TeeRick

If you are really eager for the snacks in the Suite Lounge then just go have some at 5PM and go to dinner a bit later? Maybe 5:30?

This is kind of a gray area. Technically it is beer and wine only. But twice recently we stayed in a CL suite (same suite class as a GS). We got various mixed drinks in the SL without using our coupons outside the 5-8 timeframe. Also no coupons asked for CK dining. Others have reported on here that they needed to use their coupons. I guess it depends on the ship and bartender's discretion. We have not bought drink packages, because the drinks in the SL plus our 5 coupons each are plenty for us. By the way, we were asked for coupons at the bar for mixed drinks on the suite sun deck, same cruise. And coupons were taken in the suite area on Labadee.

Curious about the country where you live. Is it cultural to tip or not tip? Restaurant dining, take out delivery, private transportation, etc. Now in the US, where we have a tipping culture galore, everything you buy with a credit card at a store or wherever, now a box pops up for an additional tip. We are made to feel guilty if we don't tip. This happened during the pandemic and carried over. Time to stop over-tipping IMO. On the other hand, on a cruise, I know the deal going in (for decades) and tipping is simply one of the known cruise costs. I would not stiff the hardworking crew.

Snarky? Oh not Pinboy! I generally enjoy your good-natured snark!😄

Slight nuance here to mention. Sometimes you and your cabin mate have different amounts of vouchers remaining on a given day. So you might tell the bartender which voucher to use, or to use two from the same person.

Won't Get Fooled Again by the Who. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Here is what it means I think. Over and Above, Above and Beyond (service, not the ship!), anything describing service, like food, is in the subjective category. And it comes from an individual's personal expectations.

This is true - but also comments with their name mentioned with an exceptional service story are very good for them in the post-cruise survey.

We do tip extra above the standard daily gratuity - with cash in an envelope the last night of the cruise. Many cruisers do this. Here is what we typically do. Amounts are up to you. For a CS, you will have a true dedicated butler. That never changed*. When we cruise a CS and above, we tip him/her if we used them. Some use them more than others on here. We use our butler to deliver and set up breakfast, leave refreshments, etc. , also laundry services. [Note: Many Sky Suite cruisers no longer tip the butler team - although that is changing back]. We tend to leave an extra cash tip for the room attendant if they attend to any special requests. We tend to give an extra cash tip in Luminae - address it to the Team. Some give to individuals like the wine steward. We tend to give a cash tip to the Retreat Concierge if they did anything above and beyond for us. Bartenders and Bar servers - in the Retreat - we add a tip when they deliver our drinks.

Why do you think Baltimore is a large (enough) cruising market? It is secondary at best offering smaller older ships from a few cruise lines. It serves limited passengers.

Maybe if it were a local currency in a very small country hosting the Olympics. But definitely not the Euro.

Symphony. We just sailed on her and loved it. Are any of you in a suite per chance? Symphony is the much better choice there too.

We have used PJ's with good success. Expensive for what you get but a good experience. On our last two cruises we have opted for Tours By Locals. It was just the two of us and a guide. Fully customized. You can select the guide from all of the online reviews. Less expensive than PJ's overall. We have gone to this small tour/private option since the pandemic hit. We are done with even mini buses full of people. We also have done Tours By Locals splitting the cost with another couple (from our Roll Call).

I second this opinion. They are excellent.

It is possible that it makes sense from a bridge engineering point of view looking at the bedrock, currents, access, etc. Who knows but the experts. They built the new Tappan Zee Bridge (now Gov Mario Cuomo Bridge) next to the old one, which was then removed.

Found this project to increase the clearance of the Suspension Bridge near Savanah, GA to be quite interesting. https://apnews.com/article/savannah-suspension-bridge-georgia-south-carolina-49440d932d0abcff20351a6fac33620d

My DW drinks Pinot Grigio and was satisfied with the selection available using her D+ drink coupons on the ship (Symphony). We did not purchase drink packages.

We ordered the lobster in Murano. Same Caribbean spiny lobster (crawfish) tail. About the size of a large shrimp. Just not worth it even if you order two. The lobster roll in Luminae is mostly salad with a few small pieces of meat. Again not worth it IMO. The only true Maine lobster we have found was on Celebrity Edge (surf & turf) in the Fine Cut a few years ago.

We have booked many S1 Aft corner sky suites- never had soot. For those that did, I believe you, but how do you know it was actually smoke-stack soot and not some other type of outside dirt? Just curious.

Yeah the dinosaurs did not have insurance either. Life is unfair.

True lobsters have claws like the ones in New England and Canada. The Spiny or Caribbean warm water "lobsters" served on cruises do not have claws and are actually classified in the crawfish family, not the lobster family. But would people get excited if they called it Crawfish Night?😄

Yes good comment! It is important to check the required voltages for devices you are plugging in. Many are 110/220 but some are 110 only.

A trick we have used for years. We take an empty spray bottle and a few dryer sheets like Bounce. Once on board add water and a dryer sheet to the spray bottle. Instant wrinkle release spray. It really works!

I never knew that there was a proper method to fill a cone with Soft Serve. Thanks!

On our recent cruise, some restaurants (like Hooked) did not honor the BOGO even on night 1 or 2.