S.A.M.J.R.

As I said, I don't think it's difficult, but there may be extenuating circumstances preventing someone from doing it on their own.

Maybe so. But lucked out twice? On two different cruises? As I said, that's really the only thing that surprised me from the OP. And I agree insurance should have been purchased (we had it both times, just didn't need it).

You would need to rent a car, wouldn't you? You need some kind of transportation AND somewhere to store luggage. Not saying it's difficult, but if someone is from overseas and doesn't have DL, that might be a factor.

I am surprised you were charged for the medical visit. That's the only surprising thing to me in the entire post. We've gone to medical twice... DD cut her head open doing back flips into the pool (yes, she shouldn't have been), she ended up getting stitches. No charge. Another cruise I was playing in the volleyball "tournament" and fell my knee give in one game. Sat out the rest of that game, took a break, then played in the championship. This time my knee totally gave out, and I went down. They ended up getting a wheelchair for me and took me to medical. I had just sprained my knee. Crutches until the next morning, then a cane to get off the ship. No charge. Don't know if it was because I was doing an RCI "sponsored" activity or not. Not complaining.

Not true for a US citizen on a closed loop cruise.

Maybe if you're on a ship with only 100 pax? 😄

Maybe. But it's kind of hard to go anywhere else for meals when your hundreds of miles from land. I guess they could say "Buffet is included, MDR is an upcharge of $x/meal, and specialty restaurants are $y/meal". We're not dedicated cruisers, so I think if we had to pay extra for meals, we'd go elsewhere for our vacation dollars.

That seems very strange. Who put the card in the slot? Couldn't have been the owner, they'd still be in room. I would say a worker, but a) only a handful should have easy access to your room (I'm thinking they saw it on the floor out side the door and thought you'd dropped it) and b) surely, if that is what happened, that can't be SOP for returning the card.

Which won't really help for situations where they take it somewhere else to scan (think waiter). I try to use a detachable lanyard, and hand over the clip part. Or I hand over the entire lanyard. MUCH easier to know if I've gotten mine back. 😉

Maybe a TA has that available? Or if you call in?

I totally agree. Super Bowl tickets are "price gouging" too. I heard on the news this morning there are 3K tickets left, starting at $5,500. People like to throw out terms like "price gouging", and while it does fit the actual definition, in this case, it's not illegal, or unethical. A company SHOULD get as much money for their product as they can. If it's more than you (general) want to pay, don't pay it.

It helps if you read/quote the entire sentence... "If you went to a restaurant and they told you the 'Recommended amount' was now 45% ... would you just pay it and go about your business?."

By definition... It's just illegal when it's during an emergency. Private jet service is price gouging too. 😉

I've gotten responses from two (not surprising since I messaged on a weekend). Both have offered private pickup at the hotel, but fairly expensive ($650 & 700 RT) IMO. We paid around $400, including tip, for RT from Walt Disney World to Port Canaveral for a group of six in 2016 and 2022. If we do shared shuttle, Galveston Express is $60 RT, and an extra $50 if we have them pick up at the hotel vs going back to the airport.

You can try these...https://www.amazon.com/Gripper-Holder-Plastic-Standard-Thickness/dp/B0CH84X4PW/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=25AC7Q3FN51RL&keywords=id+card+gripper&qid=1707133817&sprefix=id+card+gripper%2Caps%2C233&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 I used one on my last cruise (Mariner) with some success. Had to offset the gripper so the card could slide through readers (not the door readers, those were fine, but the point of sale ones). I also had a couple times where the card fell out. Once I found it, once I had to get it replaced at GS.

No you don't. If you pay with CC, you have no idea who the money actually goes to, you just THINK you do. If you pay with cash, you have no idea who even picks up the money, much less whether they share it. Either pay the recommended tip amount or don't. I agree with PP, why does it matter where/how it's being broken out? When you buy a drink on board, you automatically get charged 18%. If you have the drink package, you pay 18% on top of that cost. Unless you're only paying $100pppn, automatic tips are a LOT less than 18%.

I'm sure this tip thread will have ALL the answers to EVERYONES satisfaction.

If something costs more than you want to spend, don't buy it. Seems pretty simple to me. So, to answer the OP, if cruising costs more than you want to spend, move on. Why does it matter what someone else does with their money?

We're cruising on RCCL's Harmony of the Seas in July. Now that we've got our air booked, I've been browsing here and Google to select transportation to/from the port. We're staying next to Houston Hobby since we get in late the night before the cruise. Here's the list of companies I've found... Galveston Limo https://galvestonlimo.com/ Galveston Express galvestonexpress.com Island Breeze Shuttle https://www.islandbreezeshuttle.com/ Livery Houston www.liveryhouston.com Stark Livery www.starklivery.com Galveston Shuttle and Limo https://galveston-shuttle.com/ I know the first two have been mentioned on here to good reviews. Anyone have any thoughts on any of the others? Anyone to stay away from? We're a party of 8, so that limits us a little bit. TIA.

I was going to say the same thing.

I would leave it with my towel, shirt, sandals.

Thanks, hopefully I'll remember that. lol Still a couple of months away.

I'd love to see a video of "checking in". While the app was around the last time we checked in, I don't think it was available FOR checking in, if that makes sense. *I* want to make sure I check us all in (total of three cabins) to select the same boarding time. I've read conflicting reports on here of how much "checking in" needs to be done before you get to boarding time selection. So would this mean I need everyone's credit card? I hope to take screen shots through the process and actually post what happens on each screen. I'm really surprised no one has done that yet.

We're bringing DS's GF and a friend of DD's on our next cruise. This is exactly what we're going to do. The steps that are needed to do it, I don't know. 😛 Haven't had to deal with it yet.

Posts #7 and #13 in this thread don't agree with the bolded.