Mum2Mercury

You can rent an umbrella and chairs at Eagle Beach for $35. I think they take cash only. Incidentally, if you go to Eagle Beach, you should absolutely take the public bus. You can find it about two blocks from the port, and it costs $2.65 (I think?) per person to get there. Then the same amount to get back. I gave the guy $6, and my husband was absolutely thrilled to get change back in Aruban coins.

I don't know about that, but on our recent cruise someone sold water bottles outside the Windjammer ($2 each) on port days. If you just wanted bottles for taking ashore, that might be a better deal. Also, if water is $2, it would be a very poor use of your drink vouchers.

I've heard of calling /them allowing one person to have the Deluxe Drink Package, while the other has the Soda Package -- heard it more than once. If you could do the coffee card, it'd be better still.

I'd call first and try to get the drink package for just one person in a cabin. It'd just be easier to have the right people in the right cabins officially. If that fails, your plan sounds acceptable. I really wonder, though, if the drink package is worthwhile for the husband who is diamond. I mean, the drink package runs around $70 -- and don't neglect the 18% tip that's added, so the real per-day price is more like $84. Is the guy really able to drink 4 free Diamond drinks + $84/day? I'd want to compare the cost of buying individual drinks before I'd agree to pay that price.

Agree. On our recent cruise, I only chose a burger for lunch once, but it was good. I don't see why anyone would pay more for the same thing elsewhere. If my limited experience was typical though, burgers were probably the most popular lunchtime choice in Windjammer. I think I remember receiving BOGOF coupons -- but we have the chain locally, so it isn't anything that tempts us at sea. It was definitely free when we were first cruising, and they made up the story about "too many teens" to justify starting to charge.

I don't think they want to get involved -- while pleasing one guest in taking away the towels, they open themselves to potential anger /accusation from another guest later. They definitely fear complaints. Logical -- except for putting their things back. If they haven't returned in all the time you've been using the chair, they didn't really need the chair. Admittedly, this is surely mid-day on an at-sea day, and people are watching an event. The pools aren't usually this packed. I've never seen the staff picking up towels. That's an excellent system. These are rotten seats -- up on tiers in the full sun -- and essentially no one sits in them, even when the pool is crowded.

Yep, we also learned our muster station before our room number -- and I tried my best to figure out the floor /area based upon that muster station, but it was to no avail. It was the barcode trick that told me my room number.

Did I write this? I could have done so. Seriously, we're in your shoes: We're recent retirees; for the first time in our lives, we can vacation when we want, and it's just the two of us. We're also young retirees -- barely mid-50s -- so we need to be budget-minded. It'll be years 'til we can touch the majority of our savings, which is in 401Ks, and our money must last decades. And Social Security is still years away. So we want to be able to travel, but these aren't our years to be lavish with our spending. We choose to travel more often in basic rooms. We opted for a guarantee for our cruise earlier this month. Here's how it went: - Like you, I was just about insane wanting to know our room number -- I hate-hate-hated that part of the system, but the savings were pretty substantial. - We don't have iPhones, but the "barcode trick" worked for us. We started trying at the 45 day mark as soon as the barcode showed up on our Set Sail Pass, and initially it said GYT, but (about three days into trying) our room number showed up. Then it returned to GYT, and I wasn't sure what that meant -- but it returned to the same number a couple days later. - We were beyond thrilled with our assignment. I couldn't have picked a better room if I'd tried. - We signed up for a Next Cruise onboard, and we went for a guarantee again. I think this is "our style" for the foreseeable future. I would want to pick my own cabin if we were traveling with family members /wanted to be sure we would be placed next to one another. I would also pick my own cabin if we were doing a B2B; I would not want to change cabins mid-trip. - My thoughts on how to be happy with your choice: Look at your potential ship and determine how many rooms exist in each category -- so you'll have an idea of where you're likely to fall. Assume you'll be placed in the lowest room in your category (for example, if you go with a suite guarantee, assume you'll be in a junior suite -- don't start dreaming of a grand suite for a guarantee price). Be honest with yourself about what room will make you happy. - You can always log on and pretend you're making a new booking online /see what rooms are still left. You won't get a certain answer, of course, but you'll maybe narrow things down. - If you're going for the cheapest-of-the-cheap -- the interior guarantee -- I personally think you have a good chance of ending up mid-ship. Why? Because mid-ship costs $30-100 extra, and most people who go interior go for the cheapest price /won't pay that extra bit. And that leaves the mid-ship rooms for the guarantees. Just my opinion based upon small experience.

How long is too long? I agree that we'll probably not agree upon a number. How about, then, asking this question: What are you doing right now? - If you're sitting by the pool enjoying the music or reading your book, and you get up to go to the bathroom, buy a drink at the bar, or take a dip in the pool, you're still by the pool. - On the other hand, if you claim a chair and then go away to eat breakfast, you're eating -- not hanging around the pool. - I'm not sure how to weigh in on staying in the pool for hours. I don't enjoy the casino, so I had no idea this was "a thing", but -- yes -- it's just chair-hogging in a different venue. Yes, it's hard to read tone, and I'm a really nice person face-to-face -- but I am solidly against preventing others from enjoying a portion of their vacation, and chair-hogging is not a victimless crime. I'll say that to anyone face-to-face. I heard that idea years and years ago. The cruise line doesn't want to deal with this problem.

We'll be sailing over Halloween, and I just found these glow-in-the-dark Halloween ducks. Think I'll order them: https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Characters-Duckies-Showers-Activity/dp/B09JL2MRZ7/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?crid=3CHWLORBJCQ81&keywords=rubber%2Bduck&qid=1664133951&s=toys-and-games&sprefix=rubber%2Bduck%2Ctoys-and-games%2C98&sr=1-14-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNlA2T0ZORkYwVlBEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTg1OTUySUdXT0JKS0ozQklCJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MDkxNjJSTUFDT1pLN1c1MTMmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1 On that subject, what do the ships tend to do for Halloween? We're not really big Halloween people, so no way we'd bother with costumes.

To whom do you address the question? The lifeguard? Those at the towel station? No sympathy for anyone who leaves their towels /personal items unattended. So your plan is to out-hog the chair hogs? I love to plant my butt in a chair, read, nap, and enjoy the music for hours. Yes, I also get up for the bathroom, to buy a drink, etc., but it's pretty obvious when a chair is actually "being used" as opposed to acting as a place holder. 10-15 minutes should be the max; if you need to do something more than that long, give up the chair. On Explorer earlier this month, I was up early and had a prime chair -- within half an hour of my arrival, every chair in the Solarium was claimed. And about three of them were being used. The signs on the ships say that unattended items will be dumped at the towel station. "Dumped" being my word, not theirs. I've sailed Disney, and -- yes -- chair hogs were a problem. If you're going to breakfast for almost an hour, you're hogging the chair. Said differently, if your butt is in a dining chair, you're hogging the pool chair.

They were quite serious about check-in times in Miami two weeks ago.

Makes me remember something one of my students told me years ago -- her dad really fooled her and her twin brother: They'd been to Disney, and her Dad told the kids they were going to go onboard a cruise ship "just to check it out" -- said they were considering it for the following year. He explained that he had obtained permission to go on board and check the place out -- they'd have to have their pictures made and would receive a temporary card, and they'd have to leave before the ship sailed. The Dad kept them busy exploring this and that, and as the time for sailing approached, the girl was SERIOUSLY FREAKING OUT, thinking the ship would sail, they'd still be on board, and they'd be in big trouble. They were actually out at sea and the girl was crying before Dad broke down and told them that they were actually booked on the cruise, and their mom had snuck their luggage onboard while he kept them busy. Not saying I'd do it myself, but her rendition of the event was quite amusing. Yes, give her time to process, research and become excited about it. I made my nieces gift certificates for Christmas, saying they would be going on a cruise with us in the upcoming months. One niece didn't believe it, thought it was a joke. Her outfit won't matter in the passport photo. It'll barely show at all.

Mayhap it varies from ship to ship (or even sailing to sailing). I've seen cartons of cereal in the past, but on our recent cruise they had cereal in a large "serve yourself" container. They DID have individual yogurts and individual milks. Personally, we eat a big breakfast before going ashore, and we bring a few snacks in case of low blood sugar. (This last trip we brought a plastic jar of peanuts.) And we're always back on the ship for a late lunch.

Yeah, well, I didn't didn't take you literally -- didn't expect I'd see the ocean from my interior cabin!

Yes, the ship announces that rooms will be available at X:00 -- opening those doors and going where you know you aren't supposed to be is not a victimless crime: it's making the cabin stewards' work harder -- on their hardest day of the week. It disrupts them, slows them down, and that means everyone waits a little longer for their rooms. It also puts the cabin steward in a bad position, as they're not supposed to be confrontational in any way towards passengers. I don't really buy into the falling /lawsuit idea, but everyone should follow the rules! 1. The "dragging your luggage" things is an attempt to deflect from your bad choices. 2. No way you're entering the hallway, locating your cabin, dropping off your stuff and getting back down the hall in 30 seconds.

Same -- well, not the Delta card, but we use our BOA Visa pretty much only for cruises. I also use it at the hairdresser and a couple other places where they don't accept Discover. We tend to save up our Discover card points and use them for restaurant gift cards for our parents' Christmas gift. This gives us less OBC but more money overall, which is smarter.

Yeah, what I resented -- still resent -- about them starting to charge for Johnny Rockets wasn't the money. It was the lie that accompanied it: They claimed they added the upcharge to dissuade teens from hanging out in the restaurant. Thing is, I'd never seen teens hanging out in that venue -- never. Such a transparent lie. Yes, fast food is downright cheap if you choose the right items and use the points. For example, pretty much every week you can get a free Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger with any purchase -- through the app. Today Sonic has their Chili Cheese Coney dogs on sale for 99 cents. McDonalds has Free Fry Friday for everyone who has the app. I'm ashamed to know all that.

Love the idea of seeing the ocean everywhere! I didn't know to expect that. I can appreciate the idea of a floating amusement park, but it's not something I "need". I want to ask if the gym is typically crowded, but that'd probably vary from cruise to cruise. Is the music loud enough that it affects people outside in the Solarium pool? Thanks, All who've shared information. I really appreciate it.

I believe you, but I'll check anyway.

Interesting. Kinda like that one high school where I worked -- the boys' bathroom was perpetually on fire. Mostly cigarette butts in the trash can. I didn't know that, so I thought it was to be taken seriously. My brother was in the Navy, and he said that fire-fighting on a ship was probably the most important thing they learned in Boot Camp. After all, if the ship burns, where are you going to go? Later, after he had left the Navy behind and was working in a land-based job, they had a fire in the warehouse. While everyone else ran outside, he ran in. He put the fire out before the firemen arrived.

Wow, no one was hurt? Did they send cruisers to their muster stations?

My ideas: - I keep comparison-pricing flying with driving, and -- for us, living in NC -- it's not even close. Driving is cheaper by a long shot; yes, that includes all the little extras that come with each choice. - Definitely avoid summer and holidays. - We've recently decided to become loyal to Royal Caribbean. Why? Because if we stick to that one company, we'll reach Diamond status, and that'll give us free drinks. Also, we bought stock in Royal Caribbean, so we get $100 OBC for every trip. - I have the Royal Caribbean credit card, but my Discover card pays a higher rewards, so that's my go-to -- except for when I'm spending on an actual cruise. - We book onboard to get a Next Cruise credit. - We definitely watch for price drops. We only booked two weeks ago, but we've already received two price drops. - We are happy with food that's included in the ticket price -- even for celebrations. - We brought two bottles of wine each -- no problem. And we drink ashore. - I definitely don't shop onboard; honestly, I didn't even see anything I wanted. - Pack plenty of sunscreen, Tylenol, cold medicines, etc. These things are quite expensive to buy onboard. - Last one: Don't skip cruise insurance. Emergency evacuation is incredibly expensive, even if it is unlikely.

I, too, was thinking the same thing.

Agree completely -- lanyards say "work day" to me, and I don't want that. I only bring shorts that have pockets. You can buy those clear plastic carriers at Walmart -- they're sold to carry fishing licenses and cost only a dollar or two. Amazon has them too. I bring a small wristlet purse, which pretty much just goes to dinner and evening shows -- and not my whole wallet. It's enough to carry my Sea Pass as well as a chapstick and a couple dollars for bar tips, and it's enough to hold the readers my husband needs to read the dinner menu. Sometimes I want to carry my phone or camera.