rudeney

I'm confused now and not sure if I have old or new Cruise Planner and which does what. I can't show the UDP (because I have already purchased it) , but here's how the 3-night package prices for me $120 - no gratuity added):

I printed it form the downloaded PDF, but I was told it needed to be in the original envelope with the postage on it. I haver several friends who had the same experience. My granddaughter got her REAL ID in Georgia and didn't even have to show any of that. The issue in Alabama is the State Troopers office manages driver's licensing and the examiners are actual troopers doing "side work". In Alabama, State Troopers serve one purpose: To write traffic citations on state and federal highways. Period. They do not stop and help motorist (they do have a few rescue trucks for that), they do not work accidents unless it's a death on the freeway and they shut it down for local police/sheriffs to investigate. They don't like having to do this "desk duty" so they treat everyone coming in like a "dumb criminal" and make sure they exert their power. Yes, traffic cops in Alabama are as bad as the reputation portrayed in the movies - actually, even worse.

🤣 I worked there because of the ML. I bought one of the early ones - did a factory delivery in Tuscaloosa. The car was in the shop and the dealer usually broke more things than they fixed. The president of MBUI (the US factory) lived in my neighborhood and I bent his ear one day at an HOA event. He invited me to a customer focus group that lasted a few weeks and that turned into a 9-month contract to drill into quality issues. it was a good fit with my background in technology, a degree in statistics, and automotive repair/restoration as a hobby,. We found that perceptions of low quality were amplified by poor dealer interactions, so I ended up at the local store for about 4 months. I discovered that every single aspect of a car dealership is designed to extract more money from the customer. Even so, it was a lot of fun to do different jobs (even mechanic) and learn the operation. And I did some other fun things, visiting Germany and was part of a team that hosted a few track events (I had also done some racing in my younger years). I've been an MBZ fan all my life and owned a bunch of them - sometimes 3 or 4 at a time between the wife and kids. I'm down to one now. Kids bought their own cars (Hyundai's) and my wife now has a BMW (traitor!).

We usually book a GS, but when we took our granddaughter for her 21st birthday, we booked an OS to have the extra room. It was nice, but not really necessary, and there was still only one bathroom. Back When the same granddaughter was 11, we took her on the DCL Wonder in a suite. It had two full bathrooms - one standard small-sized cruise ship bathroom and a huge "suite-sized" bathroom with a whirlpool tub and separate shower. The bedroom was also separated from the living room by a solid door. The living room had both a queen sized sofa bed, and a twin Murphy bed so the suite could sleep 5. In terms of square footage, I don't think it was any larger than a RCCL OS. DCL also uses "split" bathrooms even in their smallest cabins which is great for families. Other cruise lines could take a cue from them. In fact, we'd cruise DCL, but we don't need to pay extra for their kid-focused amenities anymore.

It seems it depends on whether or not the cruise uses the old version of Cruise Planner or the new one. According to @chiguy67, the old version does not add the gratuity, but the new one does. My cruise appears to be using the old version. When I bought the DBP and some spa services, the 18% was added to those. The UDP was listed at $245. When I checked out with it (for my wife and me) it was exactly $490.

I carry my passport whenever I travel - it stays in my carry-on bag. Who knows when I might need to make an emergency trip overseas - or take an unplanned cruise! 😀 Alabama's REAL ID is optional. On my next renewal, if I don't get it, I will have a banner on it that says "Not Valid for Federal ID".

That makes sense. I guess my cruise is still using the old cruise planner. I have not seen the "new" one.

I had my DL and my power bill. But the bill was printed from the powerco's website - I get all my bills electronically. I was told that it had to be an "original" paper bill mailed from the utility, not a "printed copy". I did not think about my tag receipt, but once they reject you, you have to come back for another appt. Even with my appt I waited about 3 hours, and it takes a lot of tries to even get an appt. It was just too much trouble, and I needed to get my DL renewed, so I gave up and decided to use my passport.

Yes. I was a consultant for the MBZ factory here and did some work at the local dealership. Seeing behind the curtain was even worse than what I thought! 😮

I once worked in a car dealership as a consultant to the manufacturer. Both sales and service would tell customers they were going to get a survey from the manufacturer and if they could not give them all 10s, please talk to the manager. They even hired a call center to contact customers and ask the survey questions as if they were the manufacturer. At the end of the call, if the customer gave them all 10s, they would tell them that wasn't the real survey, but please answer the same way when the manufacturer called. If they did not rate all 10s, they transferred the call to the dealership where a customer service rep would talk to them to try to entice them to change their scores. Of course when the manufacturer found out, head rolled.

Being from Alabama where we have more trailers than flies on a dead cow, I guess that makes me an expert on terms for referring to persons who reside in pre-manufactured mobile homes. Yes, the term "trailer trash" is derogatory and may get you punched in the face if you call someone that. The term "trailer dweller" is more complicated. Most trailer trash would not recognize the word "dweller" so it might be interpreted as "trailer feller" and that would probably be accepted as non-derogatory. It could also be interpreted as "trailer twirler", which sounds like what a tornado does. Just like maliciously yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater, yelling "Tornado!" in a trailer park when there is none is a felony punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

Absolutely I have never seen anyone purposely coughing on others. I guess i just don't go places where people are so rude. And I do go to walmart quite often, so if it was going to happen, I'd expect to see it there. As far as people complaining about non-masked persons, I still see this even though we have no mandates in my area (in fact many medical facilities are now mask-optional). A few weeks back, I was in a hotel elevator and the door opened with a masked couple about to get on until they saw me with no mask. The man said something to the effect of, "Honey, we'll take the next one where we don't have to deal with these inconsiderate people getting everyone sick." I don't care if they don't want to ride in the elevator with me, just don't admonish me for not wearing a mask when it is not required.

Speaking of gratuities on specialty restaurants, I bought the UDP, but no gratuity was added - the price charged ($245) was the price paid. The DBP did have an 18% gratuity added.

Pay with American Express. You can dispute charges up to 6 months after they are posted, and AMEX always sides with their card members. Re-buy the cancelled beverage, food and excursion packages at current prices, then after the cruise, dispute them. If RCI decides to fight the dispute (and they might not) , you will then be dealing with different people that can then correct the prices and even give you proper credit.

I think what @PhillyFan33579 meant was this if you answer YES to the survey question, "Were you asked by any crew member to rate their service a 10 on this survey?" then that will negatively affect the crew's survey score. IOW, you are letting corporate know that the crew is pandering for perfect scores, which is prohibited. I believe he is saying he has heard this from various crew members, including ship's officers.

Why even make that statement? I have NEVER seen or heard of anyone complaining about other people wearing masks. What I have seen and experienced are people reacting to others who are NOT wearing a mask. Those reactions range from dirty looks, to rude comments, verbal confrontations, and (rarely) physical altercations. I only wear a mask when absolutely required. I do see a few people still wearing masks in public, but I don't give them a second thought. I assume they have a reason for it and that's their own business. It does not affect me at all.

I guess it is even possible to use the other bathroom and shower facilities on the ship in case there are scheduling conflicts.

Alabama has a list of acceptable items for proof of address - you need TWO of these: Valid Alabama Driver License or Identification Card displaying applicant's current address Voter Registration Card Residential Mortgage Contract Current Lease or Rental agreement for housing Proof of payment of residential property tax (Homestead) Previous year tax returns bearing applicants address Vehicle registration bearing applicants name and address Utility bill (Water, Gas, or Electric) less than 90 days old Any State or Federal Court documents indicating residence address School enrollment documentation Defense Department Form 214 (Report of Separation) Sex offender registration documents Current Homeowners insurance policy with name and address Social Security benefits statements/summary mailed to physical address U.S. or State Government check or other document mailed to applicants physical address Military Orders documenting duty station and place of residence. Other than my DL, the only other thing I'd have an original of is vehicle registration. Of the other items I do have, none of them are "originals" - they are all electronic, and some of the examiners simply won't accept "copies". Personally, I believe they do this just to be bureaucratic a-h0les, because they are very inconsistent with requiring originals. But as I've said, I am not worried about it as I use a passport for federal ID needs.

For some reason, when my wife did her official name change after we married, instead of using her maiden name as her middle name, she used her given middle name. This has caused all sorts of issues because she always writes and signs her name with the middle initial "H" (maiden name) and that's what her driver's license shows. Her legal middle initial according to Social Security is "D". We had issues with this many years ago when we were cruising without passports. We brought our marriage certificate, but the name on her DL uses "H" ao it took a few minutes with supervisor scrutiny to approve it. Now, we just use passports (which on hers shows "D" as the middle name).

I agree it's mandatory if you want to be able to use just a DL for ID federal agency purposes,but if you have a valid passport, it's not mandatory. For states that just automatically issue a REAL ID upon renewal, that's great. Unfortunately, my state (Alabama) makes us jump through a bunch of hoops. We have to schedule an interview with a state officer and show four items. They are very picky about those items and about half the people who attempt this process are rejected. They often reject the "proof of address" document if it's a copy and not an "original". As I've mentioned before, many people never have those as originals - they are printouts from online services. Also, these state officers are in very short supply and it's hard to get an appointment. It is much easier (and no additional effort) for new drivers as they are required to have all of these items when they apply for a license.

I believe that is incorrect. I believe the law is that federal agencies will only accept licenses that comply with REAL ID as of May 3, 2023. However, in absence of a REAL ID, all federal agencies will accept my passport as proper identification. Unless some new legislation is enacted, with a passport, I will not need a "Star ID" or "REAL ID".

A passport lasts for 10 years. Current cost for renewal is $130, or less than $11/year. If you cruise once every 3 years and can't afford an extra $33 for that vacation (less than the cost of two cocktails) then maybe you should rethink your priorities.

I still don't understand jumping through all these hops when you can get a passport and be done with it.

Yes, i hear the anterior approach is the way to go, although my surgeon says there is now another way to do it that is just as good, but not as expensive (they have to pay more to use the OR with the special table for anterior). But everyone I know who did anterior had great results, so that's what I'd do.