twangster

I honestly believe the drink package prices run an algorithm based on sales trends for your individual cruise. Low sales, prices drop. High sales, prices go up. As people buy it, cancel it, cancel the cruise, book onto the cruise, etc the pricing engine dutifully adapts the daily price to suit.

Looking pretty good for my Oct. 8 Snowbird cruise out of Quebec City. Look at me, I'm a snowbird!

This was in January on Anthem: Also see this in the menu section of the blog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/menus/solarium-bistro-menu-anthem-of-the-seas

Congrats, awesome accomplishment when you reach D+. It's not a whole lot more than D but a few subtle changes.

Run away from the casino!

WooHoo! That's awesome! Free cruise!

I was in an interior on deck 2 last July. Hot as blazes outside. Upon going to bed I cranked the thermostat down all the way because i sleep better when it's cool in the room. I woke up freezing. I had to get up and turn the thermostat up. I quickly learned the ideal range to adjust the thermostat so i could sleep better at night without requesting more blankets. My cruise was before football season but we have several Grandeur fans here including @coneyraven, the Grandeur Poo-Bah. I'm betting he knows.

Speaking of tax on cruisers... In another thread recently I noted that NCL Sky charges higher taxes and port fees on comparable sailings. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9079-ncl-vs-rci/ Cruise on Sky to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. Base fare $259 pp, 4 nights, taxes are $262 Same week. Cruise Mariner to Nassau and CocoCay. Base fare $248 pp, 4 nights, taxes are $166 Same week. Cruise Enchantment to Nassau and CocoCay. Base fare $ 267, 4 nights, taxes are $166. Great Stirrup Cay is literally right beside CocoCay. Tax on Sky Cuba cruises is harder to compare because Royal tends to include Key West and/or different ports which makes it harder to draw a fair and even comparison to NCL.

It happens on Royal's website too. Sometimes for balconies, sometimes for suites. Inventory is probably right at threshold levels making fare engines display wonky results.

#fakenews

Hehehehehe....

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/08/27/Royal Caribbean Updates Crown and Anchor Program Staring September 1st Emerald is now 80 points, Diamond 125 points and Diamond Plus 350 points. Existing members who previously achieved a specific level impacted by this change are grandfathered in. EDIT: JUST KIDDING!

Great pictures, you are taking us all right there with you.

Following. I've done the original zip line and I'm curious... have they just added a new sling so that you lay on your belly or have they actually added a new zip line. Current sale prices have the new experience around 18% more. If it's the same zip line with a different harness then I think I'll pass.

In this late July photo with our USCG escort we are still well into the Chesapeake and hours away from international waters. I was in bed by the time we left US water. You can look at cruise compasses from past Grandeur guests to get an idea of times when things open on the ship: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=291 This is consistent with her position report on marinetraffic.com as she makes her way to Bermuda having just left Baltimore. This position was received 23h ago and her speed was 19.8 kn so estimating her position at midnight would have her very close to crossing beyond the territorial boundary at that time.

How would you estimate the dress attire on this cruise? I've read reports that Europe based cruises tend to be somewhat more formal compared to Caribbean cruises where the dress code has slackened off quite a bit over the years. Does that remain a valid observation or has attire become less formal for this cruise? Any observations on guest demographics? Many Americans or mostly Europeans? Great live blog!

A valid point has been made and something to consider when looking at Royal versus DCL. Royal has been at this a long time but that also means the Royal fleet has greater variance including older and smaller ships versus mega sized, newer and high tech ships. You need to put a little more effort into researching each Royal ship to make sure you understand the ship you may book. Not all Royal ships have Broadway caliber entertainment. Not all Royal ships have water slides, ice skating, flowriders or zip lines. The newer Royal ships have the latest bells and whistles while the older ships which have been kept fresh and modernized don't have all that fancy new stuff. For a couple in their 60s a flowrider, ice skating, water slides or a zip line may not be a big deal or maybe it is. Royal's smallest ship is almost 5 times smaller than their biggest ship. Disney more or less has two sizes of ship versus Royal's seven classes of ships. Just make sure you spend a little bit of time researching the ship.

Sorry I missed your scope, I'm GMT -7 so it was quite early for me. Has Voom been working good otherwise (with the exception of scoping)?

No problem with Yeti style containers. The Freestyle drink dispensers can only dispense soda or flavored water into a Royal Caribbean drink package cup that contains an embedded RFID chip that the machine reads to validate the drink package purchase. For the water stations the same rules apply. Use a ship provided glass to fill your cup to avoid contamination of the drink station equipment.

Food is very personal but I often sail with no extra dining purchased. Specialty dining is more of an exception for me. Something about $45 per person for a meal when I've already paid my cruise fare that includes dinner doesn't sit well with me. I am typically quite happy in the MDR and occasionally will do dinner in the Windjammer which can be surprisingly good.

You might do better seeking an NCL forum. Let's face it, this forum is RCI centric so not likely many here have gone on Sky to Cuba. This is a great site but another forum that has NCL cruisers participating may yield better feedback.

Welcome to the message boards! The NCL Sky was known to be a party ship when it was doing 3 and 4 nights Bahamas cruises with open bar. Now that Cuba has opened up to cruise operators she spends much of her time doing Cuba cruises. The weekend 'booze cruise' market is different than the Cuba cruise market. Sky still does a 3 night Nassau cruise and a 3 night Great Stirrup Cay cruise on many weekends in between her 4 and 5 night runs to Cuba. When the marketing for these cruises has a huge "Open Bar" graphic as the lead photo you have to know these cruises are more likely to be booze cruises. Several years ago I did a B2B on Carnival, 4 night followed by 3 night. The clientele was very different on the two cruises. The weekend 3 night cruise was a party boat. I suspect the same may be true for the Sky. On a weekend 3 night cruise it's more likely to be a booze cruise then the following day when she sets out for Cuba she is less likely to be a booze cruise. In reality I'm sure it varies cruise to cruise. A couple of obnoxious drunks on any cruise can set the tone for the pool deck for all. That applies to any cruise line. I don't think the stereotype booze cruise crowd seeks to go to Cuba, but I could be wrong. Royal has some very interesting Cuba itineraries that have two new ports added to the mix. Check those out before deciding.

With respect, that is International man of mystery...

Excellent question and not provocative or worthy of starting a fight at all. Here is a blog post from @Matt who runs this site. He lives in the Orlando area and has children. He doesn't work for any cruise line. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/22/first-time-cruisers-comparing-royal-caribbean-disney-cruise-line Here is a more recent podcast he did on this exact topic: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-50-royal-caribbean-versus-disney-cruise-line I've cruised Disney years ago when my kids were younger. Sadly Disney prices have skyrocketed. Royal is very family oriented and has a lot to offer kids of all ages. There is no question that DCL provides a great cruise experience and if you have lots of money it will provide a great experience. At what point though is a fabulous cruise on a family oriented cruise line at a much lower price simply better value? Calling @Lovetocruise2002 who has sailed DCL more recently than me. Lastly here is another blog reader's perspective: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5312-disney-dcl-royal-caribbean-rci-comparisonreview/&tab=comments#comment-53333

Be aware that satellite coverage in Alaska will result in a much different Voom experience compared to the Caribbean. Alaska is so far North that satellites over the equator have a harder time reaching Alaska. There will be times where there is no internet access. I'll be on Radiance this coming Friday. Which ship are you on?