twangster

So you want them to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a system to notify guests who can't be bothered to follow simple instructions? Other cruise lines have been doing this for a decade. It's not the cruise lines that are the problem here.

Royal's long term vision is for an Oasis class in Oz. They just need more ports to get on board and get ready for larger ships. Royal has been encouraging the industry to do that just that since before the pandemic. Petitioning Royal is a great idea but you might consider a parallel effort with your local ports and governments at the same time. Destination ports as well. She needs places to go. If you build it she will come. Infrastructure that is. Build up the infrastructure so more ports can accommodate Oasis class.

Sky class luggage is the same as all other luggage. Only Star Class gets special luggage treatment.

Allure on Nov. 5, 2022 sails from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Just want to make sure you book flights and hotels properly :). One thing about deck 7 that always gets me is the split aft elevator lobby. You have to make sure you choose the right side of the ship when boarding an elevator on a different floor because you can't walk across from port to starboard or vice versa on deck 7 aft. If you have a fully forward cabin and always use the forward elevators it's not an issue. I personally love deck 8 for easy access to Central Park. I also like deck 6 for easy access to the promenade and entertainment areas. Other's love high floors for easy access to pool decks. In reality on this class there is no wrong area for a JS.

The system isn't broken, it's just the way it is right now. Not everything in a pandemic can't be made to function perfectly. It's not ignorance on Royal's part. In the past it was nothing for people to sit in a packed terminal waiting area until boarding commenced. That may have been a 30 minute, 60 minute or longer wait. Packing people into a crowded waiting area doesn't work in a pandemic. Carnival whale tail ships used to out number Royal yet they have long enforced arrival times - for many years. If you are early you wait outside. That's on you for arriving early regardless if you flew, drove, walked or crawled to the ship. Arriving early meant creating an ugly experience for yourself. If you did, that was on you. Many of the frequent cruisers I know who live at or very near the port were not the types to try to board early. More often that not they would show up well after the noon to 1pm peak was long over so would have no lines and cabins were ready. They've cruised a lot. Being on the ship first simply isn't important. Arriving at 2:30pm was the ideal time for them. The peak was over by then. They aren't the problem. There is no fix for stupid. People arriving before their time is the problem. Royal cruisers need to adapt to the times and protocols. If Carnival cruisers can manage to do it Royal cruisers can too. Perhaps Royal's only mistake was not enforcing arrival times before the pandemic started. Royal cruisers need to change and change is difficult for people, but that's on the people, not on Royal. Perhaps expecting people to arrive on time may have been ignorant on Royal's part. Who knew people couldn't help themselves but would chose to ignore the process?

Radiance was supposed to get something in Sept. of 2020 after the Alaska season. They never called it an amplification but instead Royal eluded to spending "millions". We never knew if that was millions in marine maintenance or millions in guest areas or a combination of the two. I suspect the latter.

I call every time because you never know if prices will go up tomorrow. Once the price goes up there is no calling and saying "... but the price was lower yesterday".

Fain loves to shadow and cast shade on Carnival so maybe this is one angle to throw Mardi Gras under the bus (or keel). Odyssey’s coincidentally showing up in PCN when Mardi Gras first arrived, on the exact same day is living proof. Doesn't mean Wonder stays in PCN.

Downside - International conventions and law don’t include any definition of capacity like 1,000 or 2,000 or 6,000 guests. It’s one thing for the US to create law for US flagged ships but once you introduce foreign flagged then international conventions become involved. Granted these international conventions are very dated and could use some updating but that’s a whole other can of worms. So while the proposed change specified a guest count the rest of the world might ignore that since by international convention a passenger vessel is a passenger vessel. That is just scratching the surface. It’s a lot more complicated. I’d love to hear from someone with a focus on this area of law.

Made for travel agents also knowing investors will see it. Seems about right. Fain has a keen mind for the cruise industry.

A couple of weeks? I’ve got Freedom first.

So great to see this cruise commence. I was in my favorite deck 9 corner aft on Radiance which I lost in the move to Serenade with Royal putting me in a connecting side balcony. As a result I canceled. However the canal transit is worthy of the bucket list designation and Serenade is a perfect ship with the helipad. Make sure to take in each lock from somewhere different. Being down close to the mules as the ship advances is pretty cool. Enjoy!

Great to hear once again protocols are working. Looking forward to my cruise on her in a few weeks.

Other lines and ports like Sydney have enforced check in times for years. People manage. In Sydney, even as Pinnacle or Suites there was no getting in before your time on Ovation. Only Star Class had priority check in. At least it's an urban area with stuff to do once you drop off luggage. Same with Port Canaveral - you can walk to a restaurant/bar. Other ports like Cape Liberty, Miami and Port Everglades not so much.

Depends on the port In some cases yes early people do contest traffic flow.

No one really knows all the details or the decision criteria. The same company handles several different cruise lines as well as some airlines. It's all about maximizing new revenue. NEW revenue. If they upgrade a JS to GS that opens a JS that they can charge a balcony to upgrade into which open up a balcony that an ocean view can upgrade into which opens up an ocean view that an interior can upgrade into. But only if the right number of people will fit into those cabins and the associated muster stations and lifeboats for those cabins. Upgrading two guests into a cabin that can sleep four might not make sense. Upgrading four guests into a muster station with only two empty spots can't be done - everyone needs a spot in the right lifeboat by law. The line of succession upgrades can generate more new revenue for one scenario more than a different scenario. How much you paid initially or your loyalty status has no bearing. It's all about new revenue.

Never say never but it requires a bit of work and cooperation from the original agency to let go of the booking. If they aren't responsive they probably won't be responsive in releasing the booking.

Here is a 360 from Playmakers: Playmakers in 360

Playmakers is all new to this class. Perched high in the Sportsplex it offers great views of the game and of the sea.

The multi-level nature of the MDR is better illustrated in this 360° photo. I can't embed 360° photos on this blog but here is a link that will open in a new window: Odyssey Main Dining Room in 360°

The main dining room is a big departure from her earlier sisters. It's now open and very impressive.

Another great sunset from the aft.

"The Book" is the newest Two70° production show and it's all new. It's hard to capture a Two70 show in still pictures, it's something that is best experienced live.

For the nerds in the audience Odyssey features the newer Satellite technology called O3b. These are typical speeds across the fleet for Voom Surf & Stream.

The complimentary North Star ride. Fifteen minutes condensed down to under 60 seconds.