bsjcb2000

There were several times that the only way we were able to be on the ship were to be on the lower decks (1 or 2) - some times this was a cost issue and sometimes it was joining a group at the last minute.    I feel the same way about lower decks that I do about Inside vs. balconies - they are all "eh" to me.   My first choice is to be on the ship - regardless of where 🙂  then I start getting picky - I always pick the midship room vs aft or forward, and then start moving up or down decks and in or out.  I dislike being forward or aft, as I tend to feel more movement in both those cases (and this seems to apply to be in large or smaller ships, your mileage may vary)

I do feel vibrations the lower we are, but nothing disruptive, and nothing loud. (Again, we do our best not to stay aft or forward though)

I haven't enjoyed staying right below the lido decks on some ships - literally heard deck chairs being dragged around what seems like all night and I swear the halls in the higher floors have a sewer smell to me.  My preferred floor tends to be around 5-8 depending on the size of the ship, but again, I haven't seen a room I'll turn down if it means I can go along for the ride! 🙂  Enjoy the trip either way!

for many years, we have cruised 4 to a cabin (DH & myself & our 2 sons)  As they get older (biggier) it does get harder - #1 Room Spray   #2 If possible, plan the times YOU want to get getting ready and let them know the cabin is off limits then 🙂  #3 if they are old enough, I agree w/ the flashlight sugestion so they can come into the room later and not disturb you too much.  #4 make sure they know the rule is "everything put away" once they are dressed.   this made all the difference 🙂 

We currently have a rental car reservation for Avis - is Avis a walkable distance for an adult couple (no kids) with 1-2 bags total?   We've never picked up a rental car AFTER our cruise, so I'm not really sure how it works.   We are being dropped off for the cruise (most likely uber) so wasn't sure how to "get" to the car afterwards.  I figured we could always uber if necessary.

We have been on several cruises (and different lines) and have had Interiors, OV, and balconies.   To us, it comes down to price - We usually book the Interior or OV and then watch for deals to upgrade (or accept upgrades offered to us)   There are pro's and con's to all the room types.  The biggest common pro is they are not at home/work 

Congrats!  It's always a treat to move to a better space for a deal!   We just snagged an upgrade/up sale offer  moving us from Interior midship to balcony midship for our upcoming May cruise - $104 

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

I ordered it because I wanted to try it. I try to learn from my mistakes. I was seduced by the word bacon.

I also ordered it and was repulsed by it.  Here @ home there is a place that has a "bacon drippings" sauce for the bread that is amazing, robust, and full of flavor.  I'll be honest, I was hopefully expecting something like that.  What I rec'd was literally a cup of bacon grease.  No flavor (how is that possible?) just greasy tasting.   it was one of the few things that stood out in a negative way from our cruise.  But, we only made the mistake of ordering it once 🙂

We cruised Carnival December 2021.  My husband doesn't drink alcohol at all - medical reasons and personal reasons.  But there are true medical reasons. I tried calling (and "chatting") with Carnival support and never got an answer at all.  On boarding the ship, we went straight to customer service, asked and was told with a doctors note the would let me buy Cheers and him buy bubbles (or whatever the soda package is)   Unfortunately, we didn't have time before the ship left port and we lost service to get the letter.  We ended up not buying the cheers package for me (he still got the soda package) and just paid out of pocket for my drinks.   I drank as much as I wanted, and never came close to the cost of the cheers package.  Try being prepared w/ a Doctors note and at worst, plan to pay out of pocket for your drinks.

In December, our servers brought them automatically (its like a different flavor was assigned to each day)   We really liked the Garlic and the Olive.  The Bacon, was literally Bacon grease.. so I didn't care for that one (and that's saying a lot since I'm in the south and literally everything is cooked in bacon grease)

I'd ask.. and then ask again if you still don't get it.

What cracks me up is the extremes described in the thread. Basically, you are either dressed to the nines and “appropriate” or, you are wearing clothing appropriate for yard work and construction 🤦🏻*♀️🤷🏻*♀️. Also, apparently, if you and your entire family don’t wear full formal gear, you are uncouth and unable to control yourself or your kids....- here’s a thought, simply because I am a rule follower. If the rules say “formal wear only”, our family either wears that or eats elsewhere that night. If It says “suggested” then perhaps hubby can leave his tux at home and I can leave my sequined prom dress at home and we can dress a little more casually, just because we prefer to- hubby usually wears dress slacks and a shirt and Maybe a tie, I have a LBD that I throw on and the kids were similarly as appropriate. And frankly, I don’t care with others wear as long as they don’t stink and don’t have dirty holey clothing. I guess my point is until Any cruise line makes It required, it’s open to individual interruptions. It’s better to have a “Not allowed” list then a “suggested attire” list as It removes the individual interruptions. I prefer smart casual, island wear as I’m on vacation etc etc. however, as I said earlier, variations of casual doesn’t alway mean sloppy.

Not to mention, I must be spoiled here at home because I consider the MDR food served to be barely better than an upper mid level restaurant in my area - I’ve eaten at plenty of fabulous places that I wouldn’t dare walk in the door “less than dressed”, but (1) the rules REQUIRE (not suggest) It and (2) the food, level of service and general atmosphere support It.

We go on a cruise as a family to enjoy It. I had no ideal that so many people sit back judging everyone. It makes me sad for them, because, frankly, I’ll still enjoy my vacation.

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I have enjoyed several crises over the past 6 years. I will agree, that each cruise, seems to be a little more casual than the one before It. I’m one of those customers that enjoys the casual vibes. I wear professional attire 5 days a week and also dress “business casual” for church on Sunday’s. It’s so nice to have a sun dress & light sweater or capri’s and a cute top. Not to mention, less luggage as transporting formal wear takes up more space (clothes, shoes etc) than, as we like to call It, “Island Wear”. Frankly, what others wear on a cruise/vacation doesn’t affect me as long as it’s clean and doesn’t smell. It’s a bit condescending though to refer to people dressing casually as “slobs”. Casual doesn’t always equal sloppy.

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It doesn't stand for anything and shouldn't be in all caps - but the biggest local maker capitalizes their name (The ULU Factory) so many folks now seem to think it should be a contraction, U.L.U., standing for something: Un-named Lopping Utensil perhaps;-)

 

It actually translates to something like "Woman's knife" in English from Inuktituk and Inuvialuktun as it would be used for 'in home' tasks like hide scraping and general cutting rather than hunting or fighting. Other arctic first nations have different names for the same thing - and there are several different styles, breadth of blades, tightness of curvature etc. which are optimised for different tasks but all share a curved blade with a parallel handle above.

 

Used with a curved cutting board (buy a boxed set) they are very effective for fine chopping/mincing - all the double-bladed 'rocking herb knives' you see around were obviously ripped off from the concept - but for most folks it'll probably end up on a shelf as a conversation piece barring a real effort to learn how to maximise the utility of the shape. That said, if you lack strength/have arthritis you may find a knife in this style involves less strain to use than a traditional 'blade sticks out from the end of the handle' knife.

Thank you for this info -- I love learning the back story. I got excited when everyone started talking about the knives, and then when I saw the picture, I was like, WOW that's crazy - will definitely have to make it it makes it into the checked bag for the flight home! Knowing the backstory, makes me that much more interested in looking for one. I know prices will vary, but what does these typically average?

Thanks!! I think we may be doing Royal because of the Kids Sail Free promo.

 

I'm debating between the Oasis class or one of the refurbished smaller ones, like Adventure or Independence. I've heard the bigger ships actually don't feel as crowded as the smaller ones... More to research!

We have been on smaller ships (the Vision class) we have been on the Freedom and the Oasis. We and our children LOVED the freedom and Oasis. We still enjoy the smaller ship, but the bigger ones have a LOT to offer and I highly recommend them

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Our family had been cruising royal Caribbean for the past 10 years for reunion cruises, because we have such a wide range of kids - my oldest was 8 his first cruise and will be 18 on our next one. Our kids have always loved the kids club - half the time we have to practically beg them to hang with us! Also, i have several family members (adults and kids) with food allergies/intolerances and they have never had a problem getting appropriate food options. We have only cruised carnival as adult groups so I can’t speak to the kid programs there

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We have set “meeting times & places” and also leave notes in our rooms. Mandatory dinner together each night and honestly we all end up spending a lot of time together on the pool deck and with the outdoor activities

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Thank you [emoji16][emoji483]

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Thanks for the info everyone - follow up question - we are leaving (in 7 days!!) for a short cruise - 5 nights New England out of Boston - is anyone aware on if shorter cruises like this range get the card offered? We are just going to ask, but trying to finish out my “expected to spend budget” [emoji23]

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On our last cruise, we took a “WOW” sale offer / discounted pricing and OBC. The RCCL rep was clear to point out any room changes once the WOW sale was over would cause that room to loose the WOW perks. So she was stressing to us to make sure we were good with room assignments She said this was a specific caveat of the WOW sale. Moral - make sure to read the fine print. Either way, enjoy your upgrade

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I have never once seen the deposit/charges for a future cruise appear on our onboard account. This would mean that a cruise deposit could be covered by OBC, which I would suspect is a big no no in the RC bean counter world.

I certainly wouldn't presume to speak for anyone else, and we certainly haven't taken tons of cruises, however, each time, we have done it the same way and each time, at the end of the cruise I have one charge on my credit card for the onboard account total,which includes drinks, souvenirs, misc charges and our deposits for the next cruise. Not sure why it worked this way for each of my cruises, but it did. We have always booked our next cruise while onboard as we do it as a big family group (over 30 people). We usually have a small amount of OBC (usually less than $300) and drinks, souvenirs, misc are usually in the $300-400 range and then our "next cruise deposits" are also there. Not a high roller by any stretch. Maybe it was a fluke, but, if that is the case, it's been a "fluke" multiple times for us. ?

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Not sure if this is helpful or it - every cruise we have been on, we book our next cruise at the Next Cruise desk / our ship account for the cruise we are on then shows our regular charges as well as the deposit due for our next cruise. We can then go to guest services and pay our ship account in full with cash. We have done this as recently as our 2016 cruise

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Op - this may or may not be helpful - my first cruise ever (RCCL) I developed Strep Throat - didn't know what it was at the time, but with high fever, dizzy, vomiting etc, I ended up visiting the ships infirmary- was tested, observed for a few hours, given antibiotics and "released to my room". My final bill had charges around $1800. Which EVEN THOUGH I had purchased the cruise insurance, I had to pay before we got off the ship. Then I had to submit to my insurance and anything not covered by my insurance (I want to say it was about $600) was then reimbursed to me. Y the cruise insurance. So cruise insurance and my health insurance eventually reimbursed me for 100% of the cost, however, I still had to pay with my $ before I could get off the ship. My lesson learned (for me) #1. I refuse to travel without at least $5,000 available on my emergency use only credit card #2 buy the travel insurance.

I will say, submitting the bill to my insurance company and then the bill and copy of insurance response to the cruise insurance was easy and I had my $ from both of them within 2 weeks

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My cousin has several allergies and special dietary needs. She always sends RCCL an email, prints a copy of the response to bring with her, and then meets with the headwaiter for the MDR, and for the Windjammer on embarkation day. She's never had any problems, and they have always been able to accommodate her.

I have to agree with others that she should be able to plan out a very easy menu with her Dr. before she goes, and then, while it won't be the exact packets of food she is used to, there is no reason, even with the standard fare for her not to be able to follow most diets. She will have to be "strong" and resist things, and limit her portions, but she will have plenty of options.

I would be shocked if RCCL or any cruise line would accept a passengers prepackaged food and prepare it and serve it... way to many liability issues and potential for food cross contamination.

I take it you got better. :D

:')

I thought I asked this question already, but can't find it anywhere so....

Do people dress more casual on the Southern type cruises than northern type?

All of the cruises I have been on, have been going to the Caribbean --- I pack a ton of clothes (Ship/Excursion Casual, MDR casual, MDR Formal, for me, DH & 2 kids)

Every cruise, I come home with a ton of clothes not even worn because I find that most of the ship/excursion casual clothes we wear (typically Carpi's, T-Shirt or blouse or light sun dress) are acceptable for every night on the cruise except for the formal nights, which we do use the formal night clothes...

Having not been on a northern cruise before, I'm not sure if we over pack because of the nature of the cruise we have taken in the past or if that's just how everyone dresses now, on all the cruises.

Since we are flying in for this trip, I don't want to have a ton of space taken with my "over packed" clothes, and since we have to bring warmer clothes anyway I want to use my space effectively :) Thank you!

OP, I don't know if its because I'm in the insurance business, but your suggestion scares the HECK out of me!! I kinda hope your just joking around, but if not, I strongly suggest you refer to the actual rental contract - and make sure you have good insurance on it... someone wrecks, steals, etc the car, and you are potentially out a lot more than parking fee's or shuttle transfer fee's.

Thank you - that's a good point that I didn't think about.

I also wish these boards had a "like" feature like Facebook :)