USCG Teacher

+1. This was my son's absolute favorite spot to hang out with me on Allure.

+1. This was my son's absolute favorite spot to hang out with me on Allure.

+1. This was my son's absolute favorite spot to hang out with me on Allure.

@twangster blogs should never be hidden. That is my conclusion! lol

Why is this hidden here in this section?! I am moving it to "Live Blogs". People are blogging Royal and X over there, so might as well add Silversea to the list!
And this is an amazing, bucket list itinerary!

As I sit here in my hotel room waiting, staring out at the picturesque Andes mountains, I have found the inbound aircraft bringing guests from the Silver Wind back to Santiago in the FlightAware app.
Just as we will do in 18 days, they first had a refueling stop in Punta Arenas.


They are back in the air now on the way to Santiago where they will spend a night before flying home.

It seems they are about halfway here.

 
Come on pilots, push those throttles forward... IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!

This is amazing, thank you for taking us along, I'm VERY intrigued by this one! Such an amazing experience. 

Actually as you're going around towards the back of the aqua theater there are stairs there that will take you down to the jogging track level. There are often Adirondak chairs there to sit and take in those wake views. Pretty quiet spot for sitting and reading, except in the morning and late afternoon when people are likely to be getting their jog or walk in. Even then it's not that noisy, just a passing pedestrian. 

My MEI agent checks in about 10 days prior to confirm credit card info and does the payment.

Don't see that statement very often! 

Twangster's entire comment was correct, but this part is spot on. "Rebating" is a hot topic here because it's a competition between small, independent agents/agencies (such as MEI) and big box stores (like Costco or Amex Travel). 

 
This is true and varies by agency, as well as what percentage Royal Caribbean pays the agency (the more volume you do, the higher the commission percentage).
So yes, repricing to a lower fare affects commission (as does adding a casino code, which DRASTICALLY affects commission, don't get me started on that one).

Bottom line- We still stand by our service, and we have to get paid. I simply cannot give away $300 when I'm making $200.  

This looks less like a margarita and more like an alcoholic Dole Whip.  If that read like a complaint, I assure you it is not!

Don't let this part get lost in all the assurances that you will be able to get in via standby (although you definitely will and I agree with every comment in this thread).
We boarded Allure at noon (latest I've ever boarded) for a last minute cruise in October and I was able to book just about anything I wanted (except adult comedy) via the app. They hold back a certain % of seats for the shows to be booked onboard.
Again, nothing wrong with standby, I just prefer to have reservations when possible.

This is why I prefer my Overcast & Unsettled - 1.5 oz. Kraken and 5 oz. Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, garnished with a lime wedge. 😉

Agree to disagree. 
 
There is nothing they could build or develop in an American coastal city, that would make enough people pay a cruise fare to experience.  All the same laws, taxes, and duties one has at home-it’s not an attractive proposition; hence it doesn’t really exist. 

Pros
 - Aqua 80
 - Portside BBQ
 - it has been 'amped'
Cons
 - Cats
 - Cats
 - Cats

Come for what? Mobile is a failed embarkation point A continental US stop offers nothing the average cruiser wants. Port Canaveral, without access to Orlando would be unwanted (as it is a large percentage of the cruisers out of NY/NJ don’t get off the ship). Even Key West for all its charm was not an overly popular stop. 

It’s a whole different experience in a good way. The Oasis class ships are noticeably smoother and the Caribbean waters are also less turbulent than the Pacific waters. You will really enjoy Symphony. 

Oh this is far from settled.
The NMB has set more dates for another round of negotiations between AA and APFA (the union that represents AA's flight attendants).  According to a memo that was reviewed by an online site called Live and lets fly the APFA does not expect any thing new to come out of the next round of these newly scheduled NMB negotiations and intends to once again request a release to strike after those negotiations which by the way are scheduled to take place over a 3 day period December 12th through the 14th. According to the union American Airlines has not submitted any type of real proposal that comes close to addressing the APFA's concerns. If AA shows up with the same proposal that they've shown up with at other NMB negotiations the APFA will once again request a release to strike.   
That still doesn't mean the NMB will grant their request and even if their request was granted there still would be quite a few steps before they could legally strike assuming Congress would let them strike but this is NOT settled at all.  And again although I work for a different airline I think we are all keeping an eye on AA's negotiations because how AA goes is probably how the airline I work for will go and probably what Delta would do even though Delta FA's are not union at this time.   I can tell you this the two sides (AA and APFA) are still very, very, very far apart on a wide range of issues. 
https://liveandletsfly.com/american-airlines-flight-attendants-strike/

Actually no they may never get the green light to strike. 
The last time the NMB allowed a group of airline employees from a major US airline to strike was 2005 and that was Northwest Airlines mechanics. But those were different times back then namely you had 7 major carriers in the US (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, United, and US Air).  The impact of any potential strike could be absorb by other carriers.  Now days there are only 4 major carriers and there have been plenty of contract the NMB has had to get involved over the years. Even now it isn't just American flight attendants requesting a release to strike.  Southwest which so happens to be the nations largest domestic airline their pilots which have been working with the NMB's help since last year September of 2022 has once again requested to be released from negotiations.  Their most recent request was also denied here just recently by the NMB.  This saga with Southwest and the NMB has been playing out for more than a year, and each time the NMB denies their request to strike. 
The point that I'm making here is although these airlines and the union representing the employees are far apart the likelihood of a strike is practically zero thanks in no small part to all these mega mergers that created the 4 largest airlines in the world.  
The last US carrier the that was permitted to strike was Spirit in 2010 but Spirit wasn't a major carrier in 2010 and they still aren't considered a major carrier in 2023. However the likelihood of the NMB allowing any represented workgroup at American, Delta, Southwest or United to strike now days is almost zero and if they did I'm almost certain Congress would step in like they did with the nations railroads.  By the way those 4 carriers mention together control over 85% of the US market.

While I would agree with you on better communication. I would think since Royal didn't book any excursion, dining etc. why would they book it now? I would take the "there's nothing for you to do" to mean you won't have to call or worry about cabin assignment, more payments and that stuff. 

I agree with @Ampurp85.   As far as I am aware, Royal has never ever re-booked anyone's excursions/CP purchases when a cruise has been cancelled - even when it is cancelled by Royal. I feel fairly confident that all excursions, dining, drinks, etc will have to be rebooked at the prevailing rates.  I'm not saying I think that this is fair, I just believe it to be the case....good or bad.  I'm not sure that the best plan is "waiting".  If it were me, I would rebook everything NOW while there is still some semblance of a sale going on....and then if by some stroke of magic the CP purchases are restored (or if a cheaper price happens to pop up later), then you can always cancel the ones that you make now.

At that point, forget the ship and let itinerary, ports and price make your decision.

If you've not done one before an Everglades Airboat ride can be fun and will burn up a few hours before they drop you at the airport.

You technically could say this about all food, sensitive tummy or not.
Everyone has a different opinion on what defines reasonable use of their discretionary dollars.