ConstantCruiser

That isn't guaranteed. If there is another cruise option that works you can often retain the OBC but I have had several where they either didn't offer the ability to move or I didn't like the only options they would allow. For example, Royal moved my 2 bedroom aquatheater suite on Allure to a two bedroom grand suite on Liberty. My choice was to accept that or ask for a refund. If I accepted it my $400 OBC would be retained. I did not accept it and lost my Next OBC. Moving to a different ship was desired but declined by Royal. My only choice was Liberty or refund. In another example an Ultimate Panoramic Suite on Oasis was cancelled when they chartered the ship. The two dates offered as an alternate did not have any Star Class Suites available. In that case they didn't offer any cabin as an alternate and I was forced to accept the refund. I lost $300 in Next OBC. When booking non-suite cabins Royal has more inventory to work with so they seem willing to bend the alternate ship and sail date rules more. When suites are involved, especially Star Class, Royal will often not offer any alternate so Next OBC is lost.

As far as NextCruise goes... I typically book a cruise when I see something that interests me but I always try to book refundable in case something changes. Then when I am on my next cruise I stop by the NextCruise desk and shop them for prices. Since I already hold a booking I know exactly what to price and I can immediately see how that compares to my existing refundable booking. I have done this countless times now. Most of the time cruises go up in price over time. Unless you are boarding a cruise in a week or two there is a significant chance that your cruise will go up in price by the time you board your next ship. Any OBC you might get from NextCruise often can't cover the price increase that may have occurred in the interim. So great, you get a couple hundred in OBC from Next but the base fare is now $200 per person higher so did you get a better deal? It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes prices haven't changed and in those cases I make a new booking with NextCruise and then cancel my refundable booking. My refundable booking is a fall back or safety insurance that allows me an opportunity to see how NextCruise compares. NextCruise sometimes finds something I can't on the public website. One time they were able to book a cruise on a refundable basis for the same rate that non-refundable was on the website. Sometimes they have terrible rates on refundable or the Next OBC isn't combinable with whatever promo is running that week. There is no "always" with NextCruise. Sometimes it a better deal and sometimes it isn't.

Just as the cruise lines didn't jump on board this lawsuit or cheer from the sidelines they probably won't give the finger to the CDC or abandon all of the protocols and concepts in the CSO. Only time will tell how the cruise lines will handle their new freedom. Should be interesting.

He didn't rule on the lawsuit. He approved an injunction while the lawsuit continues to play out in court. A lawsuit like this could take years to get to the point of a final ruling one way or the other. The injunction allows cruise lines to operate without the CSO regulations being enforceable until the lawsuit concludes. Someone with more legal knowledge will need to determine if an injunction can be limited in scope to just Florida.

Closed loop cruise cruises start and end at the same port so those rules aren't a factor in this case. Closed loop cruises just need a foreign port on the itinerary. It can be any foreign port. Open jaw or one way cruises have to start or end in a foreign port unless they include a distant foreign port on the itinerary. Distant foreign ports are named in the PVSA as the ABC islands and ports in South America. If a foreign port is not in South America or one of the ABC islands it's not a distant foreign port, it's just a foreign port. CBP considers the passenger ticket to be the moment you embark for the first time to the moment you disembark for the last time as the overall journey. Getting off for a few hours isn't an end to the overall journey from start to finish in the eyes of the CBP. If you get off and spend a night in a hotel that is a sufficient break in the trip to have CBP view it as two trips, otherwise stepping off and jumping right back on is not a sufficient break. That includes packing your luggage and completely debarking then checking in for the same ship like you were never on the previous cruise - that's not allowed. CBP sees through that veiled attempt to evade the law. The reason they considered the original embarkation port and final disembarkation port is so that carriers can't craft and market an overall trip that violates the intent of the PVSA by selling multiple individual segments. If cruise lines could evade the PVSA simply by selling two cruises between two US cities they would but that violates cabotage regulations. Many cabotage laws and regulations come from the airline industry where this sort of thing could be more prevalent. A foreign carrier can't sell you two segments changing planes in between but effectively transporting you from A to C even if you stop in B to change planes. If you flew from Seattle to Toronto, changed planes and flew to New York that is viewed as a trip from Seattle to New York. A foreign carrier like Air Canada can't do that. Changing planes and flying two individual segments doesn't let a foreign carrier evade the law. Just because you purchase two or three cruises to make up the journey doesn't change the end to end trip you are taking. Spend a night in a hotel in between cruises and you are good but by then the ship has sailed without you.

Now the cruise lines can't hide behind CDC imposed protocols. They'll have to come out, declare their protocols and be accountable to their guests for them.

The notion of this lawsuit preventing Alaska cruises was introduced by the CDC to cast shade on the lawsuit. I think the judge saw through that and found a way to prevent that from happening. However I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one in cruise forums.

I *think* that is why the judge narrowed it to cruise ships arriving, departing and operating from Florida. That way it doesn't impact Washington state and Alaska.

Doesn't help Freedom's initial cruises either. She will still need a test cruise if she wants to sail July 2nd as planned and masks for everyone indoors (CSO based requirement) for the first two weeks at least.

Does not do anything about Florida's vaccination passport ban. With the CSO seemingly neutered, cruise lines are free to apply their own requirements for cruising from Florida. It does eliminate the test cruise requirement for cruises after July 18 but it doesn't mean cruise lines will sail absent of any protocols. No masks for vaccinated would be a great start.

Yes. However it's the guests choice to cancel. NCL isn't giving families a choice. Rock < Royal > Hard Place. A while ago in a thread that was locked the question was asked - What can cruise lines do to get around the Florida vaccination passport ban? The obvious answer was onerous protocols on unvaccinated to motivate them to not cruise. Now we are seeing the outcome when governments quickly whip up law without thinking it through.

NCL's approach of "Got kids, get lost" is drawing a lot of fire and criticism so I can see why Royal is trying not to alienate families - that's their core target consumer. The CDC is trying to push the vaccine and motivate anyone on the fence to get it done so they have created regulations in the CSO to that end. Cruise lines have a choice to promote that vaccine push or go with a vaccine requirement to board like NCL has. Those are the two choices the CDC has given them. This is on the CDC and Florida, our governments. This isn't Royal's doing.

The NCL approach is zero unvaccinated. They aren't offering a payment refund either. Their "refund" is FCC. Got kids? NCL says "No cruise for you". Royal is doing their best to navigate rough seas battered by hurricane Walensky on the west and tropical storm DeSantis on the east. They are trying to figure a way for families with kids to be accommodated while working within the silly constraints of the CDC and the absurd policies of Florida. Royal isn't to blame for this compromise. Our federal and state governments are.

CDC logic at its finest. As a vaccinated person I couldn't give a hoot if others are not, so long as what is happening on Odyssey with her crew isn't the response when the unvaccinated become infected - complete shipwide lockdown, everyone to their cabins. I get why they did that on Odyssey, they need time after getting vaccinated for maximum protection to become effective. If that will be the response on a revenue cruise I'm not interested. Back here in the real world (on land) I go out and enjoy life. When I'm sitting at a restaurant or at a bar it doesn't even cross my mind if the people near me are vaccinated or not. I couldn't care. On a ship I would have been the same way, except... now I am forced to wear a mask indoors on a ship just to accommodate the unvaccinated. Now they've ruined my vacation. My only "fear" of unvaccinated on a ship with me would be them ruining my cruise. If I have to wear mask or if they get infected and the cruise stops then it's a problem. The protocols are designed to make cruising unattractive to the unvaccinated. The protocols required because of the unvaccinated are killing the cruise experience. Time to cruise from somewhere other than Florida. Thanks Gov.

In Seattle luggage valet is offered by the port, not the cruise line. That's why it's free for everyone. I was told the port does it because it doesn't have room to handle thousands of bags coming off a ship and trying to manage the flow of passengers trying to find their bags. Will the port still offer it in 2021 with pandemic protocols? Time will tell. FWIW - In 2018 coming off Explorer in Seattle I was at the airport by 7:45am by using self assist and a taxi.

This from Michael Bayley's FB post on the new protocols: It sounds like there will be exceptions. That should help families with younger kids too. Time will tell.

You've got good timing. It would have been a lot worse to just finish your initial quarantine and then have the whole ship go into another 14 day quarantine.

The cabana price is fixed up to the capacity of that cabana. There is no additional charge. You can't add people beyond the capacity of the cabana, other wise people would book one cabana and organize 30 or 40 people for free waterpark access. For example, the floating cabanas can accommodate 8. If you name 8 guests then all 8 have access to the Coco Beach Club. You cannot name 12 guests for an 8 person floating cabana so that 4 extra guests would have access to the beach club.

I don't think it's going to be more crowded than it would have been 2 years later. Most people who are reaching a CAS level because of this promo would have reached it by now had their cruises sailed as planned and not been cancelled by the pandemic/CDC. Some people will level up early but most people will end up where they would have been naturally. There will be a handful of individuals who cruise often that will make out better because of the double promo, but if they cruise often already, they were probably already in the DL. For those that don't cruise multiple times each year (the bulk of guests) they will probably end up where they would have been and if they do get to level up one cruise sooner, if they don't cruise often they aren't on ships to crowd the lounge because they don't sail frequently. I used to hear a similar argument in the flyer forums when I flew for business a lot. Frequent flyers would complain that credit card points were leveling up people who don't fly often based on credit card spend. The complaint was their free upgrade to first class was being impacted by these credit card flyers. But if they don't fly often they aren't on the plane or upgrade list "stealing" anyone's upgrade. ?

Freedom OTS was recently "amplified" (refreshed). That happened just before the big CDC industry shutdown. She looks to be in great shape. When I first cruised Royal after sailing a bunch of Carnival I kept comparing small things like the buffet. "That's not how Carnival does it" kept on entering my thoughts. Then I let go and acted like I had never been on a cruise. With an open mind I started to prefer some things the way they are done on Royal. When ever trying something new or different that's probably the best advice. Pretend you've never cruised before and go with the flow. Remember the magic of walking on a cruise ship for the very first time? Enjoy your Freedom cruise like that. Once the cruise is over and you are stuck back on land only then sit back and compare the two to see which checks more of the boxes on your preferences checklist.

Everything is ok until it isn't. Cruising is international travel. Not all countries have the same view on the subject. What is now okay domestically may not be in another country. Bermuda for example has been known for boarding cruise ships and searching guest cabins. That's legal there. You have no rights as an American while in another country. Are cruise lines training their cabin attendants to search for CBD products? I don't think so, so it's not likely going to be a problem until something happens that brings it to light and that point the cruise line can't just let it slide and pretend they didn't see it. It's your life and you are free to make choices but understand that some choices have consequences. When you factor in international law make those choices wisely.

I'm two or three cruises short of platinum on Carnival which is comparable to RCI Diamond in terms of points level and level of effort to achieve. Royal's loyalty program is significantly better at the Diamond level and above. Below this level both loyalty programs don't do a whole lot. I stopped cruising Carnival a few years ago not because I ever had a bad cruise with them but because I was left wanting something a little more. Before Carnival Breeze all ships had that hideous coral color cabin. If you could be transported between ships you would have no idea you were on a different ship because the cabins all have that coral color and all cabins are nearly identical across the older fleet. The spa cabins on the Breeze finally started introducing some better cabin decor. Since the Breeze I feel like Carnival is cramming more and more people on their ships without making the ships equally larger. Mardi Gras looks very interesting but the passenger count concerns me and when I researched it they have reduced cabin width for most cabins to get more people on the ship. Crowding has been an increased concern on Carnival's more recent ships and I'll be watching closely when Mardi Gras first sails with guests to see just how bad it's become. As far as dining that is very personal so it's hard to declare a winner. Each of us has our own tastes. Mass market cruise food isn't going to win prizes on any cruise line. On Royal's newer ships I find the entertainment is better than Carnival. On older Royal ships entertainment is not a whole lot different compared to Carnival. Beer choices are better on Carnival. Guy's hamburgers are much better than the included hamburger options on Royal but I do feel like I am knocking on death's door with each bite of a Guy's burger. Internet is far superior on Royal over Carnival but Princess has Royal beat in the internet department. Royal claims the fastest internet at sea but that claim comes from the era before Princess upgraded their fleet. Royal doesn't upgrade ship internet, only the newer ships get better internet. As Princess has upgraded their fleet over the past few years they crept past Royal for the fastest internet at sea despite Royal still using the "fastest" marketing claim from 5 years ago. Carnival tries to blur the marketing by using the Princess fleet internet and applying it as "Carnival" internet being the best when in reality the Whale Tail fleet has poor internet period. So both lines have some shady internet marketing in play but focusing on the Whale Tail Carnival brand versus Royal, Royal wins the internet performance battle while CCL's social media internet option is cheaper. At the end of the day what my opinions are don't matter. Each of us has preferences and likes vs. dislikes. All you can do it try it and see for yourself. However as others have noted research the ships so you are comparing apples to apples or as close as you can to that analogy. A new CCL ship is going to yield a better experience over the oldest RCI ship and vice versa. When I tried Royal I found it satisfied more of what I was seeking but at a slightly higher cost. I feel like that cost gap has narrowed over time with CCL charging more for their newer ships now. Mardi Gras pricing isn't very different than Odyssey pricing (both new ships) but you can always find one week on one or the other that's cheaper on either depending on cabin type and how many are in your party.

The post was meant for Crown and Anchor members to inform Crown and Anchor members how Crown and Anchor benefits will change. The real problem is that Royal hasn't communicated anything to anyone else so when the Crown and Anchor team sends out an update like this everyone else is left to make assumptions and draw conclusions beyond the Crown and Anchor program. It seems like Royal doesn't want to say anything until the protocols are fully defined and cast in stone. The problem is they will never be cast in stone, they will continually change. It's time for Royal to tell all guests what to expect and qualify it with "this may change".

Restricting Pinnacle from the SL was expected to ensure suite guests can enjoy the SL while allowing social distancing from other suite guests not in their party. How much they reduce capacity in the SL will dictate how normal the SL experience is for suite guests. I believe their intention is to minimize the disruption for suite guests but if 95% of all suite guests show up at exactly the same time maybe someone doesn't get access. I think that will be rare if not never but only time will tell. IMO most suite guests probably won't be impacted. On Vision class with some smallish Concierge Clubs it may be more of a thing because these clubs aren't that big to begin with. On newer ships I anticipate minimal impact to suite guests.

On the flip side it also confirms that coupons will be required for the DL - no open bar in the lounge.