Anton

The email saying that you either have or don’t have suite lounge and CK access should arrive tomorrow or the day before you board. But then I got one email saying I didn’t make the cut and when I got to the cabin I had a card saying I did get access.

King Ranch Casserole...they need to put that on the menu for the Texas cruises, at least in the Windjammer.

The Ford F Series King Ranch model for instance. If anyone doesn't know about the King Ranch, it's a prime example of "everything is bigger in Texas".

Yep. No phone numbers or email addresses. Just links to FAQs.

It’s quite common now for main seating to be at 5pm. It’s been what we’ve experienced for the past several cruises even though it’s shown as 5:30 elsewhere. They want to get people in and out earlier so they can clear tables for the My Time Dining crowd.

They definitely want the public relations aspect of the Texas flag since Galveston is by far a drive-to port for guests. Remember that they also handed out cowboy hats for the president’s cruise from Galveston last year. As I recall the Texas flag is not only the state flag but also is the flag of the original Republic Of Texas so it’s got that historic importance.

They removed the #9 option a few weeks ago. All calls now get the automated message before proceeding.

The website is working again and I noticed the asterisk by the 45% off image at the top of my planner. It is only valid for bookings made today, May 6. So I don't know if that means new cruise bookings, or planner "bookings".

I was able to access my cruise planner earlier this morning and for 10 different cruises the only packages I saw with 45% off were the Evian bottled water. All the other packages were the usual discounts.

Cabins are open for guests to access around 1pm or shortly after. Guests are not allowed to access the cabin area prior to that, even if you just want to drop off carry on luggage and get seapass cards. You use your setsail pass or just your cabin number for purchases prior to the cabin availability.

The list of cruise lines that have self-serve laundry is not very extensive. Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Disney, and Oceania are the ones that spring to mind. NCL doesn't (they used to but removed it many years ago). None of the Royal Caribbean Group brands have it. I don't recall Royal ever having it, but they may have on their original ships. Royal did install machines on the world cruise aboard Serenade, but only because it's a unique cruise. They will be removed once the voyage ends. I don't think laundry service is a huge profit center for Royal Caribbean. They just don't want to deal with the maintenance, stocking supplies, etc. It is what it is.

Luggage tags and cruise documents are not issued until 30 days before departure date.

The app works for me but I always use a printed setsail pass from the website. I find that it is quicker to show the printed pass to the check-in agent rather than fumbling around with my phone.

Currently aboard Caribbean Princess. I have the Plus Package and in the app under my profile I have ‘onboard packages’ and in it there is a counter for drinks and desserts. It resets at 6am and only counts the alcohol drinks.

Flags of convenience and open registry are the search terms to use. Bahamas is one of the open registry countries. So is Vanuatu. We can safely assume that the ships registered in Vanuatu never visit there. It’s apparently quite a good business. I just learned that the Liberian registry is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia and has a contract with the Liberian government to split the registry fees between the government and the owners of the registry corporation.