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I've sailed 58 days since mid-February as a solo. There are far more tables for two than before, but what I would recommend is you also think seriously about the location. Several of my cruises were crowded, and the noise level in My Time Dining was incredibly LOUD. Go into where your dining room location is on embarkation day (main dining room or MTD), and look for "alcove" dining rooms. Almost all ships have them, and usually if you walk in and make a left or right "U" turn, you'll find them. The head waiter usually handles requests around 1pm, and you can ask for a particular table. Have several as choices, too. I had a table for two on one of my recent cruises where I literally could not figure out how to get across the dining room to leave!! The larger table diners had chairs pushed out to the point where there was no clear path to get to the dining room entrance. Seriously.

Re-order after 10 days. I found the ones I ordered 2 weeks ago never went past the acknowledgement step. I ordered them again 2 days ago and they will be delivered today.

I tip extra in cash to crew members that have done something extra for me. I don't like the envelopes. For some reason they seem impersonal to me. I give the tips directly to the person. I also share my casino winnings with them. It's not much: just whatever I walk away with from my free play money. I also cash out my obc in the casino, and give all of that as extra cash tips. We had a group on the Vision in March for happy hour in the DL, and I mentioned what I did, because I gave the bar waitress my winnings: she was from the Ukraine, and her Mom was still there. I noticed the rest of the group took my hint, and started giving her large tips when she served them drinks.

I'm repeating myself, but...................................... This reminds me of going on a family cruise with my adult sons in 2008. They are both generous, and tipped all the bar staff. My older son especially does this: he used to deliver pizza in high school, and knows what it's like to hope about the tips. Well, we were chatting at dinner one night, and Son #1 asked me how much he should tip for the wine. I said the gratuity is included already. He started to laugh and looked at Son #2, who said, "so that's why we get the thundering herd of bar waiters everywhere we go!". I don't think they stopped doing it, either.

It could have been better, but RCCL can never "see" the price I'm looking at on their web site. It was actually about a 50 cent difference in price from the inside to the balcony. But, I am NOT complaining, but explaining.......

I guess you're right. Two subjects in that sentence, and I took the first.

Just point to the item you want on the app, and your waiter will get it for you.

That vegetable tempura is really good as an appetizer.

We should all listen and do what Mom says. I've had 1 price drop for $99, and 1 inside-to-balcony upgrade for $3. Mom knows best............................

Don't quite agree about the rubbish part........................ I ate off the V menu almost every night. The grilled peach salad is wonderful, as well as the vegetable tempura, and the pan roasted asparagus. I suggest you order a double portion if try any of these dishes, since they will be your whole meal. The V soups looked pretty good, also. Yes, all of these are in the app, at the bottom of the dining room and MTD menu.

Refferal to this thread:

Anybody else get this? I think I have a remaining FCC of $8........ ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS Dear Guest, We have exciting news for you! To provide you with additional flexibility to sail with us, we have extended your Future Cruise Credit (FCC). Your FCC will remain active and will never expire. Our systems still require an expiration date on file, so in the next few days we’ll update our records to reflect an expiration date far in the future – rest assured these credits do not expire. No action is needed on your part, we’ll take care of everything for you! Thank you for being a part of our Royal Comeback. We can’t wait to welcome you back onboard soon! Sincerely, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez AVP | Guest Experience Royal Caribbean International

I have been price checking a lot the last few days, and I am being offered solo GTY cabins on many that I'm checking. I hate GTY cabins, and won't book them. I am fussy about my cabin location. I am also wondering if this GTY push is going to turn off potential new bookings. It's not worth it to me to book a GTY and end up over some evening entertainment that goes on until 11pm.

And, the second person becomes a no-show? (Asking for a friend).

And, this is exactly why I have a good reason to move a cruise and pay the $100. Sailing with a friend, the price of the new cruise is lower, I like the itinerary better. Plus, a potential price drop later on. Right now I have received a $99 price drop this morning that cancels all but $1 of my latest change fee.

The solo fare is higher, unless you can use the DP340 promo code. The deposit is the same, but the RD is usually a lot more than the NRD. So, if the difference for a RD is more than $100, I go for the NRD and take my chances on paying that extra $100 later. It's still less than the extra for the RD.

I wear my vaccination card. I use a lanyard for my car and house keys, since I need the fob to get into my building and mailroom. I attach a plastic sleeve to the lanyard with my vaccination card and DL in it. I started doing this when we had to show the card when entering restaurants during the latter part of the pandemic. I just never took it off. Wallets and purses can be lost and stolen, but a lanyard around my neck and under my clothes stays with me. Thanks to @firewife09 for the reminder to get my updated digital vaccination "card" from the state. I forgot to do that after my second booster. I see no reason why a digital vaccination data would not be accepted, since it comes directly from the state. But, I would call the Healthy Sail Center number: 800-256-6649

Frankly, I think both the online menu I posted, and the app menu are "sample" menus. But, I guess they give an idea. I think it also can vary from ship-to-ship.

Correct. Under Restaurants, once you tap the ship icon and then the dining icon below.

This doesn't work for a solo cruiser. I find the refundable deposits are in the hundreds of dollars more, so the NRD and a potential change fee of $100 is best for me. I always make sure I use a points-generating credit card, too, so I get 200 points for the charge. It adds to the points bucket, and eventually I will use those points.

It's always been your prerogative to spend your money as you want, and within RCCL's policies. I never blinked an eye at making changes: they were getting my business and money anyway. But, I stopped cancelling cruises decades ago, even when the policies were liberal. My primary objective was to go on a cruise, so why cancel a cruise and start over? My former TA taught me this: just move the deposit to a new cruise. Now, I'm more cautious, and look for some way to get it back, as mentioned above.

I had a VB on the Navigator from 4/27 to 5/13. I really like the cabin. The view outside was like having a giant window, and the chair / ottoman was right next to it. At night the curtains are pulled, so no light comes in as the sun comes up (unless you want it). The only problem was if the beds are put together, the corner of the bed is up against the corner of the desk, and the phone is on the nightstand on that side.

This is undated, so YMMV: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/menus/solarium-bistro-menu-sample.pdf

My thinking is if I booked a cruise, I will never cancel it, BUT I will move it to another one with a $100 change fee. If the new cruise's itinerary is more attractive, or the pricing is less, or a friend asks me to come along, I will pay the change fee. I don't make a regular habit of this, but I don't avoid it, either. Depends on the situation. Example: I moved a cruise a month ago to another one to sail with my friend. Paid the $100 change fee. Today I got a $99 price reduction applied.

Twice in my case I switched to another ship/sailing because a friend asked me to come on the cruise with them. The prices were a little lower, so the budget didn't take the full brunt of the $100 charge. One of the change fees was paid from a card where I had a credit balance from an RCCL refund. IMO balking at the change fee is a "nose vs. face" type of scenario. To me it's all about the bottom line.