Rackham

Oh, God. This keeps getting better and better. Chef's Table alone is about the cost of the package pre-sailing.

If it does work, we need "I Royal's Interns" t-shirts.

The Veuve Clicquot, if it's a full-sized bottle, goes for $99 + 18% aboard. It's got to be a daily charge that's been incorrectly entered into their system with how much everything else included would cost separately, even during a major sale.

From comments here and elsewhere concerning Royal's ability to accurately track and award C&A points, what I've been doing is the following: Keeping a spreadsheet with the ship, sail date, reservation number, and C&A points earned that should have been earned (there's more to the workbook, but this is the relevant information if there's an issue). Retaining the Seapass for each sailing so there's physical proof of being aboard. Speaking to the Loyalty Ambassador aboard if there's anything off once aboard the ship. This policy has already corrected an issue where my C&A number was unlinked from the reservation somehow; the Loyalty Ambassador was able to quickly fix the issue aboard Anthem. She also appeared confused as apparently the number was there on the shoreside reservation, but the computer wasn't doing whatever it was supposed to with the onboard account (if I'm recalling her quick explanation correctly). And this was only my 4th time sailing with Royal. I'm also seeing what Mturk mentioned about the points. Typically the points appear with my previous sailing approximately 7 days after disembarkation, and then the C&A point total updates itself to the new balance randomly within 48 hours afterwards. So points appearing today mean the grand total points should update between today (Saturday) and Monday evening.

The change to water only from a personal beverage selection probably has more to do with management and execution costs than product expense. If everyone who's eligible for a welcome aboard beverage is receiving exactly the same thing, just with slightly different quantities, then there's no need for staff to process drink orders before sailing. And then whoever delivers the beverages to each eligible stateroom doesn't need to grab the specific mix for their deliveries and ensure that each beverage ends up in the correct place. The deliverer just needs a cart of water with a stateroom list and count to deliver to each cabin which means less time is required to complete the deliveries.

I'm planning a family cruise a few years out, so I can be ready to book when a particular sailing is loaded into Royal's system for the best rate, and after playing around with mock bookings, my suggestion is to either book a cabin for 5 now or two connecting rooms (assuming your party needs to stay together) with the other adult, assuming the person who may join you is an adult, otherwise you'll need a cabin for 5 as there must be at least one adult in the cabin for booking purposes. Here's why. Rates will rarely be cheaper than they are today. Cabin availability will probably not get any better. Cabin pricing seems to be a base rate for the specific cabin plus so much per person in the cabin (ex. base rate $2,700, two people in the cabin at $200 / person yields a total room fare of $3,100; if there was 4 people total fare would be $3,500) plus taxes, fees, and gratuity. If someone cannot make the ship, then Royal will refund port fees, taxes, and their part of the gratuity. However, if you want to add a person later, Royal reprices the whole cabin at the current rate (and rates seem to move only up, up, up these days). So maybe the new base pricing on the cabin is now $3,400 and the per person rate is $350. Adding a fifth person at these rates would mean the new total fare would be $5,150 from $3,500 for 4 (from the previous example). If you booked under the earlier mentioned rates with 5 people, your fare total would be $3,700; a whopping $1,450 less than the hypothetical future rate. So yes, you're paying slightly more today on the chance this person will join you. But the amount of money you'll possibly save is far greater than the loss if they don't show up. Since it sounds like you might be stretching your budget with how you're writing about the situation, I'd personally ask if they're in or out, and if they say they're out, book for 4. If they change their mind later they can book their own cabin, at their own expense, if any are available on the same sailing.

Just off of Anthem and WOW bands were available onboard. After using one for the week, I'd recommend spending on a quality lanyard for your Seapass card instead. The concept is interesting, but needing to take it off to use at most locations due to lack of mobile readers and still needing the Seapass to get off the ship at for CocoCay, makes it less useful than it could be. Interestingly enough, the way (as far as I can tell) the band works is the address of the NFC chip inside is added to your personal ship account. Your ship account number isn't added to the band or Seapass card either. Unless my NFC reader isn't picking up the encoded data. This is a good security practice as someone would need to read your card or band, then duplicate that, instead of just needing to know your account number aboard.

That was my thought too. Since port security doesn't know who's in which stateroom, it's easier to tell them (and get it enforced) 1 bottle per legal adult than a max of 2 per cabin. Plus, this policy change aligns with how many were already thinking the policy was. I don't think Royal changed the policy because of the interpretation of the rules by others, but I'm sure it made the discussion about implementation easier.

Currently aboard Anthem and received the older style bags, 12 floz cans of Bud Light and the discount brand bottles of water (I think they're 12 floz, but not leaving my window seat in the Solarium to check.) Seems like right now it's a gamble with what you're going to get based on the port and ship.

It's sounding like Royal, or at least their servers, are working around the 1 entrée at a time limit by giving guests what they really want from that steak order. And it's not a second piece of broccoli. Allowing a surf and turf order makes sense to keep people happy, since the introduction of the additional lobster charge, if we take Royal at face value with the cost of lobster skyrocketing.

This wasn't mentioned in the thread header, but I do want to touch on the reduction or elimination of duck and lamb on the menu. People have complained Royal's going cheap by their removal. However, I wouldn't be shocked to learn there was plenty of food waste with both as they're notoriously difficult to cook properly and not overcook. Since Royal is plating and serving thousands in their MDR, the odds of not receiving overcooked lamb or duck (due to residual cooking while waiting to be served) meant people expecting a perfectly cooked dish sent back the entrée. Combine the sent-back dishes with those which people didn't eat, as they were trying the meat for the first time and decided it wasn't for them, and inexperienced cooks overcooking the meat at the start make lamb and duck an easy target for removal. Yes, it saves Royal money, but it also means they avoid passenger complaints from dishes not meeting expectations and can work in inexperienced cooks easier. The braised lamb on the current menus should be moist enough to withstand the rigors of platting and simple enough to withstand preparation by new staff. A duo of grilled lamb and lamb tagine is being offered nightly in the Solarium Bistro on ships which have the Bistro without an upcharge (or at least is listed as such for my sailing next week on Anthem).

Looking over the Deluxe description in my cruise planner for a sailing next week, the answer is no. It includes their lunch buffet and admission to Blue Lagoon with transportation. The video header is highly misleading as it's showing one of the dolphin encounters. You'll be able to observe from afar, but you don't get to sit next to the dolphins without a dolphin encounter package.

These adapters have been confiscated by security for years, but it's been a major YMMV situation. Unless you've got a need for Type B electrical plugs, and if you're just needing the adapter for plugging in multiple USB chargers, bring a cordless USB multiport adapter instead. No risk of security confiscation and they take up less room in the luggage. Security would probably see and confiscate the bottom half on the x-ray, leaving you the top part to keep track of the entire cruise.

Like the Ben & Jerry's, but this one comes with complementary smoked meat and ranch paintings on the wall?

Since this is their first post, feeling it's a hit-and-run. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, while the room is marked as obstructed in the booking system, Royal has you scroll to the bottom of available cabins, click on the tiny "View deck map key" to display what the deck plan symbols mean, and those icons and accompany text are small. There's nothing notifying that the cabin's view is obstructed in a manner for someone who's not thinking about what they're seeing is going to investigate.

I've read when Royal was offering the cooler + beer combo pre-shutdown that beers could be exchanged for a cold one at any bar. Bars aboard might allow a swap for another beer that costs the same as the one being swapped. Haven't tried it, so it might or might not work. And if it does, it's going to be a YMMV situation unless Royal puts into place an official policy.

Here's where I shared a spreadsheet to automatically generate the cruise planner URL for any given sailing. Find a sailing that's on the same itinerary as yours on Royal's website then enter its information in the spreadsheet. Click on the generated link to see available excursions. Edit: You must be signed out of the cruise planner in order for the generated link to work!

I haven't been keeping track with a ledger, so take this for what unrecorded observations are worth. It seems to me that Royal has increased base fares slightly for when sailings are first offered. However, the maximum price per sailing has gone up significantly and price increases from their demand-based pricing algorithm increases fares quicker than they used to. Backlash, in this case, is decreased bookings. I'm sure they're receiving angry emails and telephone calls about the price increases. Not more than any other vacation option. This might sound a little funny, but due to general price increases and the fares on the older ships in the fleet (which have already hit the average service life in RCL's fleet at retirement) I'm considering two B2Bs in 2025 if the fares and itineraries are right to hit Diamond Plus. Since status is kept for life, figure I might go ahead and vacation for multiple weeks with Royal again in 2025, get the second-highest loyalty tier, then receive the benefits on future bookings. Price increases are easier to take with the comps given due to status.

Schools in the American South typically go back early August. Thus less local families are vacationing in the middle to the end of the month, and I'd imagine Texas is a less attractive port to people flying in than those in Florida.

Seeing in the app for a sailing at the end of the month, out of Cape Liberty, that every evening at the 'Jammer now has a specialty burger listed. Day 1: All American Classics: BBQ Burger Pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cheddar. Day 2: Savor La France: French Onion Burger Sautéed onions and swiss cheese. Day 3: A Taste of Tex Mex: Na'cho Average Burger Cheese sauce and salsa. Day 4: Mangia, Mangia!: Caprese Burger Pesto and mozzarella cheese. Day 5: Flavors of the Caribbean: Buffalo Burger (style, not animal) Buffalo sauce and blue cheese. Day 6: Flavors of India: Indian Burger Mango chutney and mint yogurt sauce. Day 7: Meal in the Med: Med Burger Feta cheese and red pepper.

It was probably a notification that the DBP was up to 40% off. Not that it was 40% off.

My go-to is Blue Lizard 50+ Sensitive. Reef safe, and does protect all day without reapplication (if I forget to reapply) as long as I'm not swimming. The downside is it does lighten your skin, being mineral based, if that's something you're trying to avoid.

You won't know if do or don't until the end of embarkation day. I'm currently sitting at 2 for 2 with sailed sailings in which I've bid and won from an interior to something with a window and haven't bid too much more than the minimum. My bids aren't accepted until around 72 hours prior to sailing, however.

Who wins is based on whichever bid chain nets Royal the most amount of money based on a black-box algorithm. They're not just looking at your bid, they're looking at how much people are willing to spend to move out of their cabin and into a higher category one (which might be yours). As for why they're accepting bids on sold-out cabins is because people cancel or don't show up to the pier on embarkation day. If Royal doesn't feel like they can reasonably sell the cabin, before sailing, they'll have PlusGrade accept an offer to fill that cabin and make additional money from the bid chain that PlusGrade determines on the new vacant cabin.

They may already be sold out of the 7-nighters in 2024. I've got one booked in February 2024 and the RCB group cruise is March 16 - 23, 2024.