PhillyFan33579

In my opinion there is no comparison between a CP balcony and OV balcony. OV balconies are cooler, when the ship is moving, since there is a breeze that you don’t get in a CP balcony. You also don’t have to worry about people looking into your cabin in an OV balcony. Plus there is nothing like looking at the water from your balcony when cruising. Having said this, I still believe any cabin on a ship is a good cabin. I stayed in a CP balcony on Icon and Symphony in the last two months and enjoyed both cruises.

Based on your posts, it sounds like RCI isn’t the right cruise line for you. Nothing wrong with that, there are lots of different cruise lines out there to choose from.

I have been to Hideaway Beach twice in the last month. The main reason I have gone there, and going again this week, is for the heated pool. Both the pool and the Hideaway Beach area in general have been very crowded both times I have been there. The music is also very loud there. If you don’t like crowds, there are free places on the island that never get crowded. I have been to the revamped Coco Cay over 30 times and I have never seen Chill Island get crowded. The Beach Club never gets too crowded either, but you have to pay for that experience, which you mentioned.

I couldn’t agree more with your comment. I drink a lot of water when cruising and subsequently use public bathrooms around the ship frequently every day. I would estimate only 50% of the male passengers using the bathroom wash their hands.

1:00 PM is not an early check-in time. For most RCI cruises check-in windows start at 10:30 AM or 11:00 AM. Even if RCI strictly enforced check-in times, which they rarely do now, you still had one of the later check-in times.

The best place to make reservations is at one of the speciality restaurants. We always go to Chops, but you can go to any speciality restaurant to make reservations. Since you are on Wonder, I would go immediately to Central Park as soon as I boarded the ship since there are several specialty restaurants there.

Your comment is exactly why I stopped playing pickleball on ships. I am a mid 4 level player and used to really enjoy playing on ships (although the game sometimes were very different due to how windy it gets on the outside courts). Most players were at least fairly decent and understood using a paddle board rack system. However, over the last 6-7 months (I cruise at least once a month) there are more and more people playing pickleball who don’t know how to play and have no clue how to use a paddle rack system. It got to the point that I haven’t played on my last several cruises.

If you have an assigned time at 5:15 PM, you should be at the MDR at 5:15 PM. Technically there is no window for fixed dining, although most waiters tend to be flexible for people who show up late (within reason). If you like the flexibility of showing up at the MDR at a time that is convenient for you, you should do your time dining.

You don’t need to be gambling to get free drinks in the casino once you are Prime or above.

Cloud 19 was originally going to be the adult only pool. After spending 7 days on Icon, the lack of a Solarium is a big miss on in my book. However, I know Icon is focused on families with kids, not older people like me (late 50s), so I understand why Icon doesn’t have one. Overall I enjoyed Icon and we have another cruise booked on her (NYE) that I booked when bookings for Icon were first available. But after that cruise I don’t anticipate going on Icon again anytime soon.

When is the last time you were on a cruise? I have been on 4 cruises in the last 7 weeks. They have had a lot more drinks available than sparkling wine at the top tier events.

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity are two separate cruises lines owned by the same parent company, Royal Caribbean Group. Saying they are the same company, is like saying Outback Steakhouse and Fleming’s Steakhouse are the same company because they fall under the same parent company, Bloomin’ Brands. The experience at Outback is different than the experience at Fleming’s just like the experience on Celebrity is different than the experience on an RCI shop.

Great picture!

I agree with you 100 percent about tips. I always tip a minimum of $1 cash per drink. I do that no matter how I am “buying drinks” that cruise. On larger ships I usually buy the deluxe drink package, while on other ships I will stick to using D+ drinks and free drinks in the casino. After a day or two, the bartenders at the bars I frequent the most are usually very good about getting me a drink quickly no matter how crowded the bar is at the moment.

Personally I don’t think it is worth it, but others feel differently.

Enjoyed reading your comments. I have been on Wonder three times. It is one of my favorite RCI ships, although I haven’t been on her in over a year. On the downside, I watched the Eagles lose the Super Bowl on Wonder. Looking forward to cruising on Wonder more often when she starts doing 3/4 day cruises relatively soon.

Just personal preference, but to me having a balcony on an Alaska cruise is a must.

I wasn’t going to reply because I didn’t want to show my ignorance, but since you mentioned a little more details about summer school, am I missing something? When I was in school a long time ago I never went to summer school. My kids who are now in their mid 30s never went to summer school either. Has something changed and kids are now required to attend summer school? Or is this a requirement based on where you live?

You get priority boarding with a JS. It is one of the few perks you get with a JS. In general, at least in my book, a JS is just a larger balcony cabin.

Keeping in mind food is very subjective, I think Mason Jar is the worst RCI speciality restaurant. I have cruised on Wonder three times. The first two times we tried Mason Jar, but on the third cruise we were with two other couples and we all agreed not to go there (we had the UDP). On the other hand, I think Hooked on Wonder is outstanding.

To answer your cup question, I have done several B2Bs, most recently on Wonder last year. On every second cruise the cup I used for the first cruise didn’t work on the second cruise. I don’t know how it works software wise since I have noticed the date every cruise like you mentioned, but I have always had to get a new cup for the second cruise.

As others have stated, you can’t “sell” your cruise to another party. The closest thing you can do is change the names of the passenger(s) going on the cruise as long as at least one of the original passengers is still in the cabin. When you change passenger names, the computer system will automatically cancel any purchases made by the passenger being removed from the booking (I have seen this first hand many times). Also, keep in mind if the original passenger still on the booking doesn’t show up for the cruise, you could face penalties from RCI for “reselling” your cruise which is not allowed.

For the OP, having multiple cruises booked can become a severe addiction. I currently have 16 cruises booked on RCI and 3 more booked on Celebrity. I have friends who have significantly more cruises booked than I do. I think I have crossed the line from cruises being a vacation to cruises being a lifestyle.

I frequently do 3-4 day cruises out of Florida ports. The passenger demographic is significantly different on shorter cruises out of Port Miami compared to Port Canaveral…not better, not worse, but definitely different.

Based on my observations, crew members do everything possible to avoid any type of confrontation with passengers. I think this is why you rarely see crew members confronting passengers even if they are doing something blatantly wrong per RCI rules and policies.