BND

Previous changes to the menus (several in the last 15 years) have not resulted in any of the "issues" you stated. People may whine ahead of time, but they adjust. There is so much overthinking being done on this.

A cruise ship orders food in advance and they pretty much have standing orders based on average sailings with enough extra to carry over into the next cruise. They don't purchase at the micro level you seem to think. Most water is made from seawater onboard and they make sure the tanks are always full. Fuel costs don't really change since most is used to run the generators for the engines as well as electricity onboard. I think everyone knows that it's not the cabin sales that are profitable for cruise lines. It's the casino and alcohol sales in particular where profits come from. I know several D+ who gamble enough to get "free" cruises all the time. So, while the cabin costs them nothing and their drinks in the casino only are "free", they are adding to RCI's bottom line by gambling enough to qualify for those perks. Cashflow is the key and an empty cabin creates zero cashflow.

Kind of a cryptic post. Who is/are "they"? Was there anything different about this cruise?

I don't think anyone doesn't know that they don't get the entire 18% and that it goes into a pool. I also think that they would take every opportunity to get the 18% for the pool. The more in the pool, the more they get.

LOL. OP asked IF they do it, not for opinions about doing it. Some people, particularly extroverts love the attention. I'm an introvert and don't love it but I don't care if someone else wants to be sung to.

Yes, we've seen it done on all of our cruises since restart (2 b2b's and one single).

Since EN only has Chops and Chef's Table most people don't bother unless they really like Chops.

There is a separate entrance for Key and suites, but after that, everyone mixes together from security to check in and most times, walk on the ship. If you get there for the first check in time (1030 usually), you can get in before they get there. We were on EN three times last year (b2b in Apr and single cruise in July) and we got there for our 1030 check in Apr about 1040. We were early in July and waited outside til they opened the door at 1030. But, from there, it literally was a walk on. So, if you plan to be there by 1030, you more than likely will be on the ship before they even check in. Worst case is you surprise them in the terminal. It will still be a surprise. Honestly the Key out of Baltimore really isn't much of a value.

$16 for JS and below and $18.50 for GS and above.

You don't think a margarita is an "umbrella drink"? I'm sure the "watermelon" is a mix lol.

Saw this posted on FB. A couple of people think they're cute and posted snarky comments. And, I agree, DOD is always an "umbrella" drink. Lots of juice/mixer, little alcohol.

I drink regular wine also, but have tried Fre and a couple of others. None taste like wine.

We just cruised on Jewel out of T5 in Nov. Now, we had to park outside the garage as it was full, but I have knee issues and had no problem walking. From the time I left our car until we boarded the ship, I never sat down. But, I do better when I'm moving than when I stand still so your experience might be different than mine. The garage is attached to the terminal. Someone can correct me, but I think level 2 of the parking garage is the same level as the entrance to the terminal so no stairs or elevator to worry about. I did have to walk up a ramp from the lot.

Ever try it? It's terrible.

I have yet to find an even remotely good N/A wine. I've tried several here in the states and none actually taste like wine at all.

That is for flying, not cruising. We always lock our bags (35 cruises) and have never had any issues with it. I do it to keep the zipper from getting caught on something and pulling open. Cruise lines do not follow TSA rules. As in, no limits on liquids, you don't have to take your shoes off and you can lock your luggage. The Cruise lines rarely open any bag. What they do is if they find something, they can call you to GS or you have to go to the naughty room, open the bag and show them what is in it. If it's something illegal, and not just against their rules, they can make you go ashore and deal with shoreside security and police.

We never have. We just go eat in one of the venues. DH wakes up earlier than me, and sometimes he goes out on the balcony (he used to go out on deck when we first started cruising) but we just go together to get coffee and breakfast. Much easier than trying to balance/carry food. The free coffee onboard always leaves a lot to be desired so we grab one from either Starbucks on Cafe Lattetudes (ship dependent)

We've done the NE/Canada on Anthem out of NJ one time in Oct and loved it. We're booked for this fall on Jewel to do the NJ to Quebec City (NB) and Quebec City to NJ (SB) this Oct into Nov. Jewel (Radiance class like Serenade) is a great ship to do this itinerary on as there are so many places to sit and watch out windows. This will be our first time going north of Nova Scotia and can't wait. There is lots to see in all the ports so it's nice we get to do them twice. Although, Boston isn't on the itinerary and I'm waiting to see if Bar Harbor stays.

Currently there are 14 different menus. While they do repeat items, they do not repeat a menu. They mix and match items. We've been on many 8+ night cruises, including several 12 night. While we don't know what they'll do with the new ones (find out on our next 12 night in April) I expect them to follow the same.

It's not per person. It's per cabin, although some have reported per household as friends travel together and each should get their own. We get two bottles of wine as we're over 340 pts.

Well, we rarely saw anyone using the one on the dance floor area. Everyone went into the DL. I honestly don't care as long as they keep it stocked, which they were really good at.

That's how they handled it in Nov when we were on Jewel. Didn't hear any grumbling, but they did have certain tables reserved for Pinns. They had a separate buffet in the VCL overflow area up on the dance floor.

Yes, I've posted that before because when I called over a year ago and made changes, they didn't carry over as I made them using my #. The LA on EN told me in April how it worked with the primary person's requests being the only one they use when both are cruising together. I need to call again because we now have 543 points.

Not to mention, there are a lot of people who haven't had a booster since Fall 2021. We've only had the first two and one booster. Since fully vaxxed is still defined as the first two, there are a lot that haven't had a shot in going on two plus years now. We decided no more especially as everyone we know (except DH and I and my parents for some reason) have had it and all were triple and some quadrupled vaxxed. It really makes no sense to require it at this point.

You do realize the soft serve and gelato are completely different, right?