urmurd

Please do not donate clothes. At this point just your presence on the island and your consumption of goods and services is plenty of help.

AoS,

Thanks for the perspective. I had planned on a suitcase full of clothes to drop off, but will redirect to our local homeless shelter. We'll do what we can to stimulate the economy as we pass through.

Thanks - Rob

First - Wow - thanks for accumulating all of this valuable information on FAQ's for the drink packages on X. Upcoming cruise will be 1st time w/ premium package, and you've covered 99% of my questions. Second - glad there are so many other (wonderful) people who obsess over small details like I do.

Question - Is it possible to grab a couple unopened beers to throw in a backpack to take off the ship when we head to the beach? Not the end of the world, but it would be great if that's possible. Anyone tried it?

Cindy's comments are spot on. Reviews are incredibly helpfully, but you need to separate emotion from fact. There will be outliers, and the tricks are to look for non-emotional, collaborating reviews, and give lesser credence to the outliers. A few years ago, I remember researching an upcoming potential cruise and found that as the cabin category went up, the reviews went down. Folks in "suites" hated everything about the cruise while interior cabin reviews raved. True message was all about perception. Folks who wanted a "bargain cruise" had low expectations and had a great vacation, while those who "splurged" and spent $$$ on the suite expected 5-star butler service, but failed to research and understand that (Carnival) doesn't roll the red carpet out for suite passengers (vs other cruise lines).

Net - You're doing the right thing by doing research ahead of time. If you know the cocktail they slap in your hand when you get on board is followed by a bill, you won't be upset for the next 7 days and nit pick letting your entire vacation be ruined. If you book a room over the disco or under the buffet, don't complain about noise! Know what to expect and enjoy. Does plumbing sometimes break? Yes. How the staff addresses the problem is the wildcard. Relax, enjoy your vacation, and continue to research and make educated decisions as you plan for a great vacation. Same rules apply (IMHO) to TripAdvisor reviews and researching shore excursions.