HappyTexan44

That would make sense to have it done ahead of time. Each cabin could have a printout of their special requests and that could be handled during the change-over cabin clean. They'd even be removing the extension cords from rooms that don't need them anymore, so then they could just use them right away in another cabin. I've read lots of people say here that their pre-boarding special requests were ignored. Note, I still plan do those special requests pre-boarding. Seems to me that if I wait until we're onboard to request for example CPAP stuff they would be allowed to say, "We are out. Too bad, so sad." But, if I requested it ahead of time I could point out that I requested it ahead of time and they need to find one. The cruise for us AND the cabins on either side would be ruined if he didn't have his CPAP.

Someone could be tossed overboard deliberately. Murderer could then scan their seapass card.

I think that "I found something to eat every night" is not an endorsement. That is what I say when we go a restaurant I don't like, but we go because DH or DD really like it.

I had to ask. It was 10.

And it used to be that only the upper middle class cruised. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, and while some parents cruised it was a Big Deal and certainly not something they did every year. I never knew a kid that was taken along. But, there seems to be a lot more cruise ships now. They'll have empty spaces unless they expand the market some other way. Which means prices will have to come down. An interesting idea might be for them to say, "The price is $$$ and it comes with $$ spending credits." Sort of like cheap comedy club tickets that came with a two drink minimum.

When my friend brought them home from Disney, I was spending 50% of my nights in hotel rooms for work. There are internet instructions on how to find bed bugs. They bite people sleeping in the bed, and then go hide during the day. Headboard as mentioned earlier and near there are prime spots. Also, on the edges of the mattress and box springs are those ... I don't remember what they're called, but move those around and look on the underside. And, yes, the black light does show you disgusting things. Which is why the very first thing I do is to use two fingers to put the bedspread(s) in a corner and then wash my hands. At least in hotel rooms, they aren't cleaned (I don't know about cruises). Think about what happens in hotel rooms. Stuff you see on the walls you can mostly forget,

Think about the definition of nickel and diming. After all, it isn't "ten dollars and twenty dollars." It means getting small amounts here and there.

Don't bring your luggage in until you check. Turn off the lights as much as possible and look for tiny brown lines around the bed. They are like ants following a track and the brown is dried blood. I have a tiny blacklight flashlight about the size of my thumb. I use that to look for them in the places they can hide in the edges of the mattress. They'll be bright spots. Look in the drawers with the blacklight. If you don't have a blacklight with you, #1 - #2 should most likely be good. I'm a gadget gal, so I think its cool to have an excuse for another gadget. I have a friend that brought them home from Disney. You can get them anywhere since the person before you might have brought them. She spent months and $XXXX to get rid of them at her home.

Someone joked about an ice cream package. But, I would totally get that for the girls. DD's friend that is going with us told her about the max number of ice cream cones she ate in one day on a cruise. DD wants to beat the number. I think this was with free pool-side self-serve

I guess I should say I've only noticed when it was something important. Things I know have been left, My High school Class ring, possibly there have been two rings. One of DD's stuffed animals that was loved and a part of a set. A book I was in the middle of reading, This sort of applies, since it was me hustling everyone to the car, my Dad's favorite pillow. We were coming back from my Grandfather's funeral and we'd spent the night. Wake up to hear that an ice storm is on the way. It was right before Thanksgiving and I said, " I am NOT spending Thanksgiving in (podunk town halfway between DFW and MSP)"

And now they think that some of the paralysis cases attributed to Polio were actually from DDT.

If something is left, it is always something important. We clear a corner of the room, then pile all the hotel's bedding in the corner. All the hotel's towels go in the floor of the shower. That makes it easier to spot our stuff. About 10% of the time we find stuff left by a previous guest. We also triple-check each others work. (Each person does a complete sweep of a cleared room). I'd put myself around 9.2 anal also. Some people might think I'd be more, but I sometimes forget to do a pre-move in bedbug check.

Me, too. I think part of it is that I just hate to drive. Well, driving isn't really the problem, I hate commuting. So, I'd really rather work than commute. And I often work Sat and Sun mornings until the family wakes up.

The photo of the small cruise terminal reminds me of my local DMV. In fact if someone had captioned that "Photo of our new DMV office", I'd have yawned.

Yeah, I recently got a copy of my marriage license and when they handed it to me I thought it was the receipt since it went straight from the printer to my hands. I don't even think it has a watermark. But they assured me it was official.

In the past, I normally didn't get travel insurance. I think maybe once or twice I got it. Now we are older and our parents are older and we have a child. And we are going on a cruise rather than driving within the U.S. Our two major concerns are Medical since we'll be out of the country, and cancelling the trip because something happens with one of our parents. When we bought the cruise I signed up for the Royal Caribbean insurance mainly because that seemed easiest at that point. I thought I'd cancel that if I got something else later. I looked into Allianz annual since technically we have three trips planned for next year. But the other two are driving trips, staying in hotels and if cancelled at worst we'd be out one night's hotel stay. So, it wasn't worth the increased cost. The price is the same whether it is from Allianz or Royal. Does any have a recommendation? Do either of those pay medical directly?

And you know, if I got that deal I'd probably be in such a party mood that they'd get most of their money back in extras I'd buy.

This is a genuine question that I've been wondering. For those that buy the UDP and Deluxe Drink Packages, at that price-point wouldn't a more expensive cruise line that included those things in the base price be cheaper/better? I guess maybe once you get free drinks, other perks maybe people stay with Royal for that.

Or Great Wolf Lodge. Assuming that multiple people would buy the waterpark tickets, even booking a night or two in the middle of winter at a Great Wolf Lodge would be cheaper. Then you'd have a hotel room, and indoor water slides. Or season tickets to a water park if you live somewhere with those.

This is why I love CC. I didn't know that. I'm also one of those people that filters out the droning announcements unless there is a sense of urgency in the voice. Are there clocks around with the right time? I had a similar experience once. I woke the family up very insistently in order to make the free, hot hotel breakfast. Turns out I was an hour off, and they could have slept. We were on the north coast of Indiana. It hadn't occurred to me that going north in the US would change the time zone.

Wait, wha? I thought I read that they stayed on the home port time? I guess that wouldn't work for TA.

I recently hired a programmer. The guy we hired is working out fine, and I think the other 3 people we interviewed would have worked out fine too. Maybe because it was a WFH position after initial training? I love WFH, mainly because I hate and despise driving. So, I'd literally rather work than drive. I'd been initially worried that we wouldn't get any strong candidates because 'no one wants to work' or those that do already having jobs. I can understand though the dangers of security and phones. In fact, I've made my smartphone a bit dim for security.

I don't understand why that is. Not challenging the fact, since I don't know otherwise. but I don't understand. That made sense in places that were paying people to stay home. But, now? What is the logic? I also wonder if the problem is that Royal, and some other places, just isn't paying enough?

@mil76 I love the towel elephant cheering you on. At the moment, I have a family that I adore. But, if I were single, I can totally see myself doing this. I'd even had a retirement plan back when I was single, to not have a house but do 6-month apartment leases around the world.

The slump has already started for Disney World. ----------------- On the general topic of 1x room cleaning, and other cuts. (Background, I am here researching for my starter cruise in Feb) I keep thinking of that 1984 Royal pamphlet someone posted that showed the prices then were basically the same as I am paying for our Feb 2024 cruise. In raw dollars. So, for the prices I paid, I'm willing to put up with 1X cleaning, and I'll bring my own darn chocolates (much better ones from Canada, Mrs. C-something.) But, even if we really liked the cruise, if the prices were 3X what I paid (like they are now), I wouldn't buy. Other note, I strongly suspect that we fit the profile of the customer Royal is trying to tempt. We are in our 50's and have a teen child. We have enough money to take 2-3 vacations a year, and a great many expected able-bodied years ahead of us. The teen causes us to look for vacations with 'stuff to do'.