Rackham

2 hours ago, Southern Waters said:

I've only recently learned about this discount by watching Matt on his Live Q&As every week.  I don't drink alcohol, so can I use my discount on a mocktail?

Nope. The discount should apply to non-alcoholic beer if you'd like one.

Breakfast, coffee, and fresh air.

With that said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hangovers/symptoms-causes/syc-20373012

Three large takeaways which people can easily incorporate shipside without much thought:

• Don't drink on an empty stomach. Eat frequently. 
• Drink water frequently while indulging. 
• Partake in your alcoholic beverages slowly. Savor the drink instead of slamming it back. Mayo recommends no more than one an hour.

My suggestion is to also add in a rehydration beverage to sip on between boozy liberations, if you're really going at it, because you're going to be urinating more, which means losing salts quicker, which will contribute to dehydration and more intense hangovers. Liquid IV is popular, though I skip these sorts of flavored powders and bring WHO formula ORS to mix with water aboard.

18 minutes ago, Montemy2419 said:

I have started tracking the Internet prices for our upcoming cruises.  I can't believe how the same product next month, bought during black Friday sale, could price out at $14.99 a day and by April 2024 the Internet is $24.99 a day.  

 

I think that RC is trying to keep the initial price low enough to get us interested and then slowly entice us with booking add ons.  Once we get us used to dining in the Specialty  Restaurants or having 24/7 Internet they have us hooked.  RC knows that many of us use a cruise as a treat and they are slowly increasing the cost of the drink package, gratuities and other price increases.

I doubt that based on what they've said during investor earnings calls. Royal feels that they're too much of a good value and are slowly working their prices to where they'd like them to be when it comes to fare. On cruise planner purchases, it's what people are willing to pay. So many people feel that they need internet and a drink package that Royal still hasn't hit the price ceiling on these items yet. They may or may not be close, but there can always be another sale if purchases drop off. 

Edit: Black Friday pricing is to capture the market segment who waits for Black Friday for their purchases and those who can't or won't pay more. If Black Friday pricing ends up cannibalizing full-priced sales, I expect Royal to reduce the discount being offered during the sale. Much like they've changed around the discounts on last-minute bookings due to reduction in people booking earlier, at a higher price point, when there was sharp cabin discounts a few weeks before sailing.

1 hour ago, Paid4c4 said:

I found this cartoon on my FB page this morning and thought how the cell phone has changed our lives and in a short period of time.

Looking forward to the trip report on Cruise Critic.

21 minutes ago, KellsBells71 said:

Just came from our first cruise ever and now wanting to book for next year!  . Just curious to know which is your favourite ship and your least favourite ship and why?  

Least favorite has been Oasis (Oasis-class) due to how it felt the ship's design limited ocean views from many of the passenger decks, but at the same time, Central Park was impressive. The number of live entertainment venues and performances was nice. Royal completely nailed the ship as a destination with this class.

Most favorite has been Adventure (Voyager-class) from the combination of things to do aboard, the itinerary with the feeling that we're going on something like an adventure, and how the ship felt like a ship with the ocean views.

Honorable mention for Anthem (Quantum-class). Felt like a mix of Oasis and Voyager with its own unique thing going on. I don't know if it'd be my first choice for warmer water sailings, but for a winter sailing from New Jersey, the indoor public space design was really nice.

There's really not a bad ship in the fleet. It's what you're looking for on a particular sailing that should guide your choice.

56 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

Two weeks ago. B2B. 52 of us. Approx. 12 went in for the B2B lunch at 1130. Nine walked out on seeing the menu. 

Meanwhile, as I said above, 40 feet away in the MDR at the same time Key folks were enjoying a nice Chops like lunch.

Is it really too much to ask that loyal B2Bers be offered the same meal?

 

 

I'm curious as to what was on the menu? Any chance there's a picture of it? As it sounds more like jealousy at this point than a lousy MDR lunch menu.

Can anyone chime in who's recently done a B2B if the MDR lunch is still being offered?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2826602-no-more-dining-room-lunch-for-b2b-passengers-fleet-wide-change/

Reading through the thread first is important. From OP over there on page 4.

"The officer in charge of in transit guests was checking us off her list as we showed up for testing. I mentioned the B2B letter did not say anything about lunch and she confirmed since there were so few doing B2B it was decided not to have one.

The F&B manager told me they have a cutoff number and if that number is not reached or close, the lunch is not scheduled."

Edit 3: Page 4 has a picture of what the B2B MDR menu looked like in early 2022.

https://www.bunkerspot.com/global/58588-global-first-engine-started-on-lng-fuelled-icon-of-the-seas

"GLOBAL: FIRST ENGINE STARTED ON LNG-FUELLED ICON OF THE SEAS"

Short story shorter. The first of six multifuel diesel/LNG engines aboard Icon was started on March 15 using diesel. Bit of a major milestone with its construction. Here's to successful starts for the other five engines.

Let me try to remember how these have worked on other ships.

Royal Mystery by Puzzle Break: A packet is provided to each 5 person (or so team) with a bunch of pages. Pages contain the clues needed to solve the puzzles and the puzzles themselves. There might be additional clues/puzzles located in the room where the game is taking place (such as printouts of footsteps) needed during the game.

Game shows. 

1. If you know it, dance it. Contestants will have to dance to a popular song that has "official" dance moves correctly. Host may or may not be easy with the judging on how close contestants need to be to stay in the game.

2. Majority Rules. Teams write down their answer to a multi-answer question posted by the host. Teams are awarded points if their answer was the most frequent answer given to the question.

3. 60 seconds or less. It's "Minute to Win It" games hosted by Royal.

4. Battle of the Sexes. Trivia competition of men versus women.

5. Friendly Feud. Royal is the official cruise line of Name That Tune, not Family Feud. It's Family Feud renamed for the lawyers.

1 hour ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Cause prices go up at Disney all the time and less and less families now go. LOL. Think again.

Royal's execs have mentioned that's the demographic that they're targeting along with a general nod towards being 20% cooler less expensive. Multigenerational families who would consider vacationing at Disney or Universal or similar and don't have a problem paying the asking price. And there are plenty of potential customers who meet this description even if families and individuals are priced out along the way.  The AARP article mentioned at the start is making a bad comparison just based on where the c-suite at Royal is attempting to position the company.

Since you went there, here's my take. For most people, based on message board postings, they're better off financially paying as they go instead of purchasing a package due to drink fatigue and opportunities for use. It seems most frequently people break even on a drink package (that includes the Refreshment package) versus paying out of pocket. The DBP at current pricing makes the most sense for people who really enjoy premium cocktails and cruisers who don't want to think about the cost of what they're ordering while on vacation. While it might seem silly to overpay to not think about drink costs, there is a certain value to just going and having a good time without worrying about the bill at the end (not something I'd personally do, but I can understand where people are coming from who do).

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

I'm dying to know what happened to you crazy kids who spent the $100 before Royal could flip it to $50.

Got the invoice for payment when they reversed the $100 OBC. Called customer service, was told the wait time would be longer than the typical Disney animated film, hanged up, and then canceled all cruise planner purchases which OBC was used (including those with OBC earned from booking the cruise). Once the $50 OBC hit, gave it a resting period then repurchased only the DBP.

16 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Just to check coz I'm sooo lost at this point. If you just booked it once for 2 people, you should get a $50 obc right? Not $100= $50 each person?

Right. $50 per booking. 1 booking = $50 OBC. 2 bookings = $100 OBC. 

At this point, I'm halfway waiting for an apology for canceling the previous apology due to staff error with another $50 OBC included which would bring the final OBC total to where it was before it was reversed. Royal really needs to figure out what they're doing and fast. 

$100 OBC was credited for one package to my account. That's since become funding for the DBP on this sailing. I wasn't planning on the DBP for this one, but with $100 of Royal underwriting, it brought it down to an acceptable level. 

Anybody else considering using the $50 OBC on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, then telling fellow passengers it was your welcome aboard bottle from the Premier Pass package? 

Edit: The forum keeps getting rid of the crazy face  at the end of the above.

44 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

This is Symphony next May. I know the price can fluctuate but this made me spit my wine (sacrilege!)

 

For funsies, just did a mock booking for 4 adults in two connecting rooms for a 7 night Symphony sailing next May. Only $4,201.44 for connecting oceanviews on deck 8 before gratuities.

17 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Excuse my language but what the F! What the F!

People are willing to pay it, so Royal is going to charge it. In many ways, this reminds me of what happened with Disney theme parks and resorts starting late 90s to early 2000s. Disney found people were willing to pay much higher prices, so they kept raising and raising the rates. At least with Royal, there's only so much they can raise on the fare before people start looking to cruise with another company.

On 3/10/2023 at 11:11 AM, Alistair said:

I see on the latest C&A rewards under the recognition that a pin is no longer given for achieving Platinum status but only upon reaching Emerald?

Yep. Under the old benefits, I would've received the Platinum pin on a recent Anthem sailing. Due to the change, I ordered the pin off of eBay after getting back, about $13 shipped, so I'll have the full collection eventually (or at least through Diamond Plus).

I use a combination of spreadsheets and OneNote. Different workbooks for different trips (an example pic is below, there's more to the workbook that's not shown) and another workbook as a 10,000-foot level view of my Royal Caribbean cruises booked (for tracking and estimating overall expenses and C&A level). With OneNote, I have a notebook just for cruise planning and notes. I've attached a screenshot of my cruising notebook tabs. The notebook is for keeping track of information about places, ships, and policies. I also use it to keep track of the non-financial end of my cruise trip planning. So as I make decisions about what to do and see on and off the ship, or just the possibilities, it gets added in. There's a lot of information about cruising out there, but there really isn't a good central resource document. This notebook fills that gap for me.

43 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Hmmmm so does that mean all of us will get refunded?????

I imagine so, though I could also see their exec team brainstorming ways to turn this into a win for them. Without knowing Royal's costs, and with the number of customers who canceled their internet packages because "OMG! This deal!" one option for Royal is emailing out a mea culpa about this mistake, and give people the option of either receiving a refund or receiving a two device internet package and a bottle of bubbly to their stateroom on embarkation day. It'd still cost Royal money, but I also wouldn't be shocked to learn that Royal would still make a slight profit on the people who accept the alternative offer instead of a refund.

53 minutes ago, Home Alone said:

Hello, my family and I booked the voyager of the seas for March 31st of 2025. I wanted to go ahead and book this trip as soon as it was released so we would get the lowest price. From my calculations this should be the week the kids are on spring break but now my wife seems to think it will be the following cruise on April 5th. I tried to get the refundable deposit but this ends up doubling the price of the cruise and isn't even an option online. So I currently have the 31st booked but am thinking about booking the April 5th as well and just canceling which ever cruise isn't sailing on the week we are on break. The deposit is only $400 and I'm sure that the price will increase more than that by the time of final payment but I'm wondering what yall's thoughts are. As I mentioned the nonrefundable price for either cruise is around $1675. After calling. since refundable deposit isn't available online, the price would be over $3000 making it not worth it. I won't find out which week is spring break until January 2024. If I do cancel Im guessing I lose the entire deposit. I wish they would let me use the deposit as cruise credit or even onboard credit but I know that's not how it works. Do you think it's worth booking both cruises to lock in the low rates and just take the hit on one of the deposits?

I'm with the bandit, take the hit and book both.

As far as calculating when breaks are, as someone with over a decade of experience in public education at this point, my recommendation is to keep a stash of historical school calendars, then match up the calendar of the vacation you're planning with January 1st on the historical calendars. The dates might not exactly align, but usually the week's position in the month will. For example, the last time January 1st fell on a Sunday before 2023 was the 2016-2017 school year. Our break calendar for this year is exactly the same as that particular school calendar. Days where students are out, but the staff are in, can vary. However, it's almost always a safe bet booking in the slots from the historical breaks. Looking forward to 2025, the school calendar that will possibly be reused is for the 2019-2020 school year since January 1st will be Wednesday.

I'll be aboard.

Splurged on the DBP for this one, since it'll be my last sailing before reaching Diamond, with the intent of trying every single cocktail that sounds interesting that I have yet to try aboard Royal.

Thanks to a recent Royal mishap, going to be enjoying the DBP on Allure this summer instead.

The side of the ship where you're standing on your balcony and not holding on for dear life.

So Prima 3 & 4 will be about Freedom-class size while 5 & 6 will be slightly larger than Quantum Ultra?

Will be interesting to see what's next for Royal as ships age out of the fleet. Though from what I recall, Royal has enough cabin capacity coming online over the next several years that they could retire both Vision and Radiance classes and end up with more capacity than before 2024.