1 hour ago, smost said:

I am 2 weeks away from sailing and was able to cancel and reprice Hideaway yesterday when the price dropped. No mention of nonrefundable.

I don't see how mine was 30% off for $59.36 and yours is 30% off for $43.96.  My cruise is 3 weeks away so maybe Royal is anticipating more inflation.

2 hours ago, Jill said:

I just cancelled mine the other day and bought the beach club (down to $125). Refunded for Hideaway 

I just saw the Beach Club for $117.99 per person ... maybe I will see if Hideaway is refundable or not.   However,  Beach Club was still about $90 more per person compared to Hideaway. 

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

That's really odd. Mine can still be adjusted, but are for a cruise in September. Is your cruise really soon?

April 26th in CocoCay.  I only bought these day passes on short notice because we aren't going to Labadee.

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I just bought 2 Hideaway passes for our 4-14 EX cruises ($19.99 !) and got no such “nonrefundable” message. 

My price also had taxes involved.  I don't recall paying taxes for something like this either.  I suspect it was to pay the tax in The Bahamas.

14 hours ago, Vlad said:

Yesterday logged in to check my balance, noticed that price of all my excursions, that were fully paid for by credit card, were added to the balance due for my cruise, about $140

Does your credit card actually show a charge for your cruise planner purchases?  I have made cruise planner purchases with my credit card.  The cruise planner would say I made the purchase except my credit card wasn't charged. The cruise planner planner purchases were charged to my credit card but they were only "temporary authorizations" and then the charges disappeared.I found the charges on my balance due for the cruise.  Several calls to Royal only to find out my cruise showed "paid in full" on their system so I didn't have a balance due for the cruise. 

It all worked out after a month or two without my intervention .  What you describe  sounds like a quirk in Royal's system that usually happens during the Black Friday sale.  I think the volume of sales on cruise planner sometimes exceeds the capability of Royal's system and these system quirks happen.  I don't try to understand it anymore.  Just make sure the balance due goes back to $0 eventually before the final payment date.

We were scheduled to stop at Labadee on April 24th during a 5 day cruise between April 22nd to April 27th.  We got word that we wouldn't be stopping in Labadee about a week ago.  We are going to CocoCay instead of Labadee. I wouldn't count on going anytime in April.  I don't know if any decision has been made for May.  Maybe someone on a cruise going to Labadee in May will be notified soon if they haven't been notified already.

17 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

With the Bahamas port fees it is surprising they would add another Bahamas stop was my thinking.

I'm surprised as well but I'm happy with the changes.  We have never been to Bimini ... somewhere new will be exciting.   CocoCay instead of  Labadee. is a good swap.  I fully expect Royal may say we owe more money because of the increased port fees.  Were the increased port fees for all ports in the Bahamas or just Nassau?  Maybe the additional costs are offset by not going the distance to Labadee.

5 hours ago, bobroo said:

re folks here optimistic that Labadee reopens and continues business as usual?

This isn't the first time Labadee stops were cancelled because of security concerns.  I think Labadee was trashed during Covid but that might have been a rumor and I don't really know.  There were some negotiations with the government of Haiti about Labadee at one time but it isn't clear there is a government in Haiti anymore.

I'm sure Royal would like more stability in Haiti but chaos seems to be "business as usual."

I'm not counting on stopping at Labadee on our 5 day cruise on Indy starting April 22nd.  If they replace Labadee with a sea day, we will cruise for 5 days with a stop in Nassau on the last day. I don't mind sea days but not to go to Nassau.

On 1/16/2024 at 5:41 PM, LaShay said:

Now I’m feeling like I’m going to have to sue and just recoup my lawyer fees, my money back,  plus punitive damages because this trip was booked for a family member of mine they have an autoimmune disease and we are all supposed to join her for this birthday. This is really stressing me out. 

I don't usually get involved with this kind of thread.  However, I would like to know what an autoimmune disease has to do with it.  I have been diagnosed with three  autoimmune disorders but none of them prohibit me from cruising.  I have all kinds of aches and pains but I answer "no" to that question on the health screening questionnaire.  I worry about getting an infection which might wreak havoc with my immune system because I'm immunocompromised.  In any case, Royal doesn't prohibit me from cruising and I wouldn't sue Royal if they did prohibit me. 

15 hours ago, steverk said:

The area near IAH is know as "Greenspoint" but the locals know it as "Gunspoint."  Need I say more about that? If you really want to stay near IAH, stay northeast of it in Humble.

The area around HOU is another fairly rough area. Lots of older apartments. Near refineries. Just not as nice or safe as it looks.

My best advice is stay in Webster, League City or Kemah. You'll be much happier.

We are staying in Humble for an overnight before our cruise.  The hotel has an airport shuttle service.  We need to get back to the airport on the day of the cruise.  We booked Royal's bus shuttle to the port.  I have no clue how this will work out.  I'm not sure where we will meet the shuttle bus and when to be at the meeting point --- in the arrivals area ... I guess.  However, our flight arrives on the day before our cruise.  Do you have any thoughts or ideas whether this plan is doable or not?

On 12/31/2023 at 8:23 AM, Ray said:

Mine says "Congratulations paid in full" and i have only paid the deposit. 

I sometimes have this problem too.  For some reason, I usually owe less than I think I owe.  I track what I owe and sometimes I accept a "mystery discount."   I told customer service once and they assured me my account balance was correct. 

When I reprice a cruise, sometimes the new price ends up being less than I see online.  They just say "the price changes all the time." 

Occasionally I'm disappointed when I try to reprice a cruise.  The customer service rep doesn't see the price I see online so it winds up being more. I just say I don't want to reprice my cruise if I end up owing more ...  maybe they reprice it anyway.  That might account for owing more.

I think it all has something to do with "dynamic pricing."

49 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

we would never do MTD again. 2 cruises last year both traditional dining and it was a pleasure. No rush, no wait. 

We always do traditional dining.  It is the right choice for us and especially when we see long lines of people outside the MDR waiting for their "my time" dining.  We enjoy having dinner early and then go to a show around 8 p.m.  We show up in the MDR within a few minutes of our designated time and walk directly to our table.  We know where our table is so there is no need to check in.  We are greeted by the same wait staff each night and we get to know them well.  They have good nights and bad nights so they appreciate that we are easy to please.  

On our last cruise there were 3 other nice couples all in separate tables starting with the window table.  The couple at the window table suggested we all take turns at the window so we did musical tables for 4 nights.  By the end of the cruise all four tables were pushed together and we shared one big table.

Just as a courtesy, we tell the wait staff whether or not we will be eating in the MDR the next night.  They say our table will be held for a certain period of time if we change our mind but not for too long.  We can still go to the MDR at a later time and do "my time" if we don't mind waiting in line and getting a random table and waiter.

On 12/18/2023 at 7:26 AM, Last2Know said:

Also sailing to Europe on Explorer in April.  I've crossed the Atlantic and Pacific several times on aircraft carriers and don't think the time change is a big issue.  First time doing this on RCL and looking forward to it.

We appear to be doing the same TA.  I'm somewhat worried about Explorer being equipped for rough seas in terms of  age of ship , size of ship and those kinds of things. I was thinking an Oasis class ship might be better. Do you have any worries about Explorer relative to an aircraft carrier.  What class of aircraft carrier were you on?  An aircraft carrier wasn't an option but I would be interested.  I mostly chose Explorer because the price was good.

11 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Chances are that you will have to pay for the second BOGO at the same time that you pay for the first one, but then when you go to the second restaurant there will be a $0 bill.

I can see how that could create problems too.  I assume two different specialty restaurants have separate operating budgets.  Restaurant #1 gets all the revenue.  Restaurant #2 gets stuck with giving away 2 free meals.  Royal seems to have enough accounting problems as it is.  

Maybe they need to do away with the Day 1 or Day 2 requirement for BOGO.  Most of the times on those days are given to people who purchase dining packages on cruise planner.  Strict enforcement of the Day #1 or Day #2 requirement could make it impossible to use BOGO.

I would hope people pay for the more expensive restaurant first and then go to least expensive restaurant second for their 2 free meals.  Otherwise, Royal might frown on that too.

20 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

My wife and I are both D+, so does mean I book Chops, she eats free, she books Jamie's, I eat free? 

Yes ... no need to buy Chops+1 on the cruise planner like we used to do.  You just have to make your reservations onboard and not the cruise planner.  

Some people do a cruise round trip to Europe and back.  Personally, I would like to do that and not have a transatlantic flight at all.  I find jet lag flying to Europe to be worse than flying from Europe.  

Atlantic storms are more likely from early June to late November, with mid-August to mid-October usually seeing the most activity. Most of Royal's transatlantic cruises seem to return from Europe in October.  It might be cool weather if there isn't a hurricane.

We are doing our transatlantic April 28th to May 11th, 2024.  I switched our stateroom to the starboard side because people say there will be more sun on that side. We will stay in Barcelona for a few days before doing a Mediterranean cruise to Athens.  We will be home by June 1st when the grass will need mowing but shouldn't be too long.

I don't know which way is better but I have given this a lot of thought.

Either way you go ... it beats flying.

11 hours ago, Va4fam said:

Appreciate the advice.......this will be our first time using the BOGO.   If we plan to go to Chops and Jamie's Italian, when do we need to "book" and plan our two specialty dining and who do we need to see when we get on ship?

 

 

Yes ... what @AshleyDillo says is all you do.  I did the same except I let them know I had already bought one meal on cruise planner.  I wanted to let them know there would be two people with BOGO.  All was well until after the meal when I was charged for one meal and got the other meal for free.  I asked what happened to the meal I bought on cruise planner but nobody seemed to understand why I thought I shouldn't be charged for one meal.  It was all cordial and somewhat comical.  The suggestion was to go to customer service.

I took proof of the cruise planner purchase to customer service and they seemed to understand so they called the restaurant.  Customer service thought it was the restaurant's responsibility to issue a refund.  In the end someone said the cruise planner purchase should be refunded to my credit card but that never happened.

The weird thing was I was going to do a second BOGO later on in the cruise.  I had already purchased the meal on cruise planner for the second reservation.  I asked customer service if the same thing would happen.  Customer service issued an onboard credit for that cruise planner purchase. 

I think they want you to pay the full price onboard for the meal you buy rather than the discounted price you get on cruise planner.  The problem with that is they may not have any openings when you get onboard for the time you would like the reservation to be.

On 12/16/2023 at 1:52 AM, Pattycruise said:

Item #1. You are hanging out with the wrong crowd.  
item #2. Ssshhhh don’t give them any ideas!

I drink alcohol but not many alcohol drinks in a day and not every day.  When I order an alcohol drink ... many times I think they forget to put alcohol in it.  The drinks basically all taste the same as far as the alcohol content goes.   A bottle of beer and/or glass of wine is a different matter.

3 hours ago, Rackham said:

Most people will start at the top with the refreshment, see that coffee is included, wonder why anyone would get the coffee card for the same or more money, and purchase the refreshment instead of the card.

Good point.  It is interesting that the price of the coffee card is listed as $31 / per package as if it is like a refreshment package.   The coffe card is a punch card and not a "package of unlimited coffee drinks."  Of course a coffee card isn't priced per day either.

I like soda drinks but the waiter in the MDR never checks to see if I'm entitled to free soda.  If I order a soda on day one of the cruise ... the sodas just keep on coming in the MDR for the rest of the cruise whether I ask for one or not.  Is this the experience other people have?  Maybe soda drinks are free in the MDR ... I don't know.

4 hours ago, Sharla said:

Each person needs to drink 6.8 drinks per day to break even

I have a hard time consuming my 5 free drinks I get for being D+

4 hours ago, Sharla said:

The only time I purchased the package it was on sale for like $37 per day!

I have purchased the refreshment package for half that amount and for only one person. A refreshment package covers the kinds of drinks I consume the most of.  Now the refreshment package sells for about $30 per day so I don't need it anymore.  I might  buy a coffee card for longer cruises because I know I will use it all before the cruise ends.  I'm amazed the price of the coffee card stays the same.

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yes.  I just used it last week on Freedom.  Whether or not you can use it beyond night #2 is ship-specific but I have only been turned down once, when I wanted to use my BOGO beyond night #2 and that was on Wonder.  All of the other ships have accommodated a BOGO on either night #1 or night #2 and then the second BOGO some time later in the cruise.

Just don't buy one on the cruise planner and expect to get your guest that shows up with you for free.  That was too confusing so I will never do that again.  Somehow the one I bought on cruise planner vanished even though it was supposed to be refunded to the original form of payment.

On 12/5/2023 at 10:33 PM, Pattycruise said:

I had to go back to the internet guy for him to activate it.  To me it’s ridiculous to have to do this

I agree .... except I like to chat with the internet guy so I don't mind.  The poor guy seems bored most of the time.

Never mind  ... Oasis