LadyZolt

On the meds: Royal Caribbean asked if people wanted Royal to re-fill prescriptions for them. They wouldn't do controlled substances, but things like cholesterol meds, they would do. They gave both my husband and I quotes for the meds we take and we elected to get them on our own as we could get them for less than Royal Caribbean would charge for them. So we bought a 9-month supply of what we need. Royal Caribbean won't bill your insurance; you'd have to pay when you got the meds from them. I believe some people did opt to let Royal re-fill their scripts. Royal wanted everyone to bring at least a 90-day supply aboard if they could. They also wanted people to bring a copy of their prescription -- I'm guessing that is in case someone did need something at some point and could prove they have a script for the med. The ship does stop in Los Angeles and Hawaii, so some people are opting to re-fill scripts at those locations.

This was not one of the included excursions. Royal offered one that was all day. Others chose independent vendors and either did all day ones or overnight ones. (Also, there are about 640 full world cruisers, and some of them weren't Platinum in time to get the included excursions, so not everyone on the full world cruise is going on all of the included ones.)

Just posting to say my husband and I are on the whole cruise and I try to read this thread when I can, but there are days when I don't. Confirming that the weather has overall been wonderful -- we were in the theater when the sudden wind came and the rain came in on decks 12 and 5 and the captain changed course, etc. We didn't even notice it. It was handled quickly and efficiently by Royal Caribbean and I probably wouldn't have noticed anything except that they had out fans drying the area near the elevators. I did hear about it from people who experienced it, though. Here's a photo I took at Iguazu Falls yesterday -- we had a great time! The weather was perfect and there's no way to really convey how amazing the falls are in person.

An appetizer on the menu for the MDR tonight is "Egg Drop Soup." 😄

They will do the "crossing the line" King Neptune ceremony for crossing the equator on our next sea day, which is January 27th. The Cruise Director (Joff) mentioned it today and I think I saw it in the app for the afternoon of the 27th. So, all the new shellbacks can feel "official" then. 🙂

And the chef seems to have a "special entree" item that isn't listed on the menu and you only learn about it if you go to the MDR. There have been some interesting ones so far. We'll see if there's a special item tonight when we head to the MDR in an hour or so.

Thanks, all -- I was just wondering if anyone had an idea as I never really thought about it before. 🙂

Okay, but back to my question: Generally speaking, how much money does a cruise line make from the casino? 🤔

I don't gamble much, so I'm not that familiar with how the casinos work financially for a cruise line, so I thought I'd ask here. 🙂 Anyone know how lucrative (or not) the casino is? I'm currently on the Serenade on the world cruise and I've walked through the casino several times while it's been open and operating, and there are tables with employees ready to play, but few people actually playing. I have sailed on other Royal Caribbean cruises, and other cruise lines with casinos, too (like Norwegian) and generally, there are a good number of people in it when it's open. I didn't think there would be the usual number of people in the casino for this specific cruise as it's more of a "destination intensive" cruise rather than a "getaway for a vacation" cruise, but the impression I'm getting is that Royal Caribbean expected more people than they're getting in the casino. I asked one of the dealers tonight if they had been busy since I have only walked through it a few times, and they said they have not and it seems like they thought they would be. So I was just wondering if anyone knows generally how much the cruise line makes off of the casino on a typical day or a typical cruise.

I heard that it is 20 children on the whole cruise, and 60 on this current first leg (Dec 10 to Jan 5). I'm on the full cruise, but I don't have any kids aboard, so I'm just repeating what someone else said. 🙂

Here’s a link that hopefully Royal Caribbean keeps updated: https://edocs.rccl.com/guestdocs/edocs/email/royal/UWC_SEG_Full.pdf

Self-serve laundry wasn't even on the list when they announced this cruise over 2 years ago. It only came about in December of 2022 when some full world cruisers were invited aboard the Wonder and got to bring up issues to some of the Powers That Be during several world-cruise talks given that weekend. They then had to figure out where and how to make this possible, and, as I said, there are only 3 washers in each laundry room, and only 3 laundry rooms. That's simply not enough to handle all the passengers. Personally, I don't think it's enough to handle the number of full world cruisers. But as I am one who cannot send anything to "boil and fry," I appreciate the effort even though I still think I'll be doing most of my laundry by hand in my cabin. 😀. But the FAQ link I sent does say that the segment cruisers do get the wash-and-fold, and as I quoted, it indicates dry cleaning, too. We will find out for sure soon. 😉

Am I correct that you'll be on two full segments (out of 4)? If so, dry cleaning is included in the laundry services. Here's a link to the FAQ: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/terms-and-conditions/ultimate-world-cruise And here's the relevant paragraph: "Laundry Services – Each stateroom is eligible to send three bags of clothes per week to be washed, pressed, dry cleaned and folded at no additional cost."

Those on the full world cruise will have access to the laundry rooms, assuming you booked the full world cruise and not the 17 individual legs. Even though I'm on the full world cruise, there are only 9 total washers -- 3 in each of the 3 laundry areas. So, I still plan on washing items in my cabin. I am bringing soap for hand washing, a basin, a drying mat (can use towels, too), and a clothes line. That way, I know I'll be able to wash something if all the washers are in use and I need some stuff cleaned.

Thank you so much for sharing all of those posts and photos! Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe journeys home! -Dorothy (LadyZolt)

As someone who is on the full world cruise, I do hope that the ship isn't sold out at any point. Less crowds sounds good to me! 🙂

Specialty dining is not included for either full world cruisers or segment cruisers. Full world cruisers will get 50% off (theoretically) at the time they dine. We’ll see what happens! 😄

If they are on the full cruise, they will probably stay overnight at the hotel and attend the gala. Many on the full cruise are having luggage sent ahead to the ship. I am sending four pieces myself. I think the 9th will be spent loading all that luggage and putting it in the staterooms. By the way, the cruise is 9 months long. I see a few posts saying 8 months, so just clarifying. December 10 to September 10. 😀

Except for you would have to take more than one Regent cruise in order to get to the same number of places that this one Royal Caribbean cruise is going. That's my point -- this one cruise is actually going around the world. Dollar for dollar, the Royal Caribbean is still a better deal, IMO.

I just looked at Regent's site for a world cruise -- the longest one I can see is 168 days and as I do the math, it's about $296 per person per night -- all inclusive. The Royal Caribbean one isn't "all inclusive," and it's not "all suites," but it does go around the world, and it is more than 100 days longer than this Regent one at 274 nights (276 if you count the two included hotel nights in Miami before the sailing), and it does include drinks; gratuities; 3 bags of laundry per week; internet; OBC (based on your loyalty level); 50% off specialty dining; most of us are getting several included excursions including Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, and the Great Wall of China; first class or business class flights to and from the cruise; two nights at a hotel with a "gala event" before the cruise; priority tendering; access to the (hopefully new and operational) self-serve laundry facilities; and I'm sure a few other things. I have a "spacious balcony" cabin and as I do the math for me and my husband, we paid about $281.00 per person per night. I'm sure it's not as luxurious as Regent, but it's honestly not a bad deal at all and I think Royal Caribbean is working to make it the best that they can. Everyone on the full cruise will be Diamond Plus by the end of the cruise even if they never sailed Royal Caribbean before, so they will get to enjoy those loyalty perks on future Royal Caribbean cruises if they want. And this world cruise will cross off a ton of things from my "bucket list." For me (and I think others), this cruise is a good deal.

The one I use I got from Amazon -- they call it a "collapsible portable wash basin dishpan." The measurements are 14.92 x 12.44 x 1.77 inches. It holds 9.25 quarts. I put it in the shower area and fill it, then use laundry soap on the items and rinse them out. I wouldn't use this on jeans or anything too thick -- but thinner slacks and pants, I can do fine in it. After washing, I roll items up in a towel or mat to remove as much water as I can. I have a travel clothesline, too, that I bring to hang items I've washed by hand. It's not ideal, but it works.

The self-serve laundry will only be accessible to those on the full world cruise. I believe those on the main four segments have the "wash and fold" service included (and the full world cruisers do, as well). As I understand it, there are only three self-serve laundry areas available -- one on each of three decks (don't remember exactly which decks they are on), and they each only contain three washers and three dryers. So, that's a total of 9 machines -- not really enough to handle everyone on the cruise. It may not be enough to handle the demand from those on the full cruise! So, even though I am on the full cruise, I am still brining my collapsible tub and planning on doing some laundry in my cabin.

Depends on the bartender. On my recent cruise on the Radiance, some did and some said they had to use their own cups and I could pour it into my refillable one myself.

Yes -- totally agree. Just to clarify: I am saying everyone should have travel insurance, and that insurance generally will cover reimbursing the cost of things. Some will also cover medical transport, but many say they will take you "to the nearest facility that can treat your condition." If you would rather actually be taken to your hometown hospital, then you will want to get something like MedJet that provides that service. The OP's first post said, "I can't imagine how much of a hassle medical transportation back to the USA from Iceland would have been" and that's why I was explaining that there are companies that provide medical transport so that you wouldn't have to worry about getting back home under those circumstances.

I had a similar experience back in 2015 -- we were scheduled to go to China, and we had to cancel the trip because I was in the hospital -- for about a month! They really don't want to operate unless they absolutely have to. In my case, they did. We had travel insurance, so we got back our money. However, as someone else posted -- having medical evacuation insurance for things like this buys great peace of mind. We use MedJet Assist. If I should end up needing this kind of medical care and I'm overseas, as soon as I'm able to be transported, MeJet will take me to my hospital near my home. I highly recommend that all travelers do the research to figure out what they would want to happen in the most unfortunate of circumstances and obtain insurance accordingly.