Rackham

1 hour ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Hijacking this thread to ask about the customizing the Emerald perk welcome beverages and snacks.

Is this something we coordinate with our TA or with Royal ourselves?

How far from the cruise can we do this?

(I tried going to RoyalCaribbean.com/UpgradePreferences as listed on the C&A pdf fine print but it just sends me back to my base account page)

I don't know how valid this still is, since it's saying 2018, but it might give you some idea what to expect. https://dlxffu6hwewxp.cloudfront.net/cas/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18063159_CAS_MemberBonus_Amenity_List_v3.pdf .

3 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

On 10/25/2021 at 10:20 PM, nissin said: So I suspect the rum bottle contained greatly diluted rum, and he could make a big show of being generous with the jigger-ing, and still use hardly any real rum.

———
Nope, ours are fine (if not too strong for me 50% of the time), twice I asked for more of the mixer! I don’t tend to drink much at home, so those taste very strong to me. If you drink often off a cruise, I would assume the opposite could happen? You are truly suggesting they are watering down liquor?? Because there is 0 chance the latter is happening, alcohol is a huge money maker for all cruise lines, they would *never* risk that from either a marketing or ethical position. 

This. Why risk bad blood being cheap when the profit margin is probably around $10 per cocktail? 

18 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Did not know that both warm and cold water lobsters were on board.  How do you know this information?  Is it printed on the menus?

Reason that I ask is because I assumed that all Maine Lobsters were cold water lobsters.  Pacific lobsters DO NOT have claws and I always thought of these as warm water lobsters.  

Can you verify this?  I am happy to be wrong if proven wrong.  Thanks.

All Maine lobsters are cold water. The warm water lobster information I've seen by hanging out on these forums. They're probably serving Caribbean or Brazilian lobster tails though. https://www.seafoodsource.com/seafood-handbook/shellfish/lobster-spiny

14 hours ago, Jayhoaps said:

 

I understand, but is that true for all lobsters served in the ship such as Hooked Seafood and Chops grill?

Maine lobster (cold water lobster) is available in Hooked, Chops, and the MDR for an additional fee. The MDR, no up-charge lobster tail is from warm water lobsters. It's less about the preparation as it's the starting quality of the meat. What's made complementary on lobster night is widely regarded as inferior to the paid options due to flavor and texture.

I'm almost wondering if Royal's price increase isn't at least partially due to them loving their sales? Because now a 50% off sale would put the prices we've seen around the best sales in the past year (or at least those I'm aware of). Previously those sales might have been 30%-40% off. 50% sounds much better to most people than 35%, even though the end price is approximately the same due to the base price increase.

The attached chart is something I whipped up quickly to satisfy my curiosity. Pricing range for April 2022 is from the lowest I'm seeing in my cruise planner for cruises this year and the high is from this thread. July 2020 pricing is from the Blog (though it appears to be the prices RCL's been running with before the hike).

2 hours ago, mike2608 said:

Is $34 per day/guest a good price? Symphony of the seas FEB 2023- 7days i am thinking that is high for this package.  comes out to $476 for 2 people.

That sounds like full price per day. As others have said, it'll drop to the low $20s during a sale. Probably what's happening is Royal is starting to load available purchases for your cruise into the planner, but isn't discounting them yet. I wouldn't purchase yet as sales should start happening within the next three or so months based on experience.

42 minutes ago, Fredsbabe said:

If you purchase a pkg using an onboard credit, then cancel because the price drops & re-purchase, what happens to the onboard credit?

It should get refunded instantaneously (or at least that's what I've heard here from people with serious experience). 

11 minutes ago, CJS2766 said:

Guess Royal is trying to make up for lost revenue these past couple of years. I feel like cruising is quickly on the way of becoming unaffordable for a lot of people. I already fear for when cruise planner goes live for my October 2023 cruise on the Harmony. I will have to really pick and choose carefully!!

My take based on prior public conference call transcripts with RCI execs and discussion board comments, is due to how much demand the company is seeing on dining and drink packages (paraphrasing, "No DBP = no cruise! Gotta have it!"), RCI is seeing how high can they go and have people still willing to pay the asking price. I doubt fares will increase significantly, beyond inflation, like we've seen from major hotel and theme parks because of the economics of running a cruise ship. Sure, base fare will increase with time, but probably not like what we've seen with other leisure activities.

Interestingly enough, while the DBP has increased across the board, I'm still seeing the same-ish price (I haven't been tracking these so I can't compare their non-discounted price) for the Refreshment and Classic Soda packages. And while the dining packages have gone up, among the specialty dining experiences, I'm seeing the Chef's Table as the only one to have a serious price increase. Taste of Royal and Sushi & Sake both seem to have the same price as before. Individual restaurant bookings seem to be mixed on price increases (at least on my sailings where I can book these). Izumi's offerings seem to be the same. Chop's and 150 Central are both higher than before. Giovanni's might be higher?

Looking across my booked cruises, I'm seeing those with a summer departure have increased the DBP base price to $98.00. Anthem of the Seas, Feb 2023 and their holiday cruise in 2023, is at $90.00. Enchantment in July 2023 (Alaska from Vancouver) is still at $72.00 in the older, cruise planner style.

9 minutes ago, Wanderlust876 said:

So I had an April cruise booked and I had ended up getting fabulous prices for the Refreshment package, wifi, and shore excursions thanks to a presidents day sale. 

Had to rebook for August and now I'm bargain hunting all over again. 

Are the sales a usual occurrence on holidays? Should I be looking toward Memorial Day to get some price drops?

Best prices happen when they happen. Some of the steepest discounts mentioned on these boards were during random times. If you're wanting the lowest price possible, commit to signing into the cruise planner frequently (if not daily) for a 30 second price check. Book when the price is acceptable, and be willing to refund and repurchase if a better price becomes available (assuming your finances allow it).

Typically the cruise planner starts getting loaded in between 9 to 6 months before embarkation. So a Jan '23 cruise you can anticipate things appearing in April '22 to July '22. However, some things might appear earlier or later. For example, I have a cruise booked during Feb '23 and Perfect Day options are already there. Though no sales have happened on them yet.

1 hour ago, fit4cruisn said:

Please tell me more about these ranger cookies... 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/blog/a-very-royal-recipe-ranger-cookies/

Here's how to make them. Royal shared the recipe a few years ago.

Previously on the forums: 

From that thread:

"It's deck 18 and a crew only area.

At one point in time a decade ago it was conceived to be a guest area.  If you visit the ship model on Oasis in the aft elevator banks you will see loungers and what clearly looks like a guest area.  Why it never was utilized as such is unclear. " -twangster

Took me a moment to realize it was a headless clothes steamer on the far right, and not a Salad Shooter.

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

The cruise industry, like the airlines sign futures contracts for energy products months in advance so, those deliveries will be made (except as above) for probably the next 60-90d. After that the proverbial sh** will hit the fan. I appreciate the sanguine comments that the lines will probably reduce sale offers before tacking on a fuel surcharge. That would be nice but the fuel costs of operating a cruise liner at the current cost of fuel - just one - is about $185 per passenger per day.  Hmmm quick napkin calculation? 2000 guests, x $185 = $370K/d x7 = $2,570,000 in fuel costs for a week long cruise.

So, tell me that the cost of a barrel of fuel going from say, $60pb to over $200 (what some experts think the PPB will get to this summer) won't produce drastically higher fuel operating costs that will get passed on to the consumers. It's going to be a rocky cruise experience for a while.

From: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/05/21/royal-caribbeans-newer-ships-break-even-quicker-older-ships

"For our newer ships, you need about 30 percent load factors to kind of break even. And then they skew to about 50 percent load factor on onto our older ships."

-Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty

The source I'm seeing of the $185 / pp / day appears to be from: https://cruisemarketwatch.com/financial-breakdown-of-typical-cruiser/ . It's rather confusing, but the chart appears to be the average costs for a 7-night/8-day cruise based on the numbers given in the paragraph at the top. "The average per passenger per day cruise expense is projected to be $214.25, with $152.12 per person per day ticket price and $62.13 per person per day on board spending (average cruise duration 8.0 days, median duration 7.0 days)." $152.12 times eight happens to be the ticket price listed in the chart at $1,217. Therefore, to arrive at the actual estimate for an 7-day cruise we divide by 8 then multiple by 7, (185/8)*7 which yields $161.88. If fuel prices jump 400% since this study was released, then Royal needs to make up $485.64 per passenger for the same profit per person. Royal could impose a fuel surcharge, they could also make up the difference with lesser discounts, or accept less profit per ship in fares to get more people aboard and spending since the average onboard spend, based on this table, was $497 (about $11 higher than the fuel price per person above). 

With how Royal likes sales on fares and cruise planner purchases, I could see them reduce the % & dollars off amounts before introducing a fuel surcharge. Less off across the board could equal the value of a surcharge without the negative PR of adding one.

On 2/5/2022 at 10:25 AM, Vancity Cruiser said:

I would assume gold. With the exception of us cruise crazies on this board most people probably only cruise once a year or once every 2 years

That's my assumption too; with the majority C&A members below Diamond as the benefits aren't much before, comparatively speaking. I'd anticipate cruisers at Diamond and above are cruising frequently enough that any comps being offered, most famously those drink vouchers, are more than paid for with the amount of spend with Royal. 

Another thing I suspect is many people who cruise annually are jumping between lines looking for the best deal. While I haven't seen this mentioned in discussions, the amount of vacation time and mean household income in the US means most (at least for the US) aren't going to be racing up the C&A levels. Assuming earning 1 cruise point per night and 1 cruise per year, it'd take 12 years to hit Diamond. 

As a data point, one of Royal's automated marketing emails to my account thanked me for being one of their best customers... after having booked 3 cruises sometime in the future and currently at Pre-Gold. So I'm assuming the average number booked is 2 or less per year.

2 hours ago, Coachkev24 said:

In regards to this....if I bought a bottle of rum in Nassau, do I pay Duty upon arrival back in Cape Liberty? Was wondering how that worked, i knew about them holding it till the night before disembarkation.

1 liter is allowed duty free. If I'm remembering correctly, it's 3% of the purchase price after the 1st liter (save your receipts). I've heard, though, that customs might not charge the 3% unless you're bringing back a several bottles and it's obvious you're over.

Looking beyond the drink vouchers, Diamond is receiving 20% off glasses of wine, beer, and soda (25% off for Diamond+ & Pinnacle) which, if you're partaking in any of those, makes it harder to break even on the DBP. That's not mentioning the 50% off when purchased together offer either.

From the perspective of someone who’s pre-Gold (since new cruisers was brought up), and who has a variety of itineraries booked, the Deluxe pricing I’ve seen (typically $60.99 to $69.99) isn’t worth it to me. And I would love to see Royal’s numbers on the amount of drinks the average purchaser consumes using the package. First couple of days, maybe the math would be in my favor. Later on though, after shore excursions and general drink fatigue, I couldn’t see myself clearing what the package costs. Instead, at least for a 9-night this summer, I’ve booked the Chef’s Table, Sushi and Sake, and Taste of Royal (with the intention of getting the wine pairing included in this calculation) for about $458 less than the cheapest Deluxe pricing I’ve seen. To spend the same amount as I would have on the Deluxe, I’d need to drink 30 cocktails over the entire voyage, or just over 3 per day, in addition to the exclusive dining experiences booked! I can’t see drinking that much due to personal preferences, length of time in port, and being able to bring 2 bottles of wine aboard. Yes, I did remember the mandatory 18% gratuity and I'm aware that the Deluxe is good for more than mixed drinks (ran the numbers on a variety of scenarios too).

Speaking of shore excursions, the pricing on CocoCay is CocoCayzy. But I’m sure people are paying it if RCL is charging it.

1 hour ago, Riley said:

One point to consider - you would get double points as well as your wife but you would not be able to add those points together.  So if you booked 2 rooms you would each get 14 points but NOT a total of 28.  Only 14 points would be added to your total.

Adding to this, most couples trying to climb the C&A ladder quickly will have one of them book a suite solo (for 3 points per night) while the other books the cheapest interior then joins them in the suite during the sailing. Though I am curious to learn what Jlight finds so valuable with Diamond status that they're willing to book multiple cabins to reach it fast? Don't get me wrong, the benefits are nice (though from my perspective as a solo cruiser and preferences they're trip enhancements, not savings, until 340; nice, but not essential), but the cost to get there quickly would go a long way towards future cruises and onboard pluses.

DBP = 4 times the current average cocktail cost, $52; willing to bite around $55. But this also depends on the sailing and potential for use. If I have to work it for value, then I don't consider it to have cost savings.

If you're looking for something similar, and potentially more durable, there's neoprene luggage handle wraps in a variety of colors. Most 5 packs are $10-$12 on Amazon. My approach is to used two different designs, one for each handle on my checked suitcase, and gluing them shut along the Velcro on the wraps (the wraps are cheap enough to cut off when it's time to replace). They're not coming off easily and mixing designs means less of a chance of someone else using a similar pair of wraps on their luggage.

On 2/5/2022 at 8:00 AM, VACruiser said:

Because there will be so many new Diamond and Diamond + members in the future, due to the double point sailings, I wonder if the benefits will be watered down in the future to save costs?

I doubt Royal will water things down [much] in the future for the simple reason of benefits offered not costing the company that much money; yet the benefits encourage repeat customers. While a drink might cost us $13 (plus 18%) it doesn't cost Royal anywhere near that amount. And while it appears RCI is leaving money on the table by offering discounts to loyalty members when booking balconies and suites, they're still making a profit on the booking and know they have the cabin sold for that sailing. During less pandemic times, Royal wants every cabin on the ship sold. The loyalty program helps with that objective. I believe it was the recent earnings call where one of their executives stated the average guest spends around 50% of their fare on voyage additions after booking. For example, let's say the cost of a balcony was $1,800 before taxes and after a $250 Diamond discount. On average, then, Royal can expect an additional $900 spent aboard. Without knowing the expenses per person and service this is a shot in the dark, but I'm going to assume Royal is coming out nicely (even after discounts and freebies) at $2,700 spent. 

In some ways, their loyalty program is working similar to a theme park annual pass program. It's encouraging repeat visits, and then because of the perceived value from benefits received encourages onboard spending. Eh, they're comping my drinks this week, maybe I'll spurge one night on an expensive bottle of wine? Saved hundreds on the room so let's go for that unlimited dinning package. Maybe we'll do that customized, private excursion this time we've been wanting to do for years.

This is probably their website you're looking for: Group Event Customization . There's a chance that she attended a private party in a Star Class suite. In which case the Royal Genie would've been the contact person for the host.