joeyancho

IMHO, it is worth it.. the food is very good. It is a lot of food. Try the tempura.

When the wife and I specialty dine I leave $20.00. There, I said it.

True dat. But a passport is a bit harder to lose than a driver's license, I would think.

Just a gentle suggestion that you get a passport for future travel. It really is the best form of ID. Glad everything was resolved easily.

You could wait until you port.

LOL, just saw a set of four glasses in a thrift shop yesterday. They were the swirl looking ones. I told the lady they are from a cruise ship. She said I know , we've had them before, Royal Caribbean I think.

The pier in Labadee is a long one. However there are men waiting with wheelchairs to push you to the end. At the end there are other wheelchairs including beach capable ones if you want to go to the beach. There is a tram that goes around the island ( it's not an island ). I'm sure you will have no trouble there. I have never been to the other port so I can't speak to that. I hope this helps. Bon Voyage

On a 7 day cruise we generally tip our room steward $40 at the end of the cruise. The waiter and assistant waiter $20 - $40 each depending. Sometimes $20 to the head waiter depending. When ordering a drink I hand the server or bartender my seapass and $1 - $2 depending. As for the Windjammer, a buck to the guy who makes my wifes omelet in the morning. Room service $2 - $5 in the morning depending. Specialty restaurants $20 when dining for 2. My wife likes to give large Ghirardelli or Cadbury bars to steward, waiters, head waiter and washy washy lady and anyone else she takes a liking to. Sometimes the chocolate bars get a bigger thank you than the cash.

The local rum of Haiti is Barbancourt. It is very good rum. You can buy it in the building where the locals sell crafts. You surrender it when you reboard and they will deliver it to your cabin on the last night.

I grew up in Jersey, in an all Italian neighborhood. Old school 1st generation Italians, in the NYC metropolitan area, call it gravy. It takes all day to cook. It is the basis for the huge Sunday family dinner. Everyone claims their mom/grandmother makes it best.

Just returned from a 5 day repositioning cruise on the Radiance. The ship was very nice. However the MDR experience left a lot to be desired. The new menus are definitely not a step up. Several nights I ordered the Indian entrée because I couldn't find anything I liked on the menu. For some reason they offer salmon quite a bit. While salmon is good, we have it frequently at home so I am not really keen to order it on vacation. My wife ordered the NY strip the night it was offered. It was of very poor quality. Gone is the "always available " menu which always was a fall back when you didn't like anything on the daily menu. The food in the Windjammer is not what it once was. It has gotten to the point where we have decided to take our next cruise on Princess. We feel they try a bit harder. The menus are a step up and a bit more ambitious and the desserts are definitely more varied. For the first time ever I did not give a straight 10 for the dining room experience, as asked for by the waitstaff. I hated to do that as it affects them adversely but things will not change until Royal gets complaints from enough people. Hopefully that is soon. We are diamond plus and we give up a lot when we cruise other lines. But food is an important part of the cruise experience for us and Royal has really dropped the ball.

That is why I wrap myself completely in tin foil. SPF 10,000. This is my favorite brand. You can get a large box at Costco for less than the price of Coppertone.

Pineapple juice

Grasshopper

What is the price for lunch? Thanks

I agree in most part with the OP. We have noticed a decline in the MDR and the Windjammer in the last year and a half. So much so that we have decided to try Princess for our next cruise. It seems like Royal has quit trying. We have not experienced the once a day steward service but we are definitely not looking forward to that. A lot of cheerleaders say it's not a big deal, but for us it is. It is part of what makes cruising special. I will report back with a review comparing the two lines.

Nope

Twice. Like Beach Disney. Not my bag. I like hanging with the locals.

What does it taste like?

Double espresso straight for me. It's the little things. Enjoy!

I think they get their toiletries from the same company that supplies third world prisons.

IMHO, Best coffee on the ship. The price is right too.

Alaska yes. Balcony mandatory.

It depends on a few things. On a short cruise an interior in no big deal to me. For example we are taking a repo from LA to Vancouver, 5 day. For me a balcony is not necessary. Not much to see, cool weather. In December we are taking a 10 day Panama Canal. Balcony is mandatory. Warm weather, so much to see.