BrianB

The town council had already implemented restrictions on cruise ship passenger numbers. This story appears to be about a petition vote which will put a new, more restrictive policy, on the ballot. If they don’t want us there…fine with me. I don’t like tendering anyway. But it is a very beautiful place!

I wish you the best of luck and hope you go through the process of beating this quickly and easily. I agree with my fellow posters…check with your medical professionals. Only they can give you the best advice.

We Will Rock You is still performing…as is The Gift. And Spectra’s Cabaret. Don’t know what, if any, tribute band may be aboard next week…or which headliners (comedian, singer, etc). *The Gift wasn’t being shown until recently. It was cancelled since the restart but they apparently have it back on. Maybe someone who was aboard recently can provide more info…. I will be aboard Sunday.

@twangster….Okay….NOW I’m ready for the quiz! Thank you!

In my experience…the Key has always had a boarding time of 11:30 or earlier. This is so Key customers can take advantage of the Key lunch. The lunch is usually served through 1pm. Also, it’s best to come early to take advantage of the carry on drop off service. No sense dropping off your carry on if you board after the rooms are available. I also agree that it’s best to ‘eyeball’ the dedicated security lines as you enter the terminal. Timing is everything. If a large group of Key members and suite passengers enter just before you, it might be quicker going through a regular security line. Lastly, I’ve found that sometimes there are frazzled port workers who may not be familiar with the Key and just wave you into the regular line. It’s best to scope out the entrance to see if there is a dedicated Key line. Enjoy!

Extremely interesting conversations here. I’m learning a lot. Particularly interesting to me is the thought that the ship I sail on the most (Anthem) has had pretty good surf and stream IMO primarily because it was built with the idea of having good wifi connectivity. But now I’m learning that the new system may be a downgrade. I’m hoping that the shipboard hardware is what makes the service operate so well for me, and the change over to Starlink enhances rather than degrades the experience. I’m also hoping that per user access is not capped to the point where it also results in less connectivity. Fingers crossed. Thank you all for your explanations and insight into ‘Introduction to Cruise Ship WiFi Service Class 101’! …I’m almost ready for the quiz.

I do lots of back to backs and they sometimes don't know the entertainment schedule for the following week until the day before. Lots of considerations to be made; including new guest headliners, the time it takes to prepare the sets for the main shows, changes to the cast due to sick or injured requiring cancellations or more rehearsals with stand-ins...sometimes even the weather forecast will cause scheduling issues for some shows. I like having the ability to make pre-boarding entrainment reservations...but I know sometimes that's not possible. Even when I'm already aboard the day before. But, luckily for me, I like dining early so never have a problem with dining/entertainment comflicts. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

@WAAAYTOOO Sorry, but I’ve never been on the Explorer…at least to the best of my recollection .

Anthem is perfect for NJ in winter because of the indoor pool….and the Solarium is completely enclosed and climate controlled. Love lounging in the Solarium, sipping a cold drink, as we sail out of New York harbor and under the bridge in winter…leaving behind the bitter cold along with the heavy cloud cover making darkness come ever earlier…watching the occasional ice pack floating by on the surface of the river………

I’m quoting myself so I can take responsibility for my snide remark…and add a correction. Bermuda did in fact refund the $40 back to my credit card. I was wrong. Mea Culpa. Love ya Bermuda!

I also had that pop up on my app a few days into some sailings. They wanted to know my experience with eMuster; they asked the location of my muster station and gave me all of the choices onboard, I just had to select mine; and the same question about the sequence of putting on the life jacket…open it, put it in over my head, close the snap, pull the strap, tuck away excess. Just had to slide each step into the correct order. Very quick and easy. I also make sure to give big thumbs up to the eMuster on my post-cruise surveys.

Virtually all of my cruises are back to backs. Never had any problem getting my new card. Scanned the old one as I entered the theater and walked up to the table where they easily found my new card and handed it to me. Easy peasy. Maybe they learned lessons from the sh*tshow days…or maybe I’m just lucky. But again…I would hope that before they make a decision to surrender and return to the bad old days that they would first try anything and everything to keep eMuster.

I agree with a solution involving locking out an account until the SeaPass is scanned at the muster station. No scan…no service. I also like the idea that room cards be issued at the muster station (I believe this would be most effective…Royal’s IT dept seems to have some difficulty dealing with computer programming…go figure…) But, both of these require the crew to already be in place at the stations prior to passengers boarding. I would hate to see boarding delayed due to the crew not being ready. Or services such as dining and room preparation be delayed due to lack of available crew who are working the muster stations. From what I have experienced, most of those working the muster stations have been from the entertainment and Cruise Director’s staff…so it shouldn’t be an issue. But I don’t know if that’s the case on smaller ships.

Always call and check. As I said before...sometimes the change fee can be waived. But you won't know unless you (or your TA) calls. Good luck!

I have changed non-refundable bookings several times. Sometimes I find a better itinerary or deal on another ship during the time frame of the original booking and decide to switch. Usually there is a $100 change fee…so instead of losing my original $250 deposit (7 day cruises) I only lose the hundred. Of course that factors into my decision…but not by much. All of my changes were well after the initial grace period…usually weeks later. Then there are times when I have called to make a switch, fully expecting to pay the fee, only to be put on hold while the agent ‘checks with my colleague’. Then they come back and tell me the change fee was waived so I didn’t lose anything. That has happened quite a few times. I don’t know why…but I’m not complainin’!

I love the overnights in Bermuda. Sailing from NJ on a seven day cruise usually gives us two overnights. The ship becomes like a hotel. Getting off and on whenever I wish. Bermuda is one of my favorite ports to visit. Beautiful, clean, safe and the locals are great! Although I try to always be aware wherever I am, Bermuda is one of the safest places to wander about…even at night. I love the local pubs and restaurants. I also like doing some of the excursions after dark, such as the glass bottom boat into the Great Sound with the Rum Swizzles included. The beaches are phenomenal. Bermuda is the only place I ever did overnights on a cruise, so I can’t speak of any other destination. Enjoy your cruise!

Do it! You're welcome.

You don't need wifi to communicate if you have cell service. Unless I'm missing something, just call. There's plenty of places along the approach road for him to wait until you call or text and he can pull up to the terminal when you're ready. Just tell him what zone number.

I check my pending cruise prices nearly every day. Sometimes I will score a significantly reduced price without there being an advertised sale or promotion. It’s just supply and demand. Or maybe sometimes the gerbil in the Royal algorithm wheel gets tired and stops spinning for a bit. Especially because it seems some of these sudden drops can quickly bounce back up again. I book my own cruises so I can call Royal directly and reprice immediately. Sometimes it takes more than half an hour on hold to get through, but that’s what speakerphones are for. But, if I didn’t have the time…and wasn’t such an obsessive cruiseaholic…I would definitely utilize a great travel agent to do this work for me. I hear nothing but good things about dealing with this blog’s travel agent…MEI. I also check prices on categories higher than what I originally booked. Even though the category I booked doesn’t drop much in price, the next category drops enough to make the upgrade a great bargain. Again, supply and demand. I guess if they get me to upgrade into a better suite at a good price, they can open up my original booking to entice another customer. Sort of the same business strategy when they offer RoyalUps. By the way…this repricing also works for Cruise Planner purchases. If the price drops, Royal allows me to cancel the higher priced purchase with a refund to my credit card, and then I repurchase at the lower price. All of this is pre-final payment, of course. But even if I paid in full, as long as it’s before the final payment due date…they still let me reprice. The difference is credited back to my charge card. Enjoy! @WoodsTravelsBy the way...to be clear, you may be entitled to the savings, but they're not automatically applied. You, or your travel agent, have to do the repricing. It takes effort, but can be well worth it.

I always make sure to visit the host desk right after embarkation. I make my request for the entire cruise and have always been accommodated. I prefer MTD but like to eat early. Since MTD changed to 6:45 as the earliest time available (at least it was in the Oasis and the Anthem) I changed to the early seating at traditional dining. Then I go and ask for a solo table. @Bryan SI agree. Whenever I’m seated at a two top, it’s usually in a line of two tops. I can speak with other cruisers who are sitting next to me, or I can just read while I eat. I don’t have to wait for others and don’t have to worry about group dining etiquette. Also, there have been times where I was sitting alone and some very nice people would notice me and come and invite me to their table. That’s one of the best things I really like about cruising…I meet some really nice, authentic and happy people.

I agree. That’s a booking scenario where a good travel agent would be very useful. They have the experience and the knowledge booking these type of issues.

You can’t do it all. After boarding, I schedule my shows for the week…those that require reservations. I make sure I don’t have any conflicts with specialty dining reservations on the show days so I don’t have to rush through a meal. Booking the shows is important as they fill up quickly and I don’t want to wait in the standby line at the door. Other than that…I pretty much just check the Cruise Compass each day…or the night before…to get an idea of what’s happening. If something interests me I’ll just keep it in mind and, if available, I’ll go. But, the most important thing for me is the relaxation and not having to be anywhere but where I am. How Zen-like!…but it’s true. Don’t feel like you need to be doing something other than enjoying the vacation experience. Rest, relax, repeat! Enjoy!

I think that’s also part of the problem. After getting drinks plenty of times….nothing I do is crystal clear! But I do hope this works out as expected. Hopefully keeping track is easier and it does result in less time spent at Guest Services. Kudos to Royal for trying something to make it better…and also Royal’s ability to adjust and change all the time. Sometimes new things don’t work out and they are not afraid to admit a mistake. Constant tweaking is better than defending bad changes. I really like it when a company listens to it’s consumers. Let’s see how this works out. JMO.

It’s an email. I got it yesterday.

The last few on Oasis were held in the theater. As we entered, the officers including the captain and the cruise director were lined up and greeted everyone. Exchanged a few pleasantries. Lots of sparkling wine, mimosas etc. The orchestra was performing on stage. Then the cruise director, the captain and the hotel director gave a few words on stage. The new Pinnacles and those reaching milestones along with the most points were recognized and photos were taken. Pretty well attended.