Rackham

And the person with the sign might actually be in the pool or whirlpool. Unless I saw them post the sign and then leave, I'd assume they've had issues in the past (I know I have as a solo cruiser) and decided to literally leave a sign that the chair is in use by someone using the pool deck.

2 hours ago, Plasticbrain said:

1. Is 4 excursions too much while on Oasis for 7 days? (How much onboard events will you miss out by only having 3 days on the ship + some evenings/nights) 

That's really up to the individual. I found that 3 full days, and evenings throughout the sailing, was plenty of time to experience everything Oasis has to offer. Do book show reservations in advanced (will be available about 30-40 days before sailing) so you can see the shows when you'd like to see them.

I want an investigation into why the bars have taps, but limited draft beer selection.

2 hours ago, texaskstar said:

Just curious where you saw that Allure is getting amplified?  Have they announced what they’ll be adding to it?  I like this itinerary and maybe booking it in a few weeks.

The senior officers aboard have been saying spring 2025 for amplification.

On 10/26/2023 at 11:45 AM, OCSC Mike said:

This seems to be a new trend. First it was the C&A discount on certain CocoCay extras like cabanas, now this.

Are we too jaded to think RC is possibly doing something good here?

My gut feeling is sales on these items are down due to price increases. While Royal does have a large percentage of new cruisers per sailing, enough aren't biting on these purchases due to a combination of price and enjoying what's included in the fare for the first time. Long time C&A members remember when prices were far more reasonable (even adjusting for inflation) or are more likely to know pricing for similar offerings on Royal's competitors. Thus, Royal is offering special discounts to C&A members to drum up sales.  So through offering the occasional C&A discount, it's something of a win for everyone involved. Royal sells unsold reservations while displaying they value loyalty. Previous cruisers with Royal receive actual discounts on cruise planner items.

On 10/26/2023 at 8:38 AM, MLH said:

Interesting that it now says Ravenna. apparently RCG was sent a warning letter from the Uk's Standard board like the FTC regarding false advertising saying it was leaving from Venice.

https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/royal-caribbean-cruises-ltd-a23-1198946-royal-caribbean-cruises-ltd.html

1 hour ago, Mike.s said:

Wow, look at those prices, over $2k for 7 days for an inside cabin, no wonder they annouced good results yesterday.

It's my understanding the test load  cruises are higher priced during the test load period. Once the full load happens, prices will start lower than where they were during the test load period. Or at least that's what's happened historically. 

1 hour ago, Jill said:

Geiranger: I’ve always heard it’s a “must” port but it’s only offered twice on the 7 night. Neither date works for us. Will I be super sad to miss it? 

Only you can answer that. But if time you have available doesn't mesh with when you can visit, then is it something to get sad over? 

With that said, due to regulations changing on where ships can sail in Norway starting no later than 2026, if you're wanting to visit Geiranger on a RCCL ship, realistically your last chance is summer 2024. It appears the stepping in of new emission regulations will keep out Royal's current fleet starting in 2025.

Edit: It's also not like Geiranger has a lock on fjord beauty either. Take a look at what the other ports of call are using something like Google Earth to get a feel for what's there. 

11 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I wonder if it is or if the opposite is true. I expect the bean counters have their eye on this. It would be interesting to see some numbers. I'm sure thay have them but do they share them with anyone? Shareholders I suppose would potentially need to be informed.

They've increased the voucher count by one after the vouchers were introduced, which tells me the voucher program had a serious amount of unused funds budgeted based on passenger use, and there's multiple ways for them to make up for the lost revenue.

From a pure cost perspective, looking at the Allure sailing I was on last summer, there was 6,600 pax aboard. Of those, 277 were Diamond, 149 Diamond Plus, and 46 Pinnacle. Assuming everyone used their vouchers for premium cocktails, and assuming Royal's cost per cocktail was no more than $4, that means Royal's daily cost was $8,516 or $59,612 for the week to service the vouchers. The cost of servicing the vouchers in this example, divided among every passenger aboard, would be $9 for the week. Without trying to model the effects of drink packages, revenue lost by Royal on drinks which would've been bought if not for the vouchers, and the revenue made by Royal because Diamond and up loyalty members chose to sail with them versus another line, adding ten bucks to everyone's fare to keep and encourage customers who've shown that they're interested in your product, when the total cost and company profits are significantly higher, is a no brainer. I suspect if Royal isn't already factoring in C&A benefit cost based on an individual sailings, versus an annual average, they'll start soon. i.e. Sailings popular with Diamond and up members will have fares starting higher to compensate for the additional cost to service C&A benefits aboard while random summer sailings in the Caribbean will have a lesser tariff factored in. Though depending on servicing costs, Royal might just increase things across the board for that sweet additional profit on sailings with limited higher C&A tiers aboard. 

Edit: Just ran the numbers on my Brilliance, Multi-glacier cruise from this summer. Royal's weekly cost, based on the assumptions above, spread among everyone aboard would be about $4. 

13 minutes ago, Hope said:

Any idea when the 2025 schedules will come out?

Getting this roll call started. 13 nights to the top of the world and through world heritage fjords which won't be sailable by Royal soon.

----

Going to add links and such as I think about it below this line. This is certainly not a comprehensive list. Rather it's things I've bookmarked and such.

For a few attractions which are possible to visit on this cruise have free audio tours available in the app "VOICE OF NORWAY" available in the iOS and Android app stores.

Hop-on/Hop-off buses through CitySightseeing (city-sightseeing.com) are only available at very limited ports of call in this itinerary. There is at least one location they're servicing which is asking visitors to the site to check back at a later date.

Day 3 (Sun July 7, 2024) - Geiranger

Shore excursions available with:

https://emob.no/en/ (This company rents the minicars Matt mentioned in his trip review.)

Day 6 (Wed July 10, 2024) - Honningsvag

Shore excursions available with:

https://www.northcapetours.com/en/

https://www.blue-puffin.com/en/ (Also offers a tour in Tromso.)

Car rentals:

https://www.nordkappbilservice.no/car-rental

Day 7 (Wed July 10, 2024) - Tromso

Public transportation app:

https://fylkestrafikk.no/menu/tickets-and-fares/troms-billett-tickets-app/

Day 11 (Mon July 15, 2024) - Olden

Shore excursions available with:

 https://www.oldencruise.com/ 

Day 12 (Tue July 16, 2024) - Bergen

Shore excursions available with:

https://vikingvoyages.no/

Hop-on/Hop-off Bus:

https://city-sightseeing.com/en/67/bergen

1 hour ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

Thank you guys for your links to local tour operators.

I have been to Norway several times and know it is expensive but Royal's excursions for Norway are currently just overpriced. Period. This year I was there with another cruise line and the excursions were much more attractive.

There is only one thing that still makes me hesitate to book through local providers. On our trip we had to significantly shorten the time the ship was in one port due to bad weather. As a result, many excursions that lasted longer were cancelled. Since I had booked through the cruise line this was not a problem. However, if I had booked through a local operator it would have been my risk and no one would have refunded me the cost....
Or are there also local providers who offer a compromise if the ship is shorter ashore than planned?

Thank you!

I've booked a tour with Blue Puffin (https://www.blue-puffin.com/en/) for Honningsvåg and in their T&C they mention they'll adjust the tour for late cruise ship arrivals or early cruise ship departures. However, they also keep 10% of the tour cost if the ship can't make port to cover their expenses instead of a full refund.

3 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

I think this is part of the overall problem, not @RCIfan1912 in particular, but the earning rates.  We all know the "loopholes" to get those extra points, which was all fun and games when we earned them, but now we're hitting the limits.  I'm all for getting what we've earned, but maybe Royal should change it so that you only get 1 point per night as the standard rate and not do the doubles for single cruisers, gaining a suite, etc...  They could then offer up double points promotions when they need to fill the ship and it could be done on a ship by ship, sailing by sailing basis.  

I sail solo, and the extra point per night (when paying a single supplement) is in recognition that solo cruisers have to buy out the cabin by basically paying fare for a ghost on non-studio cabins on the vast majority of sailings. I don't sail suites, but the extra point there is for how much more expensive a suite is versus a non-suite cabin. Even Celebrity awards points differently depending on cabin booked and how many people are in it.

Double point promos aren't happening anytime soon as Mr. Liberty (I believe) has said. And from the same conversation, Royal will be far more strategic about them in the future. I can also see the company changing to a "Double Points Promo*" where the fine print is earn an extra point per night when staying in any cabin instead of total points per night x2; aka the "Double Points" promotional title is based on nightly points awarded for double occupancy in an interior stateroom category cabin. Thus the maximum amount of points per night is 4, not 6, for sailing solo in a suite. Most people aboard would be earning 2-3 points per night under such a scheme versus 2-4. 

Royal carries a full line of sugar free vodka. In fact, if your vodka has sugar in it, then something is wrong.

What I'm curious to see is the average % of passengers who are Diamond and above versus month. Because based on public postings it appears the number of Diamonds and up is less during school breaks and higher when school is in session. 

Going to be contrary and say Texas because of the Star.

I wonder if they wouldn't keep the vouchers, but limit what they can be used on to a happy hour style menu? This would allow Royal to say the vouchers aren't going away, but also allow them to reduce the maximum value of each voucher.

The voucher system might actually be making Royal money. I remember reading a study, a number of years ago, which investigated why certain bars and restaurants are more popular than others. The researchers' conclusion was popular bars and restaurants are popular because they're doing decent business to begin with. People see the bar or restaurant with multiple customers and decide the place is a good place to be, creating a positive feedback cycle drawing in more customers. How this ties in with the drink vouchers is having 10%, or somesuch, of the ship eligible for comped alcoholic beverages guarantees people with bar beverages and active bar areas throughout the day. Then you add in the people with the DBP who don't have vouchers and suddenly 30%+ (guessing here) of the ship can at least visit a bar for drinks without encoring a charge. Now the remainder of adults aboard without vouchers or the DBP are seeing people enjoying themselves with liberations while on vacation. Thus, encouraging purchases of alcohol at regular shipboard pricing which might not have otherwise been ordered. 

2 hours ago, Jill said:

The jump from Emerald to Diamond has always been a little one. Without double points promo, you could do it with 3-4 regular cruises. Many did it in 2 during double points. 

We were Covid D+. Went from 83 (pre Covid) to 187 with 4 cruises. 2 were plain balcony, 1 GS for 7 nights and a 12 night in JS. We would NEVER have done that in a regular year. 

I really can’t understand how they didn’t see this massive influx to top tiers when they offered this. I mean really, what did they think would happen? 30% increase to top tiers is HUGE! Not to mention allllllll those free drinks! 

If they ever do away with the drink vouchers, it’ll be waaaaay bigger than PizzaGate or doing away with the crystal blocks (which ultimately were cheapened to the current version). Hmmmm could we see a return of the old, limited Happy Hour drink menu? 

Grab yer torches and pitchforks! 

If you believe a particular poster over on CC, a limited happy hour menu in Celebrity's vein has been under consideration to replace the current drink vouchers. Wonder if we'd get something similar to the Captain’s Club breakfast with complementary premium coffees and limited bar menu on Royal if the vouchers did go away? (https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/03/23/celebrity-royal-caribbean-cruise-loyalty-reciprocity)

I doubt they'll run another double points promo after what the last one did to their loyalty program's top tier numbers.

3 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Fellow Canadian here but next year's cruise will be the first time we will be visiting Halifax.

We're debating on whether to book a tour that goes to Peggy's Cove, or there is a Historic Walking Tour or an Architecture Walking Tour that could be interesting.

I've also heard for Halifax there is no need to book a tour as there is a nice nice waterfront and museum right at the port (would be interested in the Titanic exhibit).

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Unless you want to visit Peggy's Cove or the Titanic gravesite, everything is easily walkable from the pier. Off the top of my head, it was a 4 mile loop (the way I walked it) out to the fort with a visit to the old cemetery and city park, down to the nautical museum, then along the waterfront back to the pier where the ship ports. At the port itself there's a well done Canadian immigration museum too.

1 hour ago, CharmMicah68 said:

By NO means could they repurpose larger ship venues that we all have witnessed to be EMPTY.....instead reduce/remove/restrict loyalty levels.  It's a cool trend right now, Delta/AMEX is doing the same thing.

Good news....looks like we may be able to gain loyalty points cruising Celebrity going forward under a possibly merged program.  It's the other side of the poop sandwich.

It doesn't sound like the plan is to merge benefits. Instead, it sounds like the plan is to modify the current rewards structures of the various RCG lines to more closely resemble each other.

1 hour ago, benc42793 said:

Do they serve eggs benedict in the windjammer or is it only in the MDR?

They can. Had it there last summer (2023). I'm not really a fan of the dish though.

About a week in my experience. 

40 minutes ago, Doug_Texas said:

This might be valuable information!  It’s better to wait at least 2 months after you can first book?

That's what I've seen with the charts several different fare tracker sites have posted. With that said, I also have a premium account with Going (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights) and the best I've been seeing from the airports I've asked to receive flight notices on is maybe $300 cheaper than what I've booked through Air2Sea shortly after fares were entered. So after paying for a checked bag on a less than ideal flight for the cheapest price, I might be saving $150 by waiting. That's nothing to sneeze at, but I'd rather have a better flight, have the price locked in, and know my travel arrangements have been taken care of. 

Something to keep in mind when looking at Air2Sea prices is that includes one checked bag per person. Or at least that's been the case with the flights I've investigated. That hasn't been the case when searching for economy flights on other websites. International roundtrip checked luggage has been am extra $150 or so when looking at the major carriers. 

Generic answer for best time to book is approx. 2 months after airfare was put on sale and at least 2 months before travel. Lowest price will be between these dates. However, thanks to cruise requirements (assuming arriving at least one day before embarkation and flying out same day as debarkation) the number of flights starts to become limited. Best deal flights might not be the best for cruising. 

1 hour ago, steverk said:

Didn't Sitka just build a dock recently? Seems like bad planning if they did.

There was a new terminal constructed outside of town. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sitka-dock-kicks-off-2022-cruise-season-with-new-terminal-welcomes-two-ships-to-port-301546424.html

It's my understanding that there's been two primary camps competing in Sitka for years. Those who profit from the cruise industry and those who would prefer the industry to leave. The second group feels that the town is turning from a place for those who live there to something akin to Disneyland. This ballot initiative is just another piece of the long running conflict between these two groups.