ChessE4

6 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Can you share which policy you have and which section it’s under please.

It's an individual trip policy. It's on p2 and is labeled Missed Port of Call Coverage. We don't buy annual policies because of annual caps.Some people start with annual and then supplement as needed.

Our Allianz policy has a provision of 100 for missed or changed port from original itinerary. But Royal gave us 500 when they changed Canada to Bahamas after boarding, so we didn't file a claim. Max is 300 with our policy.

On our cruise 10 days ago we received a Royal Up solicitation a week before our cruise. That must have delayed Gty room assignments for some.

Last week the cruise closing show had some bathroom humor but mostly focused on cruise behavior, supposedly family friendly. 5 things you don't hear people say, like I just won big money in the casino.

 Cruise evaluation? 

9 hours ago, Hutchy said:

Do the showers have a handheld shower head? and does anyone have photos of the bathrooms?

Yes. It adjusts up and down and can be removed from the slider. Been on several different ships. Not sure which room type or ship you've selected.

I have tried espresso macchiato from Royal's cafe or a flavored latte to get my am coffee fix. You can purchase coffee card for that.

6 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I purchase a case of waters and get  my 5 free drinks a day.  For my B2B2B that is coming up I also purchased the coffee card.  That supplies me with plenty of drinks throughout the day for the entire trip.

The coffee card drinks are much tastier than those from Crown Lounge machine, so I have also used your strategy.

7 minutes ago, Last2Know said:

Embarked Grandeur yesterday and can confirm lots of people using their vouchers at the Crown Lounge for unopened drinks during happy hour. I ordered my 5 Coronas and the server bought them in a bucket…easy to carry and ice down. 

I think smaller ships really emphasize customer  service. This is an example.

For me, watching prices is just sport. I didn't use up my vouchers last week. If you aren't yet Diamond, apply the package cost to future cruises, bring wine on board, and take advantage of free booze onboard. Brilliance had cheap drinks of the day and a Margarita happy hour on day one. Just a thought...

On 2/9/2025 at 10:02 AM, StormHold said:

We've sailed on Voyager, Allure, Harmony, Mariner, and Jewel, and although the big ships are amazing, we've fallen in love with the smaller ships, back to our roots I suppose.  Any idea when sailings for 2026/27 smaller ships will be showing up? 

Also, is RC dropping the New Orleans port? After March 2025, I'm not seeing any RC ships sailing out of there.

Our Captain on Brilliance last week stated he didn't know when Royal would return to New Orleans once the Brilliance leaves for Europe.

On Brilliance last week I asked for sparkling water with a voucher and was given an unopened bottle with a glass of ice in the theater. My wife ordered Coke Zero and was asked if she wanted them opened.

When I redeem Royal CC points the OBC is specific to me or to my wife, not to other linked reservations. 

Under what has changed, we noticed new production shows on Brilliance last week. Center Stage blended the contract musicians with RC Singers and Dancers plus orchestra in a fantastic variety show. I hadn't seen anything like that before, and it was awesome. Don't know what Oasis class is doing now.

On Brilliance now. Great service, hot MDR food at dinner, early seating runs 50 to 70 minutes for 3 courses. Only fiasco was parking at embarkation due to bowl activities. Entertainment good. Pastries and desserts show that economies are being made, but sweet tooth can be satisfied. Great lunch at Giovanni's!

Packed and ready to drive most of the way to LA tomorrow. Parking reserved for cruise. Safe travels to everyone!  

Update 8 Feb. A mess downtown. Fulton Place changed parking site and failed to notify everyone. One hour wait for cruise shuttle from new site, then 30 min to port due to traffic. A lot of late arrivals to ship. Everyone friendly despite circumstances! Lots of river traffic.

Packed and ready to drive most of the way to LA tomorrow. Parking reserved for cruise. Safe travels to everyone!

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

7 night dream itinerary - leave a port that is an easy enough drive from my home to not require travel the previous day (not currently an option on Royal), sail around for a week, return to that same port. No stops, just sea days.

I'll go along with this if sea days include a chess tournament!

22 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

7 night Italy/Croatia cruise

Ditto, but include Bari, Italy.

You didn't state age of daughter. A minor cruising with parents is different from adult child with own account/status. Our son earned his own diamond status before becoming adult.

Discussing the fate of upcoming foreign cruises is legitimate, but I am ok with moving on to spreadsheets that show how to maximize Crown and Anchor benefits on a 7 night trip. I need an equation that includes vouchers, BOGOs, and perhaps bundling. (Anticipating Super Bowl on our next trip!).

4 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I'm not gonna get political because its futile but do you think cruises to Canada will be affected by the chaos right now? We are sailing to Halifax on Liberty in May and I'm wondering also if we are gonna get blow back or heat while we are actually there. I love Canada and I love the Canadian people, more nice people you could not find but everyone has their line in the sand, breaking point. I'm a little worried about it now. Again please don't get political as this will shut the thread down. Thank you.

I plan on wearing my K t-shirt to protest the takeover of Treasury and the silly flooding of farms in Ca. Cruisers should be diplomats. The American people don't want tariffs. They want free trade and good relations with global partners.

I found music venues too loud on Harmony, and that was 2019. In the theater we can sit farther away, but it is a problem elsewhere. On Mariner we sat by Starbucks to listen to music at Boleros. Royal should tone it down. Contrast this with Oceania where I sat 3 feet away from a string quartet. Wow, such intimacy. Ditto for Royal's Central Park performances.

Our experience with DI Cozumel is that the store restricted Internet to avoid price checking. They discounted a Philip Stein but charged more than the online price for earrings (we found out at home). The net was a wash. Royal's sales ambassador offered to verify quality of stones beforehand to avoid misunderstanding. Won't do it again, but it wasn't unpleasant.

1 hour ago, MMcBride said:

I'm getting mixed comments about leaving the ship in Belize City due to level 3 security warnings.  We just plan on staying in the immediate port area-no excursions. Is it really an issue there?

No. Also, we took a Royal excursion and were fine. The warnings are for folks who wander on their own without trusted support. Same in the US.