Leaderboard

Dear Someone_else, Well, welcome to these boards and discussions about RC. There are dozens of cruise forums, and more than a dozen cruise lines, and there are always complaints, questions, reviews, and discussions. Some people post the same question on different sites and responses will vary. Often folks disagree, and everyone's experiences are individual and unique. Remember, all these forums are used by fellow cruisers, who are busy with their own lives, but do enjoy sharing their cruise experiences. You were seeking feedback with an issue, and you received a lot, so you can either use some of the advice for your situation, or just realize your concerns will never be resolved. Then the choice is cancel the cruise and choose another ship, or another cruise line, or do some other kind of vacation that suits your family better. Unfortunately, in no way, shape or form is this a "government" issue (I know, I worked in government at one point in my life). You are simply a dissatisfied consumer. Remember that cruises today are mass market experiences, and the cruise line has no responsibility to meet every person's needs or wishes, nor do they try. Sometimes negative publicity pushes an event toward a more positive outcome, but also having worked in the travel industry at a very early point in my life, kindness and friendly relationships are a better choice in the long run. The bottom line is no one is making you spend money on a RC cruise, so if you are not happy, spend it elsewhere. Please continue to participate in forums and share your cruise experiences, because that educates others, and hopefully, will create future improvements. Best wishes.

Moving on to leg #2. Explorer 5 night 4-14-24 thru 4-19-24 Turnaround was uneventful. We met in the Star Lounge at 9:15 and the B2B parade started a bit after 10:00. It seemed like we were a bit behind schedule but not significantly. I’m guessing there were 30-40 B2B’ers. Frankly, I expected more. We had a very short walk through CBP and then right back on the ship. There was a tasty B2B lunch at 11:30. Upon our return to the ship we made our BOGO reservations and visited the mustard (sic) station. That was it. Interesting cruise passenger make-up dynamic between this cruise and the last….very predictable. Many more young families on this shorter cruise. Not nearly so many scooters…but more strollers. Not sure which is worse ! Bad start in the casino. I should have stayed in the room. . At least I had the good sense to cut it off and go home. Dinner at Izumi tonite. Yum. Chops tomorrow and then MDR the rest of the nights. We went to the ice show. We always enjoy those even if we’ve seen the show before. When we came back to the room after turnaround, but before going to the B2B lunch, I called and booked our 2 instant comps from last cruise. While my original plan was to use the cash value of my cert ($300) to upgrade Dans, we changed our mind and instead booked a 5 night Enchantment cruise (1-27-25) from the short list of comp cruises on my cert. We have never been on Enchantment and we decided that if we were EVER going to book EN, this probably the only chance as we always look past EN to choose a newer/bigger ship. So we booked it. Dans cert went for a 10 night EX southern Caribbean (3-20-25). Tomorrow is PDCC which is usually a stay-on-the-ship-day but we will be going to Hideaway Beach. I had no intention of ever visiting Hideaway b/c I thought it was so slimy the way they originally announced that Hideaway would be adults-only and complimentary and then decided to charge for it. But I got it for $19.99 PP so we will see what it’s like. I’m not one that enjoys laying about in a lounger (it kills my back) so not sure what we’ll do, but I will give it a try.

Lol funnel cake????? I love this description.

So things really did pick up at Hideaway after my last post. By the time we left the place was packed. The music finally got to me….and I tagged out. Will I go back ? Probably not. There is very little at Hideaway that I could not get elsewhere on the island for -0- $$. 1. Hideaway pool is heated. I liked that…but I was still chilly when I got out of the water. 2. Dan said the choice of alcohol was better at Hideaway. E.g, he likes Grey Goose for his Bloody Mary and he said he couldn’t get that on the “regular” side. I have no idea since I’ve never had a [alcohol] drink at PDCC 3. Padded chairs and couches. I don’t recall seeing that outside of the Beach Club. Maybe they are somewhere that I haven’t seen. 4. No kids Other than these few things, the “regular “ side and Hideaway are the same (to me). We each had a crispy chicken/mozz sticks sandwich and I had 1/2 of a fried dough ball with powdered sugar on it (can’t think of what it’s called). Pretty tasty.

That’s exactly where I am right now ! I have to stay out of the sun and the loungers are not for me so I am in a nice comfy couch with cushions next to the bar. I actually loathe toes in the sand so I’m happy to be missing out on that. Agree that I’m not pleased with the loud music but my butt and back are thanking me for choosing this spot ! Dan abandoned me and found a lounger in the sun. This place is much bigger than it looks from the ship. The bar is huge ! So far the only disappointment (for Dan, not me) is that it doesn’t appear that there’s any real ocean access for snorkeling. Maybe there is and we just haven’t found it yet. We are here with Wonder and nowhere near capacity. Maybe that will change later. It’s a bit breezy but that will probably turn into a blessing as the day goes on.

Mods, please can we shut this one down ? Nothing useful here.

Funnel cake? If it was actually a ball they screwed it up, lol. That sounds more like a munchkin from Dunkin or a messed up beignet. EDIT: @Ampurp85 beat me to it.

I am going to try Royal Up.

That was our conclusion, even when we could get $19.99pp. But we also don't care about kids being around (they always are since we sail during school breaks), love the standard included food, and my wife wouldn't even try the new offerings at Hideaway anyway so for us that $40 (plus tax) is better spent on a specialty meal (or pocketed). Your $40pp plus tax pays for most of a specialty meal, even a nicer one (or a full one at BOGO). Everyone values things differently though. That was just how our decision went.

Paid off my cruise today. Mason Jar here I come. Woohoo.

One thing I found great (that was on Brillance) is that we were able to borrow toys from the nursery to bring to our cabin. We could rotate as we pleased. We brought our own toys, but my youngest was more interested in the 'new' toys. I always pack magnets. They are a big hit as it sticks to the walls of the cabin and it's easy to bring. My spouse and I rotate the naps/bed time schedule so we can both enjoy the ship and activities. I will admit that I love to nap so I don,'t mind staying in the cabin for my youngest's nap. If not tired, I have my Kobo to read. They are getting older now (3&6 years old) so we may be able to enjoy the evening shows and etc. as a family this time around. My youngest was about your LO's age when we first cruised with them and everything went very well!

A save for later feature in the cart would be nice. I always make my purchases separate though just for the ease of tracking refunds later.

Who knew this was the type of forum where strangers planned to meet up in real life and coordinate their undergarments?

My phone and iPad finally synched, so I have some photos from Antigua and Grenada. Let’s see how this goes. I’ve had some trouble spacing them and inserting text. I’m terrible at this stuff. This is the floating platform in Antigua for the stingray swim. It made the entire experience so much better than in Grand Cayman. It was much easier to get into and out of the water These mysterious blobs are obviously stingrays. They are so docile and sweet. You can almost see the tail ! This is St George, Grenada with Explorer in the background. I really liked Grenada. Nice people, beautiful island, shitty roads. Obviously, I’m having a bad hair day. The town of St George really reminds me of Curaçao, which is one of my very favorite places. This town just looks so quaint. Shamefully, I got very few photos of Ft Frederick. These monkeys are native to the island and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know their proper species name. We caught a fleeting glance at one in the rain forest. …and finally, the waterfall at Annandale. Very beautiful place. Kinda like a cenote in Mexico.

There was a post on Facebook claiming to be an interaction with RC customer support that noted the password change was required due to changes in their login system. Having been involved in implementing a similar upgrade years ago, that makes total sense. But jeez at least send out an email blast letting people know.

This is an excellent tip. Thank you!! I just purchased it.

WRT #3: Are you cruising alone? If there is someone else cruising with you, purchase the daybed (if price drops) under the other person's name to ensure you get it, then cancel yours. Only one person on a reservation needs to purchase a cabana or daybed.

You know what I mean.

half of my family is in south florida and october is my favorite month to visit. snowbird season hasn't started yet, at the very tail end of hurricane season, weather is nice and warm everyday, ocean is very comfortable. here's a table of nassau ocean temps, which is a good comp for PDCC and you can see october is 10 degrees warmer than feb (mid 80's vs mid 70's) mid 80s is perfect, but it has to be a very hot day to enjoy or even get into 70 degree water (that or i need to p** pretty badly)

Her or you? Don't you dare try to get out of MY cabin, lol.

Short answer... anything could go on sale so if you see a price you find acceptable, book it. If you see a better price, you have to cancel for a refund and re-book... no price adjustments. The one time you have a pretty good chance of seeing a good sale (which may or may not include what you want to purchase) is Black Friday.

I use the bars for sodas all the time. Don't feel like carrying the freestyle cup all day long. (Just in evenings for variety). Ignore any vibe, you paid just like everyone else. An automatic gratuity was also added to the Soda package when you purchased. If I use the same location multiple times per day I leave a few bucks, but it's not necessary. Again, you pay for package and gratuity. Never feel like a burden. Soda customers are also paying customers, not just booze.

Yes, that's a very important consideration to note. There's no way to know if it will be offered at all on any sailing. They were practically extinct between 2021-2023.

A less than stellar skate is still better than no skate at all. And knowing that you are visually impaired, if I had watched it I would likely have been amazed. Can only imagine how much you've fine-tuned your motion senses and balance to be able to do that. I've never been able to skate, thanks to being born with two club feet and surgeries that straightened them out but left me with zero calf muscles or ankle strength. (and degenerative arthritis in both ankles) Kudos to you, and congratulations! You know what that means. You're that much closer to Cruise Day!

I'm more of an Aft guy, myself.

Just wanted to add this here in case anyone else found themselves on this thread. You asked about the annual renewal not being received yet. I'm guessing by now you've seen the list on the CR offer page but here's a notice in regards to the annual renewal rewards: Hope this helps someone!

I do not have a certain answer for you but I will cite the rule that has always applied to combining certs….and that rule is that the offer codes must be the same for them to be eligible to be combined. So my first instinct is to say “no””, your annual cannot be combine with an instant reward b/c the offer codes will be different. But having said that, the truth is, I have never asked that question. I’m thinking “no” but who knows ?

No problems here. Changed my password 2 days ago. Of course, tomorrow may be a different story, lol.

Yeah, it's strange, I was very clear that it doesn't hurt my head either way, why not just tell me what the current policy is if it hasn't changed? This was my email verbatim: Hi Marla, I hope this email finds you well! We Had a couple of questions on Star class upcharges on the Icon that is also a burning question on a couple of star class forums. I know right after startup it was reported that there were upcharges for star class with Chops Iconic cuts, Izumi in the park, Deserted, basecamp, and food at the Trellis bar. I also know some folks complained and there have been some reports that things may have changed a bit, but I’ve seen nothing specifically that has been verified. It doesn’t hurt my head really either way, just curious if you could shed some light on where things stand now. Curious Star Class cruisers want to know LOL See you in less than two weeks!

15 days to go! I was unaware when I started this roll-call thread, but Grandeur is getting a light touch-up in dry dock right now and apparently just has one sailing between getting out of dry dock and our embarkation. How exciting!

I hope everything was worked out to your satisfaction! Here's a screenshot that may be helpful in the future (and you may be aware of this). When you select your cabin when using Royal's website, such as interior shown here, the little blue box to the right will say "View Details". Click it to view some details about the room, including the beds. This example is from an Interior on Grandeur but I'm assuming, and maybe I shouldn't, all ships would include this information. I hope the rest of your family's cruising experiences are wonderful!

Also keep in mind they don't show up until midway through the cruise, if they show up.

I like big ships and I cannot lie.

Thank you ! We are very happy people….

Lost $45 today but I won’t cry too much as I’m still “up” slightly for the first leg. I just have keep this momentum going for 2 more weeks ! I earned enough points for a comp cert myself although it’s the lowest level comp cert so the pickin’s are pretty slim. Most likely I will still use the cash value to upgrade Dans comp but I purchased a Next Cruise future cert so I will have the choice to book from the very short list of offered cruises if we choose to do that. We picked a 10 night EX in March 25 for Dans comp. I won’t be able to book it until tomorrow so I hope there are still some of the pano ocean views left by the time I get around to booking. I’ll take care of that while we’re in port on TAD. Dan enjoyed his lamb shank and I had the spaghetti in the MDR. I love that they put the Pinns at window tables (at least, whenever they can). It’s a nice perk. Also, on EX, Pinns have priority seating for MTD so the waiting is minimal. They told us to just go straight to the podium and that’s what we did. I will say, the MTD lines have been longer on EX than they had been on some of the other cruises we’ve taken recently. The priority seating was particularly nice on this cruise. We have the same room for leg #2 so we don’t have to pack - thank goodness ! So nice to be staying on when you see everyone else’s luggage outside and you are still snuggled in your stateroom ! It’s a great feeling. Stand by for Part II !

10 drinks for $90

This card seems to be an indication of drink package sales on that cruise not being at whatever target RC wants them at.

Royal Caribbean should give me a JS at the price of an interior because that really fits my needs better………….

A good travel agent would be aware of the room configurations and find you a room that's available with the sofa bed accommodations you are seeking or suggest other ships that might have those options. Most inside cabins are smaller and would not have the space for a sofa bed, which is why they tend to have pullmans. A solution if you really need the cheaper in price accommodations and are concerned with safety would be to sleep the children on the beds and put the adults in the pullmans. It's not ideal, but it would give you back the floor space.

I disagree that there is no way to identify staterooms with a sofa bed. Deck plans show which rooms have a convertable sofa vs. Pullmans. Do your homework before booking. Is it quick and easy during the booking process? No. Is it impossible to get the information in advance? Also no. I would also note that the implications that Royal should not allow a room with Pullmans to be booked with children younger than "permitted" to use a Pullman or that Royal is not "accomodating a family with young children" because of the existence of Pullmans as the lower cost option are both invalid. If you want the cheaper stateroom, the children can use the regular beds and the parents can use the Pullmans. We did exactly this when our youngest child was seven but very small - regular beds were Mom and youngest, Pullmans were Dad and older child.

Yes, I should probably clarify that since he's a snarky 15 year old who would eloquently argue that point.

Unless there's a specific brand that is only offered in the Freestyle machines, you can get soda at any bar.

I was able to get a shuttle from Port Canaveral to MCO as we walked off the ship with no reservations and paying the shuttle service at the port. Granted MCO is not an exciting place to spend a few hours waiting, but you do have options for getting back to the Airport from the port. We have had excursions canceled because of lack of interest before, which I suspect may be your case.

First, you have so many "hats". LOL. Looks like you have nothing better to do. I totally respect you have the right to feel the way you feel. However, to save some time it's important to be open to the responses and the advice. Even if it's not what you were hoping to hear. You very much were not open to any of it. People were legit trying to help you. Myself included. The set up of cabins on older ships is what it is. Asking on a site like this for first hand information cannot hurt. Sometimes customer service people are not even in this country and don't speak the best English. They almost never have personal experience traveling on these ships. Newer ships don't even have Pullmans, so avoid old ones in future. Definitely check the configuration with more than just a customer service rep in future. I think you are probably not a good candidate for GTY cabins. However, with research here, you could be in time. (If that's something you would be interested in). When dealing with a problem, do it all onboard. Very hard to fix any issues after the voyage. Trying to get Royal Caribbean to change the wording in cabin descriptions is a futile battle. However, go for it if you want. (You did say you don't have much time to ask questions here etc) Getting Royal to change policy would be a major time suck. But that's advice, not a slam. More advice, loose the "government officials" bit. It comes off very Karen like and you will instantly loose credibility. Again, advice, not a slam. For someone who said very sarcastically you didn't have time to come here and research trips in advance, you sure are spending a lot of time here on this. Maybe you have more time than you realize? I just gave you a ton of legit advice on your issue and on using this site for all it can be worth with an open mind. I genuinely hope you take something positive from it. Multiple post have been made by you while I've been typing this sincere response to you. Hope they are constructive. Hope you find something I just spent 10 minutes typing helpful in the future.

Uber or Lyft XL for 4 with luggage will be the most economical. If you can walk with luggage a little bit away from the cruise terminal (there are a lot of hotels within a few blocks) you can likely catch one with much less wait.

There is breaking news this morning that Dillard’s is reporting significant shortages of red undergarments. They believe they are not the only store experiencing supply chain issues and are extremely concerned that the shortages could last for years. Govern yourselves accordingly … Curt from Canada

I hope it will be good! Starting in Barcelona, visiting Mallorca, Marseille, Florence/Pisa, Rome (Civitavecchia) and Naples.

Our cruises are in my signature block. I haven't counted in years. We're D+ on RC and Elite+ on Celebrity. Caught the bug 24 Februarys ago. Retired US military, retired contractor, current semiretired consultant.

The website's issues change from day to day. For the longest time, it took me three tries, to get logged in. This morning I logged in easily and successfully. Now, I cannot log in at all. I think I'm gonna quit trying for awhile. It says 6 more unsuccessful attempts and I'll have to reset my password. But I know, tomorrow it will be just fine.

The dining prices have decreased 5%. Saved a few dollars on Mason Jar.