SRF

And yes, you can eat one or even two desserts and then ask for another one (or two) to go.

We asked on a Dec 14 out of Baltimore and was told they did not have any.

I posted about the no extra points, and it is clearly stated in the FAQ that no extra points unless "booked" as a solo.

So you need to tell them in advance and they may reprice the trip.

When you do your check in you will pick a time from a list.

They don't work well as all the walls and floors are sheet metal.

If everyone had a smart phone, but the free messaging in the Royal app.

Just now, cusematt4 said:

Because they are desperate for money and are taken advantage of my cruise lines without international law/regulation.  

All I’m stating is that if cruise lines aren’t going to pay their employees more than $100/month plus gratuities, it would be nice for basic internet access (at least video or audio calls) to be able to talk with their family that they are away from for so long.

Me stopping to cruise wouldn’t do anything.  Us collectively as regular cruisers could indeed make a difference.

 

Just cause this is how it’s been doesn’t mean it has to be this way forever.  if wages are what they are, technology has come such a long way and it would be nice to give crew a few hours a week a month to talk to family, even if during off hours when guest internet usage is low.  It’s the least they can do that wouldn’t cost the cruise lines much.  NCL already gives their crew unlimited free access to social media, where crew can talk with their family rather than just via WhatsApp text.

Have you ever visited any of their countries and seen the working conditions there?????

Do you know what pay rates are in their home countries????

22 minutes ago, BND said:

I'm amazed when someone thinks it's their business.  The crew chose to work.  They are not enslaved and in fact, they are free to go at any time.  The only caveat to that is if they don't complete their contract, they have to pay their own way home.   I just can't with these posts by people who "think" they know about the crew.  If it was so horrible, why would they keep coming back.  We've had a waiter tell us that he'd been on Royal for years and loved his job.  He sends money home to his wife and she runs their business while he's gone.  All you have to do to see how competitive these jobs are is read the requirements for the positions.  The listings are out there if someone cares to look.

Heck, one cruise I was talking to a cabin steward.  She was on her 5th or 6th contract.  Her mother was on the same ship working, and had been so even longer.  And her daughter was working on board on her 1st or 2nd contact.   
 

Yeap, conditions are just so bad.

If you have a package and want to get your free day for someone else, you have to talk Guest Services or VOOM desk.  You can't just sign on as you are already signed on.  We just did this last cruise.

BTW, you can share your package with another user.  When they log on, it logs you off.  I only buy one internet package and share it with my traveling companion..

On 12/28/2023 at 6:52 PM, QuestionEverything said:

I have cruised since 1989 on RCL, Celebrity and Oceania.

I will not be cruising going forward.

Booked on 3 customized land tours.

There is a big world out there and, with few exceptions (Iceland, Panama Canal, South America etc) a land tour gives one a much more in-depth visit to our history and geography.

If you want a superficial trip, cruise is OK.

If you want to learn about the world, land travel is best.

That is why I do both.  Mix land and cruise.  And cruising, I prefer sea days.  Port days are too hectic.

And again, you are talking about something you only have 2nd hand.

If things were so bad, why does any one work for them????

So, what is wrong with having access to Whatsapp?  You can text, send photos, chat and video chat.  And it is secure, as the employ end to end encryption.

I did not go to the Crown Lounge.  I was in a Suite, so free drinks in the Concierge Lounge.

Just got off Vision.  Lounge was not crowded at all.  It was almost like suite guests did not know about it.

But last evening a young man was sitting in the lounge.  The Concierge asked who he was, and he said he was waiting for his parents.  She made him leave and wait outside until they showed up.  

Bottom line is maybe.

They may enforce the times, so plan on that.

Posted there also. 😄

Looking for the name of the comedian the first night.

Thanks,

Simple, divide price to each option by the number of points to get dollars per point.

Say Interior is $1000 ($500 per person).  4 nights, so $125 per point (2 per night x 4 nights = 8 points).

If JS is less than $1500, then the JS is cheaper per point.

Have any of you gone out to eat these days??????
 

Dinner for 2 will be over $100.  Heck, Chik-Fil-A today was $17 for ONE PERSON.

Hope someone has more info.  We are on Vision, deck 8, leaving in 3 days.

14 hours ago, BND said:

I don't think people realize how common medical emergencies are on cruise ships.  Not all are visible or known by the guests.  We had one cruise out of Baltimore (Grandeur) where we had multiple as in like 5 or 6 for the entire 12 nights that we knew about.  One was before we even reached the Bay Bridge.  That was done by Coast Guard boat.  Some are stable enough to wait til a port.  

We had one heli med evac off Grandeur the first night, still in the Bay.

When my mother was taken off in Halifax, there was another one also.  I asked the port agent, and he told me one sailing, the pulled and replaced the gang way 6 times for med evac.  Each time they pulled it, before they could get untied, they had another one.

But even a Vision class can have 3000 passengers and 1000 crew.  You should expect a number of issues per week.

US death rate is about 1% per year. 1,043 per 100k people per year.  So a big cruise ship has over 7000 pax and crew, so per year, expect 70 deaths or more than one per week

As to tanks tops on men versus women - Pit Hair. 🙂

I have seen tuxes and military mess dress in 2022 and 2023. Yes, VERY few but some.  Amazing the change since 2017 when a lot of evening dresses and tuxes.  And most men not in tux were in coat and tie.

2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

But if they'd offered that in the first place to enough cruisers, someone would have happily taken it.  It was involuntarily bumping someone instead of making a generous offer to everyone that created the problem.  

Since most people already boarded, and you are talking about thousands, how are you going to make the offer? 

I don't do lists.

For ANY trip, I mentally go through dressing for each venue.  And for other than clothing, I always pack workout and beach gear, flip flops, zip lock bags, sun screen, bug spray, general stuff (ibuprofen, imodium, benadryl, etc), motion sickness.

For clothes, I mentally dress. So underwear, put enough in the bag.  Socks, dress, casual, ;put in the bag.  Undershirts, in the bag.  Pants, what will I need, casual, dress, suit, short, put in bag.  Shirts.....

On 12/6/2023 at 5:52 AM, Teeara said:

Are you required to have a minimum number of people in order to book a 2B GS?

Yes, but as the cruise gets closer, they open them up to less people

On 12/3/2023 at 1:05 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

As I understand it, especially at busy airports, it's not easy to change runway directions when the winds change.  I was told that by a flight instructor.  How true it is...?

It can be a big deal, as they have a steady stream of planes for one runway.