Vancity Cruiser

We are on the Ultimate World Cruise right now. Just heading back to Ushuaia (after visiting a Penguin Rookery). I will post something more substantial and detailed later, but the short course is:
1).  No drama … the experienced cruisers already figured this out. Actually, the cruise so far has been extremely relaxing.  Although we have been a little bit too busy. 
 
2). Thé entertainment overall has been better than “normal” cruises (some of it excellent … rare for a Radiance class ship). The food has been hit and miss (as usual) … however, we did have the best MDR dish in over 30 cruises a few nights ago. 
 
3).  The staff is in over perform mode. They are doing a phenomenal job. 
 
4).  1,600 on this segment is well below capacity. 700+ Diamond and above C&A members.  1,600 only should bring up some questions. 
 
5).  Tons of dancing opportunities … only once did we have to elbow our way around the dance floor 😉
 
I will start a start a separate thread when we get back on board.
 
Curt from Canada
Partial Ultimate World Cruiser 😂

The worst thing to ever happen to this World was the creation of the original iPhone. Its creation as the first true “smart phone” allowed for the proliferation of social media which then became miniaturized in the form of apps and the rest is pathetic history.  It produced a lost generation who has no social skills because they grew up and live in their phones. 

Deleted my TikTok and don’t regret it. Too many attention seekers. The influencer probably had his world cruise fully paid for by a sponsor. If I lived expense free for a few months I wouldn’t be complaining about minor issues. 

We went on it once during a 70's party on the promenade just to get a different view and they actually stopped it at its midpoint and stayed there overlooking the promenade for quite some time.

We went on it once during a 70's party on the promenade just to get a different view and they actually stopped it at its midpoint and stayed there overlooking the promenade for quite some time.

the water show is the best part of the rising tide in my opinion 

I like the idea of a scaled down 270 lounge on a ship that size. Like a Mini-Quantum class ship.

I'm sorry, but your TA completely dropped the ball on this one. After I apply a deposit, I check the booking to confirm the deposit was applied correctly. I check the payment history, I send myself a confirmation showing the deposit was applied and the remaining balance. I guarantee if the TA had a confirmation from Royal showing the deposit applied, Royal would honor the original price. Mistakes can happen, but this should have been discovered within days at the most - not months later. Also, the TA says they had a chat that was in the process of honoring the original price? We have the ability to download chat transcripts - why didn't they do that? People like this unfortunately give professional TAs a bad name.

Well one thing that’s a given, in my opinion, it’s got to be small enough to do Alaska inside passage. According to today’s 2023 Q4 call, Alaska is doing very well with bookings. So what’s the largest gross tonnage that can do inside passage? And it has to go through Panama Canal. 

If the rumors are true and the new Discovery Class ships are going to be a similar size to the Radiance Class then I think you will see a few things that don't take up a massive footprint (Rock Climbing Wall obviously, Mini Golf, Flowrider and perhaps a couple water slides) but you can't put too much on that size of ship.  I'm curious if they will try to do a promenade like Voyager Class and above or will they do the traditional Atrium Style like the older ships.  Also curious if they bring back the Viking Crown Lounge.  Either way I'm looking forward to seeing what's next...

if popular profitable can always be worked in. 

It will be interesting to see if Royal goes with a more laid back 'relaxed' design with this class or if they go for a smaller scale 'theme park' ship.

Wow, it didn't take long for the regulars to throw cold water. Sorry for hoping maybe Royal has kept a few secrets up their sleeve for Utopia and trying to spark a little conversation. Geez, this place is turning into a virtual Crown Lounge, lol. 

Too bad we can't resell our current bookings and make a profit. 

They're raising prices because people keep paying the prices. Like any good business would do.

There is zero question that Royal is very purposefully raising prices as part of a push to establish a 'new normal' that's more in line with other family vacation options.
There have been a lot of talking points being pushed by Royal for a while now about how cruise vacations cost significantly less than other vacations. They're making sure everyone is well aware of this so it's met with minimal pushback when they raise baseline pricing. 
So now they've increased prices across the board and have been met with post-COVID increased demand, which only makes it easier to justify. They've also spent a TON on marketing lately. They're advertising the hell out of Icon, grabbing newcomers with the shiny new toy and then, for those with sticker shock, booking people into Oasis Class ships after they price out Icon. 
The goal, I believe, is to reinvent the perception of the industry as a major player in the family vacation space, but to do it at a price point that's more in line with competitive options. All this marketing is a push to bring in new customers who don't have the comparison of the prior era when it was comparatively cheap. Meanwhile, people like us will likely stick around and pay more because they know from their data that cruisers are incredibly loyal to their preferred vacationing method. 
We used to be a Disney family. We went to Disney World basically every year, but when Disney went berserk on pricing and turned it from financially manageable to only enjoyable at a luxury price, we switched over to Royal. I fear Royal is going a similar direction.
Carnival may continue to be the cheaper option, but I would anticipate they'll follow industry trends and increase pricing. Why charge 30% less when you can charge 15% less and still be the less expensive option?
 

Way ahead of you! Was on Symphony a couple weeks ago but that was a sailing I had booked a couple years ago. When I repriced just before final payment cost for a standard ocean view balcony had gone from 3K CAD to 8K CAD.
There are still deals to be found with Royal if you care to spend the time looking but my cruise dollars have been going to other lines for the last year and a half. I used to cruise about 90% Royal but now limit Royal to once per year. I still prefer Royal ships and entertainment but not to the point of paying the $ that others are willing to spend.

Way ahead of you! Was on Symphony a couple weeks ago but that was a sailing I had booked a couple years ago. When I repriced just before final payment cost for a standard ocean view balcony had gone from 3K CAD to 8K CAD.
There are still deals to be found with Royal if you care to spend the time looking but my cruise dollars have been going to other lines for the last year and a half. I used to cruise about 90% Royal but now limit Royal to once per year. I still prefer Royal ships and entertainment but not to the point of paying the $ that others are willing to spend.

Heh!!
That is why you book early... my 2024 Oasis is $2562.00 with insurance and gty included... My 2025 Indy cruise is $2649.12 with insurance and gty included. Both are balcony cabins that I chose the location.
You can see that pricing is going up as the Oasis for an 8 day for 2024 that I booked Dec of 2022 is less than the 7 day Indy that I just booked for 2025.

I was shocked at the cost for sailing on Enchantment.  I have friends who are sailing on her 6-22-24 and I thought about going along but 7 nights on that crap ship was over $5K (JS) !  ...even more once you added in grats.  No f'ing way !  

They aren't canceling Nassau for a level 2 advisory (they've continued to sail to places with level 4 advisories in the past) so I wouldn't even worry about theoreticals.

🍿

Guaranteed to find me in the solarium all day on a sea day (between snack breaks). I find a spot I like on embarkation day and I'll be in the same spot the rest of the cruise. I'll have a book in front of my face though.

Two words - Brittney Griner

AMEN! Very similar to part of my answer.