twangster

35 minutes ago, henrysea13 said:

pardon me if this is my ignorance but royal has been laying out huge almost science fiction amounts of money on refits piers amusement parks not to mention the symphony does not this huge outlay affect the stock prices until it shows profitably

Investments into items that will generate future revenue are generally a good thing when done responsibly and with the appropriate business analysis.    Perfect Day at CocoCay is a relatively small investment compared to the numbers involved with adding Harmony, Symphony or Spectrum into the fleet. 

All three companies are adding new ships and the notation about overcapacity is playing into the valuation. 

You can't just keep adding ships forever. At some point port capacity and ability to optimize loads will limit revenue potential.  That is what the analysts are cautioning investors about - overcapacity. 

RCL is shifting some capacity into Asia rather than putting a ship like Spectrum into the nearly saturated US market.  The potential to move an Oasis class ship into Galveston if the locals can upgrade and add a terminal to accommodate it may help move some capacity around the US.  It will be interesting to see how Ovation plays out in Alaska - that's a shift in capacity right there.

Putting ships like Mariner, Navigator and Indy into the short FL cruise market even if each is briefly there is another example of shifting capacity.  Perfect Day plays into that, potentially complimenting or even being a prerequisite to support those bigger ships in that short cruise segment.    That potentially makes the Perfect Day investment justified and viewed in a positive way.

34 minutes ago, Sarah said:

I'm sorry if this question has already been asked - I tried to check before asking...

I live in the UK; am I able to use a company such as MEI to book my cruises with?

Travel agents are different here.  I've used one to book all my cruises (apart from the one next week) but not paid any different price to that advertised on the Royal website and I've not received any other perks from them either.

Next week's cruise was booked directly with Royal and after getting cut off 3 times on the phone, them not applying my C&A details, and problems paying the final balance I'm reluctant to use them again.

Thanks for any assistance

Sarah

Are you looking to book cruises originating in the US or cruises originating from a UK, European or Asian port? 

I know that MEI has been granted special waivers to allow international guests to book RoyalCaribbeanblog.com US group cruises.  Those so far have been US originating cruises.

Consumer protection laws, taxes and other items like gratuity billing are very different around the world.  Certain restrictions and limitations are in place to ensure they are in compliance. 

A phone call or email to MEI with the specifics of what you are trying to book may be the best way to answer your question.

Welcome to the message boards!

My bet is they have scheduled the tour knowing that the majority of participants will be ship guests.  They have chosen a time to start the tour based on having done this many times in the past and their experiences with getting their customers from the ship to their base. 

You might contact the tour operator directly and talk it through with them.  They know their home town, the walk and if a cab would be better.  

10 hours ago, rjac said:

Perhaps in the world of bots.....nobotty tells the truth and nobotty lies. 

I saw what you did there.

2 hours ago, June May said:

I should mention I'm cruising alone, so there's no requirement to purchase a second package for another party, which certainly adds to the affordability.

I can't wait for March next year to enjoy some fabulous Royal cocktails again!

Cruising solo does offer its advantages.  I've done some great excursions that as a family or even a couple would break the bank. 

If the drink package works in your favor, having to buy only one certainty makes a big difference and a care free vacation without thinking about it when you feel like a drink.

Cheers!

For my next San Juan cruise, after the cruise I may plan a trip down to the "El Monstruo"  zip line then spend a night before flying home.

38 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This is way off topic but I'm going to share this anyway....while tossing summer vacation ideas around lately we asked the kids what they wanted to do.  We've done Disney the last two summers so that was off the table (waiting for Star Wars land to open before returning).  Thought about going to New York or Chicago for a land vacation .  We basically asked the kids what they wanted.  First question, "Is there going to be a lot of walking in NYC and Chicago?".  Yes.  Next comment from the kids, "Ummm....Why can't we just go on another cruise?" Wonder where they get these ideas from??

I have always said and still believe (so far) that cruising is the best value vacation.  Especially for a family.

Has hubby clued into the concept that you've been surreptitiously planting subliminal thoughts into your kids for months now?

On 6/2/2018 at 6:41 AM, JLMoran said:

Yup, she is indeed! Welcome aboard, @ellcee! We'll have to try and meet up some time, so we can say prove we’re both not bots!

Wait...if two bots claim the other bot is real, what does that prove?

1 hour ago, ellcee said:

I'm really debating the drink package for my October cruise. It was a no brainer for my July one since I'm with a very large group of people and we plan on a lot of activities which I'm sure include drinking. My October cruise is just me - unless I get a ridiculously cheap sale I'm not sure it's worth it. I do drink a lot of water and coffee and will definitely have a drink or two with dinner but not sure it's worth the $$ for me on my own. I may just purchase the coffee card and pay by the drink for everything else.

Keep an eye out for 10 drink cards, or 10 draft beer cards mid-cruise.  Saves a few bucks.  The 10 beer cards have limited draft choices so make sure you like the beer before going this route.

5 hours ago, Sweety said:

@twangster, what ship are you own? I will be getting off Majesty July 23.

Empress, a couple of cruises after you.

Hello.  My name is Twangster and I have this problem...

5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

If you qualify for a government rate, the Ritz Carlton has a government rate even over Christmas week !  What a bargain !

Have they opened again?  Awesome.  My favorite hotel in San Juan.  Love the dried fruit by the pool. 

This is where I learned the proper way to set up a lounger.  One towel rolled into a pillow hanging over the back as counter weight, two on the lounger tucked in just so. 

In the past were the private Diamond events truly just Diamond and up? 

The C&A benefits now simply state something to the effect  "Nightly Diamond Event" which now equates to Diamond Happy Hour as near as I can tell. 

The 'Top Tier' event, platinum and up, is sometimes in Studio B with a small ice show, or in the Aqua theater with a small water show, or in a lounge with singers and dancers, etc.  That's once per cruise and not nightly.  Location varies by ship.

This blog is getting to be an expensive place to hangout. 

Since I'm going to Alaska in a few weeks I've picked up a Sony A7 III to see how it compares to my Nikon D750.  I blame @Hockeyman55 for this unexpected expense

The low light level performance of the Sony looks amazing and I like to do low light photography.  Nikon is threatening to release a mirrorless system next year but they have the legacy baggage of a million Nikkor lenses that Nikon enthusiast keep in their closet.  The reality is a mirrorless system calls for a new approach to a lens mount.  No doubt in my mind Nikon's first attempt will be super expensive with the impossible challenge they face of appeasing a vested user base with a million lenses. 

Since a switch to mirrorless will likely call for new lenses to do it properly, my investment in Nikkor lenses becomes somewhat a moot point.  Enter eBay. 

Between an Alaska cruise in June and a Cuba cruise late July I'll have some cruise photo ops to help me decide which one ends up on eBay.  Unfortunately that means slugging both around until then.

I first read of this in a blog post of a lawyer who has displayed a trend in his coverage of such events.  It's one side of the story, written by a lawyer.  There are often two sides to a story but in this case the judicial process found with the victim.  Without being in the courtroom to hear the arguments I can't form my own opinion but I'm always careful to adopt the position of the media simply because the media said so. 

Personally I thought the $21M awarded to a man who walked into a sliding door on a cruise ship a few years ago was excessive.  Granted he was injured in the event but it seems like certain lawyers gravitate to these types of cases where a jury can develop an emotional connection to a victim versus the big faceless corporation.   Only in America.

Not saying that happened in this occasion because I don't know - I wasn't in the courtroom.  I simply don't know the facts of this case beyond what has been written by the media.  Fortunately they never get anything wrong or sensationalize so I guess we just accept what they say.

If you are an American corporation, chances are you have or are being sued. 

People sue Apple weekly for things that make me SMH. No wonder iPhones cost $900.

No idea of the merits of this case, but welcome to America!

Just now, tiny260 said:

Very true, When I saw the notification pop up, I knew it was going to be "no such thing as an ex-Canadian" lol

You can take the Canuck out of Canada, but you can't take the Canadian out of hockey.

Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Ok...since no other Canadians here want to help..check out our temps of late.  Because I am such a nice person, I even put it in Fahrenheit.  From mid-May to present. 

What city?  Is this even Canada?  or Toledo?

2 hours ago, Archaegeo said:

We just got back from the Adventure last week, the muster drill was on deck at the lifeboats, which i liked, and it was in English only which was surprising, so the whole thing from Whistle to dismissal took 13 minutes.

I was on the Adventure repo cruise in May from San Juan to Bayonne.  Muster was in English followed by Spanish.  It was much longer than 13 minutes.

A couple of months ago I found reference on the RCI website as if it was still a thing but then I found reference on the website to it being killed off.

44 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

FYI....IT IS NOT ALWAYS COLD IN CANADA! 

True.  There was that day in 1947...

I'm just happy to see Canada finally got the internet and folks could find the blog.  Probably explains the increase.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Sorry @JLMoran...I think this is more similar  So off topic!! lol

And the stubborn Canadian brings it all back to Hockey...

Right now there is a cost to use the island.  There always has been.  You don't see it, it is contained within your cruise fare. 

The island has never been 'free' just like meals are not 'free' and entertainment is not 'free'.  They are included in your cruise fare.

Using your logic, why stop at Coco Cay?  "Welcome to Cozumel!  $100 to leave the ship please" - I never see that happening. 

Coco Cay will be remain the same.  Included in your cruise fare for those activities that are complimentary. 

It would be disastrous PR to deliver guests to any pier then charge a fee to step off the ship.  Imagine how the competition would gobble that up and use it against them. 

Just now, princevaliantus said:

Actually, that market doesn't have a NRDB policy. I just realized it since I am also booked on QotS over the holidays 2019.

Quantum doesn't.   I am also booked on Quantum in 2019 on a refundable fare.  Voyager does.