Anniversarygirl25

11 minutes ago, Royals Carol said:

That doesn’t seem fair to those who are “really” handicapped. I hate to use this word but it feels like discrimination . Thank you so much for you time replying to my question.!

Really handicapped? What is your definition of “really” handicapped? Or is it just anyone YOU deem worthy? You should think about spending time with people who have experienced discrimination, cause this ain’t it 

23 hours ago, DDG 41 said:

Why is there a need for a weekly thread about when the rest of 2021 dates come out? There is a search function for a reason. Yes?

Unpleasant much? Scroll on by, you chose to click on it. 

Oh ok. I was hoping there would be options in Europe in April of 2021, but not yet

I see some things are already posted through 2021, does anyone know when the other itineraries will get posted?  

More of wishful thinking, but I would love to have a ship on the west coast

On 2/28/2019 at 1:01 AM, laslomas said:

There are a couple of tipping threads on the go at the moment and many posters mention tipping cash with every drink, and in the MDR and even in the buffet. I understand from reading through these threads that this is normal procedure for many guests. The skill of 'sleight of hand' must be very well practiced. On all my cruises with various cruise lines over several years I can honestly say I have never seen it happen. I know it is easy to add a tip when signing a receipt for a drink, but much of the talk is of cash. I will do a bit more people watching on my next cruise to see how it is done. Personally I just leave the auto gratuities in place and enjoy my time without needing to carry money around with me in what I always thought was a cashless environment.

But with tipping it will always be each to their own, and there will always be discussions about tips until the cruise lines make the decision to make changes to the way they deal with the salaries of their staff. Cultural differences also come into it, and always will. But the threads are always fun to read   

 

 

 

 

That's funny. Looking for it you will probably see it now. If we have to sign a thing for our drinks I might put it on that but I think that goes in to a common pool. So my husband doesn't drink but he does non-alc and coffee drinks. I usually don't carry anything but my sea pass so he'll keep 5 or 6 ones in his pocket at all times. I don't think I have ever not tipped on a drink or at the Ben & Jerry's if there is one.  It honestly never occurred to me that I should be tipping in the buffet, so I'll have to give a think about that. We do give tips the last night in the MDR in cash, but of course we put it in an envelope first. 

On 3/1/2019 at 3:56 PM, TinkBellaMom said:

I called RC and the agent who, was not pleasant, said when we arrived at the pier without a wheelchair, we would be removed from the room and placed somewhere else.  He added it would probably be somewhere we wouldn't want to be.

 

I'm sorry you got an unpleasant agent. I am legally handicapped but I am not in a wheelchair. I use a cane and need the zero entry shower though so I book an accessible room. Your travel agent should be able to move you if you are worried about it, and if not it sounds as if you might benefit from some of the features. 

On 2/28/2019 at 6:05 PM, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

Spot on.

Yup

10 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Good for you! 👍

RCI loves you! 💘

That was one line out of a whole post, but whatever. I just don't feel the need to spend any time agonizing over what honestly amounts to less than 200.

If I understand correctly, because I don't remove auto grats - the wait staff and cabin steward get to keep that extra money, yay! Contrary to the faulty math I have seen thrown about on these kind of posts, the staff is not raking it in if you average it out. Also RCI factors the auto grats in to wages so removing it literally takes money out of the staff pockets. 

It's a ridiculous system, that's why I am for just including gratuity in the cruise fare and letting everyone do what they want from there. 

Oh gosh, a tipping question! The one thing guaranteed to bring CC together in a single voice of agreement! Lol. 

I consider the prepaid gratuities part of the cruise fare - I pay it upfront and never think about it again. At the end of our trip we tip our wait staff and our cabin steward usually 50ish  sort of depending on what length of cruise we are on. We have drinks package but tip cash to our servers as we go.

My thinking is this - it doesn't mean that much to me, but it could mean a lot to someone else. So will I miss the extra cash? Nope. 

I learned a great tip on here a couple years ago that I have used for each cruise. I never spend 1s or 5s - ever. If I get them back in change they go right in an envelope for travel tips. Usually use the 1s in combination for every drink I get - coffee - alcohol - etc. And then have 5s in whatever combination I need to tip the car service, shuttle drivers and cruise staff. It's painless and I almost always have more than I need. 

I work for the Port of Seattle in the Maritime Capital Construction program. From the pictures I have seen I think May is going to be a push. However, if they want to complete bad enough they can throw money at it and get it done. I will be there next month, so will be curious to get a better look up close.

For goodness sake, I'm not sure that is your friend! Bahamas was our first cruise a couple years ago and we are doing another next month. We love Coco Cay, where I expect you will be stopping, and we thought Nassau was worth a visit with a little planning. We saw some history, ate some good food, and did a little shopping away from the tourist trap stores right off the ship. Next month we used a non-RCI vendor to book a day at Atlantis, I'm just interested in checking it out! 

I have heard negative things said by cruisers about Nassau in the past, and honestly in most cases it seemed more like an attitude problem! Stay excited and curious and you will have an AMAZING time! That first cruise to the Bahamas hooked us and we have since done the Caribbean and a PNW cruise, and have a B2B Caribbean scheduled for next year as well. Looking in to a new england/canada one for this fall - so be forewarned you may get hooked! 

Sailing next month on Anthem. We got a GTY oceanview balcony - RM 10286. Don't have any experience with Anthem so not sure if that is good or bad!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y4L6SMP/ref=twister_B01LWZEKIX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That's what I have used and no one has said anything - only have 3 cruises so far though! 

Haven't been on Harmony, but I have sailed Freedom and completely enjoyed it! So much so that we are doing a B2B on her in April 2020. I'm going on Anthem in March and I have the opposite worry - will I like a ship that big?!

I just paid 149 for March

Loving this. On a different itinerary in March but reading your review I'm 75% going to book this one for next fall! The ship info is so helpful as we have not sailed Anthem before. Do you know if the Solarium Bistro is open for lunch? The hours show starting at 11, but looks like reservations aren't available before 6p..

Thank you! Exactly what I needed to know!

I was there in March alone while my DH looked at mayan ruins. I absolutely loved it. I got there on the early side and had a great spot. The people were unbelievably nice and kept bringing me drinks and food. It was a lovely, relaxing day.

Headed to Coco Cay in March - haven't been since 2016 when we had a clamshell and loved it. At that time it came with water, fruit plate, towels, floating mats, and a dedicated bar/server for the area. It looks like they still have the clamshells but without all the extra stuff, is that correct? 

The beach beds are described to have all those things, but I'm not sure about making that upgrade. It looks as if you would be in the shade the whole time and there aren't even chairs if you want to be out in the sun for awhile. 

Looking for someone that has booked the beds to see what that experience was like! Or if you have done a clamshell since the change, does it suck now? : )

I'm super chill about stuff like this, it takes as long as it takes, it's free, etc.

However, I am having trouble with getting correct info - when I go to the RC section and click on Anthem of the Seas, I am getting a ton of stuff unrelated to Anthem or RC? Anyone having this issue?

You are able to buy seperate packages, at least I was. I just had to call I couldn't do it online. My husband doesn't drink so he got the refresh package and I got the deluxe package

Perfect, thank you!

Thanks for the review! Doing this cruise 3/11-17. Were there two formal nights? What day did the laundry offer happen?

Thanks!!

My husband doesn't drink, so they let me purchase the deluxe and he purchase the refresh. We had to call though, it couldn't be done online. For the 3/11 sailing out of FLL.