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Been many years for me as well but they were told how much they were allowed to spend and anything over they would have to reimburse. Really kept them in check.

Once upon a time it was free (and for a while thereafter C&A members got a free coupon). Problem was that it was nearly impossible to get in much of the time. Even at 3:00 on a port day there would be an hour wait for a table. Teens tended to congregate there all day. Charging drastically cut down on the crowds and, of course, once they realized people were willing to pay, the rest is history.

Yes, I do remember attending when Platinum. There was also a lounge to wait for disembarking that had continental breakfast items that was open to Platinum.

There was a mom of twins who posted frequently on the family boards some years ago. She was a young widow who cruised everywhere with her girls. I believe she used a front to back double stroller rather than a side by side. One thing she strongly advocated was booking private tours, particularly in Europe, so that they could go at their own pace and people on a tour bus would not have to endure a whiny child if one were to get overtired.

Is this the little hole in the wall that also has homemade ice cream? We never made it to dinner that night.

A very long time ago you could get a free cake. Pretty soon everyone was celebrating something just to get the free cake so they wised up and started charging. They are quite good though.

While they allow you to bring wine onboard, they also clearly state that a corkage fee will be charged if consumed in a public place (e.g., dining room or bar). In practice, they usually don’t charge. As to your “solution,” please note that a corkage fee has absolutely nothing to do with who opens the bottle or where it is actually opened - look it up if you don’t believe me.

While I agree that the fee is rarely if ever charged, bear in mind that a corkage fee has absolutely nothing to do with who opens the bottle - as in a regular restaurant it is a fee for bringing your own wine when the establishment also sells it.

In rehab after my hip replacement, they taught us to sit on the edge of the tub and put one leg at a time over. I got pretty good at it but use the stall shower at home. As someone noted, an OS will give you a stall shower as well as a tub.

Fine for small children. Otherwise, not so much.

You can’t rent one ON the ship. You must make advance arrangements with a third party company approved by the cruise line.

One way or another, you are going to have to arrange nursery hours for the little one as s/he is too young for AO in any event. If you want dinner alone you can feed the kids in the windjammer then drop the baby off at the nursery (assuming you can get the time you want) and the older two at AO - then have a late dinner together.

The first time we ate at JR many years ago DH (a devout chocoholic) was horrified to find that they make their chocolate shakes with vanilla ice cream.

Some people just live to complain. Shortly after my late mil moved into a lovely assisted living facility I asked how everything was going. Well, everyone complains about the food. Is it bad? No but the portions are small. Won’t they give you more if you want? Oh, yes, they’ll give you all you want - but everyone complains. Had to shake my head and walk away.