Cro_and_Swan

I have a question and I'm almost certain the answer is YES ... but does the last day of the cruise, when you disembark (usually between 7-10 a.m.) count as a day you have to pay for the alcohol package?

(I guess another way of asking would be do you calculate it by the number of days Monday - Saturday (6) for instance ... or the number of nights Monday - Friday night (5)?)

A blog i found funny, but true, mentioned that on average you'd need to drink around 6 mixed drinks or beers or glasses of wine a day to get your money's worth out of buying the unlimited alcohol drink package. (of course this may vary because frozen/specialty drinks may be more, discounts on packages factor in, how many days you are off the ship and in port, etc.)

They went on to say if you read that and think "WOW that is a LOT of alcohol" :( then the package may not be worthwhile for you .... but if you read it and think "Really? That's not much at all ... " :D then you probably DO want to get the package! LOL

We didn't get the package, and for us it was fine, we took two bottles of wine on board and had them on our balcony the first two nights, drank a little in Cozumel and Grand Cayman on port days ... and we probably spent an average of less than $20 per day on bar drinks each ... but I do imagine that if we'd had a package, I would have drank more during the day ... had more than just a glass or two of wine at dinner, etc. Whether that 'freedom' to drink more would have been a good thing or not, I can't say ... but we'll probably find out 'next time' LOL

There are so many factors ... everyone's tollerance of weather is different ... weather changes year to year (and even day to day) ... being at sea vs on land may factor in, etc. But as others have said, layers are probably your best bet.

My brother lived & worked in Seward AK last year and I was looking at his pictures from early August ... in most of them the 'locals' are wearing jeans and t-shirts with open flannel shirts over them. Very few actual coats or heavy jackets but not many shorts or summer clothes in the August pics ... though just a few weeks earlier in July cargo shorts seemed to be the norm for the guys.

Camping at Lowell Point Beach - August 10th

Resurrection Bay - Aug. 15th

We walked to Sunset Cozumel and really enjoyed our guacamole, salsa, chips and margaritas. I saw other plates being delivered and it all looked/smelled delicious ... but we had eaten lunch shortly before so we didn't order a full meal. :( I think we missed out!

We sat in the bar area and had a great view of the port ... watched small boats come and go ... people taking a snorkle lesson, listened to music, etc. The day was beautiful, not dreary and over cast but my photography skill stink ...

It was about a 10 minute walk (1/2 mile maybe) once we stepped out of the terminal/shopping area. (Walk out past the taxi stand, turn left, walk straight down the main road/sidewalk ... )

On the Brilliance there was ice tea in the self-serve dispenser near the Park Cafe ... near the solarium pool. The same dispenser had lemonade, ice water, and a fruit flavored (non-fizzy) sweet drink such as kiwi-strawberry, mango, etc. which changed each day. There was also coffee and water to make hot tea along with all the usual coffee/hot tea accompaniments.

I liked this iced tea okay ... but I found the iced tea in the Windjammer and the MDR to be too strong/dark for my preference. In the windjammer, I mixed it with water. In the MDR, I asked the waiter to do so.

So I know this is dumb ... but I'm feeling chatty so I just have to share ... my daughter is vegetarian .... so while I keep seeing references to Boca Clips and i know what they are ... I just keep thinking of Boca Burgers .... :rolleyes: and laughing at the visual of a lonely veggie burger hanging out on a deck chair ... :p

On tHE Brilliance in December there was no charge for most of room service menu ... except for a few specialty items (lobster, alcohol) and the after hours service charge mentioned.

Now I have a question ... and I feel dumb having to ask this, but I've read so much conflicting information that I'm second guessing everything ...

I know tipping is always OK & appreciated by the servers ... but do prepaid gratuities generally cover room service delivery as well ... or should the norm be to tip extra on each room service delivery?

.... you might want to leave it a bit longer than "several minutes". Unless you are talking in the 30 minute plus range. Just my opinion.

Yes perhaps my use of the vague word "several" was a poor choice ... I don't tend to run a stop watch or time how long I wait, but it's long enough that it isn't likely to be a 'quick dip in the pool' or a 'just gone to the bar' kind of thing. As I mentioned I've rarely even had anyone return ... twice in 6 or so years maybe ... my guess is that more often than not, the person has simply wandered away and found other more interesting things to do ... leaving the towel and chair completely forgotten.

I am usually a super friendly nice polite person ... but I've sort of had it with pool/beach chair hogs in crowded public venues when there are no 'reserved' or paid arrangements. (Its completely different if we're renting chairs or cabanas.) I have become very Karen-like (ala Will & Grace) ...

I spot a chair with absolutely no personal items on it ... only a cruise/resort towel ... if it stays empty for several minutes ... I walk over, move the towel to the next chair ... place my towel down and lay down. Problem solved :D

In the rare event that anyone approaches me ... (maybe twice in the past 6 or so years) ... the conversation basically goes ...

SB: Hey, you're in my chair!

ME: "This chair? Oh ... it was empty" (pleasant expression/tone ... but never remove my sunglasses ... make no move to get up)

If they seem to want more discussion ... I wait for them but eventually say something along the lines of ... "All these hotel towels look the same ... " and I lay back and close my eyes. If they pursue it, i keep my voice pleasant and bored and say something along the lines of "Well, if you want to go get a staff member to come sort this out ..."

Generally I've found that suddenly the chair issue isn't that big of a deal and the person moves on.

Maybe I'm being rude or 'insensitive' but seriously ... the chair is for use by a person it isn't a 'storage place' for your towel or even personal items ... I've seen the mom of a family take up a chair for every single person (5 in all) for a day at a resort pool when the 2 younger kids never left the pool ... the dad never left the TV screen at the bar by the pool and the teenager came and got the moms room key to go up to their room and play video games. But there set mom with a towel and an article of clothing on each of the 4 empty chairs as other guests continually walked by scanning for chairs. I'm not the chair police ... but it just bugged me ...

In 'everyday life' we generally tip decently to generously ... appropriate for the service, occasion, etc. I'm not an 'anti-tipping' kind of person ... and I travel a fair amount for work and run into 'automatic gratuities' quite a bit.

And I am not at all suggesting that anyone NOT tip extra if they want to do so ... please don't think that .... but simply as a tiny suggestion that for some reason makes me feel a bit less 'guilty' or pressured by that 'additional tip' line on the receipts ... If I know the 18% gratuity has been prepaid or already added (on a cruise or on land) I generally write the word 'prepaid' or 'included' across the tip line ... then write the total (same as already printed) ... sign it and just know that a reasonable server will know that the already added 18% tip is adequate ... and that if they are 'miffed' with me for not adding extra then I am nothing but a dollar-sign to them anyway so their opinion of me doesn't really matter. I'm not sure why, but just pointing out the 'prepaid-ness' of the tip makes me feel better.

Again ... i am NOT saying to stiff anyone. I am NOT devaluing their service ... but for me the 18% tip I've already paid is sufficient for the act or placing a drink in front of me. If someone goes out of their way to provide extraordinary service and is genuinely friendly and makes an effort to fullfill a special request or does something that warrants an additional tip ... then by all means, leave one if you want to ... and we often do in those situations ... but I personally don't think there is any reason to feel guilty for a 'normal tip' for 'normal service.'

The pool tables were stationary in December 2016 ... but we still managed to play two very non-serious games fairly decently. The balls were beginning to migrate all to one side of the table by the end of the second game tho ... so 'serious' players might not want to bother.

In addition to all the general 'wonderfulness' of the whole cruise experience ... some specific things that were my favs include:

The THERMAL SPA ... if you enjoy such things it is WELL worth at least a day pass ($30) ... and probably the week long pass ($99) ... heated tile loungers with a view of the ocean, mild (though still hot) steam room, hot hot steam room, aromatherapy room, tropical showers with optional ice drench ... a great way to start the day or relax mid-afternoon while my travel partner did his own thing too.

The strawberries and ice cream in the main dining room. Seems like a very 'blah' dessert choice with so many other options ... but they were truly yummy!

Pre-ordering coffee &/or breakfast from room service ... something about having it arrive with absolutely no hassle or effort each morning was such a treat.

.... I think it is more awkward when they assign you another family sitting at the same main dinner table every night of the cruise. You have to dine with them every night and after a few nights you know that you have nothing in common .....

I can completely see that as being an issue. LUCKILY (sort of) we had a different main dining room experience on Royal Caribbean. We were seated with different groups each night ... just in a 'luck of the draw' basis of when we happened to arrive.

One benefit was that we had different table mates each night so we weren't 'stuck' with the same people if it was a bad match ... (for us or for them) ... but the down side was that even if we had a good match one night, we weren't necessarily going to have that same good match the next. We experienced both good and bad during our MDR evenings.

One evening I noticed that we were going to be seated with a large family that I didn't particularly want to sit with ... (we'd seen them at the buffet at lunch the day before and I just didn't think we'd be a good 'fit' to fill in their table) and I just gestured toward the other side of the room and asked if we could possibly be seated 'further into the center of the dining room away from the entrance' .... stupid excuse, I know ... but I hoped the stated 'personal preference' of where I wanted to sit would ease any awkwardness if the family cared why we didn't want to sit with them.

Just offering my take on a 'first timer' issue that I haven't seen mentioned in many discussion ...

If you dine at the buffet and their are very few vacant tables ... be prepared to share a table ... either joining others at a partially empty table ... or having others join you. (In my opinion) it is unreasonable to expect a table all to yourself if you are not able to find an emtpy two seat-er for a couple or a 4 seat-er for a family, etc. We were 2 people ... and often found ourselves at a 6 or 8 person table.

I'm fairly outgoing, so it wasn't a big deal for me to smile and say "feel free to join us" when the two of us were sitting alone at a larger table and I noticed people doing the 'stand and scan' looking for an empty spot at lunch. The friend I was cruising with is more of an introvert ... he didn't mind others joining us at all ... but he probably wouldn't have spoken up either.

Similarly, though it took a bit more effort, if there were no empty tables, I fairly quickly learned to politely ask if empty seats at a large table were available "Excuse me, are these seats taken? Mind if we join you?" If someone seemed unpleasant or began to say they were saved ... I simply smiled and said "Oh no problem ... sorry" and walked away. Most fellow cruisers understand the situation and are pleasant about it ... but even if they aren't .... It's not personal ... don't let the 'rejection' ruin your day ... even if the other person is unpleasant, it was 'their issue' and nothing I did wrong.

Other tips ... you can usually tell if someone wants to socialize and talk and you can make small talk if nothing else. If they don't seem to want to ... then chat with your own party and let them chat with theirs ... no harm, no foul. We had pleasant 'chit chat' with a few different couples. Sat in silence with one older lady after exchanging greetings and then she pointedly shifted her body and stared out the window the entire time. I didn't 'push' conversation. I just said 'enjoy the rest your lunch' as we left.

If you are almost done and someone approaches ... welcome them to the table and TELL them you were about to leave. Maybe this is just my small town overly friendly thing ... but I didn't want anyone to think we were leaving just because they joined us. A smile and "We were almost done ... so please don't think we're leaving because you joined us." to me is better than just jumping up and walking off ... maybe not necessary ... but it could prevent someone from taking it personally.

And on the off chance to you end up joining a table or having someone join yours that you just absolutely cannot stand the idea of sitting through an entire meal together ... hey, it's a buffet you are free to roam :) ... simply go back for seconds or dessert or whatever and walk to another area of the dining room and sit somewhere else. Not ideal, and I know some people will scoff at the idea of changing tables in the middle of a meal ... but it is one possible solution to a problem. I'd rather do that than let it ruin my day.

Again, just something that came up for me and I thought might be useful to other 'newbies' to at least be aware of. Other more seasoned cruisers may have a completely different point of view.

If it is incredibly important to you that you NOT share a table, you can try dining early or late ... (which would give you better chance of finding a smaller table) ... avoiding the buffet all together and eat in the main dining room, cafe, specialty restaurants, or room service ... fixing your plate and carrying it to a place on the deck away from the buffet dining room, etc. There are lots of possible solutions which allow you to avoid the situation ... but my suggestions are mainly just for easing some of the 'awkwardness' of sharing the larger tables in a crowded buffet dining room for those who do want to dine at the buffet.

... just so that I could get a comb through my hair (which I can't unless I shampoo and condition or risk yanking out half a head full of hair).

I keep a travel size bottle of leave in conditioner (I like WEN or Aveda, but you could pick any brand you like) in my pool/beach bag and usually apply a dab to my rinsed (but not shampoo'ed) hair after getting out of the pool or ocean. I comb or finger it through my hair and let it dry while I lay out ... works great for my hair ... may not work the same for everyone tho. :)

I Coopers Hawk .... Yah Mon

Thanks for the recommendations .... I'll check them out! I remember seeing Coopers Hawk while googling randomly yesterday ... :D

If anyone has a recommendation for a slightly late dinner (8:30 ish probably) after I'm picked up at the Tampa Airport on a Thursday evening, please let me know.

I'm not terribly picky ... not looking for anything in particular ... but I just know I'll be hungry and don't want to end up at a fast food drive-thru. Something non-chain would be great, but even a chain restaurant with a good recommendation would beat just randomly GPSing something.

Thanks!

On Oasis and Allure, the areas are windowless,

I know this is an older thread, but just in case anyone used the search feature for 'Thermal Spa', I thought I'd go ahead and mention that on the BRILLIANCE of the seas (unlike the ships mentioned) the Thermal Spa does have windows and (for me) was a WONDERFUL place to start my day ... relax and watch the ocean ... from the heated tile loungers as well as the mild (though still fairly hot) steam room. The separate (very) 'hot' steam room was smaller and did not have a window and I don't remember if the aromatherapy room had a window or not. I think it did, but I didn't care for it since it was dry and not steam so I didn't spend much time there. There were two 'rain fall' showers with buttons for 'tropical rain' and 'ice drench' so you could get both hot and/or cold showers, but these didn't always seem to transition perfectly ... sort of hit or miss on temperature.

In December 2016 we paid $149 for a pass for two for the 5 day cruise. Would have been $99 for just me. For me, it was well worth the cost ... not so much for him ... he didn't care for the steam rooms nor the tile loungers very much ... about the only 'benefit' he really enjoyed was a nice (suits on) shower and back scrubbing ... probably not worth $50 LOL

Also ... the shower dispensers provide very standard shampoo & body wash ... not upgraded spa brand (Elemis) ... so if you want something higher level, you may wish to bring your own. I took tiny travel bottles of Philosophy products :)

Also assume you know you can bring two bottles of wine, no corkage fee, on RC.

Oh yes ... we very much enjoyed our two bottles of wine ... on the balcony the first two nights of the cruise. :D

... My average cost per drink was $8.75 So if you plan on drinking 5-6 drinks per day then the drink package is worth it.

Just wanted to tag along on this post with something I read that struck me as FUNNY but perfectly logical ...

A blog indicated that on average you'd need to drink at least 6 mixed drinks or glasses of wine a day to get your money's worth out of buying the unlimited alcohol drink package. They went on to say if you read that and think "WOW that is a LOT of alcohol" :( then the package may not be worthwhile for you .... but if you read it and think "Really? That's not much at all ... " :D then you probably DO want to get the package! LOL

I think they used to this when the alcohol first packages came out .... but one person can definitely get the alcohol package, and the other get nothing.

Very cool! Thank you (& GranD) for the info ... I just searched and found a blog post from Jan 2016 about the change. My own fault for not researching it pre-cruise, but I was mainly leaving all the arrangement to the friend who invited me along ... oh well ... next time ...

Just so you are aware, on RC it is not necessary for both cabin members to purchase a package. You could purchase different packages, or just one package for the person that intends to use it, for example in your case the soda drinker.

Hmm ... thanks GranD ... I'll have to check into this further before 'next' time .... (not being argumentative, just additional info in case my earlier post was confusing) I knew we could get different non-alcohol packages (or one of us opt not to get a soda package) if one of us wanted soda and the other did not ... I tried to suggest to my travel partner that I not get the package ... but he thought it would be better to get me the soda package 'just in case' and since he was paying, I didn't press the issue ... but where I'm confused is with the packages that include alcohol.

Where my confusion comes in ... and I may have misunderstood something ... but I thought when were were discussing it in the terminal, the staff member indicated that if one of us got any alcohol package, that we BOTH had to. Such as I couldn't get a package to get wine and mixed drinks while he 'only' got the soda package. Is this not the case? (seriously asking, not being snippy :) )

It's already been mentioned briefly, but I thought I'd reiterate - just because on our recent cruise i talked to a surprising number of fellow travelers who didn't know about it - on RC standard room service is included in the 'free' dining along with the buffet(s), main dining room, etc. There may be a 'service charge' for late-night delivery and/or an additional charge for specialty items (lobster, chocolate covered strawberries) but most basic menu items are included.

You can pre-order your breakfast the night before and have it delivered within a 30 minute window the next morning. I'm not normally a major breakfast person, but my travel partner is ... and for me having COFFEE very first thing was great ... and not having to dress and leave the room and go to the dining room or buffet 'first thing' made mornings very relaxing .... he got fed, I got caffeine ... we relaxed on the balcony ... all was right with the world! :)

Depending on the age of the kids and your usual breakfast/morning routine ... it might make mornings with kids a bit easier too ... unless the addition of food/plates/drinks etc. to a crowded room becomes an issue.

Slightly off topic ... but do you all LIKE the Freestyle Coke machines? The actual taste/quality of the beverage from them? (The Brilliance didn't have them, so I haven't experienced them on a ship ... )

We have the machines in a lot of fast food places locally and I do NOT like them at all. I don't know if it's an individual 'location by location' thing or an actual issue with the machines but to me, too often they 'mix' doesn't seem right ... too carbonated or not carbonated enough, or syrups/flavors mixing a bit 'off' in some way.

I don't drink a lot of soft drinks anyway, but if I do happen to get one and it has to be from a Free-style machine, I've found that setting it to 'diet coke' and letting a little run down the drain before putting my cup under the nozzle helps a bit and/or i add a tiny bit of cherry or vanilla to the diet coke so any 'off' flavor is less noticeable ... but I'm not sure how that would work with the 'chip' activate machines.

Is this just my own weirdness?

I guess I don't understand the stapler thing. ....

When ready to attach I simply slip a zip tie through the hole

No need for confusion ... it's as simple as not everyone carries Zip Ties ... same as not everyone carries a STAPLER or even PACKING TAPE .... different people will find different methods of attaching more convenient for them. We've all just offered information based on whatever method is our own preference, suggestion, experience, etc.

... cocktail before dinner, 2 glasses of wine with dinner and maybe a drink afterwards at a show etc - would I get my money's worth?

For us, the issue was with having to buy the 'full' alcohol package for both people for every day of the cruise ... and we decided it wasn't worth it. We didn't do any 'research' ahead of time (and didn't know about any possible discounts or specials for early purchase) and just knew at the terminal that the alcohol package was around $48 per person per day and that it had to be purchased for all days of the cruise and it was mandatory that both purchase if one purchased.

However, I can see both sides of things ... if you would honestly have at least the drinks you've mentioned (and possibly more some days) then the math adds up ... 4 drinks x $10-$12 = $40-$48 per day ... so you may as well go with the package. (of course drink prices differ but 'on average' ... )

However, for us at least, the consideration was whether we would TRULY drink that many drinks each and every day. I waffled back and forth so much ... we aren't young party animal types ... but we do enjoy a few drinks when we go out usually ... and wine/beer at home some evenings ...

In hindsight, I know I would have enjoyed having more drinks by the pool or a glass of wine in the Thermal Spa each day ... and a couple of glasses of wine at dinner instead of limiting myself to one glass. And if we'd had the package we probably would have drank more each evening ... at the comedy shows, in the night club, or just on deck or on our balcony ...

But then again, would we have eventually gotten tired of it? Were we better off NOT ending up having more 'hard partying' nights and waking up feeling crappy? In the long run, NOT having the package was probably an okay choice for us at least economically ... but for 'next time' we'll know to watch for specials and discounts and MAYBE will add it.

We opted instead for the $8.50/day per person soft drink package. We carried on two bottles of wine, and each purchased a FEW mixed drinks or glasses of wine a few times, but nothing near 8 drinks a day, everyday. On port days, we drank rum drinks in Grand Cayman and margaritas in Cozumel off the ship.

I would have been just fine with the 'free' non-alcoholic drinks ... coffee, tea, lemonade, water (and the fruit flavored sugar-water) ... but my travel partner is a Diet Coke-a-holic, so the $8.50/day soft drink package was well worthwhile for him.