twangster

I did the rental car thing which allowed me to stop at a Target and replenish sunscreen and other things. Plenty of time. No need to rush.

I haven't sailed Azamara and they are no longer part of the RCG family.

I seem to recall a limit on the use of outdoor PA announcements in Alaska but I can't find a regulation that imposes this restriction. I think it was on a more recent Alaska cruise in 2022 when it was stated there would be minimal outdoor announcements while in Alaska so as not to impact wildlife. I do recall in 2018 on Radiance the captain making some PA announcements while at Hubbard but it wasn't a narration of the visit. Here is some video from that visit: Honestly I prefer not to have outdoor PA announcements so you can hear the glacier moan, crack and make other noises. It's bad enough that other guests can't seem to avoid talking nearly non-stop, often making obvious statements that amount to useless drivel. "I hear it cracking" (duh!) or "I think its going to start, there it is, look, it's calving now, it's definitely calving, oh my god its calving, wow look at it calving I've never seen it calve like that and it's still going, OMG its still calving and blah, blah, blah". Some guests, especially their spouses when talking to each other just feel the need to talk and talk and talk. In making the video above the hardest part was finding bits where there wasn't useless endless talking. I guess many spouses in long term relationships learn to tune out their spouse's endless drivel but it can sure be annoying for the rest of us at moments like this.

Twice. Remember it includes drinks, wifi, gratuity and shore excursions. It's also a small ship experience so often that means ports of call or itineraries you won't find elsewhere. With a guest to crew ratio of around 2:1 service tends to be very good. It's the luxury brand in the family. Just like luxury car cost more than regular cars, luxury cruising costs more. However if that is the style of vacation you seek, SilverSea is a luxury experience.

A lot depends on the specifics of your situation. Depending on the cities involved and the airline there may not be any options available without additional fees. Some airports have few daily flights and some airlines have more restrictive change policies. Air2Sea doesn't circumvent airline policies. So long as connections, if any, remain legal and the flight times still allow you to make the ship on time, then the flights as booked are valid. Changes because you don't like the flight times would require fees if the airline imposes them.

If I'm not mistaken CBP facial recognition limited to US and Canadian citizens. Some signage still reads US passport holders only.

I've always defended @Matt when someone claimed he was being a princess. Now I'm not so sure.

Finding an alternate port on short notice is like playing a game of musical chairs but coming to the game late after many other cruise lines are already seated. In a perfect world they would find a berth open somewhere close to Labadee so they wouldn't have to completely redo the entire itinerary. Cruise ships are slow. They can't cover great distances quickly. An available port that is too distant doesn't help them at all. Nassau has many berths and it's relatively close to Florida making it the best choice for some itineraries impacted by the situation in Haiti. In other cases Jamaica is relatively close to Labadee so if a ship was already passing by this area and Falmouth has space then it's a best choice for this situation. Grand Turk was developed with an investment from Carnival so they likely have priority there. On days when it's available and if it fits due to proximity it is the best choice for some itineraries. The DR may work best in some cases. Once you start looking at more distant alternate ports they would have to completely change the itinerary but given how many ships from all cruise lines are competing for ports completely re-doing an itinerary is a tall order and very disruptive to guests. In some cases an extra sea day is the only choice.

I like sailing other lines to try something different. Royal feels like home compared to other lines but if I never left home, home would get pretty boring. I don't have bad cruises on the other lines, they just don't feel like home. Maybe it's good to try another line if for no other reason than to remind you what line suits you best.

My guess is that he didn't leave it. It was probably an Albatross around his neck. I wonder if a 3D printer could...

I was comparing the markets on the basis of route stagnation, not the actual ports of call. Unless it's a casino comp I can't see myself booking a Royal ship to the Caribbean. Yawn. Same old stuff on every itinerary. Just about every Royal itinerary in the Caribbean is all about beach, sun, water sports, etc. No history. No culture. Seriously repetitive. Different island, same s***. Is that you feel about Royal in Australia? Granted for many, especially those that have to suffer a miserable winter somewhere, beach, sun, water sports, etc. sounds pretty freaking great.

Fricken YouTubers... Don't you have to use it to reap the benefits?

I think Singapore is a very different market. Gamblers don't care the name painted on the ship. Sure some would complain about it as they will if anything but the newest ship in the fleet doesn't go there. Unless Royal places Icon 3 there, Singapore will complain, so Royal might as well put whatever ship there.

I like the chocolate bar analogy. Speed is definitely more of a focus now as it is for shipping in general including cargo, container, tanker, etc. The difference between them being nobody is on social media complaining about container ships going too fast therefore increasing emissions. Cruise lines are much more aware of brand image and social media. I think many in the world are oblivious to shipping beyond cruise ships which are a tiny fraction of global shipping. The only way a non-cruise ship makes the news is to block the Suez or take out a bridge. The focus on shorter itineraries I feel is a reaction to market demand. Not so much from seasoned or frequent cruisers, that isn't where significant revenue comes from. Right now the new to cruise market is in overdrive and frequent cruisers are losing out so the new to cruise market is satisfied. I feel like the parent corporation, the Royal Caribbean Group, is putting their brands into lanes. Royal is to focus on mass market, new to cruise, fulfil the market demand of the day if it makes money. The Celebrity focus has been broadened to take advantage of the short cruise/newbie upscale market with many better routes to entice seasoned cruisers to go X. I think Royal would love it if seasoned cruisers would consider X leaving more berths for newbies to book on Royal. SilverSea is in a market competing outside of the RCG family leaving little overlap within the family.

My first experience with the elevator buttons on Odyssey was during the pandemic when cruising restarted. Since we were still in the craze of the pandemic the touchless elevator buttons were a welcome feature. I've never had an issue with them, they just work for me so I struggle to understand why others have a problem. Perhaps it's the very brief delay when hovering your finger above a button that is a problem. Or perhaps it's the lack of immediate feedback. When you actually touch a button your body has that feedback that contact was made. When hovering near a button there is a brief leap of faith that something will happen.

Ironically it's the pending change in emission regulations that led to cruise lines trying to maximize visits satisfying user demand since everyone knows there will be no more cruises to the heritage fjords in the foreseeable future.

Curious what your expectations were that were not met. Not trying to start or suggest anything. Do other lines have more diversity to better ports of call? Are there new or unused ports of call that Royal mysteriously avoids? Trying to understand what Royal is missing that other lines do better with. Florida even has itinerary stagnation but there are more ports of call reachable from Florida so it's more of a hidden issue unless you are a frequent cruiser. California and Texas are subject to a lot of itinerary stagnation due partially to a lack reachable destinations that fit desirable cruise lengths. Bayonne has very limited options for ports of call since it's so far North. What is Royal missing in Australia?

They must use an Etch A Sketch for the autopilot.

Quantum, Anthem and Ovation. Spectrum and Odyssey are Quantum Ultra class and do not have outdoor seating for the Windjammer.

I enjoy Quantum class because they are different. I've sailed four of them and mostly to bucket list destinations like Alaska, Hawaii and New Zealand. Oasis class, until Icon came about, have always been in a league of their own and can't be compared to any other ship class. Oasis and now Icon are very wide ships, much wider than all other classes of ship. It's the extra width that allows things like Central Park and Boardwalk. On any other platform without the extra width it's not practical to install these areas without removing all guest cabins in those areas. Removing guest cabins to add more venues and features isn't practical for any cruise line. Oasis class are much larger ships at 225,000+ GT while Quantum class are around 168,000 GT. That extra 30% of space allows them to put more venues and areas on Oasis class. Why doesn't Radiance class have ice skating rinks and zip lines and central park and boardwalk and aqua theaters and so on? Because Radiance class is one third the size of Oasis class and obviously you can't put the same features and venues on a ship that doesn't have the space for them. The Windjammer on Quantum class is my favorite across the fleet. I really dislike the Windjammer on Oasis class. The food stations are all over the place with some on the side and some around the corner on the back. It's really hard to find seating on Oasis class Windjammers at peak times. Oasis class Windjammers are truly jammers slammed with people. Some Quantum class Windjammers have outdoor seating which I love. The lack of waterslides is known before booking. It appears odd to me to complain they are missing. That's like buying a sedan then complaining it's not a 4x4 pick up truck. Given where most Quantum class are deployed waterslides are impractical. It's okay not to like something but that doesn't justify calling it a dud. Royal's next class of ship, Discovery class, is not going to be a mini Oasis class ship. They too will be much smaller ships that won't have the space for all Oasis class features. Like Quantum class the smaller footprint will allow them to sail into ports that Oasis class can't fit into. That's kind of the point. They will be different too. Different doesn't make them duds. Oasis and Icon class ships are the destination and the ports you visit are less important. If the itinerary is boring it doesn't matter because the ship is as much the destination as the itinerary may be. Other classes of ships can visit more unique ports of call where mega ships can't sail. When visiting these areas the ship isn't the destination as much as the ports of call are the destination. Anthem out of Bayonne was a perfect pairing with two sea days down the coast and two sea days on the way back home in the cold Atlantic ocean where few would be using waterslides most of the time. The indoor family pool means kids are not trying to sneak into the adult only solarium pools on those colder sea days in winter months. What I love best of all my 14 Quantum class cruises are the memories of the destinations. Alaska, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand for example. Greek islands and Europe for Odyssey is a great summer pairing. I like that Royal's fleet is diverse and not just ships that are variations of the same thing. With research I can choose a ship that fits my needs based on the region I'll be sailing. I suggest doing more research next time and avoid booking a ship that doesn't have features that are important to you.

Diamond drink vouchers work at Labadee. Diamond/Diamond Plus internet vouchers do not work at Labadee unless you stay on the ship. Labadee has no WiFi coverage while CocoCay does have WiFi coverage. Using a CAS internet voucher as the ship pulled into Labadee would waste a lot of that CAS internet voucher if you planned to get off the ship at Labadee.

Anything is possible at this point. It is almost certain Royal will deploy all new ship builds where they they will maximize revenue. I think Royal tends not to put very much weight on factors such as which market is being served by a new ship for emotional considerations and guest sentiment. When they consider all things it will come down to how much money they project a ship will earn. If deployment choice A means more certainty of assured revenue over deployment choice B then it will be deployment choice A. Things like "a new ship hasn't been deployed in XYZ market in years" mean very little to Royal while guests in market XYZ let emotions influence where they think the ship should go. Royal cares about money first as they should. The board and investors who approved the ship want their investment maximized. If it is Barcelona then it is Barcelona because they feel it was the best choice to assure maximum revenue.

Tragic.

The balcony discount gets better as you climb higher up the CAS ladder. Unfortunately it is not a fixed amount off all balcony fares. The balcony discount is often not combinable with other sales promotions and you will likely find that, depending on the ship and sail date, at the lower levels of the Crown and Anchor Society other sales and promotions can yield a better fare. It all depends on the ship and sail date so maybe it will work out for you on one cruise but not another. As you climb higher the discounts increases and more frequently it becomes effective. As advised I would not wait 3 months to find out. If you see a cruise you like I'd suggest booking it now.