OldCaver

This would be especially helpful on embarkation day, when everybody would like to have lunch, but can't because all the tables are taken up by people who apparently don't know that there are other places where you can sit with your luggage while waiting for the cabins to be opened. This is why we make a point of eating before boarding. But I'm not bitter. 🙂

Whew! I'd never heard of a "red party," and I thought maybe it was something like the red wedding in Game of Thrones.

Totally with you on that coffee machine. I hit it early in the morning, without fail. More visits may or may not happen, but will probably happen. 🙂

We usually wait until Stuart gets around to us, and ask him which one would work for him better. We keep our cabin neat and orderly by habit, and all we really need him for is to empty the waste basket and see if we need fresh towels. By being flexible, we make it easier for other passengers to get the one they prefer, since it does matter to them. I think Stuart appreciated us, because he brought us towel animals twice. Most of the changes have been good ones.I agree that they shouldn't have cut the services to half and doubled the tip amount.

The changes still in place when we cruised after Covid, I love. We pretty much abandoned the MDR except for lunch anyway, so those changes didn't matter. The mustard drill is much easier now, because you don't have to stand in a crowd waiting for a loud blast on the horn right above you. Just watch the video and go visit the dancer/singer/drummer with a clipboard at your mustard station and you're done. Since we're D+, the drinks are super convenient. Sure, prices are higher, but that's true at home too. Everything is higher. One great new change is when you enter the Food Jammer, they have sinks to wash your hands in, rather than just the gel squirter. And the boarding procedure, with your selected boarding time, means you don't have to stand in line behind half the passengers. It's so fast and easy now. That's the best change of all. Put your phone on airplane mode so you don't spend your data, but remember to set your wifi back to normal when you get home, or you may find you've been using cell data instead of your home router when you get back. That's the mistake I made.

Hey, that's a good idea. It wouldn't work for us because we always book small cheap cabins and need all the space we can manage. But for most cruisers, that could solve a problem.

We surprised our granddaughter with a weekend cruise, but then we knew for a fact that she loved cruising. We told her we were taking her to enjoy the beach in Galveston, and that let her plan for clothes for eating out, which were just fine for the ship. She didn't catch on until we parked at the cruise terminal, which is a major give-away. But if your sister needs to be in control of the planning, you might tell her a month in advance. Other than clearing your calendar, a month should be enough to prepare. If not, offer to cancel the cruise and take her to an escape room and call it good. 😋

OK, now I got it. Thanks.

What's an esplanade?

The robes are useful for sitting on the balcony while not fully dressed. But since we don't bother with balconies anymore, no need for a robe. I once saw a lady and her embarrassed grandkid come down to the "Quest" wearing her bathrobe to complain about the noise. I sure wouldn't leave my cabin wearing a robe.

Make sure you've made the request for the extension cord so the ship will provide it to you, and if you need and request it maybe the distilled water you need. The department is "Guest Special Needs," but give them some time to fulfill the request, say 48 hours. Put your own extension cord in your carry on. If they see it and take it from you, they'll put a tag on it and you can reclaim it at the end of the cruise. When they took our extension cord, we were supposed to get it back, but we were on a B2B, and it got lost by the time we finished part deux. We probably should have told them that when they confiscated it, but live and learn.

We usually make a point of sitting near the back of the theater just in case the entertainment sucks, so that we can sneak out without offending the performer. But if his comedy involves offending people... hey, why worry about offending him? 🙂

I thought I might be the only one. I have to endure it at least a dozen times on any cruise, usually more. On one cruise, they played it before every single event in the theater. I think of it as something like a hidden fee when cruising.

While most first time cruisers aren't going to be on a trans-Atlantic, (though I was!) if you take a TA bring salty snacks. They're sometimes hard to find onboard, and very expensive at the ports. You'll crave some by about the tenth day.

I just consulted with a reformed rum-running cruiser, and she says they will check thoroughly on a spring break cruise. She adds that the contract you agreed to was to not break the rules or they can deny boarding. So if caught, they can indeed deny boarding, but usually they just confiscate your booze knowing that after you board, it's a safe bet that you're going to buy mucho booozo, or in English, "revenue." But don't try to smuggle an extension cord onboard. They'll catch it every time. You'll be sent to the naughty room and told to open your suitcase.

Mr. Sancho's in Cozumel. Also the original Bar Hop, not the fake one.

What's that called... a Crystal block. The large glass paper weight thing. I've had one on my desk by the window for a long time. It says "Jewel of the Seas." I don't even remember Jewel. I don't remember ever being offered a pin, and Mrs. Caver and I are both D+. I suppose it's possible that she accepted them and filed them away. I'll go axe. I know I wouldn't wear one on the ship, because it would be too easy to forget it and who knows where it would end up. Plus, I like to mingle with the peasants. The free drinks loaded on the sea pass card are the only benefit to the tier status as far as I'm concerned. Well, maybe the discount on T-shirts with the RCI logo. We stopped caring about the balcony discount several cruises ago. OK, Mrs. Caver stumbled out of bed and informs me that yes, we got the pins, she thinks I may have stuck it on my Dr. Grant hat with my Park Service volunteer badge and NSS 30 year membership pin, but it apparently fell off somewhere. I'd kind of like to get another for the hat - kind of like fishing lures. Next cruise, I may see if I can ask for a new one. I didn't know you could do that.

We were on the Voyager last week, disembarked just before you barked - er, embarked. It was quite a fun cruise. If DeLorean (the band) is on the ship, make sure you go see them. They're fantastic. We found the food to be superior to some other cruises, in both the MDR and the Food Jammer. Crew was exceptional, with one exception (see what I did there?). The wait staff in the Star Lounge was worthless, as once the promoted activities were done, they stopped going around asking if we needed anything, preferring to chat up a small group of cute passengers next to the bar. I assume their contract was up with this sailing, and they didn't give a rat's patoot anymore. Hopefully, they aren't on the ship with you.

OK, we got in with our new passwords, and now it's time to check the set sail pass. Mrs. Caver can only view and print our daughter's set sail pass when she clicks on hers. Same when she clicks on mine. Yours truly can see my own set sail, but when I try to see Mrs. Caver's or our daughter's, they both appear as me. My set sail for all three of us, in other words. OK, so daughter's shows all three correctly. And wife is the one who booked all three of us, and the cabin is in her name. When we get to the terminal, we can hand them all three phones and shuffle them under a set of Red Solo Cups. See if we get on the ship.

oops

then today is embark day! Have a great cruise!

That's us, exactly. A trans-Atlantic in a Vision Class ship, with lots of sea days.

One thing to remember about cruises, and why they may be the "best" for some people, is the fact that you can leave all responsibilities behind. If you make sure you get back to the ship by all aboard time, you can completely relax. Dinner? You don't have to prepare it. Getting to places? You don't have to drive to get to them, or look for gas stations, or any of that. Entertainment? Well, you might have to make a reservation or two on the bigger ships, but then you can walk to the theater. I agree with some of the other posts - it isn't the best for everybody, but that's usually the case for any activity you like. I loved caving when I was younger, but that sure isn't for most people.

Wife says they'll eventually build ships so big they won't go anywhere. They'll have giant TV sets showing the ocean going by, and on port days they'll let you off to visit the beach, and on the next port days, they'll change the decorations and tell you it's a different island. Could save money, so don't laugh.

That's our favorite class of ship, too. But we have to settle for the next size up or so, because we always sail out of Galveston these days. We'll be on Voyager in less than two weeks. Our favorite ship was Splendour, but they sold that sometime back, to some guy named Popeye. I thought about booking a cruise with him, but I looked at the menu and every dish has spinach involved somehow.