leaveitallbehind

As I understand it, they reconcile unpaid casino winnings when they close the books on each cruise, which commences the week following each cruise. As @Elaine5715indicates, it may take some time for the check to be issued and reach you, but the process begins immediately following your cruise. BTW, congrats on your winnings - one of the few cruisers who can make that claim LOL.

The side of the ship you are doesn't matter as different ports have different pier positions and it is also the Captain's discretion as to which side of the ship he docks to the pier. We have been to Bermuda a number of times and have docked on both the starboard and port side of the ship. And at St. Kitts, for example, the pier runs out perpendicular to the port so you typically dock bow in, although I have seen ships docked there stern in. Many ports are like that. In other words there is no way to predict which side of the ship will be to the pier, so which side of the ship you are on matters little.

The details of those itineraries may change from year to year but the type is typically offered every year. Often the frequency is two or three longer itineraries back to back from the same starting and ending port of call, but the ports and schedules will change with each itinerary. Something similar will likely be offered in your timeframe - you will just have to keep watching for it. I have seen many of those offered each year over the years.

They usually release sailings about 18 months or so out. Often they do it in seasonal cycles - spring, summer, etc. within that timeframe. If you are on an email list or part of the loyalty program with any of them you may receive an email announcing the releases in advance. Otherwise you just need to periodically keep checking their websites. Many itineraries remain the same year after year based on their popularity, and southern itineraries often fit that profile. So a lot of what you are seeing now will remain the same or very similar. Typically only the pricing will change or some ports of call scheduling. The ships may change as well.

In earlier years we have gotten them occasionally on RCCL. Nothing from them or Celebrity since the restart.

As others have mentioned "free" upgrades are quite more rare these days than years ago as most have gone the way of the upsell programs. And there are many cruisers who would prefer to not be upgraded as the stateroom they originally selected may be a preferred location, or near friend's or family, etc. In a case like that you can request to not be upgraded.

...and they are typically located in a stacked manner above the vanity / dressing table There may also be one in the bathroom but if so, that marked is dedicated to electric shavers. Here is a link to a video of an inside stateroom on Vision for you to review:

We have witnessed this several times in our cruising experience. Two in particular are noteworthy: The first was in Cozumel as the ship had already pulled away from the pier and about a mile out a small boat came quickly aside. People on the boat were waving frantically and the ship crew realized they were "late arrivers" to the pier. The ship slowed, the boat came along side, and crew members assisted two passengers off the boar into the gangway area. One funny note with this was that one of the passengers on the upper deck watching the events unfold leaned over to get a better view and watched as his sunglasses fell off his head into the small boat below. One of the "delayed" passengers picked them up and brought them back on board with them. The second was in Bermuda as we watched an NCL ship pull away from the pier ahead of our departure. When they were about 100 yards off the pier, a young woman in a bathing suit pushing a stroller with a baby in it came running down the pier waving to the ship, hoping it would stop. It did not, and we then watched a very upset mother (and child) wander back up the pier looking for assistance. We left shortly after with them still on the pier - apparently we were not in a position (or able) to assist. That being said, we too typically (especially in the Caribbean) manage our own shore activities as there are many local, reputable, and dependable operators who are very aware and sensitive to ship departure times and have not had any issues in over 25 years of doing so. Early on in our cruising experience we did mainly ship based tours but soon gained the confidence and awareness to break away on our own. But to each his own. Although not necessarily related to independent excursions, obviously based on the experiences I shared there are risks to be aware of in this.

While your example is not incorrect, I think it depends on the cruise line. Some of the newer launch ships that feature these staterooms are not quite as small and crowded as your example, and the pricing is scaled accordingly. Celebrity Edge class ships, as example, offer their solo's as a veranda stateroom at 142 sq. ft. with a 42 sq. ft. balcony as compared to a standard veranda at 201 sq. ft. with the same balcony. So yes it is measurably smaller (29% smaller) but not so much that a solo cruiser would find it uncomfortably cramped. It's just another option and a fair answer to solo cruisers who were previously limited to double occupancy staterooms with their corresponding pricing based on double occupancy.

I didn't take your comments as a complaint - I just thought maybe you weren't aware of the solo stateroom option as it has generally only become more popular across the different lines in recent years. I also understand the preference for the larger staterooms. Sorry if I came across in the wrong manner and you misunderstood my intent.

Then maybe you should look for cruise lines - NCL, RCCL, and Celebrity, to name a few as examples - that have certain ships with dedicated solo staterooms for future bookings. The point being that there are a number of cruise lines, such as those mentioned, that in recent years have launched ships with staterooms that are designed specifically as solo cruiser staterooms vs a standard double occupancy stateroom priced at a solo cruiser rate - which is almost always close to the full double occupancy rate less one occupants port fees and taxes charges. The designated solo staterooms, while being somewhat smaller than the standard double occupancy staterooms, are priced at a rate that is typically significantly lower than the standard double occupancy stateroom rates for solo cruisers - often by 30% or more. As you indicate that you apparently cruise quiet often as a solo cruiser, this is something that you may want to look into for future cruises that may save you a significant amount of money on your current typical solo cruise fare.

In our experience many of the casinos also use your stateroom account for table stakes and none of the stores are cash - they, too, use your stateroom account for purchases. (Large purchases - jewelry for example - can go on a separate credit card).

We are not big wine drinkers and don't often bring wine on board, but in our experience the corkage fees - which been an on and off policy over the years with our preferred lines - when stated as such have never been enforced regardless of venue. Maybe we have just been fortunate, but the few times we have brought wine on board we have taken to the MDR (and other restaurants) and have never been charged a corkage fee. Again, this has just been our experience - your results may vary.

With most cruise lines the gratuities are charged on a daily basis to your stateroom account in the amount recommended by the cruise line as the daily total for all standard gratuities. The cumulative total is then shown on your final statement for the week as the net due when settling your stateroom account. If you do not elect to prepay your gratuities with your booking prior to boarding the auto gratuity payment method typically becomes the default method for paying them on board.

All Central American countries widely accept the US dollar. Costa Rica prefers its own currency, but will still accept the US dollar as well. I don't know for certain with Viking Mars, but most cruise ships have ATM's (with varying fees). I would check with Viking directly to confirm. You might also want to post this on the CC Viking board as well at this link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/689-viking-ocean/

My experience is similar to that of Aquahound. In particular with Quantum class ships which, in part to their Solarium split level pool designs, large deck chair areas, and good sized accompanying hot tubs, have always provided ample available space on sea days. In addition, Quantum also offers two additional large pool areas - one indoor and one outdoor - which balances the load well. Oasis class has four pools in addition to the Solarium pools. (Except on Harmony, which oddly does not have a pool in the Solarium).

Correct - my typo. Thanks for catching that! A welcomed change IMO.

...along with Quantum class. Whichever RCCL ship class you choose, the Solarium is adults (16+) only. Quantum class IMO has one of the nicer Solariums.

From my experience don't believe this form is necessary but to be sure, as suggested before, confirm through your travel agent or the cruise line directly.

Maybe I misunderstood.

.....it was just a tongue in cheek comment.

You are not providing any information regarding your country of nationality, cruise line, or departure port, so it is hard to say with certainty. But I agree with Essiesmom, as in our previous ports of call there this form was not required of cruise ship passengers arriving there on a North American based closed loop itinerary as long as you were able to board at the departure port with proper documentation for that itinerary. So unless your itinerary criteria is different, this is something new to me and I would double check with your cruise line as to any necessity for it.

Been following your conversations and agree that comparisons are difficult to make as the factors are not always apples to apples. Are comparisons being made with standard to standard staterooms, or suites to suites (or standard to suites)? Are the fares compared as base fares or all inclusive? Do the compared lines charge separate for specialty dining or include it as part of the price? The variables are many. (And as most lines allow wine to be brought on board in some manner, that is really not a differential perk IMO LOL). The point being, we all have our preferences and cruising stye, and a budget that we can live with to allow those criteria to be met. And yours may be different than mine and so on, but that doesn't make mine or yours any better than the other. It just - as you say - is a matter of one's "perfect fit".

Most cruise lines will offer to "recommend" a TA from their website. There is no advantage to them for a customer to use their internal representatives v an independent TA - fares are the same and having an outside TA do the work is advantageous to them and allows their internal reps to focus on other customer support issues. As 75% of all cruises are booked via TA's the cruise lines are happy to direct a customer to one they can use - they basically are their independent outside sales staff.

To be clear, the point I am trying to make is that cruise fares are not like buying a car - the agencies don't have pricing that is negotiable from the cruise lines. There are several ways agencies can make their base fares appear more competitive to you (" discounting" the up front fare but backloading it in the fees / taxes / port fees portion, etc.) But the cruise line's published pricing is what - in the end - needs to be charged by the agency. So perks and additional booking benefits not advertised directly from the cruise lines will come from their commissions. Many are willing to offer some level of perks to secure a booking but it will come from their earnings. As a side note IMO it is always recommended to see a total net invoice from the TA with a booking quote, and with the booking, the cruise line confirmation to confirm pricing. But TA's are a valuable resource with strong partnerships with the cruise lines. We have used them many times over the years and appreciate the service they can offer.