twangster

It's nice not having to bring dress up clothes, trying to get rid of wrinkles, changing in and then out of them after dinner. Cuba was hot in July. I'm all for "Wear Your Best". It worked quite well on Mariner. Some people went all out, some didn't.

I'll have to ask a CD on my next cruise... "Do you decide the formal nights?"

Matt has (3) 5 night cruise compasses from Empress this summer. Two have 'Dress to Impress' formal nights, one has only casual nights, every night. All 5 are Cuba itineraries. Just goes to show nothing is consistent.

Yeah, peak season will cost more. Nov 1 for 9 nights, $384 interior Nov 22 for 9 nights, $384 interior, $618 OV. Jan 24 for 9 nights, $441 interior, $515 OV, $876 balcony, $1,256 suites Mar 28 for 9 nights, $462 interior, $562 OV, $979 balcony, $1,286 suites Cheaper balcony and suite prices if you have any top tier C&A status to apply. March isn't off season but 9 nights is tough for families with school aged children even if that aligns with their spring break. Carnival takes a different approach. They tend to do either 7 night or 14 night cruises which remains more popular in the US. Their ship has 632 balconies, over 5 times as many balconies and more than 50% of the total cabin count. I wouldn't knock Carnival too much, those slides on the Pride are pretty awesome. Never hurts to sample the competition.

Interesting. When was that? On my July 30th Empress sailing it was "Dress to Impress" on formal nights. "Formal attire is appropriate".

Grandeur has 78% of her cabins being interior or OV. If you must have a balcony or suite than Lady G isn't the ship for you, they only account for 22% of all cabins. You'll pay dearly for them since there are only 122 balconies and they go fast. Supply and demand. That's what customer's in California said. It's not really a loss though because their ships make more money elsewhere. It's not empty for two reasons. It's the right size. They sell all those interior and OV cabins off cheap to fill it. Unfortunately since 78% of the ship is interior or OV cabins that doesn't help the revenue numbers for her. Seriously, 9 nights for $394 per person? Great way to climb the C&A ladder cheaply.

Radiance class fits size wise. The specs make it look so and Michael Bayley asked someone during the Q&A session on the President's Cruise and the response to him was "Yes, Radiance will fit in Baltimore". The problem is that Radiance class doesn't fit the economic model. Those ships make more money where they are. Pulling a ship that makes more money elsewhere may look attractive and like a good idea for anyone in the Baltimore area but Royal is a business and leaving more money on the table somewhere else isn't a good business decision. You have to know they have studied this and all other U.S. embarkation ports ten times over. If they could squeak out higher profits in Baltimore over New Orleans, Tampa or any other port they would make the move in a heartbeat. Their studies don't support it. Sorry. It's entirely possible that once they sell her, Grandeur won't be replaced. Maryland may become another California. On the flip side, once they add three or more new ships and those end up in FL or TX, it may be that the situation of fleet positioning is very different 3 or 4 years from now. Like an airline they match the aircraft type and size to the route. They don't fly 777 aircraft domestically very often because the routes won't support it. Instead they put a better suited aircraft like an A321 or A220 on a route and fly it full every time. Better to be full 100% of the time than 75% full 70% of the time. As a passenger I'd love an all 777 fleet of aircraft. Doesn't make business sense. Depends on your cabin type. With fewer balconies and suites those can go quickly driving up the price. Interiors on Lady G are routinely the cheapest I see. Great for climbing the C&A ladder quickly. Suites are often pricey, supply and demand. Low suite supply results in higher suite pricing. Sailing with a handful of suites occupied but having to dump the interior and OV cabins at bargain rates doesn't make her a top performer.

It could be they detected something that is starting to run out of tolerance but isn't an issue at the moment. A cylinder consuming excessive oil, a bearing that is beginning to show signs of wear. Routine inspections are designed to catch things well before they fail and it appears they found something that is starting to become an issue but still operates normally for now. So many parts to a ship, but routine inspections and preventative maintenance is designed to catch things before they fail so it would seem the process is working. Better to cancel a few cruises a few months away and fix it rather than having the ship fail next summer or beyond in the middle of the ocean. That's exactly why they routinely do inspections.

Now those are reliable sources. I guess it's official...

I had a similar experience. So much for being the nice guy and offering to buy someone a drink. I very clearly said "I have the drink package but I want to buy this lady a drink and pay for it" to which he replied "NO! You can't share the drink package!!!". It went back and forth and finally I looked at another bartender who understood english and he did it for me. The first bartenders English vocabulary consisted of drinks only. "Rum and Coke", "Red Wine", "Margarita" were well within his comprehension but all he heard was "me drink package, get drink for lady".

It's sort of like the California problem. Not a lot of great destinations within easy reach. Norfolk doesn't benefit from it's location either and weekend traffic can be a really big drag. All you save is the time in the Chesapeake. Poor air service means its a challenge to rotate crew in and out for any ship based there when crew contracts cycle.

Welcome to the message boards! This can vary by ship. Johnny Rockets doesn't require reservations. Most other specialty dining works best if you have reservations unless you don't mind eating off peak. Generally speaking most of the time you can make any reservations on board on day one but for the best choices of times it's best to deal with it as soon as you board. Some speciality dining on smaller ships can be easier to enjoy without reservations but even that can vary one cruise to the next. Formal nights are popular.

One challenge shared with the NYC area is the geography involved and destinations reachable from Baltimore. Grandeur can't offer 7 night cruises unless it just went to Bermuda and then there is nothing else around Bermuda to include a second port of call. To add diversity and more ports requires 9 or 12 nights because of the geography involved. Bayonne has the same challenge but a larger market to draw from including some from the northern areas of Baltimore's market and it's pretty easy to get from Baltimore to NYC. Like you, many people do that trek further diminishing Baltimore's market. Despite I-95 traffic (I know it's bad) it's still a relatively painless drive or hop on a train. As a cruise bargain seeker Grandeur often appears in my low cost cruise searches but the itineraries are not very appealing unless you commit to 12 nights. The fly in market for Baltimore based cruises is virtually non-existent. I did it once because I paid $600 solo for 9 nights - cheap! At least flying to NYC you get NYC to explore for a day or two. But if you are going to fly, many people including myself fly to Florida where I can start a cruise already there. Royal is going to place their ships where each can maximize revenue. Right now to move a well performing ship out of one market to place it in Baltimore doesn't make business sense. I understand that isn't the answer you want to hear but Grandeur has a very dedicated local following and while it isn't a top performer for Royal, it does make money. Radiance class ships tend to spend summers in Europe or Australia. The only other option for a year round ship would be another Vision class ship. That would likely upset as many people as it pleases.

This week is the annual President's Cruise on Harmony. A guest asked Michael Bayley, Royal's CEO this very question. Here is a periscope of that Q&A session: https://embed.periscopemap.live/proxy.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pscp.tv%2Fw%2F1DXGyYDVXeyGM%3Ft%3D9m43s Skip forward to around 29:30 for the first question and immediately that are two more questions about the Baltimore area. No cruise line builds an embarkation port. Most cruise ports are piggy-backed off existing deep water cargo ports. Even then, the ports are owned and operated by local authorities or governments. This is much like airports - no airline owns an airport, they lease gates and pay usage fees to use the airport. Cruise lines don't own cruise ports. One thing about Grandeur - it's offers some of the cheapest cruises available. A new ship would require more expensive cruise fares. As Michael Bayley asked, would area residents be willing to pay higher cruise fares? As it is, it's harder to sell out this ship compared to others. How would a more expensive ship do in this market?

Some ships do offer 5 for the price of 4 beer specials but not always on the first few days. Never hurts to ask a bartender if you don't see it advertised.

CLR? Is that you?

I'd love to see some sneak inside photos. If the inside isn't ready, it's a no go. If the outside landscaping or other non-essential exterior work isn't complete, that isn't a show stopper.

So far only Mariner on the 3/4 night Bahamas cruises is implementing "Wear Your Best" night. I'm not aware of any other ships adopting this concept, yet. "Wear You Best" night is simply a name. In practice many Caribbean cruises have somewhat been doing essentially this concept but without officially stating that. Shorts and t-shirts notwithstanding, long pants and polo shirt with a collar has typically been acceptable in the Caribbean. Sundress, romper, smart blouse and nice pants or just about anything above excessively casual for men or women has been acceptable. Formal nights are hotly debated by some guests but formal attire is only a recommendation by Royal and not a requirement. True formal wear is not required on any ship sailing any cruise length.

Casino level in that loyalty program.

It's a lot like airline loyalty programs. If you purchase a ticket and don't fly, you do not get rewards/points/status when your butt is not in that aircraft seat. The only way to accumulate points is to be present.

Past final payment due date refundable deposit does nothing for you. A refundable deposit is only refundable before the final payment due date.

Only if you buy CFAR coverage. Cancel For Any Reason. The insurance offered by Royal does not include CFAR. Any insurance policy has terms of covered reasons. Death, illness, flight delays, etc. may be covered. Missing a cruise for a wedding, graduation, etc. typically is not covered. Each policy is different.

I found myself in a position to miss a cruise a few months ago. I was also in the 100% penalty phase and decided to leave the booking alone and just not show up. Two reasons: There was a chance that a hurricane or other event could cause the cruise to cancel. If I cancelled before such an event, I'd lose out. If Royal had to cancel, I might get something back. Royal gave me no incentive to cancel so they could resell the room to another guest. If I'm getting zero back, I might as well not cancel and just do a no-show so that they couldn't sell the cabin twice but give me nothing back. I did not get any points, I just walked away from that money but in my case the family event was worth it.

Oasis #5! I know you are a very suite girl so figured you might want to time it when an Oasis class ship is in the med.

Shops were open on Radiance going through the inside passage which is definitely within Canadian waters. I'm sure there is an exception made for this channel of water. You may have noticed when you sailed out of Baltimore they remain closed while sailing down the Chesapeake - they can't open until they reach the 12 mile limit or reach of the U.S. sometime after or around midnight. When sailing from other East coast ports of the U.S. ships quickly reach the 12 mile limit and the shops/casinos open between U.S. ports of call such as Canaveral or Key West.