Cez

You can't assume anything from a profession.  There are dumb doctors, dumb IT people and some really pathetic lawyers.

I'm curious where this expectation comes from.  Understand I'm trying to understand different perspectives, not start a fight or flame.
When I look over the excursions or listen to the reasons to book an excursion through Royal, personal safety isn't offered as a reason to book through Royal.  The guarantee to be reunited with the ship if the excursion is late is a huge benefit in my opinion.  The automatic refund if the port is skipped is another.  The ability to cancel up to 48 hours before arrival without any questions is painless and easy.  
Scuba diving is an excursion I often book through Royal for the ease of it.  Scuba diving isn't a high risk sport but there is danger involved.  If I make a mistake I can die.  It's never occured to me that Royal would be considered responsible for my safety while I am on an excursion with danger present.    
There are a lot of fly-by-night tour operators that can use poorly maintained equipment, vehicles or vessels.  I take some comfort in knowing that tour operators that Royal offers are most likely not some fly by night operator using sketchy equipment but accidents can happen anywhere, anytime. 
If a local government sees no reason to prevent a tour from visiting an area how can a cruise line determine there is risk when none of the experts or regulating agencies do?

UPDATE:  The lawsuit has been filed yesterday.
While I feel heartbroken for this family's tragedy, I hope that they don't win this case.  That would send a clear message to others not to attempt to profit from their negligence. 
Their lawyer is saying in one interview that the presence of the railing by the window is "an invitation for people to sit on it, do things on it."  How stupid is that?  Aren't there small signs along the length of those railings saying not to sit on them?

I posted this on the TODAY SHOW page:

Forgetting to put my cell phone in airplane mode.  Was able to negotiate down the outstanding balance.  It was a huge lesson.

Before the nonsense of Hurricane Dorian, my biggest mistake was booking my arrival to the port city the day of embarkation.  Even though I didn't go on the sailing, I was feeling the stress of having the flight the same day.  Will not be making that mistake this summer and will see a little what Miami has to offer.

flying in on same day as cruise

An early mistake was not doing research on how to play blackjack.  How hard can it be to count to 21?  My first trip to the blackjack table was not good.  There were some unhappy campers at the table by the time I got run off.  If you plan on playing blackjack,  read some books on the how to play smart.  It will not only pay off money wise but you won't have some people throwing things at you the rest of the cruise.

I`ve carefully inspected multilevel garage and asked two different stuff member and the final answer is NO.  If you are driving Tesla, nearest supercharger in Kearny NY is ~ 10 miles /30 minutes away. Not very busy, plenty of stalls. Avoid Paramus - terrible. After 7 days of parking (mid November) my TM3 (with disabled sentry) lost 5% of charge, so that's great, however I wouldn't risk leaving unplugged EV during Jan/Feb. Unexpected cold snap (below -22 F) could damage your battery if unplugged for over 24h. Parking at Newark Airport with EV chargers is very expensive ($34/day + uber) and I was unable to find heated parking nearby. 
I would like to encourage everyone to fill-up post cruise survey and mention/suggest/ask installing 20-30 110 V outlets and reserve those for EVs. That should be relatively inexpensive, solve our problem for good and give RCI/Cruise Port green vibe ?
 

Thanks for the info!  I will make sure to turn off Sentry Mode.  Can't believe it sucks up 1% an hour..... We are planning to go in May.  So below zero temps are unlikely. 
 

I`ve carefully inspected multilevel garage and asked two different stuff member and the final answer is NO.  If you are driving Tesla, nearest supercharger in Kearny NY is ~ 10 miles /30 minutes away. Not very busy, plenty of stalls. Avoid Paramus - terrible. After 7 days of parking (mid November) my TM3 (with disabled sentry) lost 5% of charge, so that's great, however I wouldn't risk leaving unplugged EV during Jan/Feb. Unexpected cold snap (below -22 F) could damage your battery if unplugged for over 24h. Parking at Newark Airport with EV chargers is very expensive ($34/day + uber) and I was unable to find heated parking nearby. 
I would like to encourage everyone to fill-up post cruise survey and mention/suggest/ask installing 20-30 110 V outlets and reserve those for EVs. That should be relatively inexpensive, solve our problem for good and give RCI/Cruise Port green vibe ?
 

Hi Guys...
Sorry for the delay. This sailing has been… entertaining to say the least on this cruise LOL. I had elected to cancel my prepaid internet plan because paying for 3 days Voom service when I still had my own carrier in NY was ridiculous. I elected to get internet access again and pay for the fee when we actually got out in open waters/ actually sailing (ie. Today/ Day 4).  
To add on to what @CarlaB said...
 
Sequence of Events:
Day Before the Cruise:
E-mails seems to have gone out between 130 to 230 pm Eastern Standard Time the day before the cruise. I received mine around 130pm. This e-mail advised that the Florida stop has been cancelled and due to weather, there were the two options:
A. Florida is skipped but the Cococay and Nassau stops will occur OR B. Overnight stay in Bermuda instead. The decision of which option we were going to take was not announced until the day of sailing. 
On the Day of sailing:
At this point, everyone was still expected to have gotten on the ship at the proper sail away time. Communication I had with reps via Twitter only said the Captain will determine if passengers were allowed to go off the ship (for NY Day trips). 
It was determined that Option B was going to take place. Initially, the Captain's plan was to "anchor" in the NY port (to allow for the casinos and shops to open, depart for Bermuda 4pm on Monday.) This would mean going off ship was not a possibility.  
The captain apparently filmed a segment that was supposed to air on the ship’s tv channel…unfortunately it did not. The cruise director said it would…it did not. 
 
 
On Day 2 (Sunday):
Between 10am to 1030am in the morning- announcement goes out saying that due to weather, anchoring was not going to be the best option so passengers were allowed off ship. Passengers were required to be back on board no later than 8am Monday. 
A complimentary shuttle from the Port to the Bayonne 34th Street Station (about a 5 min trip) was provided between 1030am- last trip back was 8pm.
Passengers electing to do this was responsible for everything at this point and to get back to the station by 8pm if you wanted to get the shuttle back. 
If passengers wanted to come back after 8pm they could take a cab or rideshare back. 
It was about 1.5 hrs from this station to the 33rd St PATH station in NYC (cost was about $11 -12 roundtrip).
At this point, the plan was still to go to Bermuda, with sailing out of NYC at 4pm Monday. 
During the day, the captain did hold a Q&A session regarding the issues… we did not attend as we elected to go to NYC for the day instead. 
 
On Day 3 (Monday):
Around 930am -10am on Monday- an announcement goes out again stating another change of plans.
The weather in Bermuda was apparently going to now be terrible and added to it that 
The weather event has now cleared sufficiently so that we could sail to Cococay, spend 1 day there, then sail back, this option (we will call it Option C) has been chosen.
Apparently, the same offer stood that if people now did not want to sail to Cococay, they could depart the ship and get a full refund back, despite having spent the last 3 days on the ship. 
They were initially given 45 min to notify Guest Services and depart the ship as the Captain initially wanted to set sail by 11am.  
Some people elected for this, and I would say on top of the 1000 who cancelled after the 1st itinerary change, probably another 50-100 people elected to leave at this point. 
I would say we set sail closer to 1130 am. 
Ironically, the weather Saturday and Sunday were substantially nicer than Monday. I am guessing the system we were trying to avoid finally arrived as we were leaving?
The captain again taped an explanation with visuals of the weather system this night. Fortunately, this explanation WAS available for us to watch to give us an idea of what we missed from his Q&A. 
 
NOTES:
·      The bathroom system was down for about 1 hr after we departed NYC. 
·      Some of the Guest Services reps onboard were TERRIBLE. I understand that some were new, a lot were overwhelmed, but some were downright rude, dismissive and gave flat out wrong information. Hopefully the Rep H.S. was just having an off day…otherwise...if he treated others the way he treated us for 45 minutes, I could completely understand how some people were losing their patience at the agents. Shout out to Front Desk Manager Pretty Shamu… she was kind, informative and kept a positive attitude throughout. 
·      The Wi-Fi/ Internet system was completely down from roughly 5pm Sunday to around 9am Monday.
·      The Wi-Fi system being down includes the free Royal IQ app. Initially Guest Services did not know when we called… I was told to come down and see the tech manager… only to be told when I got there that it was actually a system wide issue.  
·      The waters were fairly active when we left NJ… fortunately for us, we do not get seasick…however they were giving out free Dramamine because apparently, there were quite a few that did not feel well. 
·      The offer for the 1 day credit (for initially missing Cococay) is still going to be given despite the fact that we are now going to the Island. 
·      The cost of the Thrill Waterpark was refunded when it was supposed to be Plan B. The cost of what they are now charging now that we are visiting Cococay is cheaper than what was originally charged. Not sure if this is due to a goodwill gesture.
·      The cost of the internet they were offering on the ship is cheaper than what was offered on CruisePlanner… Even the days that had 20 to 30% off Voom Surf & Stream packages.
     o   Instead of pre-purchasing next time, I may just buy one of the packages on the ship because your C&A discounts are also added on top of those prices.
 

No, we stayed and enjoyed ship - just went to see the September 11 monument. 
So after all we are going to Coco Cay ? 

Not even close ?
But I'm playing the long game, you see I'm luring the Casino in to a false sense of security by deliberately losing and once I have them where I want them..... I'll strike!
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it

I think this is one of the few times that being Canadian is an advantage....no tax on Casino Winnings.... 
Now all I have to do is win....

NO!!! I NEVER do that. That Drives me CRAZY when anyone splits 10's.. I get up and leave the table when someone does that!! 
 

Just got off the Anthem of the Seas from our 11/2-11/9 trip for my daughter's Sweet 16 and our 20th Anniversary cruise.  It was a great cruise, lots of fun, and a lot to discuss.  i will start from the beginning.
Embarkation Day- EASIEST embarkation we have had in 16 cruises.  We got to the port around 10:00 am.  By the time we got our bags out of the car, we were in the terminal at 10:15.  We got right up to an agent who checked our set sail passes and passports.  They had to retake my wife's picture, as well as my daughter's friends picture.  The whole process took about 5 minutes.  We were ushered to a seating area and told boarding would begin between 11-11:30.  At 10:35, they made an announcement that boarding will begin, and we were on the ship by 11am.  I went right to customer service to get an extra key made for our room and my daughter's room.  That took about 5 minutes.  I met the other 3 up in the Windjammer for lunch, and then we went off to explore the ship.  It is HUGE!  Well laid out and easy to navigate though.  Our luggage was at our room at 1pm, so we went an unpacked and got ready for the Muster station meetings at 2:30.  Our room, 11586, was a great room and great location mid ship.  Our group met at Chops Steakhouse.  The muster drill took all of about 20 minutes, very easy.  We then went and booked the IFly for Friday afternoon.  We took a nap and woke up in time to get ready for our 8pm dinner in Chic.  We did classic dining time so that the 4 of us could have a meeting place every night and sit and enjoy dinner together.  
Sea Day-  Our day at sea started out uneventful- the weather was starting to warm up as we got down toward the Carolina's.  Then, we had to make a U-Turn for a Coast Guard Helicopter evacuation.  We went an hour and half northwest toward shore to meet up with the helicopter.  Apparently, someone fell from the 16th floor of the seaplex to the 15th floor and was in critical condition.  The captain was pushing 25 knots, and the boat was rocking.  The whole process took a couple of hours, but the rescue was successful.  We started back south toward Port Canaveral and all was well.  We enjoyed the day by the pool, walked through the promenade shops, etc.  The kids spent most of the day at the teen club and wandering around the ship.  
I will continue later or tomorrow when I get more time!

Here's an extensive drink list - scroll to page 6. I don't remember who originally posted this, so unfortunately I can't give proper credit to the author.  I love this because it includes what is typically in the drinks. Make sure to ask for a specific brand of liquor in your drink if you want something other than what's listed.
Drink list - page 6.pdf

If anyone has any questions regarding Royal Caribbean Club Royale program ask me and I guarantee I can answer it. ☺ Figured I'd help people in my spare time. 

Random observation but it's because all of the other letters in Manitoba besides "b" are used in US state abbreviations!

SOLUTION: If your original booking included said package prior to the change, RCCL must honor it since it is a contract. If RCCL does not honor it, the contract has been breached and at that point you can cancel your non-refundable booking and not be penalized. If they tell you different, they are bluffing.
Such as the case at bar, I have an OotS booking and threatened to cancel. The CSR stated I would lose my deposit. I informed her to show me where RCCL had sole discretion to change any part of the contract/booking except the itinerary. She could not. I told her to either honor it OR cancel it. She referred my issue to a Supervisor and after 20 mins back and forth with the Supervisor, she had to call me back after she speaks with her legal dept. I gave her my law firm name and office number and with the mention of legal class action for breach of contract, I received a callback and got my original booking honored with a complimentary bottle of wine for the "misunderstanding".
I don't think anyone should be subjected to this type of treatment. As a Diamond Plus or any level member, RCCL should not pull a fast one such as this and give their loyal passengers what they paid for.
Would RCCL like to be substituted for another cruise line? I don't think so!

This is good advice to keep one's sanity....however, there is one advantage to keep tracking prices.  If the price of an upgraded cabin category drops to a point BELOW what you paid for your cabin, they will upgrade you at no cost.  They will NOT refund any money to you, but they will upgrade you so that is 1 reason to keep your eyes on the prices, even after final payment.

Easy. If you buy now and price goes down you can cancel and re-buy it at lower price. If it goes up you cannot call them and request to purchase it at the price from Sept 16 ?
 

Just a couple of comments for this thread....
 
I'll start by clarifying that I have never worked for RCI, but I did work in the casino game for twenty years, with some of that time on another cruise line.
 
Your buy in will make zero difference to your rating. Your win/loss will make zero difference to your rating.
 
On table games, the only thing that counts is average bet and time played. Depending on how they actually work out the average bet, you should increase when you see the inspector or pit boss watching... that's if the figures are entered manually by the staff. In some cases, casinos base the rating on the table minimum you are playing, so playing $25 per hand on a $10 table will not earn you the same points as playing $25 per hand on a $25 table. I don't know if RC is one of those or not.

Please note that iphone WiFi calling only ASSIST regular calling/texting service when cell signal is weak and WILL NOT be available with your iphone in airplane mode. IT WILL BE VERY EXPENSIVE.
You have to communicate with non iphone users with other application you both share (Facebook messenger, What's up, skype, hangouts, etc). Optionally you can use (purchase some time- very affordable ) VOIP app (ex: MobileVOIP). Whatever you do, DO NOT remove airplane mode unless it's a real emergency. It will cost you an arm and a leg.