Rackham

I've ordered the beer one for my cruise next month. If you divide the cost of the bundle by 6, it's basically buying 6 beers at on-board pricing (with gratuity) and getting the bag for free. It used to be that if you bought the bag of beers (BoB), Royal would replenish the beer at a discounted rate, but Royal apparently stopped that offer a while back. Since they're re-introducing the BoB, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll also bring back the replenishment special. Not holding my breath though.

Did they mention how many people are aboard? Or a percentage of capacity?

If Royal does do anything to the points required for a particular level, they'll probably reduce the number of points required, not increase it. A number of years ago Royal changed from points earned from sailing on a cruise (1 point per cruise) to points earned per night sailed (1 point per night) to align themselves with what the other mass market cruise lines were doing. And Royal's point requirements are similar to the other lines as well. Here's Carnival's loyalty chart (click on the "What you get" tab): https://www.carnival.com/vifp And here's NCL's, which Royal's somewhat mirrors: https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program#tier_benefits The equivalent for Diamond in C&A with Carnival or NCL is at 75 points, not 80. And Diamond+ equivalent with NCL happens at 150 points, not 175. Something I could see Royal introducing from NCL's benefits, assuming their computers could handle it, is being able to pre-book a DBP with a standing discount based on loyalty tier instead of purchasing once aboard to take advantage of it.

I doubt Royal will be mucking with points required for each tier. There are less Diamonds and up on any particular sailing than you might think by the posters with those statuses here on the Blog (based on publicly available information and comments, the average sailing has under 18% with Diamond or better), the benefits don't cost Royal much to provide, but they certainly drive bookings either to reach that status or take advantage of the perks, and Royal will be raising their rates to get within an estimated 80% of the cost of an equivalent land-based vacation over the next couple of years. On that last point, Royal was estimating they're at 60% of the cost of a land-based trip. Moving that percentage up to 80% will add hundreds, if not thousands, to the fare. They'll reduce the number of people reaching Diamond in the future simply due to pricing people out of cruising as often.

I was wondering about that too. I'm at Platinum. Though it's more likely this is just Royal's legendary IT at work.

I'm seeing the same, Ampurp85. No status is listed for myself in the app either.

https://www.mualobster.com/blogs/news/what-is-a-chicken-lobster

I did an embarkation day lunch at Chops aboard Adventure last summer. It was worth the money to start the cruise off with premium dining and not dealing with the crowds elsewhere. Plus, by the time I was leaving Chops, the cabins were open for passengers. So swung by, grabbed my Seapass, dropped off my carry-on, and got to getting my vacation fully started.

Try your sailing date and ship here: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts/ For whatever reason, the alcohol packages (hard liquor + mixer) don't appear in the cruise planner.

Things that already haven't been mentioned, and which might have some chance of happening? Offering the choice of either the classic soda package on the house or a discount on the DBP starting with Diamond. Percent off coupon on an upcharge menu item in the MDR or in a specialty dining restaurant.

Another thing to keep in mind when deciding between the MDR and Windjammer is when they open. At least on Adventure and Oasis last summer, 2022, the MDR was opening late enough for breakfast that I couldn't personally see myself up for a MDR lunch after having breakfast at their available times.

The coffee is fine, paid or included. Royal's food service is the equivalent of a land-based hotel with an attached convention center. It's decent and enjoyable. However, I rarely have any complaints, but I rarely have any raves either.

Sounds like a sensible change. I wouldn't be shocked to learn many people were thinking a day was from bars opening to closing, not 00:00 to 23:59, then customer service needed to deal with angry people who didn't read the fine print. Moving the reset time to early morning when the bars are guaranteed to be closed should alleviate any complaints they were footing about a midnight reset.

This line is interesting from a RCBlog posting earlier today (https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/12/14/royal-caribbean-announces-plan-build-first-carbon-neutral-cruise-ship) "It also aims to reduce carbon intensity by double digits by 2025 compared to 2019 and the introduction of a net-zero cruise ship by 2035." By 2035 Royal will either be looking to sunset every last Voyager, Radiance, and Vision-class ship or will be getting close to doing so based on historical patterns. Freedom-class probably won't be long in the fleet at that point either. It might be slightly easier to net-zero a smaller versus a larger vessel.

That might be how Royal's leaning with future smaller ships since the class was introduced after Oasis. However, looking at ship ages vs. sizes, Royal might also decide to let it ride if Bermuda is the deciding factor. On average, Vision-class is hitting 30 years in 5 years, Radiance-class is hitting the big 3-0 in about 11, Voyager-class in 9, and Freedom-class in 15. There are multiple options that aren't Quantum when considering Bermuda for at least a decade. Still, I'm anticipating we'll hear something within that time about a smaller ship than Oasis if they're planning one. Might be another Quantum, might be an evolved Quantum-class. I'd be pleasantly surprised if it carries under 4,000 passengers.

Sailed: Adventure Oasis Upcoming: 2023: Anthem, Brilliance, Allure 2024: Rhapsody, Jewel

I don't remember the exact numbers, but Royal has said previously an Oasis-class ship requires about 40% occupancy to turn a profit while a Vision-class requires around 70% occupancy. Newer ship designs could reduce the occupancy required to cover costs, but there's still the issue of larger ships can generate more revenue due to passenger volume. So while the expenses of a smaller ship are less, the potential profit is too. To me, there's a lot we don't know about backend discussions and analysis at Royal. How do smaller ships fare during the off-season? How beneficial are smaller ships with retaining frequent cruisers and guest spending (due to the loyalty program and on-board accounts they know all)? How are they viewing smaller ships with various environmental regulations being put into place in parts of Europe?

A price hike is quite possible even before Starlink is completed. If you're planning on booking Voom, like anything else in the cruise planner, it's best to do it now and reprice if it drops.

I think where the problem lies is Carnival is now charging for more than 2 entrées and the general public isn't keeping the lines mentally separated. Kinda like tourists getting confused that there's no Harry Potter at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

I have yet to go to either. However, I did book Maya Key for next August (2023) due to online reviews. Maya appears to have a good mix of land-based (local culture museums and reproduced Mayan ruins, gardens, and rescued animals) and aquatic (pool, reef snorkeling, and beaches) activities; the buffet lunch apparently offers up a variety of local options and is praised. It's also a short boat ride from the cruise pier with boats running throughout the day. Big French Key appears to be more of a traditional beach day with the bonus of a nifty snorkeling site of Mayanlantis. Maya Key's homepage: https://www.mayakey.com/ Big French Key's homepage: https://www.bigfrenchkeyroatan.com/bigfrenchkey

Doing a bit of quick math, and ignoring how cruise pricing works with ship cabin availability and such, the increased amount tracks with increasing cruise fares to be about 20% cheaper than a land-based vacation, assuming the original amount was 40% less. "We've seen this 40% gap to land based vacation. It used to be about 20%." "... And so we see there is a lot of opportunity to close that gap here over time."- Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group CEO From: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/11/03/royal-caribbean-going-after-orlando-vacationers

Doubt Royal will do much of anything in this social media age. They're not going to want other women to try to give birth aboard their ships for the benefits.

Off the top of my head, Royal is the only mass-market cruise line that has reciprocity with its premium line. https://www.celebritycruises.com/mx/captains-club/exclusive-offers/loyalty-reciprocity-program Royal could point towards its premium offering for people who are looking for a smaller ship. Their parent company could run a cross-line promotional to encourage small ship cruisers to make the jump when Royal's smaller ships are retired. Something like sail with Celebrity X number of times (once, twice, thrice?) in the next year and earn the equivalent number of bonus points (150 or 300 under the current points chart) with the Captain's Club for your particular status match. I would like to see Royal introduce a new, smaller ship class, but the signs are pointing towards Royal getting out of the market.

Providing some numerical support to twangster's position that no new smaller ships are coming is readily done by looking at Royal's ships on order. Based on the approximate dates here https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-cruise-ships-order and capacity information from Royal, the company could retire the entirety of Vision and Radiance-class ships during the year when Grandeur turns 30 (2026) and increase their guest capacity fleetwide by over 9,000. This doesn't mean Royal will retire these two ship classes that year. This means the option would be there to do so without reducing guest capacity, versus current capacity, at that time.

Who knows. There are business reasons why it would make sense for Royal to abandon the small ships and their unique ports of call, and there are business reasons why it'd be brilliant to keep at least a handful in the fleet. We'll find out, probably, this decade due to cruise ships aging out after about 30 years of service (see attached chart). My take is Royal will most likely introduce a new ship class that can transverse the Panama Canal (even if they're not planning on using the canal, various ports and waterways will construct themselves for ships of that size), and with the new locks, Royal can go larger than the traditional Panamax form factor with the ships. Maybe something larger than Vision/Radiance class but smaller than Voyager class. Much like Icon of the Seas wasn't the largest in the fleet until she was, I doubt we'll find out much about a new ship class until Royal is right and ready to tell us. Wouldn't want to jeopardize bookings on the current ships, you know.