ldubs

Thanks. I knew the suite rate but don't know how many people they are tipping out at $10/person/day. Assuming it is more than one, it sounds like they are already tipping out more than the standard daily gratuity.

Experiences differ widely. We are a pretty close knit group of family and friends and enjoy each others company and have a lot of fun traveling together. Everyone looks forward to being together for meals. It would be totally foreign for us to split up for dinner. Other than the first day, it is not necessary to march into the MDR as a group (traditional dining). People show up and go directly to the table. If someone can't make it for some reason they will let someone else in the group know.

You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to acceptance. Out of curiosity, how does your $10 pp/day compare to the suggested daily gratuity for your cabin status?

It is easy enough to test. Someone just needs to approach with their travel partner's medallion and see if the door unlocks. I think it will.

If you were sincere about your deep dislike of Celebrity, then why in the heck would you voluntarily do something you don't like. I sure wouldn't. Do something you will enjoy.

Pre-covid we used traditional dining for large groups and, like you say, opted for the first seating. During our last RCI cruise on Oasis we opted for My Time because the early traditional seating was 5:30. That is too early for us. We used the app to book the same time each night. A My Time reservation must be entered for each day, but they can all be done on the app at one time. Our daily time on Oasis was 7:15. We would have preferred earlier but that was what was available. We made the reservations after boarding. Assuming it can be done, we should have done those reservations prior to sailing in order to have more options. Lines were queued up by reservation time blocks (they had signs). It usually took 10 to 20 minutes to be seated once our time slot's line opened. We usually queued up early. There is also a separate long line of folks without reservations. I'm guessing their average wait was probably longer. I will say it does look very confusing at first with all the people and different queues, but there is a method to their madness and considering the number of passengers on Oasis, I think they did a decent job. If you are OK with a 5:30 seating then I would say opt for traditional dining. It is just slightly easier and likely less of a wait. You would also have the same table(s) and serving staff. BTW, you can request the same table with My Time but I might advise against that. It is not guaranteed and the wait may be longer if the desired table has to be cleared and prepped. These potential problems will be magnified for a large group. We tried that once and back-peddled when we were told the wait time would be long because the table was still occupied. I am kind of scratching my head at the information the RCI agent provided. It is easy to make reservations on the app, but I can't see how it is easier than booking traditional dining. Additionally, if you wait too long, the dining time you prefer may not be available. Maybe they didn't want to deal with linking a group, IDK.

Thanks. That would be a reason. Especially for those who wish to hide that they have covid. I think that a cabin search for covid evidence is something of little or no concern. That is solely my opinion of course.

We don't leave home without them (when traveling). We take the original CDC cards (also keep them in the passport covers). Additionally we have them in our digital wallets. They were not needed on our last two trips. Last time we needed them was for travel back in April.

I remember we used to get 300 minutes free between the two of us. I'm pretty sure that varied by cruise length. Looks like that approach is gone. I prefer the current heavy discount over the previous "free minutes" approach.

I am a guy, but will share that Mrs Ldubs has a collection of small Kipling brand purses (bags? Totes?) of different colors and sizes. They have a monkey key chain hanging off them which I find sort of fascinating. Her smallest ones are just for the cell phone. The larger, which I think are still relative compact, she uses for excursions. I only know this because Mrs Ldubs recently shared some additions to her inventory.

To me $580 for the upgrade would not be worth it. But it really comes to personal preference. While we don't go on cruises to hang around in the cabin, maybe I would upgrade for $20 extra per day. Otherwise it just isn't going to be important to have a sitting area.

YIKES! Please share that with the staff when you withhold tips on your next cruise. I'm sure they will appreciate your insight. Especially because abundant opportunities exist in their home countries.

What is the purpose of doing that? An empty pill bottle would currently go in the cabin trash basket.

We have done both Norway fiords/Iceland and British Isles itineraries. Both were larger mass market ships (Princess for sure on the British Isles and maybe also for Iceland), but not the monster ships. Both trips were fantastic and I would like to repeat them. One of my all time favorite itineraries is the British Isles. But as already shared in other posts, if warm weather and sunbathing are a priority, then these itineraries wouldn't be a first choice. Flying not being an option adds a complication. Perhaps identify the ship classes preferred along with doable departure ports. Then go through the "find a cruise" steps on cruise line websites to identify what itineraries are available.

"In those 4 cases, when the cruise line cancelled the cruise, they also cancelled the air, and we received a full refund." Good thing they do this. Otherwise people would book and then cancel the cruise just to snag a discounted airfare! I've always kind of shied aware from cruise line flight bookings. I'm looking at them a little differently now that I better understand the options. Thanks!

I hope Sparks has it right. Otherwise, what NBT says in post #2 - "that sounds like insanity".

Interesting and I don't know the answer. It does make me wonder if there is compensation of some kind, should it also be given for quarantine due to norovirus? I have no stake one way or another. Just curious.

Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Especially in this case where the "optional" component is likely related to corporate accounting needs. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the system. I can find a lot of things conceptually wrong with it too, but if you are withholding grats because you don't agree with the concept, then you are wrong to do so. Like it or not, it is the compensation system and unless service is poor, the daily gratuity should be paid. It really is a hard rule if one is following expected norms. As far as shaming and peoples rights, I see this as kind of like social behavior rules. Just because we can talk with our mouth full doesn't mean we should.

Thanks. I am also of the opinion that one cabin clean a day is fine for us. It would seem reasonable to think a once/day policy would result in a need for fewer cabin staff. I can see a possible staff utilization issue with a once/day clean if they were all expected to happen in the morning. Especially with a lot of passengers sleeping in.

What exactly type of expectations with wait staff? I'm not saying it is a bad idea. I just don't understand what would be explained to MDR staff on day one. To the OP's experience, we have never had anything remotely like that happen.

Good stuff, especially the last paragraph. No need to overwhelm the first timer. The OP's mention of a powerpoint kind of scares me. Pack -- Show up on time -- Have fun. Well, maybe a little more than that, but no need for a powerpoint.

Thanks for the links. Do you know are drinks available to Elite & up passengers from 5 to 7 like before?

I read this before on an earlier thread. Before that, I would not have given any thought to popular OTC stuff no longer being available. It really is good info to share. Now we know to make sure and pack up common OTC stuff.

But, nonetheless ,for someone who loves to be on or around ships, I think your response would potentially have value. I would add to maybe consider itineraries with ports that have maritime museums.

The HSA rollover feature is a winner. Nice tax shelter. Too bad it goes away when Medicare kicks in. But then, if you have to withdraw from the HSA in your 65+ golden years for any non-medical reason there is no penalty other than normal income tax.