sparks1093

We've sailed several times since re-start and I've not seen the decline in food quality that others have seen. On our last couple of sailings the quality seemed to be a bit better. Looking forward to giving the new Emeril's menus a try in 29 days.

I was just getting ready to post this. You get the drink under Cheers, but you still need to pay for the cup and it is the cup that sends the price north of $20, not the drink. So if you order a $12 drink and the total is $23, you'll be charged $11 for the cup. (Same holds true for the "shots" they sell in the MDR, you have to pay for the souvenir shot glass but not the contents.)

Even when I've asked for a drink with a more expensive liquor they haven't adjusted the price from what was on the menu.

30.

Listed as included in Bottomless Bubbles but not Cheers.

I found our last invoice and yep, $5 plus 18% is $5.90. It was then that I found out fresh squeezed juice is no longer included in Cheers.

Juice from concentrate is available at no charge at meals. Fresh squeezed is around $6 IIRC.

Just thought of this...don't rely on a smart watch either.

Things like buckets of beer, pitchers and the like don't count against the 15.

I'll have to pay closer attention but I thought the buns were made onboard.

I live 8 miles from the Canadian border and from time to time (especially when out driving around) I'll ping off of a tower up there. AT&T charges me extra for that, but then they zero it out because they know how close I am. If they happen to miss it a quick note to CS solves it. I am like the OP, technologically challenged so I just leave it in airplane mode for the trip (and often don't take it ashore with me).

A drink package calculator will help with this. https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/ Just put in the number of drinks you expect to average per day and it will tell you how much you can save (I think this is set up per person). (Our first drink package was with Royal and in one of the ports we were ashore for a long time and were wiped out by the time we returned to the ship. Only had a couple of drinks each on the package that day but overall we still saved money.)

Which could be attributed to the downgrade in supplies overall. I have noticed this since the pandemic hit, the quality of food at the store has dropped significantly. Name brand products lack the quality they once had.

I have also done this many times. The only time I have been asked is when we are in an enclosed bar, like Red Frog Pub and she is with me at those times so it's easy to point her out.

We had people in our party for our upcoming cruise apply for a new passport and some that applied for renewal. In both cases they were processed in about 3 weeks. None of them asked for expedited service. (And that is a very good tip on getting the passport with additional pages, just in case. It used to be they would add them at no charge, now if your passport fills up you need to get it renewed.)

I would personally rather pay a gratuity since in many jurisdictions those belong to the staff. A service charge, the company can use that however they'd like. While they might use it for the staff there is nothing that says that they have to.

Still listed as a gratuity on the website.

According to what I've read, the bathroom outlet is only designed for a shaver and anything bigger will cause the fuse that protects the outlet to blow.

Just checked our planner for our upcoming cruise and it says there is an 18% gratuity added. That's $7.56 per person. The only specialty dining that I saw that didn't include the gratuity is the steakhouse. I wouldn't let it hold me back.

Royal sometimes uses dynamic pricing which means that sometimes the packages go on sale, but the price before the cruise is less than it would be to purchase it onboard. I know that some people will buy it and then check periodically for a sale. They then cancel the first order and buy at the sale price. (It has been a while since we've cruised with Royal so you may want to ask on the Royal forum.) Welcome to Cruise Critic!

If you use it in port you will be charged international fees by your carrier. I know that AT&T has a blanket plan for some countries that will allow users to use their phone while in that country.

You end up with an endless tropical island vacation, complete with infinite wardrobe changes.

Right, I don't think they actually sell cruises at the port. By phone or online.

I think 48 hours prior to sailing they stop taking bookings due to needing to send passenger manifests to the government. I could be wrong though.

Common courtesy for what?