WrittenOnYourHeart

Which is a tiny portion of those who cruise. I have multiple friends who are not on CC who have cruised in more traditional verandas and in IVs and LOVE the IVs/ (I'm a weird duck on here who loves them as well.)

On the Dream last May it was playing on AutoPlay on the television when you turned on the power in the room.

Thank you!

Thanks! Same deal as the $100 deposit? Or would it be whatever Royal's current onboard booking is?

I'm sure this is answered somewhere, but I can't find it... Can you book a Royal Caribbean sailing while on board X or is it only X sailings?

All this makes me happy I almost always pack in carry-on. (Even a 10-day trip for a running cruise to Alaska with pre-night in Anchorage and post-night in Seattle I got into carry-on.) *I* control where my luggage is and don't have to worry about if I tipped someone at the port enough - or someone on board getting the wrong bag but just stashing it somewhere rather than telling their cabin steward it wasn't theirs.

This was my thought - that it was delivered to the wrong room. You'd think people would notify their cabin steward that it's not theirs, but I guess some people are to wrapped up in themselves and their vacation. I'd definitely see if there could be some kind of announcement about it - maybe then whoever's room it's in would realize it didn't just get on the ship by itself and actually belongs to someone.

Over-the-Counter. IOW available without a prescription.

I've pondered trying LPC on the Summit this summer but have been hesitant. Also not knowing what menu until just before has been an question.

Just FYI, Alaska does not necessarily mean cold. The two years I did cruises there, we were in shorts and t-shirts it was so warm. Even the year on HAL when they did the "Polar Bear Plunge" which was just jumping in the pool on Glacier Bay Day, it was NOT that cold. The Disney Wonder sold out of their swimsuits a few years ago it was so warm and no one had packed for it. Just saying, watch the weather as you get closer. The overall cruise may not be nearly as cold as you think.

And before anyone brings it up, yes, I did ONE cabin tour video. ONE. Of my Edge Solo IV cabin. Because the only other cabin tour video I could find was not in English. I did it myself in my cabin with my iPhone. And it was not professional - but it hit the things I look for in cabin reviews. And it filled a need that wasn't filled to that point. (My YouTube has THREE videos uploaded - the cabin tour, my sky dive with SkyDive Key West, and my dinner at Eden. The dinner was because I had not found a video about dinner there covering someone who eats gluten-free.) Will I do one of my aft Aqua Class on the Summit in July? Possibly for my private Insta or FB - but not to publish to YouTube because there are a lot of those already out there. No one needs another one - at least until there is another major change. It's the over-saturation of the same old same old that annoys me most about vloggers.

Honestly, I only use videos by a few travel professionals - NOT vloggers or "content creators" as they pretentiously like to be called - when it comes to choosing a ship. I'd rather see their ship tours as they focus on what actually matters to me. I'll look for cabin tours early on, but then leave it alone. I don't want to watch someone else on vacation. I want to be on vacation. If I can't be, there are professional travel documentaries to be found everywhere - I don't need to stroke the egos and line the pockets of regular people who think they're all that with a camera and a mic.

A spa is kinda a quiet voice kind of place...

I'd be ok with that. What has gotten on my last nerve - can caused me to leave a show (this happened on another line) - was a group who I guess thought they were required to attend the shows and spend at least the first 20 minutes of the show (I left after 20 minutes - should not have given them that long, but I really wanted to see the show) going over the planner for the next day and discussing what they wanted to do. I mentioned it later to the Cruise Director when she was hanging out with other officers in the atrium area and she asked if I'd liked the show. I told her what happened and that in looking around there weren't any aisle seats I could have moved to or I would have. She felt so bad - and I noticed the next night when she was introducing that night's show, she had added in "We all on the entertainment team think these are great shows, but if you don't - or don't want to see it - you don't have to! You're not required to do any activity you don't want - expect that safety drill on the first day. That you have to do. Everything else is optional!" She made it sound casual. I don't know if that group had come back as I sat on the other side of the theater that night.

This. Especially if the crew member picks up quickly that someone is like your wife and "gets their whole life story". They are VERY savvy at reading people and - while most are honest people - there are some (especially if they have worked on other lines and tried this) who will give a whole sob story about their family, their home, how they have to split the tips, etc. just to try and get more out of you. And then the odds of them turning in the extra (most lines require the extra given to be turned in until it's verified that the giver left auto tips in place - when it is verified, they get all the extra back; but it it is not and the guest removed the autogratuities, then they will split the cash between those who should have gotten it according to the ratio) are slim even though discovery of failure to do so can result in termination. And yes...regardless of giving them the envelope or slip, they will get the auto amount as long as it's left on. If Disney (or any cruise line) were skimming, no one would want to work for them. And in my experience talking with crew on various ships and lines I've sailed, Disney is one of the more desirable lines to work for. I had a server on RCCL who was only on there to get experience so that Disney would consider him. And he's not the only one I've heard say that.

That is separate from the grats included in AI. The gratuities in AI cover your cabin steward and your servers. And whatever drinks are included in the Classic drink package (or Premium if you upgrade). If you purchase spa treatments or purchase a drink that has an amount above what is included in your beverage package you will pay a gratuity on those.

Can you still get tags if needed at the port? I don't have a printer and have no plans to buy one just to print luggage tags and do arts and crafts.

Unless it has changed, no. BUT if the captain has a forecast predicting weather/wind that would necessitate them being locked, they certainly could. They have much more specific radar than any phone app would, so that could be a possibility. The only times they were locked when I was on Edge were with notice in the daily paper that one side or the other would be cleaned during the time we were in a port. Even a day that the weather to ME would have necessitated locking it, Captain Kate didn't. However, that said. I would never leave it down when not using it just as I'd never leave a balcony door open when I'm not using it since that affects more than just the a/c in my cabin. And it creates a wind tunnel that whistles in the hall to the point it annoys others around.

As a solo traveler, I mostly do ship-based shore excursions as they are less than doing a private tour even if I could find one that would take one person only. Exceptions are snorkeling things in St Maarten (YAY Soualiga Destinations) or my upcoming Restless Native snorkel in Bermuda as those are private small group, but they do the grouping for you - and the itinerary is set/weather dependent. I'd personally never do one organized by a fellow cruiser because I would only be one person in the group. I have a friend who as a solo did join one organized by a fellow cruiser couple. They all got in the vehicle, then the rest of the group on the tour said "So we've been talking and we want to do this instead..." when they had talked among themselves but NOT included my friend who signed up with them for the thing they would now not be doing. The guide noticed her shell-shocked face, but felt helpless to say no to the larger group. She was stuck going to what they wanted to do and missing what she had wanted to see (that she could have done through a ship tour) because the car was already moving. So, yeah. Sorry, but no, I'm not trusting fellow cruisers with a private excursion.

I figure there's probably only 7 people who have actually gotten it to work and will see it through. LOL.

Wow. Fortunately I love my TA and have no issues with her being in charge of the reservation.

I just got the email about it. It's something that just launched today.

Thanks all! Covid brain is real! LOL.

Sorry...I'm drawing a blank right now. If you book a specific cruise with the Future Cruise desk while onboard, it's a $100/person deposit? (I'm talking regular cabins, not suites.) Thanks!

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