BrianB

I’m a solo cruiser. On applicable sailings, the way I figure it is to divide the basic cruise fare (minus tax, fees and add-ons such as insurance, pre-paid gratuities, cruise planner stuff, etc) by 4. Subtract that result from the cruise fare and then add on the rest.

I believe the minimum action is a warning.

Then comes an additional charge added to the room account for ‘sanitizing’ the room to remove the smoke smell…whether or not you think there is any.

After that comes the more drastic penalties like disembarkation and finally…banning.

I’m thinking it depends a lot on the attitude of the offender. Being rude, nasty and insulting will likely result in elevating to the higher penalties. As will repeat offenses.

As it should.

Currently on the Liberty. Captain Dustin. He’s originally from Canada but currently living in the U.S…dual citizenship. 
Very nice gentleman!

The other is Captain Mal. Also from Canada, but currently living in Texas. Also a really nice guy. Loves having the Loyalty event in Studio B so he can show off his hockey skills.

With the huge demand for cruising happening now…I’m thinking the planners are trying very hard to come up with new cruise schedules to take advantage.

They realize that as soon as they float the new schedules…reservations come flooding in!

MSC re Ben and David…what’s the nautical term for ‘oops!’?

@Traveling Mike I heard, on these boards, lots of advice telling me to avoid the ‘big box store’ travel agents like Costco. That they were just interested in initial bookings and not good on follow-up or responses.

I'm guessing you have a contact person who actually monitors your reservation and gives you personal service. Sounds like you got lucky.

What you suggest is my plan….do all of my research and monitoring and then, instead of wasting time and effort, have a contact person that I could reach out to who would promptly take care of all those annoying follow-up details.

Plus, maybe get a better price or a few extras by using the TA.

It used to be much easier to call RC directly and have an agent make a change on a cruise when the price dropped. Once in a while, I’d have to call back and get a more knowledgeable agent to make the change, but usually it went pretty easily. Even after being put on hold for a bit.

Recently, it’s been much more difficult…and frustrating.

Yesterday, I received the email announcing a sale on cruises from Port Liberty. Many of them were cruises I already booked and some had very attractive price drops. So I did my thing and called.

I knew to call Club Royale for the cruises with a casino connection…either a casino group rate or applied certificate. But that became difficult when the agent told me that some weren’t really casino related unless there was a monetary discount applied on the confirmation page. When I called Loyalty, the agent told me they were casino related anyway and I had to call them. Even after calling different agents, I still got conflicting answers.

Then there was a new glitch…they couldn’t give me a correct quote because they had to call another department to remove my single cruiser discount, reprice the cruise, then put the discount back on. Even when I had the page on the website showing me the lower price for the same cabin category on the same cruise. The website applied the discount when I entered my C&A number, as usual, but the agent couldn’t apply it. That never happened before. That reminded me when I booked cruises onboard at NextCruise, they also couldn’t apply the single cruiser discount. It had to be applied by land side. I took the risk and booked anyway and the next day I received the new confirmations with the discount applied…but it was a bit worrisome.

Im guessing that due to such high demand, things don’t go as smoothly as they did in the past. But, I was never really on hold very long to speak with an agent so they weren’t too busy at the time. Eventually I was successful getting the reprices, but it was difficult.

Time to book through a Travel Agent from now on.

Sorry this happened to you.

But I’m sure your warning will be drowned out by the stampede of those rushing to make reservations as bookings have skyrocketed.

The best advice is from @SpeedNoodles…use a good Travel Agent (operative word ‘Good’!)…someone who can be easily reached and is responsive whenever you need to make a change, or even just ask a question.

Alternatively, I have found success by just calling back and getting a different agent. Sometimes, the agent you get when you first call may be uninformed, confused or just mistaken. Especially when they put you on hold to check with a colleague or another department. It’s like playing a game of Telephone with someone whose primary language is not English. Misinterpretation changes everything.

You can also speak with Resolutions and they will most likely give you the right information.

Good luck!

I made the same mistake as a lot of others….thinking this was the list of available cruises. Got excited until I read it here.

C’mon Royal IT! Even a non-IT savvy person like me would at least put an ‘Excluded Cruises’ watermark diagonally over the pages.

I like what they’ve done with the port revitalization. They invested quite a bit. Much nicer, modernized. No more trip hazards and broken pavement. Easier to walk around.

Very nice area just past the gate with lots of brightly colored booths and shops. Don’t have to run the gauntlet of people vying with each other for your attention, and your money as you try not to trip over uneven and broken pavement. Now it’s all new.

Calmer, clean, airy and spacious. Some places for snacks and drinks in that area. A very convenient excursion boat docking area attached to the pier…before the security gate so still inside the port.

There's plenty of videos posted showing the new port area. Check them out.

Ports may have different procedures and different port workers may have their own way of doing things…but…

If you have the Key, there should be signage directing you where to go. I have had the Key many times in the past and the only time I had a worker try to turn me away because my boarding pass had a later arrival time, I just went to a different worker who pointed me to the correct line for early entry. After checking in at a kiosk, I made sure the worker directing passengers where to sit knew I had the Key and she sent me to the right row.

With the Key…you have early check in and early boarding. This is so that you can take advantage of the perks. Dropping off your carry on isn’t a perk if the rooms are already open. Boarding after the Key lunch is over would be a waste. Those perks, along with the internet and early walk off priority, are the reasons I got the Key in the past. But, you need to make sure whoever is directing passengers knows you have the Key. Sometimes it’s not easy to see on the boarding pass.

I posted a while ago how I checked in at midnight for my May Liberty cruise from NJ and the first available slot was 11:30. I kept checking back and no earlier time has opened. My cruises over the winter have all had 10:00-10:30 available.

Keep in mind this is the time to arrive at the terminal. It is not ‘boarding time’.

I sail primarily from NJ and found it’s pretty good. Usually they just wave everyone into the terminal on to and the security lines.

The only hold up is the security line. It can get pretty crowded. Especially with people who don’t pay attention and have to waste time emptying their pockets and putting their metal stuff into their carryon when they get to the screener rather than before. So everyone else has to wait for them. Then there’s those who go overboard (pun intended) and waste time taking off their shoes and belts even though it was obvious nobody in front to them did that. If the security line gets too crowded, they may start enforcing times outside the terminal.

As long as everything goes as planned, there is usually little delay in getting checked in at a kiosk and then boarding.

But…here’s where that ‘Vacation Patience’ comes in…if the ship was delayed getting into port (diversion to medivac a patient, propulsion issue, harbor traffic, assist another vessel…or many other possibilities. Or the ship is undergoing a coast guard or public health inspection…or needs a ‘deep cleaning’) then boarding new guests can be delayed.

Then everything gets backed up.

 

The ‘Chair Hog’ conundrum involves more than just releasing hogged chairs.

For the cruise line, and especially the crew members, the issue includes taking action that results in passengers confronting each other over who ‘stole’ whose chair and what did you do with my stuff! Many passengers who unknowingly find a recently cleared chair have no idea that the previous occupant had their stuff removed. The returning occupant has no idea that their stuff was removed by the crew. Also, confrontations with crew members simply doing their jobs. Tempers flare and can have unintended consequences. 

Hopefully by consistently publicizing and enforcing this new policy…it will become common knowledge and have a positive effect on preventing hogging, and confrontation between passengers.

Also, the crew must be able to release the right items to the right passenger. Once they take possession of someone’s property, they are responsible for safeguarding it until they release it back to the rightful owner. Mistakes can happen. Not to mention dealing with passengers who claim they were ‘only gone for ten minutes!’…or so many other excuses.

Finally, the crew and the bosses don’t want negative reviews because of their actions trying to deal with hogs. I’m thinking that there have recently been so many negative reviews about chairs being hogged that the ship has decided to take action, knowing that it will generate negative comments…but less than they are getting now.

Can’t wait to experience the Iconic Icon of the Seas!

I know there are many who love going big…and many who prefer less is best…but I want to experience it all!

I know it’s been discussed before…but…

One of the most important tasks to perform just before leaving is to make sure nothing gets left behind. I understand the difficulties when dealing with a family group including children, especially toddlers. One positive thing is this regard is usually the cabin isn't so expansive as to include lots of space.

I recommend a quartering search. Search like your looking for a lost quarter!

Once everyone with you steps out of the cabin, one person goes back and starts moving through the cabin…left to right, up and down…bathroom first, every shelf, hook…then the cabin, opening every drawer, cabinet and door…every nook…the safe…over and under the bed, including moving pillows and sheets…behind the curtains…on the balcony…the mini fridge…all the way back to the door, including the back of the doors. Search with your eyes and with your hands. Be thorough and patient.

Finally, I always make sure that the last thing I take is the card I inserted into the power slot (if one wasn’t in there when I arrived). If it is mine, then I usually hook a hanger over it the night before just to remind me.

Even though I usually travel solo…sometimes I find something that would have been left behind if I didn’t do my search.

Wear whatever makes you comfortable…within reason of course.

From a tuxedo and formal gown…or military dress mess uniform…or formal top with kilt………all the way through nice shorts and a polo.

You will not stand out. So many others do the same, you’ll fit right in.

This happens to me every time I book at NextCruise. I book solo in a balcony or suite and I figure their system automatically splits the OBC into two.

Each time, the NextCruise worker always tells me to ignore the OBC on the confirmation page they print out. I know as soon as the cruise goes through the landside system, the correct full OBC amount is applied and I get a new confirmation page.

I have one that even comes with its own commercial….

Seize the excitement! 
Seize the action! 
Seize the day! 
Seize the moment!….

On Royal Caribbean’s new…

Seize of the Seas!

Seize the Seize as she seizes the seas!

Come be a seize seizer while sailing the seas on the Seize of the Seas!

See?

Threads live forever!

My issue is I have sleeping difficulties at home. But onboard I sleep much better. Even in very heavy seas when I’m getting pushed around, I still seem to sleep a lot better while on a ship.

I asked my doctor, solely in the interest of my health and wellbeing, to write a prescription for me to cruise as much as possible…but my cheapskate insurance company still won’t pay for my cruises. Ba$t@rds!

Prayers to all of those affected by this horrible tragedy.

I’m sure the investigation will be federally led and include the Coast Guard, NTSB and other federal investigative agencies.

The loss of commerce due to the stoppage of container vessels and also the interstate road system used by trucking will be substantial. Although rerouting vessels and vehicles to other ports and roads will quickly take precedence. 

As for replacement cruise ports…Bayonne is a good possibility. There are many days each week where there are no ships in port. Right now it’s only the Anthem on Sundays. In May it will be the Liberty and Symphony. There’s also the possibility of the Manhattan Cruise Terminals which consist of piers 88, 89 and 90. Pier 88 is the one most used at this time…primarily by NCL. There is also the Brooklyn cruise port used primarily by MSC and Cunard.

Bayonne has been pretty loose as far as arrival times are concerned. Lots of people show up early and as long as the security lines don’t get too backed up, they just keep waving you into the terminal without checking SeaPasses. Just keep in mind the garage doesn’t usually open for new passengers until approximately 10am…to allow disembarking passengers to leave first.

Even after checking in, the seating is first come-first serve for general passengers. Suites have their own seating area. When general boarding does commence, they have each row stand one at a time and they board.

Hopefully they don’t change this as the weather gets nicer and being forced to stand outside isn’t the issue that it is during the winter in NJ.

Onboard the Anthem sailing from Bayonne NJ…

Last night (day 1) in the casino there was an issue with the player card recognition system on the slot machines. Only the machines…not the tables.

When players tapped their cards, the receiver turned green and screen said ‘Welcome Guest’ instead of ‘Welcome (players name)’. Because the receiver turned green, many players thought their card was accepted and the points would count.

However, although the points played would count on the display…they would not be applicable to the player. The casino host had to keep making announcements over and over as the casino became more crowded after dinner.

Apparently, there was an IT issue resulting in all of the player’s information being deleted from the system. The onboard technical members were working with shoreside to manually enter each player’s information into the program and that was taking quite a bit of time.

The casino host kept telling people to take a photo of their points before leaving a machine. Otherwise, there would be no way for them to post the points to the player’s account when things got back to normal.

As time went on, the host kept announcing how many more players had their information restored and kept asking for patience from those still in the queue.

Wondering if this was just on the Anthem or were other ships affected.

@RCIfan1912 Agree…strange and concerning. I commented on both sailing’s Roll Call pages to see if anyone else had any different experiences…waiting.

I’m on this.

Just checked in. The earliest arrival time available was 12 noon. Did anyone get an earlier time?

I’m also on this.

Wondering if anyone else stayed up for the midnight check in.

Had a glitch. It allowed me to check in but would not allow me to choose an arrival time. Had a message on top saying I should check back closer to the cruise date in order to choose an arrival time. That’s a first.

Kept checking…several times a day…until two and a half days later, the arrival time opened up. But the first available was 11:30am.

Strange.