bobroo

Wow, crazy to to think of a casino as a place with a lack of integrity. Too good to be true. Not exactly goods as promised. A swindle even before you get onboard. 
 
Humph!
 

Those are honestly all great ships with lots to do for all ages. Galveston departures and Allure are bound to save you the most money, if that's a factor. But, I, like the others here, recommend choosing by itinerary. For example, we're repeating Harmony later this year but it'll be 2 new stops for us and one we like going to. We're excited about the new stops AND about getting to explore the ship more and try new things or do things we didn't take in enough last time (*side eyes mom sleeping through the aqua show*)

I'd love to make it back on a sailing out of NOLA! My cruise card is full up for 2024 and 2025 already, though!

I will not be visiting Celebration Table, so I'm out.  @AshleyDillo?

I will gladly investigate these two! 

Can I request three Mods "investigations"? I saw Matts video the other day and was surprised by a few bright spots that warrant some unbiased, in-depth analysis:
Royal Bling-- Has Royal really just caught on to the amount of dollars spent in St Thomas for contraband Royal Caribbean jewelry??? I'd like to see what Royal Bling has on the shelves and well....would sorta like to see at what price. Warn me if I should be seated.
Aquadome Market-- Wow! Have they really been paying attention to how young people eat in 2024? The menus seem really short but is this goods as promised?
Celebration Table-- This is your reward for your hard work and this is your private party, but my question is: Can the food possibly match the venue?
 

Can I request three Mods "investigations"? I saw Matts video the other day and was surprised by a few bright spots that warrant some unbiased, in-depth analysis:
Royal Bling-- Has Royal really just caught on to the amount of dollars spent in St Thomas for contraband Royal Caribbean jewelry??? I'd like to see what Royal Bling has on the shelves and well....would sorta like to see at what price. Warn me if I should be seated.
Aquadome Market-- Wow! Have they really been paying attention to how young people eat in 2024? The menus seem really short but is this goods as promised?
Celebration Table-- This is your reward for your hard work and this is your private party, but my question is: Can the food possibly match the venue?
 

Can I request three Mods "investigations"? I saw Matts video the other day and was surprised by a few bright spots that warrant some unbiased, in-depth analysis:
Royal Bling-- Has Royal really just caught on to the amount of dollars spent in St Thomas for contraband Royal Caribbean jewelry??? I'd like to see what Royal Bling has on the shelves and well....would sorta like to see at what price. Warn me if I should be seated.
Aquadome Market-- Wow! Have they really been paying attention to how young people eat in 2024? The menus seem really short but is this goods as promised?
Celebration Table-- This is your reward for your hard work and this is your private party, but my question is: Can the food possibly match the venue?
 

Their underlying message to solo travelers is clear: We Don't Want You.
 
Using @DunkelBierJay example: It is going to cost the solo traveler $724 per night ($706 + $18 daily gratuity) for balcony that goes to Nassau and Coco Cay and is out of Port Canaveral. Mariner is over 20 years old. 
As a solo traveler,  I can get a lot more value for my buck on so many other vacation choices spending the same $2,888 budget over 4 days.
.
 

Their underlying message to solo travelers is clear: We Don't Want You.
 
Using @DunkelBierJay example: It is going to cost the solo traveler $724 per night ($706 + $18 daily gratuity) for balcony that goes to Nassau and Coco Cay and is out of Port Canaveral. Mariner is over 20 years old. 
As a solo traveler,  I can get a lot more value for my buck on so many other vacation choices spending the same $2,888 budget over 4 days.
.
 

I was curious about this, so I did a dummy booking for 2 travelers and for 1 traveler on Mariner on a 4 night sailing from Port Canaveral on April 4, 2024. Given the reports that Celebrity is charging extra for single travelers, I wondered if Royal may be starting to do the same. I share the observation that a single traveler does not consume as much complimentary food, and that is a cost savings for the company. If the food cost is $30 per person per day for the company, then they would theoretically save $120 on that sailing for one fewer guest. I don't really know how to apply a value on things like fewer people to take care of in a stateroom, less use of pool towels, etc.
I did a 2 passenger booking in Microsoft Edge and a 1 passenger booking in Firefox in private (incognito) mode. This was necessary because if you allow for cookies, one of the bookings will bump the other. I made the booking of a spacious ocean view balcony on deck 6. The same cabin was available on the port side (cabin 6604) and starboard side (cabin 6304) directly opposite the other on the deck, so I am certain this is apples to apples. I didn't try to book the same exact cabin because I got kicked out when I used different tabs in the same browser. The two person booking was $2,919.16 and the one person booking was $2,816.08. The difference was in Taxes & Fees. Taxes on the two person booking was $206.16 and the one person was $103.08.
I was not able to duplicate your results with my dummy bookings. I don't have a definitive reason for why my results were different than yours other than they are different sailings with different sets of conditions.
 

While we were offered the suites guest tour we opted for the all access. It was worth it! Here are a few pics! 
Long pants and closed toe shoes were required for all access though, just be aware. This was on the Wonder.

Still too expensive. Should be included in the cruise price. I'm not going. 

On Allure. Sailed by Icon.
I wanted to jump off Allure, swim towards Iconand be rescued. My wife took off her wedding ring.
I climbed off railing. 

There's a video on YouTube by Allison from let's go travel tips that covers this very well. I went to Celebrity and did some mock bookings. Same cruise, same cabin, I'm finding that solos are being charged anywhere from $400 more to over $1000 more.
 
Royal has been doing this for quite some time but on a much smaller scale, solos are generally charged $75-$200 more than a couple for the same cruise, same cabin. Also, sometimes when I search Royal Caribbean cruises I will be told that a cabin category is sold out when I'm searching as a solo, but if I go back and search as a couple, all of a sudden those cabin categories are open.
 
One of the questions raised on the chatter on the video I saw was, if we all start booking a phantom guest and then that guest is a no-show, is celebrity going to do some sort of penalty charge for no-shows to make up for the workaround.
 
I totally get being charged a single supplement fee and paying the same as a couple but being charged several hundred dollars more? That's just not right.

I was sober at the time, but in case I was hallucinating in the Caribbean heat, someone can correct me. When ordering drinks for my wife and myself (we were on 'pay as you go' beverage plan) at the Solarium Bar on Wonder last year, I swear my security photo appeared on the terminal when the bartender swiped my sea pass card to enter the purchase. That would be a problem  if someone other than the cardholder is using it, no?  And money out the window if the plan was voided for misuse (if that's a thing)?
First time I was seated and able to see the  terminal when purchasing anything onboard.

Well...for first time cruisers....it is probably fun and exciting. After you have sat thru it several dozen times..... Not so much.

Ummm...Going to Coco Cay 7 out of 7 times???

Ummm...Going to Coco Cay 7 out of 7 times???

In St Croix see if you can get to Buck Island. It had one of the best reefs in the USVI. It is a protected island with no people and just a few miles off St Croix.

I am finding the World Cruise fascinating!!! 
We all should be watching and learning.

Through the hecticness of the end of the year and the dreaded return to work, I ended up missing buying the slightly lowered 100 photo package during the New Year sale. I still want to snag that price as $220 is probably the best I'll get in this era of high pricing so I'm wondering...when do we think the next equivalent sale will be?
I'm hoping there's bound to be something before 4th of July....any ideas? Maybe a presidents day sale? (or is that only for mattresses? lol)

I get physical casino offer mailers for @Ampurp85 since she sailed with us once. We get random mailers for someone we've never heard of before for Celebrity. They definitely have something jacked up in their databases and I don't think anyone you will talk to on the phone knows anything more about it than we do and will just make up something when you ask.  
No one is hand picking who gets these offers. They're deciding on some specific criteria and their databases have been corrupted so many times over the years that the results returned are incorrect and incomplete..but they don't care since they'll just keep making offers until they hit their quota.

It is entirely possible someone had a heart attack due to panic and anxiety and never touched the water. 

If Royal was smart and really wanted to maximize cruise fare revenue, they should have the contractor that operates Royal Up create a new program....Royal Down.
Then they could play all kinds of games of upgrading passengers for more money than people would be willing to be downgraded-- all after final payment.