Rackham

They can be serious, and don't call me Shirley.

35 minutes ago, baltodave said:

Thanks!  Where are you staying in Panama?

You're welcome!

For Thursday and Friday nights, booked at Radisson Hotel Panama Canal. Saturday at Crowne Plaza Panama Airport and sprung for their dinner, bed, and breakfast rate. Figured on the outgoing leg if Royal is offering an excursion from Colón that ends at the airport, I can catch the free shuttle to the hotel (if needed). If not, I can still take advantage the next morning to get to the airport. Either way, last night in Panama I'm confident I will look to chill and not thrill after the preceding week.

Also, Uber apparently is plentiful and cheap in Panama City. However, their drivers love the scam where they don't end the ride after you've been dropped off at your destination, so it's worthwhile keeping an eye on the app and then canceling the ride after you've gotten out if the driver doesn't.

I'm on the late February sailing (can't make the group cruise due to my work schedule). After looking at Panama City's attractions, I'm flying in Thursday for a full day of touring on Friday before embarkation. There's enough there that I'd like to see, but not so much that heading back in the future would be a good use of my time and money. I'm leaving on Sunday due to Saturday flight schedules. Where I'm heading back to and departure times makeable from Colón requiring an overnight somewhere; I might as well spend another night in Panama City. Currently, I'm hoping Royal will get an excursion with the Panama Canal Railway on disembarkation day running back to Panama City as it appears the train isn't running a regular schedule.

11 hours ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

Unfortunately, I had to find that out now, too. Next year I make my Arctic Circle Cruise and there are now already some excursions for Tromsø and Flåm. So far, all are at most half a day long and some only a few hours, but for these are quite high prices. This is significantly more expensive than I am used to in other European countries.
I am curious how expensive then the full day excursions will be....

Has anyone had good experiences with certain tour operators? The roads in Norway can be long, so you always have to plan how and when to get from the ship to the meeting point and back. Or are there operators who will also pick you up from the port?

Norway is just expensive period. Check out the third-party excursions from your favorite site to see what I mean. With that said, I'm on the 13-night Arctic Circle in 2024, and the only shore excursion I'm definitely booking with Royal is the Aurland, Laerdal & Borgund Stave Church at Flåm. And I'm considering the Bird Safari by Boat at Honningsvag, Norway if it's offered through Royal on this sailing The majority of the ports it's Hop On/Hop Off direct booking or using public transport. For Olden, I'm probably booking the Briksdal Glacier Shuttle Bus direct. 

There's also less connecting rooms aboard the ship. Thus as they're booked, prices will increase faster due to lower inventory versus non-connecting rooms.

Don't know where to drop this, so doing it here.

I'm finding that ChatGPT makes it rather easy to do a quick comparison of cruise itineraries with just a little copy/paste and formatting from Royal's website.

Here's its response using both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to three different 9-night sailings to the Caribbean from Cape Liberty.

Prompt: Compare the following cruise itineraries with suggestions on which one to pick. Itinerary one: Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey;Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida;Nassau, Bahamas;Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas;Labadee, Haiti;Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey. Itinerary two: Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey;Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda;Labadee, Haiti;La Romana, Dominican Republic;Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic;Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey. Itinerary three: Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey;Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda;Philipsburg, St. Maarten;San Juan, Puerto Rico;Labadee, Haiti;Cape Liberty (New York), New Jersey.

GPT-3.5

All three itineraries offer unique and exciting destinations to explore. Here's a brief comparison of each itinerary to help you make a decision based on your preferences:

Itinerary one is ideal for those looking for a combination of beach destinations and theme parks. The itinerary includes two of the most popular theme park destinations in Florida, Orlando, and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Nassau, Bahamas, is a perfect spot for beach lovers, and Labadee, Haiti, offers plenty of water sports and beach activities. If you enjoy a mix of theme parks and beach destinations, this itinerary could be the best option for you.

Itinerary two is perfect for those looking for a relaxing and immersive cultural experience. The itinerary includes two destinations in the Dominican Republic, which are ideal for exploring the local culture and traditions. Bermuda is a beautiful island with breathtaking beaches, and Labadee offers plenty of adventure activities. If you prefer to experience the local culture and immerse yourself in a laid-back atmosphere, this itinerary is the best option for you.

Itinerary three is perfect for those looking for a mix of adventure, sightseeing, and beach destinations. The itinerary includes two popular beach destinations, St. Maarten and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Labadee, Haiti, offers plenty of adventure activities. Bermuda is also an ideal spot for sightseeing and exploring the local culture. If you're looking for a mix of beach destinations, adventure, and sightseeing, this itinerary is the best option for you.

Overall, the choice of itinerary depends on your preferences and what you want to experience during your cruise. If you enjoy a mix of theme parks and beach destinations, Itinerary one could be the best option. If you prefer to immerse yourself in the local culture and traditions, Itinerary two is the best option. If you're looking for a mix of adventure, sightseeing, and beach destinations, Itinerary three is the best option.

GPT-4

Itinerary One: Cape Liberty, NJ; Orlando, FL; Nassau, Bahamas; Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas; Labadee, Haiti; Cape Liberty, NJ.

• Pros: Great for families with a mix of theme parks (Orlando), beaches (Bahamas), and private island experiences (CocoCay and Labadee).
• Cons: Shorter stays in the Bahamas and Haiti, which may feel rushed.

Itinerary Two: Cape Liberty, NJ; Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda; Labadee, Haiti; La Romana, Dominican Republic; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Cape Liberty, NJ.

• Pros: Offers more Caribbean cultural experiences (Dominican Republic) and relaxation on beautiful beaches (Bermuda, Haiti).
• Cons: Lacks the variety of theme park attractions or private island experiences offered in other itineraries.

Itinerary Three: Cape Liberty, NJ; Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee, Haiti; Cape Liberty, NJ.

• Pros: Rich in culture and history with stops in Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, also offering beautiful beaches and relaxation (Bermuda, Haiti).
• Cons: No theme park attractions, might not be as family-oriented as other options.

Recommendations:

1. If traveling with family, especially with children or teenagers, Itinerary One provides a good mix of theme parks, beaches, and private island experiences, making it an excellent choice.

2. If you prefer a more Caribbean cultural experience, Itinerary Two offers a focus on the Dominican Republic's unique culture and stunning beaches in Bermuda and Haiti.

3. If you are interested in history, culture, and scenic beaches, Itinerary Three takes you through Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, and Bermuda, offering a well-rounded experience.

Ultimately, the choice depends on your preferences and interests. Consider the group you are traveling with and what experiences would be most enjoyable for everyone.

6 hours ago, Babsy47 said:

A lazy river utilizing the space of the larger ships.  They have the elevation differential.  But, I don’t think the engineering will work because it requires too much water.

Engineering impossibility aside . . . It would be popular!  It is not impossible on Coco Cay, and every time I have been there, I have thought what a great addition it would be.

I'm wondering if a lazy river concept couldn't be developed slip and slide style. Slippery bottom with a thin moving layer of water on top to move the floats. 

Out of these options, bowling. Specifically duckpin bowling since the lanes are smaller, the balls are smaller and don't require a range of weights and fingerhole sizes, and thus more lanes can be fitted into the venue.

Since people keep bringing up Platinum and up should get separate lines and special activity times, I'm somewhat curious what percentage of cruisers you think would be eligible for these perks on any given sailing? 10%? 17%? 22%?

The answer is, based on personal calculations from information here and on Cruise Critic from top tier events, approximately 33% of cruisers on any given sailing would be eligible. To put this into passenger counts, that means Oasis at 100% capacity would have 1,782 passengers eligible for private time on the Flowrider, priority boarding, or whatever else you're thinking of, basically making the perk meaningless. Which is probably why Royal isn't offering such a thing.

(And if you're curious about Vision of the Seas, there would be approximately 804 passengers eligible.)

7 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Sorry, but a VR dinner sounds like a terrible idea to me.

 

 

Sounds to me like Royal's doing the dinner theater version of Universal's Hogwarts Express, but the train doesn't move anywhere and you'll probably board through a door into the traincar without seeing the train (aka it's a themed room(s) with windows that have high quality displays behind them to show what you're "passing" by.) Interesting specially dinning concept since it shouldn't require too much of a footprint and Royal might have been able to squeeze it in somewhere where other options wouldn't really work. The old-school train aspect keeps things nicely compact.

No major difference to Carnival's (https://www.carnival.com/vifp) or NCL's (https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program#tier_benefits) loyalty programs at those levels. What this tells me is the mass market lines know they don't need to offer much with their programs to keep people coming back early on. It's keeping people happy who frequently cruise, filling cabins that might otherwise go unsold, happy. People like retirees and those who cruise during the school year happy to keep ships' occupancy high (or at least as high as possible) during the off-season. 

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Gotta think the price of this will be quite steep. 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/04/10/royal-caribbean-private-beach-club-the-bahamas-all-inclusive?fbclid=IwAR03WRW3znVR1AgXDV0ujyBhoOP5HMZ0t8ztkV7paJe_xt1Qtv0L1ovDKGw

Are we placing bets that the price will be higher or lower than the cost of the Beach Club on CocoCay for any particular sailing?

Somewhat disappointed that no one said she's in "Ship shape," up to now.

At the moment, it's taking over Anthem's Cape Canaveral, Nassau, and CocoCay itinerary. 

Looks like Caesars was anticipating this.

"Please Note: You must have earned Tier Status with your current loyalty program in order for your status to be matched.  Members must re-apply if qualified for a status match starting on 2/1 of every year. Caesars Rewards will not grant status to WR members who came into the WR program from a tier match promotion with other programs or who previously had recent Caesars Rewards status that was about to expire, and vice versa. "

https://www.caesars.com/myrewards/partners/wyndham_resorts

Since it's a private island, she'll need to purchase a beach day/break/other to accompany you to the island. 

56 minutes ago, My Name is Rahl said:

Sorry, a bit, for highjacking your thread.

 

With the specialty dining, is it like the MDR where you can get multiple dishes? Or is more like a normal restaurant and you just get one choice?

Typically multiple appetizers and deserts are allowed, but only one entrée. Basically, ask your server and see what they say if you're interested in multiple entrées. I will say that the appetizers and desserts are often closer in portion size to land-based restaurants than the MDR.

I can't tell you about the wine, but I can say that aboard Anthem last month the Aperol spritzes kept coming for no additional charge. YMMV.

On 3/24/2023 at 11:41 AM, csteph said:

Hi there! We are first timers and have a guaranteed ocean view on Allure of the Seas and haven't been assigned a room yet (end of April '23). I did the barcode trick and get a very long # followed by a dash and GTY. I'm starting to worry we'll be stuck behind a lifeboat! Can anyone make a suggestion as to how to get a better room? The upgrade prices are SO HIGH. Do we put in a bid for upgrade?

Thank you in advance! Appreciate it!! 

If you're concerned about views, I wouldn't bid on a RoyalUp. It's a blind auction where you're bidding on whatever comes available in a category, not too dissimilar to a GTY booking. It's possible your RoyalUp bid gets you a cabin with worse views or locations than wherever you were initially assigned.

I'll be there and drinking through Royal's bar menus in the name of research.

13 hours ago, RoseofTX said:

It seems like they could allow for bookings the UDP restaurants in advance.  Of course it probably reduce sales since people would reconsider booking it once the prime slots were filled.  

But as you say, I can see now how the hack works. Since it says you can cancel on board beyond 24 hours with no penalty for OBC.  But I don't think you should be able to automatically swap your reservation from paid to UDP. A wait list for example would solve that.   

If Royal's IT was better, and this would make the process easier for everyone involved with a dining package including their staff, is when booking the dining package passengers choose their preferred restaurants and times blocks (ex. Day 3; Teppanyaki; 6:00pm - 7:00 pm) then reservations are assigned and sent out closer to the sailing. On 3-5 night packages, Royal could guarantee the day, restaurant and time block; with UDP they could guarantee the time block and that you'll be able to visit each restaurant selected for a reservation at least once during the sailing. Or Royal could go for broke, turn the dining packages into a Restaurant GTY, and have purchasers select which restaurants they'd like to use the package at, then assign dining times between 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and which day the reservation is happening on. Toss in a comped MDR lobster tail, during specialty dining, if the reservation falls on lobster night to keep people happy.

3 hours ago, Peter D said:

On board Voyager, an interesting  observation that I didn’t anticipate based on the original “Uncork more savings”.   The wine discount perk mentioned above in “uncork”  comes at the expense of a drink voucher.   So basically $14 drink voucher to get 20-40% off bottle of wine.   

Running the numbers, that's not a bad deal if traveling with a group who's not receiving drink vouchers and didn't buy the DBP or if someone with vouchers wants more wine than they have vouchers for. Otherwise, paying the difference between the voucher benefit and the per glass cost was cheaper on the bottles I ran the numbers for. Though there are bottles that Royal doesn't sell by the glass, so there's that too.

32 minutes ago, barjpoe said:

Yeah, I went to my local wine store and bought a bottle of wine, which I think is similar to one offered on the amenities for the C&A list; one bottle was $9.99 & another was16.99.   On another note if a glass of wine is valued at $14. and if you look at a bottle at your local store it maybe valued at $25 , so Royal probably gets at least 5 glasses out of that bottle, that's quite a markup or a good profit. 

The host/waiter for Chef's Table on Oasis was saying it's 5 glasses to a bottle with their pour size.

1 hour ago, TexanTwoStep said:

If RCI was smart, they would offer IV infusions on the ship.

I was extremely hungover one day and paid $100 for a "hangover cocktail infusion" with mostly water/electrolytes and I swear, I felt better than I did the day before.

Look for the b-series of treatments in the spa. Though Royal's asking $159 to $299 for the IVs on Allure.

From the company who's making the product: https://thebiostation.com/nutrient-iv-therapy/

1 hour ago, jbrinkm said:

I don't drink much any more due to a medical condition, but when we were younger, I remember my DH who works in chemistry saying to eat a greasy meal before or when you start drinking (not that it helps for a hangover, but maybe for next time, for prevention). There is apparently a chemical reaction between the grease and the alcohol that helps it not hit so hard... This is NOT recommended for the next day and would probably make it worse.

Hadn't heard this before, but apparently it's not a chemical reaction between the fats and alcohol, it's the fat sticking to the stomach lining slowing the absorption of alcohol into the body. 

"If you eat before ingesting alcohol, your body will thank you later on. The fat in something like a greasy burger actually sticks to the stomach lining longer, which slows the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. In parts of the Mediterranean, swallowing a spoonful of olive oil is even a thing."

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/the-science-behind-why-drunk-food-eaten-before-getting-drunk

29 minutes ago, Thumper44 said:

It surprises me how difficult it is to get a straight answer to the following kind of questions:

• which ships have which Broadway/Westend shows?
• which ships have an escape room? or a puzzle break game?
• which ships have El Loco Fresh or a Playmakers?
• which ships have an ice rink? or a flowrider?
• which ships will visit Cococay or Labadee this year?
• etc, etc, etc

RC advertises all of these things on its websites and emails but they are often surprisingly vague about which ships have exactly which offerings.

This seems like a fairly simple database problem, which I'm attempting to build for my own satisfaction.  But so far, the closest resource I've found is the charts and lists at loyaltoyoualways.com. Upon closer inspection, however, I was surprised to find errors and omissions there.  And it's not updated very often, sometimes just annually, often not completely.  Finding a few errors there sends me searching the message boards and youtube videos for recent firsthand accounts to verify what is currently available on a ship or not.  I am looking for a resource of ship data that is more comprehensive and more accurate than this.  Does one already exist?

Thanks for your help on this; the Royal-obsessed among us who want to track down every Mason Jar, Wonderland, or Samba Grill appreciate your help!

Not to my knowledge. This sounds like something to add to Wikipedia and let the masses keep it up to date.