Pima1988

@scrumps The thing is fuel is a necessity for that industry regardless of when they will sail with passengers again. They purchased the land on Bahamas b4 the crap hit the fan. Nobody on this board knows what they are using that loan for... is it to buy fuel to stave off future gas prices? The gas glut has little to do with CoVid 19. It has a lot to do with Saudi Arabia and Russia fighting, so much so that both govts are now pressuring the US to agree to lower their oil output. They are actually lucky as a company. Their employees are contracted. Contract is up, than it is up and not being renewed. As @twangster stated that equal less operating costs. They are cutting costs, and bills still need to be paid, but do you really believe that the Bahamian govt is going to start foreclosure on the land tract they just purchased? Do you really think banks are in the business of owning a ship the size of Oasis? The banks know the likelihood of selling it to NCL or CCL is nil, those companies are all in the same boat financially! However, by purchasing fuel at more than they need at this low price means they can actually re-sell it if they need to do so to make the payment. If it goes up, than they have more capital. Fuel is not perishable. It actually is an asset for the company ledger, just like one of their ships. Actually a better asset.

@bobroo Actually for my Master degree thesis that was part of the thesis. It was a study not on the cruise industry, but the airline industry. I did this in 99. It was a thesis about how SWA differed from the traditional airlines like United, AA and Delta. The three key components of differentiation at that time were: SWA purchased fuel at least 6 months out; operated 1 specific airframe and flew in/out of unique airports. In the end my thesis stated that SWA would become the model of the future for the airline industry. Interesting that you can see the same for cruise lines, especially RCL Traditional airlines at that time were buying 6 months out also for their projected needs, however SWA purchased more than they needed if the price was low, so if the price went up they had a cushion from fuel costs and could pass that savings along to their passengers. Whereas, the big guys now had to purchase at the higher cost, in turn, the passenger cost flying with them went up. Passengers decided to go to SWA' Now if RCL does buy fuel on the cheap right now, even though they spent more capital, they will be able in 9 months from now to keep sailing with lower costs compared to, let's say NCL or CCL. If they are smart and pass the costs along to the cruisers, than they get a bigger hold on the market in the future. SWA only operates 1 airframe. There are multiple reasons for this. Just like the bridge crew and maintenance officers on a ship, having only 1 airframe meant they lowered operating costs, especially from a training aspect. Same airframe = same parts. Same airframe = employees, be it mechanics or pilots could work on every plane. A 737 is different than a 767. A pilot or a mechanic can not just jump from 1 to another without additional training/certification. Look at RCL right now, they are getting rid of their smaller older ships, albeit they are very profitable, they are taking the sale of those ships and investing in larger ones. You could take the Captain of Celebrity Edge and throw her on as the Captain of Harmony with ease. Same with the engineers. That equates to lower operational costs due to training. Same is true for parts and upgrading systems. Little known fact about airlines, the gates at the airport are "leased". The reason SWA flies into Love Field and not DFW is because all of the gates were leased. Love Field is close to DFW. BWI is their hub in the DC area. The lease cost is lower. Just a thought, but this also may be why the company is spending capital to build all of their new private islands. The cost maybe high, but in the end, they are saving costs from a port tax/fee. Plus, nobody else can sail there. Both NCL and DCL prior to this announced they were going to expand their private islands. Why? Because of the success of Coco Cay. They are now playing catch up. RCL now is dropping $$$$ in Bahama to create their own version of a beach excursion, instead of having to pay for an Atlantis excursion. The only question that lingers for me in that situation, is tax implications for them. Do they now get a tax break, aka lower port fees for the passengers bc the company now physically owns land in Bahama? Regardless, to me it is a smart decision fiscally, bc Bahama is no longer a go to location, and many cruisers tend to now not get off the ship. Having their "private beach" on Bahama may mean this is the 1st sign of a new design for cruising. Hop on hop off. IE build a hotel there. Fly into Bahama hang there for 3 days at their hotel/beach, get on Navigator for a 3 night cruise and come back to Bahama. Makes even more sense since Bahama has agreed to upgrade their port. See above...NCL and DCL are again behind the 8 ball. Their $$$ is tied up in competing against Perfect Day. Part of me thinks they are taking a page out of DCL's playbook. IE many passengers do a 3 night at Disney World and a 4 night cruise as a 7 night bundled package. Now let's be real, RCL will always have the smaller ships in their inventory. Baltimore is a money maker for them, but due to the bridges, they can never have an Anthem sail out of there. Plus, there will always be passengers that do not want that "big ship" feel. Now after this novella, here is my question.... will RCL in the next few yrs become a pioneer again regarding ship size? I mean, do they start building a new Lady G or Enchantment so they can sail out of smaller ports like New Orleans, Charleston, or Baltimore. If they do CCL is in trouble. Look at Baltimore it is only RCL and CCL. If they build a brand new ship with the bells and whistles, but small feeling Carnival Pride does not stand a chance. Once again, CCL is caught behind the 8 ball. Tie it all back up and if RCL used this credit line to purchase fuel at a larger amount than they need, than that money later on will go back into their future. The lower fuel costs can go back into building their new private islands = lower port fees = lower sailing costs = the ability to build new ships. Thanks for reading this, and yes, that was the defense of my thesis for why SWA was a better investment than the big boys.

+1 @twangster I would add maybe that is a reason they took a larger credit line....to purchase fuel futures. It may sound illogical, but it could make or break them when the industry is back in operation. The lower fuel costs will give some breathing room.

I agree with you, but I am still in the camp that this is just their out of the gate numbers to test waters. The OPs cruise is May 2021. 400 days a way. or IOWS 13 months. I can understand buying the bev package if it was the OMG $18 oops sale. However, even if it was at $65. I probably would not pull the trigger. I have OBC and a credit card with 0% int., yet why would I use that this far out. My expectation is that it will probably drop to 70 or so, which would be on par with a 10% inc. We always buy the package, and never bring on board our allowable wine. If it stays at that price I would bring on wine. I would look into how much they are selling a bottle of alcohol to be delivered to your room, and call it a day with just the classic soda package plus the coffee card. The only way I would still be swayed is our cruise stops at both Labadee and Coco Cay. I have seen many companies that go under just because they think by rising prices they will make up their losses. In this industry, it will also come down to see if Carnival, NCL and Princess follow suit. They may all join the bandwagon, or they may stay put and gain past Loyal to Royal clients due to this faulty business model. The only thing I will be pulling the trigger way early is still not showing up. Coco Beach Club pass. I doubt that will show up for 3 more months. I too have a sailing 403 days away. Here is one thought of why they have it so high as of right now. The 125% FCC. Maybe they are hoping those receiving the credit will pull the trigger thinking that, heck it is 25% free money. However, what I have read the sailings are costing more, so I am not sure that works. My cruise is up 1K for my cabin.

To me the real question is....what will the individual drink price be set at? If they raise it to 15 or 16 per drink, than for my sailing it would be 5 drinks. Of course if you look at my sailing the refreshment is running @34. So it is only 50 more for the deluxe. If they rise it to 15, than for us it would be just over 3 which is not difficult to do. There is no way I am doing anything less than the refreshment. OBTW here is the interesting facts. The soda package and the coffee punch card really did not go up in price. The soda is running at 13.50 and the coffee card is at 31. That is about a buck more than I usually see for the coffee and $3 more for the classic soda or about 20% higher compared to my previous sailings. The refreshment is running about $15 more than I have seen it in the past, or about 40% more. The deluxe is running about 45% higher.

@JLMoran their cruise is not for over a yr from now, compared to yours that is for 4 months. If you look at @Bean79 theirs has remained at 69 for their cruise in 5 months, thus, they are holding stable for RCL for at least the next 6 months. My spring cruise for this year was cancelled. Our spring cruise for next yr. is running the deluxe pkg at $84. There is no way I am biting off on that price. I will if I have to, but if that price remains I will wait until 60-90 days out.

I would than look at how long you would be in KW if that is your number 1 port and what day of the week.. For ex. Does the Rhapsody dock at 9 and stay until 6 on a Tuesday, whereas, the Brilliance docks at 8 and leaves at 4 on a Sunday. You could find that you have less "true" time in KW. We liked KW. Did not do the famous pic in KW (southernmost point) bc the line was a block long. Just did the see it, been there and keep walking. We did eat at Blue Heaven in KW. Def. go. https://blueheavenkw.com/ You have to try their Pie. Look at the background, you can see a hand. Yep, it is that tall.

Just my 2 cents and with 2 bucks more you could get a mall coffee at Starbucks (if they are open) I understand that you are gifting this cruise for your children, but how old are they? Is Rhapsody going to be "TOO BORING" once the sunsets or on a sea day? My assumption is you are driving or flying into Tampa since your moniker states you are from CT. Are you going to add on to the trip for a few days, or are you just flying in and out for the cruise? IE we sailed on Enchantment. It was a port intensive cruise that included KW. Basically flew in and out. Would never sail on her again out of Miami. However, when she repositions to Baltimore we would reconsider sailing on her. No air fare issue bc we live in No Va. Plus, we love Baltimore Inner Harbor and would stretch it out for a 4 night/5 day cruise into a 7 day by staying the night before and after there. These things would be part of my decision. FWIW we travel with friends and family on cruises often. The rule of thought has always been, we meet for dinner and do excursions together, otherwise on sea days you are on your own until dinner. See above regarding would it be too boring on sea days?

Just me, but I would do Brilliance over Rhapsody due to the size of the ship. However, the negative I find with the Brilliance is I don't like 4 night/5 day sailings, they're just too short.

No stimulus for us either, but had we been eligible to receive one it would have been used on the cruise.

We prefer decks that are a little but lower, usually 3 decks above the promenade/esplanade. We like those floors because we find we take the stairs more than when we are higher up since we are right in the middle floor wise. Same is true for room location, If we can choose we are going mid, learned that lesson on Anthem. We had a cabin that was so far fwd, and high up that we could literally wave hello to the bridge from our balcony and they would see us. There was only 1 cabin closer. You learn real quick how those hallways can go on for forever or at least that how it felt

@Aneedels which ship are you sailing on?

My hubby and I were discussing this last night, well the whole travel/tourism industry taking a hit and unemployment/furloughing. He thought Aug. would be the earliest date due to ports. I said, I think it will be earlier, at least 1 port came to mind regarding how hard they have been hit financially. Bahama. Remember they only got slammed with a devastating hurricane 6 months ago. This is now a double whammy for their economy. My bet was that they will be the very 1st to open. In that case you could see RCL maybe relocating many ship itineraries. IE Lady G can sail south out of Baltimore,.. Adventure out of Cape Liberty could go to Boston, and Portland ME. Anthem can go to Bahamas and Coco Cay. I do wonder one thing. How much more balcony cabins will go for in the future due to the visuals on the news of the Princess cruises? So many people use to say, save your $$$ since you are hardly ever in the cabin and I am sure many on the Princess took that advice only to find their worst nightmare come true of being locked in a cabin with no daylight. We always book a balcony, and I can guarantee you that we will never go lower than a balcony because of those visuals!

I am someone that wants to see the glass half full. Personally, if I lived near a port and could sail with last minute notice, I would kind of be excited. I am pretty sure that they would be offering some great deals to fill up the ships for the 1st few weeks that they go back out because of all of the cancellations and like ChessE4 mentioned, airlines may not be back up in the US. ~ Look at China, it is now the 2nd day in row that they have finally announced no new virus patients. In essence, that would be 4 months from the 1st reporting patient. For us, if people follow guidelines and do the right thing, plus warmer weather, maybe we could be 3 months. That places us at mid June for no new reporting. Now here are the problems I see: Do they do a slow roll out? IE Harmony goes back on line, but smaller ships like Enchantment do not, hoping that they can force passengers onto one ship over another (cabin occupancy). U.S. may open up, but that does not mean Canada will open at the same time. I.E. Anthem, Adventure, Oasis, Grandeur do the NE/Canada flip to Bermuda/Bahamas during the summer. If one of these ports cannot reopen than they will be facing docking issues. Look at Cape Liberty. Anthem docks one day, Adventure another. Hotels. Just like ChessE4 mentioned regarding airlines, the same is true for hotels. Many passengers that cruise come into that area a day prior to the cruise. They may now be stuck with being able to fly in, but not finding a room at any inn since hotels may roll out slower than airlines. or vise a versa. JMPO, but I see them rolling them all out at once regardless of capacity. They will want to make a powerful statement. Plus,, I would think ships are like cars. My hubby is retired military. Everytime he was deployed for 6+ mos. he reminded me that I needed to drive his car every 2 weeks just to keep the engine going, or tires moving.

My bet will be June 15th, maybe June1st. If we follow China's dates. It was 4 months until they finally did not register 1 new case. It really is going to depend on how Americans behave in the next few weeks. If people stay at home and follow social distancing than it could be earlier. If people keep acting like this is not "real" than it would be longer. I think your 1st idea of how soon they will be back will come from Vegas. Not talking betting, but when they start opening their hotels again. Remember there is for many cruisers a 2nd factor....flying to the port. The airline industry is cancelling many flights.

I am fortunate that my company (a national retailer) closed all of their 600+ stores for the next 2 weeks. I am not sick, but I have chosen to quasi self quarantine. IOWS, I will still go to the store when I run out of milk, but otherwise I am staying at home. We live in No VA. I actually laughed/shook my head when I did my 1st milk run. There is a nail salon next to the grocery store and a hair salon on the other side of the store. I am watching women walk in and out. Seriously, what don't you understand about social distancing? On top of that any woman with nails knows that long nails can be a petri dish to carry those germs....YEP bc I work for a retailer the minute this virus became an issue in the US I cut down my nails to protect myself and my customers. I am also semi-ticked at a few of my friends that own small businesses. 1 is in NJ and 1 is in Florida. 1 owns a yoga business and she is saying if you are tired of being locked in your home, come on down. The other owns a craft attached to a café (every women knows what I mean...you and your friends paint something while your drink wine or coffee) She posts everyday about how they are still open, and holding classes, serving coffee etc. I get they are small businesses and need to pay rent, but what I don't get is that they are going to stretch how long this thing will last if they just shut their doors like my retailer did. As of yesterday, my boss called me to say, he was not sure how long we will be closed. Our company will re-evaluate on Mar 28th. Rumor is if we have to remain close after the 28th, than I will go unpaid. Those people, such as the person getting their nails done, or my friends with small businesses, may indeed impact my own pay because of remaining open. They actually are also impacting the travel industry. I feel for the crew. Think about it. Many of the staff are supporting families back home. No grats., and they are losing a huge pay check. Several of my friends are airline pilots. They are now worried about being furloughed just like after 9/11. Small businesses are risky, and contribute a huge amount of money to our economy, and they use this as a defense of why they are staying open, but they also are not realizing how they are impacting the economy negatively in the long run by staying open. Done venting.

We tipped out our attendant when we did the Chill cabana last July. She had 4 cabanas. Our attendant was phenomenal. One time I asked for a drink, and off the cuff said I am running to the bathroom. My thought was only just leave it in the cabana. I walked out of the bathroom and there she was standing with the drink on the tray. OMG. Every time we left the cabana we came back to see the towels re-folded. She even went as far as going to the towel station and replace our wet ones while we were in the water. I can't recall the amount we tipped her out. I will also say that it wasn't only our attendant that went the extra mile, it was all of them. I can't tell you how many times I saw attendants at the edge of the water screaming the passengers name with a drink in their hand to deliver to them. They physically hunted down the passengers.

Formal nights are called dress your best. It really is up to you. I have noticed over the course of my cruises that the 2nd formal night (lobster tails in the MDR) people dress up more, including myself. I also have seen many couples that use the 2nd formal night as the night to celebrate an anniversary or a wedding, hence another reason why it may appear more formal. We dress up and make it our special date night. We always get a balcony. Hubby gets ready 1st. He than takes his Bourbon and diet coke, and watches the sunset on the balcony. I close the curtains, and get ready. MY TIME to MYSELF. At the time we have agreed upon he knocks on the balcony door just like if he was picking me up for a date some 37 yrs ago. We than head for cocktails prior to dinner. OBTW, we never do pics. We have no desire to stand in line. We take selfies, we ask the waiter to take pics, etc. Fwiw, we also immediately after dinner go back to our room and change before going to the shows.

@Ampurp85 I agree those look to be arancini appetizer. I am not a fan of them either, always tasting very bland to me.

We immediately go and sign up for our reservations as soon as we board. We decide which restaurant, which day and what time we want prior to sailing. We have never not received the time we wanted. IE We do research of past cruise compasses to find out which night is going to be formal (typically on a 7 night cruise we see it as night 2 and 6) so for us, we don't book specialty on those nights. FWIW we always select traditional late seating in the MDR. When we do specialty we usually select 6:30.

We done a different class on all of our cruises. Sailed on Adventure last July which is Explorer's sister ship. We found her to be our sweet spot, just like Twangster. It really is not too big like a Quantum class and not too small like Radiance. My hubby and I are more about the ports. Would we sail on Enchantment again once it is repositioned to Baltimore? Probably not. We did it out of Miami, and the itinerary was port intensive, thus, we spent little time on the ship. If she was doing the overnight to Bermuda out of Baltimore than I would go on Anthem. I am not against Radiance at all. Hubby and I keep talking about sailing out of New Orleans. Radiance currently is the only option. Wanted to do Cuba, but had 1 cruise on the books before they closed that option. Ports matter to us as much as the ship. Would I sail Anthem again over Oasis? Probably not. Did not care for the esplanade over the promenade. Felt the esplanade was too crowded on sea days. The pull for me to sail on her again, would be the WJ and the Solarium. There is nothing like that Solarium. To me the best secret regarding this ship was the fact that the WJ has outdoor seating. Would I sail Adventure again? Heck yes! Regardless of the itinerary. Loved the feeling that you were still connected to the sea regardless of the deck, like on a Radiance class, but you had more amenities, such as, water slides, mini golf, specialty restaurants, etc. I must admit my hubby says I am navigationally challenged. He can figure out to get to the MDR fastest route (cut through Casino take stairs up, cut back through another area and VOILA we are there in 3 mins)...me, I have to memorize the wall art on the stair cases/hallways and even door decorations to know which way I am turning to get back to our cabin. Seriously, day 2 he will test me. Lead me back to our room Pima... This has now become our favorite thing to do. Him to see if I fail, me to prove him wrong! I usually lose on day 2, but day 3 I can at least get us to our cabin. Day 4 I can get us to the MDR or the helipad. There is everyone's laugh for the day or when they are on a cruise and see a 50 yr old woman stopping at the bottom of the staircase looking left and right. It might be me looking at the hallway picture determining which way I turn. FWIW I am kind I don't stop at the bottom and block passengers, I do move closer to the elevator banks.

Not shocking to read they asked for a bench trial. I don't think any jury after seeing the video would not convict him of at least negligent homicide. However, a judge has to go by the letter of the law and not any emotion. My other thought is that going in this path may help them in their civil lawsuit. If the judge does not find him negligent, than it can help in a civil case with jurors. Not an attorney, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn!

I agree with @TXcruzer The loungers are set up very very close to each other, almost to the point that the arm rest are touching. I have never had a problem finding a chair.

My Symphony 7 night cruise in May 2021 is hitting both. Miami-sea-Old San Juan- Labadee- sea- St. Kitts - Coco Cay - Miami. We also got the new stateroom category that will be released May 2021. It is called the spa. Basically as far as I can tell it is a step above the traditional balcony and a step below a JS. It comes with expedited embarkation/debarkation, upgraded furniture and bedding, jetted shower, upgraded soaps/shampoos, robes/slippers, coffee maker, fruit basket, daily refreshments (smoothies), and 50% off a spa treatment.

I have done both itineraries, but... . Did AoS to Bermuda/Bahama/Coco Cay and NE/Canada on Anthem. I think you need to also place into account your kids. NE/Canada is a great cruise, but for kids it maybe boring. IE if they are not into hiking, seeing nature or historic tours like the Titanic museum in Halifax it won't be fun. Adventure is a great ship, but the pool gets crowded since there are only 2 outdoor and the Solarium. On my cruise last July the staff on AoS was strict. Your 16 yo will be allowed in the Solarium, but not the 12. Coco Cay is phenomenal. Again, if your kids are like my family, than it is a no brainer. Oasis. We are water babies. We love the beach. Hubby spent most of the day snorkeling at Coco Cay. We love Bermuda, it is one of our favorite stops. Nothing like that pink sand, although I would call it salmon color, not pink. (TEHEHE) AoS is a nice size ship. Think Goldilocks, not too small, not too big. It has stuff like the flowrider, mini-golf, rock climbing wall, ice skating etc. Promenade never feels crowded. They have specialty restaurants, but Izumi does not have hibachi or hot rocks. It is easy to navigate the ship, and easy to find each other. Oasis is a great ship, but much larger. My hubby will say I am navigationally challenged. It takes me several days to figure out which way I need to turn to get to a specific area. That being said, it has more things to explore My assumption is you are sailing out of Liberty. This is a 1 season deal from what I understand regarding Oasis. So for me, it would be Oasis. Going under the Verrazano bridge on the Oasis is going to be OMG. Anthem only clears the bottom of the bridge by @30 feet. No words can describe how amazing that sail away is.