Tree_skier

Ovation in 24 days is our first cruise as diamond and the first cruise I will not be getting the DBP. I'm going to tally up the total and see how it fares...

Thank you, those 24 days can't go by quick enough.

Yes that is the usual plan

Formal night is my favorite nights in the MDR. The beef tenderloin is always fantastic!

With only a couple exceptions we always get cabins that are aft or towards the aft of the ship on deck 10. Never have I had problems with noise. This includes Serenade (same class as Radiance) Liberty, Adventure and Odyssey. You appear to be under Izumi. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

We had three cruises since restart and many more scheduled for the next year and a half. The first was Alaska onboard Serenade Aug 21, then Liberty Dec 21 and finally Odyssey Feb 22. All were excellent. The first one I went with expectations that there would be inconveniences but to my surprise it was a spectacular cruise. I felt like the entertainment was a little weaker but that was not a big deal to me. Capacity was low and staff tripped over themselves to be accommodating. Both of the following cruises my expectations were raised and with reduced capacity all my expectations were met. Odyssey in particular was an outstanding cruise. However, that might not be fair to Liberty since Odyssey was our first time on Quantum class and we had the unlimited dining package so our dining experience was upgraded. I haven't been on cruise since they returned to full capacity but I have Ovation in 24 days and Navigator a couple of weeks after that. I'm going with an open mind and an expectation I need to be flexible. I'm sure I will have a great time.

I tend not to overthink tipping. I always keep autograts on and tip a little extra to MDR waiters, cabin attendant and bartenders/barwaiters. For MDR I have always tipped the same amount for both W and AW and it usually is just slipped into their hand at the end of the last night. For HW I have had mixed results. When traveling with my grand daughter who has many different food allergies (soy, dairy and gluten) We interacted with her every night as she helped custom craft an excellent meal for her all through the cruise. She received the same tip as the W and AW. Other cruises I have never even seen the HW. He/she received nothing. Cabin attendant gets half of what I intend to tip him on day one when he introduces himself and I get him to get my CPAP water and extension cord and the second half on the last night at turn down. My last cruise, Feb 2022, on Odyssey my cabin attendant was good and did so many small extra little things I doubled that amount. Bar staff typically gotten $1 with every drink I order. That was when I had the DBP. We are diamond on the next cruise and, as an experiment, I'm forgoing the DBP just to see how I fair cost wise and will tip $2 with each diamond drink and $1 with every other drink. If I have a great bartender/server that I interacted with more than others (typical) I'll slip them a twenty on the last night. In every case the amounts vary depending on how feel at the moment. The amounts are often commensurate with how many drinks I have had when distributing the tips 🥃

Every restaurant that you use your Visa card.

I think the reminders is the best feature. I used it every day onboard.

Apparently your cabin steward thought you were really really old 🙂

What biker said is right. Somethings only showed up once I was connected to the ships network.

Mine my most recent on took 2 weeks as well

Are you past final payment?

🙂

Sadly but unsurprisingly, it still is in California... I was in to the doc week before last and had to wear a mask. Have another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Monday AM so I'll be putting a mask on again.

This is me exactly! Internet is to enhance the cruise experience.

Ah true, it might just work out. Thanks

Arrgh, she, she may not be getting visit. I was only planning on running up for the day.

I can empathize with your pain. I really haven't paid attention to the details after I heard that announcement but that was just for people flying in Canada not driving across the border... correct? I'm supposed to go visit my sister in YVR after we get off of ovation at the beginning of Sept. I would be driving across.

True but that is an exceptional case. But I vowed not to get banned again so I can not comment further on that subject. 🙂 I was more referring to the US and the cruise industry specifically. Small cruise lines are dropping testing and vaccine requirements. I know Ken is already aware of this but for those who are not here are the links. https://margaritavilleatsea.com/prepare-to-sail/ https://www.azamara.com/booked-guests/before-you-board/explore-well-at-sea The larger cruise lines are still holding their cards close to their vest. However, Princess has dropped their vaccine requirement and is now allowing 10% unvaccinated adults for any reason. I just had a friend tell me today he booked two cruises on Princess for Oct and Nov. because of this and he has been approved for the 10%. Things are changing for the better. There will be no tightening. My speculation is that cruise companies know that the longer the unvaccinated (that number is 32.8% of the US population and unlikely to change significantly) go without cruising the more of that market share never comes back to cruising as they will have found substitutes that meet their needs. Losing 32.8% of any market is a massive hit over time. Especially in a recessionary environment where people will have less disposable income and be less apt spend on extraneous things like cruise vacations. There may be full ships right now but some of that is certainly due to FCC's burning a whole in peoples pockets and driving the smaller market share to cruise more frequently. That day is ending if not already ended. They need that 32.8% spending money. Of that 67.2% only 48.2% have gotten the booster. I say with great assurance there is no booster requirement every 270 days coming. Tomorrow's earning call will undoubtedly shed some light on the future but the thought that vaccine requirements get stricter on cruises leaving the US is a highly improbable notion.

Don't worry, there is no indication that this happening. Restrictions are going away not becoming more strict. Princess has already lowered the threshold for vaccination status. Nobody is suddenly, without it being required, going to make it more stringent.

Finally a decent thread... !

im not a huge sea food eater so it'd be easy for me to miss

Those pics from @firefly333were recent pics I believe. What ship are you sailing?

I get a drink at the first bar I see once on board.