Tatka

Agree. And they suddenly teenagers are difficult. When they are babysat for so long, they do not have gradual experience with freedom.

Which ships don’t allow it in Rising Tides Bar

Well, maybe she is with her parents (kids grandparents) and they are taking care of her daughter. Why assume?

Driving for 1-6 hours (usually 3.5) is also huge plus for us.

I have claustrophobia, but claustrophobia is usually caused by fear of suffocation. Ships have great ventilation systems so I never felt claustrophobia. Besides we have large house and backyard for two of us. When we cruise we spend minimum time in our cabin and most in Solariums, clubs etc. We basically only sleep in cabin. We will have balconies last two cruises this year and I am sure we will use it 15 minutes total. 🙂 again.

We rarely repeat ships during one year, but even if we do we enjoy small scale entertainment like Latin or other bands not less than large. And they do change even within the year. As do headliners. I find RCI entertainment invaluable. Tried to count how much similar shows would cost on land... well.. no comparison. For us visiting places is not subjective. We actually started with A/I 20+ years ago. First times it was exotics, but we got bored and after trying cruises it was no comparison. We sailed with 8 lines to find what we like better and due to various factors switched mostly to RCI and sometimes Celebrity (and we do other lines if itinerary kills us) We cruise because cruising is something that we love, and something I dreamed of since childhood. Sailaways (preferable in VCL) alone is something I need to have keep me happy 🙂 Food, drinks matter, but way less, although I always find something that I like... To be in shape I switched to eating way less that I used to do in the beginning of cruising. 5 times a year can be dangerous in this regard. We rarely do ships excursions and never in 58 cruises missed the ship (we always get off in ports except now in Port Canaveral sometimes). I know how to use watch and be organized. Independent proven guides know this too. They are paid after excursions and also they know that bringing us on time is a key to their business. Should they ever be late this will be all over the internet and the end. But we are travelers and know how to explorer places without guides too. We also rent cars in many places and explore by ourself. I sometimes miss late swim, AI is good for this, but this is the only thing I miss.

For us entertainment and the fact that we visit different places during cruises is a big thing. I am yet to see any A/I which comes close to cruises in terms of entertainment. Drinks? Yes, they are not included, we are D+ and for now it is enough. We do not cruise in suites, we do insides or balconies, but in A/I we do not spend much if any time in our rooms. We went twice to A/I during pandemic as cruises were not available. To Iberostar Paraiso Grand and Maya in Riviera Maya near Cancun. But then we returned to cruising 5 times a year. Southern Caribbeans several times a year, Bermudas, Bahamas, NE/Canada, occasional Europe.

Depends on age and a kid. Our son was coming from school since 8 yo, opening doors and being at home alone for several hours. First cruise was when he was 11. It was smaller than Wonder ship, but still a large ship. We allowed him to walk to club and be with his friends (we checked from time to time). Of course we explain basic rules of behavior on the ship. This is a "small city". Do not talk to strangers, do not go into anyone's room. This is very important. He enjoyed all cruise lines except for Holland (boring club) and Carnival (too many kids in club). Royal Caribbean clubs were the best for him... then I think Norwegian and Princess. Celebrity was fine till teen years.

Interesting. Prices for good A/I are downright scary ... We find cruise pricing is much more reasonable. And it is even cheaper if you do not need to fly there.

Yes. I never log off from one device. I just log in to another. I wouldn’t bet on travel modem.

There is a reason things are done differently in different parts of the world. Australia isn’t the only one with this approach, but nobody “should” copy.

I heard it was a tax issue. Less tax is paid from collected gratuities than from cruisefare. Also raising cruisefare Royal loses to competition unless all lines agree to do so. Also people working in MTD will earn less than in Traditional.

Interesting. We buy models of ships every time we sail on them for the first time, but we treat crystal blocks as artifact/memory from sailing we received it for when we reached certain number of points.

From my observations free lobster is not served overseas. I’ve heard it’s sourcing issues.

Water was cool for us during winter in both ocean and pool. In 2021 even during Thanksgiving week water was cold. Still very enjoyable days. Loved funnel cake!

It’s the second one. I believe it’s a Taste of France. No lobster though as it’s not Royal night.

I love app on board. I “reserve” (not actual reservation) multiple events, music in various venues, shows.. and I get reminders, so I don’t need to have paper schedule with me.

We had full day tour with Royal and it was amazing. We actually could use more time! Nice expositions, 3d movies. Very exciting.

As long as they won't play Red Sox. 😉

Sometimes when this happens I log off and log back in.

You can use 4 complementary drinks during the day, but Happy Hour in terms of drinks is only in Suite Lounge.

I think it was during some months after restart

We had French onion soup in crock in May. Maybe it’s a problem on particular ship? We usually are on 3-4 ships every year and things may vary.

I am cruising 5 times (6-14 days) a year, last several years all with RCI. Last times menus changed was 7-8 years ago. I knew every day by heart. Now there is some variation. When you say minority what is your sample size? The only clear downside is lobsters, but it is more connected to deficits/prices for this commodity. Lobsters are more expensive even where we live on average, and with huge losses RCI experienced over 2020 - 2022 they cannot afford to keep this item unlimited. Yes, maybe they have a bit more time to clean each room and do each procedure better, but rooms are cleaned better in our experience.

Yes... at 12:01 ET (is this based on port of departure?) Last week I missed it for the first time since it started after pandemic... lost 30 minutes of boarding time. 🙂