cruisegirl1

Great advice that I forward to following on our next cruise. M

Suggest to your friend that they ask for extra towels at the daily cleaning. That was they won't need clean towels later. The ice seems to last till the next day, so that is not an issue. They do enter the cabin more than once a day. We've had the room serviced in the morning, but clean laundry delivered in the evening. The once a day cleaning was not/is not a problem. Easy to adjust. M

Prefer the coffee bar over the D lounge. On some ships the lounge does not have decaf so I am forced to use/pay the coffee bar. (Or the machine is broken). I never use all my vouchers, so using one at the coffee bar actually SAVES me $5 I would have to pay for coffee. No everyone wants to use the vouchers for alcohol. M

It's not a $14 coffee or water. It is a free cocktail/beer/coffee/water/soda whatever using the daily voucher. If a person wants a beer which is less than $14, are they using a voucher to have a drink of choice or are the having a $14 beer? I say they are using the voucher for a drink of choice. For those who think they will use the voucher for 4 alcohol drinks, obviously it makes sense to use them for the more expensive drinks and pay for the cheaper drinks. For those who never come close to the limit, it doesn't matter. M

I thought I read that about $5 of the $16 daily gratuity goes for the attendant, so I would suggest some amount greater than that per day. Afterall, they have their rooms assignments nearly doubled for the once a day service so in effect they are cleaning an extra cabin if they clean a cabin twice. Then, they may be breaking some sort of in-house protocol so something even more in case they get in trouble. Not sure what price to put on someone's livelihood. JS and up still get twice a day cabin service. M

I order most EVERYTHING without any sauce, gravy or dressing. Occasionally I ask for the sauce on the side particularly if I order a fish dish. I generally use Balsamic vinegar on salad. It has been and still is NO PROBLEM. I don't coordinate this with any dining staff, I simply add "no gravy" (or whatever) when ordering the meal. If dining in a specialty restaurant I ask the staff to request to the chef that no additional salt be added to meal. Many of these items are cooked to order and the request is no problem. (I find the steaks in Chops to be salty otherwise) I find no difference in a cruise when I drink tap water VS bottled water, probably because most of the sodium I consume comes from the food preparation. I cruise often and know which foods they prepare are too salty for me. I just avoid those foods. Edit to add - my experience is for a preferred lower salt diet, not a medically prescribed low/no salt diet. If you must follow a low/no salt diet, I would fill out the proper special services forms and then coordinate meals with the staff. M

Fair. m

Why does it matter how someone wants to use their daily vouchers. m

There is a coffee machine that will make some specialty coffees in the diamond lounge. That is complementary to diamond members (and up), and you do not need to use the voucher. On Harmony, the café promenade has a complimentary coffee station with coffee/decaf/tea, etc. If you want a specialty coffee from that area ( Including non-alcoholic), you will be charged one of your daily drink vouchers. You can also order a pot of coffee from room service. Coffee/continental breakfast is complimentary. Consider a gratuity to the delivery person. BTW-when was the last time you sailed on a Royal Caribbean ship? Enjoy your family trip. m

Children don’t get the points, they just get the status. And once they reach 18 and keep the status, they still only have their points. So they might be D or D+ with seven points. Then as pointed out, their new spouse becomes diamond/diamond plus as well, and then so do their children. So you now have a family receiving D/D plus benefits for their entire life after perhaps being on one cruise. And, of course, that long as the system doesn’t change, that process gets passed down. Crazy! I don’t blame anyone for having the system work for them, I blame the system. Those who actually cruised and reached the category have benefits watered down or reduced because there are simply too many people who perhaps took one cruise, but are eligible for the benefits. i’m not sure that Royal Caribbean will ever do anything, why should they? Seems that having a vibrant loyalty program is the dream of most companies. m

If you really want to reduce anxiety and know that you can easily return to the US in an emergency, consider passports. M

The benefits have changed from years ago and I'm sure we will continue to see more changes. Since you say you like suite/CK access, that is easy to accomplish, regardless of C&A level. Enjoy cruising. M

That is a high number. m

There is some specific guidance, but I don’t know what it is. I do know that it is different amounts on different ship classes. Lower on smaller ships. Thought we had around 80-90 when we were limited to two CK dinners and no lounge access. The flaw in the process is that all pinnacles are counted to determine the cut off, even those who are already in a suite. So of the 80 pinnacles, some number (?) are in a suite so the net additional guests in the lounge is really fewer people. That is not considered when the limit number is decided. m

I’ve never seen that drastic reduction to one lunch and one dinner and had not heard about that from other pages or social media sites. I know that the Pres cruise has a set of P benefits/restrictions just for that cruise. Thx for the heads up. We are booked for the UDP on our next O class cruise. m

Pinnacles ( and D+ 525 ) still get three gifts ( from the same list) to pre select. They need not be wine and sometimes are delivered during the week, rather than all three delivered on embarkation day. The meal ( not with an officer) and top tier info will be delivered to the cabin. There is lovely luncheon, sometimes just P's and other times with the D+ over 350 group. You are greeted by an officer, but in my recent experience, they do not eat at the luncheon. Pinnacle members are not guaranteed access to the SL Coastal Kitchen. The past few cruises we were able to dine in CK just two evenings. (Others dined more often - seems the squeaky wheel....) Lunch is on an availably basis ( Come at lunch time and we'll tell you if you can be seated) and breakfast is not allowed (Nice breakfast available a specialty restaurant, usually Chops). No access to the SL but an evening cocktail event for Pinnacles- Need to use a voucher for a drink. M

That was my understanding as well. A previous posted mentioned that they had vouchers on Celebrity. What you posted is what I recall from my recent Celebrity cruises. Thx M

I rarely hear them announce total passenger count at the top tier, I wish they would. I like to see the % of total passengers who are part of C&A. To make an educated guess, Jewel capacity is often listed as 2,110 (Double occupancy), and ships are sailing close to capacity. M

Interesting. Never had a drink voucher on any Celebrity cruise. (But, have not sailed Celebrity since the return to sailing). Haven't read of vouchers (or maybe I missed it ) on the Celebrity boards. Seems you had a unique experience. Like a mini drink package. How many vouchers did you get per day? Were they good all day, not just cocktail time? Were they available for use every day? Thanks. M

YES - There is a MTD line for those without reservations, just get in that line. And/or - head to the dining room when you board and speak with the Maitre'd about a time change. M

70s party and 80s party. m

FYI-Pinnacles do not generally get free happy hour in the suite lounge, unless they are booked in a suite. Often Ps (not in a suite) are excluded from the lounge. If they do have suite access, daily vouchers are to be used. Occasionally a bar tender will not charge a voucher, but that is not the official policy. m

We sailed Jewel last year the week prior to Christmas. Jewel is not traditionally a ship with lots of kids. Cruise was PACKED with kids/families. Many US public schools begin winter break on December 15 this year. m

Ship will be PACKED with families/children that week. If you don't want kinds, pick another week. M

I thought you were serious. 😀 In any case, the coffee shops makes me a great cup of decaf specialty hot coffee/Frappuccinos etc. I even live on the edge and sometimes have a shot of alcohol added.