Toofarfromthesea

What is unfortunate is that some people believe so strongly that their way is the only way that they have to label people who choose differently as some form of loser. These are frequently the same folks who delight in putting down mass market ships and the people who cruise on them.

Thanks!! What is strange is that I didn't encounter any of that Plaid or Alinea stuff folks have posted about. I just had to fill in a screen of identifying information (with nothing confidential) and upload my purchase conformation. Anyway I did the redeem step, and the only question now is whether I applied too late since they say you should request it 4 weeks before your cruise, but mine is 1/13. The message did say they would try, so I am hopeful. But I wouldn't have even known about the Redeem step without your kindly intervention, so once again THANK YOU!!!

Huh, maybe I didn't screw up. I just got a notification from stockperks that my stock proof of ownership was validated. Is there a way to check if the OBC has been credited to my cruise?

I think I screwed up in using stockperks. I sent a PDF of my trade confirmation, but then realized it didn't have my name. I'm expecting a rejection on Monday and will have to resubmit.

Some of the cruise-related content creators on YouTube make some decent money from views, likes, and subscriptions to their channel. At that point I think the IRS rules on hobbies vs. businesses would come into play, on determining deductibility.

Sounds delicious. Definitely going to try in on my upcoming 1/13 K-dam cruise.

What is the filling?

You certainly aren't forced to use the other perks.

Well done.

It's like the company Christmas party for the self-employed guy.😉

And tankers and freighters provide an essential useful purpose while cruise ships, when it comes right down to it, are mere self-indulgence.

You would do well to check availability before you book your cabin. If it is available you can book the cheapest cabin in your preferred category and then get the free upgrade to the best available cabin in your category. I ended up with the free upgrade putting me in a cabin that would have cost around $1,000 more if I had booked it originally. I wasn't even aware of this strategy when that happened, it was just dumb luck. But now that I know, it will be part of my booking strategy going forward.

Alcohol is a big part of the cruise experience for people who drink. But it is no part of the cruise experience for people who don't drink.

It has gotten far worse with the advent of tap to pay credit cards. Now we are routinely presented with a screen that asks you a question before you can tap - "do you want to add a tip?" with suggested %s and the corresponding amounts, a custom option, and a no tip option. Although I am, in general, a very generous tipper, this is a bridge too far and I refuse to tip for counter service. I wouldn't mind the Australian system, but as long as I know that here the pay standards allow for lower pay for certain position in the expectation that the tips will make up for it I kind of feel morally obligated. But I don't believe that is the case with counter workers, so no tips for them.

Personally I have never gotten less than excellent service at a bar on a cruise ship. I attribute that to wearing attractive glasses. 🤑

Really? So you've not done this and got less excellent service? Possibly the norm is just excellent service and you are attributing it to the $2 bills? You could try an experiment. Go to 3 different bars on a cruise. At one don't give any cash tip as you go. You can always make it up at the end of the cruise. At the second give cash tips of 2 $1 bills. At the third give your $2 bill tip. See if the service is any different at the 3 bars over the course of the cruise. The work of science is to substitute facts for appearances and demonstrations for impressions. - John Ruskin

Being allergic to purified water is a new one on me. But about 15 years ago I had gastric bypass surgery and for several years afterwards I couldn't drink water. If I did it made me feel terrible. It didn't matter if it was tap water, purified water, spring water, or carbonated. But the strange thing was that if I added any kind of flavoring to it, even a very small amount, I was fine. Tea? No problem. A little Chrystal Light? No problem. Plain water, big problem. Eventually it went away, but I sure drank a lot of green tea in those years.

Because they are much less familiar to the places in whatever foreign countries that they will spend or exchange them at. It may make you feel clever but it just inconveniences the crew member. And what does "gets results" even mean? People who leave no cash tips report getting excellent service so what are these results you speak of? But hey, if it makes you feel good who am I to gainsay you.

The problem with the $2 bill routine is that it is harder for the crew to exchange or spend.

WHAT?? Cannibalism?? 😵‍💫🤣

Well over half of the posts in this thread aren't what you asked for opinions on but you call me out? Maybe it isn't because you didn't ask for that opinion but because that opinion was that you acted in a dangerous way.

FWIW, if someone I met on a cruise "years ago" tracked me down and contacted me out of the blue I would feel a little creeped out.

IMO, if you find yourself in a position where you are telling a stranger that they are rude and pathetic, even if they are, you are asking for trouble. A better course of action would have been to just get up and leave when the jerk lit his joint. From that point forward you should know there will be no good outcome by engaging. It doesn't excuse what the jerk did, but it is still asking for trouble. As, sadly, OP found out.

It can also be pretty good in the Oceanview category. I booked one of the solo Oceanview cabins since I'm travelling as a single, and then was able to upgrade to a top oceanview cabin for 2 that would have cost me almost $1,000 more if I had booked it initially. It was pure luck, because the impetus for getting CO was the smaller, quiet dining room. The upgrade was serendipitous.

Not that I ever could afford it, but even if I could I could never do this because I am far too close to my daughters and their families, ie the grandkids. It is the same reason that in the run-up to retirement I thought about and researched going ex-pat to Quito, Ecuador, where I could live like a king, but just couldn't do it.