alfaeric

That's been our strategy for many years. Way, way before COVID.

One possible positive about all of the ticytockers is the potential to lower demand. And we all know if that will help all of us get lower rates overall. So I will laugh at them, and hopefully enjoy the further savings. One heck of an adventure, this cruise is. Maybe one day we will be able to do it if they do it again. BTW, one thing that I would love to see at the end is the total overall spend on the cruise. For the excursions and on board spending. And not perfect, but a good number to help put a budget together for a future possibility. Round up. Then I will have to find the budget to keep my house standing for the time off... LOL.

One thing the letter does not mention is what they did while on the cruise. If I got soiled pool towels, I would have just returned them and pointed out that they are stained. If we got soiled sheets, we would have mentioned that to the stateroom attendant immediately to change them. Both of those- sometimes people miss stains as they go through the cleaning process. For the thermostat hanging down, I would have called maintenance and ask them to fix it. For the found condition of the ship, I've seen similar things on my very first cruse on the Monarch of the Seas back in 2001. And different degrees of that since. Some better, some worse. Heck, I didn't even see what the issue of the stairs vs. what we just saw on the Liberty in December. Anymore, I don't see that as a big deal at all, as you can see similar things from a distance on other ships. Food- I get it that people are complaining a lot these days. But that's happened every time the menu had a major turn over. The big deal this time is more the loss of the "classics" to drop back on. I will still contend that the food now is a lot better than it was on our first cruise in 2001. Anyway, I do hope the OP tried to address this on board to deal with issues immediately instead of stewing on it, and then finding flaws as time went on. We've had WAY better luck getting things dealt with on board, INCLUDING unexpected compensation. Yes, we got compensation on board which we never expected or asked for. Heck, we've even become friends with people in GS when they have become so helpful. Issues happen. IHMO, its better to deal with them immediately if they need to.

Sometimes the timing is really hard to deal with. We had 6 weeks between cruises, and the prior cruises would have us renew about a year early. Which doesn't make sense. While the turnaround is really good right now, I wasn't really wanting to take a risk. They will get renewed in March when we have a large gap between cruises. But because of the timing, I knew it would be a "risk" for the 6 month rule in some countries, hence why we got the enhanced DL. Which is considerably cheaper than a passport card (which also has timing issues)

So you are saying that I made a mistake. Got it. BTW, when I checked in for the first cruise on this B2B, the passport was fine. Just for the second. And I really prefer to check in via the app, since it's a whole lot easier to check in than all of the typing via the web page. Scanning the passport (like they do at the port) is so easy. Checking in prior to arriving at the port speeds things up considerably- and for us, it's been 100% reliable. But you do you. Just out of curiosity, can you even get an enhanced DL in your state?

It said that my passport expires within the time frame and would not allow me to use it. I checked in via the app where it enters the passport number by taking a picture. As soon as it scanned the passport, it rejected it. I didn't attempt to check in on line, just the app. So I checked in with an enhanced DL. When we sail, we will have both the enhanced DL and the passport when we cruise.

FWIW, the OP has a similar passport situation to us, where we have a cruise where it expires within 6 months. I planned "around" it by upgrading to an enhanced DL instead of worrying about a really quick turn around from our last to our next cruise. And I figured it was a PSA to mention the enhanced DL to people who can get it.

Regardless if what it was "intended" for, it can be used for closed loop cruises in the Caribbean. Royal even accepts it (thankfully). I fully intend to keep our passports, but the extra cost for the DL was $20 over a normal DL in my state. Not much extra, and I can go to Canada much easier. For those who really don't want a passport, and are willing to take the risk with all of the other documents, an enhanced DL, if available in your state, is a good option. Again, feel free to ignore that information. Especially if you are not in a state that offers an enhanced DL.

Ok, I'm just pointing out that this past weekend, when I checked in with a passport that expires later this year, the system would not let me. However, it would allow me to use an enhanced DL. Everyone is very welcome to ignore what happened to me, but I'm not lying.

It was a page that claimed to go through the state dept pages for the info- apparently that's not fully accurate. I did see Antigua on a state dept page, which is a stop on our upcoming cruise. But still, people need to know that there are countries that are cruise destinations that require a valid passport 6 months beyond when they are scheduled to leave. And when that comes up, you will not be able to check in on-line with that passport. And, again, for those who CAN get an enhanced drivers license, I would very much suggest it, since it works in replacement for a passport or the DL/BC pair for closed loop Caribbean cruises.

Regardless if how people get to Diamond, the spaces used for the Crown Lounge are generally spaces that were less used before the conversion. And bear in mind, previous lounges have been turned into cabins- like many of the Deck 10 spaces on Voyager and Freedom class ships, as well as the Deck 6 space on the Allure and Oasis for the original Diamond Lounge. Basically, the current lounge spaces make them more utilized than before, so they are less wasted than had they not been lounges.

Personally, I would suggest that people who are getting to Diamond are not "average" cruisers. That being said, it took us 9 years to become Diamond. And just a decade later we are Pinnacle, and we had to fly to all of those cruises except the cruise we turned P on (since it was a retirement celebration cruise).

FWIW, many of the current lounge places are areas that are pretty lightly used previously. Not many people venture up to the old Viking Crown Lounge area, and fewer of them even bothered to look into the old game area- so turning that into a Lounge really made the space used instead of ignored. The VCL was so lightly used that it's no longer a feature on the new ships. Other areas are similar to that- the Crown Lounges on deck 4 on Oasis classes are also more unused areas than used. I can't recall what was there prior to the move down there, but next to them are the old Jazz club- now casino space, and the comedy club across the way. Other than show times, the comedy club is barely used. As I see all of the current Suite and Crown Lounges, they were put in underutilized spaces, so having the lounges there make them considerably more used spaces than the previous wasted spaces.

Glad it worked for you. But at least be aware that it might not. Again, when I checked in a few days ago, it would not let us check in with a passport that expires later this year. Closed loop, and according to the RCI website, none of our destinations have funky rules. Thankfully, we have enhanced drivers licenses to check use. Edit- looks like we have a country that does expect 6 months. Meaning you have to know which country does and which country does not have the requirement. People need to be aware of requirements of the random country that might have the requirement. While you can wade through the state dept website- but here are the commonly cruised to countries that have 6 month passport requirements- Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Barts, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Seems that people here have not attempted an on-line check in with a passport that expires in the 6 month window- the system will not let you check in with that passport. I just did it yesterday, and it would not let me. Which is what prompted me to post about the enhanced DL- since that was an easier solution for this travel and then renew the passport in March. This is in spite of the web page telling me that our passports will be fine for the cruises, since none of the countries require the 6 month window. We are taking them anyway, and will back them up with the enhanced DLs.

The window closes just before departure (seems like ~45 min)- you will certainly hear reminders for the people who are late. There still is the required sounding of the alarm, just as before.

If you plan on being there until it closes, I would somewhat suggest the RCI excursion. A few years ago, we did it on our own, left about when it closed on a Lyft, and thanks to some transporting of rocket parts, we were pretty late getting back to the ship. Not as late as the bus from Disney, but later than we were comfortable doing.

Most people say that the scanners are the same as airports, and they are not- they are slightly bigger. Even so, the airport ones will fit a bag bigger than the space for overhead bins, too. It's not a precise fit.

Instead of waiting in line to talk to the Concierge, when you are waiting for lunch to be ordered,delivered,eaten in CK, open the app, and reserve the shows on your own. We've done that multiple times when missing reservations prior to sailing.

Warning- thread tangent. A PSA for anyone reading this thread and live in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington, and soon to be Ohio.... You can use an Enhanced Drivers License for cruises to the Caribbean. So IF you are in the same predicament as the OP, meaning you have a valid passport but it expires within 6 months of travel, you can use your EDL as a passport replacement. While an EDL can't help you fly home, it can be a more convenient way of having a valid ID than a DL plus a birth certificate. I know our home state allows you to get one w/o a passport. Just checked into a cruise using an EDL, making the $10 extra well worth it.

Except when it's sold out to the highest bidder. Then it's not. Pretty much every venue has been sold to someone at some point. It's interesting that there's a thread that is trying to ban the word "free"- which is just as "free" as "public" is.

Bring enough money to buy the Solarium for an hour, and you will be all set.

Always could- they would "confiscate" it from you, and return it to you on the last day to pack it. Although, we've had it missed before- since we were taking it home anyway, it didn't matter much.

Yes, we were just on her, and can confirm the suite deck.

Yup. Last place I expected to see a bottle of Blantons. We got it, and a small bottle of Wyoming Whiskey.