ballarinamom

The time zones work in my favor for this cruise which is nice. So I'll be wide awake. But yes, Im sure there will still be a lot of angst for people

Thank you! That's what i figured. Jut wanted to make sure I wasnt missing anything

So we will be 45 days out tomorrow. First time using the app for RCCL cruises. Will the checkin section become available at 12:00 est? Or will there be a link emailed? What should I expect to see?

And fire is one of the most dangerous issues at sea. And when people throw their lit cigarette off their balcony, it can very easily come back into anothe balcony and start a fire. Yet people continue to do it because they "paid a lot of money for this balcony and they can do what they want". There are lots of things that technology cant fix.

Perfect! Im no a big pasta fan but DH is. Thank you!

Hey there! I see its served family style. There will only be two of us but the dining info says that each dish serves 2-4. If we want two different things is that an option as we each have different tastes for food

It makes for a great "2 Lies and a Truth" Ice Breaker answer! LOL!

It was about 2:00am and our cabin was on Deck 10. A book fell off the shelf and a few minutes later the whistles sounded. DH said they dont do that for no reason and to get dressed. The cabin steward knocked on each door a few minutes later and told us to go to the muster station now. We had to leave immediately and were not allowed back. We did not use the life boats as we were less than a mile from shore. They used tenders, local tour boas and fishermen to get us to shore and stabilized on the sand bar. They took us all to different hotels around the island. Our "Hotel" was now a school so they had us in a banquet room. Since DH and I had cash we told people we were getting a van and whoever could fit can join. The driver took us to the American Express travel office and got us all rooms at an all inclusive Radisson which RCCL paid for. RCCL There were flyers with information everywhere and the hotel had a list of what time everyone needed to go to the airport and a chartered bus would take us. We had several hours so we got a cab and di some site seeing before we left to the airport. RCCL chartered 17 737s to get everyone off the island. One was loaded with US citizens going to Miami and the other with nonUS citizens going to the Bahamas, Once they were full they took off.Prior to loading the plane, there was staff trying to sort what luggage had been brought from the ship. The cabin stewards went to each cabin and packed everything for each room in the suitcases in that room and labelled them. They tried to line them up by deck but passengers messed it up by trying to get their stuff first and didnt wait out the short process. They were trying to grab their stuff from the trucks SMH. We decided there was nothing we couldnt live without and trusted RCCL to get us our stuff. We got on the plane and landed in Miami. Those with passports were let off immediately. There were only 4 of us. The rest of the plane had to go through immigration screening. We were me by shuttles that took us to the Airport Hilton where the red Cross gave us care packages, RCCL old us through the flyers to keep all receipts and that we would be reimbursed for any expenses. We were home late the following day and all of our luggage was on our step the next day. We received a full refund, credited our onboard spending, received a free cruise and reimbursement for any expenses we had. RCCL had an amazing plan in place if you just followed their instructions which some chose not to. Keep in mind this was in the late 1990's before cell phones. auto texting, social media etc which would have made communication so much easier for RCCL.

Not at all. It proves that people didnt take it seriously. They assumed they could go back to their rooms which they could not. They didnt act when the stewards came knocking on their door.They didnt know what the series of horns meant. We did as did several others. We had time to quickly get dressed, grab money and passports. and throw a few things into a bag.

As someone who was in this situation, you are not allowed to go back to your cabin. They close the water doors after each cabin has been checked by the cabin stewards. It happens very fast

So fun fact, We were on the Monarch of The Seas in December of 1998 when it hit a coral reef outside of St Martin. The first two decks sank and the captain ran it onto a sand bar to keep it from sinking more. We all reported to our muster station, people were relatively calm and staff were everywhere. My husband and I were prepared with money, ID, small packed bag and in appropriate clothes because we paid attention to the whistles, We had to abandon ship at 2;00am. Many were still in PJs and no shoes. Some were in formal wear. So I can absolutely say it can happen.

Hey there! First time using The Key Program. Can someone explain how the scheduling of self debarkation works? We will take our luggage off ourselves but want to eat the included breakfast in the dining room Need to be off the ship between 9:30 and 10:00 which I believe is the last grouping anyway. Any insight would be great

Agree! We just got off of Carnival in July and the food selection outstanding and the quality very, very good. And it was on an older, smaller ship. Im actually a little disappointed in our options on the Explorer and considering some of the specialty dining options. But again, I have the choice to pay or not.

But would you want your overall price raised because of people who want to post on social media they ate 20 lobsters? I think the surcharge is fair. Pay to play so to speak

"One year" wasnt during a time of supply chain issue and record inflation. Also, depending on where you live, limes were plentiful and cheap. I had a lime tree in my back yard. None of us have a deep, cold body of water at our house

Obviously, cruise lines are finding it to be an issue, or they would not be implementing these surcharges. We've been on many cruises where the waitstaff has said its an issue. And now, post covid, cruise lines are experiencing staffing issues with the backlog in immigration paperwork to get more staff on the ships. People are complaining about a $5 surcharge. If you dont like it, dont eat more than two. If you're still mad, look at the reason why.

There is a shopping area a very short walk from the pier. The vendors can be very aggressive. We've never felt unsafe but we've had to keep to ourselves and not be chatty with people. just get what you want, have a close to corect cange as you can and go.

We used Courtney Taylor in July out of Montego Bay and had a great time. We arranged a private driver to to the Rastasafarie ATV tour and it was awesome. Our driver took us to his favorite place for jerk chicken and it was amazing! We will be booking them again for a private tour of blue hole and dunns out of Falmouth in January.

I meant as far as disabilities as you tried to compare this to for some reason. Eating 15-20 lobsters in a main dining room is not a disability. In fact, its rude. You are requiring more work from an already taxed waitstaff. The crew goes back and forth with more plates, clear more dirty dishes and takes time away from other diners needing their service- THATS ridiculous. The main dining room of a cruise ship is not the stage at Nathan's or an oyster bar in the keys. Its a place where over 3,000 need to fed in in 4 hours. And by them trying to be funny or whatever takes away from others. And if you need to have more than two lobster tails to fill your stomach when appetizers, soup, salad, sides, desserts, cheese plates and bread are also offered? then I see nothing wrong with charging $5. Its the diner's choice. Eating contests arent free to participate in. There are entrance fees.

Exactly. As long a I can control if I want to be charged for something or not, its ok. When they just do an automatic price increase that affects you whether you use it or not is a totally different thing.

Yes I am aware, thank you. But the cut in supply of one will bring an increase in the cost for the other.

I wasnt judging them. I was simply saying, trying to eat a record number of an expensive item comes at a cost to the bottom line. I would rather the cruise line keep everyone else's price and offerings the same and have a surcharge for those who want to break the record. I dont feel its a squeeze play from the cruise lines.

Definitely have no problem with that. Food waste is a major issue on cruise lines,. But I have been on cruises where guys have ordered 10 lobsters when they are seated.

But really, these people that try to set the record for how many lobsters they can eat are ridiculous. DO you really need more than 2 plus the appetizers, sides and dessert? Especially on the heals of cancellation of Alaskan crab season due to overfishing. If you can find them it will be expensive.

Hey There! We used VeriFly for several trips to Mexico and a Carnival cruise. Loved how easy it was to store our medical and flight/booking info. Does RCCL use it as well? First time cruising with RCCL since Covid and would like to eliminate carrying one more piece of paper (covid Card) at checkin