vlthom

It might actually be considered discriminatory to disable closed captioning as deaf people would require it.

DH likes the TV louder than I choose to have it. He suffers from some hearing loss but won’t get hearing aids. At home, we use the closed captioning. He doesn’t mind reading the dialog. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to turn that feature on the tv when sailing. It seems as if the O demographic might benefit from having it be available to use.

We boarded Regatta yesterday. Today in the Terrace, I decided to try the cookies to see if they had improved. They looked different…flatter and less attractive, so that was not an improvement. And I am sorry to say that the flavor was not good. They still taste oddly dry despite not being actually dry. It’s a dry flavor - like dust. And I am fairly certain that these were not made with butter. DH tried them with me. We tried peanut butter and also chocolate chip. Neither of us finished them as they were a waste of calories. I’m okay not having cookies, but I am baffled as to why they cannot get this right. Good cookies are not difficult to make.

We also did a B2B this past June/July, aboard Marina. We changed cabins and it worked similarly as described above; however, it was not especially well organized nor did we get much in the way of instructions ahead of time. We inquired about the process with our cabin steward. We were told that they would clean our new cabin first and then our move would occur. We could leave hanging clothing as-is and they'd move it. Everything else needed to be packed up in our suitcases, which they'd also move if we were not present. But in our case, the keycards were an issue as they did not and could not create the new cards until noon on turnaround day. I was told that it's usually done a bit earlier than that; however, their equipment wasn't working so they were unable to issue the new cards. This made our turnaround day a bit awkward to say the least. But hopefully, it will go more smoothly for you.

No masks were provided on our June/July Marina cruises. We were not sick before, during or after the cruise either. There supposedly is an uptick in new COVID cases around the world so perhaps this has led to the distribution of the masks. I'm glad to hear that they are being provided again, though not required.

Good point. When I was aboard Marina in June/July, it was clear that they were reducing old stock on hand and not replenishing things that had been on the wine list previously -- at least not at that time. I guess that my point was that it remains to be seen what wines will be part of the "included list" on the Simply More plan. And surely, it will change over time. And telling someone what's part of a beverage package now, doesn't mean that it will be part of the plan a few months from now.

Indeed, I think that you figured out what I meant -- we don't know the exact wines that will be poured once the Simply More plan is enacted. They may be the same as the ones currently in the House Select beverage package, but they might not be the same. We can only wait and see. I will be aboard Regatta beginning October 4, so I will have an answer at that time.

Since the Simply More plan doesn't begin until October 1st, I'm not sure that anyone can definitively say what wines will be included and poured as part of that plan.

Interesting. We've never received any calls similar to what you've described. And on the one occasion when we made a special request in advance (pre-COVID), they said that they could not fulfill it without a payment from us. We were asking for ginger beer (non-alcoholic). They wanted $5 per item so we said, "no thank-you".

So it seems. But using the link provided in post #66, one arrives at the general page describing internet aboard the ships where it states that beginning October 1, 2 log-ins are provided for each cabin. And just as it has been prior to the launch of SM, it appears that internet is not linked to OLife nor Simply More. It's a general amenity aboard all the ships.

It was helpful -- thanks for the info.

Ah....maybe so!

Yes, but do you have the link that was shown in your post from your TA which supposedly provides additional information? Can it be shared? I'm guessing not, since you haven't done so.

I interpret it similarly. But we sailed on another line where one specifically registered one's devices and the first one that logged in was the registered device and you did NOT have internet access on another one unless you paid for it. In other words, there were 2 devices allowed per cabin but those two registered devices were THE ONES for the duration. This is why I posed the question.

Given that the info states "whether or not your clients have made a reservation with OLife Choice or Simply More...", the answer to your question is fairly clear.

So it seems....and I'm glad of that. I'd like to read the details in the link that was provided to you by your TA, though. As usual, what's written in the blurb is a bit sketchy and open to interpretation.....is it really the "first 2 devices" logged into the account, meaning if my DH logs in with his laptop and then his iPhone are those the two devices allotted to our cabin for the duration of the cruise? Or will it behave as it currently does, and we can simply use any of our devices as long as we don't attempt to have more than two logged in simultaneously?

But sharing one account between two people in the same cabin can be challenging at times -- especially when one of those individuals is trying to do some necessary work.

Is the link to the "Click to Read More" available? For me, this is potentially good news as I was hoping that the 2nd wifi log-in that had been advertised was independent of "Simply More" benefits. I'd like to see what else they have to say on the subject, though.

We were on the same cruise as the OP and had no problems whatsoever. We were on the prior segment as well. We never got sick and frankly, I found there to be less coughing and sneezing on these two cruises than I'd observed in pre-COVID cruises. If you are highly concerned, take and wear a mask. They are not handing out masks onboard like they did immediately after opening up cruises again. Avoid riding in elevators, too. Skip the tour buses. That said, we utilized all of these things and did not get sick.

I've used Viator numerous times and have always had a good experience. Usually, we are in contact with the actual tour operator who is listed on the booking information as well. It's easy to look them up and check them out. I've found that the pricing on Viator is comparable to what the tour operator offers, too. For me, it's easier to use Viator if we are booking numerous independent tours as I can keep track of everything in one website/app. There are often specials offered, or "click-thru" offers associated with using Viator which make them an attractive option for me. Sure....I'd like 10% cash back because I clicked thru Rakuten. Or, I'd like 10X the FF miles by clicking through an airline shopping portal. These are things that I take into consideration as well.

Yes, we've sailed in 7133 on Riviera previously. It's a nice cabin with an enormous balcony.

We were on the ship just a couple days ago. There are no built-in USB ports in the cabins on Marina. Perhaps they will be part of the refurbishment process as they were added to other ships when they received their "NEXT" upgrade. Currently on Marina in regular cabins (cannot speak of suites), there is a European style outlet on each side of the bed. Near the desk, there is at least one more European outlet (maybe more) and two US-style outlets. For us, this was problematic as we forgot to bring our European style adapters. We had to make-do with the US outlets, and only one of them was workable at once because they are place too closely together. Unless you have slim plugs, only one can be utilized. We hoped to find plug adapters in one of the onboard shops and were advised by reception that they had them on sale; however, when we checked in the shop, they laughed at us and told us that they'd been sold out for a "long time". I'd recommend getting a European version of a plug with multiple ports if you have numerous devices to charge. In our case, we somehow managed even though we had all sorts of things that required charging. We made it work.

We were on Marina from June 21 - July 11th. We observed a few people wearing masks but they were in the minority. Frankly though, there was more mask-wearing than I expected. Overall, I didn't think that there were many coughing, though we did observe it on occasion on a tour bus or two. We got home yesterday and so far are healthy, thankfully.

Yes, prime rib was still on the menu when we were most recently in Polo. No change there.

No, we did our own air.