twangster

They are independent. The larger ships have a revenue office on board who monitors everything from on-board purchases to how well the galley is tracking towards the food budget for that cruise to costs within the marine department. I bumped into a revenue officer leaving the lounge on Serenade and when he inquired about my cruise I mentioned a poor Chops experience. It didn't take long for the restaurant manager to reach out to me. However I still think they could be more consistent with their policies for food and beverage. I avoid the UDP because of ambiguity and uncertainty. If I knew what I was getting, I might buy it more. So in my case the flexibility they afford the ship to implement their own policy is costing them revenue as I rarely buy specialty dining once on board.

Congratulations and welcome to Diamond level! I can now resuming talking to you.

Interior guarantee cabins are available but going quickly. An external travel agent is allowing bookings. Guarantee cabins are often not available to solo cruisers so if solo you would need to step up to a different type of cabin.

That was a 9 night cruise right? Just goes to show how this varies by ship.

By day 6 it's more common to see a 10 drink card available but that too is variable. Some ships don't ever offer the drink card. I've never seen DX still sold on day 6 of a 7 night cruise. With a sea day common towards the end of a cruise that would skew the price model for the DX package. Pricing takes into account people will drink more on some days and less on others. That is averaged and factored into the price model.

Yes it is prorated but the last day of DX sales varies by ship (and cruise length). If I'm toying with this approach I make a point of asking on day one when the last day for DX sales will be. For a 7 night cruise the last day might be day 3 on one ship and day 4 on another. Ask early.

Voyager announced to be $97m. Discussed in this thread: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/13592-voyager-amplification/ Explorer, Adventure, Freedom and Liberty yet to be announced. With the exception of Freedom, the rest of these ships already have received various levels of AMPing before that was a thing. Explorer has already quietly received some refreshments like the new deck 12 forward cabins including Panoramic suites. The interior cabin I had in 2018 had been "touched" such as new carpet, new seat back/bottom, new sofa - the type of cabin update that Navigator received during her AMP. The Tavern area had new large screen displays installed and the overall area refreshed. Mariner and Navigator had received none of that so large sums of their AMP went into things that Explorer has already received. That should make Explorer's AMP less costly. Liberty too had the new deck 12 cabins added a few years ago while Freedom has not. Liberty had the other new cabins squeezed into areas around the ship already, I stayed in one last year (before AMP was a project). Indy got these added during her AMP driving up her AMP cost. Liberty has water slides already. Liberty has a suite lounge already, Freedom does not. That should make Liberty's AMP much less costly. Liberty's AMP will largely be deck 4/5 changes with possibly some pool deck or solarium updates. Prior to Indy's AMP Liberty was my favorite Freedom class ship because of the updates she already received. Adventure started the ball rolling getting AMP like updates before they officially called it that. New Izumi in the Promenade, water slides, minor cabin updates, a suite lounge. Her AMP should be less costly because she was already 90% AMPED months before they announced the whole amplification program. With the exception of Freedom, the rest of the fleet amplification should be less costly.

It's more than just can they do it. The first problem is the route mentioned is it. That's it, that's all. No where else to go, no diversity. This drives the second problem. People would go once but that's it. It's not desirable like Alaska is. Who would repeat the cruise again and again? Some might, if the fares are cheap. Once the initial rush of folks is over, the consumer market shrinks very quickly. The third problem is that Carnival brands saturate this market now often using old and small ships at bargain rates. The simple truth is that Royal could come and add yet another line doing the same routes. They can make more money with their ships in other areas. Why give up revenue from more profitable routes just to say "we also do the West coast now". Saying to investors "the good news is we are doing the West coast. The bad news is we are doing the West coast and reducing dividends".

In the end you know your kids best. No one here can properly advise on this simply because we are different and our kids are different. In my case I would have a honest conversation with mine. "The cruise line doesn't allow athletic shorts in the dining room. How do you want to handle that?" That approach may not work in your family but I'd be surprised if this was the first time in their lives you have had to negotiate around something. Follow your gut, you know your kids better than anyone here does.

This varies by ship and cabin location. Balcony cabins with the curtains left open will heat up with sun shining into them. I've had interior cabins that became very cold. So cold I woke up in the middle of the night and had to turn up the thermostat. I've also had rooms where I left the thermostat at the coldest position and it remained there the whole time. Most of the time I find a daytime position and a slightly colder nighttime position since I like a cooler (but not freezing) room at night. On some ships cabins are serviced in groups. If one cabin leaves their balcony open it can reduce cooling for that group of cabins.

Welcome to the message bards! Arriving the day of the cruise is risky any time of year. I missed a cruise in April when unexpected thunderstorms caused an issue. I cruise often, many have gone perfectly. What could go wrong? Doh! I missed the ship. If you can make an arrival the day before work the cost of a hotel is well worth it. Late October is the tail of hurricane season but stuff can happen. I'd suggest you look into travel insurance just in case. Having said that, the vast majority of all cruises, all year go on time and as scheduled. I've cruised in October many times before and enjoyed them all, hurricane free although one time a hurricane nearly impacted a cruise. Instead it hit Freeport. Like they say with stocks, past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

I also find the Labadee buffet okay but not great. I often make my way back to the ship and eat in the Windjammer. Few lines.

This varies by ship. Some take the position that lunch is included on sea days and day one is not a sea day. Some ships have allowed it as reported by users on these boards.

Why is that? Because most people aren't there for the ship as the destination. Most guests disembark. If large numbers stayed on the ship the CD's would adapt, offer more entertainment and open more activities. You've actually proven my point quite nicely. Most people do not book a cruise for the ship, they book primarily for the ports of call while considering the ship and factoring it into the bigger picture.

Drink fatigue is real and usually kicks in on day 5 or 6 for me. Granted not everyone is the same and some people will continue to consume beyond the daily DX rate right to the end.

I respect that you have a counter opinion to my own but no one is forcing people off the ship on any itinerary. If people want to sail for the ship as the destination all the better in the Med. 5,000 of your fellow passengers have disembarked leaving you with an empty ship to enjoy. That's better than a sea day. The geography does present some challenges in some Med. ports. The areas of interest are not always in close proximity to the port. Perfect opportunity to stay on the ship. Yet many people do book these cruises and many guests do disembark at these ports. Many guests still have a wonderful experience despite the bus ride.

Mostly supply and demand. Not so much the number of ports days but cruise length is the most common factor that influences DX price in my observation. A 4 night cruise is usually less than a 3 night cruise. A 7 night less than a 4 night. For the Symphony TA last year they dropped the rate to $39 at one point. At 12 nights few people wanted to commit over $1,400 for a couple to buy DX so they cut the price (low demand). A 3 night cruise over the weekend? High demand, higher prices. Certain ships often have lower DX rates. Grandeur for example. I suspect this is largely due to the nature of Grandeur cruisers that lowers demand. In the end it all comes back to supply and demand. In general Royal has a lot of data to mull over. They know from historical data how itinerary, ship and time of year will influence DX sales.

The Med is always port intensive largely due to the ability to reach so many wonderful destinations in a 7 night duration. This is why many people don't mind Greek cruises on smaller and older ships. The port intensive itinerary - they are there for the ports of call. If Royal removed ports just for Oasis class in the Med, people would call them out for that. The addition of CocoCay as an Oasis capable port has impacted Oasis class in a similar manner compared to the Med. Another port is now within reach where it wasn't Oasis capable in the past. The proximity of CocoCay to Florida allows them to include it often. Some people think cruise lines are trying to keep guests captive on their ships, it's refreshing to see that you feel the opposite is true - they are providing more opportunities to visit destinations off the ship. Even in the past a 7 night cruise wasn't enough time to experience Oasis class and all it has to offer. Another cruise has always been required to experience more. That truth remains valid today. It's actually lower than most people realize. Also people factor in port intensity into the DX equation. The first advise often offered - don't buy DX on port intensive cruises. If anything adding more ports to an itinerary reduces DX sales. Few people buy the DX on Med cruises for this exact reason - drink in port and enjoy wonderful local beverages.

I think this is great but again I really wish they would publish and standardize all perks across the fleet. Otherwise guests end up with incorrect expectations when booking ship to ship.

Nice!

Currently D+ gets 30% off which means I don't have to play the game seeking drink package sales and watching it every day. I can just board and get what is typically the cheapest you'll ever see in the cruise planner. Most cruise planner sales are 25% at best. Once in a while you can do better than 25%. The idea is to extend what they offer today to D+ to D, then bump D+ and P up to appease them. There is no base drink package price. You can't use $70 as the base price for all cruises. Many are in the low 60's on board. It varies by cruise length and sail date. That's the heart of the issue, you don't really know what the basis of their discount are until you get on board and then it's too late to buy it in the cruise planner.

Sounds like Harmony. If so, Harmony has a hidden unpublished feature. iMessage works for free, but only to other Apple users. They can be on land or on the ship. Just connect to the ship's wifi and iMessage should work.

I thought I saw another user report a suite lunch on day one on another ship. Perhaps a new sweet benny.

Dad? Is that you?

Converting the Solarium to match Symphony's Solarium including the Bistro restaurant layout.