Geoff P

That makes sense then, thanks!

Seems like they’re just kind of floating around not anywhere near anything…or Cruisemapper is just being a little silly right now?

I believe it’s been down for a while and won’t be operational until Quantum goes in for dry dock.

We have done a handful of cruises with Royal but never on Celebrity yet.  We’re younger (in our 30’s) with 2 small kids under 5, how would Celebrity be for a trip like this with the kids?  We like doing the Bermuda trip out of Bayonne.  Just wondering how the Silhouette would be with the kids compared to Liberty OTS…for the week we were looking at the 7 day on Celebrity is actually less expensive than the 5 day on Royal.

9 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Question regarding cubes (I've never used one in my life !!).  It would seem that the goal is to compress your things so that the air is removed (to whatever degree that is possible).  Does that, then, cause your suitcases to be extra heavy b/c the contents are condensed so more can fit in ?  

I haven’t really noticed this as I’m still packing the same amount of stuff, I can just fit it in less bags/suitcases, so it makes it a little easier for me. We have 2 young kids so saving space is key for us and if I can bring one less bag or turn a checked bag into a carry on it’s a bonus…plus their clothes don’t weight much

I use them now for every trip, I like the compression ones as they really squeeze everything down and make more room in the suitcase or bag

The Icon and Star prices are absolutely insane…I mean, I’m doing multiple Disney trips for less than I could do one 7 day on Icon (I have 2 young kids)… would love to do an icon class just because I think the kids would like it, but at the prices I would just do Disney at that point. 
 

on a side note though, not sure the high pricing is limited to the new release ships…just helped my parents book Alaska for next year and the ended up going with Princess as they got the Princess Premier package on Discovery Princess for less than an ocean view balcony on Quantum, and then would need to get drinks and Wi-Fi etc on top with RCL…seeing that is making me look at other lines for my next trip 

We had the center hump balcony on deck 8 on adventure last year and had no issues with noise at all, and really enjoyed having the balcony sticking out further.  Again this is voyager class not freedom like Liberty is, but similar design 

There’s a thread or part of a thread on here somewhere (I couldn’t find it) that was talking about a new class that had been discussed to replace some of the older smaller ships, but nothing announced 

It would be interesting to see how ugly the designs were that lost out to this design choice…

You could also check with the shore excursions desk once onboard, they may have some openings for a limited amount of excursions, or with cancellations etc have some spots open, you just won’t get a “sale” price, but may be worth checking out.

our first cruise was our honeymoon and I can’t remember how we let them know it was (it may have asked when booking) but sometimes they’ll do little special things for people celebrating a honeymoon or wedding anniversary etc.

23 hours ago, Pooch said:

I had 2 complaints about Explorer.  First the tin can feel to the balcony in the hull and the lack of TVs for sports in the bars.  The only one there was tiny and very crowded.

I would say you’re going to have the same on Adventure…I prefer the other balcony style as well, it seems more open and bright, but I felt like the cove style balcony was more private and quieter.  Overall I liked Adventure though, so if the itinerary is what you want I wouldn’t hesitate 

21 minutes ago, teddy said:

We're booked on Odyssey out of Cape Liberty in January 2025

I was looking at the early 2025 sailings as well…just wondering if it’s only going to be one year up here for Odyssey or if it will be back again after that season

Wonder if that means Odyssey is taking over for Anthem long term out of Bayonne?  That will put 4 of the Q class over in Australia/Asia

On 2/22/2023 at 9:59 AM, JasonOasis said:

I'm wondering the same thing, as of right now starting with their November 2024 schedule and onward into 2025 Royal has 14 ships without a published schedule.  I'm wondering if Utopia and to a certain extent China are the problem.   I'm thinking Royal is probably trying to figure out if demand in China will be strong enough to justify sending an Oasis Class ship to China. If the answer is no and demand in China hasn't recovered to justify an Oasis Class ship Royal then has to figure out what to do with 6 Oasis Class ships and an Icon Class ship.  

Of course one Oasis Class ship will be sailing out of Galveston, but that still would leave 5 Oasis Class ships and Icon sailing out of Florida.  It would be nice to see Royal homeport an Oasis Class in San Juan for the winter season and sail it to the Southern Caribbean or even to Columbia and ports of call near Panama canal (I know Oasis Class ships can't go through the canal) but if ports in the Southern Caribbean and Central America can handle an Oasis Class ship why not homeport a ship in San Juan.

Whatever the wrench is that is holding up the winter 2024/2025 schedule Royal needs to figure it out fast and get their schedule up and open for sale. The competition already has most of their schedule posted and open for sale.

How is the Mediterranean year round?  I’ve never cruised it before, I know Royal typically is only seasonal there, but there are other lines that have large ships there year round, wonder if that is a possibility for Utopia or Wonder (as they have enclosed solariums) if China is not an option 

I have to say I understand as when I booked my first cruise I had no idea that I should be doing research into the cabin and it’s location etc…booked one of the worst cabins…found this site shortly after that and haven’t had any issues since!  

26 minutes ago, TempoGL said:

The OBC is much better for me since we did already have another cruise booked for April.  The FCC expires in a year and I didn't plan on booking another cruise before then - it's essentially forcing us to book a cruise with them when I had other vacation plans.

Are you able to apply the FCC to the balance on your cruise you have booked?  If there is a balance I should say….not saying it’s better than the actual refund or OBC, just asking if that’s even an option 

5 hours ago, twangster said:

West coast cruising suffers from a lack of port diversity.  The primary 3/4 nights options are Ensenada and Catalina.    Expanding to 7 nights only adds two or three more potential destinations.  That's get old quickly.  

The short FL market includes Nassau which is as popular as Ensenada is.  However CocoCay is very popular and so the short FL market thrives.  

You can bring any new ship and guests will book it once, maybe twice.  Filling a ship week after week for months or years is a different matter.  Moving a ship to a new home port costs a lot in itself.  If you can't fill the ship on an ongoing basis the business model isn't there to move a ship for a few weeks or months then move it somewhere else.

Singapore seems to suffering the same fate.  Cruises from Singapore on Spectrum, a great and nearly new ship are dirt cheap.  There is only one reason for cruises to be dirt cheap - they can't fill the ship.  

I agree, that’s what I was saying before, I think Royal needs to re-think the itineraries they offer out of LA, maybe scrap the 3/4 nighters and go longer to offer better port diversity, and see if they can continuously fill Navigator, it may make the west coast cruises more attractive for them.  I don’t think they would want to keep an Oasis class ship tied up on longer itineraries on a regular basis though 

15 hours ago, twangster said:  

Royal can't fill Navigator in LA.  It will be a very long time before an Oasis class goes to LA, if ever.  

I’m wondering if it’s more that the itinerary isn’t appealing with the Navigator sailings they’re offering?  Short 3-4 night sailings may be popular out of Florida ports but maybe not LA?  I see Princess and Carnival and others doing slightly longer cruises out of LA that include Hawaii or other ports in Mexico/Central America, maybe Royal needs to consider (maybe they already are).  Also, maybe a brand new shiny Oasis class ship would attract more people to LA?

When we go we typically get it for one device and share, but I can see where if you wanted to be using the internet more often it would be annoying as you have to log out and log back in etc to switch devices 

3 hours ago, teddy said:

I was bummed when Cuba no longer was an option, so that's my first answer.

My second is I wish more cruises went out of Boston.  I understand why they don't, but after cruising from there back in October, the selfish part of me really loved being able to drive to the port the day of our cruise.

I was going to say something along these lines as well, better itineraries out of Boston and NJ…I get why they’re always the same, but wish there was a better variety 

11 hours ago, twangster said:

For example - you now need to be 42 feet tall to book North Star.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/37636-wait…how-tall-for-north-star-/

 

 

42 ft tall but less than 300lb

6 hours ago, karl_nj said:

Bermuda.  I guess Grand Cayman too (since it's a tender port) but I'm not sure anyone would really complain about that, and I think that port fits in your semi "anti cruise ship" bucket.  But I think Bermuda would be an issue if the Royal fleet only had ships Oasis size and larger.  People like Bermuda.  Though the larger corporation does have Celebrity to go there.  In fact, the reason Celebrity was created was to go to Bermuda. 

I know he said Oasis, but Quantum Class can go to Bermuda, and are roughly the same age as Oasis class

Agree with Twangster and Waaaytoo, I like the Esplanade and being able to use deck 5 and look down.  To me it seemed to flow better than the promenade on Adventure.  I also really enjoyed Music Hall as a venue, we went there a lot.

This thread is extremely helpful for someone who like to cruise out of NY/NJ…I was getting angry for you guys just reading the experience you had, that’s awful, I’m glad they’re going to do something to make it up to you, but man, what a way to interrupt your vacation.