steverk

I've had similar problems with the website lately. My advice: wait 15 minutes after canceling. If it still won't let you book it, call royal. Btw I've had excursions that wouldn't canceling, but I received my refund. Royal insists the reservation is still active. We'll find out when I get on board

I hope they don't make it into a revenue model. I like it just the way it is

Put me in Radiance camp. You'll see more of alaska that way. You also begin or end in Seward. Wonderful place! Very easy to navigate without a car. It has a national park and the railroad.

Thank you to everyone that responded. I'll get the appropriate cash and tip like a local!

I have a quick question for all of the Australia/New Zealand cruisers on the board! I'm flying from the United States to Sydney for a Celebrity cruise that ends in Auckland. What currency should I use to tip the crew while on board?

Just a guess, but I doubt the controversy had much to do with it. Ben & Jerry's has repeatedly waded in to controversial issues. It never caused Royal to act before.

There's a coupon loaded on your account. When you log in and try to purchase 1 day internet, it automatically applies and makes your cost $0. Whether or not you choose to use it is entirely up to you

Please do not allow your phone to automatically adjust time zones! Set it manually instead. That should be enough to keep you on ship time, but I always wear a cheap Timex watch too. You can't be too careful and you don't want to be left behind.

Generally not. However, they have soft serve on Radiance class and Harmony served chocolate, vanilla and strawberry hand dipped ice cream for lunch and dinner. Otherwise, Windjammer will sometimes serve it for dinner.

Matt posted about it this morning. That was the first I heard about it.

No, but you can talk to the voom desk on board. They can transfer your free internet coupon to someone else in your party

In my experience, I enter my c&a number and state when I'm entering the number of people in the cabin. It adjusts the price then.

That explains things! I booked a 9 night interior on explorer departing Jan 12, 2024. I got a $150 obc and couldn't figure out why. I thought maybe it was from nextcruise. Btw, for those who don't think there are any good deals to be had, this cruise was one. 9 nights, $534 per person. And now $150 obc. What a deal.

If the ship docks on time, and it's cleared quickly, and you get in line early so you can walk off the ship rather than waiting on the suite concierge, then you can, probably, make it out of the terminal by 8am. At least that's how it worked for me. Next, you hire an Uber. If everything is working perfectly, they pick you up by 8:30. That means arriving at Hobby about 9:15 or Bush about 10, if construction and traffic doesn't slow you down. So, if everything works perfectly, you should be able to make your flight. How confident are you that everything will work so well?

I like Voyager too. In fact, I'm sailing on her this afternoon.

It sure sounds like you should have 14. I'd call crown and anchor to get it straight

Price gouging is usually defined as charging higher prices at times when people have no choice but to purchase your product. For example, a gas station charging $10 per gallon just before a hurricane. Last time I booked a cruise it was by my own choice. I'd call this pricing the ship out of the market. My guess, it will come down within the first year of operation.

You'll have 2 formal nights on each of these 7 night cruises. Usually, they're on day 2 and day 6, but check when you are on board. Most people won't go much more formal than nice pants and a collared shirt, but some will dress very nicely. It's up to you. Enjoy your cruise! It looks like a great itinerary!

Retired 2 years ago. I highly recommend it

Glad to hear this! It goes without saying that you need to keep after the agent in this case, but I'm sure it will work out.

Also, don't make the mistake of believing that you must purchase an excursion to leave the ship during a port of call. You can book through an independent operator or just explore on you own. Research the ports to see what is nearby and how safe each one appears. Some, like Skagway Alaska, are very easy to explore on your own. Others, like Belize City, can be a long way to the interesting sites and don't offer inviting areas to explore on your own.

I think the "phase 2" of the release was the Star of the Seas itineraries.

I'm going by memory here, but this sounds like the benefit that was already in place. Does anyone know if this is really a change?

Anything is possible, but I'd regard it as unlikely to be cancelled. Radiance has to get to the west coast for the Alaska sailing season. If the canal were to close down entirely, Royal would have to cancel, but how likely is that? Most of the canal cruises that have been cancelled were partial transits or pass through, then turn around and come back. I'm not sure exactly how the canal traffic is prioritized, but I suspect those crossings would be considered lowest priority.

I agree. We can see some of Royal's strategy already. Harmony is going to start doing some alternating 6 & 8 night itineraries out of Galveston. The 6 night goes to Cozumel, Roatan and Costa Maya. The 8 night gets to Coco Cay. Voyager does alternating 4 & 5 night itineraries hitting Cozumel and Costa Maya on the 5 night. A radiance class vessel frequently comes to Galveston for longer itineraries to other locations. Belize City is working on a port expansion to accept Oasis class ships. If this is ever completed, it could add an additional stop for Harmony. IMO this is a start and shows that Royal sees the issue and is trying to find ways to address it. Some other things I'd like to see them do: Develop more ports closer to Galveston. Campeche seems like a good choice but is only suitable for small ships that can tender. It has a cruise port already. For attractions, it has not 1, but 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I read a report that Campeche sent a delegation to Miami to talk to Royal, NCL and Carnival about going there. I'd say there's a good chance this will become at least an occasional stop out of Galveston in the next few years. As mentioned earlier, Tampico is also attractive, if they ever decide they want a cruise industry. Station a Voyager or Freedom class ship in Galveston doing 7 night cruises to Jamaica and the Cayman islands.