steveru621

Schooner BAR

There is no beep.

We have been on 29 total Radiance, Serenade, and Jewel cruises. While that probably doesn't qualify me as an expert, I certainly have seen a lot of maintenance. On one cruise, they reupholstered all of the Couches in the Schooner Bar; plus, one night, they replaced all of the carpets in the WindJammer, and many times, we had furniture loaded on the ship. Painting and rail varnishing happen every single day. New restaurants have opened, Izumis and Samba Grill. Some opened and closed, Rita's Cantina.. There are foggy windows and even some odd color carpets. The dry dock is not a tear-down and rebuild. I stopped reading RCI reviews many years ago. We like the product. That product can change dramatically with a new hotel director. The crew will give you an exceptional experience.

Radiance class ships are just fine. Ask this question about your budget. Is it worth $2,200 to change ships?

You can't combine any cash offers with your C&A discount.

We had one cruise with the noontime change and I thought, and felt, it was beneficial. Odyssey from Port Everglades to Rome seemed to be exhausting due to the constant overnight time changes.

Eastbound on either can be exhausting. Losing an hour of what seems like (not actually!) every night. On the positive side, all the sea days are very relaxing.

There is no approximate size because some ships still have plastic bags as opposed to paper bags.

It's not their 'P-status' it's their personality,

It's sad to think that the behavior started when they became Pinnacle. It did not. It's only attributed to Pinnacles because of the identifying gold pin.

We have also seen self-serving lounge police. They are certain to be ignored by me. The Concierge Clubs on Radiance class ships are the best.

Don't use the Tap or regular bottled water for your CPAP. You have no idea where it came from and it often has high levels of chlorine and minerals. I would not want to put that water in my lungs. I had a problem a couple of years ago when the ship accidentally ordered 5-gallon jugs of distilled water. Our cabin attendant had to fill my CPAP every other day.

You can't get cash back unless you do a POS PIN and don't have to go to an ATM. Millions of people don't want or can't get a standard CC.

There really is no reason to use your PIN at a merchant. For many years, Walmart tried to force you to use a PIN because it was less expensive for them. You had to press cancel! At one point Walmart asked for your zipcode to use AVS. If your card says DEBIT on the front, it uses the exact same dispute process as a CC.

Excellent! Every customer should set up instant alerts.

There are TWO types of transactions to use your Debit card; signature and POS PIN. Two different protection laws and dispute processes.

It's a federal law. If your bank gives you aggravation find another bank. There is a limit at all ATMs. It's called a bill count, mainly due to the height of the bill delivery door. Many ATMs will limit the WD amount to force you to do multiple transactions. There is also a DAILY ATM WD limit, a daily debit signature limit, and a POS limit.

The uncountable 'some'. I can tell you that I'm not changing my banking relationship, and most customers don't bother to read disclosures and fee structures. Did you know that for security reasons, most banks have a different DAILY WD limit for foreign transactions? The $ 500 USD daily WD limit does not = 500 Euros. You people are missing the point of my original post. You don't need very much foreign currency! A 2-cent difference in the almighty exchange rate will not ruin your cruise. It's just not worth the aggravation. ATM fees will almost always cost you just as much. All this to save a few dollars?

OK, then, you haven't been to Argentina and other countries. Most foreign ATMs at banks charge a fee and all ATMs at hotels and merchants, bank or not, charge a FEE. Almost all US banks charge you a fee for using a non-US ATM. Both mine and your statements are uncountable. I spent 40 years in the ATM business and have also traveled all over the world. I did not choose my words correctly. I did not mean ATMs don't have Internet access. I should have said you won't have Internet access on an excursion to use Google Maps.

It all depends on the cruise. On many cruises, the bars are taken over by trivia (Schooner Bar) or very loud bands (Boleros). My wish is a quiet place to have a pre-dinner drink and chat with friends.

I believe they are going to close any venue you visit.

Every menu, every night, has a theme.

Any mention of the suite lounge is disappearing from all documents.

Maybe

So many factors. Using a non-bank ATM will likely get you a bad or forced exchange rate. If you are going to use a foreign ATM, use a bank ATM. I recommend getting it done when you arrive a day early. Finding an ATM without Internet access on an excursion can be very difficult. ATM fees could be $5 at the foreign ATM and $5 at your bank. If you pay for an ATM transaction, a 5-cent difference in the exchange rate is only $10 for 200 euros. I agree you should probably get your Euros before you travel so you have cab money when you arrive. My advice. You probably won't need more than 200 Euros if you use a CC (without a foreign transaction fee) for incidentals on excursions. My bottom line is that I don't sweat the exchange rate for 200 of any foreign currency.