Rackham

Thanks for the correction.

Someone who's familiar with the casino comps will need to chime in to be certain, I'm saying what I've heard in other threads, but there has to be something paid on the fare to count. So port fees, taxes, pre-paid gratuity, cruise planner purchases and so on don't count with Royal and earning C&A points.

With a crisp snap of his fingers, Wadsworth turns on his heel and addresses the room again, his eyes glistening with energy. "And now, Mrs. White!" He accuses, leveling a polished dinner fork at her across the Royal Caribbean's main dining room, the lights flickering ominously above. Everyone gasps, Mrs. White least of all. Her face pales, her hands clutching the handkerchief in her lap, already anticipating the accusation. "Me?" She squeaks, her eyes as wide as the ship’s twin azipods. "Yes, you, Mrs. White," Wadsworth asserts, his gaze cold and unwavering. "You killed Yvette. And why? Because she had the audacity to allow your husband in this dining room, at dinner, wearing... shorts!" "Shorts?" Colonel Mustard echoes, his face contorting in horrified disbelief. He looks down at his own impeccably tailored tuxedo, then back at Wadsworth. "But... but that's against the policy!" "Indeed, it is!" Wadsworth agrees, prowling the room like a famished shark in a suit. "But poor, naive Yvette didn't know, didn't realize the cardinal sin she was committing. And so, Mrs. White, in her rage, she..." "But it's so unrefined! So utterly distasteful!" Mrs. Peacock interjects, clutching her peacock feather fan. "In our main dining room! At dinner!" Wadsworth nods, his eyes alight with the perverse joy of unfurling a mystery. "Exactly! And that's why Mrs. White was driven to her tipping point! No pun intended!" He winks at Miss Scarlet who gives him a flat, unamused look. Mrs. White trembles, her fury simmering under her pale cheeks. "Yes, I did it," she suddenly confesses, her voice shaking but defiant. "I did it! That woman allowed my husband, my own husband to stroll into the main dining room, at dinner... wearing shorts! SHORTS!" "And, let me guess," Wadsworth prompts, leaning in, his face lit by the false flame of the candelabra on the table. "You were seething, raging. Flames, perhaps?" Mrs. White nods, her teeth gritted, her hands clenched. "Flames! Flames on the sides of my face, burning, seething, burning with intense anger!" She imitates, her eyes as fiery as the anger she describes. "If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's a lack of decorum! I will not tolerate it!" The room is silent. Wadsworth straightens up, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. The twisted tale of shorts in the main dining room at dinner. A dangerous game indeed." And so it is, aboard the Royal Caribbean, the rules of decorum are held sacred, even in the face of murder.

What other Royal topics would you be interested in seeing explained using a short story format?

You're welcome. Concerning earning of points. Royal's unusual in that it gives an extra point per night for paying a solo supplement, most cruise lines do not give extra loyalty credit for sailing solo. Many lines, including Royal, offer another point per night (or additional loyalty credit for systems based on other things) for booking suites, but Royal offers the point at their entry level suite product. Comparing Royal to their largest competitors in the mass market cruise space: Royal: 1 point per night for any paid booking. 1 point per night for paying a single supplement. 1 point per night for booking a suite. Carnival: 1 point per night for any paid booking. NCL: 1 point per night for any paid booking. 1 point per night for booking a suite (Does not include Club Balcony Suites) or The Haven. 1 point per night for booking a loyalty program offer. And the point tiers across these three brands all require approximately the same number of points. Royal does require slightly points more across the board compared to their competitors. Since you mentioned it's a comped jr. offer, to earn any points for this sailing (unless I'm misremembering) you'll need to pay something in fare, even if it's a buck. When running the numbers last year, it can be closer than you think with moving up the C&A ladder booking interiors versus jr. suites depending on your average onboard spend and expenses to, from, and during the cruise. Though with how quickly suite prices have increased, the financials are now probably strongly skewed towards cruising more versus paying more in the short term to move up through the ranks as a solo. Historically, I've suggested to many that building loyalty status isn't something to target with your cruise selections. However, with what Royal is currently charging on their older ships which have a limited time remaining with their fleet, the overall increase in the cost of leisure travel and restaurant & bar pricing, and the fact that baring a major loyalty program change the status is kept for life, if you enjoy Royal's product and don't mind the direction the company is moving in, then sailing more with Royal to hit at least Diamond is something to seriously consider if time and finances allow. Fares, on average, will probably never be this low again in less than a decade as new ships are introduced and older ones retired. Prices on items which are comped through the loyalty program will only go up (ex. a $14 cocktail today could be 2027's $16 liberation) making the benefits worth more. It somewhat reminds me the situation back when Disney discontinued their no expiration Walt Disney World tickets, but more drawn out when the window closes to take advantage of the cheaper rate. Back in 2013, when the tickets were discontinued, a 10 day, no expiration ticket to WDW was about $650. While the final price of a 10 day ticket is about the same in 2023, the ticket for a single day at the Magic Kingdom is about $140. So anyone who could afford to purchase non-expiration tickets a decade ago are getting a really decent deal if they're using them for individual (or short multiday) visits today. How this relates to current Royal pricing is anyone who can afford to take/took advantage of COVID and older ship pricing today, is looking at saving a nice amount in the future versus what they paid to receive the C&A benefits. I wouldn't cruise solely for earning status, because it's a vacation and should be fun, but it's something I've personally considered when looking at what I'm doing for travel in future years back in 2021.

Royal's potentially aiming to capture part of a family's week-long Orlando vacation with the short sailings. 3-4 nights in Orlando then 3-4 nights with Royal versus a 7 night Orlando stay. It's a play to capture the market who's not looking for a full cruise vacation, but who's curious and would do a short sailing. Porting the latest Oasis class there is a smart move if Royal is expecting this will be the first encounter with their brand for many. Give them a taste of the latest, and get them to come back on another ship for their full vacation.

Finally get to post this. In the plush confines of a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, a heated discussion was underway between Miss Scarlet and Wadsworth. They were seated in the grandeur of the lounge, surrounded by the opulence of gilt-edged paintings and velvet upholstery, the waves of the ocean rolling against the portholes, mirroring the churning dispute that was taking place within. The topic of contention? The Crown & Anchor Society's loyalty program and how to earn points. "It's really quite simple," insisted Miss Scarlet, her eyes sparking with a hint of exasperation. "It’s like adding the bullets in a revolver: One for any cabin, per night; another one if you pay the single supplement; and yet another if you sail in a suite. It's a straightforward addition, Wadsworth." Wadsworth, however, with a puzzled look on his face, interjected. "But surely, Miss Scarlet, you're oversimplifying. I thought it’s multiplication, not addition! Shouldn't it be the product of the cabin's type, the supplement, and the suite's availability? Multiplication yields far more points!” Miss Scarlet sighed, taking a moment to compose herself. “Wadsworth, just as you were incorrect about the number of bullets left in the gun in our previous encounter, you are mistaken here too. Allow me to break it down for you. Let's say you are staying for three nights in a suite, and you paid the single supplement. For each of those nights, you'd earn one point for the cabin. That's three points. On top of that, paying the single supplement grants you an additional point each night. That's another three points. Lastly, because you're in a suite, you earn yet another point each night. That's three more points. Three plus three plus three. It adds up to nine points in total, not twenty-seven as your multiplication would suggest." Despite the frustration visible on Miss Scarlet's face, she remained patient, hoping to finally get through to Wadsworth. He seemed to ponder over her words, confusion still lingering in his eyes. "But," Wadsworth stammered, trying to regain his footing in the conversation, "Doesn't the multiplication yield a better reward?” “No, Wadsworth," Miss Scarlet responded, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "The program doesn't reward wild calculations, but the simplicity of an enjoyable cruise experience. The Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society is about appreciating their loyal customers, and this is done through simple, additive calculations.” In the grand lounge of the ship, Miss Scarlet hoped her lesson finally sank in. Wadsworth stared at her, an uncertain expression still marking his features. The dance of the Crown & Anchor Society points, it seemed, was a melody as complex to him as the ever-ambiguous number of bullets in a revolver.

Unless OP has the time, money, and interest to cruise at least semi-regularly, loyalty status probably won't mean much to them until after their 12th, 7-night RCL cruise* which could/would take years to do. *Assuming sailing in a regular cabin without a single supplement.

Royal doesn't offer any perks or comps unless you've either got status with their loyalty program, casino program, or are paying really good money for one of their high end suites. You can call, but the agent won't offer anything on the house.

The advice I've seen is outside of tourist areas, only eat things which are cooked (preferably in front of you) and drink only from containers you open yourself (to avoid the refilling from the tap scam). In areas catering to tourists, fresh vegetables, fruits and ice are probably fine since water purification systems have been popular. Bottled water is still suspect. Meals included during a shore excursion should be fine, even off the beaten path, as they're targeting foreign tourists and won't want to risk a group getting sick and their status with Royal revoked.

I don't think that's too controversial of an opinion, even here. I think most would agree that if you're paying more, everything should be better, including the food. It's the people who think paying Royal's prices entitles them to food and beverage as served on a luxury line which kills me. Or, in the case of Disney versus Royal, claiming Royal is "nickel and diming" because Disney includes soft drinks in their fare while you have to pay for them on Royal. Conveniently ignoring the price difference between the two.

I've been thinking about pricing, and while balconies and suites seemed to be priced what the market will bear, interiors and oceanviews (at least on older ships) seem to be priced at something like what Royal's cost is, plus what they can expect to spend on loyalty benefits (if applicable for travelers in the cabin), plus $X in net profit. Depending on the fare, a Pinnacle couple might cost Royal their profit on an interior or more. So Royal is willing to give up some of their profit to get C&As booking balconies and suites, with their higher profit margins than interiors and oceanviews even after discounting, as the raison d'etre for that discount starting at Platinum.

I saved enough on a rare, square, partially obstructed balcony cabin on an April 2025, Odyssey of the Seas sailing with the Platinum C&A balcony/suite discount that the fare was cheaper than an oceanview for that sailing.

I did the class on Anthem back in February of this year. Off the top of my head, the rolls were spicy salmon and tempura shrimp. The handroll was California. We also made two pieces of shrimp nigiri (butterflied shrimp over rice which was pressed together). No sake was served and there was no choices given as to what type of sushi we were making.

Besides what's been said, consider how much time will you actually spend in your cabin, and (if traveling with others) could you use the additional space for entertaining and how often would you be hosting in your cabin? Quickly glancing over your post history, if this is your 3 person, Oasis sailing I'd personally skip the Jr. Suite for an additional $2,400. That amount would pay for a multitude of add-ons which most people would get more enjoyment out of than booking an upgraded cabin. Or for that amount, you might be able to book two cabins instead of one and get more space with two bathrooms.

I'm assuming this means the prix fixe menu at Izumi is about to go up in cost aboard the ship. The in-app menu for Allure is showing $34.99 for my sailing this summer versus the reserve now price of $35.99, marked down from $39.99.

Any chance you've got something showing $89.99 for Chops? Current pricing aboard Jewel, on the sailing happening right now, isn't even close.

I'm somewhat of a split opinion on this. On one hand, yes, Royal is making money in the Tampa market. On the other hand, the ships Royal is porting there are basically paid for (and then some) at this point and so Royal needs to port them somewhere unless they're being sold off. Before the pandemic, Royal was going to start the process of selling off, or transferring, the Vision-class out of its fleet [https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/10/16/grandeur-of-the-seas-leave-royal-caribbean-fleet]. Leaving Tampa means potential RCL cruisers driving over to Cape Canaveral, the nearest Royal port, which is less than 3 hours away. I doubt a three-hour drive will deter someone from cruising with Royal if they're wanting to.

In a multitude of ways, Royal today is reminding me of Walt Disney World in the late 90s-early 2000s. While never cheap, WDW pricing wasn't completely nuts (even if there's a ton of people willing to pay those prices). Then the Walt Disney Company figured out that prices could dramatically increase, and people would still be willing to pay. Royal seems to be going through the same process where they're raising prices, people are still buying, so the price increases once more. It definitely helps Royal in this endeavor with the number of passengers who've never sailed before aboard their ships. These passengers are less likely to understand the sheer volume and choice of food already included in the base fare. They're also more likely to have FOMO if they don't book a specialty package and they have no idea about what the pricing used to be like. Speaking of prices, I strongly suspect if there's a Discovery-class (or any new and midsized ship class) introduced, prices will be more akin to a new Oasis or Quantum-class ship versus the current Voyager-class ships. While it's a "no duh" position, I suspect a certain love of the older ships in the fleet isn't just due to their design. It's also due to pricing.

As usual, people want to toss around terms they don't understand and become outraged due to misunderstandings (edit: not referring back to FSU with the outrage, posts elsewhere and several articles are rather inflamed). Here's how occupancy is calculated by Royal which was found in less than 30 seconds of searching the Web; also happens to be standard industry practice: "The occupancy rate, which the company refers to simply as "occupancy," is a key metric gauging the amount of available passenger capacity being utilized. It is calculated by dividing passenger cruise days by the available passenger capacity, as measured by available passenger cruise days (APCD). Passenger cruise days are a metric calculated by taking the number of passengers carried during the measurement period and multiplying that by the number of days of the passengers' respective cruises. The measure of capacity assumes double occupancy per cabin, which is why occupancy rates greater than 100% are possible—sometimes cabins are occupied by more than two passengers." From https://www.investopedia.com/royal-caribbean-cruises-q1-fy2022-earnings-report-recap-5271089 Cruise ships aren't hotels. People aren't sleeping on the floor when the ship has an occupancy rate of over 100%.

If Royal had a better IT backend I could see them doing this like Disney theme park tickets. The more days you drink, the bigger your discount. Only valid during the sailing it's purchased for; a sailing day is defined as the same as for the C&A drink vouchers. Pricing would probably start around $150-$175 per day, then drop down so that a 7-night package is at least marginally more expensive than the current package rates.

And I was on a 7-night, Anthem sailing in Feburary 2023 and their Windjammer was the best that I've had over multiple sailings on different Royal ships. Can't comment on the MDR since I didn't partake on this sailing.

Currently Loyal to Royal as they deliver good value versus what I'm spending to cruise with them, and they provide what I'm seeking in this style of leisure travel, for the most part. It certainly helps, but isn't the sole reason for loyalty, them having regular departures from a port that's easily drivable for me and a loyalty program that really starts heaping on the benefits after cruising with them solo 7 times (will be Diamond after a Christmas sailing this year). Due to upcoming cruises either booked or planned between 2024 through 2027, will probably not consider branching out until 2028 due to loyalty status hitting Diamond+ in 2027.

Looking in the app for Allure, the chicken wings are under Favorites. Appetizers are a whole three: tomato or chicken noodle soup and chicken tenders. I'm assuming the appetizer that's now being counted as an entrée is the chicken tenders. So from my perspective, this situation is either from Royal leaving outdated room service menus in the cabins or people not realizing that the menu isn't what they think it is when it comes to appetizers. Could be both. Not seeing anything about limiting to one or two entrées. However, the change wouldn't surprise me with how much room service food, left from the night before, I've seen outside cabins in the early morning.

I suspect it's not the size of the ship which is impacting service, it's the amount of inexperienced crew aboard. Larger ships will possibly have a greater number of crew who are still developing their skills versus a smaller ship per guest aboard. So problems that might be easy to point out (or directly fixed) by the experienced crew aboard when they're witnessing issues with the inexperienced staff, are either not being seen or simply do not have the time to intervene once the ratio of experienced to inexperienced reaches a certain point.