we get from the Chef's choice.  Kind of a waste for us.

Could be a fruit plate or mini dessert plate or cheese plate.

Sailing solo leaving your wife, grown kids, family and dogs home…to reach Pinnacle Club status quicker.
Depriving yourself of your loving family and pets just so your wife can enjoy the privileges of Pinnacle with you sooner than if you did it together is an enormously selfless sacrifice.
You, sir, are a hero! I salute you!🫡

WOOT!   It all works out then.   I will be Pinnacle status on my birthday 12/17/2024.   Also, if anyone is interested in the numbers I used to calculate this I can post them. Like total nights needed to reach this level. Cost for Solo vs. Double occupancy (Bring girlfriend er...  I mean Wife).

For NYE 12/31/2023. One day we need to find a sailing together!

When are you on OY ?  We will be on her 3-16-24.  This is the replacement cruise for our cancelled Rhapsody Panama Canal cruise.

we were just on celebrity out of Barcelona in the Retreat and the food was awesome as expected on Celebrity. I'll say my cruises with Royal since the restart have been a disappointment on the food side. Mariner had the worst food I've ever experienced on a cruise.  Hopefully they will get better. We are on Odyssey in December. 

This!
When we are on a class other then O or Q I believe it was the Mariner we visited the WJ and left a few dollars on the table after breakfast. The next time we visited we were walked to a table and my hot tea was delivered to me, what a nice surprise. Sometimes especially in the WJ the small gesture make a big difference!

Regarding whether or not a staff member actually keeps the cash tips or puts them into a combined fund...I have finally decided that it isn't my business and I don't really worry about it.  I leave the tip I'm going to leave and what happens to it after it leaves my hand is irrelevant to me.  Sure, I would rather have the person who provided me the service get the money, but the tip sharing policy is not something that I have any control over.  The only thing I can control is whether or not I leave a tip, so I do.
I follow this "rule" whether it's a bartender or a meal server.  I tip at every meal whether I eat at a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer.  99% of the time I leave my tip on the table and depart the pattern.  What happens to that money after I leave is, and will always remain, a mystery.  It's simply none of my business.

Just take some $1 or exchange them.
This was my 7th RC cruise and for most I've had the DDP. I know grats are already added but I decided after reading facebook and blogs like RCBlog to tip a few bucks when getting drinks.
This was helped by winning $20 with my free slot rolls 🙂 
I have to say while you don't need to tip it really made a difference. 
I get beer mostly so it didn't impact the alcohol level but the friendliness of the staff (they were always friendly before but the level of friendliness increased) and the speed at getting served was improved.
Perhaps not noticeable if you haven't tipped before but I definitely noticed it when the pool bars got busy.
I will definitely be tipping bar staff in the future. 🙂 
 
 
 

I never get travel insurance for land vacations, but I always do for cruises.  The cost of a medical evac from a cruise ship via helicopter can be a life changing economical hit.  I think of the cancellation, lost luggage and other normal insurance benefits as just a plus.

Excursions booked.  One excursion that we are looking forward to is the "Sunset Schooner Cruise" in Aruba. 

My husband, my brother, my sister, and I were all on Ovation the end of June for Alaska.  We all got COVID.  Came home on Friday, felt ill Saturday morning, tested, and we all were positive.  Come to read on other Facebook groups, that the sailing before ours, and the one before that as well had many people who also tested positive.  Still glad we went and Alaska was amazing, but it did put a slight damper on our vacation.  My brother had the worst of it.  It was a little scary.

That said, we've been on 7 cruises since December 2021, and this is the first time we caught anything.  Still love cruising!

Of course, if I wanted to carry on two bottles, I have a bag that's WAY more appropriate:

And, you know, I've had a couple of these for years and never used them to bring wine to a cruise!

This is what we bought from Amazon...Holds them securely and easy to carry on.  
 

I agree that 150 is probably a better option for a "special" night.  Saying that, I will add that I am not a huge fan of 150's menu.  If you like exotic dishes (venison, veal, lamb, duck, etc.), then 150 would be a real treat. We are NOT exotic food eaters (or at least, I am not.  Dan loves lamb.  UGH).  In the beginning (no, not going back quite THAT far  LOL), 150 was a Michael Schwartz venue and the menu was much better, IMO.  I so miss the exotic (see what I did there ?😜) salts that they used to have.  So anyway....food-wise, I prefer Chops but ambiance-wise, 150 is definitely a step up.

We will dine in the CK a couple of times on a 7 day. It's more of a fine dining experience and while we enjoy that, and we have never been disappointed in the food and service, we also enjoy mixing it up. 

It was a success! And I didn't even have to pay for it! I got weird looks for asking but they gave me the bread with a to go top and I took it down to the main dining room to enjoy on the last night 

I had the banana split and it was amazing, which sounds silly because it's just a banana and some ice cream, right? But the ice cream was excellent quality and the crispy caramelly stuff they put on top was the perfect finish. 😋

Not a fan of Jamie's, but we love Giovanni's Table.  Do you know if they removed it from both restaurants?

You can check out anytime you like
But you can never leave.

Does this mean my cruise goes on forever?