pcur

The Getty Center Museum in Malibu still has tickets for Fri morning. It's free, but you have to reserve advance tickets: Getty Museum Tickets

According to the County of Los Angeles road closure web site: Use Of A 450-Ton Hydraulic Crane To Install Modular Units 05/16/22 12:00 AM 06/10/22 11:59 PM

My buddy, Reni, in Izumi's on the Navi got $10 in cash from me every time.

I was on the Jewel, Vision, and Navigator, and saw the seafood buffet in the Windjammer on embarkation day on one ship, and on the last sea day on one other ship. So, that varies from ship to ship, and I would imagine depending on local suppliers. When are you on the Allure in Sept? I'm on the 9/17 cruise, and love the itinerary.

To me, coconut or palm oil are a great laxative...................................... I can't even LOOK at a product with coconut anything in it. Mental aversion to it based on past history.

I'm not surprised. Housekeeping froze, instead of refrigerated, my husband's insulin in 2019. The onboard doctor was REALLY upset about this, had a delivery to our cabin 5 minutes after we docked in Cozumel the next morning, and Customer Service reimbursed us at the next stop in Key West when we replaced the remainder at CVS.

Seems to me it's worth at least asking. My focus is to always have a Plan B.

I'd have a back-up plan. Check with Customer Service or the Medical Center about getting the test done on board the ship. This would be in case the wifi is wonky.

I do know that vaccinations for 12 and over were approved in May 2021. RCCL usually modifies their policies within a few weeks, sometimes less, whenever the CDC changes the requirements. I do know that I have received COVID health protocol emails from my travel agent for everyone of my booked cruises, starting last year. I didn't keep these emails, because I was tracking these protocols on my own.

I think the poster meant to purchase the Key is a better use of funds than a drink package for them.

I like to use a web site that shows a satellite picture of all the ports in an itinerary. s e a s c a n n e r

However, one might want to add a cash gratuity for the staff. Same effort on their part to make/bring the drink for you, and they work for tips. I budget for this and take enough $1 bills with me.

I'm sure the bartenders are allowed to ring up "promotional" drinks (for lack of a better word). I just don't think what's being proposed on this thread is a good thing to do deliberately.

I actually thought the tip was included, too, until I asked once. That's when I started tipping cash for the vouchered drinks.

I think you and PhillyFan are not familiar about how tightly controlled the liquor is on board the ships. Company policy infractions are taken very seriously by RCCL management, and especially with alcohol. They've had some REALLY, REALLY bad incidents with alcohol over the decades I've been sailing. Just go along with the program, please, because if there is a trend of cheating on the free drink vouchers, RCCL can easily take that perk away.

Twangster is mistaken. I've received the receipts several times over the 58 days of sailing recently on 3 ships. They are all zeroes, including the tip. I keep $1 bills on me when I know I'm going to use the vouchers. Easier than asking for a receipt and adding a tip of your choice.

Sorta/kinda off topic: I felt like I was on one of these CruiseCritic threads about COVID restrictions, etc., this morning while texting with my adult son. He's going to Italy the end of next week. I offered up some of my N95 masks I have in the package. He said Italy lifted it's travel restrictions on 6/1. I started chuckling, because here I was going out, finding an article about the 6/1 changes, copying and pasting the "EU has lifted the airplane mask mandate, except for Italy, who requires them on planes and also crowded indoor venues." I could here him sighing from 4 miles away.................."OK, Mom. Bring the masks when you drive us to the airport". 😄

VERY good point!!!

About the CLIA number: At the get-go, BinaxNOW was who RCCL partnered with for testing. Putting a link on their web site for people to buy the tests. We were all relieved that we had a very convenient way to do this, especially people who were traveling 2 days before the test. Great! It's portable, and you can do it with your phone or a computer. I think RCCL included the CLIA number in their policy statement because BinaxNOW, their testing partner includes it on their test results. It was a convenient way to grab the info required. Today I did an online chat with Test and Trace, and like previously posted above, they follow CDC guidelines for travel testing and the CLIA is not required by the CDC. I think there is no problem about it not being included, because Test and Trace actually partners with the US Government, and clearly states they will do testing with the use of the free tests provided by the US Gov. To test this, I'm going to use both on my next cruise (caveat: I'm not going until September, and the BinaxNOW test kit expires in November). I'll take both results with me, but I think the T&T will be accepted. By that time I'm sure we'll have plenty more feedback on this thread, too.

Seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone that they should tip for the coupon drink. Same labor involved to bring you the freebie as the paid for drink. They work for tips, remember. Your decision about how much, but it seems the right thing to do for the bar staff.......................

I've sailed 58 days since mid-February as a solo. There are far more tables for two than before, but what I would recommend is you also think seriously about the location. Several of my cruises were crowded, and the noise level in My Time Dining was incredibly LOUD. Go into where your dining room location is on embarkation day (main dining room or MTD), and look for "alcove" dining rooms. Almost all ships have them, and usually if you walk in and make a left or right "U" turn, you'll find them. The head waiter usually handles requests around 1pm, and you can ask for a particular table. Have several as choices, too. I had a table for two on one of my recent cruises where I literally could not figure out how to get across the dining room to leave!! The larger table diners had chairs pushed out to the point where there was no clear path to get to the dining room entrance. Seriously.

Re-order after 10 days. I found the ones I ordered 2 weeks ago never went past the acknowledgement step. I ordered them again 2 days ago and they will be delivered today.

I tip extra in cash to crew members that have done something extra for me. I don't like the envelopes. For some reason they seem impersonal to me. I give the tips directly to the person. I also share my casino winnings with them. It's not much: just whatever I walk away with from my free play money. I also cash out my obc in the casino, and give all of that as extra cash tips. We had a group on the Vision in March for happy hour in the DL, and I mentioned what I did, because I gave the bar waitress my winnings: she was from the Ukraine, and her Mom was still there. I noticed the rest of the group took my hint, and started giving her large tips when she served them drinks.

I'm repeating myself, but...................................... This reminds me of going on a family cruise with my adult sons in 2008. They are both generous, and tipped all the bar staff. My older son especially does this: he used to deliver pizza in high school, and knows what it's like to hope about the tips. Well, we were chatting at dinner one night, and Son #1 asked me how much he should tip for the wine. I said the gratuity is included already. He started to laugh and looked at Son #2, who said, "so that's why we get the thundering herd of bar waiters everywhere we go!". I don't think they stopped doing it, either.

It could have been better, but RCCL can never "see" the price I'm looking at on their web site. It was actually about a 50 cent difference in price from the inside to the balcony. But, I am NOT complaining, but explaining.......