Kiki and The Noush

Well that sucks... we board Oct. 1st.

We look at it this way as well. We almost always have excellent servers when we specialty dine and the amount they get of that pooled tip is ridiculously small. We tip them extra - the service we get is usually far superior to the service we get on land. They deserve it.

It is never wrong to over-prepare. I got a passport for my son when he was under the age of 10 and that was pre 9/11. Travel changed considerably after that. I never needed anything besides his passport and I took him to Europe and elsewhere many times when he was a minor both pre and post 9/11. IMHO, the passport trumps everything. But, a BC doesn't take up any space so there is no harm in bringing it.

True. I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) the question was just for ID purposes. I would also assume that when the passport is scanned all the bio details are instantly on the screen.

No. The passport is the highest form of ID.

Here's my 2 cents - RC invested a lot of money into CocoCay and they are going to send as many ships, as often at they can, to recoup those funds and turn a profit. It is far more profitable for the ship to go to their private island so passengers can spend their vacation dollars than it is for the ship to stop at a foreign port and take those dollars off the ship. As of right now, I've been to CocoCay once. We rented a South Beach cabana - I am a hater of all things summer with my Scandi skin and spent half my time on the island applying sunscreen. We will be there again in October - we've purchased the Coco Beach Club. There seems to be a fair amount of shade options. I do know that shortly after lunch, I'll be ready to go back to the ship. We are also booked again for Oct. 2024 on our Icon sailing - I could see myself staying on the ship. We'll see. I'm just not one of those people who can relax on a sun lounger for hours. I would die of boredom 🙂

I don't think it is a weird question - I totally get wanting to avoid something that might make you sick on vacation. Personally, if the station in the WJ is a mess - I avoid it and consider it contaminated. Considerate, clean, handwashing folks typically don't make a mess at a buffet station. When I walk down a hallway and cabin doors are open and there are rooms that look like a tornado went through - those are the people who I figure have made some of the mess in the buffet - JMHO.. go ahead and flame away. If in a restaurant or the MDR - If something arrives at an improper temp - I avoid that. If something should be hot, it better be hot. My 2 cents.

I always get the internet. I like to read the news with my morning coffee, upload pics, check in on my puppers, etc.

If your cruise is 7 nights - you pay the rate x 7. There are no taxes or fees calculated on the gratuities. You can prepay them by contacting your travel agent or RC, if you booked directly. We always prepay them so they are just added into the cruise invoice and I don't have worry about it.

We were on a sailing with a large group of Autism on the seas and they were lovely. No problem whatsoever and the staff with them appeared to be incredibly caring. The only thing that even gave it away that they were there was their matching T-shirts and they had an area in the theater sectioned off for them. They hung large drapes at the sides of their section to give them a bit more privacy. Other than that, you would never even know they were on the ship. It seems to be a fabulous group!

Another thing that might be worth noting. Restaurants have various size tables. 2 tops, 4 tops, 6 tops, etc. So.. under your theory, you want to occupy a 4 top, but only pay for 2 people. If you were planning on holding the 2 children on your laps, ignore my comment. But, if you are planning on them occupying 2 chairs, you should pay for them.

Yeah.. that would be me! I HATE cheesecake 🙂

We were on Oasis in 2021 and the thing we noticed most was the pool in the Solarium had corrosion - the newer, cantilevered hot tubs were gorgeous - we just thought the pool was kind of gross. My sister just reminded me that the band-aid floating in it didn't help her impression either! LOL Anyway.. we are booked to go on her again in October and looking forward to it!

We have it booked for $88.99.. yay!

We've booked it - if nothing else, it has given everybody something to talk about besides the menus in the MDR and gratuities LOL

Just my 2 cents - I think most of us can agree that the tipping structure is American. We can probably also agree that it kind of sucks. Why oh why oh why do we have to discuss, ad nauseum, the tipping structure in the UK every time someone brings up tipping? What on earth does the tipping structure in the UK have to do with the American style tipping system on an RC cruise? I VERY much understand the British mentality on tipping - I am an American who has been married to a Brit for 23 years. I will probably get flamed for this, but I really just don't care. American = Capitalist Brit = Socialist Just my opinion, just my observation. The two are never going to quite see eye to eye. But, I digress. Again, what on earth does the tipping culture of the UK have to do with the tipping system of an RC ship? /rant

I'm part of the never nap crowd - for some reason, if I take a nap, I always wake up with a headache. On a cruise, I crawl into bed about 2 am and the alarm goes off at 6:30 so I can do it all again! I'll rest when I get home 🙂

I have an account for Voom - perhaps it is just a tick box "are you 13 or older?" I don't recall - I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Double check me on this, but I think that a cruiser must be at least 13 yrs of age to be able to use the app - using an old phone might not work if the child is underage.

8566 - Closer to the elevators. We've never had a noise problem, but I'm a GO GO GO! kind of cruiser and I'm back and forth to the cabin probably 10 times a day.

That sounds great on paper, but in reality, aren't those of us who pay our grats having to cover for those who don't? I prepay them, but I am somewhat annoyed that a "gratuity", something that is voluntary and given for recognition of outstanding service is treated as a fee. At what point, do I as a passenger who prepays grats, think to myself, "why am I subsidizing the wages of the workers for RC when RC is increasing my costs and reducing my benefits?" Or, and perhaps more importantly, "why am I paying a higher amount in grats to subsidize the cost of the cruise for those who are removing them?" Am I the only one here that sees that as the percentage of people who remove them increases, so will the cost of the gratuities increase for those of us who pay them? /rant

We're watching the price for our upcoming cruise as well. The perks combined w/ the internet - if the price point comes down enough, it would totally be worth it for us.