danv3

I never leave the USA without a passport and have it when I leave the ship.

Same.

As someone who follows the dress code (on both formal and non-formal nights), I can understand why many choose to ignore the formal night requests. Packing a suit is a hassle, who wants to wear a tie, etc. I can understand that.

I don't really understand why people won't honor the non-formal night dress code. A golf shirt and a pair of khakis is not asking too much.

If RCI gets rid of formal nights (they're halfway gone as it is) I'd like it if the result was a little bump up in the attire for the rest of the dinners, but I suppose that's a pipe dream. Half the passengers can't even be bothered to put on a pair of slacks for dinner!

Well now that we've disproven the theory that Freestyle machines can only be on ships based in North America, I'd love to see them expanded onto more ships in the fleet.

My problem with relaxing the dress code is that some folks will want to go even more casual -- you know the folks who think any rules or guidelines are not for them. I do not want to go to the dining room and sit at a table with a gentleman wearing a tank top and gym shorts. Way too much hair!

THIS. Whatever the current dress code is, there will always be people who want to ignore it and dress even more casually. And if the cruise line wouldn't enforce the previous standards, which were pretty casual IMO, why would we think they'll enforce today's standards?

When I asked for a black napkin on formal night to not get lint all over my tuxedo pants she looked at me like I had two heads. After about 15 minutes they dug one up for me. On the second formal night they had it ready. Do they not train waiters on this anymore or do not enough people dress up anymore so they don't worry about it?

I think it's as you surmised. There aren't enough people dressing up any more to really warrant a concern over napkins.

On Radiance in Alaska two years ago, the Solarium was open to children for about 2-4 hours per day. The rest of the time, the usual "no kids" rules applied.

We just avoided the Solarium during the times when kids were permitted, though really in Alaska we didn't spend a whole lot of time for hanging out poolside.

Not needed....unless you want to spend the extra money.

Not required, but then neither is trip insurance. Personally I feel a lot better with both.

Update posted today: http://www.iamfiercelyoptimistic.com/#!Cruise-Out-Of-Control-Part-II/c1rfl/572694e50cf269c350f5926a

I always vote passport on these threads. You're traveling abroad and a passport could be helpful in the event of something unexpected occurring.

As others have encouraged, I think you should dress in formal attire if you like and you will probably receive nothing but positive comments for it. That said, in my estimation, you will see <1% of your fellow diners in tuxedos/evening gowns, at least at the early dinner. Maybe it's a higher percentage at the later dinner, but I've observed formal attire to be exceedingly rare.

Personally I go with a suit and tie and my wife typically wears a "little black dress" and even those choices are on the high end of formality these days.

First shorts, next swimsuits. All of the arguments that support one support the other.

The cruises I'm watching (April 2017, some 18 months out) are down a reasonable bit--basically the lowest they've been since June.

My parents are there waiting to get back on board. They have no idea what's going on.

I always carry my passport any time I am entering a foreign country (which many cruise ports are).

I've seen Ron Lucas twice. He's pretty good, but his set was mostly the same, so the second time wasn't quite as good.

Last cruise on Brilliance we saw a Bon Jovi cover band. They were awesome.

Edit: These guys: http://slipperywhenwetband.com/

Nice to see the introverts having their turn at last. Eating at a table with strangers is something I would expect to find in Dante's vision of hell.

 

Extroverts talk about it as if it is something you "should" do and one of the best parts of cruising. They just don't get it. For me it's one of the things that had me avoiding cruises for a very long time.

Quoted for truth!

I would have been more surprised if RCI had addressed this situation than the fact that they essentially haven't. Royal suite guest vs. junior suite guest...pretty clear on which side the company is going to err.

Depending on where they were located at the time, perhaps Mexico was simply the closest land and so they were taken there?

They are OK, but not nearly as good as the $1 from McDonald's. :D

Well, typically a much better view on board than at McD's! :D

What types of breakfast food do they have at the Park Cafe'?

Breakfast burritos are where it's at!

Park Cafe is our favorite for breakfast.

Another vote for Park Cafe. We might hit the WJ and MDR once each cruise, but the rest of the mornings we're at the Park Cafe.

For what it's worth, all of the arguments in favor of shorts in the MDR equally support men without shirts or women in bikini tops in the MDR:

-I'm on vacation! It's the Caribbean! I shouldn't have to dress in a way that I don't like!

-I'm not bothering anyone! (Or the converse, I would never let what someone else chooses to wear affect my enjoyment!).

I wonder how many of the pro-shorts crowd would also accept women in bikini tops in the MDR. To me there's really no difference, except that some people want all the rules to be followed (no shorts), and some people only want some of the rules to be followed (shorts are fine, but no way for swimsuits).

In any event, to answer the question from the OP, 9 times out of 10, you can wear whatever you want in the MDR. On that 1 time you get some push back, try entering through another door and you'll probably get in just fine. The crew members don't get paid enough to be bothered seriously enforcing the rules. It's more on the guests to police themselves, and that's certainly not going to happen.

First, you absolutely should follow the rules.

That said, I've never had a bag searched on entering any Caribbean port. So while I'm not suggesting you should break any laws, I have no doubt that some people do bring food ashore with them.

He's scrupulously transparent (on both of his podcasts) about when he gets free stuff (which isn't all that often) from Disney or Royal Caribbean. For example, I believe he did participate in a free two day media/travel agent cruise on Quantum.

FWIW, his Disney podcast is much more negative than his Royal Caribbean one. Of course, Royal Caribbean hasn't quite achieved the extreme level of anti-customer management philosophy that Disney has yet!