twangster

Have a great cruise and please come back and tell us the results.

I think Royal has found a good balance that brings value for the vacation dollars spent.  A luxury cruise experience sounds great but they costs luxurious dollars.  A budget cruise sounds easy on the wallet but are often too budget oriented - you get what you pay for, or not.  
Certain companies I gel with.  I have tried other lines, several of them as I sought to check out the grass to see if it was greener over there.  This has helped me validate my feelings about Royal.  In the end Royal feels like home, if there is such a concept, for a cruise line.  
I like that Royal doesn't include everything as that would drive the price up and I'd pay for things I don't want or need.  
I like that Royal offers activities for a wide variety of ages.  I may not have young kids anymore but the kids areas and activities keeps them occupied so they aren't all swamping my space because they are bored with nothing to do.  When I travel with family or friends that have younger kids the kids programming allows me and my friends to spend some time together while their kids are occupied.  
Sometimes I want to jump in a bumper car or lace on a set of skates and sometimes not.  On Royal there are those things for me if and when I feel like it.  Even when I don't sometimes it's fun watching other people have fun.  
I cruise Royal not because of the Crown and Anchor Society but those benefits certainly don't hurt and it is one of the best loyalty programs in the industry.  For me I just enjoy many different aspects of a Royal cruise.  I haven't had bad experiences on other lines but it just doesn't feel like home like it does when I first board a Royal ship at the start of any cruise.  

In my work industry we are being quoted delivery times 18 - 24 months for systems that would have been 30 - 60 days before the pandemic hit us.  It's dramatically impacting our plans and projects.  Technology projects have become a matter of what little steps can we do right now? ... Knowing the rest of the project won't get done for 18 to 24 months.  It's completely changed the way we do projects.  
So what can Royal do when there are no new jumbo screens available to replace it and the parts to fix it just are not available on planet earth?  Sneak over to a Carnival ship and steal a jumbo screen from them?  
There is an excuse even though not everyone will understand its completely out of their control.  

That will be at the discretion of the LA, CK manager and SL Concierge on board.  Technically the answer is no since CAS benefits never convey to cabin mates, they apply to the individual that has the status.  However if you talk with the LA and SL Concierge they might allow it.  Suite Sun Deck is less likely to be challenged unless they are misbehaving.  
In 2022 there are examples of an 8 month old being Pinnacle on their first cruise although it wouldn't apply in the case of grandparents to grandchildren unless so implemented by the LA on board.  
YMMV.
 
 

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

We'll have to disagree.  I don't see the hidden, dark, secretive, shady, "under the surface" that you do.
When I go anywhere as a tourist I don't assume drinks are included and I don't see the need to phone the hotel bar and demand to know the ask for price for each type of drink I might consume.  The fact that a hotel doesn't publish their bar drink menu or indicate how much a glass of wine, beer or cocktail will be on their website doesn't make that hotel secretive. 
I can loosely estimate how much I might drink on vacation without knowing the exact prices at each venue I might visit.  Some trips I might go under my drink guestimate and some trips I go over my drink estimate.  Oh well, I must have been in a good mood to order those extra drinks.  That's life.  
Drink packages, at least pre-shutdown, were typically acquired by around 22% of guests.  That doesn't rise to the average consumer definition.  In fact it kind points to the opposite - the average consumer doesn't want a drink package.
You want something.  There is nothing wrong with that.  You be you.  Just because a company doesn't offer it the way YOU want it doesn't make it "under the surface" or dark, or shady.  
If you are looking for a budgetary number to plug into a spreadsheet budget $100 per day for a drink package.  Some cruises you will under that and some cruises you may end up over it such as short cruises.  That will get you in the ballpark as you think about booking a cruise.
 

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

We'll have to disagree.  I don't see the hidden, dark, secretive, shady, "under the surface" that you do.
When I go anywhere as a tourist I don't assume drinks are included and I don't see the need to phone the hotel bar and demand to know the ask for price for each type of drink I might consume.  The fact that a hotel doesn't publish their bar drink menu or indicate how much a glass of wine, beer or cocktail will be on their website doesn't make that hotel secretive. 
I can loosely estimate how much I might drink on vacation without knowing the exact prices at each venue I might visit.  Some trips I might go under my drink guestimate and some trips I go over my drink estimate.  Oh well, I must have been in a good mood to order those extra drinks.  That's life.  
Drink packages, at least pre-shutdown, were typically acquired by around 22% of guests.  That doesn't rise to the average consumer definition.  In fact it kind points to the opposite - the average consumer doesn't want a drink package.
You want something.  There is nothing wrong with that.  You be you.  Just because a company doesn't offer it the way YOU want it doesn't make it "under the surface" or dark, or shady.  
If you are looking for a budgetary number to plug into a spreadsheet budget $100 per day for a drink package.  Some cruises you will under that and some cruises you may end up over it such as short cruises.  That will get you in the ballpark as you think about booking a cruise.
 

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

Have a great cruise and please come back and tell us the results.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

Terrible tragedy.   
Volusia county in Florida was in the news tonight for a shark attack.  Think Daytona Beach for reference.  That was their 7th this year.  It's pretty common to hear about a shark bite in Florida and most are from beaches where they often go after lower legs and ankles.  Most are not fatal.
When snorkeling you tend to be in a little deeper water compared to wading along a beach.  If the bite occurs in the torso there can be more critical organs involved compared to ankle and lower leg bites you often hear about from Florida beaches.  Just unfortunate.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

That app is the absolute worst, good luck with it. This is just one example of how horrible it is and what a pain in the butt it is. 

The journey toward a new Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal 10 is in a sprint to the finish. I've updated my original post with information on the new terminal. I'll continue to update this as we approach Allure's arrival in November. We'll be on the inaugural cruise from Galveston and will add updates based on our experience on that first cruise.

The typical re-route is from Bermuda to Canada/NE or for longer cruises Bermuda to Bahamas.   
Since both require pre-boarding testing the only difference is the requirement for ArriveCAN in Canada and the travel authorization for Bermuda. It's not clear if last minute travel authorizations for thousands are within Bermuda's capabilities to process since they seem to struggle at times with normal authorization loads.  ArriveCAN is potentially easier but certainly a pretty significant hindrance when looking North for an alternate port.    
It's not too often you'll see a Bahamas cruise diverted to Bermuda.  Bermuda and Canada are too far for short cruises from Florida.  There are many closer ports to use as alternates when sailing from Florida.   For 2022 I'm guessing they'll take Bermuda off the table as a candidate to be an alternate for a Caribbean or Bahamas cruise, if it ever was a viable alternate.  Canada is too far to be an alternate for most Florida based cruises.  
CBP will waive fines for violating the PVSA for unexpected weather related reasons that occur during a cruise.  It's a different story if a ship embarks passengers knowing they will violate the PVSA.  This demonstrates intent to violate the law.  When it is clear they can't remain legal before the ship departs from it's home port then CBP would expect the cruise line to cancel if they can't find a suitable alternate port to remain legal.
Given the challenges with both Bermuda and Canada we may see more cancellations in 2022 if hurricanes impact Bermuda and Canada/NE.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

Shady?  That is a pretty extreme statement.
Besides they have a near All Inclusive rate.  It's called Star Class.
Ultimately it may very well be all about money.  That's perfectly okay.  They are a for-profit business.  It's up to them to create a product portfolio that accomplishes their primary goal of bringing value to their stockholders.  
They are pretty popular and their product is in high demand with a loyal following.  They are doing most things right.  
Bundling "free" (not free) packages like NCL does is a lot closer to being shady.  
Both Celebrity and Princess cater to a different demographic that doesn't tend to include binge drinkers.  They can offer bundles because they will be profitable with their bundles knowing most of their cruisers won't tend to overindulge.   Sure they may be a handful that will drink the cruise line under the profit line but most of their guests are not costing them money with bundles.  I think Princess added bundles because Celebrity went always included.  Celebrity did stumble a bit and had to retrofit unbundled fares back into the game plan when the Always In proved to miss the mark a little bit.
For many years Royal has enjoyed higher revenue per passenger using a smaller fleet compared to the 800 pound gorilla of the industry.  They accomplish this by being smarter than the 800 pound gorilla.  The question then becomes why doesn't the 800 pound gorilla realize they are leaving money on the table?  Royal has spent a lot of time with very smart people data mining sales trends and they know exactly how to push pricing to maximize revenue.   That's business smarts.

That will be at the discretion of the LA, CK manager and SL Concierge on board.  Technically the answer is no since CAS benefits never convey to cabin mates, they apply to the individual that has the status.  However if you talk with the LA and SL Concierge they might allow it.  Suite Sun Deck is less likely to be challenged unless they are misbehaving.  
In 2022 there are examples of an 8 month old being Pinnacle on their first cruise although it wouldn't apply in the case of grandparents to grandchildren unless so implemented by the LA on board.  
YMMV.
 
 

Terrible tragedy.   
Volusia county in Florida was in the news tonight for a shark attack.  Think Daytona Beach for reference.  That was their 7th this year.  It's pretty common to hear about a shark bite in Florida and most are from beaches where they often go after lower legs and ankles.  Most are not fatal.
When snorkeling you tend to be in a little deeper water compared to wading along a beach.  If the bite occurs in the torso there can be more critical organs involved compared to ankle and lower leg bites you often hear about from Florida beaches.  Just unfortunate.

Youth CAS get Voom discounts and drink vouchers (non-alcoholic) based on their level (i.e. D+ gets 5 drinks vouchers).
It's not clear how far that LA went and with the second LA telling me the programs rules have changed I think we need for more feedback from guests before we can say with certainty if they match dependent children to Pinnacle now.  

I still have my D+ pin on my backpack.  It kind of blends in but frequent Royal cruisers may spot it.  

Same as any other cruise.