Engineroom Snipe

Understood. In my youth, my skin might have been paper 😊thin . As of now, a machete could hit it and bounce off. Life has a way of letting you know what is really important and what is "silt" (an appropriate reference to one of my earlier post). Regards and good health!

I cruised for almost thirty years without posting on Cruise Critic. This is not somewhere I need to be be in order to validate my existence. After less than thirty days, I will not give them any more business or my comments. Thank you all.

I think it might be time for me to run silent and deep. 😉

😉

Thank you. I am a newbie and I was wondering if I personally did something to justify a lock-down.

My most recent third person travel insurance policy stated the same. My insurance started on the day of my cruise. If something happened on my drive to the cruise, it was considered part of the policy. "Starting" the cruise by being onboard was not the intent of being protected. Like yourself, I do read the insurance policies. I know they are about forty pages in length but they are very descriptive and specific. Some TAs will advise you that you must buy insurance on the first payment of deposit or it will not be possible to get it later. Check-out the very good travel insurance agencies that only demand that your insurance be paid before YOUR FINAL DEPOSIT to cover existing conditions. If I only have a $200 Next Cruise deposit and something happens more than 90 days out, I just call the cruise line and lose my deposit. Cheaper than paying for insurance up to that point.

Is the dress code thread shut-down? I was trying to read comments and it was posted that I did not have access. Your thoughts?

I keep telling you, "It is time to play the Big Six Lotto Ball." Maybe give me a 0.1% advisory fee 😉. The proceeds will help a young couple at heart pursue their dreams 🤣😂. Oh, I cannot keep from laughing. Regards.

You have reinforced my point: when you have issues, you have to call and get them resolved. Mistakes are made and you call and get them corrected. I know this takes energy and sometimes resolve. I would not let them fester over time. Regards.

I have not had any problems with updating. I would advise you to call Crown & Anchor services and have them verify every cruise since your last correct update. You have been very patient. I would have have written many emails upon the first cruise not showing on the App or My Cruises, especially after four cruises in 18 months. Something seems amiss in such a long period of time. I have had Crown and Anchor issues but none of them have included updating my point status after 8 days after my last cruise. Be patient but assertive. One day at a time. Regards.

I have read many posts. When you are assigned a muster station, try to read the barcode again. In almost all of the instances, you will get the room number after the "-". I have not read anyone being able to read a room number without a muster station being printed. My observations, not absolute fact. Regards.

The Royal App had an update waiting on my Android Phone this morning. I was not having any problems previously. The App downloaded and updated but I did not notice any specific difference in its operation. Regards.

And the planner that you are, you have cancellation insurance as well as the fact you can punt it forward for a small reschedule fee. There are many options, you just have to know how to play the hand you are dealt. I think the worst case scenario is maybe a month or two adjustment to your schedule.

This leads into the discussion of the ministries involved in cruise ship travel "trying to extend the season". Not unlike many summer shore communities sponsoring "Oktoberfest" in an effort to fill hotel rooms and gain some end of the season tourism. Maybe they are trying to test the waters {pun intended). As stated by others, Bermuda is a quiet, colder place for the winter months. This is all relative. What may be cold to me would be a summer delight to people from Maine and Michigan 🤣. Should the cruise rates get low enough, they could occupy empty rooms with pax more than willing to meet the challenge. Always remember, one person's hell cruise is another person's swell cruise (I know, I am going to stop now before I hurt myself). 😨

YES!! I have not read a single thread, that after using the barcode reader with an assigned muster station, that the passenger did not get the assigned barcode room. You could possibly be charged for an "upgrade" that you are already assigned 😲. Cancel your upgrades and toast 🥂 your good fortune. Go out and play the Power Ball. Enjoy your cruise.

Specifically, after some further reading and research, this was a result of a September 15th, 2022, announcement that five transatlantic cruise ships slated for Bermuda changed their itineraries as they felt the testing protocol would be too burdensome on their pax and not feasible to do onboard the ship while it is underway. Bermuda is trying to expand its "shoulder season" of cruise tourists into the fall months. The loss of these coveted transatlantic pax would be someone else's gain. There was a little bit of weight being thrown around but no-one wants to admit it. There is still discussion about the continuing need for the visa except that the company contracted by Bermuda to run the visa program will not expire until March 2023. I would not be surprised if the company contracted the service for a percentage of the visa proceeds and shutting it down sooner would expose Bermuda to a penalty payment.

There is no standard. Every cruise line is free from any CDC standard. They decide what is best for their bottom line. I read into this article and it is interesting that RCL has stated they went from about 37% capacity this spring to about 63% capacity now. I am sure this is an average number of total cruises since summer is the high season and many cruise lines were hitting 100+%. NCL is trying to broaden its base as much as possible. The only restrictions upon them are the ports that they visit. Another thread refers to changes in Bermuda's policy which is ongoing. It is still a day-by-day thing, cruise line by cruise line.

Just like a train going downhill that suddenly loses its brakes. Hold😉 on for the ride!

My wife and I had MTD on the past three cruises. In September on the Oasis, reservations could not be made before 6:45pm on the app even when we tried to reserve ASAP pre-cruise. Once onboard, within the first hour, the app would not allow any reservations before 7:15pm throughout the cruise. I had reserved late times between 8:30pm and 9pm for the entire week. The first night was 9:00pm. This time in the past was usually lighter in volume than earlier times. We arrived about 8:40pm and it was chaotic. There were lines of more than thirty people in the 8:00pm queue, 8:30pm queue, no 9pm queue was organized yet, and a thirty+ standby queue for those walking in without a reservation. We were seated by about 9:35pm. I cancelled the next few nights and we were satisfied with the Windjammer, we do not go on a cruise for the food. I keep reservations for two of the remaining nights and things were improved slightly. We spent about 30 minutes from the time we were in line to the table but this was with reservations. With MTD, we understand we do not normally pick the table or the servers. I just do not want to lose 30 or more minutes just trying to get to the table with reservations. I am using regular second seating dining on my next cruise. On another thread, a cruiser suggested this with the caveat to inform the servers the night before or as soon as possible if we will not be attending the table so they do not waste their time waiting for us which I believe is a considerate thing to do. I have been cruising for many decades. When MTD first came into existence, gratuities were mandated to be paid pre-cruise when choosing MTD. The reason given was we did not know who was going to serve us and servers would still be tipped for no-shows. Some cruisers were going to the Windjammer for all three meals instead of the Main Dining Room leaving no tips for anyone serving meals to empty reserved seating in the Main Dining Room. The servers at the time were given a set number of guests to serve and their tips would be affected when people would not show up. I remember how upset one of our Main Dining Room waiters was when a woman was there every night except for the last night when tips were normally given to the waiter and busboy. He believed that this was done intentionally to avoid tipping which was expected at the time. The debate over gratuities is ongoing in another thread and I do not want to get into the pros and cons here. I am just stating the reason I was given by TAs years ago when I first asked about MTD. So I will used second main dining seating, inform staff if I am going to miss a meal, and pay the standard daily gratuities so my servers are still compensated for my empty seat.

You are not getting out of this thread that easy 😁. You keep your dog tags and all twenty-nine birthdays with more to come. Your penance will be perpetually monitoring this thread for more postings. 🤣

"Bring out your dead. I am not dead, I feel rather good," Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The poor horse.

You were very accurate that most of us follow rules and laws. I cannot be arrested for violating policy unless the policy has basis in law. Royal Caribbean can move personal items from the chair according to their policy while on board. They cannot arrest anyone for it. Should they choose not to enforce, it tends to embolden those who wish not to follow it. The type of person who ignores this policy does not think beyond themselves with or without a policy. They think they are more important than their fellow passengers. I am not going to exhaust myself in an attempt to teach them something they should have learned in kindergarten. Share the classroom toys with others, not keep them all to yourself. I would like the policy enforced in a uniform manner but I do not want to get involved in a verbal or physical confrontation. I will not attempt to enforce a policy that the cruise lines themselves do not enforce. I think I have beaten this dead-horse enough. I do thank everyone for their posts. I have something to ponder during my next cruise as I walk the decks. 😉

Policy. Royal Caribbean Lines International has a publicized policy. I am always amazed how many policies are created but never enforced. If one does not enforce the policy, it because toothless and useless. The policy should be removed. Kind of like the "Pirates Code", more of a guideline than a code. Regards, 😁

I know you have posted this many times in other threads. Thanks for the Apple clarification since I do not have an Apple.

I have an Android Phone. I downloaded an app from the store called Barcode Scanner. They have a subscription download and a free download. I used the free download. Bring your set sail pass up on a laptop or larger screen. Use the app to scan. If it does not scan, print out the setsail pass and scan that. Sometimes the barcode scanner will not work with displays that do not provide enough resolution or flicker (slow refresh rate). I have used this successfully. If you have an apple, others have stated to scan it into your Apple wallet app and it will provide a number. The last numbers after the "-" is your room number. If there is a muster station on your setsail pass, there should normally be a readable number even if your room still says guarantee. Regards,