BrianB

I book virtually all of my future cruises while onboard at NextCruise. I like the reduced deposit and also the OBC. For me, booking solo, it’s only $100 deposit with a $100 onboard credit. Sometimes when I call to reprice after noticing a drop…I am allowed to get the cheaper price but the onboard credit is removed. They always tell me before I make my final decision (and I do appreciate that, it’s not a sneaky move) so now I figure in the potential loss of the OBC when I’m looking at repricing. Saving $300 on a booking while losing the $100 OBC is a win.

I’ve been to the Beach Club many times but can’t recall if any guests came in using the rented scooters from the ship. My bother in law will be using a rented scooter and I have a beach cabana. Will he be able to take the scooter rented from Royal off the ship? Will it be able to make it over some of the non-paved roadways to get there…or is there a shuttle which can transport the scooter? I know once at the Beach Club it’s paved inside and I think it’s paved up to the beach cabanas. If necessary, he can use his upright rollator. But only for short distances. Thank you!

Congratulations! But, keep checking! I check my pending cruises virtually every day. It amazes me sometimes how a price can suddenly drop out of the blue…with no advertised sale or promotion…and then pop back up the next day. Even when there are very few remaining cabins in the same category. Strange and mysterious are the ways of the Royal Algorithm…

Sometimes it’s better to check the price for the upgrade and choosing the cabin you want versus putting in a bid. As the prices fluctuate, you may spot a deal that fits your price point even if it’s a bit over what you intended to bid. If you really want the upgrade…the benefit of choosing a cabin and locking it in is better than waiting to see if a bid is accepted and getting assigned a random, available cabin…even if it is less expensive. If you want to gamble and take a chance…bid.

@Traveling Mike I second the motion for Delsey. I purchased mine in 2014. Big, black cloth bag with four very durable spinner wheels…expandable handle, and the little lifting cable that shows the red line indicating over fifty pounds. I also have a smaller carry on with an attached strap that allows me to slide it over the big bag’s extended handle and move them easily with one hand. On smooth surfaces it takes very little effort as it glides along while standing upright on the four wheels…I can even let go for a moment and it will still roll. Sometimes when I arrive at Port Liberty in Bayonne, the line of cars waiting to get to the terminal is so long that I get out and walk quite a ways with the bags. This is mostly over bumpy, uneven roadway, but the wheels handle it without a problem. I’ve done this many times. I like the soft side bag because I can open the expansion zipper and make it even larger. Then when empty, it’s soft enough to fit under the cabin bed. I added my own branding…gray duct tape ‘T’s on all six sides so I can spot it from a distance. Also discourages others from accidentally taking it.

@AshleyDillo Thanks!

May 5, 2025 Is this still the way it’s done? I booked a beach cabana and was wondering how my guests will get past the keepers of the portal at the beach club entrance. Some of them will be coming a bit later. Do I supply their names when I arrive and just advise them to say they’re going to my cabana? Or do I need to call ahead of time to add them? Thank you!

On the Odyssey now….free on port days. Not free while at sea as it is described as ‘Extended Experience’. The ride is longer and extends over the sides of the ship. The free ride only goes up and slides a bit left and right then comes back down.

Also on Odyssey now…one chair has one zip tie, the other chair has none. The ‘Do Not Lie Flat’ labels are still affixed. Last week’s chairs had no zip ties. I guess the zip tie flurry may have been on the advice of some corporate legal eagle as a response to an injury-causing chair incident. Shows they took immediate and decisive action. Although it seems like a strange, knee jerk reaction to me. But by not following through with re-inspecting and re-zipping chairs, wouldn’t that be even more damning if the same injury-causing incident happens again? Tough trying to figure some of these things out…

Solo in a suite gives you three points per night.

During a Captain’s Corner we were told that sometimes when there are two ships docking and it’s a particularly windy morning…or a day with larger swells…then the larger ship with the more powerful maneuvering system will dock on the wind side first and provide a wind/swell block for the smaller, less maneuverable ship. The buddy system.

Sometimes I forget to answer them the day before boarding when it opens up on the app. Or I get the ‘Check in has checked out’ message and can’t answer them. When I checked in at the port (Bayonne), sometimes I’ll get the one quick question in general terms, like “You’re not sick, right?” Usually I don’t get questioned. I’m obviously not pregnant and look fine (medically speaking) so they just check me in.

I just disembarked the Odyssey yesterday Jan 16… I applied for the Shareholder OBC about three weeks before boarding…as usual, and received the automated response acknowledging receipt. However, I didn’t get any notification that it was approved and the one hundred dollars applied. Days before embarking I resent the email request and again received the automated acknowledgment of receipt. Upon boarding, there was no Shareholder OBC on my account. I went to Guest Services and showed him my emails and the acknowledgments. He advised me to email a follow up message to Shareholder Benefits. I did this and they responded that the benefit was approved and would be applied. I went back to Guest Services and they had me forward that response to their email. About an hour later, I received a call from Guest Services advising me that they had applied the one hundred dollars to my account.

I check with my room attendant to make sure he/she will be assigned to my cabin on the next leg. If so, I tip at the end. I also tell him to let me know if he is to be moved, or if he is leaving the ship mid-cruise so I can tip him at the time. But, virtually all of my cruises are b2bs and this never happened…yet. This is, of course, if I am in the same cabin and not switching. Back to back procedure….I always check in for the next leg. Either on the app or the website. I always try to get an early time. Just in case something happens and the first leg is canceled either by me or the cruise line. I know many b2b-ers who don’t. On turnaround day, the staff check them in and take another photo while we are waiting in the assigned venue onboard for a near zero count. At Port Liberty in NJ, we are escorted off the ship after virtually all other passengers have left. We scan our cards as we leave, go into the terminal and through the facial recognition screens in the customs hall. Then, it depends on what’s happening onboard…sometimes there’s a Coast Guard or Public Health inspection, or they’re doing an extended deep clean…we will be seated in the terminal to wait. We are the first ones back onboard, using our new card given to us back in the venue. If there is no delay onboard, we are just brought right back onboard after we go through the customs scanners.

Onboard the Odyssey. NextCruise rep says they are changing the promotion to savings only…they are just waiting for the official memo. So instead of a choice between receiving OBC during the cruise or applying the amount directly to the booking price, the benefit will only be applicable to the price. Tomato, tomahto. I usually book solo in double occupancy balconies. Deposit is still one hundred dollars. Then the $100 I would have received as an OBC during the cruise (seven night) will be deducted from the total cruise fare, decreasing my final payment. This change is in addition to the reported maximum benefit amount being lowered.