steverk

1 hour ago, GatorCruiser said:

Well I can tell you without equivocation, Royal is making a ton of money off me and my pursuit of diamond plus. Once we hit it , we’ll check out celebrity. 

Keep in mind that diamond, diamond plus and Pinnacle all status match as elite. Therefore,  if you are diamond and want to sail celebrity,  you might as well just do that. There isn't any advantage in waiting for diamond plus. 

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. 

5 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Silly question (and I apologize if this was already mentioned).  We don't get internet at all as we like to disconnect from the world....but with Diamond, do we still get 1 free day without buying any internet?  Or it's only if you purchase it then 1 day is free?

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. 

29 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Do they serve ice cream in the WJ?

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.

47 minutes ago, Larry S said:

I guess I'm a little slow this morning since I thought I understood the OP question, however, not sure I understand the answers so I'll ask my own way.  If a Diamond member purchased an Internet package for 10 days online before the cruise, will the Diamond member receive a credit for the one-day benefit that their Diamond status provides them?  Either as an OBC or future purchase towards Internet. 

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

22 minutes ago, NoobCruise said:

When it comes to pricing a RC cruise on their website I swear I use to remember that sometimes the price would change when (fake) checking out and get lower, when you added your Crown and Anchor number and sometimes it would go lower when you would add your state residence if it was a state that RC operated out of like New Jersey.

I ask because for at least the last six months or so when pricing dozens and dozens of cruises the price never has gone lower when you add your C&A # or state of residence.

What's going on here? Did they stop these discounts? Or are they adding them in after you have actually paid? Very confusing.

 

 

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. 

1 hour ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I know the rule of thumb is book flights after 12 noon...buuuut what are we thinking of an 11:30 flight? Asking because, at least right now, its looking like our options are either 11:30 or 3 pm...and with 2 huge bags and no plans to rent a car...a 3pm flight means like...5+ hours rotting away in the airport...

As a note, we will be suite guests disembarking with the concierge (and that's only if we don't opt for the Royal shuttle).

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?

14 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

We jumped onto Voyager end of November for the first cruise after the repositiong from Singapore. We loved the addition to the slides and Diamond liubge becoming the Suite lounge. We are booked on her in 2025 for Europe  

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 

On 12/8/2023 at 10:23 AM, NoobCruise said:

It's price gouging and is generally considered a bad business practice because it alienates your customer base.

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 

2 hours ago, cruisefam86 said:

Thanks! I was so worried and after you said this I went back and looked at my invoice from when we booked on the ship and it had a due date of Dec 18. So he has given himself a 10 day buffer! 
 

I was having a mini heart attack! We are in a CLS for a price that will never be seen again!

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?

1 hour ago, Dan S. said:

We booked the Panama Canal crossing from Tampa to L.A for next April on Radiance of the Seas. Is there any possibility that this will be cancelled due to the drought that is affecting the canal?

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.