AlmondFarmer

At least this was the case 15 years ago. I was diamond (because of my parents) and then turned 18 and became emerald. (I had personally accumulated 57 points) I felt this demotion upon cruising at 21 and not having lounge access.

Kids can have their parents status once signed up. Once 18, their status is based on cruise points they have actual accumulated. A Pinnacle 17 year old could become a gold 18 year old.

A baby getting their parents status, which said parent is still utilizing their parents status because they are still a minor would require a crown and anchor members 17 year old or younger child to have given birth and wanting to cruise with their baby and somehow this baby needing the crown and anchor benefits. Although possible, this scenario is as unlikely as it is scary.

Putin loves America. Vladivostok is beautiful in the summer. Ensenada is a more proven option.

Nude beach on French side...big let down. And by letdown I’m referring to what gravity does to older humans. We found ourselves there by accident. Some things can’t be unseen.

Opening schedule is alerting people to the approximate date of deployment schedule (itineraries) being available to book. For me, once itineraries are listed is a fun but stressful day. If ones patiently goes through ships/dates/itineraries/pricing in order to make a fully educated decision for travel over two years in the future, one risks availability and price fluctuations. I have observed upwards price movements in the thousands of Dollars during release day for fancy suites and some ships only have one of certain rooms which can be taken and never available again until the next deployment date. I use a website which allows me to book online so I have full control in that if I see something I like I can select, see price and the have 15 minutes to convince myself/wife it is what we want. I understand some on this blog use agents which may have preferred access or search methods. I’m considering using the skilled services of an agent for the March 1 releases. Problem is I don’t know what to tell the agent to book for me prior to releases. I want to first look things over and decide what I value the most as price spreads between suite types are not fixed. This risks during the delay of deciding and contacting an agent that desired room is taken by some other person (probably active on this blog) My family is interested in Ultimate family suite. One cabin, on Symphony only. If release is Nov 2022 through April 2023 that represents 6 months or 25 sailings. I would not be surprised if these 25 opportunities to stay in this room are gone within 48 hours. FYI, this room is probably horrible so anybody else considering booking on release day should book a Star Loft instead or take several days to really think it over.

I’ll answer with a quick story. In November 2019 I was on Navigator when November 2021 through April 2022 was released. Nothing for Allure was included. I asked concierge and he stated that plans for allure were in works and mentioned Galveston. Two months later, in January 2020 the Allure sailings were finally released for Galveston starting October 2021. These all got cancelled when Royal postponed dock expansion. Glad I didn’t wait to book Allure and instead got the suites I wanted on Oasis Nov 2021 and Symphony Jan 2022 as these aren’t dependent on port improvements If an Oasis class ship is available to book out of Galveston with sailings starting in November 2022 I would consider booking this as optimistic as actual construction is not scheduled to start till April. Any delays will result in cancelled sailings. The later one waits, even into 2023, the better the chances of the new terminal being finished. Royal may have learned from last year and will not release sailings until port construction actually commences and they have some confidence that the new terminal will be ready. Since I didn’t have a booking which was cancelled from original Allure out of Galveston itineraries I’m not aware what was offered to those affected. It usually costs Royal something to cancel sailings, beyond passenger frustration.

In previous years these sailing would have been released last November or December. I expect the new itineraries to be from Nov 1, 2022 till April 30, 2023. An Oasis ship (probably Allure) might be listed out of Galveston. I would consider it risky to book a sailing departing before January 2023 since any port expansion delays will result in cancelled sailings.

The only good water that comes in a can is Coors Light.

I was on the same sailing. I will look if I saved any. Ports were Nassau, Cozumel, Roatan then Costa Maya.

I will keep my answer grounded in reality, since a variety of draft beers on tap would be difficult to install in each room. I would like a button to press to have cabin steward come to room. I know there is a phone but a simple button would be convenient.

If pricing is the same, I would likely go with the crown loft side facing. If Aqua is deck 11 and crown loft is rear facing it is a tossup. Decide between convenience of location in crown loft vs view of Aqua. Rooms get smaller on deck 12 and even smaller on 14. Side Crown lofts have better ocean view than rear facing.

In November 20, 2019 Royal released Caribbean May 2021-April 2022. On November 16, 2020 Royal only released May 2022-October 2022. A smaller booking period than the previous years release. On their deployment schedule the remaining releases are listed as coming soon. I’m sure shutdown has lots of things to be sorted out, including Allure sailing out of Galveston November 2022. Please post an update if anyone gets insight into the release date. As Matt said, it might not be until Spring 2021.

Thank you all for your responses. I was hoping for someone to say go to blanketybkank.com, enter sail date and price adjustments are done automatically. I will stick with the tried and true traditionally method explained above. I read the fine print and Star class Genie managing my booking for me is not listed as an service/amenity, bummer.

So there is no public access to pricing of sold out cabins, only an agent can request this information directly from Royal Caribbean? This opacity likely keeps many people from obtaining price reductions or even knowing they exist. Agent recommendations? My current representation makes me feel like I’m asking a lot when I request that a price drop on my sold out cabin category be investigated. Benefits to agency I have been working with is ease of making a booking, (available on website without phone call) and on board credit (6-9% of total cruise price)

Thank you Lovetocruise2002. I thought maybe correlation doesn’t mean causation. After analyzing countless potential bookings I have noticed that although there is a definite trend, the pricing spread and even position on price ladder can vary between sailings. Example, sometimes on some Oasis class sailings an owners suite is priced lower than crown loft, others it isn’t. I dislike the adverse selection problem having an agent poses. I respect and will likely do what you did and try reaching out to Royal directly next time I’m suspicious that my representation is giving me the easy answer and not advocating on my behalf. It is awkward to ask someone to effort to lower my trip cost when the result of this effort may result in a lower commission for them. To me this demonstrates the problem with commissions being based on cruise price. if you don’t mind sharing, what sources do you use to research itineraries, obtain prices and track bookings? Based on what I have read from you, we seem to share a similar interest in accommodations.

I looked through recent topics and didn’t see this covered. What are people’s preferred sources for researching potential cruises and also tracking prices? I currently use Americas Discount Cruises. I have many future sailings and it takes more time than I think it should each time I want to check prices and consider changing cabin categories. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this website but even though they have not let me down, I’m interested in a better way. I do like the ability to quickly make a booking online as hard to find cabins disappear quickly. I would also like to hear others strategy on the “all cabins in category booked” price adjustment strategy. I understand Royal maintains a price in their system if a sold out cabin category were to again become available. Like others I have read about on this blog, I follow prices of other suites from the time of booking. This has provided many false alarms as lower cost suites have gone down in price, triggering an inquiry, only to be told that my cabin has in fact not changed or even increased in price. It has also worked a few times. Although part of earning their commission, I would like to avoid the impulsive price check request I often submit to the agent managing my booking if there is a way to verify myself. I have read a lot of posts since recently joining this blog and have gained much value from the wisdom and experiences of so many of you, thank you for this. Scott

So two guests can book and sail in an A1 or A2. How about the VS (4 bedroom Villa) on Harmony or Symphony? I booked with three names and have since added a fourth. Also, does anyone have an indication when winter 2022/2023 itineraries will be available to book? I think my group is going to like the 4 bedroom on Symphony and I would like to book it on Harmony for December 2022 or January 2023. Once released last November, the 4 bedroom Villa was booked on all 52 sailings on Symphony in less than a week.

Thank you both for your thoughts and information. Currently the price to add additional guests to A2 for Allure June 5, 2022 Mediterranean is $1398. I have never booked or tracked Mediterranean pricing. This is a much higher rate than all other bookings which I have added/booked additional adults in Caribbean. Price has ranged from $488 to $648. Is the high Mediterranean price to add guests normal or should it trend down as sail date approaches? The sailing is for my wife and my ten year anniversary. We know many other couples married in 2012 so may add 2 additional adults to utilize second bedroom. We are comfortable with booked price of $7K for us two only.

Does Royal Caribbean policy change regarding the minimum guests required for suites? I booked two sailings the day they listed while on board Navigator on 11-20-19, an A1 (larger 2 bedroom aquatheater) on Oasis sailing 11-28-21. This required three names and $750 deposit. Also the 4 bedroom Villa on Symphony for 1-22-22 requiring three names and $750 deposit. Last week when Royal released Europe 2022 I booked an A2 (smaller 2 bedroom aquatheater) on Allure for 6-5-22. I found this room with 2 adults in search. (I usually search with 3 to also see larger occupancy suites). I was able to reserve room with 2 names and $500 deposit. Is this inconsistency normal? Will I be required to add or pay for a third or more guests to keep these rooms? I tried to add my 3 kids to my A1 this November but was told that to use ‘kids sail free’ the room would be repriced and increase $3,200 which is more than $598 plus $149 tax to add adults. We are traveling with a group and another family has space in their 2 bedroom grand suite so my kids got added to their room for tax only. I will have to pay the $10 cover charge for 6 year old twins at specialty restaurants and three gratuities as they will not have Star Class benefits. Have 8 adults together for 4 bedroom suite on Symphony. A bedroom and bathroom for each couple. Room is expensive for first two guests but at 8 adults it is just under $2,000/person. A great value for Star Class.

There is not a gap in itinerary schedule for Allure through November 2022. If a refurbishment is to be done it will be after Mediterranean sailings in 2022 unless some released sailings are cancelled. Allure underwent the mandatory technical dry dock early this year (Spring 2020) so nothing additional is required. Some websites do show Allure deck plans reflected the refurbishment which unfortunately didn’t happen.

Hello all, first time post. My future cruises: November 28, 2021 Oasis A1 January 22, 2022 Symphony VS June 5, 2022 Allure A2