twangster
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Posts posted by twangster
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Perhaps an TA can comment, but having them paid in full may be an issue.
My understanding is this; While many people use the final payment due date as the threshold for many things, in reality it is actually once a cruise is paid in full. For 99% of people that happens to coincide with 'final payment due date' so popular belief is that the date is the threshold when in fact it is actually once a cruise is paid in full regardless of the date that occurred.
I asked specifically about paying off a cruise prior to 'final payment due date' and I was advised to withhold a token amount, such as $100. The reason was - once a cruise is paid in full you can no longer get price adjustments. Time and again people will state that it's final payment due date that dictates the end of price adjustments when I've been told technically it is once a cruise is paid off in full.
Consequently, I am interested to know if you have been able to get price adjustments since you have paid off the cruises prior to final payment due date.
From my perspective a travel agent is most useful not when everything executes perfectly, but more often when something goes off the rails. When you wake up one day and discover that Royal lost your booking 45 days ago and your cabin was sold to someone else is an example. How can that possibly happen? Great question. Yet it does. Having an agent take up that fight while you go about your daily thing can not be over-appreciated.
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JR Milkshake discount is a C&A onboard BOGO discount loaded on your seapass card starting at Gold.
Like all other C&A onboard offers, you must ask for it.
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Oct. 13? That GS for $750 per person on the C&A diamond balcony rate looks like a bargain.
JUST KIDDING!!!!
- JLMoran, Skid and Lovetocruise2002
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It happens. I've been watching the Symphony TA in October and inventory comes and goes week to week. The entire ship is sold out at times, then it's back. Then only balcony guarantees are available, then you can book a specific blatancy cabin. Suites (all) have been been gone for months but occasionally one or two open back up.
Before final payment due date lots of stuff happens including agencies who hold groups of rooms then let them go.
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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:
I seem to remember @twangster mentioning it a while back, could have been another member of the site. I mean, you can get rum & Coke or a Seven & 7 at the bar, so can't see why they wouldn't just serve the Coke or 7-Up part by itself.
I don't drink soda. I just copied the numbers from the blog linked above. There has possibly been price increases since then.
Smaller ships may not have the dispensing systems that newer ships like Oasis has so it may vary by ship.
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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:
Wow. I'd love to know where you found a can of Coke for $1.95. The total tab for any can of coke I've purchased recently was north of $4.
I blame @Matt, it's his blog
- CruisinUngs, WAAAYTOOO and Matt
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9 minutes ago, cruise-y said:
Wow really makes me appreciate that small room of sea pass operated machines on Oceania. Such a small thing, with not much footprint, but such a nice amenity. I’m amazed RCCL doesn’t offer it too. It was $5 a load so brought in revenue too.
This is one of those items that divides folks into distinct camps. On Carnival the machines were frequently broken so I suspect the charge barely covers the capital investment and on going maintenance.
With respect to Royal I consistently hear folks state they are on vacation and they have no desire, intention or willingness to do laundry. They gladly pay $30-$50 and write it off as part of the cost of the vacation. They consider their time to be more valuable and they took a vacation to get away from cleaning, food prep and laundry.
This falls into one of those "if I could combine the things I like about this grocery store chain, the things I like about that grocery storage chain and one thing I like from a different grocery store chain, then smush them all together into one store, that is the store I'd like to shop at". Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
For me, I've been able to adjust to life without them on Royal and it's not even something I think about anymore.
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This blog post has the price range for drinks:
Mixed drinks/cocktails, martinis, frozens: $12.00
Beers: $6.25 - $6.95
House wines (by the glass): $8.00 - $12.00
Soda: $1.95
Juices: $3.95
Fresh squeezed juice: $4.95
Premium coffee: $3.95 - $4.95
18% gratuity is automatically added to all drink orders.
Also consider this blog post:
Here is a first timers guide to Oasis:
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1 hour ago, cruise-y said:
Is the small bag mid-cruise one per person or one per cabin? We will have already been on the road for a week before the 2 week cruise starts.
I've only seen one bag per cabin, but it's a simple matter to request another one from your cabin attendant. On many ships the housekeeping number on the phone rings to your cabin attendant (they carry a cordless phone).
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Spoiler alert - when you sail you may see spa specials in the cruise compass (*not combinable with other offers or discounts, applicable only on port days) . Sometimes these special offers can not be combined with C&A offers and sometimes they are a better deal than the C&A offer. It's all spelled out in the terms and conditions.
It's no different compared to a $19.99 oil change at Jiffy Lube (*includes 4 qts. of oil, does not include high mileage service or synthetic oil) or a free whopper at Burger King (*requires the purchase of another whopper at full price, not applicable in the state of Delaware). There are terms and conditions but they are printed right there.
Find the best discount at your disposal and use it, but understand it's not a blanket 10% off the best sale price combined with a port day discount combined with near the end of the cruise specials because the spa bookings have been slow on that cruise deal.
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All on-board offers loaded on your sea pass card are just that, on-board offers loaded on your sea pass card. They are very clear about that, it's hardly misleading. They've never claimed they are available before sailing.
I've had no issues using my C&A spa discounts for treatments but they have to be booked on-board because the on-board discounts only applies to on-board bookings.
It's really not fair to call it bait and switch. If you booked a 30 minute $69 massage but when you showed up they told you they only offered 1 hour $119 messages, that would be bait and switch, but that isn't what is occurring.
Like most reservations based activities including specialty restaurants and shore excursions - the early bird gets the best choice of times. Just like specialty dining, if a diamond plus books it on board using their discount, there is a chance that all good times will be booked by people who booked it before sailing. That isn't bait and switch. That's life.
Here is the Gold Spa discount offer from one cruise I took:
It very clearly articulates "Offer subject to available appointment times".
I've had no issues finding a time to use C&A discounts. Not always the time that would be my first choice, but that's because other people booked times before me.
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1 hour ago, Jason.H. said:
Ok, we need a used camera gear marketplace section. And just a cruise photos section. Don't put your Nikon stuff on ebay before checking with the group first twangster! I use a d7200 with 18-140 lens and the new 10-20. Before september cruise I would like to pickup a 35mm 1.8 DX for the low light shots and the new 70-300 AF-P DX. All of which will be useless if I ever move up to an FX like your d750 though. I do wish my d7200 had facial recognition like the d750 though.
The D7200 is a respectable camera for sure. If you pick your lenses carefully you may be able to start acquiring FX lenses that can be used at crop factors. This somewhat future proofs your lens investment. The Nikkor 20mm f1.8 I may sell on eBay is ~30mm on a DX and it is a sharp lens.
Full frame opened a world to me in terms of landscape and ultra wide photography. My next body may be a crop sensor to give my 70-300 full frame lens a boost to 450mm on crop. That's cheaper than buying a full frame telephoto to get me there. The beauty of two bodies, one crop, one FF is not having to take the lens off and exposing the guts to the humidity of the Caribbean on a cruise. I was starting to look at a crop body but something went haywire in my brain and I switched to Sony. Waiting to see what the evolution of the Sony A6500 crop may be.
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"We have found you suitable alternate arrangements. In lieu of your difficulties we will waive our normal policies and allow you to spend the rest of the cruise on the lounger of your choice, reserved just for you"
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Welcome to the message boards!
There is a section on this site with Cruise Compasses from past guests. At the top you will see a link for them. Here is a 5 night cruise back in 2016:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/anthem-of-the-seas/sat-2016-09-03-0000
Tribute band was DSB - Journey. I saw the same band on Anthem in November and I enjoyed them. That doesn't mean DSB will be the band on your cruise. I'm not sure who will be on your cruise but if this is any indication then the 5 night cruises have tribute bands just like longer cruises do.
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1 minute ago, CraftyCat05 said:
Royal is certainly trying to get their clean up the act and get the tail out from under their legs, but it is going to be a very slow process. I do like how the accounts are going with Excalibur and online, but there are still mountains to move in the IT realm on Royal.
I booked Spectrum this week, direct on the website. When I called Royal to service the booking they told me one reservation was for an Azamara ship and the other was for Celebrity Constellation. I had to get a supervisor involved although I was very eager to cruise Azamara and a part of me wanted to ask them "What Azamara ship are you putting me on and when?!"
It took a while before they could figure it out in the system even though it appeared fine in my account online. They need help.
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48 minutes ago, CraftyCat05 said:
Lets hope the IT Department of Royal doesn't merge with Silversea...
I'm hoping they do merge IT. Maybe bring some fresh blood into Royal - only one way to go... up!
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3 minutes ago, CraftyCat05 said:
Do you mind linking me to which one you use? I can only find ones with surge protectors in the device.
When are you going on SY? During the group cruise or earlier/later?
October transatlantic. Hoping BCN security allows my chargers and cord. It will be a long cruise if I can't charge my phone
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Just now, CraftyCat05 said:
Huh, interesting. We have tons of those two wires at home that we use all the time, and even bring them on a plane every time without a hitch (knock on wood). Will not bring on SY here coming up soon.
Did you have it in your Carry-on or Checked? Reading some CC boards that seems to make a difference.
So they also have some extension cords on board the ships? Good to know!
I often have one in each - one in carry on and one in checked. On this cruise I didn't check luggage. It was a 5 night so I had everything in carry on.
I've taken the same cord on every ship I've sailed and never had a problem on RCI. Same thing happened once on Carnival in New Orleans. Just once, all other cruises it was fine, same style cord.
Security in terminals is usually a 3rd party, not RCI crew. I guess in San Juan that company has trained their employees to confiscate.
I'll bring my newly acquired cord with me on all future cruises including SY.
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In San Juan this past May security was very inquisitive and thorough. They confiscated my extension cord that I had sailed with many, many times:
It's a simple two wire cord for medical use. I use it with a CPAP machine but they didn't care. Ironically I asked my cabin attendant for one and he supplied me with exactly the same type of extension cord to use with my CPAP so I kept it. Figured it was a fair trade. It's for medical purposes after all.
They also didn't like my euro style phone charger (no surge protection, simple phone charger). I use a euro charger to use the euro power port for something leaving the other NA style outlet available for other things. There were about to confiscate it when I argued I need it to charge my phone. They asked if I was from Europe so I said "Yes I am!" and they let me keep it.
I had never had a problem before or even raised an eyebrow at security but in San Juan they were very tough.
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Not bad... spend a billion on one new ship or spend a billion and get many ships and a loyal customer base.
For all those seeking all-inclusive they can now offer that on even more ships.
It will be interesting to see how they position Azamara now.
People have been asking for small ships - boom.
Royal can now give DCL a run in one category:
- "Best Cruise Line for Romance" 2015 by U.S. News & World Report
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1 hour ago, briankeith513 said:
Nice, I'm seeing $19.99 right now, and no surf only option. This will be my first cruise with Royal. I've always sailed Carnival, and just used the regular internet/no stream. My cruise is on the Symphony in November of 2019, so I'm going to wait to see if it at least goes down to $15.99. It seems that $19.99 is the highest it would be, on sale.
I have a 10 cruise history with Carnival (all prior to Vista/Horizon). Carnival internet has consistently been a disappointment except for the social package. For all other packages it's been misleading marketing and lies. Royal internet is much better. It's still over satellite and not perfect or "like home" but it's been pretty good for me across the fleet, unlike Carnival. Because of that I don't mind paying for it because it works unlike Carnival on most of their ships.
Horizon has fast internet from what I've read. Faster than Royal. But that's the only ship with it so far according to my research. That's where the misleading marketing comes in. "Fastest internet at sea" - yeah but only on one ship.
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Lastly, don't try to apply any logic to advance Voom pricing. It varies cruise to cruise.
If you wait thinking you will be able to get it for $11.99 you'll likely be disappointed. For a while $15.99 was the 'somewhat standard' 2018 advance price but with over 20 cruises booked, pricing is all over with no rhyme or reason. Often when a sale has occurred it has not applied to all of my cruises, sometimes only 1 or 2 or even none while other's report seeing sale prices.
There is no pattern or someone at RCI HQ has a dart board they use to choose which ships or cruises will offer a Voom sale.
- briankeith513 and Skid
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Royal IQ app, waste of money!
in Royal Caribbean Discussion
Posted
You don't have to purchase Voom to use the chat/text feature of RoyalIQ, they are mutually exclusive and are purchased independently.
A Voom plan allows internet connectivity. The chat feature of RoyalIQ is simply that, a chat add-on feature that doesn't use the internet.
If your friends had purchased Voom you wouldn't have had to purchase the chat add on within RoyalIQ, you could have used WhatsApp or any other wifi based chat app.
Having said that, RoyalIQ is eventually being replaced by the new 'Royal' app.