BrianB

$105,177.58 for the Family Townhouse?

Sorry, but that’s $177.58 more than I would have spent for it.

I appreciate the company’s position of withholding information out of respect for the family…and the process.

I agree that they have more substantial evidence including cameras and witnesses. But there’s no immediate need to satisfy curiosity or quell rumors at the expense of prematurely reaching an official conclusion until all of the investigative processes are complete…from all agencies involved.

Then they can issue a carefully worded statement addressing the cause. Litigation will likely follow, as usual…a life was lost and all avenues need to be explored as to how it happened, what preventive measures were reasonable to ensure it didn’t happen, and can anything be done to prevent it from happening again.

Condolences to his family and friends.

12-3 Anthem

12-17 Anthem

12-31 yep…you guessed it…Anthem.

@WAAAYTOOO According to the story, a collision involving a P&O ship this past August damaged some lifeboats and other life saving equipment, so they had to reduce capacity. Passengers were asked to volunteer to leave the cruise at the current port.

I believe they offered incentives such as a refund plus future cruise certificates. Also they would have a dedicated flight arranged to get them home.

I don’t know if they got their volunteers or if they had to pick. If they did, I also wonder how….eeny, meeny, miney, mo? Rock, paper, scissors? 

I usually go to guest services, or the Loyalty Ambassador, on the second day and ask them.

They can give you the final count for your cruise. There’s always no-shows on embarkation day…or those unfortunate enough to be denied boarding for whatever reason. They can also give the breakdowns…how many kids and loyalty levels.

Then it’s easy to just Google the ship for capacity limits. They’ll have the numbers for full double occupancy and full to capacity.

Capacity is the top number allowed onboard that the available life boats and rafts can hold. In other words…having every available bed, pullout, drop down, crib or rollaway bed occupied will never happen. I have seen once where they offloaded some crew members and put them up in local hotels for a week because we had so many guests onboard. Recently, there was a story where some cruise passengers had to be disembarked mid-cruise due to damage to some life boats. The maximum amount of souls onboard is the amount that the life boats and rafts can handle.

I’m on the Anthem now…Nov 26, 2023.

Doing a b2b so I’ll be on Anthem Dec 3, 2023.

Then Anthem again Dec 17, 2023 for one week (cruised over Christmas last year…too crowded!).

Then Anthem Dec 31, 2023 b2b with an 11 night on Jan 7, 2024 for a nice 18 night cruise.

That’s it for December, 2023.

I guess I can be considered a frequent cruiser. I’m also a retiree and have the time to manage my own reservations.

I don’t mind checking my bookings every day to see if there have been any price drops. Same with any Cruise Planner purchases. I’m pretty well versed dealing with RC agents when I call. For example, I know when to politely end a call and call another agent when I feel I’m not getting the right answer. They really try but sometimes they are mistaken, or misunderstanding, or not completely informed. I know to call resolutions if I have to. I know my casino cruises can only be serviced by the casino agents so I call them directly. I have an excellent source of Royal-related information at my fingertips……….here!

I usually book en mass onboard so I only pay $100 deposit and get the OBC (depends on cruise length…but typical seven night is $100). It’s helpful to me that NextCruise can check cabin availability on b2bs, which is my preferred cruising itinerary. Easier than me going back and forth trying to lock in the same cabin on each leg.

I don’t know if I lose anything (reduced deposit and/or OBC) if I transfer a NextCruise to a TA. Honestly, I’ve been considering checking out a TA to see if it’s worth it to me. The one thing I’m wary of is I would no longer ‘own’ the reservation and would depend on the TA for any and all adjustments, changes or re-pricing…many of which come and go quickly. Although the trade-off would be an expert that can handle any problem that arises.

So far, I guess I’ve been pretty lucky. No major issues that I couldn’t handle quickly and satisfactorily. But, thanks to all your comments…ya got me wonderin’!

Hello!

I’m booked!

Hello!

I’m booked!

Hello!

I'm booked!

Hello!

I'm booked!

Hello!

I’m on this also.

I’m booked on this cruise, also.

I’m on this cruise also.

I’m onboard the Anthem now and the Chief Engineer said the engine overhaul procedure will be completed by the end of November. Beginning on the Dec 3 sailing, we should be back on our original itineraries.

Fingers crossed.

 @NicoleTuttle The credit already there ($50) is non-refundable if it came as a credit for making the booking. Use it or lose it.

The credit for the missed port is refundable…meaning if you don’t use it all by the end of the cruise…whatever is left will be refunded to your original form of payment…ie; credit card.

Both are combined on your account and whatever purchase you make onboard…including the casino…is deducted from that total.

I don’t know if they decide what OBC gets used first…but I’ve had some combined refundable and non-refundable left over at the end of a cruise, and it was refunded to my credit card.

Your mileage may vary.

Welcome to cruising!

I checked in yesterday for a cruise on the Anthem on December 31st. This is the first time I can remember seeing 10:00 being offered. Took it!

Cruising in December…the only ship in port at that time is the Anthem. So it’s a pretty sure bet that you’ll park in the garage.

You don’t want to deal with the typical agent on the phone with something like this. Many are just booking agents and not versed in dealing with complicated issues. Most will recognize that and transfer you, sometimes to a supervisor who may eventually transfer you to Resolutions, but why go through it over and over.

When you call…ask to be transferred to the Resolutions Department.

This is one of those times when booking through a good travel agent really pays off. A good travel agent is experienced in handling these issues for you. I say ‘good’ travel agent, because there are some that don’t follow up very well or are hard to reach.

Also, if you booked through the casino, then you will be transferred to them. Only they can service your booking.

17 minutes ago, bobroo said:

The lesson here is simple, we have cruisers who have quite recently undergone muster training and we still have some that flat out refuse or are unclear of the importance of wearing a PFD during an emergency. The e-muster cartoons are not working.

Flat out refusing to wear a life vest even after watching the video cannot be corrected by the Coast Guard or any other entity.

Panic and reality (I can't believe this is happening!) can cause confusion and disorientation. It's ultimately up to the individual, with the help and direction of competent boat crews, and others, to do whatever is needed to safely handle themselves in an emergency situation.

We can speculate, but we don't yet know all the facts and should wait until condemning the crew, or anything else, until then.

Nobody really knows what they would do in a similar circumstance...until it happens.

Condolences to the family of the victim...may she rest in peace.

I agree with the above comments. 

But, there are also some who tip on the food price only...and not the alcohol. Sometimes a meal's bill can be significantly increased due to diners who drink like fish! Sorry, but it's an accurate description!

It's not really applicable onboard when many have the drinks package or loyalty coupons...but on land, the price can shoot up because of cocktails pre- and post-dinner.

I know this may not work for everyone...but I've had success booking the new, lower priced one before canceling the first one.

Some get an error message when they try this...but I've been successful doing it.

Give it a try. Let us know.

I’ve also cancelled a purchase made with partial OBC and partial credit card. The OBC went right back to my account and the balance will be refunded to my credit card. I think that happened in a few days.

I never had to deal with travel agent supplied OBC, but I’m guessing it’s still considered the same. Maybe someone who has…or a TA…can advise.

I’m on the Anthem now on a b2b. I’m in a balcony forward on deck eight port side.

I also hear a banging sound. It sounds like someone hitting a water pipe with a hammer. It happens about once every ten to twenty seconds. I thought  it was something loose which made the noise with the motion of the ship…but, when we were docked the noise was still there. I tracked it down to the forward crew only door on the port side where it sounded the loudest. My cabin attendant said the noise sounds like it’s in the wall by the crew stairs and has been there for quite a while and he notified his supervisor as other guests have also been complaining but nothing seems to have changed.

Fortunately for me…it isn’t really that loud in my cabin and I can ignore it, but I feel sorry for those who are closer, especially the interior cabins. I did find out that it’s a structural issue that cannot be corrected easily. I was offered to change my cabin but, as I said, I’m able to ignore it because it isn’t too loud. And changing cabins would be more annoying to me.

Hopefully everyone who is impacted by this can go to Guest Services and change cabins and/or get some compensation. Better yet…hopefully they can find some way to fix it…as soon as possible. I’ve already booked more cruises in this cabin…and others near it!

At many ports I see crew members either leaving with their luggage or new crew members coming aboard. This is just their contract periods ending or starting. The company arranges travel and many times they’ll meet, or leave, the ship at ports along the way.
In particular, headliners come and go from ship to ship at various ports. Sometimes you’ll hear a performer talk about how they joined the ship from another ship mid-cruise. 
I was on the Jewel sailing to Greenland in September and a group of performers joined us at Nuuk, Greenland. They were flown in the day before and stayed at a local hotel. Everything was arranged by the company. They had a great time waiting for us…hiking up a mountain and enjoying the local food and sights.
The company handles all the arrangements and works with the local governmental agencies to facilitate crew members moving through their jurisdictions. Flights, hotels and transportation are pre-arranged.

Crew members also get to enjoy shore leave at many destinations. But there is always the odd instance where a crew member ‘jumps ship’ and never returns. This happens sometimes in the US. Some restrictions are put in place for crew members on their first contract where they are denied shore leave. I’ve even heard where some ports will deny crew members shore leave due to past instances.

But, any passenger who decides to ‘jump ship’ will be pretty obvious as they carry their luggage with them. Getting past ship’s security is one thing…and whatever penalty the company decides to levy, such as processing fees and future banning. But then it’s likely they’ll end up in the arms of local authorities who likely will be thorough in their inspection and investigation.

As posted above, if you have a reason to leave such as an obvious emergency, the ship will facilitate your leaving and communicate with the local authorities. They can even help arrange transportation and allow access to WiFi or even telephone service onboard to help. But that requires some time. Being patient and cooperative is the only way.

I booked one of the Sky Class Junior Suites in the Suite Neighborhood as soon as booking opened. There’s only eight of them on the ship. I’m sailing solo and was able to book the same suite back to back. The price was, in my opinion, very reasonable…especially for a new ship with such an iconic roll out (see what I did there.).

Im looking now and I see so many lower category cabins are priced even higher than what I paid. I’m thinking some bean counter is kicking themself in the butt for originally pricing it so low!