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I'm not intending to be maudlin with this story; these are unfortunate circumstances. We're all okay now. We are very fortunate that we happened to coincidentally earn crystal blocks on the two burial-at-sea cruises we did for each of our sons. It wasn't planned like that at all, but it's heartwarming to have those special keepsakes from those sailings. The first was on Mariner of the Seas in February 2020. We didn't get that block onboard, and the world shut down for a while. We tried to get RC to send us the block in mid-2020, but nothing happened. We called back in spring 2021 and tried again. They found the records where it was approved to have been sent, but there was no record of it actually having been shipped (2020, again). So, that time they did send it to us. The second was on Anthem of the Seas (Dec 2022), and I made darned sure that the Loyalty Ambassador knew how important this was to us. We did get that block. Those two crystal blocks are on our mantel.

Hey guys, Just wanted to share with you guys that we saved a small fortune on our OTS sailing for Feb 25th 2024... We booked a junior suite for €1,678pp with 3 people sharing...I noticed, a couple of months later, that there was an option for suite gty so called up and changed to that at a new price of €1,311pp. Then this week I noticed that it dropped further so called and re priced so now we are paying €1,056pp! A nice saving of over €600pp or over €1,800pp. I must note that when I called to do the final reprice, the agent was very unhelpful and stated that there was no way that he could reprice to the lower price. I told him to change our booking to any other room type and then back to Suite GTY and he said it was not possible. I then requested to speak to his supervisor and what do you know, he was able to satisfy my request! The phone call lasted just over 1 hour but I saved €750 in the end which is quite a bit more than my hourly rate!! Keep an eye on prices even after you've booked.

You had a great cruise. A port they couldn't go to was canceled. An excursion was canceled for which you received a full refund and a discount if you chose another. What's the gripe? You want more than 100% plus 15% coupon refund for the excursion? You want them to sail into bad weather or overly rough seas caused by weather? I don't think you should complain. You really have no complaints.

I’m so confused by your post. Are you implying you think they should have sailed there while there is a war going on? I get you’re disappointed but it doesn’t seem like there is any reasonable alternative to what they are doing.

The lack of quality for the price is why I can't justify star class. Some people are paying salaries to sail one week and they still charge for the little things. Then make the perks hardly worth it, while charging such a high premium. I am glad you said something but I fear that it will fall on deaf ears. There are so many newbies that will pay the price and accept what they are given.

Just a note to say i did fire off that response to Esther. I "Norma Rae'd" on behalf of all of you who were disappointed that complimentary cupcake and sushi classes are no longer. On charging for Captain Jack at PDCC. On charging for wine pairings at Chef's Table. On charging an overage of $2.50 per glass for mediocre Conundrum, that's regularly on sale for $16.99 a bottle here. (Ok that was for me.) All of these things remind me of everyone's biggest complaint about Norwegian: nickel and diming. I also took one for the team and lobbied: The biggest is the lack of perks for Star Class on the FlowRider. I understand that it's popular, but a single one-hour early morning session for Star Class guests hardly exudes VIP experience. I had inquired about this on behalf of a friend sailing soon on Oasis Star Class, and the Genie said something to the effect of, make sure your friend goes because "it's hardly ever busy" during Star Class hour. What does that tell you? Offering a perk at an inconvenient time still allows you to call it a perk without it really being a perk. And finally, i hope my shaming them on this is a small ripple that will eventually lead to course correction, if enough of us follow suit. Now let's talk about the product deterioration that mattered most to us: embarkation and disembarkation procedures. In 2019 on our first Star Class cruise, my husband declared your procedures worth the cost of Star Class alone. A porter met you at check in and your luggage stayed with you, through security, and followed you directly to your room. At disembarkation, your Genie and porter met you at your room at the designated time and escorted you and your luggage through customs and out to the curb. Now? Sorry, you're EXACTLY on par with the Haven. You check your luggage at the port, albeit with a priority tag, just like everyone else. (Exactly like Haven.) You wait for your luggage to be delivered to your stateroom, just like everyone else. (Exactly like Haven.) You put out your luggage the night before (albeit at a later time), just like everyone else. (Exactly like Haven.) You find your luggage in a priority section of the terminal. (Exactly like Haven.) If this is a battle you lost with CBP, i would encourage you to try harder.

Ditto. This week's bloggers ran out of steam by the end. It's like they prioritized enjoying their cruises over providing us entertainment and food porn. Some people!

They have no obligation to you in this case other than to NOT sail you into active conflict zones. They do not have an obligation to find you another cruise itinerary, but nothing is stopping you from looking for one and do a cancel/rebook. Royal has no control over the weather or politics and can only do so much when unexpected events pop up. You need to familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions that YOU agreed to when booking the cruise.

I was on Rhapsody of the Seas that departed from Haifa, first stop Limassol, second stop would have been Rhodes, but that got cancelled, so we got a sea day instead and some onboard credit. Then Santorini, and the idea was to head back with a sea day to Haifa. The day we arrived in Santorini, the news broke out in the morning and after dinner the international guests were asked to proceed to guest services, as they could disembark in Santorini given the situation. I am typing this from a hotel room in Santorini as we speak. They arranged for tenders and busses and hotel rooms for those who had not booked a hotel yet.

I ALMOST FORGOT! While walking down the gangway today, lady in front of us had one of those open top/drawstring backpacks. Sticking out of the top was a Tupperware container, full of food,I assume from Windjammer. That's not the good part. On top of that container,almost tied down with the drawstring, was two more paper bags with food, muffins or donuts would be my guess from the shape and size. These bags happened to say "sanitary napkins...p.do not flush" THESE PEOPLE USED THE TAMPON BAGS FROM THE BATHROOM TO SMUGGLE FOOD OFF! Then we get to the luggage pickup, find a porter to help us load em up and we hear the longshormen arguing with someone, telling a group of people they can't load and push a cart on their own (this cart was FULL,too). These people kept trying to push the cart and the dock guys were just holding it from the top,like when you hold a little kids head while he tries to hit you, not sure how that ended. But i thought these two experiences in a matter of about a minute had to be shared.

Home sweet home. The last full day wasn't very eventful. But it was VERY windy and the waves were HUGE. I held off on doing the zipline until the last day...so I didn't get to try that due to the wind. It was a pretty choppy cruise all along.. while watching the baseball game last night, I heard the aqua show start..then after 10 minutes they wrapped it up. Found out it was actually an abbreviated version they put together since they had so many cancelations, they just wanted to give the fans something to watch. Found out only ONE aquashow went off from start to finish, all others were canceled or stopped midway. @SweetPeait was hell only bevause we were leaving, but the actual process was amazingly smooth. Left our room at 815 and were in our car and on the street by 9....and that's with birth certificates only (for the 2nd cruise in a row,the birth certificate line was non existent and we basically walked right out). I am kicking myself for being too honest..we didn't pay for parking at the kiosk since the porter walked us all the way to the car, so while pulling out the guy asked if we paid,i said not yet,he waves me to the booth to pay. The guy on front of me said he paid,showed them nothing and was waved around the booth and right out. I'm not one for cheating the system,but damn 210 bucks is 210 bucks. Anyway,after paying like a good boy,we were off and home before 11! The smoothest embarkation and debarkartion ever. On and off the ship with ease. OH, I swore I wasn't doing Nextcruise but while sitting at playmakers last night my brain was working and and I realized it still makes sense because you get 60 days to pick the cruise and still get the obc. We already have a cruise booked for next year but in 60 days we should be able to book (non-icon) ships for 2025. And they make it WAY too easy to do on the app. Literally check a box that you authorize the deposit and click OK...done. I'll do a brief review of everything we loved and didn't when I wrap this up probably tomorrow. I'm exhausted today!

Look at the positives. You are anchored for 60 hours on a floating resort. Is it really that bad? In my mind that’s 60 hours of enjoying that ship with a cold drink in my hand. Things could be so much worse.

We tipped our Genie half cash/half charged to our onboard account. We just picked up the form from the concierge. If you charge any to your account, maybe you let your Genie know as I'm not 100% certain they will know who it comes from otherwise.

Me, after 5-10 minutes in one of those daybeds.

Tonight’s message on updated itinerary, the sea day and Israel days are moved around

Liability of the Seas

This is all on the guide, for sure. He said "2:45-2:50" which means everyone heard "2:50" and he should know that. You always assume the people are going to head back to you at the time you said to be at the bus, because that's just how people are. My husband is that type, so he never actually knows when we have to be anywhere because I intentionally tell him incorrect times so we aren't late. When dealing with the public at large, you've gotta factor in these types of folks, and the last minute bathroom emergencies, and whatever other nonsense can hit.

Paging my wife to bring a stack of business cards wherever they implement this!

Hrmm, I think this is just a show element in the AquaDome, not a new halfpipe for guests. I say that for two reasons: I'm pretty sure Nick mentioned it when I was in Finland as something they were working on. But even if I'm remembering that wrong, Nick tweets about his shows almost exclusively.

It never occurred to me to tip any way other than cash. Didn't even know you could....

Word from crew members is that if you tip them through your onboard account, they don't know where it comes from. They know it's a tip but they cannot see on their end from which guest it is from.

Just remember, your cruise contract says that you acknowledge that itineraries can be changed at any time.

No basis for a complaint. Avoiding a port due to the potential for horrendous weather is great situational awareness on the part of the company and the ships captain. As for compensation, I wish you good luck because it’s going to be an uphill battle.

On our 10-day, Jan. 2023 cruise we booked a Jr. Suite on Anthem of the Seas. On days 1 & 2 we dined in the MDR and were the only 2 people at a table for 10. We then switched to CK. The CK is more upscale in both decor, service and menu. We generally made reservations for about 7:00 and never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated. Once or twice we arrived 30+ minutes earlier than the reservation and we were easily accommodated with our regular CK waiter. We tipped both our waiter and the Maitre'd extra. We are sailing on the Anthem again this January 2024 and will pass on the MDR in favor of CK.

My Christmas cruise last year was 70% first time cruisers. There were two pinnacles on board. Two! And they were only there because it was a family cruise for them.

Dang these week-long cruises fly by way too fast! You're probably in the middle of disembarkation hell right about now (and sorry, no matter how smooth it is, it's always hell.) Safe travels home!

Absolutely nothing abnormal about your experiences Weather cancellations can occur days in advance, due to weather predictions and timing to reach the destination or sail around weather (this is especially true during hurricane season) Refunds for missed ports are a 50/50 proposition at best. Those that were refunded for the Canaveral missed stop were probably given the consideration because the reason was mechanical difficulty with the ship, not an "act of God". Port taxes and fees are rarely refunded due to the constant fluctuation of these fees, what you paid is probably less than what the ship was charged for the journey, so they will keep these fees to offset the difference.

Yes great suggestion, we mentioned the tip amount in the card we gave the genie.

I like this name better than SkyPad.

We’re so looking forward to wandering the Caribbean on Wonder of The Seas!!!!

This is our first time getting the DDP (price was right), I'm loving seeing all these drinks! Think I'm going to plan my drinks as you do! Can't wait to try some of these! Thanks @PG Cruiser again for putting in the time and energy on this!

Head Trauma of the Seas Broken femur of the seas

My first cruise on Harmony they had to cancel all the aqua shows as well. They finally one day at the end while we were in port did it during the day while we were docked so people could at least try and see something. Was disappointing, but obviously safety comes first. I can tell you I wouldn’t be jumping off those platforms into that pool if there was no wind and the ship was sitting still, I certainly wouldn’t expect someone to be doing it on a moving ship with the water swooshing side to side in that pool lowering the water level by multiple feet.

Sorry to disagree, but I believe the problem is not StarLink. Based on my experience, the problem is Royal's on board infrastructure.

6 Days to go

Well I am one of the few that doesn't even like lobster so this wouldn't bother me at all. Here in the US though this would be a huge deal blown way out of proportion.

Royal did it all wrong. They should have kept the ports in Israel and gave each of the cruiser a gun and helmet as they exit the cruise ship at port. They will get the real Holly Land Cruise Experience. Or maybe Royal is looking out for their cruisers....

Everyone should have known it was coming. If I was a cruise line, I would have done it years ago. From what I have seen, people cannot just enjoy a lobster dinner. They have to be gluttons and have 2, 3, 4 or more lobster tails. If the cruise line charge people for the extra and they have a fit. It is easier to just remove them from the menu.

In the case of Port Canaveral there have been some changes due to propulsion issues which are within the responsibility of the cruise line. Weather related changes are beyond the control of the cruise lines. The cruise contract has enough verbiage to cover them in both situations but sometimes they do offer something when the change is not at the fault of an act of nature. Port fees and taxes are estimated based on historical booking data. Sometimes they estimate high and sometimes they estimate low. Sometimes there is excess money available to reimburse and sometimes, despite the change of plans, there is not. Some ports don't waive all fees when a ship doesn't make the port, it depends. Some fees are related to manpower on shore to handle the lines and gangways while other fees are related to port pilot charges and dock fees. They can all have different terms and conditions. A bargaining until for a group of longshoreman may still impose a fee or partial fee when a ship cancels at the last minute while a port pilot may not. It's not so simple to say a port has one fee that covers everything. Each situation is unique so what occurred for another ship on a different day or another cruise line with different contracts can't always be used to set expectations.

I’ve had a port cancelled even though the weather was beautiful! There were some swells, but not enough to really feel it aboard ship. However, the port was shallow enough that the swell effect coming into the harbor made the risk of hitting bottom too high. Either the port authorities, or the ship, or both decided to not make the attempt. I don’t recall ever having port fees not refunded after a port was cancelled…but, I think there were two cruises where we had to stay overnight in a port to let a storm pass and that caused us to miss the next port. We didn’t get the missed port refunded because we had to pay fees for the extra day at the overnight port. So it balanced out. The only times I’ve seen weather cancellations five days out is if there was a massive storm on a very predictable track. Not just hurricanes or tropical storms. Sometimes the port itself issues cancellations in expectation of a weather event. Any pre-purchased excursions that are cancelled should result in a refund back to the original form of purchase…credit card. I agree that a percentage off a much more expensive excursion seems unfair, but it’s something. Glad the rest of the cruise was brilliant! Hope you continue cruising and have wonderful experiences.

Safe trip home. Hope to read about the last day when you have time. Helluva game one vs. Atlanta!

Forgive them Frank

You asked about ports being canceled several days in advance due to weather. This is unusual. We've had a bunch of hurricanes recently. Is that the weather issue or was it something else? Keep in mind hurricanes are a huge deal. Depending on the circumstances, it can take days to move the ship around them. Even if Royal wanted to visit a port during a hurricane, there's a good chance the port would be closed.

Sorry, Oasis

The lamb is very good.

Lobster night has not been on Euro sailings for a while now. The lobsters that Royal does serve on other itineraries are not exactly something one would miss. Small and low quality tails.

They dropped the burger from the lunch menu so Jamie’s is dead to me now!

Short answer: We don't know yet. Longer discussion:

I think I posted this across the street (maybe) but thanks for making me realize there were more signature drinks at the Lime & Coconut than just its namesake. That's the only one I tried on Wonder in June. Not sure how I missed that. I'm big on planning and trying new drinks with my vouchers. I'll make up for it next trip.

Hi there! Even though I've been reading the RCBlog since inception, I really had no idea that there were forums and roll calls. Here I am! We're Joan and Pat from northern Virginia (by way of Rhode Island), and will be on this cruise, as well as the next week (May 5-12). We did the same cruise this past April, had to change cabins, however, on turnaround day. Can't wait to not have to pack and unpack again -- at least until we're kicked off the ship! This itinerary has some new ports for us (Puerto Plata, DR), so that it interesting. Looking forward to cruising with you! Joan