henrysea13

just a little help for those that need it here is the direct number to Royals senior cruise planners 800-859-7225 they are happy to help anytime with anything taking payments they act as travel advisers in every way I use one in particular for everything to do with cruising Royals magnificent ships I share this because the mess at Royals IT dept probably will not be cleaned up for a long while

thank you I copied this link to a new desk top folder to use till these incompetent fools accidently fix this

this rule was part of the Royal culture way back and brought back as of January 1 2018 if you are booked before then you went under the old rule and did not have to buy for everybody 21 and up I went on the indy in January and was able to buy just mine I will say that a family member in another room with an adult also in the room bought the refreshment package pre cruise and on the ship before it sailed went to one of the sales tables on the promenade and paid the difference to upgrade to the deluxe and did not have to pay for the other person the key they told me was before it sailed according to the sales person new year new rules

purchasing deluxe package for everyone in the cabin over 21 what used to cost me 300 now costs me 600 even though the other person in my party may and I repeat may drink one beer a day I was told that the exceptions do not take into consideration the very light drinkers and a very close friend of mine asked me what would stop him from claiming religious expense and sharing I said everything is paid for and recorded to your seapass if the computer saw any irregularitys to your ordering they would be able to detect it and probably revoke your package with no refund

I totally agree Twangster its all about the money but a company as large as Royal that so heavily depends on the websites for income bookings sales of all types should have one of the best IT depts.around every time a potential sale is botched by the dreaded "bad request or try again later"another missed opportunity occurs in my humble opinion I thank you very much for replying to my post so quickly for I value your input if I were Mr Bayley I would look into the operation of what I consider to be a very essential part of the company entrusted to me and the overall bottom line Cruise on my friends

I would truly welcome such an app BUT I have little confidence in Royals IT people there website works terribly I go on the crown and anchor website to check package prices when I try to back out of cruise planner I always get BAD REQUEST which leaves the booking open for about 30 minutes so no changes can be made or you cant check other bookings without going back to square one or select other things like shore excursions for about 30 minutes if you go to firefox no problem works well.I worked for large companies for many years before retiring and was there at the get go for IT depts.and never had the problems Royal has it is my opinion that they replace there IT staff with people that know what there doing I am sure they could hire far better then what they have now with just the profit they are now making from the new drink package rule ha ha just kidding come on royal you can do better than this for now firefox it is

I use Royals cruise planner I struck up a friendship with one of there senior cruise planners and he is great he looks out for me and notifys me of savings and gets me great rooms at great prices when I have had issues on past cruises he has gotten me next cruise credits and he always looks for discounted fares before taking final payment my last cruise he got me a promenade view room for what I paid for an inside I will deal with only him in the future being an insider he has the connections to make things happen

I have found that the doors on the average cabin are to small to get a wheelchair through but I have seen that many people park theres in the hallway yes it does cause a bit of a traffic jam at times but not that often I could see them causing a safety concern in emergency situations though I travel with my daughter occasionally who is wheelchair bound and have never had a problem except on the smaller ships with the very tight hallways I would suggest if you have questions that you call Royals access dept 866 592 7225 they have helped me many times in the past they have measurements for doors and have for me found accesable cabins when all other sources said there were none available also you will have to fill out a form describing the disability and special need you can list any special dietary needs ask about shore excursions etc for instance you can not use the tender boats where necessary to access ports unless the person in the wheelchair can transfer out of the chair to the tender which my daughter can not This dept has been a great help to me in the past and using them eliminates unpleasant suprises on your cruise

Thank you JL for helping me I think I have it now and I really appreciate the tip

thanx Matt I don't know how to include the address on my post

for those of you that are interested there is a list on this blog site of all the royal ships with studios onboard and the different kinds and how many it was current as of Nov 2016 size of bed and the advantages of studios and solo cruising SAIL ON MY FRIENDS

I have cruised both ways and to tell the truth I have to say I like solo cruising the best I have a cruise on the brilliance oct 1 2018 5 nite out of Tampa and I have a studio inside there are only 3 on the ship then I have a 8 night nov 24 2018 on the adventure out of port everglades with the family. I love being with the family but I come home tired every time from the cruise , as Twangster said when cruising solo I am in charge of my itinerary I eat when I want nap when I want go where I want any time I want I must confess I am not to much of a people person I always manage to meet nice people though on board and have always found some one to pal up with to see the ports or eat with and I am always though not actively for someone to eat with because I cant stand large tables of people I don't know and have more than once opted for dinner in the windjammer alone when the MDR Maitre d told me that there was no option but to sit with large groups of paired off strangers. When you solo its your choice you tend to get much more rest catch a movie if you want to meet and greet there are always solo get togethers and don't forget the joy of adventureing and discovering new areas of the ship spend hours talking to the crew learning much about the ports we are visiting even paling up with some of them and finding that special hidden eatery as I did in the dud port of Freeport they had a lobster roll sandwhich that I think about once a week or so and cant wait to return to Freeport and that is something I have never heard any where from anyone I look forward to my next solo and the only negative I can think of is your security in port be careful where you go and do stay with the other cruisers in the area ,other than that for me its a win win cruise on my friends

aand yes it does get better as you advance up the C+A ladder last month in port everglades on the indy my party was gold and the line was huge and time consuming I was platinum there was just 2 people ahead of me I fell asleep waiting over 1 hour for them to finish signing in I am emerald on this cruise on the brilliance oct 1 I should be diamond in January 2019 cant wait I just love the robes they let you use onboard so warm and plush I will take pics the next cruise of the different lines CRUISE ON FRIENDS

I hope there is a mistake in the dates I have read here for relocation I have a cruise booked on her for NOV 24 2018 for eight days southern not 2019 I better check it says from ft Lauderdale I was told she will be doing the north east and Canada for the summer and returning to Ft Lauderdale her home port just before my cruise

I have gotten accustomed to taking the summers off its way to hot and too many band of brothers teenagers roaming the ships SOOOOOOOO my next cruise is a single western on the brilliance oct 1 5 nights have a studio room love to try all the new cabins then have adventure for an eastern 8 nights nov 24 - dec ?so excited we have a large panoramic if you haven't tried one of these you have no idea what your missing the views are breath taking I would always wake in the morning rush to the Viking crown for the beauty nature has to offer then on to a fresh made omelet in the WJ now I don't want to leave the comfort of my cabin so I order from room service which in no way equals a fresh hot omelet BUT trust me the incredible vistas viewed from the whole wall windows floor to ceiling will absolutely make up for the difference well this is my present bookings and I am sure there will be more yo ho yo ho a cruisers life for me remember there is no greater gift you can receive then your set sail pass I hope each and every on of you out there appreciates what you have that joe average non cruiser doesn't SAIL ON MY FRIENDS

my source may be flawed I was referring to google search which always listed Bayley as CEO but just the other day I noticed the change to CEO as Fain sorry if it caused any confusion

Has anyone noticed that Bayley is no longer ceo of Royal anyone know why? Maybe its because of all the nickel and diming and business is starting to be affected by dissatisfied customers Johnny Rockets paying for theater shows drink pkgs selling refreshment packages being sold on the independence and they have no soda machines and the bar dispensers were broke pouring 3 kinds of soda out of 2 liter soda bottles but most bars quickly ran out making you run all over the ship looking for a drink and the warm fresh orange juice was terrible I love royal for years but it seems to me when he took over all this stuff started happening it will be interesting to see if things turn around now that he is gone oh and going to 9.95 at Johnny Rockets is ridiculous just saying

I have been observing the treatment of the casino people aboard my past 3 cruises first lets say the casino bars must put a lot of pressure on the bartenders most if not all in my experience have been short tempered lack any personality what so ever I almost always walk right outside to schooner to get my drinks where I feel appreciated next the ships are set up for early risers not casino people we stay up late pouring more and more money into the ships bottom line as a matter of fact I would bet (no pun intended) that I for one spend huge amounts of money way more then the cruise fare the problem is we sleep late and never make it up for breakfast and barely for lunch some days leaving sorrentos or promenade café as our only choices it would be nice if royal would recognize these things and have one area open in the windjammer open late in WJ or even round the clock for food on our schedules after all we spend a hell of a lot of money and the casino is always crowded so I know a lot of people feel the way I do some will say how about room service well it was ok before the 7.95 charge and the added 2.00 ghost charge on the same order and the food is always cold even if the ships went back to the midnite buffets that would help and there is plenty of room in the WJ do we really need 3 areas of gluten free foods for the most part the same in all three areas the 9.95 charge is not a big deal but the cold food and sitting in your room eating is not my idea of cruising I don't expect much will be done to serve casino people in the new ala carte world of cruising but I would hope that at least Royal would consider my request

I just got off the indy I agree with the comments above I took the advice of many bloggers and tried the dinner buffet I must say it was very good except the carving station which they were carving top round which dries out as soon as you cut it let alone cut it after it has been sitting on the cutting board for an hour everything else was almost identical to the MDR menu and quite good BUT I made the mistake of trying the lunch buffet absolutely horrible unacceptable not even fit for a pig not just one day but every day of the cruise maybe they are trying to get people to eat at all the additional charge venues I don't know but it was as though there were different cooks from lunch and dinner I have always loved WJ but yuck the lunch offering was so poor every day we are casino people and never make it awake for breakfast which is a whole nother topic burgers green hot dogs stale buns cold French fries so much curry you would think everyone on board was from india I glanced at plates as we navigated the crowds going every which ways butting lines looking one way and going another I saw 2 out of the hundreds we passed with curry as a selection I guess the help gets the left overs so they have a great variety they did have oxtails which was quite good the beautiful selection of breads only looked good but had been out way to long and were hard as rocks please understand the dinner buffet was fresh and tasty and not crowded at all wonderful selection of cheeses fruits sushi I have always loved the windjammer but omg the mid day offering was just not anything I have come to expect the last night though we were promised lobster and being the skeptic I am I doubted that would happen and it didn't I guess it only happens when they thaw to many to meet the orders in the MDR but I guess it would have been another curry dish anyway I am sure the help likes lobster I guess its got to the point with royal that if you want a good sit down dinner you have to pony up another 500.00 to eat in chops or giovanis when you travel with the family

well I am home from my indy cruise I must say sorrentos in my opinion has not changed much I don't know if it was just because we overworked our drink pkg but it wasn't to bad in line with red baron we enjoyed it they have the equiptment to make a good pie but they lack the knowledge one big fault I found was very little to no sauce but after closing the casino it was pretty good and hot the ham pineapple and tomato was my favorite I was a little annoyed by the room service they charged 7.95 room service which I was aware of but then charged another 2.00 ghost charge for what I have no idea bringing the total to 9.95 per order royal really needs to stop the nickel and diming they are better then that and after talking to fellow passengers its starting to piss them off

I must have been on a different cruise I found it tolerable not terrible I will be on the indy in 10 days I will give it a try I did find the royal old room service menu fit for a vulture but the new menu is pretty good maybe the sorrentos pizza will be improved if enough people b---h or maybe if we all cater a sorrentos lunch directly to boss bayley if I am not mistaken carnivals pizza is on flatbread

I saw a 179.00 cruise on majesty on the web site when I went to book it it was 339 called and said I wanted the inside for 179.00 the agent said if I booked it when it first listed it would have been 179 but they were gone I told him the listing just posted he said this time but it was listed before at 179 and that I should have got in on it I told him that was deceptive he agreed but said that was the way they advertise from the first listed price which could have been a year prior or more I love royal for years now but all the price increases and decline in included services and perks for frequent travelers extra costs for almost everything have got me thinking am I the only one who thinks way from what I can see ncl and celebrity don't do this I know celebrity is royal ncl gives free open bar free specialty restaurants why is royal shooting themselves in the foot while the competition is competeing a long time ago I tried carnival and they are just not for me but the others seem to be ok for now I remain fiercely loyal to royal but if they continue to take away instead of be loyal to me I will have to look elsewhere but for years my children and grandchildren were loyal to Disney but they priced themselves completely out of our range a little at a time till it seems only the wealthiest foreigners can afford them ah well just saying

omg no there is no casino in Orlando at least legal ones hard rock is a sight to see though nearest real casino is in tampa very risky in the time you are allotted sorry

omg twangster the photos thankyou I am planning my cruise on the anthem WOW your pictures I wish I could see pix from our freedom cruise nov 11

my mini bar was stripped when I got on the freedom nov 11 but there is a menu you can order stock for your mini bar pre paid of course plus 18 percent of course just ask the room attendant a brilliant way to be sure the booze and such is paid for the only thing I remember the price of was a tiny bag of peanuts was 8.50 never looked again the new room service menu has several drinks on it but no beer I suggest getting the bucket of beer from one of the bars before going to the room you get 5 beers for the price of four