alfaeric

It's funny how TA questions keep coming up. Every time I look into various on line TA, the prices are exactly the same as Royal. To the penny. These places that supposedly have group rates- where are they? And do they have group rates for JS or higher? The other thing that stopped us many years ago, a group rate balcony made it really difficult to upgrade post final payment to a reasonably JS. But if anyone has tips on finding a TA, please post them. I ask that in various places, and can't seem to find them. I'll keep looking, but unless I can find a TA that actually will look out for us all the time, I'll just stick to doing it ourselves.

For some data seen this morning- looking for a cruise Jan '25, the pick your JS to guarantee cost was just $100. Which is pretty normal for us and cruises that are not at all sold out.

Given the choice, we prefer CK, as it's considerably fewer people, and the food is generally better than the MDR. There are some MDR dishes that we do prefer, but not enough to move down there. That being said, I would suggest you try both. You can do both on the cruise.

That's my concern, too- so I have pouch that I carry just in case.

Not on Liberty, they are not. We were just on her, and the casino matches the card system used on the whole ship.

a WHOLE hole.

They are the older slide in. So you can punch a whole in it without worrying about the RFID.

block a walk way, sure. But lines? No. You will get to the front of the line at the pace that people are processed, not at the walking pace of people. And the only walkway I can see that would block you is as you board the ship. Even then, I would look funny at you, given we have walked past people getting on and off with our carry on luggage.

Exactly. We book the same cabin for B2B just for ease, but separating them for cost is fine, and/or for other upgrades.... One needs to weigh what they want out of both cruises.

Because. Because we can, because it means we don't have too many things to fret about, because the same reason you don't. Just because. And for now, the "struggle" to embark and disembark is still easy, we enjoy doing that. Being totally unpacked and settled in the cabin by 2pm is a really nice feature. Also, we are never among the first to board. Did that once out of the many cruises we have been on, and don't understand the appeal. It's not that I'm trying to get people to pack light, but it's interesting how many people complain about those of us who do carry on and off. We are not in your way, the speed of the line isn't regulated by our bags, etc. Just accept people want to do that.

If you’ve ever had your bags lost for a long time, you would figure out how to pack light quickly. And/or you travel between a lot of cities via rail, making lugging checked bags around train stations are a real pain. Just takes a good reason to motivate you. There are a ton of sites telling you how to pack a week in a carryon, and then using that for as long as you need to.

Everyone has their definition of "stress". Some think that's lugging your overpacked luggage all over the ship, other it's worrying at 6pm that your luggage hasn't shown up. And we unpack our stuff 100% when we board, since we get on the ship at 1pm. And then we are free to wander the ship, plan dinner and shows, and not worry about anything. Let alone the freedom of way to many things to wear and spending an extra hour to change back and forth between things. To each, their own.

Assuming it's sunny, the Oasis pool has been warmer than the ocean to us. Then again, compared to the dead of winter here, I would swim in the ocean at Coco Cay no matter what.

Should be able to find them in the WJ. Or perhaps Cafe Promenade or Park Cafe.

I know this isn't the point of the question, but this is exactly the same for the specialty restaurant BOGO- only book on the ship.

Not really- there isn't any flavoring to add (unless you add a packet of hot chocolate), and all of the drinks available are derivatives of simple espresso shots- espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc.

Too bad state laws are irrelevant for this case. Need to change federal and international laws.

Under 0.3% cbd. I looked it up, and posted that before. Let alone, it turns out to be an international agreement for ships. If you want to risk it, go for it. Again, don’t expect sympathy if it goes wrong.

Irrelevant. This is a federal issue. Neither are legal. (assuming that it's enough CBD that it matters, over 0.3%.) And, as it turns out, an international one as well. Again, not legal. Make all of the logical reasons they should be ok people want, and they are largely accurate. But being logical and accurate does not turn off federal and international laws.

People may be able to see the difference, but federal law does not. And that's what is being asked to break. If people want to truly be OK with taking it, they need to do a better job making it federally legal in the US as well as other port of calls. This is a ship and a border crossing, so it's NOT about state laws, it's all about federal laws- however fair you think they are. Also, IMHO, it's fair to ban someone for life if they break a federal law on board. That's hardly draconian, if someone goes to jail breaking a federal law on board, it's not really that far from climbing the outside of the ship- which isn't illegal, but is punishable by permanent ban. Again, if you don't want to violate a federal law, get the law changed. The people who deal with it would LOVE it, as they would be able to get real banking support for their work. And I fully agree that there's hardly any difference between this and alcohol. Let alone the tax revenue that would replace the war on drugs spending. win-win. But if you want to try, and hope that you don't get caught, go for it. Just don't expect any sympathy if you get banned for life and go to jail/pay fines. You know and are aware of the risks.

All ships, yes, unlimited, no. You get an allocation based on D (4), D+(5), or P(6). And if you are worried about the liquor being watered down, you can go to any bar- since the number of drinks you get is the same everywhere.

But those benefits are far from required to give out. They may be heavily paid for, but nobody is actually entitled to them just because you spend that much money. They are a really nice benefit that RCI puts in their program. Let alone, specialty restaurant and cococay costs are irrelevant to the benefit- you can spend zero dollars for both and still get the C&A benefits. AND the increased costs of drinks actually puts real value to the benefit.

There are also water jugs in Sarrentos and Cafe Promenade. And I think there's a "flavored" one in the Spa. And Park Cafe in Central Park has water, as well. Pretty much every water source will have a sign telling you to not directly fill your cup with the source, so you know. So, as was pointed out, use one of their cups to "transfer" to yours.

More like gifts than earnings. I agree with that.

It also can be a big deal- we recently got canceled, and rebooked to the same ship on the same itinerary. But given the option to change, they let us move from a basic NE cruise to a TA that added Iceland. So it's possible they give you an option that is better.