cruiseguy1016

There is a lot of debate on this subject in several other threads. RCI raised the daily gratuities of which the cabin stewards receive a portion and they also cut cabin service to once a day. The stewards are cleaning more cabins so the amount of time they spend cleaning is theoretically the same, but we (you, I and everyone else that pays gratuities) are paying more money and receiving less service.

I am fairly certain that yes, they hold back a percentage of spots that can be booked on board. Once on board you'll want to get to the Shore Excursions desk ASAP to book the excursion you want. If the excursion is "selling out" before boarding, it means that it's a popular excursion and the remaining spots will sell out fast on board.

You can check in at midnight for the port your ship will depart from.

I learned something new today. As I stated, every oceanview room that I've stayed in has had the bed under the window. I just assumed they had to be that way for some reason. I always thought it was a lousy layout because it was difficult to look out the window. We have "graduated" to balcony cabins so we don't stay in oceanviews much anymore. We stayed in one last year on a very port-intensive itinerary (the bed was under the window) and we decided that would be our last oceanview.

I think you need to try the above steps again. I will add a step though. Open the app and click on the little person at the top of the screen then follow the steps listed. Make sure you follow the steps exactly, some scrolling is required to find the right tab to click on. When you have found the Mariner cruises, click on the current sailing (or the next one which is 7 days) then click on the daily planner.

I've stayed in many oceanview cabins on RCI ships and in every one of them, the bed has been under the window. I've never seen one 90° to the window.

Go into the RCI app and search the current sailing. It will show you everything that's going on.

Look at the price on the RCI web site and then ask the TA what his/her price is.

Are you, or are you not Elite with Celebrity? If you are already, or when you become Elite with Celebrity, you are or will become Diamond with RCI. Their loyalty programs are reciprocal.

If you read the fine print (it's not really fine, it's the same size as everything else), it says "Please arrive with your entire party". If your reservations are linked, then your family is part of your entire party.

If you are Diamond, your husband should be too. If he's not, call C&A now and get him linked to you so that he is Diamond also. All Diamond members receive 4 drinks per person per day.

Deck 4 (I think) is the deck that runs all the way around the ship and one side - usually the port side - is the smoking side. There are lounge chairs and ash trays out there. It's a great spot to relax with a cigar.

These two items are great reasons to invest in the package. If you want something to drink, order it without worrying about the cost because it's already paid for. Then, if you don't like what you ordered, don't drink it, don't feel bad about not drinking it and don't feel bad about ordering something different.

Print a copy of any paperwork you have right now shows that the packages have been purchased. Bring that printed paperwork with you in case something does happen. The paperwork might come in handy trying to resolve any issues that might arise once you board the ship.

If you are Elite with Celebrity, then you are already Diamond with RCI. Their rewards programs have reciprocity with each other and Elite on Celebrity equates to Diamond on RCI and vise-verse.

We walked off with our luggage a couple years ago and were sitting at our gate at 7:40. We have TSA precheck so that helped a little but realistically it probably only saved us 10 minutes. If things (docking, clearing customs etc.) go according to schedule, you'll have no problem with a 10:30 flight.

This is also the way that I do it. My wife and I are Diamond so we get one day each. We can spread our internet availability over 4 days.

Maybe they should rename the ship to Weightloss of the Seas. If you can't eat, you'll surely be able to finally lose some weight on a cruise.

Thank you for posting this. We'll be there in 4 weeks. The picture of the white bus with the red stripes, is that the bus for the tour?

That would be the case yes, provided you originally booked a JS. If you booked something less and then won a Royal Up bid to a JS, you would not receive the double points.

All the money you had to pay to be on that ship and they thought it was appropriate to give you a Rice Krispie treat? Wow! I hope that doesn't force them into bankruptcy.

8 years after the previous post?!? How the hell did you even find this thread?

And to add to all the confusion, let's say you have 100 points with RCI and you've never cruised with Celebrity, that means you are Diamond with RCI. Your Diamond status will convert to Elite on Celebrity. Now, you take a cruise with Celebrity and earn 14 points. You will now have 14 points with Celebrity but still only have 100 with RCI. The points don't transfer, only the status.

I've given up also. I tried to upload photos for several cruises and they are always rejected, including ones that were accepted for my passport renewal. I just let them take it at the pier, it literally takes seconds.

Is that $150 - $200 on top of the auto gratuities that are charged to your account? Some basic math, I know the numbers aren't exact. The room steward receives about $50 - $ 60 from the auto gratuities. If you aren't paying auto gratuities, your $150 - $200 is tripling their usual compensation. If your $150 - $200 is on top off auto gratuities, you are quadrupling it.