Cakemeister

I used the webform just a few days ago for my sailing on 9/4/22, no problems. https://rclshareholderbenefit.questionpro.com/

Thank you for posting. I think competition is a good thing, the more cruise lines that sail from Galveston the better.

LOL I sail on the 4th. (EDIT: doesn't matter, 7 day cruise and I'm vaxed)

Other. All of them!

I have. There was indeed a ship-within-a-ship for the higher class passengers. This was on the Queen Mary 2 when she was first starting to do crossings, back in the early oughts. Maybe they have changed since then.

Matt's description of the private enclave on Spectrum sticks in my craw a little bit. It makes Royal Caribbean look like Cunard to me. The OP never did say what ship he was sailing on. Maybe it wasn't the Spectrum, in which case there would be no such thing as a golden suite.

I don't see a repositioning cruise for Voyager from San Juan to Galveston. In fact the website isn't letting me search for cruises out of San Juan. I do see the repo from Boston to San Juan, however.

I'm sailing on Liberty in early September. I have tests and I'll use them, but it would get us through the line faster to not show the dang tests 40 times during checkin!

My Emed tests expire in December so hopefully before then!

Great news, I'm tempted to book a 5+4 back-to-back cruise for my next one, but I am guessing that the testing requirement will be dropped altogether soon.

That might be her shtick. I would ask the community not to call her names. She's just a young writer trying to make a living.

I fantasize about this cruise on a regular basis. You triggered me. One of my big hopes for RCL is that this cruise is a success and that it continues into future years. That way, if I win the lottery, I'll be able to go someday. The actual cost for an inside cabin (from https://www.royalcaribbean.com/ultimate-world-cruise/) is $58,666 per person if you pay early, not counting most excursions but counting transportation. For 275 days, that is $213.33 per person per day. (PPPD) You would need to budget extra for shore expenditures, casino, and other miscellany. A typical 7-day cruise in an inside cabin might cost say $500 per person for transportation, $100 for standard tips, and maybe $800 or so for the actual cruise plus taxes and port fees. That is $200 PPPD with no drink package, laundry, departure gala, business class airfare, hotel before sailing, shuttle from hotel to ship, Voom, and some of the excursions! IMO there is great value here. A lifetime of travel compressed into nine months.

Here's a month-long megacruise that I constructed, for Brilliance of the Seas next October and November: 7 nights Rome to Athens on 10/30/23 7 nights Athens to Barcelona on 11/6/23 14 nights transatlantic on 11/13/23 5 nights out of Tampa The whole month of November is spent on the ship!

Thanks for the report! It makes me look forward to the big-boy ships coming to Galveston! I've done 9 cruises on Royal on smaller ships, with two more booked. Then cruise #12 will be on the Allure next September. Since we've done all the ports over and over again, next September will be super fun just to be on the Oasis-class ship!

I track the price of selected cruises on a spreadsheet. Sometimes the price is indeed lower, by a small amount, but not 30%, more like 10% max. Cruise prices are probably more dependent on the amount of bookings made, the spot price of fuel, the number of COVID cases, the time of year, the amount of time before sailing, and more factors than an actual sale price. Supply and demand and all that.

Cruise with Confidence was described here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/05/13/how-royal-caribbean-will-let-you-take-advantage-of-price-drop-until-48-hours-your-cruise Then it was extended: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/01/13/royal-caribbean-extends-cruise-confidence-program-be-able-cancel-cruise-the-last-minute#:~:text=Therefore%2C we've made the,expire on January 31%2C 2022. But that offer expired, it was for cruises booked before the end of March, unless there is newer information available that I'm not aware of.

To add to that, you can try Celebrity, your Diamond status will equate to Captain's Elite status there, and drinks are included. Personally, I didn't make Diamond until 2020 so I don't know what the happy hour was like, but I love having the 4 free drinks per day! Fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast, a glass or two of wine with dinner, maybe a cocktail at the show. It's great!

The article said to "check the spreadsheet" for discounts on Voom. Where is this spreadsheet? I will be on the Radiance in February. • VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4 Device(s): Discount varies by ship. Please see spreadsheet for specific percentages off.• VOOM Surf Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4 Device(s): Discount varies by ship.

Dollar-cost average. If you have 100 shares at $70 and then you buy another 100 shares at $40, you then have 200 shares at an average cost of $55.

If you cruise at all, you should pick up 100 shares at this price, $33.50 as I write this. For a 7-day cruise, that is a 3% dividend every time you sail. If you sail three times a year, that's 9%, better than what you'll get on your typical dividend-paying stock. I should probably DCA but since I am never going to sell there's really no need.

I love the value for the vacation dollar. And the food. And the shows.

One thing about TAs. I recommend going east to west. Mrs. Cake has been on both, and she had a strong preference for E->W, because of the time zone changes. Ship-wise, I think they are all great. I went on Mariner from Rome to Galveston back in 2006, my favorite cruise so far. Barbeyg mentioned taking a TA in 2024 for a retirement celebration. I hope to do the same!

Do you live driving distance from a cruise port? If so, book a cruise sailing out of your home port. I recommend avoiding cruising in the summertime. Too hot, too expensive, too many kids.

You piqued my curiosity, I will ask for them next time!

I live in Texas. I would fly anywhere in the continental U.S. for a 7-day cruise, but for Europe I would want something longer. This is because of the extra travel cost.