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👍🏼 🙂 And the alternative bars might have a better view.

Other lines have gone up too. What we have discovered is that all lines have particular cruises that are less expensive, at different times. You have to hunt for them. By doing that on multiple lines, you can find more bargains. For example, we love Celebrity’s suite class (much better than RCI), and shop until we find a great price. We don’t really have a preference on when we go, other than I won’t cruise the Caribbean during the summer (after decades on the Gulf Coast, this Tennessean hates the heat then). We found an itinerary we loved on NCL Prima from Iceland to GB, sailing the Norwegian Fjords. It was priced less than RCI’s older, smaller ships doing similar itineraries. If we had only been willing to sail RCI, we would have paid more, for a lesser experience. So yes, the more lines we are willing to consider, the better bargains we will find. 🙂 At least, that’s what we are finding.

We are sailing the occasional other line now. RCI is still our preference, but we are booked up till Feb 2026 with decent group pricing. We do have a ceiling of what we are willing to pay. We don’t max out our benefits for D+, but do factor that in. Jason Liberty still thinks RCI is priced too low compared to land trips. 🙄 Guess he is comparing them to Disney…we don’t travel there because of the ridiculous pricing. If we can’t get decent group prices going into 2026, we will travel more on land. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Which is less expensive for us, contrary to what Jason thinks. We cruise because we enjoy it, but we do enjoy land travel as well.

And posted about it on their feed on X (Twitter)?

One of us should be able to take care of that. Hoping all goes well, Laura!

I have to confess we enjoy staying onboard some port days too. 😁 And I would never bet against anyone saying this is the last world cruise by RCI.

One of the reasons RCI stays at the top, IMO. They get that, obviously. 🙂And provided two options.

We would want ports. Lots of interesting places to visit. But that’s us. 🤷🏻‍♀️

They also have to take into consideration the number of sea days, though. 🙂 Option 2 could be interesting on TicTic, with all the sea days and potential drama resulting (for TicTocers not even onboard 🙄), but I would be surprised if people chose that many sea days after so many thus far. I agree though, that 50% off may be enticing for some. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. 👍🏼

Option 2 was provided so RCI could say, “Well, there was a cheaper alternative, but our world cruisers chose otherwise, so sorry! Hope you don’t need medical attention after checking out the prices on these segments.” 😂 All kidding aside, I hope the majority chooses Option 1, and we get to enjoy the trip vicariously thru them. What an adventure and opportunity for a unique cruise for the full world cruisers! 🙂

Somehow I missed this and now I have 39 pages of reading to do. 🤦‍♀️🫣😵‍💫 Thanks for sharing….and headed back to the first page. Hope you all had a great time! 🙂

Still looking good there, John! 😁😉

I struggled with that at first. So I got a leather cover that opens like a book. I love mine now, and typically have 4k books (read and unread) parked on mine. 😁

After a week of below freezing temps, we finally got up to 32° and even made it all the way to 41°. I’m with your SIL. It’s almost shorts weather! 😁

I hope you have many, many more years of traveling enjoyment! I’m sorry your job affected your health negatively. ☹️ Glad you stepped out when you did. My work stress has been awful for the past couple of years, and has affected my health. That’s why I am retiring early, and my hubby shortly after. 🙂 I seriously love what I do, but the workload isn’t changing. It would be the same elsewhere. So…time to go!

Ah, but you can still do what you want, when you want. 😁 We will be traveling at least 3 months each year, until we aren’t able to physically. If this WC was a year later, we would have booked some of it with these wonderful people. 🙂 Patricia and Laura’s photos have made us want to sail around the Cape now, and we never thought we would be interested in that. I’ve seen some of you say the same, and I bet there are more of you thinking the same. 🙂 Thanks Patricia, Laura and all the other photographers who are sharing your photos and anecdotes. SO appreciated!

Absolutely! Thank you for that perspective. I’m working 12 hour days all this month and am 😵‍💫. Your words of encouragement made me smile. 😁

Just under 3 months for us. Seems like forever. 😂 Congrats! 😁

Thanks to Patricia and all the contributors here. Really appreciate it. 🙂

LOVE it! Thanks for sharing, Laura. Looks like the 30+ ft seas we had on our way to Bermuda 20+ years ago. What an exciting journey this must be for those who don’t aren’t prone to seasickness. 🙂

Money man in charge: “There’s an awful lot of free drinking happening on the WC. Those loyalty tiers are going to drink us into bankruptcy.” Minion: “I will take care of that,” as he cancels liquor orders at several port stops. “Bwahahaha!” All kidding aside, my husband would be ready for a mutiny if he couldn’t get his wine. 😬😂 Hopefully the ship will get restocked in the next port of call.

Thanks for doing this. 🙂 I’ve grabbed several for my recipe app. Always looking to add great drinks.

Does anyone besides me remember when some of us were pining for tipping threads during the Covid shutdown? What on earth were we thinking?! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

That would be an issue in some Italian towns, if you are off ship and using public transport. I’ve seen too many posts of pics where the police boarded buses or trains and required passports, fining anyone not carrying theirs. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Very recent posts. And for some of the police, copies won’t do. People were fined carrying copies.

We sailed southern Caribbean on Celebrity Beyond (yes, I know, not RCI, but RCI sails southern Caribbean too), and we never noticed any dropping of service. It was excellent. Glad to see Odyssey TA has good service. Thanks to all who shared their experiences.