rudeney

Hopefully those are not wifi "repeaters" but actual antennas or even mesh systems. Repeaters do extend the signal, but they cut the speed in half. And if you are unlucky enough to be going through two repeaters, it's halved again, so 25% of max speed. I suspect the cruise ships use antenna arrays and maybe the newer ones have mesh systems. I do know that all the metal in the ship is a real challenge for providing good wifi. I do wish they would provide a hardwired Ethernet jack in the cabins. That way I could either plug-in my laptop or bring my own router to cover the room. I actually used to do this in the early days of hotel Internet service when they did not have wifi.

Life is too short - we always book suites (Grand or Owner's). I know the perks are not really worth the price, especially on the smaller (Freedom/Voyager class) ships that we choose. Regardless, we enjoy the extra space and the benefits of not waiting in lines for boarding, disembarking, tendering, shows, MTD, etc. Eating breakfast in Chops is a much nicer experience and having a reserved section for pool chairs is great, too. It all adds up to a great vacation experience.

Also, once on the ship, he should be able to buy the DBP just for him without you and your wife having to buy it. We did this for our granddaughter on her 21st birthday cruise. My wife and I knew we'd not drink enough to make it worthwhile.

Maybe it's because it's not an actual port where passengers could be disembarked?

Yep, back when I had the Original Recipe COVID in Nov. 2020, I did not run a fever. I had typical cold symptoms. I did have an especially nasty headache, but because of a neurological condition, that is not unusual for me. I did not get tested because of the lack of a fever. I found out when I got an antibody test after losing my sense of taste and smell.

I can see this from two points of view. One is that the cruise industry is going to need time to recover from being shut down. I can be patient with crew that is having to be (re)trained and is short-handed. The other is that the cruise lines are charging prices that reflect ships with fully-staffed with well-trained crew. I want to make sure I appreciate the crew that is trying their best to make my vacation fun, but I also don't want to pay for sub-par service. If I was in the situation where the service and food were this poor, I'd likely be complaining to RCI. I'd make sure to let them know that I was not complaining about specific crew members, but the company's inability to provide the value that I paid for. Call me entitled, but yes, I would expect some sort of compensation. It wouldn't have to be much, but something that shows the company understands there is a problem and wants to make it right.

Congratulations for finishing your treatment and I wish you a long and cancer-free life! I agree with the others - go bald! In fact, get whoever is traveling with you to do it, too! Be proud of your accomplishment, and let it be a shining (pun intended) reminder to all that this is a fight worth fighting and that you are winning!

I have chronic sinus issues, allergies, and a cough from medication I take. I also have food allergies that make me especially congested after eating. Prior to the pandemic, I thought nothing of it, but of course always covered my mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Now, I am very self-conscious about it and always want to explain myself. I guess what I need to do is use my best Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation voice from Kindergarten Cop, proclaim "It's not the COVID!"

Oh, wait! I just checked again! The DBP is now $75pp with a 20% off banner. It's worse than dealing with the timeshare sales people!

Go ahead an buy when the price is right for you. Anything you pre-pay in "Manage My Cruise" can be cancelled and fully refunded up to a few days before you board, so if the price drops, just swap it out. Ignore the "30% off" and other "sale" banners. They are all randomly generated. My cruise has had various banners and the prices go up and down. For example, a few days ago, the DBP was "BOGO 50% OFF" and it was $70 per person, after the discount. Then it was "20% off Onboard prices" but was $75pp. Today it's still $70pp, but no sale banner. As for excursions, some do have limited space. For example, we booked one "ultimate tour" that is limited to 14 guests. I jumped on that on ASAP.

Those "git cards" won't work, either. When they put the hold on them, it still ties up the money on the card. Some of those also take a long time to re-enable funds availability after the merchant has released the hold. This "float" is how they make more money on the gift cards than the initial $4-$5 issuance fee. If this young person could get an actual credit card, that would be better. Maybe a parent could co-sign? A traditional AMEX card might be best so it does not have a revolving balance and may also have a higher credit limit.

Huh? So is this not correct: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-i-have-to-take-a-test-before-i-cruise#united-states

October is great, especially for the Caribbean or Atlantic. It's hurricane season, so prices are lower and it's still quite warm.

But companies in other cultures and countries tend not screw over their customers. Well, unless of course they are owned by the government, but that's a whole 'nother issue.

Yeah, they have that BOGO50% DBP on my cruise, too. It ends up being $70 per-person/per-day with the BOGO50%. That such a better deal than last week when it was "20% Off!" and it was, um...$70 per-person/per-day! 🙄

Thanks for that insight, @Bruin Steve. It's exactly what I assumed was the case with how 3rd party tours are sold by the cruise lines. I am glad Princess stepped up and addressed your concern. It's too bad that RCI didn't do that.

You might want to compare the price of buying separately. You would buy the DBPx2 (you + fiance) then buy a single VOOM Surf & Stream, but for TWO devices. You will only get one VOOM login, but it can be used on any two devices simultaneously. I priced this out for our cruise, and this is slightly less expensive than the DBP + VOOM x2

I'm not sure I'd trust that list. Whoever created it put Johnnie Walker under "Whiskey" with that corn and rye crap. Johnnie Walker is a proper Scotch Whisky!!!! 😁

I have heard people on ships where Izumi does not have the hibachi service, that you can actually have all you want to eat with the UDP because when you reach the $35 limit, they close the check and open a new one. I am still on the fence about the UDP for our Voyager cruise, but I may do it just so we can eat what we want. My wife won't care much for Izumi, but I can put away some sushi!

Our Oct 2022 sailing on Voyager has ranged from $65 to $75 over the last two months. It's currently at $70. It would have to get below $60 before I'd buy it. Even then, it's not a break-even. I'd still probably spend less paying onboard drink prices, but the convenience factor would sway me.

Seems like his last post was that he chose to quarantine with his wife. But he had spent a few days enjoying the ship without her, while she had to drink tea from a soup container. My guess is that once they locked him in the room with her, she killed him and dumped his body at sea. I am sure that's what my wife would have done to me. 😜

No one at this conference, also about 1500 people, chose to wear a mask. As for caring about others, I do, and that's why I stay home when I'm symptomatic with any sort of illness. And I hope that others care about themselves enough to not go into situations that make them uncomfortable.

Both my wife and I work from home. We might get out once or twice a week for shopping or eating out, but none of that is CDC-defined "close-contact" with anyone. I treat COVID like a cold - if I had a symptomatic cold, I would stay away from people so they don't get it, but if I happened to be around someone with a cold, and I'm asymptomatic, I'm not going to quarantine just because I "might" have a cold and "might" give it to someone else. BTW, I did do an at-home test and hour ago and it was negative, as I suspected.

I was at a trade show last week. It was like pre-COVID times with no masking, no social distancing and lots of hugging and hand-shaking. I just received an email stating there there had been at least one instance of an attendee testing positive so now we need to follow appropriate CDC guidelines. At these conferences, I talk a lot and go out to eat with customers and prospects in noisy restaurants and bars. I stay up late and enjoy many beverages. I end up losing my voice. I have chronic sinus issues, plus this time of year with all the pollen, I cough and sneeze. It's also not unusual for me to pickup a bit of a cold or "something" when I travel. Maybe it's being around a bunch of other people or exposure to different pollen, but it almost always happens. I am not running to get tested because it's no different than any conference I went to prior to COVID. I've had COVID and the vaccines and a booster. I am not the least bit concerned.

It's a better deal that the current price of $245 for our 7-night cruise on Voyager, but I am not sure it's a truly "good" deal. The smaller ships have fewer choices. At least Mariner still has Johnny Rockets.