twangster

Frustrating yes, but I've also been in situations where prices increased dramatically, much more than I paid. So it goes both ways. Like getting a mortgage on a house. We all want the cheapest rate but if you lock in and close it then rates drop we are bummed, but if rates increase we are happy.

Ah, the dance of the cruise ships. I like when they move them around, some ports are easier and cheaper to fly into than others and it gives local residents a different ship to explore.

Same experience on Harmony. i replied to Concierge email in the days before the cruise and it was done. I had heard others state they made CK reservations in the cruise planner but for Harmony it was never in the cruise planner. For an upcoming Anthem cruise I see CK in the cruise planner but alas I'm not in a suite so no access.

I was there last October so I understand. Royal Caribbean has a healthy following of dedicated cruisers - Loyal to Royal. High ranking C&A guests will be on your ship. They've sailed a lot, they know the routine, they'll be asking too. I'd plan on sailing in the cabin booked, but it never hurts to ask.

On other ships when I've booked a suite I've paid a healthy price to do so. One way or another, I will make it on board. As you've suggested, emergencies happen, but short of a suite guest having an emergency, its unlikely someone just won't show up. Not even for balcony cabins, or ocean view or inside. Most folks book a cruise fully intending to take it. It never hurts to ask, all they can say is no. However if someone is going to get an upgrade its most likely going to be someone with a high level of Crown and Anchor status which is understandable, reward frequent guests. What's your C&A level?

Lots of time. Check the week of US Thanksgiving, often sales then. Maybe over Christmas, President's Day, random weekends, etc. Check the message boards here frequently, @Matt often posts when a sale is announced.

Woohoo! Goes to show, it never hurts to ask. Enjoy your cruise!

Confirmed. I took a photo of the Vitality Spa smoothie offerings on Harmony a few weeks ago. Mine came out to $6.25 and was covered by the deluxe package. i didn't try to add any supplements. Mine was very good.

I definitely saw very different results in cabin availability direct versus through my agent when booking the Alaska Group Cruise over the weekend. RCI direct had 4 cabins available on deck 9, agency had 12 cabins available on deck 9. Two cabins overlapped and both offered them, the rest were unique to each - two only RCI offered, ten only agency offered.

This is a good point I hadn't considered. Another ship on some other line has put a micro brewery on a recent ship. I wonder how much is for show versus actually producing enough volume to satisfy every sailing given the space committed to this effort.

Your math looks good to me too. However the BOGO concept with RCI uses fuzzy logic. I learned this with my 1st booking when a few days later they offer 50% off 2nd guest. Cool! I thought, that should save me a bunch. Turns out the 1st guest price increased so when the 2nd guest 50% was applied it ended up 2% higher compared to what I paid without the BOGO. I suspect the same fuzzy logic is at play with this BOGO.

Yeah, agree with you. No consistency across the fleet either. Freedom is $44, Anthem $46. Grandeur back in August was $41. Then there is the "free Voom" with deluxe bundle, except that is measured against the on board price, not the pre-cruise deluxe only price. Confusing marketing. My Anthem Voom/Deluxe bundle went from $54 one day to $56 the next day. I also think longer cruises should have lower prices. 12 nights on Anthem the combo Voom/Deluxe is almost $800 per person. I think not.

I can see the exemptions being abused and they'll have to make them tougher. In this day and age of social media word will get out how to get around the policy. I've contributed to that by sharing my email on exemptions. I can honestly report I've never shared a drink from my drink package. When I've sailed all over 21 in the cabin did buy the package, but I wonder how many upset people fall into the category of "My SO only drinks 1 or 2 glasses of wine at dinner so its okay, those rules don't apply to us, its just 1 or 2 drinks". Ten glasses of wine over a 7 day cruise at $10-12 per glass plus gratuity is $120-$140 in stolen drinks and lost revenue.

If you have Voom Surf and Stream you can stream the parade on a phone or tablet while on the ship.

Here are the channels available on Harmony. If one of these stations is broadcasting the parade, you'll possibly see it. You'll notice that the American broadcast networks are absent (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). Often the content among these channels are international feeds as opposed to what you can get while in the United States so content isn't always predictable.

So a couple things... RCI executives do have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. Duh! Same goes for any publicly traded company. People were outright and blatantly violating the rules and sharing drink packages. In one of Michael Poole's scopes recently he observed four people signing up one person for the DP for this purpose. It's very difficult to place the enforcement onto front line employees. Bartenders can't follow people to see if they hand off a drink. An ugly confrontation would result in any attempt to place enforcement solely in the hands of front line employees and that leads to a potentially larger negative customer experience. The common trend in the industry is to require everyone over 21 to purchase a DP if anyone does. In considering how to deal with this problem of theft they had to make a choice. Trying to enforce it on the ship with front line employees would likely lead to inconsistencies and awkward situations where customers come up with excuses like "I'm not sharing my drinks, he's just holding my drink while I stretch". There would be YouTube videos and social media moments creating a negative impact to the brand like "They suspended my DP for no reason, I did nothing wrong, bad company!" even though this person is lying through their teeth. On the other hand by following the industry trend it makes it a consistent policy applied across the fleet without placing the burden on front line employees. Customers will know it when they attempt to purchase a DP just like other lines. I completely understand why they went this way. I've contacted them and have direct knowledge of the exemptions and how those work. I honestly believe those are a reasonable approach to dealing with the relatively few individuals who truly need one. The vast majority do not require and should not be eligible for an exemption but for the small number of folks that properly do there is process to recognize it. Is it perfect? Maybe not but it does address most customer use cases. If the masses start to abuse the exemptions, they'll likely have to adapt to that too. Blame the abusers who attempt to circumvent policy and rules to benefit themselves.

Following! On Anthem in 35 days for a B2B. Look forward to the advance preview.

Boy oh boy, I keep getting a rock. Three near term sailings and no price deviations. $46 USD aka the 'standard' 20% off pre-cruise rate. I need some C&A status to help me out...

I'm a preemie (long ways to D+) so had to use several presidential papers to buy the All Access Tour, but I agree, it's an awesome experience to visit the bridge of the largest cruise ship in the world!

I did a 9 night Grandeur in August, menus below. There is a steak option in the "Classics" section which is available every night unless a better cut is offered that night. IMO this isn't the best cut of meat, but it is steak. I've been fortunate to eat at some really good steak houses with a company paying as we entertain clients and with bills ending up in the thousands. Chops isn't that, but it is very good. I enjoy it and will do Chops again. I just did Chops on Harmony a few weeks ago. Yum. So yeah, Chops is much better than the MDR "classics" steak. I didn't do any specialty on Grandeur and I was very happy in the MDR. Great service, good food. I enjoyed seeing the staff each night. I'm contemplating more Grandeur in the spring and have no hesitation eating in MDR on her more. Grandeur MDR Menus.pdf

I always advise folks to contact the cruise line. My experience is limited to another cruise line but I've sailed three times with a minor child who was not my own. Two went easy, one not so much but we eventually got on. Same circumstances, just a different check in person. Be careful taking advice from strangers on the internet, talk to the cruise line and do everything they mention. Don't assume. US Immigration on one occasion took particular interest on our return and we spent an hour in secondary after disembarking.

On some ships with interior virtual balconies they restrict the cabin to 2 passengers. The virtual display consumes wall space otherwise used for more beds or a different layout to allow more beds. It's likely the layout of 11175 will be different than 9175. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Sounds like a bad or new agent. I asked for a quote for this sites Alaska group cruise next June and quickly received it. Since it has become a long email thread with quotes for different cabin types. We've gone back and forth due to my indecisiveness but that's on me. Here is an example of different cabins being offered direct versus through an agency. This is for the Explorer of the Seas on June 22, 2018 - the Royal Caribbean Blog Alaska Group Cruise which I am booking today. Category 4U Inside Virtual Balcony. Direct RCI is showing 4 cabins available to book on deck 9. Multiple agencies are offering 12 cabins available to book on deck 9.

The local governments are in control of the reopening date. They are asking for the cruise ships to return. Cruise line officials are ensuring they can fulfill that request in a safe manner. Cruise ships in particular are a form of tourism that places less demand on resources compared to fly and stay tourism. Cruises arrive in the morning and leave later the same day unlike fly and stay tourists who stay overnight when crime can be higher and who place greater demand on resources such as food, water, policing and potentially medical. Crime can be higher in part because there is no money coming in and people are growing desperate in a large part because they have no income. Local governments want to reintroduce tourism to bring income but also to bring a sense of normalcy back, which itself helps to reduce crime and stabilize the region. Cruise ships are the ideal answer for how to a slowly reintroduce tourism. This isn't the first hurricane to have this effect, many islands have gone through this before. When I cruised to St Marteen in the late '90s it was soon after that islands last such hurricane hit with similar devastation. EDIT - in another forum I participate in a similar thread is evolving. A resident of St Thomas is posting and they want tourists back. They are not sure how they are going to pay the rent this month and while they are not fully restored (no power at home yet), they are eagerly waiting to welcome us with open arms. They need the money. So for anyone that does go to a recently opened island, be generous, tip well. An extra $5 or $10 is nothing relative to the cost of a cruise.

To provide an example of how a TA can benefit you, I've been trying to turn an upcoming Anthem cruise into a B2B. Pricing has been pretty volatile, changing hourly. Direct, either online or calling RCI, they stopped offering a solo OV guarantee fare 2 days ago, I would have to book a phantom guest as my +1, pay the port fees and taxes for my phantom up front then show up without them and wait for the port fees and taxes for them to refund back after the cruise. I had a hold from yesterday on such a fare booked direct as a fall back plan. This morning my TA was able to find a solo OV guarantee that I couldn't, so she created a hold for me and called me. Same base rate but I wouldn't have to play the "oh dear, my 2nd guest couldn't make the cruise" game. Same OBC, plus the regular airline miles I get using this agency. Those add up and I generally can fly for free to a couple cruises every year. Once booked the cruise planner works the same, including sales this weekend. I can make my own dinner reservations, buy drink packages, book entertainment, etc. all on my own. I've had situations before where certain specific cabins couldn't be booked direct. It was explained to me that blocks of rooms are committed to agencies and you have to use an agency to book them. On Oasis I wanted a specific loft suite that I couldn't book direct but I had no issues getting the cabin I wanted through an agency.