Mum2Mercury

Several options ... they aren't gift cards, but neither do they require smart phones. - Ask her booking number, call the Royal info number and book a Refreshment Package for her. This'll give her unlimited non-alcoholic beverages for the whole cruise. - Consider how many drinks she's likely to drink -- it's safe to assume $7-8 for non-alcoholic mocktails. Call the Royal info number and purchase her X amount in On Board Credit. - Give her X amount in cash and tell her to hand it over to the people at Guest Services. It'll be credited towards her final expenses. (Didn't mean that to sound like it's for her funeral.)

Oh, yes, we experienced this in Cozumel last fall. We left the ship in lovely weather, but we returned to the ship soaked to the bone, and -- after changing clothes -- we went to Windjammer for a snack and took the most magnificent pictures of the storm clouds off in the horizon. Well, that's kinda true of any beach. Agree!

I'm with you. First because the cabanas are just so expensive, and I don't see a lot of value in them. Second because you can't know what the weather'll be like.

As much as I like Coco Cay, if it were chilly and rainy, I'd stay on the ship.

They must have a very small quantity of rooms left. Have you considered other room types? I've personally never seen the appeal of OceanVIew -- it lacks the low price of Inside, and it lacks the obvious positives of a balcony. I see OceanView as the red-headed stepchild of the cruising family. For that price, I'd expect something nicer than an OceanView. Yeah, we went on a holiday once (happened to be Thanksgiving), and we're done with that. The price was high, and the ship was crowded. They're trying to squeeze out a few more dollars with Royal Up. Its to their financial advantage to wait until the last couple weeks.

Two thoughts: - Don't forget to add 18% mandatory tip to the cost of the drink package. - Know that when you order the drink package, you'll need to pay for it (in full) THAT DAY. That is, it isn't added to the cost of your cruise to be paid off a month or two ahead of time.

I've made dining reservations more than a year in advance. Shows and entertainment don't appear as early. Are show reservations NEEDED? Maybe, maybe not. We only cruise in the fall, when crowds are smaller, and we've never been unable to get a seat. Might not be the same in June. Reservations are more important for smaller shows (comedy show, for example) and on larger ships.

Note that Royal Caribbean is the company. Crown & Anchor is one office within the company. Whoever Molly is, she has a boss at Royal Caribbean. You have my sympathy because we are never going to Nassau again. Never. But you don't have a valid complaint; as other people have stated, the company is within its rights to opt for another island, if they believe it's safer for whatever reason.

We always go with My Time Dining. About a year ago we took a last-minute bargain cruise and were forced to take Traditional Dining ... it was okay, but it reminded us why we prefer My Time. Best practice is to make reservations (in the phone app) as soon as you reserve your cruise ... then change the time, if you want, later. Most people want the earlier time slots, and they do fill up. If you arrive a bit early /a bit late for My Time reservations, they'll work with you ... but if you don't have reservations, you'll wait.

And you're a pregnant, elderly parapalegic. (Reference to the article) I kinda saw someone denied once. It was either in Aruba or Curacau. When security scanned the ID of the woman directly ahead of me, lights flashed and a buzzer sounded. The security guard said politely, "M'am, you are attempting to board EXPLORER of the Seas. You are a passenger on ADVENTURE of the Seas, which is docked right over there", and he pointed. We weren't even close to sail-away, but she screamed and ran down the gangplank. Payment for placement is a quiet, behind-the-scenes business. It's kinda a big thing in grocery stores. Name brands can pay for their products to be placed at eye level (or on the end-aisles). I'd never considered that cruise companies might be paying for better dock spaces, but I do believe it.

Yes. The customer service rep will make you wait while he or she "checks with a supervisor", but they'll allow you to book one Deluxe + one Refreshment. Three thoughts: - If you book now and the price goes down, you can always call in for a price match. - The best prices are likely to come around Thanksgiving -- last year's prices were good, but that's in no way a promise. You well know that prices (not just on cruises) are changing so quickly these days. - Definitely do the math and verify whether this package is a good value for your personal habits. You have to drink a good bit to "break even".

I don't care for the Coco Cay pool. Too loud for my taste, but clearly a lot of other people love it. Yes, I mean individually-purchased drinks run about $1 more on Coco Cay. When it comes to Coco Cay, I see a glass with one sip taken out. Well, with the cost of the drink packages, RC can afford to take on that bit tax from one day's drinks.

I would pay $20-25 ONLY IF I were traveling in winter and wanted the heated pool. The rest of the island provides ample seating and beach space. No need to pay.

I'd like to hear too. We spend very little in up-charges, and we don't feel slighted.

I could've said all of this ... except that we don't get the drink package: - Drinks cost about $1 more than they do on the ship; something about VAT. - We enjoy the food on Coco Cay. The one problem is that birds want to share! Since you're traveling with family, definitely plan to have one person stay at the table while others go to refill drinks or get dessert. - I have a spring-edged floating mat that I've had for more than a decade ... works great. - I use cruisemapper.com to see what ships will be sharing with us. Yes, we aim to be among the first to leave the ship, and we head straight to our chosen beach. Seats are plentiful. Seats are arranged in sets of 2 + small table and umbrella OR sets of 4 + small table and umbrella. If you don't get off early, you'll still get a seat; it just may not be an ocean-front seat. If you want total shade, try the hammocks under the palm trees just past the entry bridge /to the left.

I don't remember "welcome baskets" with razors, lotion, etc. And I've been here a looong time. Expect in a standard Royal Caribbean cabin: - A safe - A TV - A large container of all-in-one shower product. It's fine body wash, and it's good for washing out a blouse in the sink, but ladies will want their own shampoo. And conditioner. - A bar of soap at the sink. - Plenty of towels and washcloths - A blow dryer at the dresser /desk, which I find perfectly acceptable. - Kleenex and toilet paper - Life jackets - A small cooler (looks like a refrigerator but isn't really a refrigerator) - Forms for ordering room service breakfast Things you can request from your cabin steward: - Extra blankets or pillows - Bath robes Things you might be used to finding in hotel rooms that you'll NOT FIND in a Royal Caribbean cabin: - Memo paper and pen - Lotion - Coffee pot and supplies

Yeah, when a high school students fails my class, I have little sympathy. By the time that failing grade is written in permanent marker, I've warned the student, offered help, warned about absences, called parents, contacted guidance counselors and administrators. I don't really feel sorry for them. They're in a bad place, but they've made multiple bad choices to get themselves into that situation. I don't dance around singing, "Whoo-hoo, Johnny's going to summer school!"

I've seen the Harbor Pilot come /go from the ship. That's something only a young, healthy person can do, and -- if the article is truthful, which is never a sure thing -- this group was far from young and healthy. What did the article say? Four elderly, one quadrapalegic, one pregnant woman? Seems like an unlikely number of medical issues for a group of nine. Nor have I. With the media being what is is, we don't know much for sure.

I remember your story, and I believe every word of it -- you have no reason to lie to us. Two take-aways are: Keep your group together and allow plenty of buffer time to return to the ship. You make some fair points here. Ship excursions vs. private excursions isn't about the extra cost (which is usually more than a few dollars). It's about private excursions being a superior product: smaller groups, more control over what you want to do, more motivated tour guides. The cruise lines have really sold a line of bull to a lot of people about "the danger of missing the ship" if you take a private excursion. Most private excursions meet in the morning and get you back to the ship in the early afternoon, leaving you 4-5 hours of buffer time. And ship excursions don't promise to verify that you personally are on the ship; they just promise the excursion will return to the dock on time; if you drink or shop the couple extra hours away, the ship'll leave you. Hmm, sounds like an interesting story.

Nope, nope, I'm on my second Kindle (I squeezed every ounce of good out of the first one), and I strongly prefer it -- for most applications -- over DTBooks. I don't particularly enjoy collecting books, and the idea of "the feel of a book in my hands" doesn't resonate with me -- I like reading, not necessarily books. My thoughts: - When I read book-books, I never had enough bookshelves -- piles of books all over the house! Now I've given away the majority of my paper books and have literally thousands on my Kindle. When I was a kid, my dad added extra support under our house because he was afraid our books were too heavy. Now I can lift all those books in one hand. My Kindle books don't grow old and yellow, nor do they deteriorate or need dusting. - I remember my last pre-Kindle vacation: I brought two big, fat books with me. The first one I loved and devoured in days. The second was a stinker, and then I was left without anything new to read. That never happens to me now. - I can "borrow" electronic books from multiple sources ... just like checking out a library book, except I don't have to go to the library (or return the books ... they automatically return at the end of the time frame). Some books can be "lent" electronically to friends. - I constantly get free books from Amazon. Not all of them are winners, but I keep picking them up. I just delete the ones I don't like. - My Kindle books are easy to find (no searching through multiple bookcases), as I have them neatly divided into search-able categories. They're also marked read /unread. - My Kindle automatically bookmarks my pages. If I leave the book (or fall asleep), the Kindle "remembers" where I stopped reading. - My Kindle weighs next-to-nothing. It's easier to hold than a big, fat book -- nice when you read away a whole rainy afternoon. And you know that when you're in the first few /last few pages of a big book, a real book wants to "close" instead of staying open. - I can increase the size of the font, which is especially nice late at night when my eyes are tired. - I love the dictionary feature. By touching a word, I can see a definition instantly. I already had a pretty good vocabulary, but this feature has improved it. However, a Kindle is not good for all applications: - I don't like the Kindle for my toddler grandson's books. He likes color and pictures, and that's just not the Kindle's jam. - I don't like Kindle cookbooks, as the recipe doesn't always appear fully on one page. - I don't like textbooks or non-fiction (like gardening books) because so often they have images or side-bars that end up being pushed to another page. - I don't like the Bible on the Kindle. When the preacher says, "Turn to this verse", it takes too long to move between chapters and verses. This isn't an issue when you're reading a novel and just clicking straight through from page 1 to page last.

- I loathe the idea of wearing a lanyard around the ship, but I can see the point in wearing one for boarding -- would keep the boarding pass, passport, etc. handy. - We have a paper template we've created /tweaked over the years that keeps us organized during a cruise. We type in /print our dinner reservations and shore plans, and once we're onboard we write in shows, etc. that we want to see. A magnetic hook keeps it on the wall. When we "returned to cruising" I was worried about carrying food /drinks because my husband has some mobility issues -- but it hasn't been a problem. Consider it's easy to get a tray from Room Service. I couldn't do without my Kindle! I love that I have several thousand books at my disposal; and, as long as the wifi is turned off, it stays charged several weeks (even with heavy use). Do not assume you'll find something you like in the ship's library -- it's basically 20-30 paperbacks left by previous passengers. Yes, the one place I don't skimp is my OTC meds bag. Instead of bringing a basin, why not use the sink? I've only cared about closing the curtains securely in a Promenade Room, and they have velcro closures -- maybe all ship curtains do?

You're not risking a terrible room. We almost always go with Guarantees, and we have always been happy with our room. We usually land midship on Deck 6, as most people prefer higher decks. It's become our favorite deck ... convenient to the Promenade, the theater and the dining room, and (if you have a balcony) closest to the water. However, your chances of getting the same room on both legs of your B2B are pretty close to zero. I'd hate the moving, but the savings are real. We've always received our room numbers shortly after Check-in opens -- maybe around the 30 day mark. You know the bar-code trick? Once you have your Boarding Pass, use your phone to scan the bar code, and it may show your room number before Royal shares it with you officially.

So is this a short cruise? If so, you'll find dress will be more informal. And the issue is suitcase space? Or that you'll be washing clothes but hope to use the same items in Disney and on the ship? Are you driving to Florida? If so, could you pack one suitcase for Disney /a second for the cruise -- and leave one suitcase in the car? Florida ports. To expand upon what I typically see: - On a regular evening, most ladies tend to wear casual sundresses or dress pants /dressy blouses -- things that wouldn't be out of place in a typical office. Capris seem to have disappeared. - On formal night, maybe 1/3 of the ladies wear cocktail dresses (more short than long). Fewer will wear dressy pants. Most will wear the same type of things they wore on regular evenings. - On a regular evening, most men wear dress pants or nice jeans paired with polos or button-down shirts. A few men will wear shorts, but they are in the minority -- most of the shorts are on boys. - On formal night, a few men will wear suits or suit jackets, but most will wear the same things they wore on regular evenings -- perhaps with fewer jeans and more dress pants. The overall vibe is casual /resort-casual. Shorts-but-not-sloppy. With the exception of a handful of surly teens, you won't see a lot of athleti-leisure in the dining room; that is, you'll see some men in shorts, but they'll be nice shorts paired with polos or button-downs, not Nike basketball shorts paired with tank tops. In general, this board tends to say, "Anything goes!" and that's an exaggeration -- MDR diners don't dress like my high school students in PJ pants and stretchy shorts. If you choose to dress up, you won't be alone. If you choose to dress casually /middle-of-the-road, you'll be in the majority.

Yes, this. I wouldn't be happy, but I could walk away from my cruise ticket cost -- but I do want medical and evacuation coverage. I bought JUST this coverage recently for my husband and myself for about $50.

At 9 and 12 I personally would look at this as an opportunity to experience dressing up -- something young boys don't do often. I'd look at it as an opportunity for them to feel pride in looking nice /in making an effort. However, they won't be turned away from the dining room in shorts and sneakers. They should opt for nicer shorts and maybe polos rather than athletic shorts and graphic tees. You'll see a smattering of men /boys in shorts, but you won't see many wearing athleti-leisure. This same picture "makes the rounds" every time this topic comes up. Maybe it's a formal night, maybe it isn't; regardless, this is not typical of the whole dining room on a formal night. In reality most ladies on formal nights wear a knee-length cocktail dress or sundress. A few wear dressy pants and blouses. Most men wear dress pants and a button-down shirt or polo.