Rackham

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.

I don't know if I'm more surprised that the drink card was offered or that it was only $89 ($8.90 / drink).

The self-created Surf and Turf, if they bring out both entrees at once, is the only time I'll consider Royal is encouraging people to spend money with their dining room policies as S&T is a nightly premium selection.

Without knowing their exact location, could it be because they're above Playmakers or the Schooner Bar? There's also a live entertainment venue and the fitness center over there too.

Only bringing out the next dish after the first is finished sounds like an easy way to prevent people from ordering way more food than they can eat. By night three, the waitstaff knew Ampurp85 could finish what they ordered so they were allowed more leniency with the policy.

I have the same verbiage for a sailing from NJ later this month. Looking back on ticketing booklets from 2022, the same statement is made there as well. Unless someone here says otherwise, I'm assuming the 12, up to 17 floz, non-alcoholic beverages on embarkation day are still allowed.

Just finished mine. Here's the grand list of options for the curious. Edit: They also asked what the most important thing was when it came to pool deck cuisine besides asking for the most and least appealing option alongside your reason for choosing each option.

You've got it. It's credit once per day per restaurant which operates a la carte. So you could start at Playmakers, swing by Izumi (sushi), and end at Portside with the UDP paying at each. You couldn't go to Playmakers twice in the same day, for example, but any unique combination is okay.

Looks like Xaa was right!

Port arrival and the all aboard time is in the daily planner as just another card. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to only show the cards with a "deskbell" icon. Edit: These particular cards don't appear until closer to the sailing which is somewhat annoying.

My vote is going for Havana, Cuba.

Other lines returning to the traditional muster drill might be due to staffing. https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-ship-muster-drill-changes-reasons/

Carry-on only? Tom Bihn Aeronaut (45, I have the original model which was updated to become the 45) with their(Co-)Pilot as my personal item. Depending on how much additional stuff I'm packing determines if I'm grabbing the Pilot or the Co-Pilot, its smaller model. Carry on only does mean, at least for me, either buying sunscreen aboard the ship or after arriving in at embarkation destination. Pricy, but cheaper than checked luggage fees. https://www.tombihn.com/products/aeronaut-45?variant=42243021799613 https://www.tombihn.com/collections/travel-bags/products/pilot?variant=15776076824639 https://www.tombihn.com/collections/travel-bags/products/co-pilot?variant=41432330993853

I am and I am not cruising between 2022 and 2023 for the points. I’ll save the entire story, and why I chose Royal, for another time. I will say that with the loyalty rewards Royal has in place, the lack of a requalification period (loyalty status doesn’t expire if you don’t cruise for a year, unlike hotels and airlines), where cruise pricing was in 2021 and 2022, my finances due to work covering certain educational expenditures of mine, and sailing solo, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reach Diamond in two years over seven cruises. I’ll have enjoyed plenty of vacation and will have a nice set of comps with future bookings. A few things to note: I live close enough to a port where Royal regularly runs cruises and has for years. I have enough time off during the year to easily do an extended sailing (9+ nights) or a land/sea combo whether on my own or through Royal. Royal has enough itineraries which interest me during times of year I can get away. To sum it up. I’m in a position to actually use the benefits earned due to loyalty status. An aside on pricing: With how the rest of the leisure travel industry had sharply increased their prices over the years, I was confident Royal (and other cruise lines) would be following suit. It was a question of time, not if. In some ways, I’m viewing this as an investment in future vacations. Yes, Royal can change the benefits at any time. However, they’ve publicly stated they’re happy with the response the program has had and have increased benefits with time. They’ve also tied promos when bookings are soft to C&A level. So higher the level, to a point, the more discounts or benefits for booking a cruise. I don’t see that changing either.

"Prohibited items: CBD Oil / CBD Products" https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy It's honestly quite simple. It doesn't matter if CBD is legal in the US when the ship is traveling to countries where it is not. And since most people won't cross-reference international law before bringing products aboard, it's easier to issue a blanket ban than attempt to enforce regulations depending on ports of call.

That sounds like a great way to get future cruises canceled and added to Royal's watch list with threatening to interrupt operations. Based upon section 12 of the cruise contract, Royal owes nothing due to the arguments OP is making in their email. Making threats if they provide FCC you're going to go on that cruise and make trouble is a surefire way of receiving absolutely nothing.

A group of 19 requires a different approach when serving than a party of, say, 8 and Royal might not be interested in reserving that many tables for one party with their current wait staff. Though I'd also believe that there's simply not table availability either that evening due to pre-existing reservations. The responses here won't be any different that what was said on Reddit. If Royal is saying they can't accommodate a reservation for 19 at Wonderland on your birthday the options, if you got to have Wonderland, for your birthday meal are: See if there isn't availability for 19 at Wonderland during a different part of the sailing. If there is, make that your birthday celebration instead. Ask if you can buy out Wonderland for that evening or at least a few hours. Royal may or may not be willing to let you buy the place out for a few hours, but they're going to be more willing to cancel people's reservations (and refund payments) if you're cutting them a very nice, most likely non-refundable, deposit. Ask if catering from Wonderland would be available at another location aboard the ship.

There's a hibachi side and a sushi side. Yes, if there's space available, you can go to the sushi side and order without buying the prix fixe menu in the cruise planner.