Ampurp85

@WAAAYTOOO Ugh that sucks, they are shaving more and more time from your vacation. If the weather had been better and no so much going on, it might not have been so bad. Instead you have about 24hrs of downtime.

@Lovetocruise2002 Really all that attention on lil ole' me, *fans myself* I wouldn't know what to do with myslef. I did private, first class service in Scotland once and it was just awkward.

At least they are offering some sort of restitution. This is indeed an unprecedented situation and I think RC is handling it about 86% well.

If I had a cruise planned during this time, I wouldn't cancel. I always wash my hands and take precaution. I am glad RC is erring on the side of caution by allowing the ship to be scrubbed down...washy, washy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful cruise tomorrow.

There are no refundable deposits on Suite class, anything above a Jr. Suite. I found on some of the smaller ships the refundable option doesn't appear unless you use a TA or go through the booking several times. The first mock booking of my 4 night Mariner showed no refundable deposit on on a Jr. Suite. My TA was able to get it as an option. RC website and its math appears to be a little bit wonky. I once mocked book 2 rooms in the same reservation and it was $500 more than booking them separately. The first did not show any refundable options. The second time I was able to see the option.

@Lovetocruise2002 Well that is the thing, my family and friends don't share my love of the finer things. I prefer the experience as oppose to material things. My brother has no problem spending $23 on a pound of cheese or $140 on a bottle of whiskey but bulks at paying more than $170 a night for accommodations. The experience of Star class would suffer if nobody wants to experience it with me. So I may just have to stick to Sea and Sky class.....as long as I am cruising, I am happy.

@Lovetocruise2002 mmmmh oatmeal cookies are my favorite. I will make sure to try them on my next RC cruise.

So are you completely spoiled or would you be willing to go sea or sky class?

I like to travel on the high end side but I worry that Star class would take away from my experience by segregation.

NO is a wonderful place to visit. The food is

I was so tempted to cruise from there this year but my family vetoed it as we literally just spent Halloween there and they wanted to try something different.

I keep hearing of these Ranger cookies...what is so special about them? They don't turn you into a Texas Ranger, do they? My nana would love that.

Hopefully this is the universe getting all the bad weather out of the way before the cruise starts.

@twangster How long was the Māori cultural presentation and did they mingle with the guest?

I would love to see those geysers, how was the corn?

@wstephensi Pretty much, the same goes for suite guest.

@Brobbins246

I am excited to follow along with this. I am booked on Liberty in October. I plan to eventually be a fancy pants suite snob but for Liberty I did an OV Balcony.

I am in your same boat, I repriced all of my cruises with the new WOW sale and came out on top. All except for half an October liberty sailing. I repriced my GTY Balcony and saved a whopping $8 but I got $100 OBC. So I am actually up $108. I already brought the refresher package because I knew I might only have 1 alcoholic drink a day. So this credit has me covered.

I have another room booked, an interior GTY, the new price is $28 more but you do get a $75 OBC. I am trying to decide if it is worth it. I would come out with $46...which I guess is better than nothing.

I would like to reach Diamond plus before they change the plan. However, I don't like the notion of buying points.

@bobroo said that C&A points might sell for $325. That's like $68,000 to reach the D+ level. I get that buying the D+ status would last but the whole purpose of the C&A society is to reward loyalty. I mean you could just as easily take 4 months off and cruise B2B in a Jr. suite solo and get the status. It would be more enjoyable and cost less.

I think RC needs to do a better job of distinguishing the services. I think the real issue is that you could cruise at Star level enjoying all, if not more than, the perks you would receive at D+. Unfortunately that is hard to do when the bottom line is to make money. Its hard to justify a suite, concierge, diamond/D+ lounge on every ship. Then add in the Key and you have a bunch of people fighting for perks. Since the Key and Suite guest "actually" paid for the perks, its easier to push the loyalty group to the side.

I think RC could offset this by loading more offers on sea cards. I find there are more than enough bars aboard every ship, some stay perpetually empty for hours. Maybe do some recon and block off hours so those D/D+ members can enjoy when there are too many" fancy-pants" aboard the ships. Maybe allow happy hour at multiple places across the ship. There are plenty of ways to keep RC bottom line black, without treating their loyal patrons like garbage.

Also have you booked all or any excursions? I would also budget in ride sharing fares and any post/pre-night hotels. I know you said aboard but the vacation starts as soon as you land near a port.

I am an over planner so I always budget in extra for things such as flight changes/cancellations and post cruise activities. Like on an upcoming cruise in April the earliest flight back home leaves at 6pm. I budgeted for a tour around Miami and/or a stay in one of the nicer lounges.

New Zealand is beautiful. It reminds me of some rock formations I saw when we visited Capri. I am also a sucker for a wonderful sunset, mainly because I actually hate the sun...but don't tell him that.

@MO & LO on the go! Following and hope your flight is safe and uneventful.

I doubt that RC will be waiving fees not associated with sailings directly affected by the Coronavirus. They are already not allowing people who live in, travel to/from most of China on the ships. They have taken, in their mind, the necessary precautions. So you not feeling comfortable in this situation would not be justifiable. They want to make money, if they allow people to cancel without penalty, who knows how many will use that as an excuse to cancel bookings.

@Planaholic Welcome

 I, like all the other posters said, check regularly. I caught the classic soda and refreshment package so cheap for black Friday, I regret not booking it for everybody in my group. It seems this sale applies more heavily to bookings up until August. My next RC cruise is October, I am sure an Easter or Tax day special will bring down prices any most of the things I want.  You could always book now if the price is agreeable and then cancel and re-book if the price lowers in the future.

Thanks @WAAAYTOOO

@WAAAYTOOO So anyone who shares a household can be linked in status? Or is specifically a significant other and children? I ask because my brother and I have lived in the same house for years, he will just start cruising this year.

The rankings on this site have nothing to do with C&A or RCC as a whole. You are considered pre-gold until you start making more and more posting. The creator of this blog chose to model it after the C&A, which is pretty cool and clever, but is not affiliated with any actual programs.

Since most interior rooms have no windows, Interior rooms are pretty dark. If not just completely pitch black. I normally buy a free standing pop light to keep in the bathroom and sleep with the TV on. You can get night lights and such from the Dollar Tree as most cruise lines do not have any.