Mum2Mercury

Thanks for the info!

Hmmm, I definitely want to learn more about embarking in Tampa. We are close enough to drive to the port, and we like being able to walk off the ship, get in our car and hit the road. Tampa will be a 9-hour drive for us, so a quick start is no small thing to us. My husband would be beyond livid if we were returned to a different terminal /had to wait for a shuttle. Let's just say, His middle name ain't Patience. You say this has happened "on occasion"? How often is that? Thanks, that was an informative video. I know that Grandeur insides are 136 square feet (as opposed to the 160 square feet we had on Explorer last week -- that's a reduction of 15%). The space on the sides of the bed looks fine -- it's the same that we had last week. Yes, we had to squeeze past the drawers on one side and the sofa on the other side, but it wasn't a problem. Splitting the beds is a hard no; I may have been married for 32 years, but I still really like snuggling with my husband. The biggest problem in this "sideways" cabin is the wasted hallway space between the closet and the bathroom; they could've turned the closet 90 degrees /could have placed it against the back wall, and the space would've been better utilized -- the chair could've then moved away from the door. I am considering whether we should change to a "straight cabin" rather than a "sideways cabin"; we got the last cabin on Deck 8, so our choices are: - Remain in the sideways cabin on Deck 8, which is only one stairway away from the pool, the gym, the Windjammer and the Pool Bar -- things we use frequently. It also puts us close to the gym's larger, more comfortable showers. - Move to Deck 3 or 4 and get a better inside cabin, one similar to the one we just liked on Explorer, one with a sofa, which we did use frequently -- but be forced to use the elevator almost all the time.

Assuming you go to My Time Dining, you can make your reservations before you leave home. You've downloaded the app already, right? Reservations will open 2-3 weeks before you sail; if you watch for "opening day", you should be able to get whatever times you want. I think My Time Dining starts at 6:45? You don't have to have the same time each evening. I found My Time Dining rather strange last week on Explorer: - They had two lines -- one for diners with reservations /one for diners without reservations. About 90% of the diners were on the no-reservations side. - The staff didn't seem to care much if you were 15-20 minutes early -- but they did care that you had reservations. - On the busiest night, two couples were ahead of us on the reservations side. We were always seated within minutes of presenting ourselves at the podium. - I don't think you can change your reservation time on the app, but one afternoon I did go to the MDR's door during lunch service and made a change for our dinner time. We had the same table and same wait staff each evening, and service was great. The MDR, however, has never been fast. We ate dinner in the Windjammer twice -- it really isn't as nice as the MDR. No, they don't have items that specifically seem like appetizers; for example, I never saw shrimp cocktail or escargot, but they had a nice variety of foods. Often we saw SOME of the things on the MDR's menu. Sometimes those things showed up the next day at lunch too, but you really can't predict it.

As a stockholder, I should say, "YES! KEEP CHARGING!" but that's still outrageous.

Which means SOMEONE is paying those prices! Won't be me.

When I hear stories like this, I feel sorry for people who live in these economically depressed areas and have few opportunities for jobs. What wouldn't you do to provide for your children? I get why they're so pushy. Doesn't make it any more pleasant for us, the tourists.

This information is new to me, but (insert toddler voice here) I DON'T WANT TO WEAR LONG PANTS ON VACATION! I'm glad to hear so many of you wore shorts and were fine. I have climbed similar pyramids near Mexico City, and I know the sturdy tie shoes are 100% necessary. Good info about insect protection -- I've added it to our packing list. Any comment on how the bugs are likely to be in October? Late October.

I just retired, but photography was a big part of my job for decades, and -- yes -- cell phone cameras have changed photography. People purchase fewer pictures than they did a decade ago, and people don't seem to grasp the difference in quality between professional photography and a cell phone picture any more. Chair hogs ARE the worst! I hope they spill their expensive cocktails, step on jelly fish, lose at the casino, and are chosen for a strip-search at the airport. Back to the point: Having read these boards, I was expecting participation in formal night to be vastly-vastly decreased -- but last week on Explorer I'd say 30-40% of the people in the MDR had definitely "made an effort" on formal night. I saw men in suits -- no tuxedos, at least none I saw. Ladies in sequined, fancy dresses and heels. And the remaining 60-70% were all in sundresses or pants/jeans and polos/buttoned shirts. I saw no one (not that I was actively searching) who was downright inappropriate on formal night. In contrast, on regular nights, I did see some grey hoodies, lots of graphic-tees, one Black Lives Matter tee, and (same evening, different table) a Trump ball cap. On regular nights I saw many men in nice shorts and polos or nice tees -- and only about 10% in athletic wear (and they tended to be teens). I'd sum it up, saying: The MDR is more casual than it used to be, but people seem to be dressing in what I'd call resort-casual, not sloppy.

Disagree! The gentle wave view is constantly moving /changing and very relaxing.

Yes, very helpful! Hope you enjoy your March trip! Wine cooler? You mean just a tub of ice shaped for a bottle of wine? That'd do -- the cabin steward has them? I was thinking of bringing a small cooler -- we have a freebie that we picked up at a Big Green Egg event; it has a liner and doesn't leak. And it's not precious to me. Yes, Windjammer to the front will be kinda weird, and we seem to go to the Windjammer 6-8 times a day for a drink or a cup of ice. I typically use the stationary bikes and the kettle bell in the gym, and those are kinda basic. Love seats in the theater? What a great idea! We've been married 32 years, but I still love snuggling up to my Honey. Thanks, All, for your help! I'm keeping notes and appreciate your advice tremendously. And two new questions: Any suggestions for where to stay night-before? We'll have a 9-hour drive, so our priorities are a clean place and a comfortable bed -- we won't use any of the hotel amenities. We don't have to be right on top of the port, but we'd like our embarkation-day drive to be less than an hour. We won't even go out to dinner -- our family tradition is that we pack a charcuterie board, spread a towel across the foot of the bed, and munch on a snacky dinner while watching a movie on TV. It makes for an easy evening in our PJs. Do y'all park at the port, or does a better option exist?

Would you go Cave Tubing in Belize in October? I mean, would the water still be warm?

Really? I can't imagine not enjoying looking out at the sea. It means you only have "neighbors" on one side, and it's a more interesting view than sitting in the middle of the room.

So true -- and don't forget to add 18% to the price. That's the automatic gratuity.

So is this the deal: These offers are ship-specific, and you can't be sure of what (if anything) you'll get until you're in your room? We were on Explorer last week, and we received a letter in our cabin on the first day saying we were eligible for the following discounts -- by the way, we are lowly Gold status: 50% off any glass wine, beer or soda (two coupons per sailing) 50% off any Johnny Rocket's milkshake (two coupons per sailing) 25% off any coffee beverage 10% off any wine, beer or soda by the glass Buy a bingo package, get one free jackpot card 10% off any internet package $2 free play (casino slot machine) Buy one, get one 50% off photo 10% off RCCL logo products (must spend $25) 10% off any spa service (excluding medi-spa) My husband and I are pretty thrifty, so we were very excited by these discounts, but we found the staff wasn't well informed about them, and they weren't enforced equally. Our experiences: - My husband used his two 50% off beers on Day 1. - On day 2 I ordered my first cocktail at the Pool Bar and asked to use one of my 50% offs -- received it. I genuinely didn't realize that the 50% offs were only for wine, beer or soda. - I used my second 50% off for my husband to have a beer, and we thought to ourselves, "Those were nice, but now they're gone." - We read the paper as, "All the beer you order will be 10% off", but my husband was embarrassed to ask for that in the dining room for some reason -- so he didn't get it. But he'd ask at a bar. He can be that way sometimes. - On maybe Day 5, I ordered a cocktail at the Windjammer bar, and I asked for the 10% off -- the bartender said, "That's the 20% crew discount?" I wasn't trying to cheat anyone, so I said, "No, 10% for Gold status". He gave me 20%. Okay, thanks. - Same day I ordered a cocktail at the Pool Bar, and again asked for 10% off. This bartender pointed out to me that the discount wasn't good on cocktails -- but he said, "But you still have a 50% off a wine, beer or soda left." I know I didn't, but I hurried up and bought my husband a 50% off beer. Okay, maybe I WAS trying to cheat. - Last night on the cruise I bought my husband a beer at the Windjammer bar, and I asked for the 10% discount -- the bartender said, "Yes, you still have one discount left for today." What I typed above is exactly what the paper said -- no mention of "per day". TOTALLY DISJOINTED EXECUTION. Don't get me wrong: I was thrilled to get a discount at all, and I'm not complaining in any way, but it was odd. Back in the dark ages, we used to get a coupon book -- actual paper book -- and that was more straightforward. But I got more discounts with this new system.

I thought of another idea as I was standing in line at the grocery store today: You know how ladies' magazines have fragrance strips advertising perfume? Instead of bringing a bottle of perfume, save up a couple of these and rub them on your wrists. My thrifty grandmother taught me to do this. She also taught me to cut them out of magazines and keep them in my socks-and-underwear drawers to make things smell nice.

We just had a great experience with a guarantee last week -- I couldn't have picked a better room within our category. But it was just the two of us. If I were in your shoes, taking my adult children and needing three cabins, I'd want to pick my rooms. Especially because you're going with balconies. One of the BEST cruises I ever had was when we had three balcony cabins, and we had the cabin steward open up the balcony dividers between the cabins -- he had to go fetch a key from his supervisor, but it was done within an hour -- we tipped him extra because we were asking him to go of his way on his busiest day. Essentially we had one looong balcony, and we could go between rooms without going "out into public". We left our sliding doors unlocked so family members could come and go between rooms. Yes, I like saving money. Okay, truth is, I REALLY LIKE SAVING MONEY, but -- in your situation -- I'd pay more for the family to be together /connected.

It's not a system that'd work for everyone /every trip, but it was just what we needed for that Western parks trip. And, as I said, this was before you could order on line and have a package waiting for you at Walmart or a drug store.

I do have a cabin like that. I watched a YouTube video detailing this cabin, and I didn't like it as much as the "standard" inside we just had on Explorer, but I thought it was acceptable. I took it because it was literally the last cabin on Deck 8, and I thought I really wanted to be near Deck 9. If I want a "standard" inside cabin, I'd have to go down to Deck 2 or 3. You think I've made a mistake? Anyone else want to chime in on this? I'm concerned now.

Definitely good information on this thread -- thanks to all who've helped! Thinking of rain -- is the parking in a deck? About reservations: We just sailed Explorer last week and had My Time DIning. I made reservations for 7:30 every night before leaving home. Onboard we found that they had two lines -- No reservations to the left, Reservations to the right. With reservations, we walked right in every night; they didn't seem to care if we were 15 minutes early or late -- but they did care that we had reservations. We never had more than one group ahead of us to be seated, and we never waited more than 2-3 minutes to get to the podium and give our room number. I can't understand why people didn't bother to make reservations!

That's not promising. We just had a crazy experience boarding in Miami and were hoping that Tampa would offer a less frenzied embarkation -- guess not. You mean until they clear the previous week's guests? You still have your luggage across the street while you're waiting? I'm having a little trouble grasping this concept. I do care about the in-room cooler, but I've decided it's not a make-or-break. I will bring a small cooler and ask the cabin steward for ice each evening. I know Grandeur is an older ship -- but we can always go to the main pool, if this is a bother. We enjoyed the menu last week on Explorer, so this is good news. We are on Deck 8 of Grandeur, and we're under the Spa/Gym, so we figure that'll be relatively qiuet. We grew tired of lengthy dinners last week, so we fell into the habit of asking for our dessert to be packaged "to go", and we'd enjoy it an hour or so later in our room. Wasn't ideal when we ordered a hot dessert /a la mode, but we came to like this method. They definitely aren't refrigerators -- just coolers.

Agree! I never considered it before. I'd like to sit by a window -- obviously for the view -- but also because my husband has hearing only in one ear, and limiting the number of tables next to us would be good. We could choose our seats so that the waiter would stand "on his good side", and it would make life slightly nicer for him /no explaining necessary.

Here's an example: When we did our month-long Western national parks road trip, we flew to Las Vegas, where we rented a car. As always, we flew with only carry-ons -- so toiletries were a problem. We also wanted to pack two kitchen knives (because we had sandwiches out of a cooler every day for lunch) and my husband couldn't do without his pocket knife. So I packaged up our toiletries, the knives, and a couple other things we wanted for the trip /didn't want to carry, and I mailed a package to myself (at the hotel's address) two weeks before the trip. I packaged everything in ziplocks in case of spills. When we arrived, the package was waiting for us -- and, most of all, we'd breezed through the airport with zero liquids. Yes, you'd need to know the street address of your night-before hotel, and you'd need to call ahead to verify that they accept/hold packages for guests. This, of course, was before you could order things and having them gathered up /waiting for you at a Walmart or drug store.

Here's an example: When we did our month-long Western national parks road trip, we flew to Las Vegas, where we rented a car. As always, we flew with only carry-ons -- so toiletries were a problem. We also wanted to pack two kitchen knives (because we had sandwiches out of a cooler every day for lunch) and my husband couldn't do without his pocket knife. So I packaged up our toiletries, the knives, and a couple other things we wanted for the trip /didn't want to carry, and I mailed a package to myself (at the hotel's address) two weeks before the trip. I packaged everything in ziplocks in case of spills, and I labeled it HOLD FOR GUEST's JULY 1st ARRIVAL. When we arrived, the package was waiting for us -- I just asked for my package, and the hotel reception staff brought it out of the back room -- and, most of all, we'd breezed through the airport with zero liquids. Yes, you'd need to know the street address of your night-before hotel, and you'd need to call ahead to verify that they accept/hold packages for guests. This, of course, was before you could order things and having them gathered up /waiting for you at a Walmart or drug store.

I hate the current drink packages. I wish they offered something for beer that wasn't "ultimate" -- it's just way too expensive. My husband is a beer drinker, but he spent less than $200 on our cruise last week. We brought beer back from every island stop -- walked right through, no questions. Also, he took full advantage of the discounts offered onboard for being Crown & Anchor loyalty members -- and since I don't drink much, he used my discounts as well. And he bought the "Bucket of Beer" from the Pool Bar; it's less expensive than buying individual beers. It's hard to justify the difference between $200 and the drink package. On the other hand, I always bought the soda package for my kids when they were teens. They enjoyed hanging out in the teen club and going to teen activities. I have all girls, so I lectured them on not drinking anything that'd been out of their sight for even a moment -- and, in keeping with that thought, I didn't want them to feel pressured to drink a soda just because they'd paid for it. One more thing on drink packages: When you're considering the price, add 18% gratuity. So $70/day is really $82.60/day, and that extrapolates out to $578.20/week -- for one person's drinks. And that's just an example -- $70/day might not be your sailing's real price. I wish they offered something mid-way -- maybe 4 drinks per day for a lesser price. I think people would buy that. As for excursions, the prices don't change like the drink package. If you want the excursion, go ahead and book it -- before it fills up. But do consider private excursions as well; they're superior -- the smaller price is just a bonus. Regardless of the choices you make, do purchase before you board. On the website you see they have a larger price with a line drawn through it? That's the price they'll charge on the ship. Plus you don't want to use a minute of your vacation time on this topic. They have reserved seating for suite guests, but you don't get a personal assigned seat, and you don't need to do anything ahead of time. It's just that they block off an area -- it's the "tiered seating" above the pool, and it's not a good spot. Literally no one sits in it -- it's quite wasteful. Here's a picture -- you see the "tiered seating" and the wooden steps leading up to it? Blue chairs on wood flooring? That's it. It'll be roped off with signs saying "Suite guests".

Agree. It's also something to satisfy the people who have an emotional need to "have the best". As I see it, the meals you'd get in the specialty restaurants might be a little step-up on vacation, but spending that same money at home to eat out on a night when you just don't want to cook is a big step-up.