ggo85

We're also on Jewel in a couple of months. Suite and D+. Will try to remember to report back on our CL experience re whether drinks are charged.

^^^^^ What bothers me is that the extra tip seems to be “expected.” We do usually tip extra because the service is generally excellent, but then our tip is getting to be >20%. I know it’s our choice, but especially if we plan to return to the restaurant, feel we need to do it. I think they shouldn’t bring a check at all if you prepaid. If you want to tip extra, you could do it in cash or ask for a check if you want to add it to your account. It’s the fact they bring a check with the “extra gratuity” line that bothers me.

So there are free soft drinks in the CL all day? I ask b/c I'm a huge Diet Coke drinker. I didn't want to use all my drink vouchers on soda so was thinking of getting the soda package in addition. But if I can access soda in the CL in the afternoons, I'm golden!!

I think the issue comes down to whether your benefits as a suite guest and your loyalty benefits are distinct or overlapping. Passengers would argue that they are distinct. You get X benefits for loyalty, regardless of whether you are in an inside cabin or the most expensive suite. You get Y benefits for booking a full suite, whether it's your first cruise or your 101st. If both apply, you get both. If RCCL wants to make them overlapping, they should make clear that you can only get one set of benefits -- whether drinks or internet or anything else. And the policy should be consistent across the fleet.

I plan to make a point of asking the CL host/ess on the very first day whether, for full suite guests, drinks in the CL count against the voucher total. Based on that, I'll make sure the servers know, as I'm sure they only do what they're told by the CL host/ess. I can live with it either way (obviously prefer that CL drinks not count) but want it to be clear up front.

Thanks. Hoped / assumed this was the case but good to have confirmation.

My DH won’t use his 5 daily beverage vouchers at all. Doesn’t drink alcohol, mocktails, sodas, specialty coffee or bottled water. If I want to use his free drinks, does he need to be physically present or can I just show his card? I ask because I sometimes stay out later at night or stay at the pool later than he does, so he might not be present. We are (obviously) in the same cabin and have same last name, if that helps.

What is the SL? So, if you are staying in a suite AND your ship has a CL AND you are D/D+, you get the 5 drinks on your card plus whatever you have in the CL. Makes sense.

We haven't sailed RCCL in years, but will be doing so in a couple of months. I understand (or think I do) the new policy on drink vouchers for D+ --- 5 per day per person including soda, speciality coffee, OJ and alcohol and drinks in the Diamond lounge count toward the total of 5. What about Concierge Lounge, available to suite guests who may or may not be D or D+? Are drinks there included in the total for those who are also D/D+ or is that an entirely separate experience? Or does Concierge Lounge still exist? Just curious how the two programs work together -- or are totally separate. (Tried searching but find the search feature on this site nearly impossible!)

There was a health questionnaire done at time of boarding. I also don't recall the exact questions but am pretty sure there was one about being around someone who tested positive. However, I doubt the timing was 30 days -- maybe 10 or 14 (though I could be wrong about that). It's REALLY hard not to interact with people unless you're fortunate enough to be able to drive yourself to the cruise terminal. You fly on a plane. You take a taxi/ Uber. You check into a hotel. You eat in a restaurant. And that's just getting there. At home, you go to a store, get your hair / nails done, drop a key off with a neighbor, etc. Of course, most of those people could test positive and you'd never know. Masks may not protect you. My DH is fastidious about masks. Wore one on our cruise at all times other than when in our cabin (wore one if the butler or someone else came into the cabin) and when actively eating or drinking. Wore it in the taxi, on the plane, etc. Everywhere. Three days after our cruise, he came down with COVID (has now fully recovered). I was not nearly as diligent and I never got it. You can only do your best.

We had a 2.5 hour connection in Frankfurt (United to Lufthansa). My bag arrived 15 hours late. My DH’s arrived another 15 hours later - total of 30 hours late. Thankfully, we had planned for 2 full days prior to the cruise, which is more than we usually plan. Had we not, we would have boarded without one suitcase. On the return, we had an 80-minute connection (SAS to United) in Amsterdam. We were sure our bags wouldn’t make it. They did. You never know.

I was a first-time earlier this year and had similar questions. First, one large bag + one carry-on provided way more clothes than I needed for a 10-day cruise + 4 days before / after the cruise. Women have more flexibility than men, which can be a good or bad thing. Being honest, if you show up in something other than jeans or shorts or a T-shirt, you'll be fine. I wore the following: blank pants with glittery top, black pants with silk top, black pants with a VERY dressy long-sleeved T-shirt, sheath cotton dress, silk-blend short-sleeved sundress, long-sleeved animal print polyester (!) (but looks like silk) dress. I think I wore one of these items more than once and could have doubled up on 3 items for the 6 informal nights. Some women really dressed up -- not formal level but VERY nice slacks with coordinating jackets or dressy dresses. Others wore slacks and a more casual top. It really depends on how dressy you want to be, how comfortable you are re-wearing outfits, and how much you want to pack. The really dressy types were lugging at least 2 large suitcases -- but obviously dressing nicely is super-important to them. One final note: on the last night, jeans and tennis shoes were permitted (at least in Atlantide). I think there is a realization that most people will wear to dinner what they plan to wear off the ship the next day. As long as your attire is "decent" (no shorts, no ripped jeans, no tank tops), they seemed to let it go. And probably 50% were in this super casual category.

Depends on ship, capacity, time you want to eat, and venue. On our cruise, we were WL’ed for Kaiseki and finally got in around Day 6 / 10. If a particular restaurant that requires reservations is important to you and repeating on the early side is important, suggest making reservations in advance if at all possible. If not, talk to your butler right away and try to be flexible re dates and times.

Note that it’s just SAS that’s on strike, not their affiliates. We flew their regional affiliate, City Jet, yesterday to Amsterdam with no issues. So be sure to check your exact airline.

Just off Moon. One week before our cruise and we had no documents. Pestered our TA who pestered SS and we got them the next day. No luggage tags. Everyone else seemed to have them and the dock guy seemed surprised we didn’t have them. Nonetheless, he made sure our bags got to our cabin. Consider bringing a “monitored” test kit from home. You can test right in your hotel anywhere at any time and they send you a report that works just fine. SS provides a link to one such company, although we used a different one. We found that every business in Denmark uses credit cards and I would expect Greenland to be the same. We got cash and struggled to use it. If you have Euros, those work for tips to a bellman, etc, Or even dollars.

Try googling hotels in London and see if you find something cheaper.

Per a crew member, Moon will be in dry dock in Copenhagen until the 19th.

No idea how it works on SS. In general, it means that you have no cabin unless one opens up. I think you get the cabin at the price it was offered when you waitlisted. Whether they upgrade folks is a completely separate issue. You may be confusing this with a “guarantee,” where you are guaranteed at least the cabin you booked but could be upgraded.

We’re on Moon. Overall, we’ve really enjoyed it.

We are just finishing SS for the first time and we thought the food was uniformly excellent. The lobster in Atlantide was among the best I’ve had - and I lived in Maine for 3 years. I thought the variety and quality were higher than we had on Crystal. Of course, we aren’t foodies, so probably not the harshest critics.

Not food but beverages. We’re on Moon and they ran out of Diet Coke and Coke Zero 5 days into a 10-day cruise. Sorry, but that is really not acceptable. I could see running out the last day, but halfway through!! I thought when we stopped in the major port of Oslo, they might be able to procure enough for the last 2 days. Nope. i realize this may not be a huge deal to some, but for others, it’s equivalent to running out of champagne with 5 days to go. I’m not aware of any worldwide shortage of diet soda, so I’m ascribing it to poor planning. Of course, it didn’t ruin my cruise, but I found it surprising and disappointing.

To answer the OP’s question, on formal nights, all men I observed were wearing at least jackets after 6 pm. On informal nights, overwhelming majority wore jackets, though I saw men in long-sleeved shirts or a sweater. Obviously, jackets aren’t required on casual nights. In response to the picture posted, on some mainstream lines, “formal” night is a “suggestion.” They want to give the option of dressing up without requiring it. They strongly encourage a jacket on formal night, but it’s not enforced. WRT SS, must confess I prefer casual dining, especially on port days. It’s a pain to get back from an excursion at 1800 and be “dressed” for dinner by 1900 (we like to eat early). We accept and comply with SS’s rules, but I at least am not a fan. Also requires me to pack more stuff, especially shoes. The above said, I’m fine with some level of “decor.” I liked Crystal’s approach. Most nights were SS equivalent of casual - collared shirt and I think it was no jeans. Formal night required a jacket, no tie, but most men wore a tie. Some folks got very dressed up. It will be interesting to see if, in this more casual world, SS will relax a bit.

Actually, you can do a monitored self-test. We did that in our hotel and it was accepted. It cost us $70 for 2 kits. Not happy about that, but we didn’t have to find a local testing site.

We had pre-cruise testing. On Day 3, the Captain announced 7 cases among passengers and 4 crew. No matter when one tests (48 hours prior or on day of sailing), people can have contracted COVID and still test negative. That said, I’d rather have the testing than not. Another issue is that there is inconsistent enforcement of masks in the theater and on tour buses. They hand out masks in the theater; however, after people sit down (and, in many cases start drinking), there are no reminders. At last night’s show, at best 2/3 were actually wearing their masks. We’ve taken 2 tours. On one, 1/3 weren’t wearing masks on the bus. No one from SS was aboard and it’s not really the tour guide’s job to enforce a SS rule. On the second tour, there was close to 100% compliance. There also are no “tracelets,” so contact tracing is more of a challenge.