twangster

I've done four MSC to the Caribbean and have mixed feelings about MSC. A recurring analysis is... go Yacht Club or don't go. I've done non-YC and it's okay. Just okay. I like the simplicity of Ocean Cay and an overnight stop is pretty cool. I can see why people desire YC. Pre-cruise Customer Service with MSC is really, really bad. If you are lucky enough to book on the web and never need to contact them you won't experience this. The last straw for me resulted from an IT glitch. If you touched the booking for certain items like adding gratuity it caused the booking to reprice at prevailing rates. They refused to honor my original deposited rate. I had a problem with them increasing the cruise fare for a confirmed booking. Escalations didn't work. It's clear they don't like Americans. Fortunately their deposit was refundable so I refunded it and haven't been back to MSC since. Two of my cruises were never recognized in the loyalty program. They claimed I didn't sail. I did sail. I still have my cards from those cruises. Loyalty status expires every 5 years if you don't sail. Apparently they are trying to get my loyalty status to reset. I am/was Black now Diamond. It expires next year. No current plans to prevent that. Bars were slammed and understaffed. Princess has some interesting pricing models with drink and wifi packages bundled. I've sailed a newer but not brand new ship. The decor was identical to the first in that class. The cabins looked tired and dated despite being newer. The steak house was bad. MDR slightly better than Royal. Medallion was flop. My pre-ordered one had a weak battery and had to be replaced on board. No refund for dead one. It worked to get me on the ship but not at most bars. Princess was okay but I missed things about Royal. I wasn't a fan of the live musicians at various venues. Their Caribbean offerings don't appeal to me. I haven't done NCL in decades. I don't like the mismash of ships that have little consistency across the fleet. Many of their ships were acquired new builds when some other cruise failed. As a result some of their ships aren't their design, the deck plan is wildly different than anything else. Free at Sea is a joke. The fees for Free At Sea are terrible. What a scam. That's a big turn off for me. Celebrity is great as long as you don't need a lot of physical activities to entertain like zip lines, skating, rock climbing, etc. Definitely a more refined audience. Non-smoking casino is awesome. The price models aren't very solo friendly so they typically price themselves out of the field. If you come across a Celebrity deal jump on it. Royal feels like home but I don't like these price trends.

They may delay opening the gangway when your ship is first. They don't want people wandering about on the pier while the 2nd ship is setting their lines. Chances are the first ship may open their gangway first. Despite that it's not a scene from MadMax trying to find the best spot first. Many people are not early risers. Many people on both ships will be eating breakfast and trying to corral their herd of cats, (family) and get them ready to get off, well past gangway open times for both ships. IME there is no need to be putting a lot of effort being chief herder of the family cats urgently getting everyone off the minute the gangway opens. By 10am or 11am the front rows of the pool or beach may be gone but there will be loungers to be had. You are on vacation, take your time, don't stress over it.

Assume you will be sailing in the cabin your booked. If that is bothering you, pay to upgrade, if available, now. RU is cool concept that is more like winning a lottery. If you really need money, counting on winning the lottery is a fools game. It never hurts to enter a RU bid. Just don't count on being successful. You probably will not be. I still enter RU bids, but I know I'm playing a game I'll probably lose. Unlike the casino there is no cost to gamble in the RU game, unless you win.

First come, first seated.

I could drive a 20 year old car and save a bunch of money. It wouldn't have modern bells and whistles, it wouldn't be as comfortable, but it would get me from A to B. Insurance would be cheap too. However I like nice things. The UP on Oasis is Star Class. As a cruise geek it's the coolest suite I've enjoyed. I booked it for the suite, and it came with a genie. I told her not to send anything to my suite. She did anyways. I told her I don't need an escort onto the ship. She did anyways. I've sailed Oasis seven times. I've seen the shows, I've eaten in all the venues. Despite not needing a genie, it was nice to have one. Did my suite get there before the other cabins? Technically it did but only because of where it's located . Did someone in the cheapest cabin get to see the same shows? Yep. Still a pretty cool suite. Like being on the bridge but with a glass of wine in your hand. Apparently that's frowned upon on the bridge. Nassau Depart WM 720.mp4

What countries did you visit? It's common for airlines to exceed actual document requirements because they have many entry level personnel staffed at airports around the world. They face big fines for getting it wrong. So they often develop policy that exceeds actual requirements because it's better to err on the safe side. It's not unusual for travel companies to establish policy based on common criteria that applies to most people even if that means a specific country requirement is exceeded.

I've done Star for the suite before. Genie is great but not required to have a fantastic suite experience especially if you have sailed Royal before and know the ship.

Royal somewhat recently expanded solo reduced single supplements on certain repositioning cruises such as transatlantic. I don't see Royal adopting Celebrity's unfriendly solo model. However anything is possible.

I completely understand the frustration with this shift but, Royal is a business and their primary duty is to their shareholders, not repeat or frequent cruisers. If at some point in the future they stop filling Icon class ships at their current high prices, and they stop filling Oasis ships doing short cruises, then we might see a shift to something else. Until that happens they will pursue their primary goal, making money.

How did you miss an excursion? Did you receive excursion tickets in your cabin?

The ship typically arrives around 5am or 6am. Use cruise mapper or marine traffic to see where the ship is long before you call for a driver on the morning of the cruise.

It might be helpful to know where you desire to cruise. Not all regions are strengths for all lines (including Royal).

Waivers don't make them immune from all accountability when they make a mistake like they may have recently when an employee/guide ran into a guest.

I thought about it but my wallet jumped out of my pocket and slapped my face.

I also recall people ordering 4 or 5 beers in the days of unlimited diamond happy hour. The wife was usually in cohorts with her husband as they could stash them in her purse/bag. They would purposely ask for them unopened. More often than not back in those days the wish was granted but sometimes not. Maybe it's a reaction to that? Maybe someone was busted selling them? "Hey buddy...Want a beer? Two for $5 cash" It's not something that bothers me. I've never lived in a state that allow bars to sell beer/wine to go. I'm used to the every drink is opened rule off ships so the new enforcement action seems normal to me. Just being able to carry an open container walking around a ship is still a treat for me. Can't do that at a ski resort or most theme parks.

The rule has been around for a while but was infrequently enforced. I recall bumping into it back in 2019 once in a while. Even when using the BOGO CAS beer/wine I recall a couple times when they insisted on opening both at the same time. Sometimes they'd offer to keep the second one in the cooler behind the bar and sometimes they'd hand them over unopened. That was kind of a treat when it happened as I could stash a beer in the cooler back in the cabin for later in the cruise. I remember ordering buckets of beers before I made Diamond and sometimes they insist on opening all of them. The difference is now they are actually enforcing the rule more often. Something must have happened with someone getting too drunk in some scenario or someone was busted giving one to an adult under 21. Something happened.

I've tried a couple times on different ships and the sharing didn't work. Then I asked and they said it doesn't work Curious if your tried the sharing thing.

Internal bed bug bites are the worst!

Construction in the islands proceeds on island time. If you have ever done any work in the islands you know not to rely on schedules.

I just got off VY yesterday and have been on her 3 times recently. I recently had success on some of the slots near the bar on the non-smoking side, dancing drums and the Devil. Some of the double diamond type slots near the Schooner Bar entrance had some runs at times. I also had some of the same machines burn through $20 very quickly. My approach is to try a machine and if there are no line hits in 6 - 8 spins I consider moving on. After 10-15 dead spins it's really a sign to move on.

FWIW I'm on an earlier Serenade itinerary to this area and my shorex are not frozen, so it's not some Panama thing.

It is noted on your seapass account when they run your card or lookup your stateroom number at a bar. I have a friend who always buys the soda package. He always tells them "Use my soda package, not my Diamond drinks" It's sort of like CAS drinks which do not appear on your card or setsail pass. They are noted in your account that they see when they run the card when you order a beverage. Missing letters from the setsail pass is very common for drink packages but in the end has no impact.

Daily service charges should be included!!! (feeble attempt at diverting the conversation)

The problem with American river cruises is that all crew have to be American and ships have to be American made. American flagged ships have much more stringent USCG inspections more often. That dramatically changes the math and it's why American river cruising is very costly compared to ocean cruising.

I'm still mad at Royal for taking Navigator away from Florida. Australia makes sense given where she is now and where she will dry dock. If that doesn't happen she is welcome back home in Florida