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First of all, if you are unhappy with the service you got on the original booking, I recommend that you change Agencies for the rebooking. The FCC is in your name, not the Agency’s, so if you want to change you can. I certainly would ! You should have gotten an email from Royal with the certificate names, amounts, and numbers from the cancelled booking. That’s all you need to get started on the rebooking. If you didn’t get that information, call Royal and request it. Just leave the bad Agency in the dust.

I'm more of a one piece kind of guy.

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I for one think you could pull this off, @twangster.

So sad. I don't know when I'm going back into the office. We were told definitely not until after Labor Day. I kinda miss NYC a little. A little. Not a lot.

I would like to take a moment to thank each poster who were concerned about the theme of this thread. You guys never let me down!!!!

I hope not as bars can’t sell alcohol in Florida, again. Duval street.....1998. Sovereign of the Seas. Last hurrah before trying for baby #2. Sloppy Joes drinking 1/2 yards of beer. Margaritaville. Somehow I ended up on a stool with a boa constrictor around my neck, a parrot on my head and a lizard on my lap. $20 for the Polaroid! ? Good times, RCCL, Good times.

I would gladly wear a trikini if it got me on a cruise right now. My wife may act like she has no idea who I am, but that's life.

Reveals too much leg for my body type.

Thank so very much to everyone for your very helpful feedback (I was afraid this would be the potential answer from everyone). I love sailing with Royal Caribbean so I was really looking forward to my upcoming back to back trips in 2020 (so sad for The Royal Caribbean team and all of us - their loyal cruisers and fans).

Sadly, this is no longer socially acceptable. For some reason, it’s considered abusive. These days, we can only go for “I’ll slap you into next week”. Too bad. Longing for the good ol days

F-4 was an amazing aircraft. I'd argue one of the most underrated fighter jets of the late 20th century.

The Tutti Salad Bar is what we should expect the Windjammer evolution to mirror (at least in the short term).

Our renewal applications were mailed out and received on 3/6/20 just before the crap hit the fan and remained in limbo until now (almost 4 month turnaround). Just got the e-mail and tracking numbers this morning confirming that both passport books and cards have been mailed. ?

@Jill OMG wouldn't it be nice. Just nice, kind, rule following people who understand that everyone should enjoy things, not just them.

I like the way you think. So much so you have convinced me to book a December 2020 cruise ?

How about a cruise that just sails to BOTH of RC’s private destinations? Maybe even multiple day stays at one Like: Miami/Sea Day/Labadee/2x sea days/Coco Cay/Coco Cay/Sea Day/Miami

Can I just say that the blog entry @Matt posted today makes me want to visit the Windjammer.

Any Southern Caribbean cruise out of Florida port on an Oasis class ship.

@Lovetocruise2002 awesome advice, much appreciated! ? I've been poking around and reading posts of other's experience (yours included) and I did get that sense that every genie and ship is different. Its like any trip or vacation, no two peoples experiences will be exactly the same. This is completely understandable to me. Quite honestly though we booked the stateroom for the views and that the drink and dinning packages were "included." My wife and I are fairly easy going and wouldn't be disappointed or blame a genie for something they couldn't or weren't allowed to do. For us, we just didn't know where to start or what to ask the genie for. For example, it never occured to me to ask a genie to reserve loungers by the pool. I figured they'd just tell us where to go lol. I don't expect to get 100% of what we asked for, but everyone's past experiences gives us an idea of what to ask for. If it happens, yay! If not, no big deal. Being new to cruising in general, we're just excited to experience the ship. ...I did tell my wife though, that if we ever got lost on the ship at least one person would attempt to find us, our genie. Haha!

I honestly bought a bright yellow mask specifically to match my best bathing suit! Covid vacay here I come

@gdk0085 one piece of important advice to avoid disappointment....The most important thing that I have learned is that Star Class really varies (in terms of the small details) from ship to ship and from Genie to Genie. The basics are the same (all inclusive specialty dining, drinks, etc. but the smaller little details vary). It is great to get ideas from others and hear their experiences (I am guilty of doing the same thing myself before my first star class sailing), but what I've noticed from talking to other star class cruisers and Genies, in the 4 years or so since the program started, the minor details vary. The variances are due to the rules of each specific ship and the personalities of each particular Genie. For example, can you get Starbucks delivery, yes sometimes. Some ships won't even allow it and some Genies won't do it. Can you get the seafood tower and can it be delivered to your stateroom? Yes, again sometimes. Some ships don't even have the seafood tower on their menu, some will not deliver it on embarkation day while some have had success getting it delivered on embarkation day. Will the Genie reserve you loungers by the pool? Some will, some will not, they are not supposed to. Can you get lunch delivered to your room on the day that you arrive? Some ships allow, some do not. Can the Genie save you seats on the Royal Promenade for the parades? (not on Quantum, but just as another example) Some ships allow the Genie to do so, some will not. The list goes on... Basically, what I am trying to say is that while I love the Star Class program, it is most definitely not consistent. This leads to some disappointment from those who are expecting something because they heard someone else had it done etc. and then people blame the Genie. But sometimes their hands are tied too depending on the rules of the specific ship. It is very clear to be upfront and honest with your Genie about your expectations, but at the same time, sometimes it is good to step back a bit and let them surprise you. Those are usually the best moments.

Ask 10 people on this message board and 11 will give you the name of their MEI agent (Kathy here), there is a reason we all cherish their service, quick responses to simple email inquires is one of many. I'm not sure how FCC work with agents, whether they have control or you, however if there was a cruise / room that I wanted, I wouldn't wait for a FCC, I'd put down the cash and apply the FCC after. Not sure which agent(s) you're talking about on YouTube but Danny from Harr Travel does some awesome walk-through's / tours of ships, rooms, CocoCay, etc... However, I'm sticking with my MEI agent.

Wow, you're only on edge when Thanksgiving comes around? I've been on edge for at least 4 months now, and if we're still cooped up by Thanksgiving I'll be full-blown NUTS!! This dad joke brought to you by your friendly Chief Science Officer, a proud dad for going on 20 years now. ? ?

Sorry to be a Negative Nellie, but I think Cape Liberty is not seeing a single cruise departure this year. The governors of NY and NJ have basically said that indoor dining is shut down again, no indoor gatherings really authorized for the foreseeable future. What with cruise ships having all dining indoors (except for the small outdoor area on Anthem's WJ, and some outdoor seating for the specialty venues on the Central Park deck of Oasis), I'm assuming they'll be blocked just on those grounds alone.

We are sailing on a B2B Symphony of the Seas trip starting 9/19 (yes, it's right on the cut line) and have our fingers crossed. While I give us at best a 50/50 shot at making the trip (hey, sailing has to resume sometime, so why not then?), I'm mentally preparing (crying in my beer) to stay home if things don't work out. Godspeed to everyone as we survive this virus.

After watching a little of the senate hearings today with Fauci.......one of the big discussions was how important it is for kids to get back to school. If schools open in August in Florida and it goes well, we will be cruising by October. Always the optimist! ?

Nah....I would be there if I could be...doesn't bother me at all. Lockdown and loss of rights and liberty bothers me more.

I was on Brilliance fairly recently and I was very surprised at the rather pathetic kids' water play area. It is way back on the aft of the ship and has nothing else around it. I would never want to have to go there with my kids. I thought it was awful. Since you have experienced basically the whole gambit (Enchantment to Harmony) then you know the differences already. My opinion - Oasis. Every time.

Oh I have a concierge??!!! Didn’t have one on Majesty. I feel so special!

Since you have an adult booked in each room, I think you might also be able to get away with bringing 2 bottles of wine per stateroom, for a total of 4 bottles. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong ?

I'm in the process of doing a Lift & Sift of Anthem from this Dec to next Dec. A month or two ago, I had hope it would run. However now, my thoughts have changed as nothing has started up as of Sept, crew isn't there, no new procedures announced, covid cases are pretty high, borders are still closed (criteria for us), etc etc. My personal opinion, but it's not looking too good.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but apparently all Pullmantur ships will be dismantled in Turkey ? https://www.elrincondeltripulante.xyz/2020/06/pullmanturs-ships-will-be-disposed-in.html

Hey I feel for you, we have had 5 cruises cancelled since April and two more For this year are not looking good at this time, however, my TA, Michelle at MEI has been right on it every time. Realizing the burden all this has put on all TA’s I’ve been amazed that she always replies to my requests within a couple of hours or less. She is amazing and I highly recommend her if you want quick, accurate and up to date information. Although this situation is hard on everyone it’s sure nice to have someone like her in your corner.

What RC could do is just take over the route of the old Pullmantur Cruises. The cruise line made money in 2019 and they have a market for it. RC could just start a new cruise line for Spain owning it 100% with the 3 ships and the one that they were going to tranfer in 2021

Hmmmm.....I now see how RC will reduce capacity when they sail. All Chads and Karen’s will be canceled! Brilliant!

With cancellations and lift and shift I would think if they still needed to reduce, they’ll dangle another carrot instead of booting people. 150% FCC? Attractive OBC? I poked around my October Symphony today and there are still several interior cabins open for booking. The majority are forward cabins. Since it’s been somewhat out there that crew will have their own cabins, you’d think they’d pull interior cabins and give those to crew. As always, this is all speculation and we just have to wait and see. Although it’s fun to play the “what’ll they do” game!

You have a very very low chance of getting anything from a nylon hammock basking in the sun. Keep them! I would be more worried those day bed loungers where people spend all day on sheets and a mattress.

I don't mind the idea of a cot. Just that freaking cot of doom was another subject completely.

The F-4 was an awesome platform! We had 'em at Ramstein there at my first duty station. Although I probably complained nearly every day, I loved the AF and kick myself daily for getting out before retirement. Dumbest move of my life. Thank you all for your service, and also to your spouses; Lord knows it's harder on them than us.

Our favorite thing was that they assigned us the same waiter, no matter which table we sat at-- so he knew our preferences, and also went above and beyond for our disabled DD. She always got shrimp cocktail, and after seeing that we had to take it out of the tall glass, and remove the tails for her, he made arrangements to bring it out on a flat plate, tail off. Also, after watching us cut up her food for her each time, he took to doing that for her as well, so that our dinners didn't get cold, and we didn't have to shuffle plates around. He was well tipped on our last night. We went 7 times on our 12 night cruise (MDR 1st night @ MTD, which was a disaster)specialty dining for 3, and 1 night we couldn't get a reservation). Next time we are on Anthem, we are definitely reserving as early as possible.

Wellllll, THAT subject was clickbaitey

Okay, I'm just relieved that this is direction this thread is headed in...

Then there is this company I have been following closely. Sounds very interesting to me but I am not a doc. Maybe it make more sense to some of you. https://investors.sorrentotherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sorrento-announces-selection-t-viva-19tm-targeted-protein

I've read about the Seafood tower. Its on the list of things to try!

No, I'm not talking about the background images used or some weird decision to use a blue-and-evergreen tartan plaid. I'm talking about the ways that Celebrity's site really bends over backward to screw you up while trying to do any kind of action that brings you in a direction they don't want you to go. Like what? How about if you're doing a mock booking and just want to exit out? Here a couple of images showing the popup you get when you decide to exit the booking flow. I went back in to the same booking after exiting, pretending I changed my mind and I wanted to book anyway and then decided to exit after all. The "Exit Booking" button that was on the bottom is now on the top, while the bottom white button has become "Continue Booking" -- which was a link at the bottom on the first screen! They are banking on you remembering "I clicked the white button last time, that's how I exit" and just clicking that without reading it. Which causes you to end up stuck and trying to leave over and over until you finally take the time to read it. Especially because if you keep going back, you find that the buttons don't always change positions in the same way. Sometimes you go there and the first exit screen you see is the second one I pasted, and then when you go back a few days later it's back to the first one. Or they swap the buttons around again so that "Continue Booking" becomes the blue button on top. This is an example of what's come to be called a dark pattern, a way to get people visiting a web site to become stuck and feeling forced through a purchase flow; or making it impossible for them to do things like find how to get in touch with customer service, or unsubscribe from some product you don't want delivered every month any more. Amazon is infamous for this, as are a number of retailer sites these days. But Celebrity's site is turning out to be a horrible textbook example of this, too. The one that really gets my goat? This: This is a recent change, and one that it took me almost a week to catch on to. See, for the longest time the left panel has been the option for NRD, while the right panel is the Refundable Deposit option. This even looks like it should still be that, what with that "+$200 USD* for Refundable Deposit" under the button, right? Nope! You are still selecting NRD booking if you click that big blue button. First giveaway, which I should have caught on to do but didn't because, hey, I'm just doing a mock booking and I'm in a rush, and not really looking at anything besides the Starting From number in big bold text and the word Refundable (hmm, is that really different from someone just looking to book and move to the next thing in their list?)... is the fact that those two dollar amounts are not actually $200 apart. They're $280 apart. Second thing I should have been wary of is... Take a close look at that "+$200 USD" line of text. Notice anything odd about it? Like the fact it's underlined? Oh, you didn't see it because it kind of blends in with the water and is really thin? Yeah, me neither. That's right. That's not just informational text. It's a link. If you want a refundable deposit, you have to go and click that, not the big obvious button above it. Just to get the offer of 2 perks, but without the "Save $200" part. And who is going to think to do that when they see what they think is a good deal on that bump-out balcony, and the thing that everyone knows you click to go on to the next step in any web shopping experience is a button, and what's right there but a big blue button? This is a dark pattern to keep you on the NRD booking track. And I missed it, multiple times. I read about this crap all the time because I'm in web development and, well, I need to know what competitors to my employer are doing and what are the latest trends in web design, and ohmygodisthisstuffdisgustingIfeeldirtyjustreadingabout it!! And I still missed it. Only reason I finally figured it out is because I took a screen shot of the final booking review screen before making payment, and sent it to my TA... who promptly emailed back to point out that my screen shot had a line referencing an NRD perk discount. That I saw but that never registered. Because the primitive lizard part of my brain was just seeing "GOOD NUMBER!! SAVE MONEY!! GET PERKS NOW, MEATBAG!! BIG BUTTON RIGHT THERE CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!" Royal's site does stuff like this, too, but it's not as bluntly deceptive, at least not in all the same spots. I've seen the same BS when trying to exit a booking, where the buttons change position every few times. But at least when you want a refundable booking, they just make you go all the way to the last step before you see the checkbox to get the refundable price. (unless they changed that, too?) Watch out for stuff like this. Otherwise you're going to call your TA a bunch of times thinking you've found a good chance to save some money, and instead walk away really annoyed and disappointed.

Bingo

A first look inside this little beauty.