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All this talk about booking cruises has caused me to book two more! Who started this thread anyways? It's his fault! RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com Group Cruise aboard Freedom of the Seas - Here I come! My 2019 cruise ship dance card is starting to fill in nicely. Both booked through MEI Travel in appreciation of their support towards this site. Somebody stop me. Seriously, somebody needs to stop me.

You nailed it. At a certain point, my hope is you like this site enough to want to support it. There are two easy ways to do so that have the greatest impact: become a Royal Caribbean Blog Insider and support our sponsor. It not only pays for the many costs that keep this site running (and in many cases ad-free), but also enables me to conduct more research and create new content that would otherwise be financially impossible. I also try to point out that I've been using MEI Travel well before they ever became a sponsor of this site. I think it's important to stand behind and be a consumer of the sponsors, as it does my no good to promote a product or service that I don't personally care for.

That's who @twangster is, he's Jason Bourne, no wonder there are not pictures of him, he's a ghost, he uses the cruise industry as a cover to travel from country to country. He's ID must have gotten burned over on Carnival...

Anything is possible on a cruise by cruise basis. I should have prefaced, "From what I am seeing..." I would advise caution though as what used to be presented as a light blue box (non-refundable) and a dark blue box (refundable), now is presented (in my experience) as "We pick the room" (light blue) and "You pick the room" (dark blue). YMMV. My TA - I have bookings with three at the moment. MEI Travel is one of those and I greatly respect and encourage their contributions to this site. If it were not for them, this site would not be what it is. For that reason and out of tremendous appreciation I recommend you contact them first.

Interesting experience tonight booking Radiance. (YOLO moment). It's a 2019 cruise and I wanted something refundable so I emailed my usual TA. I received a bounce saying she is out of the office and I was interested in a specific cabin so I called Royal direct, given that the website doesn't offer refundable anymore. I booked direct it, refundable and paid the $450 deposit. Had I fully read the bounce email from my usual TA I would have seen she was actually working tonight which I learned when she called me. For the same refundable cabin, she was $200 cheaper, I get $50 in OBC, a spa treatment, one specialty dinner, plus 15,000 miles on my favorite airline. Oh, and no deposit. I cancelled my direct booking and booked it through my normal TA. Same cabin. I added the prepaid gratuities and I'm still less than RCI direct without prepaid gratuity. Other observation - I first called the RCI 866 number and listened to MOH (Music on Hold) for about 10 minutes. I hung up and called the C&A number who answered immediately. I booked it through the C&A team, then an hour later cancelled it through the C&A team. No issues cancelling the refundable booking but it will likely take a few days for $450 deposit to appear as a credit. Radiance here I come! EDIT - To be fair, I don't get spa treatments and specialty dining on every cruise booked. They are occasional perks typically on longer cruises but with double digits of cruises booked, I've yet to find a downside of using a travel agent. The airline miles are nothing to sneeze at. I'm flying on points to 3 cruises this year (so far) including Barcelona in the comfort plus cabin for Symphony and will likely get a 1 or 2 more cruise flights for free before 2018 is done.

Make it a red velvet cupcake just for Sweety!

Because I have no discipline !!! LOL It's just that simple ! If this were 1987 and the interest rates on my checking and savings were 15% I could see holding onto that money but the interest on my accounts is not enough to influence my spending behavior and I would rather pay off the CC in smaller monthly increments rather than see a bill for a brazilian dollars. It's just a habit that I have developed over a number of years and it works well for me. I'm certain that it drives Michelle crazy but she never says a single word.

All of the TA talk got me to contact Michelle for an upcoming October solo cruise I've been threatening to take.

Direct bookings can be switched to a TA but there are rules that have to be followed. These are there to safeguard and respect each agency as well as the guest. You wouldn't want an illicit travel agency slamming your booking over to them when you have never heard of said travel agency. It generally has to be switched before final payment due date. There are likely other rules that I don't know. There is an exception process that I've had to use after final payment due date to effect a switch. Do perks change with volume? Sure. Like most companies, repeat customers tend to be rewarded. As far as MEI - they sponsor this site. There are costs to running this site, posting cruise compasses, storing photos that some people like myself post a lot of, etc. It is not insignificant to operate this site. MEI through their sponsorship helps towards that. While one TA might give you OBC or a dinner or a bottle of wine in your cabin, MEI helps to keep the lights on at RoyalCaribbeanblog.com. All things be equal, since there are no downsides to using a TA that I've found, if nothing else using MEI allows this wonderful site to exist. Eventually once you build a relationship with them as a repeat customer, what ever you work out is between you and them.

First and foremost, Royal Caribbean ships are pretty much full (as in all the staterooms are sold) for all sailings anyway, so no real difference there. Royal Caribbean is also a family cruise line, so you will get guests of all ages. I'm not sure it will be a party atmosphere, as the 7 night sailings do not seem to attract the "wooo spring break" crowd like the shorter sailings do. I've done spring break 2 years in a row on RC (Anthem and Rhapsody) and no issues with @mpoole3-esque antics.

One other thing for me is my relationship with people that entrust me with their trips - we take our clients and our friendships/bookings with them very serious - Certainly MEI Travel supports this blog and we are thrilled to be doing that. And WE CAN"T TELL YOU THANK YOU enough for entrusting us to handle your cruises - thank you - thank you - but its the relationship with Matt and the Blog that is also of great value as well to me. AND - I have many clients that after 10-12 years of booking with me are friends too They don't just book cruises- they book all trips with me - and now I'm moving down to their Kids Trips as well - its awesome! And once I learn your likes/ etc. I don't have to come ask you "what type of cabin? what dining" I try hard to get to know your likes/dislikes so we work as a Team - and other MEI Agents do this as well. TO me - besides all things listed here in the post about perks and supports -its about that relationship too!

Hey, I'm not a stubborn Scorpio, I'm just anal/OCD and want to do things my way...

great point, hadn't even considered that as a "hidden" benefit to using MEI. I'm a stubborn Scorpio so sometimes it takes me multiple perspectives before i see the obvious lol thanks!

This is exactly why I am experimenting in July. I got my YC suite for less than the cost of a JS on OA class!

Let me add my praise of Michelle to that of Mark. Talk about patience ! LOL I'm sure she shudders when she sees an email from me but she has never failed to do whatever waste-of-her-time function I've asked of her. My latest whim was to have her book a Christmas 2019 cruise on MSC Seaside in a Yacht Club Suite. Since I cannot afford a Star Class Christmas cruise, I am going to check out the YC to see if it is otherwise comparable. I know it won't be the same...but I'm going to check it out, just to see. BTW, it was about 1/4 the price of a Star Class Christmas cruise on ANY of the Oasis class ships - even with a [significantly downgraded with the new "rules"] casino discount. I love the Christmas+NY cruises but Grandeur isn't doing one in 2019 (we're on one this Christmas) and if I'm going to have to fly away anyway, I may as well try the MSC YC.

Happy Birthday Twangbot. Since we don't know your real B-day, we will all just celebrate today !

My evil plan is working!

Twangster - great points - and Lights On !

Mark - you are too kind! but so happy we connected and I can help you with your cruises! It's My Pleasure - and MEI TEAM rocks!

Scorpio here too! I'm as stubborn as they come lol and Type A/anal/OCD the list goes on....

Ahhh...Travel Agency. I thought maybe you were booking something for the CIA.

ooh ooh--a "non-blog" like mine?? Nah, yours are soooo much better!

Haha - Fake FB birth date. You see? You can't believe anything on FB...

Booked the cruise!! ?

I can't give Michelle at MEI enough credit here ..... granted, we are new to her, but the ability to remove the stress from my shoulders has been priceless. Full disclosure, my next cruise was too far along for her to takeover, the two after that, on Brilliance & Freedom, I was more than happy to transfer over to her. She has been incredibly fast and even more importantly, patient with Tyna and I, with all the questions we have. I know when it comes to clients, I'm sure there are many more that do a lot more business with her than we could ever do, but you would never know it by the Royal treatment she gives us. Thank You Michelle for restoring our faith in travel agents (our local one was a total bomb), Mark

Great tip! That's actually the show that the kids are looking forward to the most. They are trying to wrap their heads around the fact they they can skate on board lol. Uh oh....pressure lol.... I will try to find out everything I can for whoever wants to know but I will be leaving the awesome photos for @twangster since I have no business being around a camera. Unless @twangster wants to go too...the combo live blog offer still stands ?

Thanks for the kind words about MEI Travel, our site sponsor. Means a lot. I'll also echo the benefits of using a travel agent in general. You only stand to benefit by using one, especially when it comes to them saving you time and money. And happy birthday @twangster!

We were on Harmony that week too! That week is prime US spring break. Our week was the busiest they had seen in a long time as the ship was had over 6500 pax. I don't think the week you are looking at will be as bad. I believe March 10-17 is Canadian Spring Break and a bit early for US spring break (except for college spring breaks). Even as crowded as spring break was, we still had a blast and rarely felt over crowded.

On Adventure May 11 sailing no reservations or tickets for any shows. Theater shows still had decent seats getting there 15-20 minutes early, BUT make sure to get to the ice show at least a half an hour before door opening. Doors usually open ½ hour before show time. There's an hour you'll never get back, but the ice show is actually worth it. Enjoy!

MEI has been a wonderful agency to work with, proactively letting me know if my fare is still the best, sale after sale. Long before I joined this site, over years of travel I built a relationship with others and I maintain that relationship. Once booked, you are free to continue to use the cruise planner to make My Time reservation, entertain reservations, Voom purchases and so on. The only thing I've noted using a TA if if you want to change cabins. If you booked cabin 1234 and suddenly cabin 4567 becomes available, instead of calling Royal you have to call your TA. That has yet to stop me with 34 Royal cruises booked or completed. In the end, all of those 34 will have involved a TA (plus many others on other cruise lines before I came over into the light). I've yet to find a reason why not to, even when applying C&A balcony discounts.

YOUR contributions to this site are also greatly appreciated and encouraged. Thank you!

We changed our Bermuda cruise next year from June 29th to July 13th today on the Anthem of The Seas. Looking forward to it having never been to Bermuda, sailed the Anthem nor embarked out of New Jersey!

I'm not taking anyone's side on this, I've been on both sides looking in, I'm Diamond so I get the free drinks every night at any of the participating bars, which is more than enough for my wife and I, so I really don't need to go to the Diamond lounge our the suite lounge, I have been looked down noses at, and regretfully have found myself looking down my nose at others, have been rep-remanded for not wearing long pants on Formal night (My wife wanted a glass of wine, what can I say) and I have said I should rep-remand people for their dress or actions. I don't like the way that "some" Diamond, D+ and Pinnacles take over the lounges like it is their own (Little Cliques) but yet my wife and I have been invited to join these groups because we frequently cruise on our own. But with a limitation of space on a ship I think we are going to have to live with it, I don't think they are going to open a separate lounge just for Pinnacle and heaven forbid they are going to come mingle with us lowly Diamond people. Like I said in a previous post, it will take me 38 more Suite cruises (In 2018 dollars, that is approximately $228,000) once I reach Diamond+ (In 2019) to make Pinnacle, but I'm booked in a suite the next 5 cruises so I will get to enjoy the diamond lounge and/or the suite lounge as I please, one of these will be a Star Class experience so maybe after that, I will look down my nose a little more, LMAO...

@twangster is a REALLY bad influence...and this is coming from someone who others call a bad influence ??

Loved the blog!!! All those reports of the weather makes me a little nervous -- we're sailing in January!! However, it's a 12 day to the southern Caribbean, so hopefully will have warmer weather for the bulk of it. Just one other question -- I noticed a lot of Coastal Kitchen dinners, & I know for JS it's by availability only -- did you have any trouble getting in? Can that be reserved ahead of time (like MTD, or the specialty restaurants), or is it just luck of the draw? I didn't like the 530 dinner time that we had on the cruise we just finished (Adventure of the Seas), plus, since we were in the 4th floor dining room, most of the time we ended up walking through the casino (hate the smoke), so I'd like to avoid that if possible.

Thank you!

When I first started booking cruises through the casino, I ALWAYS booked the cruise myself and then moved it over to MEI. Over the years, due to my constant changing (changing rooms, changing cabin category, changing dates, changing ships...you name it) (another reason I know that Michelle is a Saint), Michelle became extremely resourceful with the casino folks and it no longer made any sense for me to book direct and then switch the booking. Not only did I never see any downside to allowing Michelle to book the cruises, she almost always manages to get some extra discount that I would not have gotten, myself. Sometimes her magic is stunning as when she had to switch a number of bookings for me during the infamous Empressgate debacle. But to answer your question (which I have failed to do, thus far), there is no difference in the TA "perks" whether you book the cruise yourself and then transfer it or whether the TA books directly with the cruise line for you. What you get from the TA is based directly upon what the TA gets from the cruise line, and that is based on your cruise fare. It's that simple. While I have no direct knowledge of such things, I feel sure that frequent customers get the most generous perks. It just makes sense.

This is EXACTLY my same reason. nice to know i'm not alone on this. hah!

Agree with this. Plus they are two of my favorite islands period.

I guess this is what happens when you live in the swamp, like me. There is only ONE thing that comes to mind whenever someone mentions "agency" around here !

Happy Birthday!!!! Eat a cupcake in honor of whenever your birthday actually is!

Alliteration will get you no where ?

It seems there's at least a new Cruise Planner sale every 4-6 weeks at a minimum.

I was on the ship March 24-31 this past March. It was a sold out ship, but there was still plenty of room and things to do on the ship. You will have a blast.

Thanks Hayley , never booked an excursion on my own before, usually book through Royal.

In Summary Both are open and progressing well. Have no reservations or hesitation about visiting but when you do, remember what they have gone through. Be understanding and generous, if you can. I've been to both and live blogged, capturing my experiences here on RoyalCaribbeanblog.com as I experienced it. You will likely see some storm damage, make no mistake. I've chosen not to focus on that so much, but on the positive energy of the people as they move forward which they have in leaps and bounds. St Maarten St. Maarten got it hard but this isn't their 1st tango with a hurricane. They've rebuilt before and they are rebuilding again. I've been to St. Maarten 3 times since they started accepted ships again. On no occasion did I feel unsafe or unwelcome. In fact, they very much made me feel very, very welcome. Most recent St. Maarten visit in May 2018: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6297-adventure-5-nights-5518-repositioning-san-juan-to-bayonne/&do=findComment&comment=67904 April 2018 St. Maarten here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6002-serenade-33018-10-night-eastern-caribbean/&do=findComment&comment=64798 and https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6002-serenade-33018-10-night-eastern-caribbean/&do=findComment&comment=64819 Christmas Day 2017 stop in St. Maarten: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5195-independence-122117-9-night-christmas/&do=findComment&comment=51956 St. Thomas St. Thomas I've been twice since the storms. I used to work and live on St. Thomas so it's closer to home and I lived through it (VIA former co-workers and friends). While not as bad as St. Maarten they got hit pretty hard too. However life is very much back to normal and they are ready, willing and able to accept cruise guests. In places you would have no idea what had happened but then you turn a corner and see some damage. St. Thomas in April 2018 here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6002-serenade-33018-10-night-eastern-caribbean/&do=findComment&comment=64272 and Dec 6, 2017 here (right after they started accepting ships again): https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50580 from the same trip https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5068-anthem-112517-712-b2b/&do=findComment&comment=50598 It's potentially a valuable lesson for our youth. We've got it pretty good here in the US.

From the Charter FAQs Charter pricing includes: ship accommodations ocean transportation most meals most non-alcoholic beverages most entertainment aboard the ship Charter pricing does NOT include: air transportation transfers to and/or from the vessel optional shore excursions and/or private arrangements requested for site inspection trips meals and accommodations ashore certain beverages casino gaming photographs gratuities (shipboard or shoreside porterage) telephone calls or internet services specialty restaurant charges purchases from ship stores items of a personal nature (medical services, laundry, spa or salon treatments) meeting break or special event set-up fees technical and broadcast fees when applicable expedited shipping fees for documents customization of documents

Maybe I should start sailing Celebrity more and blogging. Lookout! Edge here I come...

Shortridge Family - Crusing out on June 8th (Adventure of the seas)!

June 24 Symphony :)