HappyTexan44

Thinking about this, Royal created this problem by having everyone and their dog included in the 'tip' pool.

I don't consider it unreasonable to want a freshly cooked burger instead of a cold and hard one. For any crew that has a problem with that, I really don't care what they think. There is a reason that the "Have it your way" was a huge thing and even McDonald's backed off on their previous, "Like it or Lump It" philosophy. If cruise food is compared to a crappy drive-thru, I'd hope the cruise would come out ahead, but that seems unreasonable to you.

Passport cards have their place, but I'd never do non-driving international travel on one. In addition to drives across the border to somewhere near the border, they are a good first ID for kids. Around the same cost as a non-driving state ID, proves citizenship, and takes less time to get. By time, I mean time you waste in a government office, not time to get the card in your hand.

@gmerick Could you explain more your understanding of that lawsuit? It sounds like it is about some positions getting much more than the minimum. That doesn't make sense to me. Or maybe it is some complaining that others are getting paid more than them? It also jumped out at me that extra tips added to the bill were added to the pool. That would tick me off.

To me, that is flat-out skimming. Laundry is not a tipping position. Maintenance is not a tipping position.

That is what attracted me to Royal. I set out to find a ship with a big water slide that 'nickel-and-dimed'. Even included we wouldn't drink much or use the internet. I once went with a group to Sandals. Liquor was watered down and wine wasn't even cooking quality.

I am shocked at some of the judgmental responses. Not everyone uses their phone the same way and that is OK. For some people their phone is their end-all-be-all, and that is OK. I know people that don't have a home computer because they do everything they need on their phone. I know several other people that use flip phones. The only reason DH doesn't use a milspec flip phone anymore is that the batteries became too expensive. For me I use my phone for calls, texts, camera and audiobooks. For our phones I've made them 'a little dim', for security purposes. It was amusing during the lockdown when waiters were confused that QRcodes don't work on our phones to get the menu, and therefore we needed a paper menu. I already have the app, so I'm not anti-app but there is no call to dump on people that don't want to use their phone for everything.

I also think that Royal won't do a crack-down until it effects their bottom-line. People raising a stink when they can't use their balcony because of the smoke. People telling them they booked an interior because their friend told them about the smoke on the balconies. When I was very young, I was a bit of a turd about my mother's smoking cigarettes. I used to do things like leave lung cancer pamphlets on her smoking chair on the back porch, and wave menus at her when she lit up in a restaurant. I've apologized to her, and she quit a long time ago. Maybe some public shaming is in order for those doing it in public areas. Unlike my mom, they'd deserve it.

From the WSJ article, this guy needs a slap upside the head, in addition to a lifetime ban. "A 25-year-old TikTok influencer from Orlando, Fla., says he was asked to disembark in Jamaica from a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise midway through the trip after he was caught on surveillance smoking marijuana on an upper deck of the ship. The man says he has a medical-marijuana card and had previously sailed with products containing THC without any issues."

Piggy-backing on this. I booked through a TA for our Starter cruise in Feb. My TA entered our passports already. At least I think she did. Are the TA's allowed to do the other check-in stuff that isn't getting a time slot or medical questions? It would be nice to have that stuff done ahead of time in case the app is being flaky during our check-in time.

Could the passport offices be extra efficient now because of the Christmas holiday? Like maybe the office is promised extra time off once they process all passports received before X day? I don't know if this is still true, but at one time the best time to go to the DMV was in the last hour they were open. There was a rule that anyone waiting before closing time would be processed. Then there had also been fights on who got overtime. So a decision was made that no workers could leave until everyone could leave. So, the people that normally stayed in the back, not helping customers directly, would man all the booths and customers would be processed quickly.

I agree. Putting myself in the position of a decision maker at Royal. Would I really want as a customer someone that would bring skunk weed on a cruise? No. I also would permanently ban anyone that I could prove was smoking (anything) where they shouldn't be. Also, anyone deliberately harming the ship. With pot, and cigarettes and vandalism, you can't plead ignorance. People should assume they are banned unless you learn otherwise. On the other hand, people that bring a clothes steamer on the ship, those you just confiscate the steamer.

Boarding. 13 cabins of people got the letter at the port and 2 of those boarded. I assume that all 13 got the same Too Bad So Sad letter. So, of the 11, it was one that attracted attention. It might also be that there were so many that got the letter. If they did one or two of those letters every so often, likely people wouldn't have noticed as much.

Maybe that is it. I guess there are people booking those three-level family suites (or whatever they are called)

People can spend their money however they want. But, if they have that kind of fritter money, I have to wonder why they aren't on another cruise line and not, well, on the same one as me.

I wonder if sometimes the victims just go quietly into the night, and don't complain on social media. Or if they do, only their friends see. Royal would consider that a win. In this case it was only the one person's story that took off, and many people had been denied. For me it was the pathetic resignation that I noticed.

The post office was great, one of the joys of living in an exurb is the nice people. Would UTD have been even quicker? When I said we had to go to the post office, I meant we weren't able to do it online. Some friends of ours are waiting until their daughter is 16 before applying for a passport for her. I will mention that to them.

I am bowled over by how quick that was. We applied, I think Nov 19th. Non-expediated, and one was a new child passport. The passport was in our mail yesterday Dec 9th. DH was in the hospital so I haven't gotten mail in about a week, so it might have been there sooner. It also came in a priority mail envelope although I hadn't paid for priority.

In our case, the promenade rooms were cheaper than interior. I was booking for two adults and two teenagers and trying to get as cheap of a room as possible. One 4-person interior was more expensive than two 2-person promenade rooms. So, no brainer to go with the cheaper option that also had two bathrooms. . I really want to stay away from smoke.

All this talk about skunk weed makes me extra glad for our promenade view rooms. I'd be ticked if I'd paid for a balcony I couldn't use.

Well, this is interesting. We'd had to go into the post office. For both DH and I, our previous passports were expired too long to just be a renewal. Plus, I'd married since the last passport, and then we had daughter's first passport to do. We did that shortly before Thanksgiving. At the post office, they told us that they'd send the supporting documents back separately and that they'd probably come a month after we had the passports. I wasn't expecting any movement on the passports, but I've been checking the passport status every now and then. I see this: "We sent your supporting documents via First Class Mail on 12/01/2023 to the mailing address you provided on your application." I had to reread it because my mind didn't believe it was still "processing." That is amazingly quick. Of course, I don't have the passports in my hands, but still. We do live in Texas.

One thing I kept remembering when reading the OP was the pamphlet that was posted here awhile back from 1984. It had made a big impression on me because a similar cruise in a similar room was very close in price to what I paid for our Feb 2024 cruise. The actual dollar amount, not converted for inflation. I bet if someone paid in real dollars the same as 1984 prices then the problems listed in the OP will go away. I am talking about normal pricing on a more luxurious line so not Royal. I think of that when I get seriously grumpy about the airline cattle treatment. I think of what flying was like when I was a youngin' as the Grand Ole Days. I could fly first class for the converted dollars that I was spent for the tickets.

And that sort of people is even MORE likely to light the ship on fire than your average smoker.

@YoupDeBoer Thank you for that photo. If the selection is reasonable and cans, then I'll keep the soda package.

Just wondering this. For someone renewing and a tight schedule, couldn't they send in their BC as their citizenship proof? So, instead of using the BC to sail, and sending in the passport before the cruise, send a BC in for the passport renewal. Not saying this would work, but maybe you guys know why it wouldn't.