henrysea13

1 hour ago, georgeh said:

I work in the offshore construction industry, and we have several large vessels (saturation diving boats, utility boats, and pipe-lay barges).  In today's world, we need to maintain internet access for email, business programs and phones.  So, for us to have approximately 1.5MB - not gigs, but megs, costs us around 15,000 per month.  Each additional megabyte is around another 5k on top of that per month.  Now, our boats will have about 300 personnel for a job (sometimes more).   Half are on duty at any one time, working 12 hour shifts.  that means we may have, say, 75 people trying to use up that 1.5 megs using facebook, emailing, streaming, etc.  It just doesn't work.  When you add the phones and critical business systems on that 1.5 megs, the usable internet for the off-duty personnel has about 300K to play with, which means that each person is getting basically no connection. 

Now, scale this up for a cruise ship.  You will have hundreds of people trying to play candy crush, social media, or stream music.  In order to allow for this many people to have decent access over a sat connection, it would cost hundreds of thousands per month.

The lesson i suppose, is that we should just unplug from the outside world for a week...isn't that what vacation is for?

I totally agree unplug 

1 hour ago, Motivatedman said:

What are the advantages of being a platinum member? From our travel agent in trying to book a new seven day cruise on the Allure it got us $1 off a balcony room. Are there advantages that were missing? Or should we start looking at other Cruise Lines why be loyal if we're not receiving any benefits? I'm just trying to find out what the advantages are or what we're missing out on. Can anybody please help and thank you

while it is true the perks are a little scarce at platinum and emerald there are some and your not that far from diamond it is worth the wait ask your room steward for the C+A robe they are very comfortable and the one big advantage so far for me as platinum was the check in at the port my indy cruise from ft laud this past February I walked into the big room only to see a huge amount of people waiting to check in and to my surprise I was directed to check in desk further in the room marked platinum there was no one ahead of me my check in took less then 5 mins and I was seated in a very comfortable not crowded area to await the rest of my party who are gold they stood in line for close to one hour . the jump from platinum to emerald is short making attaining diamond fairly easy I attain emerald the first day of my next cruise and on the following cruise a month later I begin to chip away to diamond .Hang in there Royal is a fantastic cruise line with few hiccups stay "loyal to royal" it will be worth it in my humble opinion

On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 9:23 AM, Matt said:

Thanks for the kind words about MEI Travel, our site sponsor. Means a lot.

I'll also echo the benefits of using a travel agent in general.  You only stand to benefit by using one, especially when it comes to them saving you time and money.

And happy birthday @twangster!

hi Matt I have just contacted MEI and spoke with Michelle as I am totally ignorant on how a TA works I have asked her to baby me along which she so kindly said she would so here I go starting a new chapter in my travel book thoroughly excited about the future and thank you for steering me towards this new to me service 

just waiting for Michelle to call me back thank you coney for steering me corectly

I have just contacted MEI for the first time and was trying to reach the Michelle you all speak about there are 2 listed can anyone give me the last of the michelle so I know who to talk to she really seems to be what I am looking for thank you 

2 hours ago, tiny260 said:

hadn't heard this, what exactly is Royal doing with the Spectrum?

all just rumor right now but stand by as has been pointed out many times on this forum all the other lines are doing it so royal is just following suit the haven msc and the ability to upgrade your experience I suspect that most of these perks will be kept on the down low to a degree to minimize hurt feelings of the unwashed who cant afford such luxuries I for one always wondered what was behind that door on 14 that many went in but few came out the plot thickens

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The pool on the suite sun deck has been long awaited.

and so it begins shades of msc pay for your experience money talks BS walks 

1 hour ago, tiny260 said:

Shaking the tree boss" (See how many of the younger folks get that)...

I love this what we have here is a great communication 

I may be an old fossil but I prefer the older well kept up ships freedom indy liberty are my idea of a mega ship I have sailed oasis class and did not like the feeling I got we seemed to be herded everywhere we went staff was mostly tired and stressed I hated the inside balconies everytime I opened my blinds it seemed like I had an audience I love the feeling of knowing the staff on the small ship if I had my choice for favorite ship in the fleet it would be enchantment so cozy personal for the most part it has always said welcome so happy for you to be here I am on the brilliance in oct and adventure in nov this year and I am absolutely thrilled at the thought I would book the enchantment but lately she has been mired in the craziness that is the port of Miami bring her to Canaveral and I'm there I am not saying the tech on board the monster ships is not fascinating but not for me oh maybe for 3 nights just to see what its like I like to cruise traditionally and focus my activities on the port stops I love the smiling welcoming faces of customer service on the monster class I have run into the o no what does this jerk want face once to many times I love the serenity areas on the smaller ships in my experience on monster class your lucky to get a seat and the hidden buffet they serve is great if you like standing long live the small personal ships and the great cruising experience Royal has perfected over the years leave the theme parks to Disney and universal I love to cruise period yes I am older but when I started cruising I was a younger man and felt the same way I do now 

I have said this before I go on a seafood diet all the food I sea I eat 

2 hours ago, Katiel53 said:

The cost of Johnny Rockets is $9.95 plus 18% gratuity making it close to $12.00.  RC has decided that the specialty restaurants (JR is one, lol) that are booked onboard will have the 18% added to the charge.  Previously, the gratuity was included, I guess as it was the $6.95.  

ok earlier today I got criticized for predicting that in the not to distant future royal will be an all ala  carte experience from embark to disembark think about it check out the msc model

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 7:55 AM, Traveler said:

Have a wonderful cruise , following for sure.

Regarding NY and the behavior of people , the funny thing is that many of the people that gave you the look and said something nasty to you came to the city only few weeks ago and got the same treatment themselves, its just a NY thing I guess 

 

this is very true pay no mind to them this is the way they are I live in a city in florida of 70000 made up of almost all new Yorkers I ignore the rude ones and seek out the nice ones after 23 years living in the "little apple"i have come to realize there is good in everyone sometimes you just have to look deeper and you will quickly learn how to tell them apart when I first moved here I picked up an Orlando paper whose lead editorial was entitled Rude Coast my town has a terrific mix of new York and southern redneck 23 years of culture clash has been a riot to watch but all in all they adapted to each other now the nyc people drive pickups and the reds have DA'S the older folks seem to be the ones who look down there noses at each other kiss you in church ad kill you at Walmart seems to hold for them but the young will straighten out this problem over time as they interact just saying

On ‎5‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 12:26 PM, twangster said:

 

 

The cost of Diamond happy hour has got to be on someone's radar.  I've sat there and watched the drinks flow, people stuffing 6 soda's or beers in their purse or watched a drunk D/D+/P fall down drunk and crash into a table spilling everyone's drinks only to be hauled away in a wheelchair because of how much they consumed.

On Anthem in December a DL server told me "changes are coming".  In January they no longer consumed the entire upper level of the Music Hall as overflow each evening.  This year on Liberty, Serenade and Adventure they never consumed the VCL as overflow despite the DL busting at it's seams when happy hour began. 

So far the changes seem to include making the DL an uncomfortable place to be by not overflowing outside of the club.  They never seem to enforce the "drinks can't leave the DL" policy.  To some degree it has worked as I tend to visit bars using my drink coupons before dinner now because the DL is chaos and you can never find a seat until past 6:30pm when dinner has finally persuaded most to get out of their chair.

Putting on my "I own the company for a day" hat, I'd certainly be asking my team how to contain the Diamond happy hour extravaganza.  With the growing number of Diamonds they are going to need make additional changes or adjust the thresholds to achieve levels.  That is dangerous talk right there because of folks who have been working for years at achieving Diamond and alienating them or pushing them to the competition if they "move the goal posts during the game".

The elimination of the CL and converting them to SL is part of this effort leaving the DL alone... for now at least.  I suspect they are waiting to see how that plays out before making more changes.

No other line offers the type of happy hour elite benefit that RCI does.  Carnival's platinum level is achieved at roughly the Diamond level and the biggest benefit is priority boarding.  Once on board Carnival's platinum doesn't do much for you and there is no equivalent lounge or daily free happy hour at any Carnival level.    I've certainly felt like more changes are coming as RCI aligns itself with the industry more and more which is why I made a push for D+ hoping to be grandfathered in in case they make drastic changes.  

 

I can tell you when royal will change there perks for diamond members it will be feb 2019 how do you know you may ask BECAUSE that's when I become diamond I hope they don't take away my plush crown and anchor robe my prediction before to long cruising with royal will be a total ala carte experience from boarding to disembark

42 minutes ago, mworkman said:

I've visited the NextCruise desk once and could not tell you if they did or did not explain what the difference options, refundable vs non refundable were.  However I asked what the best deal that I could get for a cruise that I was interested in.  They gave me their price and I knew I could bet that with my TA.  So I walked away thanking them for there time and went on to enjoy my vacation.

The key rule that I've learned long time ago was to get everything in writing before I agreed to anything. One you walk away it's too late then.

Research is the key to everything  Not all of us has big bucks like that LULU girl

this was my experience to the tee I went to the desk once never to return again the rep gave me a price so over the top that I questioned if there could have been a mistake this is when the whole experience went south the rep told me that's the price I thanked her and left nextcruise is apparently a sub business overseen by royal which seems to operate on commission I will go with AAA or my royal senior vaca planner for all future cruises

love the blog next time in Falmouth book the beach buggy ride with lunch ride was ok lunch was good but definitely jerk the real treat was the van ride through the real Jamaica it takes well over an hour to get there well over you will se how it really is and on the way back you will stop at a well guarded shopping mall for some shopping the poverty is incredible and right in the middle of the shanties is a mansion saw dozens of examples of this Jamaica is a fascinating place to visit but you must see it with a guide never alone

6 hours ago, chadcf said:

Yep already have it downloaded!

 

Also from looking at maps it looks like there are no shuttles required at port everglades, is that right? It looks like parking is close enough that you could just walk to your car, though it's kind of hard to tell the scale from maps.

this depends twice my ship freedom and indy were on pier 29 which is a long way from the ship there are courtesy shuttles that run often but central parking is a long way from the ship and I have been told there is no customer parking at 29 

10 minutes ago, toodle68 said:

The reason Starbucks is included on Adventurer is because they merged it into cafe promenade. Unfortunately Starbucks is not included on all ships. 

the restriction on the package specifies stand alone starbucks are not included like the one on oasis

lets keep this subject going come on casino people like me I'm trying to figure out how all this works why slots give more points then roulette etc tips I work every cruise to better myself but just realized it was necessary to introduce myself to the casino boss on my last cruise and unfortunately I noticed the pit boss staring at me and instead of realizing that was a good thing I gave him a nasty look I would be tickled if I won any certificate but I could use some tips

ah it is so nice to not have such worries we lowly emeralds which I finally achieve the first night of my oct sailing will have to do for now and I know for a fact I will never be able to enjoy the mysteries of the suite lounge my income has doomed me to this fate but my booked future cruises will get me to the diamond watering hole sometime in feb 2019 for now I will deal with the luxuries Jack experienced in steerage on the titanic maybe I can meet a rich spoiled girl as he did to show me the luxuries of the suite class if not for the cruise but for an hour or so but with the spectrum now going to segregated experiences this may never happen I love the cruise life and will always enjoy it whether I have to do it from below deck or above some of us have it and some of us don't being one of the don'ts is not so bad I'm still riding the seas and for now will have to be satisfied with my deluxe plush C+A robe happy cruising to all 

I for one am truly saddened by this topic I never gave this a thought till I read this I love meeting people from all over the world and take great interest in sampling the food culture humor entertainment and for that matter every aspect of the area from port to returning to port ah well I guess this had to come up eventually

38 minutes ago, Orange Crush said:

I just got a quote, $90 to cover the cruise fare.  I think I'll skip it and take my chances since it's just the two of us for a 3-nighter with no air travel involved.  I'm about 60 miles from the port, so if we get hit by a hurricane, so does Port Canaveral.  Royal will either cancel and refund if they can't sail or decide to sail anyway and I don't think we'll have a problem getting to the port if that happens. Frankly, I'd rather be on a cruise than hanging out in a house with no power in the aftermath of a storm.

We're assuming our own risk for not being able to make it due to unforeseen illness, injury or family emergency; but I can accept that gamble.

The only other thing I see in the policy I'm looking at that might make it worthwhile to me is the medical evacuation benefit since we'll be Scuba diving, but we're going to get a policy specifically for SCUBA divers which would cover anything dive-related, and I'm not sure we need the extra coverage that would only apply to non-diving-related emergencies.

90 seems a little high to me for a 3 day cruise I have a solo 5 day oct 1 on the brilliance cost me 29.00 through Royal I was on the majesty last sep as one of the hurricanes approached we came back to port Canaveral a day early we were all given one days fare onboard credit to our sea pass account which had to be used before we disembarked one day credit not on the total just the basic nightly cost a very small amount we were offered to stay on board and go with the crew out to sea to ride out the storm which I initially jumped on then the details came out the ship goes into emergency mode nothing onboard is open all remaining passengers would be herded into one wing of the ship in insides the  watertight doors would be closed to other areas we would receive 3 meals a day with the crew as we came closer to Canaveral the crew was stripping all the bars and deep cleaning preparing to close down and then we were told if the storm disabled Canaveral we would be put off at an alternate port which could possibly be new York or new jersey sooooo I decided to get off especially after several crew members said that it would get very rough out where they grouped with other ships to ride out the storm I had heard such horrors of land panic going on but found none of this except backed up traffic on 95 by Daytona caused by the never ending road improvement project I live right above Daytona 23 miles that is on 95 gas was available no problem you just had to know where to look we have a large truck stop 10 miles from my house all the gas anytime before and after I asked the mgr how he was getting gas he said he was a state priority and a personal priority the problem came after and during the storm power the heat and tropical humidity almost did us in 7 days to get it back which should have taken hours not days I live on a large circle street 2/3 of the houses had power and then there was combined with the poor decision making by FPL EXECUTIVES who thought they could anticipate where the storm was going they sent all there trucks to where the storm didn't go FEMA was the biggest joke of all waited for hours to get help filled out the forms only to be turned down flat because I had homeowners insurance which is a total joke also if the house isn't wrecked you get nothing period adjusters came out quickly took pictures and measurements and uploaded the info to the office I saw them do it I waited and waited and months later I get a call while I was on my way to my next cruise they tell me the thousands of dollars damage would not be fixed because there is a special catastrophic storm deductible that I had not met which no one I have spoken to has ever heard of I could not even get the 750.00 ac fan motor that burned up while FPLwas turning power back on just a word to the wise if faced with my situation DONT turn anything on for a few hours after restoration till the power stabilizes if I face this situation again I'm staying on the ship to many headaches in the aftermath

Just now, CGTLH said:

Earn them, first one at 140 points then addition one at every 70 points. Awarded on/of the ship you reached the points on.

got it thank you

can someone tell me about the crystal blocks with the ships image are they for sale or do we have to earn them and lastly are they available for all the ships I have never seen them before

wings and sweet potatoe fries WOW me thinks maybe Royal really does read the blogs and is trying to improve the WJ menu AWESOME

• following you are in for a treat have fun