foxgoodrich

Ahh...thanks! Can you tell I've never bought a drinks package either? I assumed it was a daily thing like the DBP. Okay...now I might be more interested....

For me, paying more than $200 for coffee for the week would not be worth it. I do like specialty coffees, but would not drink enough of them daily to make it worthwhile.

Yeah, we got our Royal Up email last week for our 1/7/23 cruise and submitted a bid. It's a LOW bid on a GS ($200pp) so we probably won't get it. But the cabin we already have is an aft balcony on Radiance, so win or lose we will be happy with our cabin! I assume that the ship is not full enough right now, thus the early Royal Up opportunity. If we win, somebody will be able to book or bid on a great aft balcony!

Yes, it is annoying to have such a limited selection of drinks in Texas waters! They have a specially printed Texas drink menu in all the bars. And apparently it has not changed since the guy at Captain's Corner explained the restrictions to us years ago. The ship can only serve alcohol on which Texas tax has been paid until outside the 12 mile limit. Thus they only buy a minimum and limited selection from Galveston distributors. At least Royal is less restrictive than Cardinal for people with drink packages sailing from Galveston, though. Another bit of weirdness is that you must pay Texas tax on any alcohol you are bringing back with you. Doesn't matter where you bought it (on ship or on an island), doesn't matter if you paid nothing for it but got it as one of your C&A gifts, and it doesn't matter if you don't live in Texas but are only passing through. You are still required to pay the Texas tax on your bottles. We live in Oklahoma and have relatives in Texas. I guess we are officially "bootleggers" because we always bring some brands that we can get here and family members can't buy in Texas when we travel for visits. So far there is no alcohol inspection station to collect Texas tax at the border on I-35!

Ahhh...I was told differently! I'm glad to know that things have changed in terms of supplying the ship at least, even though the bar service is still limited to only certain brands of liquor, wine, and beer until outside the 12 mile limit. (As of our last cruise from Galveston in September anyway!) Even our D+ wine gift selection cannot be delivered to our room until past the 12 mile limit as it's a brand not sold in Texas nor purchased in Texas. One of the officers on Voyager (Food/Bev Manager? I forget his exact title.) at a Captains Corner Q&A several years ago responded to a question about the limited bar selections in Texas waters, and he spoke about the legal restrictions. Only liquor/beer/wine purchased in Texas could be served in Texas, so only limited supplies were purchased by Royal from Galveston distributors. Once outside the 12 mile limit, all brands were available at bars. Most of the alcohol aboard was purchased duty free from other ports that didn't have such restrictions. Good to know that things have changed! Maybe on our next cruise out of Galveston, we'll actually get our wine on Day 1!

You should actually hope the bars are already stocked from a port outside of Texas! Due to Texas' unique liquor laws, only certain brands can be sold in Texas or consumed in Texas waters (inside the 12 mile limit.) This is nothing new, so hopefully Royal planned ahead and saw to stocking the bars already!! Have a great cruise!

That's our cabin from September! You'll love it! The balcony is equipped with 2 loungers, a small round coffee table type table, 2 chairs, and a larger round table that can be used for eating. And (of course) there's room for a hammock if you like....

DH brought ropes and hung it from the super structure. These pics show how it was hung, but they were actually taken when we had the starboard corner balcony on Navigator a few years ago. The structure is similar on Voyager class and Freedom class ships, and it's pretty easy to hang a hammock. I think each rope was about 20 feet long and the hammock came from Amazon (brand was Texsport, about $24.) I

We've also received a quick refund to the credit card we used for our account. We've only had unused refundable OBC left twice, but both times we received the refund within a week.

We were in 7708 (the other corner aft) in early September. It was hot, of course, but our balcony was very comfortable. This corner aft has a big portside porthole opening plus the open back, so the breeze could reach us from two directions. DH brought his hammock, and we spent lots of very enjoyable time out there!! He hung out in the hammock, and I used one of the loungers....ahhh...

Have you checked your B of A point balance to be sure the points were deducted? The reason I ask this is because once I thought I had redeemed points for an OBC, but I evidently didn't click the last button to make it happen. I didn't get the OBC. I was mad! So I checked B of A and there was no record of the points redemption. If your points have been deducted from your balance, you might try calling the Rewards people to see what's going on.

It's my understanding that the report of purchases from a "RC recommended store" is only made to determine the effectiveness of the shopping cheerleader person - the one who has those shopping seminars, gives you a shopping map, tells you where to go for free charms, and hands out coupons and door prizes. The cruise lines get a kickback from money spent at recommended stores, and the stores can see whether the shopping seminar was effective. The shoppies in those stores ask customers what ship they are on. Those reports do not go to US Customs. They are part of the agreement between the store and the cruise line. I also believe that the Security people only see the message to hold up the departure for the guest when they scan the Sea Pass. They do not know the reason. The message you got ( No idea what it is about; go and fix it) would support that belief.

Well...exactly. The Departure Notice has information about departure, and we read the whole departure notice. Both sides. All of it. We like to be prepared in case something has changed since our last cruise. It does take about 5 minutes (and about a 4th grade reading level) to read it. If you read the Departure Notice, you can clearly see the $800 limit on purchases and the liquor customs allowance. Information is available. Information is given to passengers in writing. If someone chooses not to read the departure information, who is at fault if the passenger gets a rude awakening at departure? Maybe there needs to be a mandatory departure drill to (like the Muster Drill.)

My suggestion would be to get the CBP form 6059B (the blue and white customs declaration form that used to be left in your cabin) from Guest Services any time you purchase an expensive item (above $800) onboard. The forms are in a rack on the wall at GS usually, along with other printed information and print copies of the Cruise Compass. If you have that form filled out, in advance, you should be able to simply show it and proceed to Customs. (I believe you can also execute your CBP 6095B online and show it on your phone or tablet, but I don't know from my own experience.) If you know you've already settled your onboard account with Guest Services, you could assume it would be a Customs reporting inquiry that caused the flagging. It sounds like the specific ship you were on did adhere to the US law by reporting the purchase of an item above the $800 limit onboard (your son was flagged), but they did not have good protocols worked out with the port Customs officials to efficiently handle the collection of duty in an expedient and professional manner. I don't know if there are protocols which are supposed to be implemented on a fleet wide basis or if it's the individual ship Captain's prerogative to determine how to handle situations like yours. I've never made an onboard purchase that exceeded $800, so I have no personal experience on how such things are handled.

From the CBP: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not collect state sales tax on goods imported into the U.S. However, CBP will make entries and CBP declarations available to state tax representatives if requested. Some states occasionally review these documents and send letters to importers and travelers notifying them that they owe state taxes. The normal federal Customs process happens when travelers return to the US from foreign countries. Customs does not report these customs declarations to states, nor do they collect tax on behalf of states. States can choose to request access to the information if they want to review declarations. In some cases it would be a big waste of time and manpower - for example, there are 6 states that have no state sales tax at all. My state does not routinely review the Customs declarations of international travelers. Obviously, from what Nelblu told us, NJ does!

Oh, of course, my state used to estimate and charge the sales tax owed (based on net income) on our state income tax return too, but for us it was about out of state purchases through internet sales and mail order goods. We used to call it the Amazon sales tax, but now that nearly every online and catalog seller charges and remits sales tax to states, it's become an honor system question on our state tax return too. I was referring to the Texas liquor/tobacco tax collecting station that's set up between US Customs and the terminal exits when you disembark in Galveston. It doesn't matter if you live in Texas or not, they collect tax on liquor and tobacco at the cruise port. No other imported goods are affected. I haven't seen that in Florida, California, or Washington ports. I haven't ever sailed out of NJ, so I don't know if your state does what Texas does when people disembark.

No, I don't believe states are involved, except in certain US ports with purchases of liquor or tobacco. For example, if you sail out of Galveston, when you disembark there's a Texas liquor tax station you're supposed to go to and pay Texas tax if you've bought booze. I don't buy liquor on ships or itineraries sailing from Texas, so I don't know how much they charge,

Customs only requires reporting of purchases that exceed the $800 duty free personal allowance, so relax...your DW should be fine with the $10 watch...

We tried on Sunday (Sept 18), but fresh squeezed orange juice was not available in the MDR for breakfast on disembarkation day on Liberty. We didn't ask about vouchers after we found out we couldn't get the OJ.

I've had some luck using a particular site for cruises of 7 nights or more. But it's against the rules here to actually mention any website where a person could book a cruise. If you want to go to sea, you might need a scanner. You could maybe find that at a dot com. I hope you understand.

Of course! If all of us who know exactly where our tables are located go ahead and walk in and sit down, the line would be much shorter for those who need help finding their tables to be escorted to their tables by staff. We always go to the MDR in the afternoon and locate our table so we'll know where we are going on the first night. do you think it’s okay if someone decides to bypass everyone and go directly to your assigned seat? Of course not! Why would I think it's okay for someone to take MY ASSIGNED SEAT in the dining room regardless of whether they waited in a line or not? The point is for people who know where their own table is to move on into the MDR and go to the proper table, thus getting out of the way of others who don't know the location of their tables.

Yikes! So glad things are different here with all our medical and dental providers! Ours all require masks (surgical grade or N95, no cloth masks) and distancing is pretty much enforced by the positioning of waiting room furniture. Happily it's been years since either of us has had a cold!!

You are absolutely right!

Seems like the shopping presentations onboard give people some kind of coupons for discounts and free stuff from the "approved" shopping venues in various ports. I think there is a port jewelry venue that offers a free charm. (My info may be OLD as it's been years since I've attended one of those shopping seminars onboard.)

Nope. The OP wants the dark interior room to gradually become light, as if sunrise were happening outside a window with no curtain. But of course, an interior room is always dark because there is no window. That's what a "sunrise alarm clock" does. It gradually lightens the room as if there were a real sunrise coming through a window. The OP wants to know if anybody has experience using a "sunrise alarm clock" and if the experience was good or not.