shaydav19

HI there,  whose cruising?   Cannot believe it's only 11 days away!   We have a group of about 30 and we will be doing the Cruise Ducks.   Bon voyage to us all!

All I know is if they quarantine Anthem for 03/15/2020 cruise, their Unlimited Drink Package is gonna take a beating!   

The first is walking in the morning to watch the sunrise on the ocean each day. Then sauna to sweat out the alcohol from the night before. And then a mimosa with breakfast

On 2/22/2020 at 12:49 PM, Smurfy said:

I've read many places that chairs by the pool are hard to come by because people save them. Would I be allowed to bring my own fold up chair instead? I've attached a pic to show what kind I'm referring to. 

Don't do it.  Yes people hog some chairs but you will always find chairs and you will be surprised to find them in places you will probably enjoy more than you would in the crowded spaces.   Go on Youtube and take a look at one of the videos featuring a tour of your ship and that should ease your mind.  

I had a nightmare that I missed my Aug. 17, 2019 birthday cruise with my best friend because I left my travel documents at home!  I woke up at 3 AM in actual tears and nearly hyperventilating.   Got out of bed placed all cruise docs in my travel safe and attached said safe to the luggage!  It was only 2 months prior to travel so no biggie right! 

IMHO,  Cruise massages are over priced and overrated.  And you are taxed a large gratuity.   Also, I have always found that a few hours after a massage I am really sore and don't want to spend my ship time that way.   My best friend and I have taken to going to a day spa after we return from the cruise and we just search for the best local deal (She's in Miami).   We use that to jump start our detox after a week of indulgence!

I only did a specialty lunch on embarkation day and then see what the MDR and Windjammer have to offer.  

UNLIMITED DRINK PACKAGE HAS DROPPED TO $57.00 PP PD, FROM $65.00 !   BON VOYAGE!

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Unfortunately, just b/c RoyalUp offers are going out does not mean that there are staterooms in those categories available.

wow?  Well that seems duplicitous......

9 minutes ago, sirdaniel said:

With having already pre-paid and booked everything, I just cannot imagine spending much other than souvenirs onboard and I'd much rather use cash to avoid the debit card hold too (I don't use credit cards).

I do apologize if I gave the wrong info!

10 hours ago, sirdaniel said:

Thanks - so I could put down say $200 at the start of the cruise cash and then apply the credit/debit card at a later date if necessary? (Have no reason to think we'll go over 200 as we have pre-paid gratuities and the drinks package, excursions and dining package are all paid for). 

yes you can.  Keep in mind if you haven't pre-paid gratuities they will be charged daily $14.50 per person per day or 17.50 pp pd, for suites.  Bon Voyage!

On 1/17/2020 at 5:47 PM, RBRSKI said:

I have read that people are getting emails to "Royal Up" so staterooms are still available.  I will definitely do something by end of month!

Yes my moms balcony suite was sent a Royal up offer and my daughters interior room was sent an email as well. So there are some left

Max is $500. If you don’t put cash or credit card on account then your sea pass will not work anywhere 

8 minutes ago, SteveinSC said:

Yeah....its not economical to prepare for the one, MAYBE, snow "event" we get a year.  So if it snows, even a little, its hysteria. Everything shuts down. Even my employer sends everyone home. Is it excessive? Yes. Is it fun? Yes.

If im in the house with my family tomorrow, itll just give me more time to over analyze my packing list, order my last few things from Amazon.....44 days!!!!!!  No royal up decision yet. I think I wont get that decision till last minute. 

@kilmarlic enjoy your trip, and while youre sipping that drink by the pool in the sunshine.....think of your Carolina brothers and sisters in the snow/slush. 

Oh the flashbacks!  I went to boarding school in Camden, S.C.  we had one dusting of snow and they shut the campus down and said we had to stay in our dorms!  I was a 14 y.o. from New York City and I was in shock.  How do you shut down a BOARDING SCHOOL?   We literally live here!  We couldn't sneak out to the other dorm to see friends....too funny now. 

Thanks for all the insight into this cruise.  Your family is beautiful and I know they enjoyed.   You my friend are hysterical as well!   Perhaps Cruise Directing is in your future!

24 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

This ship and Marnier are doing the 3/4 day cruises to Bahamas and Cococay......I am sure they did the amp with this in mind .....3 day cruises are pretty short to explore any ship no matter what the size imho....

 

I am back on her in April for a 3 night...looking forward to seeing the changes on the ship and Cococay for myself......

 

 

certainly not enough time, but I am thinking of doing it at the end of November so i can take my niece and she can cruise free.   Enjoy your trip. 

Just now, WAAAYTOOO said:

I agree with Montconguy.  I think they refurbished the NAV and Mariner so that they improved the experience for 3 and 4 night cruisers.  In the past, Royal (and many of the other cruise lines too, to be fair) have always used their older and frankly, worn down ships to do the short cruises.  This move stepped up the short cruise experience to allow new cruisers to enjoy the BEST of Royal rather than the WORST of Royal.

Well that's fair.  It's a great deal right now with kids fly free so I'm thinking of taking daughter and niece (9 y.o.) which may be juuuust as much as I can stand!  LOL.  Blessed to be leaving in 25 days on Anthem, and then birthday cruise on Independence  08/22/2020.   I'm in Maryland so I have only had the Grandeur experience and although lovely, I can certainly see the difference in the aging of the ships!  Thanks for your insight!   This blog is the best!

23 minutes ago, Rose City Cruiser said:

I agree the 3/4 night itineraries are too short to enjoy the entire ship on one sailing.  If possible, book a b2b.  I was lucky enough to enjoy the newly Amp'd Navigator on a 9nt Southern Caribbean before it switched to 3/4 nighters. 

a B2B would be great but this would be my 3rd cruise for the year and I don't think my boss values me THAT much! 

Does anyone know why this ship is only doing 3 and 4 day cruises?   There seems to be so much on the newly amped ship but not enough time to do it all?  I'm thinking of booking the 4 night trip that gives you 2 days in Coco Cay just so I can explore the ship while more people get off?

19 minutes ago, Clay Purvis said:

Well I tried calling and got nowhere. No upgraded room. No on board credit.  Oh well. 

this is why although I don't use a travel agent ( i used to be one, a century ago) I always leave at least $200 dollars of my  balance until the last possible day to pay.  I check prices daily by checking the website and i go through my cruise planner as well.  Don't give up on Royal, you will end up loyal!  Enjoy yourself and call the Crown & Anchor desk and I would call customer service again and ask for a supervisor to see if they can do anything.  Bon Voyage!

On 2/13/2020 at 8:15 PM, Fran said:

RCC have all but scaled out loyalty programs in favor of suite guests.  You can secure a suite and have all the benefits once accrued by reaching Diamond+ after multiple sailings.  Just completed a cruise on Mariner.  Diamond lounge was so crowed that it had no open seats. Ten minutes to get a drink from the bar.  Overflow into adjacent Viking Lounge was standing room only. This Diamond+ member in no longer loyal to RCC and seeks out suite level accommodations with other cruise Ines. Loyalty programs have gone by the wayside as cruise lines seek to secure higher paying customers.  One can certainly understand this rationale as a business decision but cruise lines must understand that suite guests now have the no reason for loyalty to one company. This Diamond+ cruiser just cancelled three cruises with RCC and secured suite passage with three different lines. Just realized that this concern will never be read by anyone associated with RCC.

I certainly hope that you will send a strongly worded letter to the RCCL Corporate office.  I am just beginning to earn points but if what you say is true, it's an issue that should be addressed.  

6 hours ago, Smurfy said:

I have a 7 night Bahamian cruise on Oasis of the Seas booked for the beginning of June. While checking prices, I found a 9 night early June Canada/New England Cruise on Adventure of the Seas for about $550 cheaper. It will be me and my 2 kids (12 and 16). I know Adventure is a lot smaller than Oasis, but I'm torn, and keep going back and forth. Either itinerary would be ok with me. Part of me feels more comfortable that AoS  ports are in the US and Canada, but another part of me would like to see Coco Cay. Then I think that the weather might be nice (milder) with the AoS cruise, but think we can experience more new things in the Bahamas. As you can see, I am indecisive. For one positive I come up with for one, I come up with one for the other. Same with negatives. 

Has anyone been on both ships or done both itineraries? This will be our first ever cruise. I have a refundable deposit, so I won't loose any money to switch.

Please help! 

Take your kids to Coco Cay!  The ship is better, the itinerary is better, IMHO.  The kids will have a blast.  I did Grandeur of the Seas to the Bahamas Jan. 2019 and my girls (21)  had a great time, although they were bored on the smaller, quieter ship.  Coco Cay had not even been amped yet.  So we are on our way back 03/15/2020 (25 days!)  on the Anthem and my entire family is stoked.  Enjoy and Bon Voyage either way!

On 2/8/2020 at 12:19 PM, foxrunner said:

When booking our latest cruise it was cheaper to pick your own room than go the GTY route. Have you folks ever seen it priced that way? Why?

i just noticed that myself while shopping for late 11/2020-2021 cruises on Independence, Oasis and Odyssey?  No idea why.  I will say that when I booked Independence for this 08/22/2020 cruise my balcony suite was cheaper than the oceanview,  and when I called to have a hold placed it mystified the agent.  I'm glad I booked it because the price just went down again on my suite so i saved another $223.00.  I will accept any RCCL glitch I can find!  

On 2/13/2020 at 1:30 PM, SeanAndShelley said:

New cruisers here.  Question for the experts.

We originally booked in November for the June 4 - 9 night New England/Canada cruise on Adventure of the Sea.  We booked a Balcony guaranteed room, RCI picks room. All good.

Today, I noticed the price dropped.  So, I called and asked to re-book at today's lower price.  We saved $440. 

However, now our receipt says "Stateroom Obstructed View Percentage : 25%".  That wasn't on our old receipt.  The representative never mentioned anything about an obstucted view. 

Does this being on our receipt mean we will definitely have an obstructed view?  How obtrusive is a 25% obstruction?  Should I call back since this wasn't discussed during rebooking? If you let RCI pick your room, are you always at risk of getting an obstructed view?

Again, first timers here.  Celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

Thank you very much in advance for your assistance.

If you have never cruised before I would take the money and run!   You will more than likely be able to still enjoy your balcony, but imaging the dining package or spa treatments you can get with $440!   Happy Anniversary!   Make sure you let the staff and your waiters know!

51 minutes ago, SteveinSC said:

You ever reach that point where you feel like youve researched all you can, youve set up all your excursions, youve filled out all there is to fill out.....and youre just WAITING. Its agony, and I just want my embarkation day to GET HERE. What do yall do to deal with the agony, the torture, the slow death of WAITING? 

26 days and it's starting to get painful!   Anthem of the Seas 03/15/2020!    

186 days and well what can you do!       Independence of the Seas 08/22/2020

I feel your pain