rudeney

DUI is something I want nothing to do with. My problem is that I have an enormous tolerance for alcohol. I'm a big guy with a slow metabolism, plus I spent many years wining and dining customers (lawyers, who drink like crazy). I usually have one or two drinks, four or five nights a week. I never get drunk or even buzzed and never have a hangover. Because of this, I simply cannot tell if my BAC is over the limit or not. So on the very rare occasion when I have drinks out, if I have more than two, I do not drive. Period.

I remember those "good old days" where you handed cash in an envelope to your steward and MDR staff. I used to stress over having enough cash so I didn't have to stand in line on the last night to cash a check. That I do not miss!

That's an interesting question. My understanding is they do know if you have removed automatic gratuities because if so, they are supposed to pool any cash tips. I guess there are three situations: auto-added gratuities that RCI will collect from you when your account is settled at the end of the cruise, pre-paid gratuities that you chose to pay for in advance, and "included" gratuities where RCI or your TA awarded them as a promotion. I think on one cruise where we had "included" gratuities, I asked the steward to verify that we had them settled and he said yes, so maybe they can see the status.

That's an interesting observation and makes a lot of sense. I know some bartenders that do that same thing and end up with something just over a 2oz pour. I friend of mine is a former bartender and he can pour and very prices measurement out of any bottle. He told me a trick he was taught to make customers believe the drink is stronger than it really is. They put the straw in the glass before they pour, and then pour a bit down the straw. For people who drink through the straw, they get a very strong initial sip and think they got something "extra". BTW, I saw that you mentioned your son and his GF. What great young people they are to choose to serve our country! 🙂

Only on cruise lines that also operate airlines. So maybe Virgin? 😜

Yes, and that's a good point and brings up a question. In the past, RCCL bartenders gave very generous pours which were probably close to ordering a double. It seems now they are more closely measuring pours. If I have the DBP and order a double, do they just serve that and rng in in as 2 drinks on my package, or will they charge me the price that exceeds $13? If they are going to charge me, then I'll just order a drink + a shot and make my own double.

So if you then move that to a TA who also offers OBC, can you keep both OBCs? I so, that would be a decent incentive.

Wow, I was so prepared to mock! 😜 As others have said, do 2 devices for one person. It's usually cheaper that way even if they do offer the DBP + Voom package. But...keep checking prices! They can change with sales, and sometimes the DBP + Voom may be slightly less than buying DBP and Voom x 2 separately.

There's no way I'd plan to fly in the day of the cruise. Heck, I'm nervous about our next cruise in October where we fly Southwest from Nashville to Boston the day before. We don't get in until 8:45pm and it's the last flight of the day. If something goes wrong, we do have a few options the next day, but it would be tight as none get in before noon.

I am not sure if it's still the case, but when booking suites with Next Cruise onboard they used to charge the full deposit, so there was no real advantage.

Yes.

At least some sanity - handwashing with soap and water is so much better than "sanitizer"! Better for getting rid of germs and better for your skin.

I hope they stop the testing nonsense before our October cruise, but if not, I'll be doing proctored. Someone here posted a link to an inexpensive ($25?) proctor service. You BYOT - any test - even the free government tests that come two to to a package that other proctors won't accept. It seems that the counter agents at the port terminal just look for something that appears official and shows a negative. EDIT: Here is the thread:

You forgot to thank the guests who pay for suites and subsidize the $120 cruise fares for guests choosing inside cabins. 😜

If for some reason you would feel more comfortable renewing, we got ours back in 13 days - that counts the day I put them in the mail until the day they were received. Based on your roll call, it looks like you sail July 21st, so you "probably" have enough time. But honestly, it's not necessary.

Yes, it's either not on sole, 20% off, 30% of BOGO 50% off. And the final price per pax will range from $40 -$120, with various combinations of the sales. I think Royal's IT department just has some sort of random number generator than programs this!

Yes, it is per-order, no matter how much is ordered. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/in-room-food-service

For non-suite guests there is a $7.95 charge for room service with an 18% gratuity ($1.44) added to that. If the gratuity is not added, then as @Biker19 stated, it's a mistake. Even if the $1.44 gratuity were added, each person needs to decide if that's enough of a tip to have food brought to your stateroom. If you believe it is, then that's that. Personally, I don't ever tip anyone under $5 for any sort of personal service, whether is valet parking, luggage handling, table service or room service.

I've been saying this, too. Onboard drink prices are competitive with and often less expensive than our local restaurants and bars. My wife and I don't go out to bars locally, but when we travel, we do enjoy a nightcap at the hotel bar. Thank God RCI's liquor is not as expensive as Marriott's! Someone else pointed out that they serve "weak pours". I've not seen that to be the case, but I understand that now, the bartenders are using jiggers, likely due to liquor shortages. To combat that, just order a drink plus a shot. Of course if you pay out of pocket for that, you'd be getting a $20-something drink, but with DBP, it's included. In that case, some people might end up coming out "on top" with the DBP.

Good question. My guess would be that if they have it on tap, then yes, but if it's in bottles, no. The way the soda package is worded is that it includes "fountain sodas".

I remember back when room service was always free - no service charges or gratuities included. I can't remember how it was worded, but when the cruise line described room service options, they indicated that the crew member delivering it should be tipped. I think it's still appropriate to tip something even that they have now added fees and gratuities.

Etymologically, the "port side" does refer to the side of the ship that is against the dock, but this is only because the "starboard side" is the "steering-board side". Back when boats were man-powered by oars, the guy with the steering oar sat on the back right side where it was easier for a right-handed person to manage that job. With the steering oar on the right side, you had to put the left side of the boat against the dock. Modern boats and ships have no issues with a steering oar, so they can dock on either side. Choosing a stateroom on port vs. starboard may be more important on close-land cruises, like Alaska or Canada/New ENgland. Even on those itineraries, both sides will get mostly the same view, just one gets it on the northbound leg and the other on the southbound leg.

I hope not - I like to select my exact stateroom. I am particular about location and not wanting (or sometimes needing) a connecting door. Maybe this is just because so many cruises are selling out quickly.

It varies by ship and port, but I seem to have more "port views" when on the starboard side of the ship. In fact, this happens when tendered, too.

Saying that "it's just the way things are because...COVID, or because...supply chain, or because...the economy," is a cop-out excuse. If a cruise line can't provide adequate services for 4,000 passengers on a ship because they have insufficient crew and supplies, then they should not sell the services to that many passengers. If they can't make a profit sailing at reduced capacity, then they need to change how the business operates, or get into another business that can be profitable. I've said this before...If you get such bad service on the cruise that you feel you did not get what you paid for, then you need to make sure the cruise line compensates you monetarily. Critical surveys and bad reviews posted online are not going to make a company change things. What will make them change is a loss in revenue. You can stop doing business with them, but that may not get any attention if there is another customer right behind you ready to pay. Until the company realizes there is a problem that is going to affect their bottom line, they aren't going to change anything. Imagine if 100 passengers on a cruise who truly believed they did not get what they paid for complained and were refunded $1000 each (say the price of the DBP or half cruise fare, etc.). A sudden $100,000 drop in revenue on a fully-booked cruise might get someone's attention. Until then, as long as people keep paying, the company will continue to push the envelope with higher prices and lower service.