shipgeeks

I see things like this on the "Confiscated Items" table at the end of every cruise, along with a number of "cruise approved" irons and other appliances.

Essential: required documents, toothbrush, hairbrush, undies. Fun: nice outfits for every evening. We have a lot of "things" at home. On a cruise, it's wonderful to have nothing visible in the cabin except the furniture that's already there.

Or not use anything, and let the cabin lights turn off when we are not there. (Why should lights stay on when we're out??) As Chief Engineer confirms, not inserting a card does NOT turn off the cabin AC.

April 23 through May 21, 2024.

Does your booking show your dining assignment? There could be Early, Late, or My Time. If you have Early or Late, the exact time will be on your ship card, along with the table number. If you have My Time (or whatever name HAL uses), you can just show up, or you can reserve times in advance.

See the post "what are light cards?" Chief Engineer confirms that not using anything like this will NOT turn off the AC. In other words, just another unneeded product.

I think you just proved my point, lol!

.....and apparently, lots of people are falling for it. I see posts (mostly elsewhere!) mentioning Amazon's "Royal Caribbean Cruise Essentials". Then I see posts such as "Is everyone in my family required to buy and wear this lanyard?", "Do I need to worry about my luggage if I don't buy these luggage tag holders?" "I'm putting aside some $$ every month so I can buy the extras that RC requires." I understand there are dozens of items on the "essential" list...and growing. Appliances, electronics, bedding...

In Mexico, yes. In Canada, I have yet to meet anyone who prefers US dollars. Why would they?

We have done the spring TA three times. We always find it quite cool out on deck, due to the wind. I almost always wore two or three light layers on sea days if I was going to be on an upper deck.

Vision was RC's Ship of the Year, 2023. She had the highest passenger reviews in the fleet. One of the things we like is the views of the sea from all over the ship, including a real Promenade Deck (as opposed to a Royal Promenade, aka inward-facing shopping mall).

One more Amazon "must buy for a cruise" thing?

Toothbrush and hairbrush. Not much else.

Vision of the Seas, from Baltimore, does a nice 9-night C/NE cruise several times each season.

Ours clearly says "based on double occupancy" (which is our default), includes our loyalty status, and states that it includes port fees but not airfare nor taxes. Any time I log on, the responses are automatically personalized for us. Yes, it was a great group (or non-group) of passengers. We've probably gotten group rates on other cruises, but never had any reason to sense that we were part of a group.

Years ago, we used to browse different online agent sites. We found some to be very confusing and hard to navigate (does this price include port fees or not??), and eventually found one that was very clear and straightforward, and easy to navigate. We used that one for a long time for doing research (same as I used the Sears catalog as a wish book when I was a kid). We decided to give them a try, and the rest is history. First time, we call, and are connected with an agent, who becomes our usual agent. When we choose a cruise, we email him, he calls with a cabin and price, we book, he sends us an email confirmation. For us, it works well every time. Funny story: This agency has a group bookings department, which our agent has used to get us a better price. On one cruise, we found that our MDR table seated 11 people, all of whom came to dinner each night. The AHW asked us how we all knew each other. We didn't; we were from all over the country. Apparently we had been booked as a group, and the cruise line had taken that literally. (It was a great table.)

We have never bought a drink package; not tee-totalers, but would never find it worthwhile for our few evening drinks. We do enjoy many of the free drinks, coffee, tea, iced tea, lemonade, Arnold Palmers, juices, and most importantly, the ship's water, from bathroom tap and from dispensers. Much nicer than any bottled water. I have to agree with the point about being off the ship many days, and not being able to sit around the pool with Pina Coladas all day.

Thanks! Yes, sunscreen is the only thing I could think of that would make the use of two appropriate. But I've looked at mine, and it doesn't seem to contain any sunscreen. I'm using the one I have, and my face has not fallen off or anything. And I'm telling myself it is fresher if I use just one til it runs out.

We are both definitely Ship people. We want to be on a smaller ship, with a promenade deck and other outdoor spaces, and views of the sea while we sail. Seeing the sea and sky (and maybe flying fish) and feeling the movement of the ship. We have cruised to many destinations, and many are now repeats. Our favorite cruises have been the long stretches of sea days, on a TA or Hawaii. The only ports at which we now usually get off the ship are on a C/NE itinerary.

GeezerCouple, You have confirmed for me what I always thought. So many people seem to think that having travel insurance is the perfect solution for anything that could go wrong, whereas we just make sure our credit cards/funds will cover emergencies.

Most of the products I use/see are named one or the other: Day or Night. What's the difference? Any disadvantage to using just one for both applications?

I know that many non-US hospitals require payment upfront, often $$$. I always wonder if having evidence of travel insurance is sufficient in that position. Doesn't insurance always require that we pay for a service and then submit claims for reimbursement?

Yes, gloves, and a ski-type headband to keep ears warm.

When we did our AK cruise, all we could justify was an inside cabin. Due to circumstances, we were moved to a balcony, our first. We did not enjoy it. We do like being able to look out, but the balcony obstructed our view of the water and scenery. We spent virtually all our waking hours up on the top deck, watching the scenery in all directions, getting sunshine if it was a sunny day. During the 10-night cruise, we only spent a couple of hours, one afternoon, out on the balcony, and we were not at all comfortable. Have a wonderful cruise!

Yes.