Mum2Mercury

I don't have a printer anymore, but I copy the SetSail Passes + the luggage tickets to a word processing form, then I have it printed at the UPS store. I forget what it costs, but it's something like twenty cents per page. I like having the printed items in hand. Seems easier.

First, let's not forget that the last price increase was accompanied by a decrease in cabin service. I could've accepted one or the other, but both together was just BAD. No, this isn't an increase -- it's an attempt to get every person to tip. They're saying that if you haven't pre-paid your gratuities, they're going to add that cost to your onboard charges. Eh, anecdote is not a synonym for data. However, I do suspect some of the big talkers on this board are full of it.

This is rare, but I've heard of it happening. Now that we're retired, yeah, I'd take that deal. Money back for the cruise we can't take this week + a no-cost cruise weeks later? Why wouldn't anyone with a flexible schedule take this deal? You wouldn't book a guarantee because you're afraid you'd be given a choice at the last minute?

We own 2-wheeled and 4-wheeled suitcases. I prefer the 4-wheeled versions because it's easy to push them along "flat" and usually that's okay. We do not own suitcases so large that we cannot easily lift them, so "if the going gets rough", we can lift them over obstacles. 4-wheeled versions are also better if you balance a drink trolley on top. And you can easily clip your personal item to the top, giving you just one item to wheel. We've never lost a wheel from any suitcase. We own two soft-sided suitcases and one hard-sided. I believe I prefer the soft-sided because they seem tougher /more able to stand up to rough handling /more likely to survive being on the bottom of a luggage cart. If you're going through the airport, a soft-sided suitcase gives you outside pockets, so you can quickly put away your liquids, etc. after going through TSA. I disagree about cheap luggage being worthless; with rough handling, even an expensive suitcase can be ruined in a single trip. Our oldest suitcase is my husband's rolling carry-on, which I gave him for Christmas more than twenty years ago -- it's a nothing brand from Target. Some of the zipper pulls have broken off, and I replaced them with lobster-claw type replacements from Amazon. It's worth noting that -- at one point -- he traveled about a week out of every month. I also disagree that wheeled luggage is a "gimmick". Sure, I am able to carry my luggage, but wheeling it is just easier. I always use a backpack as my personal item /carry on. What IS a gimmick is a suitcase that charges your phone /electronics. You'd have to charge your suitcase before heading out on a trip, and you're almost certainly bringing a pocket power bank anyway -- two pocket power banks would be more practical, as you could carry them in your day bag during the trip, if you think you need them.

You've had some very bad luck. In 20 years of cruising, I've only had one itinerary change. My mother /stepfather had an itinerary change once -- theirs was a river cruise, and ice was the problem.

We were on Grandeur last fall -- October, to be exact. I did not bring a sweater or jacket, and I was never cold. I wore sleeveless or short-sleeved tops and dresses the whole time. However, if YOU have found previous ships chilly, your mileage might vary.

We don't buy internet online. We might send our adult children a text using free wifi in an island bar or cafe. Do you have the Royal Caribbean app on your phone yet? It'll show you for-pay experiences onboard -- because they want you to go ahead and reserve /pay. Keep an eye on this app as your cruise draws nearer, and you'll get more information about your cruise's no-cost shows, movies, etc. Drinks you'll get without cost: Water, lemonade, tea (iced or hot), basic coffee, sometimes fruit punch, and (at breakfast) milk and juice. If you want other drinks -- alcohol, smoothies, milkshakes -- you can "pay as you go" and probably spend much less than the drink package. The cheapest beer you can buy is the pitcher in Playmakers' Sports Bar, though you know the pros and cons of buying a pitcher -- maybe that's an indulgence for an at-sea afternoon. We never do up-charge food, as we're happy with the standard food. You can see the menu for Izumi and other specialty restaurants on the above-mentioned Royal Caribbean phone app. Check your itinerary to see how long you're going to be in Costa Maya -- it's sometimes a half-day island, and that'll matter for your plans. They've built quite a few shops, activities, etc. right by the port. Check You Tube for a "walk-through". Likely you'd be happy hanging around the port.

We bring a fan that folds flat -- I think it came from the camping section, and that's why we originally bought it. In a small tent, it's wonderful, as the air hits you, then recirculates and hits you again. It runs on batteries, making it convenient for a cruise too. I've seen bad behavior, but I can't say I've seen it in epidemic proportions. The vast majority of the people onboard tend to behave well.

Best way to combat that problem is to go to the Next Cruise Office and book another trip! If you children are very small, you can order temporary tattoos with the information you want from Amazon. Personally, I'd want to give just the parents' names /phones. For a cruise though, this is unnecessary. All children are given a bracelet they must wear the whole cruise (think wristband you'd get after paying to enter a festival or a bar). The bracelet gives staff information about parents, room and muster station. Another thing about bringing kids on a cruise: You want to go to the Kids' Club as soon as you conveniently can. Get the kids registered so you can drop them off any time -- and once they've been once, they'll beg to go back. You want them to go the first evening when they're doing all the "getting to know you" activities -- and when kids are finding their friends. They used to give us a separate Kids' Club Newsletter each evening listing the choices for kids the next day.

Though she should try not to cough on the check-in staff. Have you tried over-the-counter allergy medicine?

We don't get in line until about 6:50 -- no, that doesn't put us anywhere near the front of the line, but once the line starts moving, it moves fast! Typically we're in our car /headed North shortly before 7:30.

You should be able to see the skating time frames on your phone app ahead of time. You'll need to bring long pants and socks. Skates would be a space hog; I can't see bringing your own for the short time you'll be skating.

The first week of December is usually slow. People who have school-aged children will sail over Thanksgiving or Christmas -- and this is an in-between week. It tends to be a (relatively) inexpensive week too. You can find plenty quiet spots. We never use Netflix onboard. I don't reserve shows, but my husband doesn't usually want to go -- and seating one person is easy. Why not stay on the train and go all the way to the port? Upon arrival, Uber is probably your best bet.

You say you were onboard? Maybe it was too late? I've made changes on cruise tickets and "extras" numerous times. We ought to talk about what a tender is: Sometimes the ship can come in close to pier /people can walk off the ship ... everyone strongly prefers this. If the ship can't come in close to the pier, you have to "take a tender", which is a small boat that shuttles you to the pier. It's a slower process, and Royal Caribbean does give priority to people who've reserved their ship-based excursions (maybe some other categories too -- not sure). Before you make your plans, you should look into whether you're going to be docked or tendering.

Keep an eye on your cruise's price. If it goes down, call and ask for a price match. You've already tipped; but thoughts on tipping: - You're under zero obligation to tip again in the Main Dining Room. No, it won't be awkward -- your waiter & assistant waiter will know you've already tipped. What you've already tipped also covers the Windjammer (the ship's buffet) and any small eating venues (like Park Cafe or Promenade Cafe, depending upon your ship). If you eat at a specialty /up-charge restaurant, you should tip, as they're not included in what you've paid. - You didn't ask this, but in "paying ahead", you've also tipped your Cabin Steward. - You should bring some singles and maybe a couple fives -- small bills so you don't have to ask for change. You might want to tip a very helpful bartender or a tour guide ashore. Also, if you order room service, you should be prepared to tip. Ordering multiple items is fine, and no one will look twice at you -- though, of course, you shouldn't purposefully order more than you can eat. I often order two appetizers. It's also acceptable to ask for your dessert "to go" -- they'll give it to you under a silver cloche, and they'll give you a napkin/silverware packet to take with you. Your 9-year old can order off the adult menu or the kids' menu. You, too, can order off the kids' menu, if you want. You can see the menus NOW on your phone app. The MDR wait staff is great with kids. Once we were at a table with another family -- total of 7-8 kids -- and every evening the staff presented each child with a plate (not per family -- per child!) of cookies under a cloche to take back to the room. On another cruise my youngest was going through a super-shy period and wouldn't speak up to say what she wanted for dessert. The waiter said, "Don't worry -- I'll bring you the Shy Girl Special. He came back with a tall wine glass layered with chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. My other three girls clamored for the same thing, and for the rest of the week they all ordered "the Shy Girl Special". For breakfast, you can go to the buffet or the MDR or you can order room service -- maybe another restaurant or two, depending upon your ship. Go any time the restaurants are open; your phone app or the Daily Compass (paper newspaper -- ask for one at Guest Services or ask your Cabin Steward to leave you one each day) will list hours. For lunch, you can go to the buffet or other restaurants (they usually have a pizza place and a sandwich place) any time they're open. On at-sea days the MDR will be open for lunch. You've reserved dinner each evening at 6:00. Note that with Traditional Dining it's necessary to arrive on time. People will line up starting about 5:50, and the doors will open promptly at 6:00. With Traditional Dining, it's bad manners to arrive late, as it'll throw off the wait staff. If you're late (or if you just don't feel like dressing up and sitting through a long meal), you can go to the buffet, pizza or sandwich place without reservations. We personally don't buy the Internet Package. We send a text or two to our adult children when we're in port. Bars and restaurants tend to have free wifi. Drinks: You'll have ice water, tea (iced and hot), lemonade and (sometimes) fruit punch available pretty much all day. Milk (including chocolate) and juice are available (no charge) at breakfast, and you can take some back to your room. Sometimes you see little milk cartons, other times it's a serve-yourself dispenser. You're allowed to bring 12 non-alcoholic beverages + a bottle of wine onboard with you. You can also bring a can or two back from an island stops -- they're fine with a couple unopened cans, but they check screw-top bottles carefully. Two weeks before boarding, email Special_Needs@rccl.com and specify that you want your beds "split" into two twins. Put your ship name and sailing date in the heading box, or they won't read it. This'll save your Cabin Steward from having to re-do the beds. No advice on specific tours, but do go ahead and book what you want. If the prices go down, call in and ask for a price match. Don't limit yourself to cruise-ship offerings -- private tours are less expensive and (more importantly) superior in quality. You'll find a good number of options within walking distance of the port, or you can take a taxi. I like to prep an envelope for each stop -- on the outside I write what we're doing, contact numbers, anything we should bring /wear; on the outside I include print-outs of confirmations -- plus any money I'll owe the tour guide + tip money, taxi money, and anything else I anticipate. At home I can take time to count out small bills for each stop, and I know that nothing in my wallet needs to be "reserved" for upcoming tours. You'll have a safe in your room to store the envelopes. Arriving back late on a port day /being late for dinner isn't particularly likely. Most people are up and off the ship fairly early, and most are back by 2:00ish, leaving several hours before the typical 6:00ish sail-away. Few people are out the whole day. You can download the Royal Caribbean app now on your phone -- just like you'd download any other app. You'll be able to see a good bit of information now (menus, drink packages, etc.), and more (names of movies, evening show details) will show up once you're 2-3 weeks out. Once you're onboard, you can get all this information on a paper daily newspaper -- it's called the Daily Compass. You can pick up a copy at Guest Services, or you can ask your Cabin Steward to leave you one on your bed each evening.

When we took our nieces on a cruise, we wrote a letter /had their parents sign and notarize it. We tried to be very complete in our letter, which gave us permission to - drive from our home state to our port city, then back again. - spend the night in ___ hotel the night before the cruise. - board ___ ship. - exit the ship for the day at islands ___, ___, and ___. - use our own authority for emergency medical treatment. We figured no downside to being very specific and complete. However, the cruise line didn't even ask to see the letter.

More days. Always more days. When our kids were younger and we cruised in one room, we always went with a balcony -- it was the cheaper way to get a separate space. Once we retired, we decided to see just how cheaply we could cruise and still have a great time. We've discovered we're FINE with an Inside Guarantee. Sure, for the same money we'd choose a fancier room, but it doesn't really add significantly to our enjoyment. We've stayed in many nice hotel suites over the years, but what I remember isn't whether we had a lovely suite or a basic room -- it's the things we did and experienced on vacation.

One single thing? I'd have to go with, Bring a good attitude. Close behind and a little more practical: - Arrive a day ahead of sailing. - Pack light. - You can have a great cruise without spending on all the extras. - Book private excursions.

This is too much confusion. If you're unsure of your dining assignment, call Royal's Customer Service at 1-866-562-7625. Be ready with your booking number (or at least your ship and sailing date) and ask them. Call early in the morning or late at night, and you'll get right through.

- Open the app. - At the top, see three white icons on a blue field -- a ship, a calendar, a person. - Click on the person. - Scroll down -- see your name, stateroom -- then the date you can sign up for a check-in date -- then your dining assignment + any reservations you've made (mine says My Time Dining + 7 reservations). At the end of this page, I see a link to my daughter /son-in-law's account (because our reservations are linked). Knowing you have My Time, go ahead and make your reservations. If you want to change them (or cancel them for the buffet or another venue) once you're onboard, you can do so -- but the longer you wait, the harder it is to get reservations. Or, the harder it is to get good reservations. With My Time, they're a little more flexible -- show up a few minutes early, a few minutes late, they'll seat you. But My Time people with no reservations will wait. Okay, this is a real newbie note -- not to insult anyone, but you do know that My Time vs. Traditional ONLY refers to dinner, right? For breakfast or lunch you can walk into the MDR and you'll be seated. (Lunch in the MDR is only on sea days.) You can see menus right now on the phone app, and once you're on board you can see menus on a TV screen outside the MDR. Also, you can see your dining options on the phone app, and they'll be printed on the Daily Compass. Easy! You give your booking number to your son-in-law, and he makes it happen. Seriously, I don't know HOW to do it, but I looked this up: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/05/16/how-link-royal-caribbean-cruise-reservations-together When you're 2-3 weeks out, you should also email dining@rccl.com -- include your ship name and sailing date in the tag line -- and ask to be seated together. Since you have My Time Dining, you'll walk in together, and it shouldn't be difficult, but I like to cover all my bases.

Another way to check your dining time -- and something you probably don't know to do -- is to check the app on your phone. I'm going to throw out several thoughts -- again, some of which you probably don't know to ask: - Each adult should download the Royal Caribbean App to his or her phone RIGHT NOW. If you have My Time Dining, you should reserve your dinner times NOW via the app. Once you're onboard, you can change your times -- or you can cancel your dinner time and go to the buffet or one of the smaller venues. We like the MDR but don't necessarily want to eat in the same place 7 nights in a row. Especially after a island stop, we sometimes just want to put on shorts and eat pizza. - You can also get show times, titles of movies they'll be showing, and other entertainment on the phone app. - 45 days ahead of your cruise, you need to use the app to reserve a check-in /boarding time. - About being on time for dinner: If you're in Early or Late Traditional Dining, you need to be on time -- it's considered Bad Manners to arrive early or late. In Traditional Dining, everything's set up to serve Appetizers all at once, Entrees all at once, Desserts all at once. If you arrive early or late, you'll throw the servers off their game. On the other hand, My Time Dining is a whole different program, and it's a little more flexible; you don't even have to claim the same dining time every evening. - Another thing you'll get on the app is your Muster Drill information. You should do this safety drill as soon as you board the ship /get it out of the way. This is literally the law. - Five of you aren't sharing a cabin /aren't on the same reservation. Have you "linked" your reservations? If not, you should -- this'll help you be assigned to the same dining table in the MDR. - When you want a water bottle, go to any bar and ask for one. If you've bought the very expensive drink package, you've paid for the water bottles, but -- for future reference -- know that the water on the ship is purified just like bottled water. You can also pick up a glass of ice water at the buffet (or other eating places). Know, too, that you're allowed to bring 12 non-alcoholic drinks onboard. And a bottle of wine. - Your drink package includes a plastic tumbler, which will make the soda machines work. The first time you go to any bar onboard, you should ask for your tumbler -- then you're set. I suggest you bring some stickers so you can tell your drinks apart. I also suggest you bring a little bit of dishwashing liquid. - Since you've purchased the drink package, you've already tipped for your drink purchases, but many people opt to bring a stack of single bills and tip $1-2 each time they get a drink. You're not wrong if you skip this. - We don't spend much on the ship, but we do bring $30ish for tips onboard. - We bring more cash for off-ship spending. We prepare an envelope for each island stops; we write our plans /meeting places on the outside and count out cash for tours, lunch, taxis, tips -- whatever we think we'll need -- inside the envelope. We always pack small bills for tips, which allows us to hand over what we want without needing to ask for change. - If you need to know things once you're onboard, ask your Cabin Steward. He knows everything (or can send you in the right direction).

Two thoughts: 1. I think we're discussing two different things here. Some people are talking about the carry-on bag they bring onto the cruise ship. Other people are talking about carry-ons they bring on an airplane. 2. I just googled how often luggage is lost or delayed. The Points Guy says it's 7 out of every 1000 pieces. Or a .007% chance. That includes short delays as well as being outright missing for your whole vacation, so if you've done the smart thing and arrived in your port city a day ahead of time, you'll probably get your suitcase by the next morning. So, yeah, lost luggage makes for a great article, but the possibility of it happening to you is small. I tried to search for how often luggage is lost between the porter's station and your stateroom, and I couldn't find a solid answer -- but two sites said cruise ships lose luggage less often than airplanes. That makes sense; if you see it go on those high-sided trolleys, chances of it not making it to your room are slight.

Cruising is different only in the details -- I'm trying not to be repetitive: - Yes, reservations are now available for shows; however, October is still low season, and they won't really be necessary. We only cruise in the fall, and I've never made a reservation -- also never been turned away; if you're cruising with a group, your experience might be different. - Yes, in non-suite rooms, cabin steward service is reduced to once a day -- and at the same time gratuities were increased. This sucks. - I'm not sure if Coco Cay was built up into Perfect Day at Coco Cay five years ago, but it's a great island stop now. Great beach day, food is good, and you don't need to spend a penny. It's many people's favorite stop. - You need to sign up for a boarding time 45 days ahead of your cruise. This is an improvement because it staggers the crowds /makes for less chaotic boarding. - Clothing has become more and more casual, but most people still dress up a bit for dinner. - The phone app allows you to see more information ahead of your cruise -- menus, for example. Many people no longer bother with the paper Compass; if you want one, you can ask at Guest Services or ask your Cabin Steward. - We've found the "new" food to be good-to-really-good. Little is stupendous, but that's my fault for being such a good cook /restaurant food usually pales in comparison.

They're not going to ask you for anything beyond the Ship ID unless something's really wonky. Let's think through how that'd work: Bartender: I'll need to see another ID before I can sell you a drink. Cruiser: But I'm here by the pool. I didn't bring any other ID. Bartender: Sorry, Sir, you'll have to dry off, return to your room, then come back and wait in line again. Cruiser: Forget this! (And Royal doesn't want to lose even a single drink sale.) Absolutely your photograph is embedded in your Ship ID. Two examples: - We were on Coco Cay, and I went to the bar. I was fishing through my bag for my Ship ID, and the bartender asked for my room number. He said, "Um, I don't think so", and he turned his laptop around showing me a picture of a man (I am a woman) of a different race. He said, "This man is in that room -- alone." Before I could formulate a thought, he said, "Oh, wait -- are you on Liberty or Independence?" Both were docked at Coco Cay. Once he put in the right ship, he turned the laptop around again and showed me my own photograph. We both laughed, and he gave me my drink. - Coming and going from island stops, several times I've been asked to take off my sunglasses. They really look at the picture that pops up when your Ship ID is scanned. Not just cruise lines. My state's driver's licenses are landscape-oriented for adults over 21 ... and portrait-style for anyone under 21. It's a one-glance way to know who's old enough to buy alcohol.

Documents and cash Jewelry Electronics Medicines I've never understood carrying on a swimsuit -- if you want to hit the pool or water slides early (and that's a pretty good idea), wear them! I often board wearing a swimsuit with a dress-type cover-up. My husband often boards wearing swim trunks + a matching tee. We drive ourselves to the port, hand our suitcases over to the porters personally, and wait to see them placed on the rolling carts that carry them onto the ship. As such we aren't worried about our luggage being lost.