CrimsonCruiser

On 3/6/2024 at 7:34 AM, jeffmw said:

This whole thing is insane. Sickening, obviously, but as someone (like all of you) who has taken a number of cruises I'm trying to imagine how and where you'd even hide a camera in those tiny staterooms that would go unnoticed but also have an angle that would capture anything this guy wants to see. It seems like even if it worked once or twice, pretty quickly someone would find it. There's just not that many areas within a stateroom that go unseen for very long.

I have two fairly conspicuous black blink cameras in my home to keep myself safe and to be aware of what may or may not happen while I am not there or asleep. At one point, one of these 3 inch by 3 inch pure black cameras was mounted against an all white wall in the open in my kitchen while I watched my landlord and her hirees do work in my kitchen. My landlord NEVER noticed it. I told her, "just so you're not freaked out, I do have a camera in there" and she's like "where?" and I told her exactly where to look and she couldn't see it. I had to literally stand under it and point it out for her to see it.

So I can see how smaller cameras placed in areas people wouldn't generally look can be hidden but still recording.

For most of the week I kept ignoring mentions of this story thinking that people were dredging up the older story where a staff member was found to be recording in the public bathrooms because "surely" my brain reasoned "there aren't two separate instances of this happening so relatively close together..."

But there are and this one is miles worse and I am sickened to read what he did and how long he was able to do it and i hate that we as vacationers have to consider all these extra precautions just to having a good time...

I've done it a couple times when the desserts in the MDR aren't hitting for me and I know Windjammer almost always has cookies or at least one cake that I'll like. Haven't gone for a full meal or even nibbles after because usually by the time I want that WJ is closed and it's the long sorrentos line for me hahaha

Like @PPPJJ-GCVAB said, it usually ends up all lumped to one account so you'll definitely want to pop to GS to get it split. I also suggest doing this before you starting spending any money as I've found it seems to take a bit longer (48 hours vs 12) to get it applied if you already have a tab on your account.

We got hit with this surprise in Jaime's last year. We assumed the photos were going to be treated just like the ones taking in the MDR, so we happily posed and everything. Then, half way through our meal we're being presented with the photos to buy. We said "oh no we don't need the print/frame, we have the photo package" and that's how we found out it's an add on charge.

I do wish they made it clear that it wasn't included like allllll the other roaming photographers >.>

This is definitely going to clutter up my time or change it's structure. I could potentially see MTD being changed where, instead of showing up whenever, ;you can float and swap between the three set times daily. So on one day you can have 5, then the next two days 8, then 6:30, then back to 5..

What I also wonder...how will this effect shows? Historically, shows were planned with late and early dining in mind but I wonder if it will mean more people struggling to see shows if they have that middle slot? Or more show slots? Show times no longer carrying about dinner times?

no freedom for me (was hoping she'd be doing longer voyages and was just not announced yet). Tossed a Navigator on the list. Doesn't look like Quantum will do longer than 6 nights.

18 minutes ago, Psycho and Barb said:

Think it also may be attractive to new cruisers.  Let them experience a cruise at a lower price and for a shorter time...Over a weekend might even be a bigger draw.

This is why I think they're doing them and why the new and bigger ships are getting more 3 and 4 night trips. Certainly makes sense, but I admit, it's a bummer to me as someone who has to fly to port, that so many ships are doing short ones. I was hoping to hop back on Freedom in 2025 but she's only doing 3 and 4 nighters....and b2bs don't end up being cost effective vs a standard 7-night (trust me I looked T_T)

13 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

I tried search and found nothing.  I apologize if this has been asked and answered.  I saw a sky class jr suite on oasis for a fall 2025 sailing.   Is this a one off or are there other ships and dates offering sky class for jr suites?   I love sky class and a jr suite is plenty of room.  Thanks 

Icon and Oasis class ships are the only ships that will offer Sky Jr Suites.

On Oasis class ships they are only on deck 6.

Definitely agree with @Lovetocruise2002 - check out the linked posts. The concept on paper sounds a lot better than the reality.

I don't have any tips or suggestions but I do hope things get properly worked out for you and your group. Definitely sounds like a blunder that may have been caused by incompetence.

11 hours ago, BrianB said:

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!

 

Congrats! Glad it all worked out for you!

28 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Sounds exactly like my wife. She'll have an occasional daiquiri lying out (either light on the rum or just virgin) and an occasional mudslide after dinner with extra chocolate syrup b/c she's also a big kid. She also likes to bring a banana from WJ to the Solarium bar to be added to her strawberry daiquiris (she asks first but every bartender has said yes).

We got to know an amazing bartender in the SL on Wonder in June who was basically making her boozy milkshakes b/c he could get ice cream from the CK kitchen. He was adding banana liqueur and I forget what else but she was drinking them all week.

I am WAY too scared to ask for modifications like that haha. I usually just go with whatever is on the bar's menu that has the most fruit juices listed

53 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I got at least 3 very different rum punches on Allure in October... only one had the Kraken floater on top like the app recipe... and that's the one I like best. They were all fine though.

Now that this lovely forum has educated me on what a floater is...I know if I got one made like app menu... I would think the bartender had no idea how to stir I always say that I like my drinks to be 21+ but taste child friendly

Echoing what the others have said, that if the bar has the ingredients they will absolutely make whatever you order.

But, in weird internet coincidences, I just watched a video of a couple who were on Freedom. The wife ordered a "Bob Marley" a couple times from different bars and, rather than getting the layered drink, often ended up a cloudy green mess.

(for those like me who don't drink nearly often enough to know cocktails, this is the expectation vs reality)

I also echo that it sounds like it should include the ticket.

That said, I would like to mention some things I noted while looking at the same type of excursion myself last year:

1. I saw lots of mentions that if you booked through the ship, there may not be time to really enjoy Paradise Point due to the crowds and wait for the skyride. It was suggested to book the earliest time slot of the day to avoid the crowds and rush and any potential delays that may force them to rush the event.
2. The cost of a taxi and ticket if you choose to do it yourself, is, I think, about $10 cheaper. We had actually planned to do this until my mother remembered her fear of heights (mind you doing the excursion was her idea in the first place )
3. There's i think 2 restaurants up at the point. One fast food and I think one more fancy. The fancy opens mainly for dinner, but the fast grab burger place is open throughout the day. If you want to have time to eat, reviews online recommend doing the excursion on your own.

2 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

I'd  guess August is prime travel time, so no discounts. We go off season and haven't  seen drops for our balcony staterooms.

We've gotten them before for August. Nothing as big as others have mentioned, but I think we were able to snag about $200 savings overall on a GS on Allure. I definitely know I'm in a sucky position having little choice but to cruise when all the kids are still free and everyone is trying to get that last trip in....*kicks rocks* stupid work calendar...

27 minutes ago, ScottD said:

Yep- I picked mine because it was the lowest price of the 3 sailings in July. It's now going for way more than the other two sailings, and my room category is up about $400. 

Yeah, I'm also looking at 2025 cruises and the fact that JS on non-Oasis class ships are going for as much as I'm used to paying for a GS is crazy. I'm feeling bad cuz we finally convinced someone to sail with us but these prices may price them out T_T

16 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

My sister got a small price drop a few months ago on UT 3/10/2025 sailing, in a Grand Suite. I am on the same sailing in the ATS and mine went up by $3000. Go figure. lol

My current cruise is hovering at about $500 - $700 higher per person than when we booked....

at best it will be only $300 more

Matt's article this morning reading our minds: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/02/26/royal-caribbean-wave-season-hot-demand

resurrecting this to ask...has anyone had any price drops in the last couple months? We booked our August trip for this year onboard last august (for work reasons, it's the only time I can really be gone for a long while) and despite checking almost every day since booking....there has been 0 price drops. i know prices are going up but I'm a little surprised I can't even wrangle back $10 bucks!

13 hours ago, p27159 said:

I took the screenshots as I went through the menus so I could have proof of what happened.  I couldn’t do that if the agent did it for me? Could I?  When it happened again, I already said I asked the agent to try to fix it but I already told you what their “solution” was.  If they could have started over and given me the fare I was seeing, they would have, wouldn’t they?  Rude vomit emoji noted.  What a bunch of unreasonable individuals on here.  You all should be ashamed and embarrassed but I know you all think too highly of yourselves to realize you were WRONG AND RUDE!

Right so...maybe don't think everyone was being rude? I was legitimately asking why you didn't have them do it because, in your shoes, I would have. If I did something and it didn't end up reflecting what I thought I did, I would have called Customer service, explained the situation and asked THEM to rebook, having assumed it was an issue on my end. No, you couldn't have had screen shots of the entire process, but ideally they would be there with you from start to finish and if it repeated the same error  they could see what happened and fix it in real time.

But it sounds like I misunderstood your original post, because I thought you took screenshots, paused, called customer service to explain the situation, verify that they would cancel, THEN hit the pay button. But based on your reply, perhaps that's not what was happening. Instead it sounds like you paid then called? Just checking so I understand.

Regardless, that particular action is in the past.

I've never booked with kids, perhaps if your 3rd and 4th reservation are young kids they aren't showing? Anyone booking with youngsters know if this is a thing that happens?

Maybe you can provide screenshots (with redacted sensitive personal info of course) of your invoice for those here with more experience to try to help?

7 hours ago, p27159 said:

  I went through the menus a second time and took screenshots of each step along the way.  I called back customer service and asked if this second reservation goes through for four passengers, would they cancel the first one I made, and they said yes.

I have to ask...if you were already on the phone with customer service before booking the second one...why not have them do it to ensure there was no mix up again?

Anyone maybe have insight on when Freedom will show the rest of her 2025 voyages? Dates currently stop in April and I'm looking for August

10 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I think the space to insert another level would be between emerald and diamond from the perspective of RC. The pandemic cruise points promotions backfired and saturated the diamond level. 

I don't know if I would say it backfired. I'm sure Royal looked at the numbers and considered it an acceptable effect of getting people back on board quickly. And considering the changes to the C&A program that came about not long after the full restart, I'm sure they were already looking at ways to mitigate overcrowding in the top tiers without taking too much from the people who are already there. If anything, I think the only impact they didn't account for was the use of the lounges. I think, historically, people weren't using them much so it wasn't an issue to have 3 levels in the smaller areas. Coupled with the drink vouchers vs only happy hour, I don't think Royal expected such an uptick in usage. But cruisers now want all the bang for their buck and that means more quiet areas, more free food and more sense of exclusivity (or cruise within a cruise, as Matt says).

As for adding another step between Emerald and Diamond, I think for that to work they would have to do a lot of shifting and changing of the top 3 levels since there's only 25 points between emerald and diamond. The points needed for diamond and diamond plus would increase. no idea what perks they could give this new level (i'm bad at things like that)

I was actually SAD that I didn't hear it when we went last year! I was DESPERATELY looking forward to it just to say I've heard it, but...if they played it on the ship it was before we left the room and I *think* i heard it faintly as I was on the tram heading back to the ship at the end of the day....

It's campy and earwormy and dangit all I want to hear it!!!!

I loved the idea of Sky Jr Suites when they were announced...but the fact that they are on a such a low deck, don't come with internet and are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive (which also bumps the price for GS up to the heavens) really makes me hate them. I would hope that in a year or so, they come down to a reasonable price but who knows.....

I don't think there needs to be another level between the two because there are some milestone steps between first getting to D+ and the eventual pinnacle. If anything, Royal wouldn't so much add a level as they would turn a milestone into one (thereby making it look like a new level with no real change to the structure). Diamond Premium or something...

I never expect to make pinnacle and I'm okay with that. I thought it would take forever to make Diamond and yet, here  I am (and 2 cruises away from getting my crystal block). I think Royal provides enough perks at D and D+ levels that making another step in between would or could take away from the others.

If you want to avoid classic Caribbean market feel (where they yell for you attention and try to hand you things and "pester" you to come by) I think avoid the Village. The artisan market is less about haggling and from what I hear is more calm. The vendors kind of just sit and wait for you to come to them. I think they also have the least original stuff and, as I'm sure they have to pay more to be there, have higher prices as well.

Behind that is a long uphill path with shops on the side. This path is where the vendors will "hey sista! hey pretty lady come see! no no I have the best come! come! come!" and they will overcharge the CRAP out of you if you don't know how to haggle. But I was also there only a couple years ago and it's quite easy to just shout back "no no! not shopping!" as you keep walking by. And no they don't always take that as answer (I have like...5 fabric bracelets from vendors who wanted me to take it for free just so that I would come back) but keep saying "no no" and keep walking. I was never grabbed or coerced or forced into any store while I said no. When I did stop, however, I was a prime target and everyone for 5 shops on either side of the one I went to and I had to be more confident and firm in brushing them off.

So TL;DR - artisan market is probably the place to go to avoid the local market feel. Avoid the long path. In all cases, be firm and persistent in saying no and make sure your body language and what you're saying match.