twangster

Here is an example of the taxes I was referring to above. The fine print indicates taxes will be calculated in the cart. Once it is in your cart you can see the taxes. However in the old Cruise Planner the prices were the same but taxes were not added.

If you have chosen overlapping excursions that conflict with each other it is now easier to see the conflict and if there is a time available that doesn't conflict.

For items like Voom the old Cruise Planner made it more cumbersome to understand multi-device plans. You basically had to select the right plan but be careful not to select more than one guest in a cabin. Going forward with My Royal Cruises you can select multi-devices plans as you first pick Voom. Once you select how many devices you want you are ready to check out.

A new feature shows how many spots are left when looking at activities that have a finite capacity. If you have already purchased something it is marked "Reserved".

Let's look at the new My Royal Cruises in the real world. My Royal Cruises promises to be more friendly to handheld devices like smartphones and tablets.

Another notable difference has to do with shore excursions at Royal's private destinations. It seems they have begun applying local taxes during the checkout process. As far as I can tell this tax rule only applies to Royal activities. Third party excursions are not subject to the tax, at least not yet.

Some of the notable differences are with dining plans. In the old Cruise Planner dining plans included gratuity. In the new My Royal Cruises it appears that dining plans display a lower price however gratuity is added during the checkout process. In my experience comparing sale versus normal prices for the same ship on cruises before and after My Royal cruises is implemented, the price is effectively the same. However some users who booked something before My Royal Cruises was implemented for their cruise may see a lower price expecting gratuity to be included so they cancel their old purchase. As they check out using My Royal Cruises they suddenly come faced with the gratuity added as a separate line item. If you bought something during a sale in the old Cruise Planner don't get fooled into thinking the new lower price you see in My Royal Cruises is a better deal. Once gratuity is added you may find yourself at a higher price if you bought a dining package while it was on sale in the old Cruise Planner.

First of all the current list of ships that have the new interface called My Royal Cruises is: Mariner of the Seas® departing October 2021, Symphony of the Seas® or Odyssey of the Seas® departing January 2022, Oasis of the Seas® departing February 2022 and beyond.

There have a been few threads about the new GUI so I thought I'd share my experiences and identify a few nuances to the new interface. In general terms I like the new interface and it has some new features. Iit flows much better compared to the old cruise planner such as when checking out and paying which is so much easier in My Royal Cruises. There are some differences that are catching some users off guard who are used to how the old cruise planner works. Over the next few posts I'll post some some tips and warnings of what to look out for.

It's the new My Royal Cruises alternative to the cruise planner. In my experience, at least for the UDP, the price is lower but gratuity brings it within a few cents of the old price when gratuity was bundled in.

They hinted at restart news but now say they hope to announce that news next week.

Vicki Freed, SVP Sales is in DC this week meeting with ASTA.

Pretty much my reaction when I heard mediation.

I'm taking the glass half full view and assuming they know of an upcoming CSO update that will make it doable.

Latest timeline for the conversion to "My Royal Cruises." Mariner of the Seas® departing October 2021, Symphony of the Seas® or Odyssey of the Seas® departing January 2022, Oasis of the Seas® departing February 2022 and beyond.

The Celebrity "big announcement" today has been deferred until next week.

CLIA thinks the Alaska season will be decided this week. "Make or break week, this week." "One way or another we'll know by Friday."

Charles Sylvia with CLIA stated he thinks all of this will be sorted out so ships can sail before the lawsuit reaches a conclusion.

Green light on B2B as well, if fully vaccinated.

Celebrity says no masks indoors or outdoors unless in a crowd if vaccinated. Wear a mask to the theater or dinner if unvaccinated. No excursion restrictions but guests need to follow local protocols of the country being visited. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/05/18/celebrity-cruises-will-let-vaccinated-passengers-not-wear-masks-and-will-let-passengers

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/05/18/cdc-will-only-require-cruise-ship-passenger-covid-19-tests-after-the-cruise-sailings-more

Florida's position is the CSO is unlawful and shouldn't exist. It's pretty hard to go anywhere from that position without admitting the CSO is lawful. Personally I hope FL maintains that position. CSO is unlawful, period.

Only if the July restart was predicated on the injunction. Some cruises lines are full steam ahead even without the FL lawsuit.

So with mediation... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/05/18/judge-orders-mediation-floridas-lawsuit-against-the-cdc-get-cruise-ships-sailing This could be resolved by December. Right?

"lying around" - did no one get my jab at the CDC? ?