CrimsonCruiser

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.

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.

See this post before you book that category: 
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/45191-new-jr-suite-class-on-symphony/
 

Hello,
We made a booking for a 7 night May 2024 Southampton cruise back in October 2023 with TIRUN TRAVEL MARKETING in India. We booked about 15 persons in 5 rooms.
On 17th October, 2023, we were sent a pdf by the agent (screenshot below) who told us the original fare was USD 4,107.36 but they were matching fare of USD 3,669.36 for us and that we can make advance payment of USD 350 per head to confirm booking. The rest would have to be paid by Jan-Feb 2024. This pdf clearly shows gratuities included in the fare.

We made advance payments for all 5 rooms on 18th October, 2023 and on 19th October, 2023 we received a similar pdf from the agent confirming booking, again showing gratuities included in the price. When we asked why it was still showing USD 4,107.36 instead of USD 3669.36 that was discussed, we were told it is system generated and they cannot help that.
We waited until February, 2024 and then wished to make the balance payments for all rooms. There was some issue from the agent's end as we requested payment links so we can pay online but they said that is not possible as they had matched the rate of USD 3,669.36 for us and the only way to make payment was through credit card authorization. They even sent us an email on 8th February that said the following:
" Dear Sir,
Please note due to our current technical limitations, we are unable to give you the payment link, with a price which is lower than the original price.
The original price for Quad sharing booking is $4107.36 and for double sharing room is $3166.18 we have matched it to, for Quad sharing room is $3669.36 and for double sharing room is $2952.18.
So the only options we can offer currently is a CC authorization form , should you want you can be on the TeamViewer or Any desk App and enter the CVV yourself in the Royal Caribbean reservation system. "
We made payment by their chosen method almost immediately.
About 15 days after the final payment was made, we were told that gratuities would need to be paid by us (now or on board) and that amounted to USD 448 for a quad room, meaning USD 112 per head (same as mentioned the booking confirmation).
A lot of arguments followed and finally the agent agreed that it was their mistake. They accepted the following over recorded phone call:
1) They never mentioned to any of us that gratuities needed to be paid separately over and above the amount of USD 3669.36 before or after both payments (If they had, we would not have booked through them because in that case we were getting better deals).
2) They said the pdf of the booking confirmation showing gratuities included in the price was a system error.
3) They said the email sent to us confirming about the price match was also a confusion by the agent.
Just to make things a bit more clear, if one was to add the USD 448 in gratuities to the amount of USD 3669.36, the result would be USD 4,117.36, which is USD 10 more than the original price without discount. So that doesn't make any sense either.
We have now asked the agent to sort the mess their out and they have said they will connect with the cruise line and ask them to waive gratuities in this case as it was their mistake. For this, they will need 2-3 days.
We have all booking confirmations, emails, whatsapp chats as well as recorded phone calls in case Royal Caribbean needs them.
We fail to understand if this was simply a blunder or a way to extract money by the agent. Terrible experience. Highly unprofessional of the agent.

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!😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
 

Talk about timing- my TA just sent me an email confirming some final details before final payment coming up, she also threw this little note in... 
"-Price: Your price has increased by $600, so you still have the best price at this time"   So my room is actually $600 more than it was when I booked it almost 5 months ago.

Understood. If you ever get over your fear and are at a bar that's not busy, most bartenders seem happy to recommend things or make something based on what you tell them.

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...
 
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
 
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!

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😅

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.

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

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)

Summer of 2025... Tokyo anyone?

Oh I am praying that doesn't happen! I literally told my TA last night we need a Plan B if that does. I keep refreshing that deployment link too. 

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.

I did it in November but just discovered this thread, so I'll post about it. We sail on Symphony at the end of March and my parents decided to join us this trip (they have not cruised since the 80s when my Dad's company used to charter cruises). They booked a GTY oceanview because they are retired on a fixed income and it was the lowest price at the time (a few dollars less then an inside guarantee). They were assigned a room really early, it was half of a connecting and in a bad spot, so TA was able to shift them to a better, but still not great, spot on the 3rd floor (only OV rooms left). 
I wasn't happy with their location but when I checked on upgrading them to a GTY neighborhood balcony, it would have been $500 so I decided to wait for Royal Up. 
However, I checked during the BF sales and fares had dropped. I don't know what their 3rd floor OV would have been to just reprice, but my TA offered two options - save $20 to switch to a neighborhood balcony GTY or pay $60 total to upgrade to a OV balcony GTY. No brainer for us - we upgraded them to an ocean view balcony GTY for $60. 
They were again assigned a room very quickly on the 6th floor near the spa. My TA (the awesome Jennifer K. from MEI) reached out and said she saw rooms on the 8th floor near where we were, so we were able to swap them to a room 2 doors down from us. So for $60, they went from a bad OV on the 3rd floor to an oceanview balcony on the 8th floor. 

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...
 
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
 
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

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:
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. 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 😅) 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.

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...
 
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
 
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

Several price drops for Jewel to Norway this spring.  Final payment due date approaching and I have saved several hundred with three price drops over past few weeks although last drop was minor.   My cabin type comes and goes from inventory so it’s been an exercise in checking frequently.

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. 

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….
 

Only big increases for my sailings on the books.  Last price drop was for my May Symphony cruise and that was several months ago!  Sadly, pricing is getting a bit steep for me to continue cruising as I have been 😢.  I can’t even find a decent price for mid-2025 cruises!