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About griffy116

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  1. RC is foreign registered. While U.S. citizens can/may sue, this makes it more difficult and much more complicated. It has been discussed previously in cases of injuries and deaths on the ships and not just RC.
  2. Most cruise ships have two pods. However, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas have three pods. Several ships have a combination of azimuthing pods and pods that do not turn (sometimes called “fixipods”) that are used to provide forward and backwards propulsion. So if safety is your concern, Allure is now traveling with two pods, like most cruise ships instead of a third one which made it possible for them to travel at greater speeds that most other ships.
  3. Your cruise contract states they can change the itinerary. It doesn't say "weather related" and it can change it for any reason. The U.S. laws you've listed have nothing to do with their ability to change the itinerary.
  4. I have a disability that is not visible. I can't take the stairs because of a heart condition. I look perfectly healthy, but I can't navigate the stairs any better than someone in a chair. I've been run over by people in chairs and scooters. I'm FORCED to wait too and more often than not, people recognize your needs because of the chair, but would never think to put me in front of others and I would never think of asking others to allow me to cut in line to get into the elevator in front of others. After a show, I sit and wait until the elevator bays clear out because I know there will be a crowd. Heading to dinner, I know to plan extra time in case the elevators are crowded. There are ways to get from point A to point B without having to have a dedicated elevator. If you are in a chair and you have others with you, are you just going to run off without them or will you have to wait on them to catch up with you once you use your "dedicated" elevator? You get special assistance to get on and off the ship and people do take into consideration that you are in a chair often. As you said, there are "lots more like me" so are you going to be frustrated when just one dedicated elevator isn't enough? If the dedicated elevator isn't full, should others be allowed to use it? Would RC have to dedicate a member of the crew as "elevator monitor?" Just find a way to wait patiently. That's what I do. I've never told a single group waiting on a elevator that I have a medical condition and need to be moved to the front of the line. I wait with my family and we ALL use the elevator at the same time because we are all going to the same place.
  5. We never book non-refundable because things can happen and it's....non-refundable. Just us. We just pretend not to see the price difference.
  6. You can easily find bottled water, along with sodas and beer at any port in Mexico and they are very inexpensive ($1-2). We had an excursion on a small boat for snorkeling in Roatan that included the food and drink. We had decided to wait, not eat on the boat and eat when we returned to the ship. The food was in catering trays and we couldn't resist. The food was delicious and we had no problems afterwards. We've had food in the bars in Cozumel with no problems.
  7. We used Bob's limo (private car service). They were sitting waiting at the port, got us out quickly and were fabulous. There were five of us and the cost ended up being less than RC and SO much better. Love it and would highly recommend them. We've used them twice.
  8. In hotels and on cruise ships, they are referred to as house phones. It wasn't an oxymoron. It's the correct terminology.
  9. We just call THEIR cell phone. You can't call the cabins unless you are in your cabin or use one of the house phones around the ship.
  10. We toss our own corkscrew in our carry-on if the bottle has a cork. The one the cabin stewards bring is so flimsy. I have broken it EVERY single time. Now we just carry one with the screw on cap.
  11. I'm Diamond, as well as the other members of my family. We only get to cruise about once per year..twice if we are lucky. We enjoy the priority boarding but with the improvements in debarkation, it's not a deal breaker. Everyone seem to be able to get on the ship without waiting in the chairs for forever, like it was in years past. With the exception of our Med cruises, we've never been in a hurry to be off the ship at ports. We book with outside vendors and we've never had a problem with getting to our excursions on time. We do like the treats we receive as a thank you in our cabin. We usually have a beverage package so we seldom go to the Diamond lounge. We enjoy the Diamond discount on balcony cabins and we consider that the biggest perk for us. I usually use the discount in the Logo shop for Diamond member. We go in enough time to see the shows to get a good seat and we reserve before going on the cruise, so the perk for the Key doesn't bother me and wouldn't benefit me. They have to make a reservation and all seats open up 10 minutes before the shows start. We do the combo package with the drink package for our WiFi. I haven't noticed any decline in service from the crew of Royal Caribbean over the years. We've always appreciated the great job done by the crew members. If someone wants to pay for a Suite and get perks, or to pay for the Key to get perk, it doesn't take anything away from my cruise experience but I wouldn't pay to get the perks. It's a gimmick that doesn't hold any appeal for me but as long as they have people willing to pay for it, they'll sell it...and they'll continue to raise the price.
  12. Ship: Allure Itinerary: Med cruise starting from Rome on one of the Freedom class ships with RCL. Might have been Freedom.
  13. First cruise was approximately 31 years ago, give or take a year. It was on Carnival and this was prior to the internet. We knew absolutely nothing. It was a small ship with a very different atmosphere. Very pretty dining room but no windows at all. Very few activities on board, tiny, tiny cabins and the bathroom was hilarious looking at the bathrooms on the ships today. No minimum drinking ages or on gambling. We found our 13 year old sitting with an Apricot Sour playing a slot machine when we let our daughters go up early to wait on us to get ready for dinner (drinks were free then). She spent her winnings from her spare quarters on a stuffed teddy bear in a captain's jacket in the gift shop. Smoking during dinner in the dining room was not only allowed but the waiter always lit your cigarette and switched out the ashtray every time you snuffed your cigarette out. I wish I could remember the name of the ship. I still have the photos of us dressed for dinner. VERY different from the cruises today but my daughters and I still go cruising together. We cruised on Allure together this year.
  14. We booked private tours. There were six of us. We booked directly with the vendors, after carefully researching them here on cruise critic and Trip Adviser for reliability and service. They picked us up at the ports, got us out of there quickly and ahead of the large groups boarding the cruise ship buses. We had advance entry through them and it worked out great. We used Rome in Limos and we have also used Bob's Limo Service, during different cruises. Both were GREAT. Since there were six of us, it worked out cheaper for us and we got to see twice as much, as we weren't waiting on anyone else and we weren't catering to anyone's schedule but our own.
  15. I always carry a can of Pringles (because they don't get crushed), a can of nuts or a few packs of crackers. All factory sealed and most often bought at the airport after clearing security. Never would I ever try to carry a sandwich from the ship onto the plane. We've done the flight from U.S. to Rome twice. We flew Aero Lingus and I have to say that they fed us ridiculously often and the food was pretty good. My snacks ended up being brought home. That being said, I've devoured my snacks on short flights to Florida to catch a cruise ship. Just find something after going through security. Personally, I don't think a sandwich that has been sitting in my bag sounds appealing anyway.
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