karl_nj

Were 16 year olds in the solarium actually an issue?
This "consistency" excuse seems a little odd to me. Will they also change the age limit from 16 to 18 for the gym then?
If they really want to be consistent then "Kids Sail Free" should go up to age 17, instead of ending at age 11, no?
 

They claim it has to do with the environment, but this is actually going to be worse for the environment. If they cared about the environment, they would keep the cruise port where it is but mandate that the ships connect to land power when docked. Instead, what is going to happen is the ships will end up docking 30 minutes away, and then in addition to the cruise ship emissions, there will also be all the bus emissions and extra traffic to move cruise passengers from the nearby port to the city center.
They actually just want to build a new bridge, but they don't want to spend the money to build it high enough so cruise ships can pass under.
 

They claim it has to do with the environment, but this is actually going to be worse for the environment. If they cared about the environment, they would keep the cruise port where it is but mandate that the ships connect to land power when docked. Instead, what is going to happen is the ships will end up docking 30 minutes away, and then in addition to the cruise ship emissions, there will also be all the bus emissions and extra traffic to move cruise passengers from the nearby port to the city center.
They actually just want to build a new bridge, but they don't want to spend the money to build it high enough so cruise ships can pass under.
 

You have to be 13 in order to have an RCL/Celebrity login.
Was a bit annoying when I wanted to be able to use the RCL/Celebrity app onboard to use the chat function to communicate with my daughter last summer on Celebrity Edge, since she was 12 at the time.

I'm not Jewish, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.  My understanding is that pre-packaged kosher meals are generally available all cruise lines.  You need to request this before the sailing.  These are prepared in a kosher facility off the ship, frozen, heated while still in the packaging, and brought to the table all wrapped up.  Sealed paper plates and plastic cutlery are provided.   So even compared to MDR mass cooked banquet food, it's not exactly fine dining.  More like food you would get on an airplane.
This doesn't sound super appealing.  Being Lutheran, I don't claim to know anything about the details of keeping kosher, but some people I have talked to are OK with just sticking to the vegetarian/vegan menu on the ship.  Not everyone is OK with this solution, either because they want to be able to eat meat or because they don't feel it's OK from a religious POV (or both).
The appeal of these special sailings mentioned earlier is around getting fresh cooked kosher food.  In the past I've heard about full/partial ship charters where kosher food is available, so it's interesting that RCL has figured out a way to basically create their own version of this.
 

Oh wow! Guys, I still can‘t believe it but since the last app update on my iOS device I finally can choose my Rome Interport Cruise in the app! 😲
AFAIK this is the first time ever because so far only guest boarding in Barcelona have been able to use the app. If your Western Mediterranean Cruise starts in Rome you couldn‘t use the Royal app for your sailing at all - until now. 😄
I guess this is what they meant by „… enhanced functionality related to multiple port stops.„
I mean when I choose my cruise in the app there still shows up the known message saying my sailing isn‘t available in the app but my cruise gets loaded anyway and I can clearly see my booked excursions in the app! 🤩
I find this is a significant improvement and a long overdue step in the right direction. 👍
Check it out!
 

I'm not Jewish, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.  My understanding is that pre-packaged kosher meals are generally available all cruise lines.  You need to request this before the sailing.  These are prepared in a kosher facility off the ship, frozen, heated while still in the packaging, and brought to the table all wrapped up.  Sealed paper plates and plastic cutlery are provided.   So even compared to MDR mass cooked banquet food, it's not exactly fine dining.  More like food you would get on an airplane.
This doesn't sound super appealing.  Being Lutheran, I don't claim to know anything about the details of keeping kosher, but some people I have talked to are OK with just sticking to the vegetarian/vegan menu on the ship.  Not everyone is OK with this solution, either because they want to be able to eat meat or because they don't feel it's OK from a religious POV (or both).
The appeal of these special sailings mentioned earlier is around getting fresh cooked kosher food.  In the past I've heard about full/partial ship charters where kosher food is available, so it's interesting that RCL has figured out a way to basically create their own version of this.
 

Early
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I guess I’ll have to figure out some sort of clothes line I can string across the room to dry my towel for when I need to shower twice, like after a beach day.  Towel is not going to dry all bunched up on a hook. 
 
also going to be annoying when my ice is melted by the evening. 
 
and I’ll be joining team “dirty dishes in the hallway” now, instead of leaving them in the room. 

If I recall correctly "First Gen" Voyager class ships (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure) have metal sided balconies with no door so there is nothing to open.   It might be possible on the 2nd gen ships (Navigator, Mariner) but I've never sailed on them so I can't say for sure.  (QM2 has similar metal balconies, but they do have doors that can be opened)
Radiance class ship balconies sort of look like they could open, but apparently, they don't.  I'm not sure if they actually don't open, or if they just can't be locked in an open position, and it's more of a safety issue.  I've been on other ships on other cruise lines where they open but don't "lock" and that was ok (at least at the time).  You just sort of stick a deck chair there to keep it from flying shut.  But with bad weather they might start to fly open/shut and something could break.
As far as I can tell, the "real" reason these things open is to make "balcony cleaning day" easier for the crew.  Making a 'mega balcony' like your photo is really just an awesome side effect.  But it works out really well for me, especially when I can't get a connecting room.

Yes, you can ask your cabin steward about it.  He doesn't have they key needed to open it, but he can usually find someone that does.  On some ships it's not possible, but it is on Oasis class ships, like Symphony.  If bad weather is predicted, the captain may tell the crew to keep them locked.
I request this on most cruises, since we usually have 2 adjacent balcony cabins.  I would say I'm able to get the opened about 90% of the time.

I think their point was just that at one time you were able to get to Diamond after cruising for 15 nights, so complaining about the post-restart "double points" and saying it will ruin C&A is kinda crazy.  Which you have also pointed out yourself... for most people, the ended up with about the same number of points as they would have anyway, if the covid shutdown never happened.
 

I always thought it interesting that the carnival corp brands tended to have self service laundry onboard, but not the RCL brands
It does make sense to have it for long cruises

How very, uh, Dynamic. Or something.

Yes, this is the issue with RCL switching to having room stewards only visit a cabin once per day.  Switching to once per day was easier for Carnival, because of the way their ship cabins are setup for 3rd and 4th passenger bedding.  They would always leave the sofabed in "bed" configuration, and any pullmans would always be down.  This was fine for Carnival, because the design/layout of the room allowed this.
RCL ships, on the other hand, are much harder to move around in with the 3rd and 4th passenger bedding in 'sleep' configuration.  If this was the direction RCL wanted to move in, they should have look into alternate room designs years ago.
 

Hi,
Just wanted to post an update here that we were able to board the cruise and disembark and return back to US successfully without any visa or passport issues. Thanks all for your help.

Your travel agent can book the "generic" transfer for you, you can't do it online.  If you aren't using a travel agent, you'll have to call royal to get the price and book it.
I agree that generally they are more expensive than other options, but there are times they may make sense.  If you are traveling alone the price may be competitive.  If you are traveling in a larger group that doesn't want to split up into seperate ubers/cabs, and you don't want to try to arrange a private transfer, it might make sense even if it's more expensive.
I've found UberXL isn't good for a family of 5 with luggage, because you never know if the car will actually fit everyone and everything.  Minivan taxi's usually can, but then you can end up waiting a long time in the taxi line for one that can fit everyone and everything.  In some ports, Minivan taxi's may not even be a thing.

It would be nice to get a new/different ship, but losing the indoor pool in winter would be a bit of a negative, especially for kids.

I don't know if any of the other Oasis class ships have the retractable funnels (or at least ones that work).  They had to make updates to them for Oasis.  It's possible there will be no Oasis class ship out of NYC in 2024.

Well, it turns out embarkation for my cruise last week was super smooth.  Much better than it was Christmas of 2021.  
Disembarkation was amazing too... looked at my watch when leaving our stateroom and I was opening my front door in just under one hour... 

I don't know if any of the other Oasis class ships have the retractable funnels (or at least ones that work).  They had to make updates to them for Oasis.  It's possible there will be no Oasis class ship out of NYC in 2024.

How very, uh, Dynamic. Or something.

no.

How very, uh, Dynamic. Or something.

I once saw a family disembark the ship from coco cay because a member of their sailing party passed away. I assume they took a boat to another island in the Bahamas and then got a plane home.  You would need a passport for that.

I once saw a family disembark the ship from coco cay because a member of their sailing party passed away. I assume they took a boat to another island in the Bahamas and then got a plane home.  You would need a passport for that.