rudeney

Those are nice, too, but deep tissue is much different - it's a lot of work for the MT.

I've "heard" that, too! 😜 Seriously, my MT charges $95/hour, but she never raised rates even after the COVID restart or inflation, so I increased my tip this year. I have bad arthritis and she knows exactly what do do for my problems. She also keep up with her continuing education and learns new techniques. She did something with my neck last time that she recently learned and OMG it was better than, well, any other professional massage I've ever had!

Yep, I specifically chose a cabin on our next cruise so as not to be connecting which meant I had to compromise with a forward starboard location instead of midship port. We were in an OS on a ship across from such a "blank area" and it was the crew elevator. It was no problem at all.

Since her passport is valid during the cruise, I'd just use that, but keep her birth certificate and any other ID she may have handy just in case. The rule about passports needing to be valid 6 months after the cruise is really just the "greatest common denominator" to cover cruises to countries that require it. US, Canada and Caribbean cruises do not.

FYI, that was sarcasm (hence my "stir the pot" and devil-face emoji). I know it cannot (and should not) be removed. 😜

Have you been to a dermatologist lately? They are the worst about pushing their special lotions, creams, etc. And these are highly-paid MDs! As for spa prices, I see a local massage therapist about once every 2-3 weeks. After tip, I pay $130 for an hour-long DT session. The onboard price for a 55 minute DT massage is about $148 after the 18% gratuity is added (based on non-peak scheduling). Yes, it's more on the ship, but not ridiculously more.

I have a simple solution to this problem. For each guests the enters the MDR wearing pants on regular nights, and at least a suit and tie on "formal" nights, give them a special pin to wear that permits them to smoke in the casino. You wear shorts to the MDR - no smoking got you! 😜

That's per person, of course!

My wife and I are a bit older than you, but we still both enjoy a good live concert. We just don't enjoy loud music and noise during a nice meal or having conversations with others.

I wonder what would happen if you actually complained at the time to the person in charge of the sound mixing that it was too loud?

Maybe, btu probably not. But it could easily go up. If $65.99 is an acceptable price, buy it now. Then check Cruise Planner every day until 2 days before your cruise. If the price drops, you can cancel what you bought and get a refund, and then re-buy at the lower price.

And small - 375ml bottles with a few cans of mixers for nearly $50.

Just ask the concierge. It gets handled.

Many land-based restaurants are purposely designed with hard surfaces to increase the volume. This is to make them seem more "vibrant" and "lively". When they get crowded, it can be hard to have a conversation, and I hate that. I expect a place with live music to be loud, but otherwise, I like being able to enjoy a conversation over a meal without yelling. Luckily I have not encountered that on a cruise ship, not even the Windjammer. But we have not sailed on the larger ships, so all I have to compare it to is the MDR, Chops, Giovanni's, Izumi, etc.

But this is also a suite benefit.

You can get an Uber/Lyft SUV for around $150. Shared shuttles are about the same price for a family of 3-4.

I think they have a problem getting them "approved to hire" in terms of background checks and visas.

Yeah, I would not like it, either, if there was nothing but GYT bookings. I do like picking my stateroom, but I can understand how this causes issues when they need to rearrange things. We book suites and while I do like to pick my stateroom, I'd probably not be disappointed in any suite they put me in.

I still can't believe our renewals made it out and back in 13 days. That was back in March/April. I did not pay for expedited service, but I did sent them out via Priority Mail.

I used to hate Southwest. I had some bad experiences with them where flights were overbook by more than double, and flights that landed in my departure city, but no one was getting off (e.g. continuing on to New Orleans for Mardi Gras) so no seats - and no help with hotels, other airline flights, etc. That was 30+ years go and they have addressed those problems. Now, I fly them almost exclusively. I like the two free checked bags and not having to play games to choose a seat, except by making sure to check in as early as possible. I used to fly Delta exclusively. Back in the good old days I was a Million Miler and would get comped to first class and all sort of perks. Then they changed the program and all that went away. They now nickel and dime us to death. And every flight I take, I have baggage issues and they do NOTHIGN to fix them. I'll stick to Southwest.

By 2023, we may be worrying about the zombie apocalypse instead of CVOID.

Yeah, I think the last insurance policy I booked was fairly generous and it was 20 days within booking, but I always buy my insurance within a few days so it's never an issue. We really have no "serious" pre-existing conditions, but both of us have HBP (stabilized with meds), and I have a neurological disorder. I don't feel like having to argue with insurance over whether or not my emergency is due to one of these conditions.

You may be right, but every time I price out our cruise (suites) Celebrity is much more expensive. And I do agree about the demographics. One day we may try Celebrity, but not in the the next two years - it's all RCCL.

Maybe because Celebrity charges so much more for their cruises, they don't need to supplement profits with casino revenue (same with DCL that has no casins).

I'm not sure about RCCL's insurance, but when buying 3rd party insurance, there are rules about getting coverage for pre-existing conditions which may mean you must purchase within some number of days after booking or before final payment. If that matters to you, you might want to research your options.