cello56

Just in case you have not seen this resource page on the Royal website. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/autism-friendly-ships Please be sure to download the Autism Social Story book if you think it might help your child to have a visual cue as to what is going to happen on the cruise. It on the link above.

Keep in mind also that while RCI may have started some of these cost cutting measures to help them recoup losses they incurred during COVID, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will NEVER, EVER revert back to the old ways once their financial situation is back on a more even keel. Corporations will never return to the old more expensive practices. As long as their ships sail full, there is really little concern on their part for guests being unhappy with day to day changes. If you chose to leave their brand there is always a new customer willing to take your place. The new customer also does not get any free drinks, free internet etc. and is willing to shell out big bucks for excursions and photos.

If the DSC was rolled into the cost of the cruise, how long do you think it would take for the white envelopes to show up at the end of the cruise just in case you wanted to give additional tips?

I think we are more likely to see Junior Suites DOWNgraded to SUPER DUPER LARGE BALCONY level cabins than UPgraded to full suites.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I had a few questions for those on the entire trip. How do you get refills for your medications? What are you doing with your pets? Do you have to put special plans in place for being away from your homes for so long? Routine medical care during that 9 month period?

So if OBC is awarded is it per person or per reservation? We ordered two of those Premium Packages that were offered in error and then canceled and OBC given as an apology. When I log into my cruise planner I now see the OBC amount listed on both my account and when I log in to my husbands account. I'm just trying to figure out if they awarded the $50 to each of us or if that $50 is the same one just showing up on both of our accounts.

They recently changed the tote bag from the heavy dark blue one to the blue and white stripe one that is foldable and opens out to more of a beach bag. It is really nice and has a zipper on top.

We always buy one package plus we each get two free 24 hours periods because we are Diamond Plus. Internet is a necessity for us as my DH works while on the cruise. You will see him up in the Diamond Lounge most mornings from 6AM - 9AM working on his computer. He knows were all the electrical outlets are in the Viking Crown Lounge! He finds a quiet corner and takes meetings several early mornings. Why does he do this? Because he can then deduct that time from his vacation useage and we can take an extra cruise each year! Plus because he is Type A and likes to. I would not be happy to 'disconnect' for a week. Not happy at all. I would feel great anxiety if I couldn't be in touch with family, especially since I use wifi calling to call my almost 90 year old mother-in-law twice each day to check in on her. As for your 14 year old daughter, well that is another story. "Insisting" that you buy her internet? Yeah, I don't think so! She will survive a week without facebook and friends. Having work and family responsibilities is different than wanting to chat with friends. Now if she wants to save up the cost of buying a package herself, that might be an excellent lesson for her. See if after the cruise she thinks it was a wise investment of her funds.

Does anyone know when Adventure of the Seas might be getting her next dry dock? Any ideas if RCI might put in any of the postponed amping features at that time?

I am very glad that I didn’t cancel our Black Friday internet packages for those two cruises.

I just did the same thing. If all we need is one package it is easier to cancel one package independently of the other. We all know the odds of RCI messing it up if they were on the the same reservation!

It says limited to ages 21 and older.

Nothing that was already booked transfers over. You need to rebook everything, so this might be a consideration for some as to whether they accept the offer. The only thing we had booked was internet. They refund that and any other items purchased ahead of time to the method of payment. I had to rebuy it at today's price. It was maybe a dollar or two a day more - no big deal. All of our check in information was already on the web when I went to check us in. Was even able to get the same boarding time as we had on Harmony.

Does anyone know how far Explorer is so far on her way back from drydock? None of the marine sites I can find have an accurate posting for her. We are on the sailing this Sunday, so a bit nervous that she arrives back in Miami on time. I don't think it is a revenue sailing on her way back.

We got the phone call yesterday and made the switch from Harmony to Explorer. New cabin is spacious oceanview on deck 8. Docs have already been reissued and the app has been updated with the new cruise. Only issue right now is the OBC is not correct - way too much. Put a call in to see if we can get that clarified.

Ocean Balcony that we chose.

Move from 7 night Harmony to 6 night Explorer and get 100% of our money paid on Harmony back plus $300 OBC. I am guessing the OBC makes up for the one less day cruise. Either way we will have a great time, but the financial incentive was too good to turn down. I asked on the RCI FB page and they said that we won't hear the result until after the deadline for accepting. I thought that sounded strange as they said limited time and available space so you would think they would want to get this sorted out asap. Does anyone know what criteria they use to pick the offers to accept?

We are on Harmony next Saturday and also got the "Your cruise is oversold" email last Friday. Does anyone know how long it takes them to get back to you if you accept the ship change and refund? Their email was sent about 5pm and we accepted the offer about 8pm.

If the cruise lines started including gratuities then we would be having a discussion on how cheap some folks are to not give the staff an 'extra' tip above and beyond the included gratuities? I am wondering also if the number of people who remove their gratuities will increase once all ships move to once a day cabin service. Considering RCI just increased the auto grats last November and now they are reducing the cabin service by 50%, I wonder if this will be the last straw for some people and have them remove auto grats and move to cash tipping.

We need to also remember that the second evening cleaning was much less work than the morning clean. Rarely see Henry in the halls in the evening. Beds might be a bit messy, but unlikely they have to completely remake every single bed like the morning. Bathrooms get a deep clean in the morning, but a touch up in the evenings. So instead of doing 18 morning full cleans and 18 evening touch ups, they will now be doing 25 full cleans every day - just split into half in the morning and half in the evening. The two current cabin services are not an even amount of work for the cabin steward. DH and I are very unhappy about this reduction in service. CAN we hang our towels up to dry - yes. Do we WANT to hang them to dry? NO. We like fresh towels each time. This is not home where we hang for several days. This is supposed to be a vacation where we are pampered and get services that we don't have at home. I can't wait to see all the dirty dishes put outside the doors in the hallways. Interesting that RCI reduced the services they are providing us yet continue to raise the onboard gratuities.

Myself, husband and neighbor were all very disappointed that we were not actually on a cruise today!

Was there a sale on rice? SO much rice on the new menus.

Your son will 100% NOT be allowed to go to the teen activities in Adventure Ocean. There is a huge liability issue of including an adult - regardless of their functional age. Keep an eye out for open activities that you think your son might enjoy. Does he like music? Maybe he would enjoy going to karaoke and listening to people perform? Is he into sports? There is usually a big mixture of ages playing basketball and pickleball. Maybe some of the games and trivia would keep him entertained? You might find some craft activities that could be appropriate. Good luck. I hope that your son enjoys his cruise.

All these 'vapers' claiming that it is harmless, and just water vapor remind me of the mindset back in the 1950's about how 'cool' smoking was and what a great thing it was to do. Yeah, that attitude sure killed a lot of people. Just because vaping 'might' be a better alternative to smoking cigarettes doesn't make a safe choice. Safer does not make it safe. Sort of like saying that drinking bleach is better than drinking arsenic. Both will harm you!

That would be a tiny Playmakers compared to some ships.