BND

I'm curious as to what those that sold what they own to go will do when they return? Too many have a problem with immediate gratification. We're retired and could "afford" to go but we would rather spend time with family and cruise a few times a year and keep the home we own free and clear so we can continue to give back and enjoy our retirement. You say you would, but you don't know because you didn't/can't right now. Anyway, my real question from the beginning was what is their game plan and I'd love to see what those who did sell everything do when they return? Just a simple question.

My family (sons and DIL's) would too if we needed it but we would never ask that especially if we spent all our money on a trip. I assumed that they spent a chunk of it. In a lot of places home values aren't as large as they are where we live but most would have to downsize to maintain the lifestyle they had before the trip. I guarantee not everyone who did sell to go on this trip really thought it through or made a sound decision. Sorry I asked. I've seen too many make dumb financial decisions based on emotions.

Not everyone has the equity to do that. We do and we're retired. We sold our previous home, downsized (5500 sq ft to 3800) and have no mortgage but if we sold our house now and went on this cruise, we'd have to really downsize. I'm just curious about people's mindsets and what their plans are. I don't get the defense of people that others don't know. I want real life info.

If they sold to pay for the cruise, what money would they use then? I can't imagine telling family "I spent all my money on a cruise, can I live with you?". I'm just trying to figure out. I don't need "devils's advocates guessing. It's a legitimate question when someone sells everything they own to go on a 9 month cruise.

As far as you know. As I said, then what when they get back?

I hope it's worth it to them. Once the cruise is over, then what? That is so short sighted.

So, you think laws don't apply to you or anyone? But, just for your peace of mind I have never reported anyone for a traffic violation. I may have called them names for being idiots, but beyond that, nope. You do you, but don't lose your ***t when you get caught.

I remember when Labadee was first improved and you could get a cabana for $150. Those were the days. We booked one 3 different times. Just like CC, you can't touch one for anything that's the least bit reasonable anymore. The fact that some people spend more on one day on a cabana than they do for their entire cruise just baffles me.

Well, the reality is, most people doing social media don't make that much money. That's the problem with some (younger) people thinking they can do it full time and make a lot of money, but that's just not true for the vast majority. They think "I don't have to go to college or learn a trade. I'll just post pictures and videos. It's more than a full time job for those that are really successful and even most of them have other passive incomes. Most likely, the younger cruisers have inherited or have high paying mobile careers. They are the exception by a long shot. You still have to come up with the cost up front. I would love to find out how many borrowed money or withdrew from retirement/401 accounts. I'm not talking the retirees. I'm talking the 20 and 30 somethings. My boys and their wives (late 30's) make very good money (200K+) but neither can come up with what the WC costs without borrowing. It's just a curiosity for me. DH and I could easily afford to do it, but being gone 9 months doesn't really have the appeal for us. Asking for info on how much winning bids are is very common on CC and on other sites, so not sure why it's such a big deal.

A carousel would not make it easier at all. It's so easy to find your zone # and just go there and grab bags. 38 cruises so far and never had any issue with retrieving bags.

I found that out after I posted. I'm amazed at some of the people who can afford to take their family on a cruise like this. I saw the ages range from 2-87. When our kids were 2, we barely had enough money to go to the beach for a weekend lol.

Oh, ours would too but he'd just say, are you sure you want to do this and then say he'd have to figure out what to move where, what to sell in order to do it without impacting our accounts as much. We actually are doing our monthly meeting with him this afternoon.

I doubt there's any woman of childbearing age doing the entire WC. The photos I've seen of the gala dinner for the WCers didn't exactly seem to have anyone under 50 lol. But, as the rules for pregnancy are strictly enforced, I'm guessing they would send them home prior to the cutoff of 23 weeks. They can't really give any exceptions because it's a medical/liability issue. DH and I were talking about the cost earlier and how our CFP would react if we said we needed 6 figures from our accounts to go on this cruise. You know, hitting up the principle and all.

After seeing some of the luggage posted on social media, I'm sure some people are still unpacking 😉

Hmm, someone just asked the exact same question on FB and got the same answers. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy

I don't think people realize how common medical emergencies are on cruise ships. Not all are visible or known by the guests. We had one cruise out of Baltimore (Grandeur) where we had multiple as in like 5 or 6 for the entire 12 nights that we knew about. One was before we even reached the Bay Bridge. That was done by Coast Guard boat. Some are stable enough to wait til a port.

Because water will evaporate and leave a nasty ring as it does so. Also, running water keeps the sewer smell away. When water isn't run/toilets flushed, everything dries out and smells.

It's always been secure for us and everyone we know that cruises out of there. Sorry that happened to you, but it's really a one-off. And, I meant the door for your tank on the outside of the car that covers the cap.

I guess that means you don't have a gas cover that has to be released inside the car or did they pry it open?. In all 15+ of our cruises out of Baltimore, we've never had a problem and have never met anyone who has and we know several people who park there and cruise regularly.

It's not. We established that earlier.

It's on the Miami cruise port webcam. https://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/

If they're going to blatantly break the rules, they should at least own it. SMH at the stupid defenses people use.

The Coast Guard has absolutely nothing to do with it. It's Customs and Border Patrol that handle it. We've done several b2b's and other than in Canada (where US law doesn't apply) we've had to leave the ship as I said. We've done b2b's in PC, Baltimore and Quebec City(4 total so far with several more scheduled). I just posted OUR experience for all of our b2b's. Your experience may vary, but staying onboard is much, much rarer than your one experience would indicate. They all require a true zero out before they will start reboarding (dinging people in) so you didn't just turn in your new cards and receive old ones. I guarantee you were taken out of the count and added back in (In Canada we were dinged out with a handheld and then we had to walk out on deck and go through a "walk on" by dinging back in where we were promised our old cards would be returned (they were a few days later).

And today, we can book online for Jan 14. I haven't checked the 21st yet.

No we don't have the dining plan. We're just using OBC for a couple of specialty restaurants.