goldfish65

Agree, it's not busy at all, you can even move a regular sitting chair right alongside the railing and get comfortable and have nothing but the ocean on one side of you!

Helpful and concise especially for someone new to cruising or new to Royal. Thanks!

In retrospect however you end up getting there, you'll really be showing your kids how we did it in the '90's , we drove 16 hours if we had to, and bad attitudes weren't allowed 🙂.

^^^ chafing I bet.

It’s good to see someone so excited, making extra effort to be prepared and see that all generations have fun. I love Grandeur too, even though people emphasize how “old” she is.

I don’t know, how others spend their money is no concern of mine.

Miami has always been rough.

$5-$10 typically. That's not a lot of money. I feel they appreciate any tip, as it's voluntary; they realize no one has to give them anything.

No. I can be on land anytime I want....some of us get a certain sense of peace being out in the ocean....glad I'm not hard to please with food, service, etc. So many of the complaints could be handled on the spot if people knew how to speak up nicely. Cruising is still an amazing value, yes there is not as much crew today....no one whose job is to stand there and fan me, but somehow I'll survive 😀

Just thinking aloud here....with social media, YouTube, etc., if Royal and other lines were really being deceptive with their employee pay structure, wouldn't there be someone bringing it out in the open?

Not too wrinkled, if you use the bags for neatly folded t-shirts, shorts, jeans, socks, sleepwear. Shirts and slacks, etc. you can pack in your normal manner.

They come with a compact pump. A bit more work than using your home vacuum. We bought an extra bag in Barcelona for our shopping, so we had more capacity for our stuff overall, as well, and didn't "recompress" everything.

First experience with vacuum storage bags last year for Barcelona transatlantic. All but dress clothes were able to be compressed; including my favorite plush throw blanket. Only 3 pair of shoes: dress, walking, and knock-around. Made use of laundry onboard for whites mostly.

Agree. Just fyi the 8% formula went away some time ago, at least in my connections with the restaurant industry. It started during the Carter administration I believe. Seen a lot of changes in my 47 years on the job. To the OP, I hope that porter gets a strong reprimand. Personally, right or wrong, I just give the porter cash, say thank you and hopefully avoid any issues with my bags.

Typo in the last paragraph of the letter they sent. Pet peeve because it takes one minute for one person to check for any typos. If they can't do something that simple......

I am intrigued to know just how a package that never existed becomes available for purchase.

Me too but replaced the bagel with the triangular hash brown patties!

Ewww. I wonder if it was a demographic group you can identify. Trying Carnival 8 day Panama Canal from Tampa next year. I think I can adapt; it will be worth it to see the canal and I was invited by friends. We have an aft balcony and the fare was reasonable. I'll miss having tablecloths in the main dining room. One thing I like to do, search YouTube for videos of cruises that were the same itinerary and time of year as the cruise I am considering. For example, there is a Carnival cruise that ports in Charleston; looked at a video and saw a very crowded ship with men in wife-beaters and ladies(?) twerking.

+1 The USA was started because people weren't happy with the establishment where they lived, just saying.

% who remove gratuities on this board is roughly 13%, based on the unscientific poll I started two weeks ago.

Yes, 45 minutes in the afternoon. Put up a double hammock on the balcony. Super easy to find attachment points, packed an extra length of rope, but wasn't needed.

Don't forget to drink a Mudslide while you are there!

My $.02 and I realize this is very presumptuous to say, but your daughter is an adult, let her and her boyfriend go and figure things out for themselves.

It disagrees with my system. And as mentioned earlier, the smell.

Can't blame them really for raising the price, seemed awfully cheap to me before, for the convenience. Cruisers walking around with bottles of water are not spending as much at the bars. They are not a non-profit organization.