WAAAYTOOO

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

Moving on to leg #2.  Explorer 5 night 4-14-24 thru 4-19-24
Turnaround was uneventful.  We met in the Star Lounge at 9:15 and the B2B parade started a bit after 10:00.  It seemed like we were a bit behind schedule but not significantly.  I’m guessing there were 30-40 B2B’ers.  Frankly, I expected more.  We had a very short walk through CBP and then right back on the ship.  There was a tasty B2B lunch at 11:30.
Upon our return to the ship we made our BOGO reservations and visited the mustard (sic) station.  That was it.
Interesting cruise passenger make-up dynamic between this cruise and the last….very predictable.  Many more young families on this shorter cruise.  Not nearly so many scooters…but more strollers.  Not sure which is worse !
Bad start in the casino.  I should have stayed in the room.  😂😵‍💫. At least I had the good sense to cut it off and go home.
Dinner at Izumi tonite.  Yum.  Chops tomorrow and then MDR the rest of the nights.
We went to the ice show.  We always enjoy those even if we’ve seen the show before.
When we came back to the room after turnaround, but before going to the B2B lunch, I called and booked our 2 instant comps from last cruise.  While my original plan was to use the cash value of my cert ($300) to upgrade Dans, we changed our mind and instead booked a 5 night Enchantment cruise (1-27-25) from the short list of comp cruises on my cert.  We have never been on Enchantment and we decided that if we were EVER going to book EN, this probably the only chance as we always look past EN to choose a newer/bigger ship. So we booked it.  Dans cert went for a 10 night EX southern Caribbean (3-20-25).
Tomorrow is PDCC which is usually a stay-on-the-ship-day but we will be going to Hideaway Beach.  I had no intention of ever visiting Hideaway b/c I thought it was so slimy the way they originally  announced that Hideaway would be adults-only and complimentary and then decided to charge for it.  But I got it for $19.99 PP so we will see what it’s like. I’m not one that enjoys laying about in a lounger (it kills my back) so not sure what we’ll do, but I will give it a try.

My phone and iPad finally synched, so I have some photos from Antigua and Grenada.  Let’s see how this goes.  I’ve had some trouble spacing them and inserting text.  I’m terrible at this stuff.
This is the floating platform in Antigua for the stingray swim.  It made the entire experience so much better than in Grand Cayman. It was much easier to get into and out of the water

  These mysterious blobs are obviously stingrays.  They are so docile and sweet.  
 

You can almost see the tail !
 

This is St George, Grenada with Explorer in the background.  I really liked Grenada.  Nice people, beautiful island, shitty roads.
 

Obviously, I’m having a bad hair day.  
 

The town of St George really reminds me of Curaçao, which is one of my very favorite places.  This town just looks so quaint.


Shamefully, I got very few photos of Ft Frederick.  
 

These monkeys are native to the island and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know their proper species name.  We caught a fleeting glance at one in the rain forest.

…and finally, the waterfall at Annandale.  Very beautiful place. Kinda like a cenote in Mexico.

Moving on to leg #2.  Explorer 5 night 4-14-24 thru 4-19-24
Turnaround was uneventful.  We met in the Star Lounge at 9:15 and the B2B parade started a bit after 10:00.  It seemed like we were a bit behind schedule but not significantly.  I’m guessing there were 30-40 B2B’ers.  Frankly, I expected more.  We had a very short walk through CBP and then right back on the ship.  There was a tasty B2B lunch at 11:30.
Upon our return to the ship we made our BOGO reservations and visited the mustard (sic) station.  That was it.
Interesting cruise passenger make-up dynamic between this cruise and the last….very predictable.  Many more young families on this shorter cruise.  Not nearly so many scooters…but more strollers.  Not sure which is worse !
Bad start in the casino.  I should have stayed in the room.  😂😵‍💫. At least I had the good sense to cut it off and go home.
Dinner at Izumi tonite.  Yum.  Chops tomorrow and then MDR the rest of the nights.
We went to the ice show.  We always enjoy those even if we’ve seen the show before.
When we came back to the room after turnaround, but before going to the B2B lunch, I called and booked our 2 instant comps from last cruise.  While my original plan was to use the cash value of my cert ($300) to upgrade Dans, we changed our mind and instead booked a 5 night Enchantment cruise (1-27-25) from the short list of comp cruises on my cert.  We have never been on Enchantment and we decided that if we were EVER going to book EN, this probably the only chance as we always look past EN to choose a newer/bigger ship. So we booked it.  Dans cert went for a 10 night EX southern Caribbean (3-20-25).
Tomorrow is PDCC which is usually a stay-on-the-ship-day but we will be going to Hideaway Beach.  I had no intention of ever visiting Hideaway b/c I thought it was so slimy the way they originally  announced that Hideaway would be adults-only and complimentary and then decided to charge for it.  But I got it for $19.99 PP so we will see what it’s like. I’m not one that enjoys laying about in a lounger (it kills my back) so not sure what we’ll do, but I will give it a try.

My phone and iPad finally synched, so I have some photos from Antigua and Grenada.  Let’s see how this goes.  I’ve had some trouble spacing them and inserting text.  I’m terrible at this stuff.
This is the floating platform in Antigua for the stingray swim.  It made the entire experience so much better than in Grand Cayman. It was much easier to get into and out of the water

  These mysterious blobs are obviously stingrays.  They are so docile and sweet.  
 

You can almost see the tail !
 

This is St George, Grenada with Explorer in the background.  I really liked Grenada.  Nice people, beautiful island, shitty roads.
 

Obviously, I’m having a bad hair day.  
 

The town of St George really reminds me of Curaçao, which is one of my very favorite places.  This town just looks so quaint.


Shamefully, I got very few photos of Ft Frederick.  
 

These monkeys are native to the island and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know their proper species name.  We caught a fleeting glance at one in the rain forest.

…and finally, the waterfall at Annandale.  Very beautiful place. Kinda like a cenote in Mexico.

Lost $45 today but I won’t cry too much as I’m still “up” slightly for the first leg.  I just have keep this momentum going for 2 more weeks !  I earned enough points for a comp cert myself although it’s the lowest level comp cert so the pickin’s are pretty slim. Most likely I will still use the cash value to upgrade Dans comp but I purchased a Next Cruise future cert so I will have the choice to book from the very short list of offered cruises if we choose to do that.   We picked a 10 night EX in March 25 for Dans comp.   I won’t be able to book it until tomorrow so I hope there are still some of the pano ocean views left by the time I get around to booking.  I’ll take care of that while we’re in port on TAD.
Dan enjoyed his lamb shank and I had the spaghetti in the MDR.  I love that they put the Pinns at window tables (at least, whenever they can).  It’s a nice perk.  Also, on EX, Pinns have priority seating  for MTD so the waiting is minimal.  They told us to just go straight to the podium and that’s what we did.  I will say, the MTD lines have been longer on EX than they had been on some of the other cruises we’ve taken recently.  The priority seating was particularly nice on this cruise.
We have the same room for leg #2 so we don’t have to pack - thank goodness !  So nice to be staying on when you see everyone else’s luggage outside and you are still snuggled in your stateroom !  It’s a great feeling.
Stand by for Part II !

Pretty lazy day today.  Sea day.  Spent a fair amount of time in the casino and happy to say that my upward trend ($$) is continuing.  Nothing to crow about, just slightly “up” each time I go in there.  Up is better than down !
Dan hit his goal of 3000 points so he made Prime and will get an instant comp reward.  Whatever points I have (currently at a little over 1000), I will use to upgrade his comp offer with my otherwise useless $$ off reward.
It was Royal night in the MDR.  We both ordered the lobster as an appetizer since that portion is pretty small.  I ordered the chicken Marsala as my main course and Dan ordered some curry shrimp dish (can’t remember the name).  Both were very good.
I will give my little Promenade view room some kudos (8311, 2T).    I truly believe that this room is the quietest room we’ve ever had.  It’s far enough aft to avoid the Promenade noise and there is absolutely no noise at all associated with the elevators.  It’s very, very quiet and I love being so close to the aft elevators.  We’ve been very comfortable in this room, which is a good thing since we will be here again on the next leg (5 nights, 4-14).  For leg #3 (4-19), we have to move. 😪😪

Moving on to leg #2.  Explorer 5 night 4-14-24 thru 4-19-24
Turnaround was uneventful.  We met in the Star Lounge at 9:15 and the B2B parade started a bit after 10:00.  It seemed like we were a bit behind schedule but not significantly.  I’m guessing there were 30-40 B2B’ers.  Frankly, I expected more.  We had a very short walk through CBP and then right back on the ship.  There was a tasty B2B lunch at 11:30.
Upon our return to the ship we made our BOGO reservations and visited the mustard (sic) station.  That was it.
Interesting cruise passenger make-up dynamic between this cruise and the last….very predictable.  Many more young families on this shorter cruise.  Not nearly so many scooters…but more strollers.  Not sure which is worse !
Bad start in the casino.  I should have stayed in the room.  😂😵‍💫. At least I had the good sense to cut it off and go home.
Dinner at Izumi tonite.  Yum.  Chops tomorrow and then MDR the rest of the nights.
We went to the ice show.  We always enjoy those even if we’ve seen the show before.
When we came back to the room after turnaround, but before going to the B2B lunch, I called and booked our 2 instant comps from last cruise.  While my original plan was to use the cash value of my cert ($300) to upgrade Dans, we changed our mind and instead booked a 5 night Enchantment cruise (1-27-25) from the short list of comp cruises on my cert.  We have never been on Enchantment and we decided that if we were EVER going to book EN, this probably the only chance as we always look past EN to choose a newer/bigger ship. So we booked it.  Dans cert went for a 10 night EX southern Caribbean (3-20-25).
Tomorrow is PDCC which is usually a stay-on-the-ship-day but we will be going to Hideaway Beach.  I had no intention of ever visiting Hideaway b/c I thought it was so slimy the way they originally  announced that Hideaway would be adults-only and complimentary and then decided to charge for it.  But I got it for $19.99 PP so we will see what it’s like. I’m not one that enjoys laying about in a lounger (it kills my back) so not sure what we’ll do, but I will give it a try.

I do not have a certain answer for you but I will cite the rule that has always applied to combining certs….and that rule is that the offer codes must be the same for them to be eligible to be combined.  So my first instinct is to say “no””, your annual cannot be combine with an instant reward b/c the offer codes will be different.  But having said that, the truth is, I have never asked that question.  I’m thinking “no” but who knows ?

Moving on to leg #2.  Explorer 5 night 4-14-24 thru 4-19-24
Turnaround was uneventful.  We met in the Star Lounge at 9:15 and the B2B parade started a bit after 10:00.  It seemed like we were a bit behind schedule but not significantly.  I’m guessing there were 30-40 B2B’ers.  Frankly, I expected more.  We had a very short walk through CBP and then right back on the ship.  There was a tasty B2B lunch at 11:30.
Upon our return to the ship we made our BOGO reservations and visited the mustard (sic) station.  That was it.
Interesting cruise passenger make-up dynamic between this cruise and the last….very predictable.  Many more young families on this shorter cruise.  Not nearly so many scooters…but more strollers.  Not sure which is worse !
Bad start in the casino.  I should have stayed in the room.  😂😵‍💫. At least I had the good sense to cut it off and go home.
Dinner at Izumi tonite.  Yum.  Chops tomorrow and then MDR the rest of the nights.
We went to the ice show.  We always enjoy those even if we’ve seen the show before.
When we came back to the room after turnaround, but before going to the B2B lunch, I called and booked our 2 instant comps from last cruise.  While my original plan was to use the cash value of my cert ($300) to upgrade Dans, we changed our mind and instead booked a 5 night Enchantment cruise (1-27-25) from the short list of comp cruises on my cert.  We have never been on Enchantment and we decided that if we were EVER going to book EN, this probably the only chance as we always look past EN to choose a newer/bigger ship. So we booked it.  Dans cert went for a 10 night EX southern Caribbean (3-20-25).
Tomorrow is PDCC which is usually a stay-on-the-ship-day but we will be going to Hideaway Beach.  I had no intention of ever visiting Hideaway b/c I thought it was so slimy the way they originally  announced that Hideaway would be adults-only and complimentary and then decided to charge for it.  But I got it for $19.99 PP so we will see what it’s like. I’m not one that enjoys laying about in a lounger (it kills my back) so not sure what we’ll do, but I will give it a try.

Thank you !  We are very happy people….

Yeah, it's strange, I was very clear that it doesn't hurt my head either way, why not just tell me what the current policy is if it hasn't changed?
This was my email verbatim:
Hi Marla,
 
I hope this email finds you well!
 
We Had a couple of questions on Star class upcharges on the Icon that is also a burning question on a couple of star class forums.
 
I know right after startup it was reported that there were upcharges for star class with Chops Iconic cuts, Izumi in the park, Deserted, basecamp, and food at the Trellis bar.
 
I also know some folks complained and there have been some reports that things may have changed a bit, but I’ve seen nothing specifically that has been verified.  It doesn’t hurt my head really either way, just curious if you could shed some light on where things stand now.
 
Curious Star Class cruisers want to know LOL 😊
 
See you in less than two weeks!

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

Thank you !  We are very happy people….

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

Need to add
Independence August 24th 2024
Allure December 30 2024

Sounds like corporate speak.  Yes they know about the issue but no they are not doing anything.  Just note it on your survey and broadcast the absuritity of the situation which may eventually work.

Interesting response from Marla on this subject.
 
"The Food & Beverage shoreside team is actively working on updates for those items that are/were upcharge onboard the Icon. We have addressed the concerns raised aiming to provide clarity before your upcoming cruise."
So, the suspense builds until we board I guess. 😉
 

15 days to go!

I was unaware when I started this roll-call thread, but Grandeur is getting a light touch-up in dry dock right now and apparently just has one sailing between getting out of dry dock and our embarkation. 

How exciting!

4 weeks to go. It cannot come quick enough!! 🍾🚢

I think Royal has loaded some of the more “distant” sailings with package prices but no individual restaurant prices but as far as I know, they have not ceased selling individual restaurants.  My guess is that they will load individual restaurant prices later.  The package prices have increased !
One interesting datapoint.  For one of our upcoming cruises, they are offering a 3 night dining package for a 5 night sailing which I haven’t seen in many years.  Normally the 3 night packages are only available for cruises 7 nights or longer in length. 
Yes, they are still making a courtesy reservation on either night #1 or #2 when you purchase a package, but those place holder reservations can easily be changed once you board.

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

Mods, please can we shut this one down ?  Nothing useful here.

I think Royal has loaded some of the more “distant” sailings with package prices but no individual restaurant prices but as far as I know, they have not ceased selling individual restaurants.  My guess is that they will load individual restaurant prices later.  The package prices have increased !
One interesting datapoint.  For one of our upcoming cruises, they are offering a 3 night dining package for a 5 night sailing which I haven’t seen in many years.  Normally the 3 night packages are only available for cruises 7 nights or longer in length. 
Yes, they are still making a courtesy reservation on either night #1 or #2 when you purchase a package, but those place holder reservations can easily be changed once you board.