rudeney

I would recommend taking a screen shot of the final "receipt" page in the app in case you need to show it and don't have Internet access.

This was around 6:30pm, in the rain:

Ours (Voyager Oct 2nd CAN/NE) has bounced between $65 and $80. Most of the time it's been $70. They had a BOBO50 sale and it was $75. Other sales have had it at $65, and that's the lowest I've seen.

We were once on a cruise where we had "included gratuities". This was back in the days where they were transitioning from giving the crew envelopes to having tips added. I had not seen anything added to my account or any notation of tips, so on the 5th day, I asked the cabin steward and he said that yes, our tips had been accounted for. Based on that, I do believe they can tell if tips are in place or not.

"Tip creep" is a real problem. I'm not talking about traditional tipped positions like restaurant and bar servers, cruise ship crew, etc. but the almost endless line of people who have their hands out for a tip. Fast food and counter service restaurants have "tip jars" or "tip buttons" on their pay pads. What's next? Will I have to tip my HOA representative? My veterinarian? The cashier at the Dollar General? I've long been a proponent of tipping because I believe it puts the customer in charge of the service provider's compensation where it's the customer who is in the best position to evaluate performance. But this expectation that every person who deals with the public "deserves" a tip is just ridiculous. I think the pendulum will swing so far out that people will get "tip overload" and just stop tipping everyone.

Yeah, like I said before, it's all about the "float" - both with RCCL and your credit card company.

Yes, I support @Starry Eyes suggestion because I see RCCL's pricing as a game. They run perpetual "sales" that are not really sales. They are at best just marketing gimmicks and at worst bait-and-switch. If I were booking a cruise for 3 and that booking for 4 was less expensive, I'd book it for 4. I might not make up a fictitious name, but I'd use another friend or family member, knowing full well that there would be little to no chance of that person (or child) being on the cruise.

I also follow Jordon, but had not seen today's update. Did she say why? Is it positivity rates, or maybe a country/port requirement?

45 days prior to Oct. 14th would be August 30th. Also, you can check the app, It usually shows you below your reservation info. Click the head-and-shoulders "person" icon on the top of the page to see that. Sometimes the app does not work properly and will say "check-in is closed..." If so, just close it and try again later later.

Booking 4 people in a cabin for less (total price) than 3 people is based on RCCL's expectation of making additional non-fare revenue from that 4th person in shorex, drink/dining packages, etc. As with all of their pricing, they are playing games. I see no problem with customers who figure that out playing the game their own way.

I wonder if this strategy will still hold with ships sailing at (or "over") capacity now?

I agree. Reading a person's details "trip report" give me much more information than a 5-point scale and two-sentence review. I think these detailed reports tend to cover both the good and the bad, plus you get a better feel for the person's expectations.

I don't put much faith in these overall company reviews. They are just too generalized. Reviews of particular aspects, such as an excursions, ports, individual restaurants/meals, or onboard activities are probably more honest and reliable.

I checked-in this morning at 12:01am for our Oct. 2nd cruise (actually, it didn't open until about 12:15am). We are on Central Time, so it was only 11:15pm here, and I stay up that late anyhow. I chose a 10:30am check-in time and went ahead and entered passport info and uploaded photos. We're all ready to go except for the requisite COVID testing (going to Canada).

Same here. We are at the beach this week in a very nice luxury rental condo, but the mattresses are horrible. All of them are so soft and mushy, I keep fearing that I'll need the jaws of life to extract me from it in the morning.

If you are in a full suite (GS+) you can reserve dining by replying to the concierge's email that is sent sometime during the week before you sail. If not, I have heard that people who buy multi-night dining packages have been able to book (and pay for) individual meals, then once onboard, have those individual purchase prices credited back as OBC. I would think that would work with vouchers, too, but I have no personal experience with that, plus RCCL is not always consistent in how they handle things. The safest thing to do would be to book as soon as you board.

I don't know about the way this works outside the USA, but here, RCCL will process Cruise Planner refunds and send them to the credit card company within 2 business days. This is pretty much a requirement that the credit card companies enforce on them in their retail contracts. Any delay after that is strictly the credit card company itself holding the money before they credit it back to the account. When the retailer (in this case RCCL) and the credit card companies can hold money, they create a "float" and earn interest on that. A few days for a few hundred dollars may not seem like much, but multiply that by the number of refunds being process every day and they could easily have millions of dollars always sitting in their "float". The big 5 card issuers (Chase, Cap One, BofA, Citi and Discover) tend to be the worst ones to hold money for a long time. Smaller banks that issue their own cards and Amex tend to do this for the shortest time.

I think we won the passport renewal lottery. I sent our off via Priority Mail on Monday, March 28th (headed to Philadelphia, not expedited). I received them on Friday, April 15th. April 9th. That was 18 days total.

Being on Central time and sailing out of ports that are on Eastern time, I only have to stay up until 11pm, which I typically do anyhow.

I have the same problem every time I cruise! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I actually had thought about two TA's. I am not sure if we would want to be away from home that long, but it is something I could consider. 🙂

People who buy The Key, UDP, and those in suites will have additional options ,depending on the ship.

I normally get up early and spend some time in the hot tub and swimming laps in the pool when it's empty. I swim an underwater pull-down breaststroke as it's easiest on my arthritis (I only know what that is because my wife, who was a competitive swimmer in high school told me). Based on the reaction of my eyes, I think all the pools on Voyager and Freedom class have been salt water. Sometimes it seems saltier than other, so your explanation @chengkp75 makes sense.

@DragonOfTheSeas Thank you so much for your live reports, pics, and reviews! I would love to take a European cruise, but my wife simply won't fly overseas, so we will keep cruising out of the US. I was following your posts closely as we will be on Voyager in just 7 weeks going to CAN/NE. I am glad to hear that the ship is in great shape. We will be patient with the crew - I know they are trying hard to get things back to normal. Your reports of the slow service in the CL just give me more justification for having bought the DBP. Normally, we don't buy that because we have cocktails in the the CL and the other drinks we pay out of pocket for just don't justify the cost, but this time I figured we try it. I hop you recover from COVID soon!

You can call me, and unless I am already on the phone trying to extend my car's warranty, I'll take your call immediately. Of course I don't work for RCCL, but at least you won't be able to complain that no one answered your call.