ronandcarla

On 12/22/2022 at 6:24 PM, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Then they wonder why folks aren't so enthusiastic about Vegas anymore. Between the $20 for a basic meal, high table minimums, slow drink service, $15-$20 bar drinks etc, it's lost its luster. You can get a great room rate and flights are still cheap (sometimes) but that's about it. They've priced a lot of folks out and many that go now play, eat and buy off the strip with many long time gamblers avoiding the strip altogether. Even CES was a bust in 2022, it will be interesting to see if 2023 is bust also, I predict it will be with all this flu/covid/sickness going around.  

As for the Las Vegas part of the story, years and years ago we stayed one time up on the strip, too much walking for us and we were young.  With all that said we prefer downtown and the Golden Nugget is for us. Walk outside for musical entertainment, walk up and down the enclosed street and you'll see all of the walking by entertainment you could want, food is always affordable and plenty of places to choose from and as a craps player, more than enough casinos to play in.  

What's the deal with chair hogs?  I must have missed an enforcement policy that's been missing for probably 30 years.   If so, maybe there is hope for the Main Dining Room dress  code recommendations.

Maybe bc we are Diamond members  I received an email from Royal Caribbean promo in regards to a cruise and that we haven't been on one for more than 10 years; I emailed back that bc of the dress code and Royal having one, but they don't enforce it we'll pass up on the offer.  I doubt that Royal will even look at the the aforesaid email.  As for ocean boy above and your smart aleck remark I'll be good and leave the remark alone.

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Let me see if I have this right, you sent a message to RCI complaining about how people dress for the MDR but you haven't cruised in 10 years? I'm sure the execs in Miami will be all over this now.

On 3/18/2023 at 11:08 AM, RRTcruiser said:

We just got back yesterday from two cruises after yours on the Independence.

Our cruise contained a lot of college spring breakers but other than a great deal of alcohol consumption and world record settling hot tub attendance, they were pretty well behaved.

Heard from multiple crew members that the previous cruise had twice as many spring breakers and there was several minor incidents with inebriated passengers. We have been on 12 cruises post covid and while we still love our time cruising, like any kind of activity the “wow” factor can diminish the more you do it. Having said that, the service was incredible as always, the room was kept incredibly clean (panoramic suite was too cool) and the overall condition of the ship was great. The only downside was it felt very crowded at times and with complete honesty the food was okay to good but no great moments were encountered.

We got a great deal on a suite and the positives for us far outweighed the negatives so we still had an awesome time. People have different expectations and comfort levels, that being said I hope you give it another try. 

One of our best cruises more than 10 years ago was a 6 day out of Miami and little did we know or think that a lot of college students would be on this cruise.  So anyway from day one until the last day being nearby but not participating in their activities was a lot of fun and great sites, viz, at the pool, casino, nightclub, "quest"  and the main dining room and I might add they were the best dressed group on the entire ship.  I believe this trip was on the Voyager of the Seas in March.

Agree and disagree with some of the facts laid out hereon.  For us, and I have spoken about this subject here and I also sent an email to Royal that we haven't been on  cruise for about 10 years and we were looking into doing another one until I found out that now people were in fact arriving at the Main Dining Room for dinner, some of which were dressed like they just came off the beach/pool or that's their attire for the evening with "we're on vacation".  So, we'll just do without or go to Saint Martin, at least we know up front that's the dress code there, but they don't have the beautiful atmosphere and entertainment venues that a Royal ship has.

10 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

My late mother loved $2 bills and I inherited about $400+ in them when she passed and I have carried them on trips and forget to use them, for tips or for spending, lol! So now I want to make an effort to unload them, but would they be appreciated as tips for drinks or a few for other service? I can convert them to standard bills if they’d just be received as a nuisance. Would love to know any experience from others who have used them?

To me bc of inflation $2.00 is a great way to give tips.  Believe me anyone who gets a two dollar bill  or multiple ones will be most appreciative of it.

3 hours ago, Kathamo said:

Admittedly I am threading the needle here a bit. I should have said that what “I” choose to wear is a sign of respect, because that’s my intent, and that clothing choices are often perceived as a sign of respect by others (also true).
 

I assume that most people who dress more casually than the guidelines don’t think about it that way and don’t intend to show disrespect, so I’m not going to judge them for it. In other words, I don’t hold others to the same standards as myself. 
 

Hope that clarifies. 

We haven't been on a cruise for about 10 years and I seriously want to go on another Royal Caribbean cruise, but my wife wanted to know what the dress code is now, I told her it's nothing like in the past, sort of like what we have here in Florida or St Martin, she said we so much enjoyed the atmosphere and beautiful surroundings it's not worth it, I agreed.    

Good Luck and have fun.

On 2/19/2023 at 12:18 PM, Hlitner said:

So here is a very sad fact.  The USA is the only country (in the entire world) to tax its citizens and legal residents (Green Card holders) no matter where they live or work in the world!

 

Hank

What is so sad about that?

We haven't been on a cruise for about 10 years and I've been itching to go on another one.  All of our previous cruises have been on Royal Caribbean and when we went either as a family of 4 or just my wife and I part of the experience was dressing appropriately for the evening, never tux and gown, but more than appropriate.  So when I mentioned to my wife about going on another cruise she asked me what's the dress code going to be and I told her what I've been reading on the Royal boards and she said to me she doesn't want to go, we could just stay here in Florida or go to St Martin where island life  and the  dress code are the same,; I agree with her, but I still would like to go, so how is the dress code on a 7 day Celebrity eating in the Main Dining Room?

21 hours ago, RBKL said:

Had a medical emergency on an April sailing of the Wonder of the Seas.

 

Ships medical staff was amazing and exceptionally quick. We were disembarked in Cozumel for follow up. Doing great now but the insurance process is unreal.

 

Still waiting for AON to cover our expenses. Can’t get the status. Every few weeks we get a request for the same info we have submitted multiple times. Seems like a delaying tactic. I asked to speak to management but nobody returns calls. I reach out on line for updates but nobody responds even though the sight says they will within 1 business day.

 

We need to find a better travel insurance provider for future travel.

 

Looking for feedback from people who have made a travel insurance claim and received prompt service. Not looking for the cheapest policy, just one that when we need to make a claim will be responsive, provide the current status and pay on claims.

 

We have several cruises planned across several lines and they all seem to use AON. We need to find a new provider with better service.

 

 

 

For years we have used Travel Safe Insurance Company and on two separate occasions, (1) weather conditions and (2) terrible medical story, and on both of the above mentioned  cases we were fully reimbursed.

One of our vacations back in time was a 4 day  cruise  from FT Lauderdale to Mexico and back  on the Voyager of the Seas around spring vacation time period. And during the first day before we left port, we and just about everyone else were up on the pool deck waiting to depart and as I looked around I said to my wife "I don't think this is going to be good with all of these young folks having way too much to drink and partying"  Well that night and every night thereafter in the MDR you would think we were on a fashion show cruise because they were, above everybody the best dressed on board.  I would think a lot of that is still the same because when we take our daughter and husband out to dinner we go to her type of restaurants and see how the young  folks dress.

For us as a family and now the two of us we always wore the proper clothes dictated at that time.  We haven't been on a cruise for about 10 years now, and living in Florida always feels like we're on vacation and wearing  land vacation clothes continuously.  So in the last couple of weeks I have expressed to my wife about a cruise vacation and she asked me what is the dress code nowadays and I told her it's not anything like it was years ago, she said to me that was all part of the vacation mode, beautiful surroundings, dining room with plush decor, etc., so she said she's not interested and I agree with her.  So for everyone else have a great cruise, and for us we always had a great time and memories.

On 1/30/2023 at 1:54 PM, mattg43 said:

 

So your solution is to send your full unencrypted bank account number, routing number, and address to a random person.  Seems secure.

I really don't want to make this a never ending back and forth issue, but as I stated earlier every month I pay bills, either by check and one is done online, basically all of my life and I'm sure millions of other folks do too; Not so much now bc I'm retired but when I was working a few years ago thousand of dollars in checks were showing up in my mailbox and when I gave my business to a friend he tells me the same things are still happening.  So with all that said let's put this story to sleep and hope everyone has a wonderful cruise.

2 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

For me personally I would never risk mailing a check and taking the chance of it getting lost and my cruise cancelled.

 

Use a credit card so that you immediately know your payment has been credited and your cruise is secure…..

What are you talking about, every month I pay bills or receive checks by mail in the thousands, and over the past 60 plus years maybe 5 checks got lost; over a portion of this time period how many major accounts have been hacked and all of your personal information has been stolen.

We  haven't been on a cruise for about 8 years now, but previous to that when MTD was started and for 3 separate cruises we just showed up at the podium when we were ready to eat, roughly around 6:30 m/l, 2 of us and maybe waited 10-20 minutes the most;  For us the whole idea of MTD is what I sort of stated.  PS when we went as a family of more than 4 we would reserve under the early setting under the traditional settings.

The amount of stupid things  people want to bring on board of the ship amazes me, i.e. water, soda, now an orange juicer.  

Every time we have been on an Oasis class we try to get either deck 6 or 7 middle and have loved it; so close or centered to everything we want.

1 hour ago, Doncin said:

Where can we watch football next weekend??

go Giants!!!!!     

Play the Eagles,    Good Luck to us both

1 hour ago, twinmommy08 said:

You just need a shirt, some form of cloth covering your lower half, shoes and you can eat anywhere inside the ship. 

1 hour ago, Eriksgarden said:

Hi and thanks in advance.  Are formal nights adhered to, or can you basically wear what you want?  And what is the standard for dinner in the dining room?  We are shorts/t-shirts people, but can do khaki/polos if forced.  

And if anyone is going to wear a hat make sure it's on backwards

2 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

You are not married, are you 😂

I was thinking the same thing; Sometimes you wonder how folks are married or stay as companions.

My Mother and Father-in-law years ago were on the Song of Norway and sat with another lovely couple from Canada and when they came home they told my wife and I all about them and were so lucky to be seated with them;  so fast forward about 4 years later my wife and I and Mother and Father-in-law were in Disney World MGM Studios ordering lunch at a walk up cafeteria and when my Father-in-law turned around with 4 cokes on a tray, slipped and spilled the sodas on a a few people sitting a table, and believe it or not it was the same folks from Canada.  Even though it was embarrassing, a lot of laughs and hugs and kisses were had by all.

For all of the  hassles of traveling, consisting of flying, driving, parking worrying about do we have all of our paperwork in order, and a couple dozen other things that could go wrong, not to mention that probably thousands of dollars are being spent and forever I read about people wanting to take water/beverages on board.  How much do you save in lugging more stuff on  the ship?  I just don't get it.

Looks wonderful to us and we're not young.  I doubt we would ever get back on a small ship.

Further back in time when we first wanted to go on a cruise I asked our travel agent to confirm that RCCL and our particular ship did have a craps table; one of the reasons we won't take a Disney cruise is that they don't even have a casino.  It's my part of the enjoyment to do some gambling once a year.