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4ensic

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  1. Like
    4ensic reacted to Psycho and Barb in Give aways at the shops   
    We call the sale "Walmart at sea" and sometimes, people act like it's a big Black Friday sale.
  2. Like
    4ensic reacted to rjac in Alaska cruise cancelled after embarkation   
    My wife and I did the land portion of this land/cruise portion first. We finished up Denali and got to the Port in Seward on Friday, September 1st. Early on the motor coach the "adventure guide" informed us that she was just notified that the Radiance had a "propulsion system issue" that they were working on and our cruise might be delayed. We finally got to Seward about 5:30 and boarded the ship with no problems nor mention of any ship related problems. Once in our cabin, the captain made an announcement that the problem wasn't fixed, the ship had to go to dry dock and the cruise was cancelled. He did mention that we would receive a letter detailing the reimbursement packages and comps. We quickly headed to the conference room where four staff members were assisting guests with return flights home through Royal's Air/Sea. Within 1.5 hrs I received an email with our flight arrangements for Saturday night. So we headed to the nearest bar for a few complementary drinks then off to dinner. Saturday we took the last shuttle bus back to the Anchorage airport and caught our flight home later that night. 
    Are we disappointed, yes of course. Butthese things happen and it was out of our control. We did get to see Denali and a few of the small towns around Denali. Didn't see Mt. Denali because of the clouds nor did we see any wild life but we really enjoyed that national park. We were totally satisfied with the way the captain, his staff and crew quickly reacted to this problem. Very professional, we can't complain. We look at it this way, we travelled to Alaska and got to have dinner and a night on the Radiance of The Seas. By the way, she's a beautiful ship for her age, just a "little" problem with her propulsion system.
    rjac
    😎
     
  3. Like
    4ensic reacted to Traveler in Costly Cookies Spotted on Celebrity Equinox And we thought charging for pizza was ridiculous.   
    That's crazy.
    Yes you can have new offers for money , after all its  a business but you do it with something that is easily distinguish between that and a current free offer. For example: No one  complained  about the sugar beach with its extra charges for candy and premium ice cream, on the other hand if you will add some  sprinklers to the free ice cream in the pool  and try to charge for it you will have riots. 
    I start to wonder if RCL IT department started to give marketing advices to the management.
     
  4. Like
    4ensic reacted to Matt in Travel insurance questions   
    All insurance is a waste of money until you need it, and then it's the best money you ever spent.
    When I started cruising I never bought travel insurance because I was cheap and thought being young we had low risk factors.
    Then one cruise my wife felt ill and I had to weigh getting her care vs the big bill waiting for me since we didn't have travel insurance.  I didn't want to go through that kind of gut check again.
    Now, we always sail with travel insurance.
  5. Like
    4ensic reacted to Xaa in Travel insurance questions   
    I never get travel insurance for land vacations, but I always do for cruises.  The cost of a medical evac from a cruise ship via helicopter can be a life changing economical hit.  I think of the cancellation, lost luggage and other normal insurance benefits as just a plus.
  6. Haha
    4ensic reacted to ckruetze in Europe 2024? You'll need a visa for that...   
    Sadly we are so slow with regards to new politics over here in Europe. I hope the travel authorization also asks for facebook usernames and other useful stuff like that.
    Oh and one day we will also get really long queues at the security at airports and if Europe is really brave we might even ask passengers to take of the shoes at the airport security. And maybe one day (probably not during our life time) we might even introduce an organization like the TSA who could randomly confiscate phones or laptops of arriving passengers.
     
  7. Like
    4ensic reacted to smokeybandit in Europe 2024? You'll need a visa for that...   
    It's nothing but a tourist tax. No big deal
  8. Haha
    4ensic reacted to Riverboy in They'd never charge for cookies, right?   
    Could on board pay toilets in public areas be next?
  9. Like
    4ensic reacted to Montemy2419 in Costly Cookies Spotted on Celebrity Equinox And we thought charging for pizza was ridiculous.   
    Wow, did Celebrity not pay attention to what their sister cruise line just dealt with regarding pizza ?  Just quit with bothering us with new fees and increase all future cruises by  $100.  RC and Celebrity have very loyal cruisers, as other cruise lines do as well, but everybody has their limit. 
    I really wonder who is in these meetings thinking it's a good idea to keep adding on these fees if we want to have something that we've always received for years.  So will the next exciting announcement be  they are bringing back the midnight buffet, including chocolate fountain, for only $49 a person...plus gratuity.
  10. Like
    4ensic reacted to JimnKathy in Nuclear powered cruise ships being explored   
    Several nuclear scientist folks I've followed for years all state that the type of uranium used in modern reactors isn't the fissionable material needed to make weapons...the terrorist angle doesn't seem to be an issue.
  11. Like
    4ensic reacted to rjweber3 in Nuclear powered cruise ships being explored   
    I wonder where the H2 comes from. I would guess from electrolysis of H2O. That is a pretty energy intensive process. So, what is the savings in total CO2 production unless using nuclear power to make the electricity for the electrolysis plant?
  12. Like
    4ensic reacted to TXcruzer in Travel Insurance   
    Having two policies is just an invitation for neither to pay out, but rather argue about who is liable
  13. Like
    4ensic reacted to TXcruzer in Travel Insurance   
    Another vote for an annual plan, mine is through Trawick International, as @teddy mentioned, it covers us anytime we are 100  miles or more from our home address. 
  14. Like
    4ensic reacted to teddy in Travel Insurance   
    We have an annual travel insurance plan that covers us when we travel 100+ miles from our house.  It’s through Allianz.   This isn’t an endorsement of Allianz, they simply have a plan that fits our needs at a price we are happy with. 
     
    We used to insure each trip individually, but once we started doing 3+ trips a year, and annual plan made sense. 
     
    On our third ever cruise, my wife and I watched someone get taken away by a Life Flight helo from the pier at Labadee.    We both looked at each other with the same thought….. damn, I bet that’s expensive.   We started researching travel insurance once we got home.  
     
  15. Like
    4ensic reacted to SpeedNoodles in Travel Insurance   
    I always purchase insurance.  I buy it outside of Royal.  I insure my trip from the minute I leave my house to the minute I get back to my house, and we usually spend a day or two in the embarkation port prior to sailing.  I want that covered as well.  Anything can happen on your cruise (trip on a cobblestone street, break your leg, you want to be covered for that!).
  16. Like
    4ensic reacted to CanHardlyWait in Laundry   
    Disney also has laundry. Something I really miss on Royal. Especially after a beach day.
  17. Like
    4ensic reacted to FSUFAN in Food Quality   
    I hope this is a short-term hiccup, and not a permanent thing.  Like others have said, I want dinner to be better than I do at home and at least as good as going out to a nice sit-down restaurant. 
    I know that RCCL (and other lines) are tweaking their business model in order to gain more revenue and thus profitability.  I just wish that they would slow down on some of the changes.  I once had a boss who used to say as a joke that, "in my life, supposedly, I will eat a bushel of dirt, I just don't want to eat it in one sitting."  Too many changes that affect the customer negatively will do the opposite of what RCCL management is trying to accomplish.
  18. Like
    4ensic reacted to smokeybandit in Phone Service on Board   
    If your carrier is charging for Wifi calling, you need a new provider.
  19. Like
    4ensic reacted to Jack805 in Phone Service on Board   
    While I have AT&T, like mentioned by @Ampurp85 the pricing of the "plan" leaves me with very little value for the price. But I do have WiFi calling as part of my plan, and have had great success with calling/texting using the ship WiFi and the regular phone features (and not data messaging and/or internet video/audio chats, though I've used those as well without any issue), and the party on the other end is actually quite surprised I'm talking to them from a ship out at sea.
    If you are already planning on purchasing internet, check with your carrier if they have WiFi calling (most do now, and free for most as well) and add it if it's free. The WiFi calling helps even if not out far from land, but even back home or in an area with coverage but a bad building layout that kills signal - the WiFi calling has made it seamless for me in those situations as well.
  20. Like
    4ensic reacted to Pattycruise in MDR attire   
    Celebrity enforced the dress code on my European sailing in July.  Hubby was pulled to the side and asked to change to pants.  While he was gone I asked what else is not accepted and was told footwear with a “between the toes”. I imagine they meant flip flops beach footwear. 
    I’ve  not see Royal turn anyone away except one gal in a bikini top.
  21. Like
    4ensic reacted to Geezer Of The Seas in If you were in charge of RCCL, what changes would you make?   
    An "all inclusive" fare option (like Celebrity if that is even truly all inclusive) would be nice. I'm loathe to tinker with pricing not knowing the revenue model and requirements for positive margins per sailing out of fear I'll sink the entire kingdom. Reducing executive compensation until things turn around fiscally would be supported by this "king". I still can't believe the compensation the CEO of a cruise line whose initials are NCLH is and has pulled down during the height of service suspension through the present when the balance sheet is still in tatters. Guess he owns or neutered the board of directors.
    There's a reason I don't have Michael Bayley or Jason Liberty's job...........🤪
    PS: Those gentlemen and every other cruise line executives likely have the "UMP Plan". Unlimited Maalox Plan.
  22. Like
    4ensic reacted to Neesa in If you were in charge of RCCL, what changes would you make?   
    1.  Release the shows schedule early tethered to if I purchase the UDP I can look at it and make my dining reservations BEFORE I board. Boarding day should be reserved for making adjustments, it would just relieve some frustration on day one. I think they would sell more UDP if reservations can be secured before hand with the UDP.
    2. For goodness sake standardize the suites product, it is different across the fleet and I think if the product was the same across the ships it would generate a better feeling of value, and possibly more bookings = more revenue. At minimum a Sky class experience for the Grands & higher, Sea for the Juniors. (Star on the smaller vessels seems not needed, ie. too small) 
    3. Along the same lines the Suites Lounge has become wildly popular and address in some way the capacity problems. If you stay in a suite you are afforded this amenity & if not then please enjoy another venue or make the lounges bigger with an additional concierge because one can't handle it. 
    4. This may be off putting but reaching 700 + nights sailings and achieving Pinnacle means a huge investment was made with the company, Pinnacles should be afforded "free room service" always no matter what class of cabin they are in as well as 9 drinks per day! Depending on the amount on board say 20 have a special luncheon service just for them.**
    5. Open the theaters early before the shows and just allow people to enter at their leisure. 
    6. I've repeatedly stated allow cabins to be booked with or without Genie service (the Star ones) Have the service as an add on at booking for certain cabin types. 
    ** I am not Pinnacle, but want to be one in the future! Only about 33 seven night sailings to go!!
     
    @FSUFAN thanks so much, this was fun!
     
     
     
     
  23. Like
    4ensic reacted to smokeybandit in If you were in charge of RCCL, what changes would you make?   
    What an awful article. Written by someone who clearly has no experience with the cruise industry.
     
    WSJ explained that these overbookings happen when customers put more than two passengers (the expected number of passengers) per room
     
    Uh what? That's not at all true.
  24. Like
    4ensic reacted to Rakaia in If you were in charge of RCCL, what changes would you make?   
    1. More food options outside the Facejammer opening times. There are times we were at a show/otherwise occupied or just eating later and it was disappointing to find the 'Jammer shuttered. I totally understand that a full buffet maintained 24 hours isn't feasible but it would be nice to have a mini self-serve food option with ample seating open later for those off times (say a simple salad bar, a few grill options, a few basic desserts, tea/coffee station). I know we could hit up Sorrento's or the Promenade Cafe during the later hours but one can only eat so much 'za and the food options at the Cafe were pretty meh (and the line could be really long with nowhere to sit to eat). 
    2. More transparent pricing in advertising. It's always frustrating to see "balcony from $899" only to find its always more like $1499. Just advertise the actual price without having to have a PhD in Royal Math. 
    3. Just include gratuities already. Stop giving people the option to remove gratuities from their mess tornado 2 year olds because they are not "using the facilities as much". 
    4. Less tacky weird fitting t-shirts in the shop. I mean, c'mon. Anyone else ever seen that sequin monstrosity? Is Elton John on board? And what in the actual hell is up with those "spirit jerseys". 80s linebackers, your shirts are back! Oy. Oh, and we need more logo pens. I freaking love pens. 
  25. Haha
    4ensic reacted to TexanTwoStep in Going on a COSTA Cruise - What should I know (differences vs Royal Caribbean)?   
    Their ships sink more than Royal Caribbean's and they have cowardly captains.

    That's the only difference I know of 😄
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