Ret MP

Too funny but so true!

In more than 30 years of using social media, I have never NEVER blocked or taped the "Ignore" button. That's like putting a bandaid on a crashed car. Behavioral changes must be made, not ignored. I'm glad and I'm sure many people were glad I didn't tap the "ignore" button while I was in Law Enforcement.

Your pride is oozing out and should be. My daughters did the same, both worked and fought their way to success without mom & dad's financial help (one with a 4-year degree (in finance) and the other at OJT/tech school as an EEG Tech, and her daughter following in her footsteps). We sure were cheerleaders for them though. Happy for ya!

I totally agree and I wish far more than you can imagine that I didn't have this Albatros around my neck. I wish he'd just go away. I can only point out his obvious stalking and hope the Mods notice. I do apologize for his actions as they do revolve around me, for some reason.

That was a small issue for us on Ovation, Star Loft Suit. But, it was just an inconvenience, we just didn't sit on that balcony.

Star class as you stated but much more, tangibles and intangibles. Your suite is stocked every day, all day with non-alcoholic drinks and beer, no limit. The suite is stocked on regular bases or as needed with cold cuts. sandwiches, cakes, ice cream sundae bar, finger foods, pizza, meals from whatever restaurant you want. All handled by the Genie. Some of the intangibles: Priority access to almost every activity, and reserved seating in almost all activities, shows, and events. Genie is always there to sort out any and all issues that may arise. Escort to events, shows, and off the ship at ports of call. Need to do something with the Customer Service desk, Genie will take care of it. Genie will meet you upon embarkation day in front of the terminal with a ship's porter, not a port porter, who takes your luggage directly to your suite after security. That is done while your Genie escorts you to your suit and giving a little tour of the ship. Your suit and luggage are waiting on you when you first get on the ship and several welcome fruit plates (including chocolate cover strawberries), cold cut plates, and whatever you specifically asked for to be there. And so so so much more. Every Genie we've had so far gave every member of our party a fairly decent gift, not just a key chain type thing. On Symphony each of us got one of those ceramic models of the ship. Can't remember the others right now. And, from what we've experienced, the word NO isn't spoken by a crew member, that would be handled by the Genie, but they are there to say yes.

And a loud, Neeeeeneeeeer neeeeeneeeeer neeeeeeeneeeeer

While I'm not trying to say you are wrong, argue, or anything else, I think that is a matter of perspective and very subjective. What's worth it for me may not be worth it for you. Star Class, on occasion, is well, and I do mean well worth it to us. Why? Well many reasons. But, the big one is I feel my wife deserves the luxury every now and then. She raised two very good kids basically by herself while I was out playing in the woods while in the Amy for over 20 years. She sacrificed a lot for this family. When we go on land based vacations, she never stops working for us/me. So, Star it is when we can afford it. BTW, RCCL isn't making it any easier to afford these days. The price is getting crazy, seriously crazy.

Just my experience: We cruise on average, once a year because we didn't cruise for a year or two before the COVID debacle. We try to cruise Star Class every other cruise. I'm only a retired soldier, retired from an electric utility company, and have a small 401K that I don't touch. How do we do it with limited resources like that? We cruise as a group in the same suite as the suite can hold. For example: On our Symphony cruise back in 2018 or 2019 we had 13 people total in the 4-bedroom Family Villa, which holds up to 14. The cost of the cruise was a little north of $32,000.00. Divide that by 13, it is about $2,500 per person. So, for my wife and I, we paid about 5k. Throw in ALL the amenities that are included, and we use all of them, it's not a bad price. More expensive than a balcony cabin, yes. But, add it all up, including the amenities that you don't pay extra for, and it isn't way too much more. Now, when it is just my wife and I, we cruise in a balcony cabin and don't buy an alcohol package, meal packages, and so on. We do the Refreshment Package as we drink a lot of the JR shakes and I like a lot of sparking water. We may go to Chop's on our own dime, once per non-Star Cruise. Star cruises are usually booked between 1.5 to 2 years out, plenty of time to save up. Non-Star cruises are usually spontaneous. Oh, and we live well below our means.

Personally, I wouldn't want it any other way. Amongst the tangled web, often we can find some important/educational value posts/comments even if off-topic.

Probably very true now! I don't know if this info is still current but on this site or the other ......blog site, many people said that they have had luck going to the Casino, I think it was, and they will punch the card even if other locations won't. Could be very outdated now. But, why not check!

Avoid any ship that has CATS on it. LOL and JMHO

That's a Harmony cabin. But, I bet they are almost identical.

https://www.lindbladcruises.com/cm/cruise-ships-deckplans-cabin-detail.php?Cabin=11725&DeckID=8299&WMPHShipCode=597&CatCode=2I

It can be punched if you know where to punch it at. I take my own in case the crew won't do it for me. Side note: I hope Ovation has gotten a better stock of cards. Mine back in May kept delaminating, I went through 3 of them. That's three additional and otherwise unnecessary trips and waiting in line at the "Customer Service" desk.

And this is, probably one of them! I cruised on her with a party of 12 others, family, and a very close couple, pre-COVID. We all stayed in the 4 bedroom Family Villa. As I've said in past posts, Symphony is my favorite ship. Can't pin it down other than it was my best cruise experience ever. I don't think I stopped smiling, laughing, and drinking throughout the whole 7 days. Once I finish cruising the rest of the Oasis Class ships (Harmony in January and who know what else after that) and whatever is coming up, I plan on cruising her again. So far, I haven't cruised the same ship twice on any cruise line, but Symphony is potentially the first.

Exactly! Just a little twist on that, though: I believe that the talking head at corp., come up with all these feel-good policies, packages, plans, and whatever and tells their less-than-fully competent IT to "get'er done". NOTE: When I say, "less than fully competent", I'm not sure if it is because the people don't have the skills or don't have the capable equipment, and/or a combination of both. I just don't know.

Okay, a minor mea culpa. I said I would admit to my mistakes and I'd do it humbly. After waking up with a fresh mind and spirit, I went back and looked at every post since post 180 and I've read and reread the policy. What I think I got wrong was losing the "TIER/STATUS". I now agree and realize where I went wrong, that if you were granted a certain "TIER/STATUS" prior to reaching 18, you keep that status post 18, but every "TIER/STATUS" post 18 must be earned with actual points earned. Where I got confused and/or got conflated was that after you reach 18 and you wrongly got upgraded to a higher "TIER/STATUS", that "TIER/STATUS" would be removed and the "TIER/STATUS" would return to the pre-18 status. So, a big sorry for being so bullheaded and possibly leading someone astray!

I can imagine it's a very difficult task to juggle all the specialty restaurants and all the different options/dining packages offered to all the guests/cruisers. But, it's self-imposed by RCCL and they need to get a handle on it. If I purchase a package, of which there are many, and they didn't tell me that one or more venues, say Chops, were booked solid (yes, I understand what you said above, it may only be full on a certain date and/or time), and didn't tell me about it up front, I'd be pissed (for what that's worth). They are filling a 5-pound bag with 10 pounds of options.

When I was there last, there were "porters" or MAFIA members on the first up ramp, but on a level section, if I remember correctly, going into the garage. That was many years ago, pre-COVID, not long after the opening of the new terminal. I'm not sure how it works today. However, " porters " were everywhere, not just in the garage.

Yep, they do, all of the above, well not EMT. Thanks

This makes me wonder, if a person wants to purchase the UDP but the Chops+1 is closed off, supposedly because it is booked full, does that make the UDP invalid, at least for Chops? And would RCCL let you know that Chops is booked/full before purchasing the UDP?

The early bird gets the worm. I believe you said you have a 2:00 PM arrival time. The best parking will be taken, can't say for sure, but Garage, which is the most convenient parking, will probably be full. If it is, you'll have to use the surface parking. EDITED IN: Sorry, don't mean for it to sound like you'll be denied parking, that ain't gonna happen. You'll get parking!

If it goes off at that time, no problem.

Keep an eye on NASA launches. Traffic around the port can get bad on the day of a scheduled launch or a rescheduled launch. Try to arrive accordingly. I'm close enough to drive in on the same day as debarkation, but I always arrive a day early and stay in a hotel the night before. AND I don't want my arrival time to be too late as the parking can be an issue. My last cruise in Oct/Nov last year had a launch scheduled on our embarkation date. Fortunately, it go scrubbed, the night before and all was well. But, there was still a lot of traffic but not bad.