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4 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We are sailing on Indy in 9 days.  As far as I know, she will be at Terminal G.  That’s where she was when we sailed on her in June.  No pre-paid parking that I am aware of unless you park offsite, which we never do on short cruises.

Very helpful. Thank you!

Oddly specific question... 

Does anyone know which terminal Independence of the Seas is currently going out of and if there's the option to pre-pay garage parking? Garage A is the RC Garage, but pre-paid parking isn't available for Indy there since it's servicing Allure and Icon on either side of the Aug 29 sailing. 

Finally was able to talk to royal and they fixed it pretty quickly. there was an error with the room type on royal up. 

Still debating on paying for the upgrade or rolling the dice. 

Hey all, 

Waiting for a call back from a RC rep, but figured I'd reach out to this community to see if anyone knows how to get this fixed. I'm on Independence of the Seas on Aug 29th with a GTY Suite. Checked in this morning and barcode shows I'm in junior suite, which is fine, but since this is an anniversary trip, would really like to get into a grand suite if possible. Went to go check Royal Up bid cost and it's showing me in an ocean view balcony. Is that normal for a GTY booking? There appear to be many suites available since the itinerary got modified with the happenings in Haiti, so I was really hoping a bid might win. 

I tried reaching out directly to PlusGrade, the third party that runs the RoyalUp program, but no luck. 

Any ideas on how to get this fixed? 

Thanks!

I'm with you @Jill . Smaller ports in more exotic Caribbean stops are what interest me and my family traveling from our home state of Florida. Celebrity already has that. But I'm hard-pressed to actually book unless C&A/Captains Club was one and the same. 

Just got off my first cruise without kids, and can't wait to do this again in August! haha

But seriously, wife and I would love to meet some fun people on board. 

Oh and I forgot to add... 

9. Drink Package - With the constant conversation of the drink package on these boards, I figured I'd add my two cents. I have purchased in the past, but did not purchase the drink package this time. As a Diamond member, I get four free drinks daily. With the drink package price hovering around $80/pp/day, that would mean I would need to drink 10 full priced cocktails to use my diamond drinks AND get my money's worth out of the package. I self-paid what I was drinking above my diamond drinks and was perfectly content with that. 

Four hours removed from a 3-night on Allure for a guys/Father's Day weekend and wanted to share some immediate thoughts: 

1. Hideaway Beach - totally worth it. We had a lot of fun and there is something for everyone there. The DJ was surprisingly good and the pool bar is pretty epic. The beach is surprisingly quiet and really enjoyable. I'm strongly considering getting a pool cabana for my August sailing as I really loved the location of them. The Hideout cabanas are another story... unless you really want to be away from everything and feel extra bougie, they are completely unnecessary. 

2. Casino - We always spend considerable time in the Casino and this one was no different. They've swapped some slots which was a nice change of pace, and table games seemed to be playing alright. The bartenders in the casino are some amazing people. Santana recognized me from four months ago. If anyone will be on the ship and in the casino - find Santana. He'll take care of you. 

3. Music - I don't know if just didn't notice it really before, but the musicians onboard seemed exceptionally talented. The guitar player in the pub is incredible, the jazz trio is phenomenal and the reggae band is top notch.

4. Comedy - comedy has always been hit or miss for me on cruise ships. The show we saw was absolutely incredible. Really top notch comedy. 

5. Cruise Director Dennis - probably the best cruise director I've seen in a long time. Really personable. Funny. He's goldilocks - not too much, not too little, just right. 

6. The Ship - they're doing their best to keep her looking good, but she's starting to show her age a bit. The soon-to-come overhaul will be good for her. 

7. Nassau - we don't usually get off in Nassau, but we did this time to go to The Poop Deck. Incredible food right on the water. Decided to take a trip to Baha Mar since none of us had seen that hotel, and wow, she's a beaut. Had some fun checking it out and playing in their casino. Overall though, Nassau is still a tough place to venture as a tourist unless you know what you're doing or where you're going. The "world famous straw market" has become a joke with everyone selling the exact same made in china junk. Good thing my young sons weren't with me and forced to hear the ridiculously explicit catcalling by the shopkeepers to the women passing by on the streets. I don't plan to get off again for a while... 

8. The Key - this was my first time getting the Key, and I'm not sure it's worth it. We bought it explicitly for the early boarding time and speed through security, which was a huge plus. But the welcome meal was incredibly underwhelming and it's nice it included the wifi. Not sure if I will get it again. If you're going to buy the wifi anyways, you might as well consider the Key for an early boarding time. 

Overall, I'm a big fan of the shorter durations out of Port Canaveral since I only live an hour from the port and it's easy to make a weekend out of it. Despite a few negatives, this sailing was really enjoyable. Now it's time to start planning for my next one!

Anyone with a good recommendation in Nassau? We usually stay on the ship, but might get off to have lunch at the Poop Deck next time we’re there. Tropical Cigars is nearby the restaurant with high ratings. 
 

Any place near port to enjoy a stick and a decently priced Kalik beer? 

5 hours ago, CruzOnBye said:

Are they offering an option to change ships/itineraries instead without penalty, or are they just rerouting you guys to new ports with no option to make change? Just curious. Two years ago we had an itinerary change with Odyssey and they sent an email stating we could change ships/itineraries with no issue if we weren't happy with the updated itinerary, but in our situation they cut us from 7 nights to 6 nights and we lost Labadee port.

In my case, I used a casino offer that is no longer available. So I could cancel and rebook with something else, but I would lose that offer which I don't want to do. 

Got the email 90 minutes ago. 08/29 sailing on Independence routed to Coco Cay... 

Really disappointed it wasn't a more interesting alternative, but I guess swapping one RCL private stop for another makes sense. 

Haven't gotten anything yet for our late August sailing on Independence. Sucks to have to divert, but if we do, would prefer a port not oft visited to echo @WAYNO

The industry is incredibly cyclical. Bargains will be different as we progress through the cycle. Whenever the next correction comes, something will normalize and we'll see where we land. 

However, I've said this in another thread before, I do think the insane pricing going on at the Orlando theme parks has a part to play in this. If someone is flying into the market, they can easily take a three-day cruise out of Port Canaveral for a lower price than what they might pay for park tickets. I think it's becoming more a viable option for people and RCL knows this - hence their investment in the short cruise itineraries. 

They've cancelled through May. Just went on to try to book a trip to Labadee and first available itinerary was June 10th on Independence. I've got a Labor Day weekend trip planned on Independence, so I'm curious to see what moves they make for this summer. I'd welcome another port like Grand Turk or Grand Cayman, but will be disappointed if we just end up on Nassau and PDCC for a four night cruise. 

Get ready for a whole lot more armchair quarterbacking with regards to this...

Actually did a really fun ATV/Zip Lining excursion back in 2019 in Falmouth - was impressed with the excursion. There are worse places to stop on a cruise. 

Bid on an upgrade for our last sailing and we weren't notified of it being unsuccessful until about 12 hours before sailing. Was holding out hope...

Really sad all this is happening in Haiti, but unfortunately, if you know the history of the island, it's more of the norm than anything else. First time we went to Labadee, I was amazed with how beautiful Haiti was and still is. Sailing in August there again and plan to enjoy the beach and tip the workers well. 

thank you! always a wealth of information @WAAAYTOOO!!

Looking at a Junior Suite upgrade for our upcoming August sail on Independence. Does anyone have any experience with the Junior Suite Guaranteed experience where they pick your suite for you? I can't imagine any junior suites being in a bad spot or undesirable. Is this a safe assumption? 

Also, specific to Labadee, can Junior Suites access Barefoot Beach? I'm finding conflicting information. 

Thanks for the help!

3 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

The percentage discounts are largely meaningless. If you monitor the cruise planner prices regularly you will often see that the final price with a 30% discount is cheaper than with a 50% discount!

The only number that matters is the one on the bottom line!

The best strategy is to buy when you see a price you can live with and then keep checking. If the prices goes down later on, you can cancel and rebook.

Use this strategy. Assume most drinks are $14 if you're drinking cocktails and figure out what you realistically could pay out of pocket depending on your drinking habits. I've learned that getting it for a longer cruise is absolutely a waste of money for me. But I consider it for shorter sailings. 

@KrisD what did you decide? Looking at Amiga for August 2024 sailing and was hoping for a recent update. 

8 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

I can see the appeal of a short cruise to complement a few days at a theme park within a 7-8 day vacation week.  I wouldn't do it now but 15 years ago it would have been a possibility.  A week at a theme park is a little much....

Especially with theme park tickets the level they are now. For the price of a three-day park hopper at Disney, you could take a family on a cruise for the weekend. 

Don't forget Florida is one of the most frequented tourist spots in the world. With over 130 million annual tourists and a population of over 20 million people and having four easily accessible ports within driving distance of each other, Florida has got to be a focus with this. We're cruising short durations more than we ever have since they're an easy getaway when you're local. I also met a family from Scotland last weekend at Perfect Day that was just in Orlando for vacation and decided to do a three-nighter on Allure because of the convenience. 

The market is changing a bit, but the only way you can affect change is to spend your dollars on the things that matter to you. 

Wife and I are getting away from the kids to celebrate 15 years. I love my kids, but can't wait to cruise kid-free again.