BrianB

I’ve had a cabin that was in a sold-out category so there was no way to check for a price drop. Certainly didn’t think the price would drop as there were none available in the category. But, I called to apply an Instant Cash Certificate from the Casino and was surprised when the agent told me the price had dropped a bit and would I like the new price. Very unexpected and appreciated. I went back and checked up to the final payment date in case some opened up (sometimes group bookings and TAs have them on hold) but the category remained sold out. You can always call and check. Couldn’t hurt.

I don’t think you can switch a current booking to a new Prime Casino booking…but you can apply the value of the certificate to the current booking. That’s what I usually do. I think the certificate is for a free 7 night Caribbean cruise for two. There are no 7 night Caribbean cruises from Bayonne. I’m pretty sure they don’t consider the Bahamas as ‘Caribbean’ even though it’s sometimes referred to as such. The Bahamas are in the Atlantic. The best bang for the buck would be to use it for the 7 night Caribbean. It usually covers everything except port fees and taxes. But, I’m not flying to Florida for that. I’ll just take the value.

Chargers for phone and iPad…check Book for beach and pool reading…check Sunscreen…check Antibacterial wipes…check Check under bed for pervert…check Shampoo and body wash…check Toothbrush…check Check entire cabin for pervert camera…check *Ready to cruise!

I don’t know if it’s a cruise line process…or if the CBP (in the U.S.) automatically does it when they get the manifest. I’m presuming that’s why they want the manifest early. I’m thinking it would be pretty difficult to screen each and every passenger with a complete background check. Not only entering the info, but then someone screening the results. More likely CBP will scan the manifest and respond to flags. Wanted people, watch list names, those on court restricted travel, passport irregularities, etc…

I use the plastic covers also…I put one on the top handle and one on the side. I also mark my bag with color reflective tape on all sides so I can see it from far away…distinguishing it from others. Also helps prevent someone with a similar bag from accidentally taking mine.

Today I tried checking some of the prices for my bookings made over a year ago. Usually the price automatically includes the solo supplement so I can compare them easily with today’s prices. Now…for me, even those booked so long ago no longer have that option. The only difference is for those bookings, it will allow me to apply the DP340 promo code…but…it will not show the discounted price. It accepts the code but says ‘discount will be applied at check out’. I went through the booking process adding all of the info and preferences (dining time, insurance…etc) and got to the payment page. It still would not reflect the solo price. I even tried placing a Courtesy Hold on the reservation and still…no discounted price. Why hide it? It won’t stop me from comparing pricing. All I have to do is keep a list of the new prices and when I see a drop, I’ll call for a reprice. If it’s less, my discounted price should be less. Hopefully. I guess I’ll find out eventually. The really frustrating part would be…if the non-discounted reprice results in a huge jump, and then having to wait for someone, somewhere down the line to eventually apply the solo discount manually. And hope that it doesn’t fall through one of the many cracks in the system. I wonder if Travel Agents are having the same difficulty. If so…that would really take up lots of time and effort. Oh well…I hope this is not the new ‘norm’ and they can get back to the old, consumer-friendly, transparent and easily navigable system.

This has been a new issue for me. Even onboard while booking at Next Cruise, they can not apply the single cruiser supplement discount. They found it very frustrating because they were unable to quote the discounted price. They contacted shoreside and were advised that the discount can now only be manually applied by them…after the booking has been completed and submitted. Eventually, I did get the new cruise confirmations emailed to me…two weeks later…with the discounted price. ***I tried adding the code DP340 into the promo code box, but it keeps saying ‘Invalid code’….am I doing something wrong?

Update…GOOD NEWS! On the Anthem now. I checked in this afternoon with Next Cruise about the missing solo cruiser discount on the cruises I booked two weeks ago. Danning said she had not received a response from the email she sent at that time. She told me she would contact shoreside and get me an answer. At 8pm I saw that Royal had emailed me fifteen new cruise confirmation receipts. All fifteen cruises had the discount applied…to the original lower price! Very happy!

Update…GOOD NEWS! On the Anthem now. I checked in this afternoon with Next Cruise about the missing solo cruiser discount on the cruises I booked two weeks ago. Danning said she had not received a response from the email she sent at that time. She told me she would contact shoreside and get me an answer. At 8pm I saw that Royal had emailed me fifteen new cruise confirmation receipts. All fifteen cruises had the discount applied…to the original lower price! No need to worry about crossing bridges when I get to them anymore. Very happy!

Not only are prices not going down…but it seems like some of the regular discounts are not being applied. When I check bookings without my C&A number and then re-check with my number, the price either doesn’t change, or it drops by $50. I cruise solo and with my C&A number entered, I should be getting the 150% solo cruiser discount. These are cruises that are not during the blackout periods…no summer, holiday, spring break, new ship…nada. Even the Next Cruise people couldn’t understand why the discount isn’t being applied. I know it has that loophole ‘where applicable’ and they control the definition of ‘applicable’…but I didn’t think it would mean as long as we can get more, then the discount is not applicable. Oh, well….decided to take a risk and booked a bunch anyway at Next Cruise with $100 deposits each to lock them in and will monitor. Hopefully the discount eventually gets applied but I’m suspecting that when it does, it will be on a new, higher price and not the price when I booked it. If the price doesn’t drop by final payment, then I’ll have to consider cancellation and forfeit the $100. Bridges to cross when I get to them….

@WAAAYTOOO I hope it’s an IT shortfall and not a bean counter decision. ‘Based on availability’ could mean almost anything. Oh, well…I’ll keep checking. Thanks for responding!

I booked a bunch of cruises sailing out of Bayonne as soon as the Northeast Sailing Schedule opened this past week. I booked them at NextCruise onboard the Anthem. The person assisting me was a bit confused because the solo cruiser discount wasn’t automatically being applied as it usually was. She tried pricing without my C&A number and it was the same as with it. Two of them were $50 less. None of the cruises were during blackout periods, holidays-new ship-summer, and she couldn’t figure out why the discount wasn’t applying. I know it’s also ‘based on availability’, but I’m booking the day the cruises were being offered. I booked anyway because I wanted to lock in cabins on back to backs. She sent an email to shoreside and told me it would take about two weeks for a response. A few days later she said she heard from a colleague that the C&A solo cruiser discount had not yet been activated for the new schedule, but that was not confirmed from shoreside. Does anyone have a similar experience…or any information about this?

@twangster Could be… - But the ship is always sailing at or above capacity. I’m not really sure the company would be that responsive to customer preferences if they are not directly related to a drop in demand. Maybe just a timely shuffling of the deck.

@RCIfan1912 The forecast for CocoCay next Wednesday looks good…so far. Southeast winds at 17mph…

Dynamic pricing. When demand is high, prices go high. If demand falls, prices will fall. I’m booked on the Odyssey next year Feb 8, 2025…8 night…the price is pretty close to the 8 night Anthem cruise this past week. But I book my cruises pretty much as soon as they are available. Back when I booked, they were still worried about the post-Covid comeback and priced accordingly. Now that demand has skyrocketed…prices have risen. Glad I got in when I did. **I'm also a bit curious as to why they took the Anthem, with her indoor family pool, away from the Northeast and replaced her with the Odyssey. I know Anthem is scheduled for an extensive dry dock period in Singapore. But without that climate controlled indoor pool area…the first and last two days will be pretty crowded in the Solarium…more than usual. It’s already like the Hunger Games trying to find a lounge chair on sea days.

Not only wind speed…also wind direction, usually in combination with the size and direction of the swells can make it very difficult to maneuver to the pier…and to stay safely alongside. Remember, the pier is not in a protected harbor but open to the sea. Even on a beautiful sunny day…if significant swells from a distant storm are too much to safely approach the pier, then the attempt to dock will likely be cancelled. Also, even if the weather is fine for docking in the morning, if the forecast calls for seriously worsening conditions during the day…the decision to not dock at all would likely result. The primary focus is safety…number one is the passengers, crew and the ship. Next comes the safety of the pier itself. Damaging the pier can result in losing CocoCay as a destination until repairs could be made.

I booked a bunch of solo cruises yesterday morning at Next Cruise here onboard the Anthem. All sailing from my home port of Bayonne NJ. The prices are very high, but I figured I wanted to lock in back to back balcony cabins and hope the price declines as time goes on. Plus, it’s only $100 deposit each and I get at least $100 back OBC. Even the Next Cruise agent was confused because the C&A 150% solo occupant supplement wouldn’t apply automatically as it normally does. None of the cruises are in the black out periods (No summers, no holidays, no new ship, only one during spring break). But I booked anyway to lock them in. My worst case scenario…if the price doesn’t drop for a few of them as final payment looms, then I’ll cancel. It’s a $100 risk for each one. Or I’ll try a lift and shift. A bridge to cross once I get to it. But to your point….as I sit here less than 24hrs later…all of the cruises I booked have gone up in price by several hundred dollars. All fifteen of them! Between $200-$400. The average is $300. Also, one cruise already has an entire category of balconies as ‘Sold Out’. I'm hoping this is just an automated reaction to a sudden demand for a newly released, highly anticipated cruise schedule…and eventually demand will falter.

Looks like the site is a bit wonky. Surprise, surprise. Guess it’ll take some time to get the bugs out.

…and how can they already show ‘only one balcony cabin left on deck 8’ - ‘…on deck 9’ - ‘…on deck 10’. Trying to put pressure to impulse buy.

Cape Liberty is up. Ouch! Did a few quickies. February 2026…a solo balcony is six hundred more than a single in a regular midship balcony.

@ScottD Yes. Odyssey replaces Anthem and Symphony replaces Oasis. *and I agree about Playmakers!

@RCIfan1912 I understand she will sail from Bayonne to the UK as usual after April. Then, instead of coming back to Bayonne, she will eventually homeport in Singapore...but she is also scheduled for her amplification to be performed there. Hopefully, she will eventually return to Bayonne.

I cruise the Anthem out of Bayonne multiple times over the winter months. Having the enclosed main family pool is great for this itinerary. The area is heated against the northeast cold and air conditioned when we get to the hot Caribbean ports. The Solarium is crowded with adults on the day or two coming from Bayonne and the day or two coming back. Chair hogging is a problem. Sometimes it’s like the Hunger Games trying to get a lounger, especially if you have a few people. But…that’s even with a large amount of passengers, adults and families, being in the enclosed main pool area. However, the Quantum Class Anthem leaves this April and will not return to Bayonne. Her replacement is the Odyssey. The Odyssey is a Quantum-Plus class ship. The main difference which affects this itinerary is there is no enclosed pool. That area is open so there are two outdoor family pools. I can only imagine how crowded the Solarium will be on the cold days coming and going from Bayonne. How many people will ignore the adults-only rule and bring their kids in because there’s no other option. It will be interesting.

In the past, I would always purchase a three night specialty package. Back when the price was $109…total. The downsides were that I was unable to book any restaurant until I boarded…so it was a risk that many of the best slots would already be booked, especially if I was looking for a larger table. I know from Matt they’re looking to change that but I haven’t seen it yet. Made for lots of anxiety on embarkation day…and even before that. For instance I would have my alarm set to remind me that I needed to check in at midnight as soon as check in opened so I could get an early boarding time. Then the rush to leave my home early to beat the traffic. Yeah, I know, I’m a worrier. Also, even though I booked early dining…if I purchased a dining package, it would default me into MyTime Dining. If I called to try and change it back, the only thing they could do was put me on the early dining waitlist. So another task I needed to do on boarding day was to rush over to the main dining room host desk and wait in line…then try to get the host to change me back to early dining and hope I could get a good table. More embarkation day stress. So now I just don’t purchase any package. They made that decision easier by raising the prices so much, and by making it hard to balance both specialty and MDR. Also, during my Anthem cruises, servers will come around in the daytime offering discounted meals in the specialty restaurants because they have lots of available tables. I usually get the 50% off for Jaime’s.

I wonder how many US cities would have areas with Level 4 Warnings if the State Department was able to apply their metrics to those locations…