EddieTheCruiser

Hello All,
 
I wanted to see if we could commence a running Cruise Director and Activities Manager list here on the Royal Caribbean Blog Boards.   As many of you know, the Cruise Director can be very influential in providing a fun and interactive experience while on a cruise and for this reason the question is often asked "who will be the cruise director on my sailing?" However, as with any position of importance, the Cruise Director also enlists the assistance of his or her Activities Manager to host a number of events throughout a sailing (e.g. trivia, bingo, karaoke, etc...).  Therefore, I would also like to keep the list updated with the current Activities Managers whom many of us develop strong relationships with based on our varying degrees of participation in ship events. 
 
While I know there are similar lists maintained elsewhere on the internet, my desire is to provide an easily accessed (thanks in part to the long-term edit function of these boards) and more user friendly document than what currently exists.  In addition to receiving regular updates from the fantastic blog community that fill these boards with Royal Caribbean knowledge everyday, I also hope to leverage Kat's evergrowing Periscope community to obtain real time and accurate updates as to who holds these very important positions throughout the Royal Caribbean fleet.   Below is my first stab at a draft of the list based on information I was able to retrieve from various social media and online content.  As you can see, there are some blanks, which I am sure many of you will be able to assist with filling in.  Please feel free to respond here with any list updates or any comments as to the format or layout of the document.
 
I would like to thank all of you in advance for any assistance you can provide with making this list a useful resource for Royal Caribbean cruisers.
 

I  visited Nachi Cocom last summer and loved it. The best part was that we were in port on Empress with two other Carnival ships and the place felt empty. We will visit Cozumel again on January 9, but will be one of the last ships to dock (Brilliance)...here is what will be in port that day.
Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Brilliance Of The Seas Royal Caribbean 1000-1930 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Liberty Of The Seas Royal Caribbean 07:00 - 16:00 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Carnival Breeze Carnival Cruise Line 08:00 - 18:00 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Carnival Paradise Carnival Cruise Line 10:00 - 20:00 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Carnival Splendor Carnival Cruise Line 08:00 - 17:00 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Disney Magic Disney Cruise Line 07:00 - 16:00 Cozumel 9 Jan 2018 Norwegian Pearl Norwegian Cruise Line 08:00 - 17:00 I've seen videos of the place being taken over by passengers from other ships, and am thinking that may be the case especially with three Carnival ships and Liberty in port. If the ship clears quickly, and we can get off the ship, I am thinking we may be able to get to Nachi by 11, but I am not sure. Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks
                                                                     

My mom was impressed by the price of Grey Goose when we were on Anthem.

It is, but they also offer paid lessons / private sessions where you can lock it up for an hour or more.

@rjaceverytime my husband uses the flow rider it is on a port day.  Not really much wait time. But like @twangster said, check the cruise compass for times because they do reduce the hours.  On sea days it is quite busy.  Lots of kids and spectators.

Pull down a cruise compass from a past cruiser and verify open times.  They are not open all day typically.  It's a good strategy though, using a port day will tend to see less flow riders.
Star class suites have priority access and I've seen a suite full of kids hog a flow rider on one occasion.  There were some grumpy cruisers over it but they paid for it (or their parents did).

How busy is the Flo Rider on the Allure of the Seas on port days and cruise days? I'm taking the grand kids and their parents on the Allure next April. I'm thinking of us staying on the ship instead of getting off in Nassau and hitting the Flo Rider. Comments??

me and my dad booked a balcony Guarantee stateroom on our cruise in march on the freedom, i wanted to write down voom and drink package pricings for us when i noticed we where assigned a superior balcony room, will this be final or can it be swapped around a few times. its my first time booking a garanteed room.

We did a Segway tour and had a great time!  We also did the canal tour.  It was nice to have different perspectives of the city.  We did take the free shuttle to Carlsberg.  Carlsberg was nice but it did eat up a lot of time.  We did go to the top of the Church of our Savior-terrific views but it is a narrow, crowded climb.  We also checked out the Round Tower and views from Christianborg Palace.

Only on Voyager class ships

Just seen this on that other forum...
"On the Navigator don't miss "peek-a-boo bridge" where you can go watch what the captain is doing. Look for the sliding door to nowhere in the Solarium."
Does any of the other ships have this hidden secret?

It's called Crown Royal. ;)

Talk about a subject matter expert, that's a really interesting post, WaaayTooo. I don't gamble and rarely venture into the casino. I do, however, spend a great deal of time at/near a bar from the time of embarkation to the time of debarkation. I wonder, does Royal have a "special" club for cruisers like me with similar discounts/perks? And I'm not talking about the one where you have to go to meetings either. 

I wish I knew the code myself !  Unfortunately, it's often a moving target.
Here's what I know:
1.  You are correct.  You no longer "join" Club Royale or are offered membership, like in the past.  Basically, anyone who puts their seapass card in a slot machine (or slide your card into a reader at a table) is "in".
2.  They no longer have Club Royale membership numbers.  Everything is tracked through your Crown & Anchor membership number so be SURE that you are a member of C&A and that they swipe your card EVERY time you sit down (or go to the craps tables, in your case).  That's how they track you and maintain stats on you.
3.  There is something that I call the "additional personal discount" that is based 100% on the casino rating you receive on your last cruise.  This is an additional casino discount that you get on top of the regular [reduced] casino rate.  The casino rate is a rate that is the same for everyone who qualifies for it.  So for those who qualify, you get the reduced casino rate, which varies depending upon the individual cruise and the type of cabin that you book. It's important to realize that the casino does NOT set the casino rate.  The casino rate is established by the revenue department. Casino rate discounts are graduated so they are the highest (percent-wise) for suites and cascade down, in percentage, to the lower room categories.  Since we generally cruise in suites, the percentage discount that we usually receive is anywhere from 42 - 50% off the FULL RETAIL cost (not the discounted rate but the full base fare).
The following is experienced-based speculation:
4.  There is no substitute for being recognized in the casino by the #1, Casino Host, #2, Casino Manager and #3 Pit bosses.  I recommend that if you want to be rewarded, you take the time to introduce yourself to the Casino Host and Manager, ask them what the best way to receive "rewards" is and tell them that you are interested in being eligible for cruise rates on future cruises and cruise certificates for additional discounts and/or free cruises.  They will, undoubtedly, tell you that.....
5.  The program is based on cruise points and program levels.  I have heard many explanations about how the points work.  I even received, on our last cruise, a published breakdown of how many points are required for specific rewards.  What I have never been able to figure out is how the points are actually earned, recognized and rewarded.  I believe it is all voodoo and you are rewarded based on recognition by the management.  Right or wrong, this is what I think.  Being in the casino a LOT and being seen by and recognized by the management is KEY.
6.  While it is not acknowledged out in the open, I do believe that the "old" Club Royale VIP members receive some kind of additional recognition in the program.  This is based solely on my gut feeling and Program management will never outwardly admit it.  There have just been too many times when, based strictly on points, we should not have received the reward(s) that we received.  I truly believe that we just get a little "kick" as long time members of the program.
7.  There is some "baseline" level that, if reached, enables the "free drinks in the casino" benefit and the casino cruise rate eligibility.  I cannot tell you, with any certainty, what that level is.  A number of months ago, frustrated b/c I couldn't "break the code", I called Club Royale and asked them what it took to retain all of the benefits that we currently enjoy (free drinks, casino rates and waiver of the 5% convenience fee).  The rep just said, "whatever you're doing, just keep doing it".  Good grief !  No help at all.  So, I just keep doing what I've been doing and so far, it's worked.  These are the benefits that mean the most to us so as long as we continue to get them, we will continue to cruise with Royal.  If they were to stop or be reduced, we would start considering other options.
The best bit of advice I can offer is make friends with the host and manager and be in the casino a LOT.  Even if you are not making large wagers, the length of time you are in the casino is paramount.
Good luck !!

In March, I was told the magic formula for this and I'll share it here in case it's accurate. It seems reasonable.
Once qualified, you get perks like free drinks in the casino and waiving of the 5% cash-from-SeaPass fee.
In order to establish your qualifying credentials, you must earn 1,500 points during a cruise. Fortunately, for slot play this is easy to determine as it's $5/point for slots and $10/point for video poker. Table games are a mystery.
Here's where it gets a little weird. If you qualified on your previous cruise, you are prequalified on your next cruise and get the benefits from day 1. To continue the chain of qualification, you must then earn 1,000 points on that cruise. If you fail to earn 1,000 points on that cruise, you are no longer qualified, and you must then earn 1,500 points on the next cruise after that one to requalify from scratch.

gold
except the pic looks like Navigator

And you thought those were life raft launchers... :P
 
 

The number of people on FB that think this article is real just baffles me!  

http://www.theonion.com/article/shelling-royal-caribbeans-ms-allure-sinks-carnival-56448

With that new port area (which I thought they helped fund) I'd be surprised if they pulled out.  But from what I've heard, most cruisers preferred docking in Ocho Rios.

I think it makes sense, because I've heard a lot of complaints about how aggressive the local sales people are, and passengers feel harassed. I'd be interested to see what port they substitute it with. 

We are destined for Falmouth on our 1/21 cruise, but I don't think I'd be too upset if they 
changed ports on us.  I was just saying the other day that I'd be happy with two days in Coz.
 
I really wanted to go to Jamaica, but the more I read up on it, the less I want to go.  Sad.
I know the country and area need the money.
 

All of the cruises prior to this reply have been added to the list here: 
 
Let me know if there are any changes and/or corrections needed.

Harmony 1/13/2018

My husband and I are travelling on Anthem of the Seas in 8 days!!!  July 15th. I can't wait.  This is our first cruise.