NutsAboutGolf

Is there gratuity on these?

That's the superior MAINE lobster with claw meat, since X just says "tails" you would have to imagine it's the same inferior SPINY lobster. Also, in Bar Harbor, you often can get a soft shell lobster which is even sweeter and juicer. With that being said, if one doesn't want to go to Maine for lobster, a good backup plan is Red Lobster as they have a tank out front with Maine lobsters that are alive. They even include their Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Lastly, for a different treat if you like heat, find one of the Cajun seafood in-a-bag restaurants and get the lobster

My apologies, I should have mentioned cultural exceptions. I will add I had no idea this existed and therefore have never seen this in person. The overwhelming majority of the facial tattoos I've seen with my own eyes are connected to violence in one form or another or are tattoo artists themselves

Let's play guess what X's next fee will be! SpaCafe sandwiches? Cafe al Bacio desserts? Heck, even Cookiegate 2.0 seems inevitable...

You nailed it. Just wanted to add the 3rd party irons out the math, Celebrity is calling the shots with minimum bidding amounts and with how much inventory they want to release with MoveUp

Pretty much what I was going to say and I'll add smaller portion sizes, fewer side options with many entrees served with a scoop of mashed potatoes

Care to expand on horrible service? VV proudly touts it doesn't have a buffet but I've recently learned it isn't an order-and-grab food hall/cafeteria, you have wait service with lengthy wait times

I mean nothing negative by the following statement, just pointing out the target audience. If you're looking for a 20+ min video that rates X's food (including the mast grill) and drinks near flawless, this is the video for you

Agreed that upgrades are greatly reduced yet I was specifically commenting on what I highlighted, "a thing of the past". If you are flexible with your dates and if you're okay with a layover, you can increase your odds of an upgrade. There's often no biz available when I fly to LAX yet often there is when going out of SFO for whatever reason. Also with United's same-day change, you may be able to switch to a different flight with more biz availability. With United there is a big market for folks to resell their PlusPoints, you can find them right now on eBay. With Delta/AMEX lounges, US military members who have an AMEX plat do not pay an annual fee so that gets them into AMEX and Delta lounges; not saying that right or wrong, just that it's part of the congestion Back on topic, haven't visited a Retreat lounge yet, which is better, Retreat or airline lounges?

I believe they only care about bookings, don't really care if they're brand new or Zenith although probably prefer new so they don't have to give away free benefits. They claim to have strong bookings and on the RCI side, claim their newest ship still being built, the IoS, has possibly broken every booking record in the book. I'm extremely curious to see what's next after the E-class

I get that and agree that there are far fewer unsold seats than there were in the past

If United has 10 unsold business class seats, even if there are 200 people on the list, the 10 on top of that list receive the upgrades

There's a huge difference between Carnival's newest ships and the ships that were built in the 90s. Generally speaking, you'll have more entertainment choices on the big 3 (CCL, RCI and NCL) as most have a dedicated comedy lounge with at least 3 comedy shows a day, a piano bar, a karaoke bar, etc. Some ships have branded Broadway shows like Cats. RCI Oasis-class ships have an aqua theater, ice skating shows, etc. X across the board has one show a night repeated twice. One will usually be a comedian, one magician and the rest are musicals varying from concert style to a non-branded Broadway style. It should also be noted that these X shows are the same on different ships; M/S class have the same shows and the E-Class has its own shows Food again depends on the ship as the newest carnival ship has a lot of variety and includes free specialty restaurants although they're piloting an $8 cover charge. Also, full-cover specialty restaurants are cheaper on the big 3 than they are on X. I prefer Carnival's newest ships over any X ship for food. Far better burgers with guys, guys BBQ for lunch beats any lunch I've had on X, you get street food, big chicken, and two specialty restaurants for free although they could permanently add an $8 cover charge. X's buffet and MDR is better than Carnival but why bother with either when you can dine for free in specialties?

Upgrades are alive and well for those with status. What has steadily increased are the requirements to obtain the status that gives you upgrades

Both RCG and CCL are claiming they're closing the price gap between cruises and land resorts and to be fair, land resorts along with regular hotels have also increased. However, there are exceptions such as the bargain AI resorts in Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Tulum which have their pros and cons. It seems X's prices have increased far more than the true luxury cruise lines which coincidentally means they're closing that price gap as well. Combined with the cutbacks, many have realized including some well-known CC regulars that if you're willing to pay a little more, you'll get a lot more with a true luxury line. There isn't a way for X to track when that happens unless they book Silversea Who knows, maybe the lounge access will increase bookings and bring back some Zeniths

Yes. Most embarkation ports allow you to board the ship and then you can get off the ship again and do that repeatedly as time allows. Remember, there's no inventory list of how many bottles are in a stateroom. I'll let folks connect the dots

I can confirm by seeing it first hand that you can show up at the table and buy chips with euros or USD and that when at the cashier they pay out in USD. No clue if you can REQUEST to be paid in Euros at the cashier but doubt you could

I'm somewhat wondering the same thing as its somewhat understandable if you're just ordering a $5 coffee or even a $20 cocktail they can just enter a room number, print a receipt and have the guest sign it...Yet is this the case for a somewhat major purchases like a bottle of wine? I know a lot of times when your card is swiped, a picture of the guest appears but perhaps that's not on all computers

Potentially during Vets day as well but it should be noted they had a recent flash sale that wasn't tied to a US holiday

You can buy candy at one of the ship stores also

Virgin Voyage has a tattoo parlor and reportedly it's quite popular. VV also allows their crew to display their tattoos if they wish. I do not know the specific dress code for X's crew, I see lots of behind-the-counter buffet crew with exposed forearms and sometimes tattoos. Yet it seems the serving crew are to be in long-sleeve button-downs I have tattoos and not only love seeing them but am always curious about the story behind them yet understand not everyone likes tattoos which doesn't bother me. However, I do find there are some tattoos that are indeed "wrong". While it's an overall generalization, hateful, offensive, or having facial tattoos is going to make the majority including myself uncomfortable

You should read the transcripts from X's parent company, RCG, where the CEO, Jason Liberty, talks about how surprised they are that they keep rising prices and the bookings remain the same. X's has already told those in Sky Suites that they are welcome to cancel or pay for an upgrade if they don't like the Retreat team. RCG is a for-profit organization yet with the sole exception of startlink, all we get is cutbacks and increased prices. It would go a long way if, for every 5 cutbacks, they gave us 1 passenger-friendly product/service. Why not offer ONE per sailing fresh-baked cookie for free like the gelato? Giving passengers something softens the blow

I'm just curious, how were you notified of the half-off offer? Did they email you or did it just appear in the cruise planner?

First I've heard of the 50% off bid offer, interesting

They allowed this before the pandemic, anyone recall if it was "space available" then?