Dad2Cue

Sometimes it is better to be mute.

Repricing seems to be a thing of the past. The prices of the cruises I have booked just go up. I haven't seen a price drop in ages. All my cruises are booked refundable now so it is a MOOT point. Repricing used to be fun but it seems like a waste of time to check the prices anymore.

Thank-you for this. I added the link to my "To do a cruise file." Except now that file is getting so cluttered that I can't find the link in that file.

I just checked into my Alaska cruise that departs in 3 weeks. There was no mention of ArriveCan during the check-in questionnaire. It could have been in the fine print somewhere but I didn't see it. Royal said check-in was complete via email. What ever happened to allowing Alaska cruises that skip Canada?? Nothing against Canada ... I will do the ArriveCan thing if they want me to. Sounds like it might take awhile so maybe I will start it today.

What does Canada charge? I'm rapidly being priced out of the cruising market. Edit: I should add that I'm getting "hassled out" too but that is just a personal decision.

At first I thought you meant it was the pinocle lounge. Fancy lounge for that card game.

We are doing an Alaska cruise in a couple of weeks. I don't really want to go see Victoria again. I wouldn't mind staying on the ship. Would I still need to do the ArriveCan app if I don't plan on leaving the ship in Victoria??

I have to agree with this assessment. Our very first cruises were all on a Freedom class ships and they were beyond superb. We ventured up to Quantum class and Oasis class and we were somewhat disappointed but still had a great time. We got away from the Freedom class but bigger is not always better. We are looking forward to Freedom OTS again in October but it is a 4-Night cruise. We have never been on anything smaller than Freedom class. We are looking forward our the Panama Canal crossing on Serenade right before the Freedom cruise.

You are better off changing ships but there are only so many of those too.

I have stayed at Comfort Suites Miami Airport North. At the time, you could do one way or a round trip back to the hotel from the port. Round trip worked out well for us. That area near the airport wasn't so good in terms of things to do. I was only interested in doing the cruise and getting back to the hotel so it worked out well. We rented a car so we went some places downtown. That was before Covid so a car rental is much more costly now. There is a newer Comfort Suite hotel that was built a few years ago. I don't know why it was built so close to the existing one. Nobody consulted me about where they should build it. I would have built a few more restaurants or something instead of another hotel.

We reached Diamond level for the second cruise of a B2B this past January 2022. With luck we should reach Diamond+ on the B2B next January 2023. We didn't notice any difference being Diamond but we didn't know what to expect. We got the Diamond pins though. Our upcoming cruise schedule is a 7-Night Alaska cruise starting August 29th in a Grand suite. We have never been in a suite before and Diamond level so we aren't sure how to act. With double points, the cruise should net us 28 points. On October 2nd we will embark on a 13-night Panama Canal crossing in an ocean view balcony so no suite perks on that cruise. The cruise should net us another 26 points. Two days after the Panama cruise will get on a 4-night Perfect Day cruise in a junior suite so 16 more points. We currently have 97 points + 28 + 26 + 16 = 167 points. The first cruise of the B2B in January 2023 is 8 nights so that should be 175 points to make us Diamond+. We are putting the FCCs to good use. We need a crash course on being Diamond level and in a suite for the Alaska cruise before moving up to Diamond+.

I don't remember where I was but there were monkeys around. They would steal anything they could even reaching into my pockets and taking things. Keep your hand on your wallet when monkeys are around.

We just got an email about an itinerary change on Wonder, Jan 15,2023. Instead of Nassau we are going to CocoCay. Fine with me because we have been to Nassau more than CocoCay. I can't say that we are too disappointed about this change.

Maybe the freight elevator would be a possibility. I can't recall ever seeing the freight elevators except on the lower decks. I'm not saying you should have to take the freight elevator but maybe it would be allowed. Thanks for shedding some light on this issue. Maybe one elevator on each end of the ship could be designated as a handicap elevator. People could still use it but at least people may realize who had priority. I have considered using a scooter on a cruise because my mobility is challenged. I do have a walker that I plan to use on my next cruise. I never thought about this particular issue with a scooter so thanks for your insight. Maybe Royal has never considered this problem and maybe they could do something if it was brought to their attention. No answer ... it isn't like you can use the stairs when the elevators get crowded.

It does include gratuities but many times you will be handed a receipt to sign. There is a line on the receipt for a tip. I may be overly generous but I suppose it just depends on how often they bring you a drink.

I got the same surprise not too long ago. We had a cruise booked quite a while ago in a JS for 3 people. My daughter decided not to go so I thought they would do a reprice for 2 people at current rates. We only booked this cruise so my daughter could use her $250 FCC which wasn't her money to begin with. I thought it would be a nightmare scenario because the price of the cruise had gone up in the room category we had but we might have saved a bit of money if we switched to a 2 person JS, repriced it, and made it nonrefundable I forget what all happened but my daughter told the Royal agent we could apply her $250 FCC to our cruise fare. The cruise price reverted to the price had we originally booked the cruise for 2 people --- no reprice was done plus we got the $250 FCC applied to our cruise fare. The cruise was refundable so her share of the deposit was also applied to our cruise fare. We had only paid the deposits on this cruise but our remaining balance due decreased significantly. We kept the same room and it was still refundable and no change fee.

Does Costco and other travel agencies reserve or hold staterooms at a "bulk rate" or "discounted rate" and resell the rooms later at a profit based on Royal's current pricing? Royal's price usually goes up over time. Maybe travel agencies aren't subject to Royal's policy for nonrefundable fares. Do travel agencies keep these staterooms in their inventory a year or more in advance and sell them later? Does this make sense? I'm just wondering how it works. Maybe @Sharla would know. I used a travel agency a long time ago and they imposed their own change fees when Royal didn't have any change fees.

Maybe RC would pay it for me if I pay Royal.

Have you looked at the port fees and taxes?? I rarely look at those so maybe they could just put this fee there.

It has happened to me but never to a credit card that wasn't mine. I just check all my credit cards to see where the refund went. I have learned with Royal you need to expect the unexpected. I don't get too bent out of shape about it. I believe they have a weird accounting system. During Covid, I was told all the refunds were being done manually. I have used different credit cards but the refund amounts never matched anything remotely close to the "original payment method". Cruise planner purchases were consistently correct but not all the time. I somewhat enjoy catching their mistakes when it isn't in my favor. I just call and ask someone if it is correct. They usually acknowledge the mistake and correct it with another mistake in my favor -- then I say it must be correct and I don't say anything!

I have always purchased the multi device stream internet package because the price differential wasn't that much compared to the surf only package. We don't usually "stream" anything but internet speed while surfing can be frustrating at times. The price of any internet package has doubled in recent years. I'm tempted to try a 2 device surf only package but the cost is still about the same as what a 4 device stream package used to cost. Should we do a single device "stream package" and share it or a two device "surf package" and get used to the slower speed? It won't matter on our next Alaskan cruise in August. Am I correct in thinking our 1 BR Grand Suite is sky class and each of us will get a single device stream included???

We were booked on Radiance as a bucket list trip that was cancelled 2 years ago. I don't recall what happened exactly but I'm now booked on Serenade this October 2022. As long as I don't kick the bucket between now and then, we intend to go this time.

I wonder if certain stateroom areas on each ship are reserved for Covid quarantine areas. It might be a way to maintain some reduced capacity at least.

I agree with this statement. We had a cabana in the Beach Club area for 4 people at a great price considering it included the admission into the Beach Club. Now a cabana in the Water Park area that includes admission is tempting. A cabana in the Oasis Lagoon was nice too but harder to justify since there was no admission price associated with the Oasis Lagoon area.

Thank-you for the update. I was so disappointed that we didn't go on this cruise. My wife wasn't that disappointed. My doctor recommended that I didn't go and wanted to schedule surgery. I still haven't had the surgery and I'm doing okay so we probably could have gone. I didn't want to chance a medical evacuation from the middle of the Atlantic so we decided it would be better if we didn't go. With some luck, I will have surgery and be fully recovered by the October 2023 trans Atlantic westbound from Barcelona on Symphony. We might even tack on the short 3 day cruise from Rome to Barcelona and do a B2B with the trans Atlantic. My wife doesn't think 8 sea days in a row is such a great idea. I think it would be fantastic if the weather was good with relatively calm seas. I would love to hear about the westbound trans Atlantic you will be on this fall. Do you know how easy cruising from Rome would be as compared to Barcelona. We have been to both cities but haven't embarked on a cruise from either city. Thanks again