Clipper123

I don't like to see these new much higher drink prices, but I think that your point - the advent of powdered alcohol - is completely irrelevant.

 

Just my humble opinion, of course.

 

;)

I think it is totally relevant. Cruise lines just keep increasing the cost of alcohol even though the price for them to buy it has remained the same - there is no increase in cost to them from the manufacturer. People are looking for ways to get around those ridiculously inflated prices and this could be it - hidden in the suitcase from the x-ray machines :)

If this is true:

http://palcoholonline.com/

How will they (or any cruiseline) keep this off the ships????

Check with your carrier about international plans. My daughter added a one month international texting plan to her service which consisted of free texting anywhere in the US and Caribbean whether on the ship or off. I was leery of it while on the ship but when her invoice came there were no additional charges other than the fee for the one-month add-on.

Perhaps not a suit, but at least a sports coat...Yeah there will be folks in there without them, but you said he doesnt want to look out of place. There has always been a sign posted outside the MDR stating gentlemen should wear jackets......folks just stare at those that do not....they do not stare at those that do. I have never been on a cruise that had as many without as there were with...not even close. Perhaps I just havnt been on enough cruises to get a good idea.

 

Doug

I think maybe you are just saying what you want to see because you don't want the suit to become a dying thing (which it is) and so try to convince people that most wear them. There are many men in the dining room without a suit or jacket on, it is by no means uncommon. Oh and BTW, I have seen nobody stare at a person who chooses not to wear a jacket!!! Come on now - that is just ridiculous!

Oh...now I see that most of your cruises were on Princess - that is a different story - we are talking Royal Caribbean here.

You won't know this until someone calls and asks.

No he does not. Royal's SUGGESTED GUIDELINE is Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women but that is only a suggestion and many men just wear dress pants, shirt and tie or khakis and polo shirts, some even nice jeans and a nice shirt.

Ok, so I have to mention this, as I get so sick of hearing this BS about food waste on the dining rooms--similar for restaurants. These meals are NOT cooked to order. They are prepared in advance. If you don't eat all of the food on your plate, it gets ground up and pumped into the ocean. Food that is already cooked in the kitchen and not served generally sees the same fate. These meals are not cooked to order as you would do at home. The staff began several hours ago, preparing these dishes and keeping it in hot boxes until plating time. Cooked food kept warm in hot boxes for several hours, generally will not reheat anyway, but in any case, has a limited holding time before it must be disposed of. So little Johnny not eating his broccoli is not creating any more waste than the 200 chicken parmigiana plates that went unserved. It's ALL being tossed. These costs are accounted for by the cruise line, and the waste is expected.

Exactly!!! Anyone ever hear of them running out of something - probably not because they make sure they don't. The "waste" then becomes fish food.

Just FYI - they have a soda package for $6.50 per day and lots of water in the taps or from the dispensers in the buffet. Much easier than lugging cases of drinks on board and legal too.

It's exactly the same. Hypocrite is the word

Yes, that's the word I was looking for :D HYPOCRITE synonyms - cheat, liar, deceiver, phony, quack - hmmm and that's what hypocrites call alcohol smugglers :rolleyes:

We purchase the soda card but we bring a twelve-pack to have in our cabin when it's really early or really late and we don't want to disturb anyone but just need a soft drink. We usually have a few left over and we leave them for the cabin steward. It's just a matter of convenience and not an attempt to cheat anyone. We bring Diet Dr. Pepper, which we love and can't get on the ship.

LMAO - exactly the same reason why most people bring on their own alcohol - to have a drink on their balcony/in their cabin without having to trudge to a bar! But again, it's not morally acceptable to bring on alcohol, but it is soda.....

Why???? Because there are those that have health issues that prevent them from enjoying the soda beverages that are offered on board. There are many people that are allergic to the diet varieties offered where NutraSweet/Aspartame is used as the sugar substitute. This also goes for the "sugar free" desserts that are offered on board any RCI ship.

That has absolutely nothing to do with what I asked or the observation I made. Everyone has their reason for smuggling on whatever it is they choose to smuggle on. My question/observation was why do those who wish to smuggle on alcohol get crapped upon yet it is okay to smuggle on your desired beverage???

I can speak personally to this one.....I have gotten pounced on for saying I was bringing a few diet cokes in my carry on!!!! IMO I really only drink diet cokes on the sea days or sometimes with dinner. And, every once in awhile in my stateroom. So, IF the cruiselines would have a daily option, I would never feel the need to smuggle. You have to remember, not everyone has tons of money to drop on beverage packages and the like. They may have saved awhile just to take a cruise or they have multiple people in their family/party which would make for a lot of extra money spent on drinks. If I felt like I was going to be drinking 21+ diet cokes while onboard, I would have no problem purchasing the beverage package. And, I actually did end up purchasing one for my upcoming cruise which I'm sure I won't get my money's worth. However, my mom only wants maybe one per day so we'd like to bring a few in our carry on once again......let the scourning begin in 3....2....1

I agree not everyone wants to spend a small fortune on beverages. But in my case my drink of choice is Diet Mt Dew you can't find that in most places I've traveled so I make sure I have a Dew with me!

Ok, those wishing to have a few alcoholic drinks also save, scrimp, scrounge and probably don't wish to spend a large fortune on their preferred beverages either so back to my original question/observation - why is it that it is okay to smuggle on these beverages but not alcohol? Why do people who even mention smuggling alcohol on board get called immoral, thieves, cheats, cheap and all the other derogatory things that are posted???? It is much, much, much cheaper to buy a soda or glass of juice on board then it is an alcoholic drink. And don't say that people don't have to drink alcohol because they don't have to drink soda or juice either - there is plenty of free water on board.

Funny how when someone asks about bringing alcohol onboard they are bombarded with how morally wrong it is and they will cause the price of the cruise to increase because they are purchasing a few less drinks at the bar or if they are too cheap to buy alcohol on board then they shouldn't be cruising. So if it is technically against the rules to bring on any other kind of beverage why do so many people think that it is okay to do so? Why are people who do not wish to purchase pop (much cheaper than alcohol at $6.50/day for unlimited package) from the cruiseline not pounced upon and get called immoral thieves who are too cheap and therefore shouldn't cruise, etc., etc., etc.????

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with bringing on any beverage, just wondering why there is the double standard here - seems the same people who denounce those wishing to bring on a little bit of alcohol are the ones saying they bring pop/water on all the time!!!!

Wow! Yup RCI has definitely increased the price of the fares to coincide with this "promotion"! I had checked my prices for my FOS sailing in 2016, less than two weeks ago on Jan. 30 and just since that time my balcony cabin has increased $680 and the oceanview has increased by $700 with two people in each room!

Just found out they have adjusted the CND/US$ exchange rate so a large part of that increase would be the exchange rate since we paid in CND $. With such a huge drop in our dollar I don't think any promotion will benefit us since we would have to rebook at the going exchange rate.

Wow! Yup RCI has definitely increased the price of the fares to coincide with this "promotion"! I had checked my prices for my FOS sailing in 2016, less than two weeks ago on Jan. 30 and just since that time my balcony cabin has increased $680 and the oceanview has increased by $700 with two people in each room!

Non issue to non drinkers. We have no problem with the increase.

And you thought you needed to post on this thread why???

Its a bug....Bugs are outside.

 

 

Sorry, I dont mean to sound insulting....but I guess I understand where you are coming from being Canada where bug and skeeter populations are not something that is a part of life.

 

I will say this.....Dont worry about it..... your are over thinking the situation.

Actually in Canada, at least in my part of Canada, we have huge skeeter problems and the Ministry (gov't agency) tests ponds, water reservoirs, for larva every spring and also sprays for mosquitos due to the fact that they are a huge problem as a lot of them are carrying West Nile disease. So it isn't such a terrible question to ask if RCI sprays for them - by the replies on this thread you would think nobody has heard of spraying for mosquitos - so for those of you who are that unaware - that is how mosquitoes are killed!!!!

As per the original poster's question, when looking at the US gov't travel site map (sorry, I don't have the link, I clicked on it from another post last week) it doesn't show Haiti as been problematic for Chikungunya.

We booked a balcony cabin for the allure for 2016 through a travel agency and did not recieve the 100 pp on board credit. we were given the usual 100 that they always give us when booking a cruise through them. My question is why wouldn't they apply this. Do you have to book this through RCI?

If it was booked while RCI was offering the OBC then you definitely should get it. Any OBC received from the cruise line will be noted on your booking confirmation that your TA should've sent you. The OBC from the TA doesn't show on your confirmation.

Can you confirm that you have actually gone to guest services and withdrew cash during the cruise.

 

Last night you posted on another thread prior to posting on this thread asking about getting cash back and going to the casino to withdraw it.

 

There is a charge of 5% at the casino and there is no charge at guest services so this distinction is important.

 

 

Here is a copy of your post from the other thread,

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMaxwell

OBC can be used for tips ONLY if you don't have MyTime Dining. Royal doesn't feel it necessary to treat guests equitably in that case.

 

You can get refundable OBC back as cash at the purser desk at full value.

You can get non-refundable OBC back as cash in the casino for a 5% charge.

 

Can you explain how you do this please? Do I take my seapass into the Casino. Go to the person who hands out the cash and ask for a certain amount of dollars? How much can one get at one time? Do I have to give a reason for wanting the cash?

This would be really helpful for me to know. I've never done it, nor do I know anyone who says they've done it.

 

Thank you so much for any help in this!!

 

Joyce

I think maybe she is inquiring about the getting the non-refundable OBC from the casino.

Anyone want to know what the Diamond cruisers think about the program?

 

Probably not.:(

Nope - don't know why you would have any opinion on it since you don't have to pay for it. I know some people are boohooing because 15 people per sailing (sometimes 30) have the chance to pay for the perks you already have (oh yeah, and you get the extra perk of your cabin being ready upon boarding that you didn't get prior to FTTF) but I don't really care, sorry. I'll never be plat or dia because I would never limit myself to sailing only one line so of course I will jump on the opportunity to pay for the perks if I think they will be of benefit to me.

Is there a lot of noise around the elevator lobbies? Considering a cabin directly outside elevator lobby (7400 Carnival Conquest) or further down the hall away from the elevator (7358). I'm thinking we will probably have more traffic going by 7400 but on the upside it would be nice to step off the elevator and have our cabin right there. Anyone had a cabin close to elevators before and was it really any noiser than further down the hall?

Just make sure that the extra seat is also in one of your names. There was an idiot here, that thought they could just buy a seat in the name of someone not traveling. That will not work.

Is this really necessary??? CC is getting a rotten reputation for having such negative members with remarks such as this - someone makes a mistake/doesn't know something and they are called names, ridiculed etc. - very nice.