Salt Lifer

What is your mom's opinion of the blueberry soup?

In fairness, is $40 a day split between many people for going above and beyond really excessive?

I prepaid gratuities for an upcoming charge because a.) I like the idea of tips being distributed to many people that help make my trip wonderful, even those behind the scenes whom I may not interact with, and b.) it is just a little easier logistically. That said, I always tip my room stewart a little extra for good service, and will do the same for my waiters if I get the same ones throughout the week. My concern is, do these people have access to a list to know that I have participated in the pre-tip program? I would hate to give them a smaller tip (because a big chunk of it was already pre-paid) and they think I stiffed them or that I didn't appreciate their service. I was thinking maybe adding a note in with the cash saying that although I had pre-paid gratuities, I wanted to give them a little extra for helping to make our week extra special. How do you all that prepay handle this?

How sad for that couple and their loved ones.

I bet you know more of his songs than you realize... America, Love on the Rocks, September Morn, Forever in Blue Jeans, I'm a Believer (which he originally wrote and sold to The Monkey's), Red Red Wine (which was made famous when covered without permission by UB40), and so many other classics. Have fun!

That duck looks amazing! Much better than the soup and salad I made tonight. 😞 What were the desserts? Enjoy the Neil Diamond show... I am his number one fan so I am jealous that you have that show on your ship!

Your time difference is killing me. It is dinner time here and I know I am going to have to wait a long time yet to get dinner pictures. 😞

Are you using the ship's scale in the gym? I have long suspected they change the tare as the cruise goes on in order to scare cruisers into eating less... a clever way to cut costs. Don't fall for it!

Same! I have very little willpower when it comes to food. If it is accessible I will eat it. Which is why - much to the annoyance of my kids - I don't keep snack food in the house. That said, it is a well-known fact that cruise calories don't count. 😉

Clearly just water weight... nothing to worry about! Keep the food pics coming! Actually, I hear it is good for metabolism to eat lots of small portions throughout the day, so that might be an argument for adding a few more snacks from Cafe Al Bacio and the buffet. Just saying.... Also, spell check keeps changing Cafe Al Bacio to Cafe Al Bacon, which I find sort of funny.

Clearly just water weight... nothing to worry about! Keep the food pics coming! Actually, I hear it is good for metabolism to eat lots of small portions throughout the day, so that might be an argument for adding a few more snacks from Cafe Al Bacio and the buffet. Just saying.... Also, spell check keeps changing Cafe Al Bacio to Cafe Al Bacon, which I find sort of funny.

Yay! Now let the fun begin! Also, I just did a workout... feel free to eat an extra 300 calories on my behalf. Haha.

You know what goes well with mobile bar drinks? Snacks!

Unacceptable. I think this at least calls for a snack from Cafe Al Bacon or the buffet... Take one for the team!

Is it dinner time yet? I'm hungry and have been living vicariously through your dinner pictures all week!

Interesting. I am curious why you think it would be a disaster to all loyalty programs if they did that? My thoughts is most people have limited time and money for cruising and are probably considered privileged if they can take more than 1-2 cruises a year. So what is the difference if they earn their points sailing 100% of the time on Celebrity vs. 75% on Celebrity and 25% on Royal? Ultimately, they may hit a higher tier a little faster but they really won't be using the perks in any greater amount due to the limited time/money factor.

No, that is not what they are talking about about... Right now if you are "Elite" on Celebrity you become something similar in Royal as a match. But if you are 10 points away from Elite on Celebrity you stay 10 points away on Celebrity regardless of how many cruises you take on Royal, until you hit enough points on Royal to earn their equivalent. What they are proposing is a potential of accumulated points... So for instance if it took 100 points to get to a certain level you could earn 70 on Celebrity and 20 on Royal and 10 on Silversea and hit that tier.

The benefit is it encourages cruisers to stay within the RCCL family for all their cruising needs - so for a couple who likes child-free cruises in Celebrity, there is more of an incentive to take their family vacations on Royal, for instance, since they will still get points for the vacation. Otherwise they have nothing to gain by choosing Royal over Disney or Carnival. For those of us who may want to try a more upscale (costly!) experience, knowing our status will carry to Silversea and we would continue earning points would be a benefit rather than considering another line like Oceania. THe perks for each tier would obviously vary from line to line, but you would be able to retain your status. Good for cruisers and for shareholders.

Laura seems especially skilled at talking around any questions that is asked, all with a big smile. I suspect that was her biggest qualifications for getting the job. Personally, I wish they would find a new host for these presentations that appeared more professional. I didn't think it could get worse than her constantly overused valley-girl injection of "awesome" into every other sentence, but apparently she is now trying to balance that out by throwing "epic" into as many sentences as possible, as well. Here is the Cliff's notes of the video. 1.) The President's cruise will be both AWESOME and EPIC!!! 2.) Sorry Southamptoners, no additional ships in port for you. 3.) More awesome (and epic?) wine options will be available at an upcharge, allegedly requested by the "most loyal guests" so no complaining about the upcharge, okay? 4.) Better say your goodbyes now to your favorite M-class ships.... 5.) Hints that the RC, Silversea, and Celebrity points may combine, but of course no official confirmation. Personally, this one would be a positive change for the guest if it were to happen.

I always carry a travel sized bottle of Downy Wrinkle Release in my luggage. I spray my close when I unpack and hang them up and they look completely wrinkle-free within minutes.

I have experienced a lunchtime seafood buffet in both Beyond and Apex. In both cases I believe it was held on the last sea day.

My experience with Celebrity desserts is that they can be hit or miss, but I never skip their chocolate mousse (and the chocolate tortes in Cafe Al Bacon). Always on point!

Those chocolate tortes are my diet downfall every time!

So are you implying I am lying? Because I can 100% assure you what I and others within our group experienced is the truth. Regarding the armed guards at the beach at the resort at night, you need to understand that the clientele at this resort was high end (as I said, this was a earned trip and not one I could ever afford) and I suspect the security was in place by the resort itself. But they 100% patrolled the shoreline in 4 wheelers with machine guns strapped to their backs. The person that was with me was freaked out enough they wanted to go back to the room - I told them at that particular moment we were probably in the safest area of the resort!