teddy

I do mock bookings of our cruises weekly to see if we can reprice and save any money.

Our Jan 2020 sailing on Adventure has never even come close, even choosing interior guarantee.  We booked it at Next Cruise when we were on Mariner in Jan 2019. One of the perks we got at Next Cruise was choosing our room but getting the cheapest price for the category.

However, for our cruise later this week on Vision, we repriced it at least three times (that I remember) and netted almost $200 from our original booking price in Feb 2019.  This is after accounting for obc.

Quite honestly, it's a pita...it was fun at first but quickly lost its glamour.  While we will book at Next Cruise again, we plan to transfer to an agent (yes, we will be using MEI  )

5 hours ago, MrMarc said:

I wish people would stay nice and positive.  I would be sad if this turned into something like that other place.  If you sail in Star Class, enjoy the perks, you deserve them.  If you sail in the smallest inside cabin, enjoy the cruise, don't stress about what others do, say or wear.    Unless they share the drink package, then knock yourself out.

 

+infinity

While we cruise #gty interior, there will be a day when we will splurge.  Until that day, I want to read all about others who have made the choice to do so.

I've never cruised out of Alaska, but I have driven from Anchorage to Seward and back a couple times.  It's a beautiful ride if you have the time.

A southbound cruise is on our bucket list for when we retire...we want to fly in to Anchorage and enjoy the trip to Seward.  Like Twangster said, the ride down can really kick the vacation off right.

Just now, RatedPG said:

Has it been proven that there is a price difference in standard mode vs incognito/private window mode?

I can't say to a certainty.  

My using incognito is because I have found price differences when researching flights.

I could very well be superstitious and overly suspicious, 

21 hours ago, packercruising said:

Speaking of which, (I will start a new topic if you would like), Our Adventure Of The Seas cruise next month includes a stop in Boston. That is the largest port we have ever stopped at. It is separate from the terminal port, isn't it? Also, two of my brothers are meeting us there. Where is a good meeting spot?

 

Thanks!

Are your brothers familiar with driving in Boston?  It's not the most friendly driving experience for someone who is not familiar with the streets and traffic flow.  Parking can be pricey to say the least. 

Depending on their level of knowledge (and patience), it may be easier for them to park outside the city and take public transportation in.  I drive to the BCEC (exposition hall in that area) quite a bit, and I pay close attention to the time of day I'm heading in to the city.

Are you meeting for the afternoon?  There are some decent places in walking distance to meet up for lunch or drinks.  Boston's Seaport district is kinda the new "in place", and 10-15 minutes walking will get you into an area where there are good choices.  

If you're not up for walking a bit, taxi or ride share would probably be your best options.  

Boston can be windy and raw if the weather isn't cooperating....just something to keep in the back of your mind.   
 

I pull up an incognito window and do a mock booking online.  I usually do it weekly....but I'm a little cruise-obsessed.  If the mock booking is less, then I call and reprice the cruise.  

On our cruise that is a couple weeks out, we were able to drop the price three times before we had to pay in full.   On our one in January, we haven't seen any lower prices yet (and final payment is due soon).

I factor in the amount of on board credit we could potentially lose when seeing it I want to call.  The final time we repriced, we ended up only saving $25 when the loss of obc was factored in, but $25 is $25, so we went ahead and did it.

A week after we booked our October cruise (on Vision) for a guaranteed interior, friends of ours decided they wanted to come along.  They booked a guaranteed interior as well.

The reservations are not linked, but we ended up literally across the hall from each other.  7151 and 7153.  Kinda cool.

15 Days today....room assignment showed up first thing this morning  

We're 20 days out and no room assignment yet.  Our eDocs say Deck 7 though

For us, it is picking our room and the lower deposit.

Also, there is the excitement of planning a cruise while on a cruise.   

We book GTY Inside rooms.  At Next Cruise, we were able to choose our room and get the GTY price. 

We also got $50/person off and $50 obc.  In addition, we paid only $100 pp for deposit.

I saw reference to an aircraft carrier....the Falcon is not a jet that can take off or land on a carrier.

The video shows a business-type jet flying rather slowly by.  The news called it French military jet......maybe for shuttling brass, but not for air defense or offense.

Edit:  Apparently I confused the two incidents as well...





 

For us, the sweet spot for flights has been 60-90 days out.  

We're 25 days from Vision and 125 from Adventure.  

I think time is going backwards

2 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

Are you posting from a computer or a smartphone/tablet? 

On a computer, you can enter "Edit mode" for the post and double click the photo.  You will have the option to resize it there.

Thank you very much!!

Well, I'm not sure how to edit that last post so the picture isn't so large.

I"ll keep trying, but for now, sorry it's huge


Edit:  Still big, but not as overwhelming.....

We have booked the All Access Tour on Vision next month.  This is the info that has been provided.

I'm glad this post was made.  Thank you for making it,  @TinaLouise , and thank you to everyone who responded!!!

For some reason both my wife and I thought hair dryers were on the do not bring aboard list.  She was not looking forward to using the low powered one in the stateroom.

We are cruise-newbies compared to most of you, but a few things we've learned to bring are a usb hub, phone battery bank, and a couple extra usb cables.  We always seem to misplace a cable and not find it until the last day.

We also bring a couple spill-proof coffee cups...we are early risers and like to get a cup of coffee and go topside to watch the sun rise.

@GerrybWe used the RC shuttle to the airport when we disembarked.  When we exited the terminal, there were RC employees with signs who directed us to the bus.  Be aware that we saw a lot of people holding signs for transportation.  It took us a few to realize that we needed to find the Royal Caribbean one.

As far as what time it leaves, it appeared to us that the buses left when they were full.  You have to be off the ship regardless of how late your flight is.  We put our bags out the night before, and the luggage tags we were provided with notated that we had the RC shuttle.  Our flight was 430 pm, so we hung out in the terminal and played Scrabble.

@TJ!  If your shuttle is through your hotel, you may have to coordinate with the hotel itself.  Our hotel said to call when we got through baggage claim and directed us to a certain area in the arrivals pickup section (there are numbered posts there).  Twice the shuttle came by and was full.  The third time it came by, we let a family with 3 small kids take the last remaining space and called for a Lyft.  We got to the hotel at the same time as the shuttle.    In the morning, the shuttles were extremely busy so we called a Lyft again.

The Lyft ride was $20 from the airport to our hotel and $21 from hotel to Terminal A (plus $5 cash tip each ride).

We stayed at the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North.

I approach surveys like I do the yearly appraisals I do on people who work directly for me.....there should be no surprises.  I'm not going to wait to address inappropriate behaviors.

If I have a problem with an employee during my cruise, I'm not waiting until it's over to address it.  Problems are best corrected in the moment

If I feel the problem is systemic, then I may relate that info on a survey (depending on the response I get on site), but otherwise I'm not going to play the corporate game of "anything less than a 10 is a fail".  I've experienced that mindset enough in my career over the years as my small regional company was slowly taken over by an international conglomerate.  It's not fair to employees.

Royal Caribbean employees are judged based on this pass/fail system....sure as customers we get the illusion of multiple choice...but the reality is, the employees don't.  If someone I interacted with was doing their job correctly, then in my mind, they passed.  If they did extra credit work, then I will reward that with a cash tip and special mention.  

Disclaimer:  I've worked retail since November 1983.  I may be slightly biased. 

On our first cruise, I was very, very reluctant to arrive earlier than our scheduled time (in Miami).  At my wife's insistence (ie she was going with or without me ), we showed up at 1000 (with an assigned time of 1 pm).  The waiting area was full, but we once they announced general boarding, I was amazed at how quickly they processed people.  We had food, drinks, and were sitting on deck in no time.

We are 29 days from our October 10th sailing on Vision and have so far received three emails asking us to bid.  We received the first email on August 26th, the last yesterday.

The email we received yesterday only offered two options...$20 pp minimum for an Outside View and $100 pp minimum for an Ocean View Balcony (we have an inside GTY).

On our Mariner sailing back in January we successfully bid $120 pp on an Ocean View Balcony and found out around a week before our sailing (upgraded from an Ocean View).

Edited to add:  For our Mariner sailing Jan 30,  2019 we received the email about bidding  (and placed our bid) on November 28, 2018

We booked a GTY for the October 10th sailing on Vision.

Our eDocs say Deck 7, but we have no room assignment.  Last week we received a Royal Up email....which we deleted.   We could have bid as low as $20 pp for an upgrade but we decided not to.  

I don't expect to find out our room until we arrive at the port.  My wife thinks we'll know sooner.  Either way we don't care cause we will be on vacation.

Cool.  Thanks. 

We both work two jobs, so this upcoming cruise is much needed......regardless of what deck we're on.