CelebrationFlCruiser

Below is the link to the videos from The Alaska Cruise Handbook by Joe Upton on what to look for on the Alaskan cruise.
 
That cruise is one of the BEST of all the cruises. And I do not like cold weather, ha.
 
http://www.alaskacruisehandbook.com/videopage.html

Yes, please

We also just got back from the FREEDOM of the SEAS. We love that ship and the crew. This seems to be the perfect size ship for us. We also noticed some unidentifiable smells just before docking in the lower deck areas. This was usually when we were at port.
 
There are always some issues, but overall, this is a GREAT ship and crew. And, the Captain is understandable and seems truly interested in keeping the cruisers informed. One day we had to divert due to weather. The Captain was on the overhead explaining and came on the TV with maps and graphs to explain how he reached his decision to divert to another port. He, in my opinion is an excellent Captain. And almost the entire crew, with just a few exceptions, was excellent.
 
It's a shame they are moving Freedom to Ft. Lauderdale. We like at Port Canaveral.

Did anyone else get an email like this from RC:
 
"you can enhance our upcoming cruise and reach the next Crown and Anchor® Society tier even faster. Spend a minimum of $450 per person on pre-cruise and onboard purchases made using your Sea Pass card on your upcoming cruise, and earn THREE extra cruise points*. No registration necessary. Already booked your onboard experiences? You, too, will earn THREE extra points after spending $450 or more! From authentic shore excursions, to delicious dining, to soothing spa treatments, reaching your next loyalty tier has never been so rewarding."
 
3 extra points? That is huge. Is this tiered too? If you spend $900 do you get 6 extra pts?
 
The scuttle on this is that Royal Caribbean is testing the waters to switch the system from number of cruises and number of nights to a monetary tiered system.
 
I hope this is true.
 
Then you can just figure out how much they want in dollars and buy your way to a level of perks.

Get ready for more changes. In Nov we are going on the Anthem and they have a whole set of new things when you check in.

The main new thing is you have to supply a good (RC acceptable) head shot of yourself and all those cruising. And Crown and Anchor Loyals can not just arrive when they want. You are given  specific times to board. It states that it will delay your boarding if you arrive at a different time.

It appears check in (arrival) will look more like check out (departure). It will be done in small groups.

Priority is given to wedding parties and I assume wheel chair cruisers. I didn't notice any priority for Crown and Anchor or Suite cruisers.

We'll see how this plays out. This appears to be more of a security thing or maybe just tightening up the boarding process. There were more things but the above seemed the major ones.
 
It's getting harder to check in.
 
This looks like they will be rolling this new boarding procedure to the fleet.

â€Not a teen but not an adult eitherâ€,
 
vaguely sounds familiar, almost like a song  ..........
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlV7RhT6zHs

“Royal Caribbean Godmothers bring good fortune to our ships and guests†Royal Caribbean
 
Perhaps you could choose a Royal Caribbean Godmother’s name.
 
Royal Caribbean has named the Godmother for its soon-to-launch cruise ship Anthem of the Seas.
 
Emma, she is a travel agent. Emma could bring good fortune to you, you have certainly brought good fortune to her.
 
Emma, the latest and greatest Royal Caribbean ship's Godmother.
 
What ever you choose to name her, bless you for taking in a rescue dog.
 
 
http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6281

“Royal Caribbean Godmothers bring good fortune to our ships and guests†Royal Caribbean
 
Perhaps you could choose a Royal Caribbean Godmother’s name.
 
Royal Caribbean has named the Godmother for its soon-to-launch cruise ship Anthem of the Seas.
 
Emma, she is a travel agent. Emma could bring good fortune to you, you have certainly brought good fortune to her.
 
Emma, the latest and greatest Royal Caribbean ship's Godmother.
 
What ever you choose to name her, bless you for taking in a rescue dog.
 
 
http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6281

What happens after the cruise? Cruise Post Partum
 
How do you cope with post cruise memories? The loss? You deserve better, more.
 
The breakfast menu left the evening before on your stateroom door, a knock on the door with your breakfast when you get up in the morning. Or, going to the main dining room/windjammer for a ready made breakfast every morning. Being served Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food available all the time.
 
The endless food, deserts, eating every 15 minutes. Find yourself going for an ice cream cone whenever you want. Ordering or getting 2 of something. No extra charge, already included.
 
No need to carry cash, credit or all sorts of ID. Your cruise seapass is all you need. It’s your room key, your payment card, your access card.
 
Every time you leave your stateroom, you come back and it is all fixed up again. You look for new things left in your room by your personal room steward. Don’t like something or want something, all you have to do is call your stateroom attendant. Bring it to their attention.
 
There is a new schedule every day that you can follow or not. You can stay on the ship or get off at the ports.
Order something special at dinner and it’s there for you every evening. They remembered, they call you by name. You are important.
 
A professional photographer wanting to take your picture at every turn to remember your experiences.
If you got a beverage package, endless drinks. All kinds of drinks, new drinks, specialty drinks, island drinks. No worries about driving home, finding your place, ect.
 
No car worries. Where to park, is there enough gas in the tank, do I have enough time to get there, did I forget something. Just walk were ever your going, 5-15 minutes from anywhere in the ship. Hungry, walk through the windjammer, on your way.
 
Endless parties and all you have to do is show up. Very little, to no planning. Just get yourself there, be included and have fun. Endless fun. And if it gets too much, just leave.
 
Continual professional production shows available. No driving for hours, just walk there and sit down and enjoy. Want to sit next to the stage, sit next to the stage. Want to sit in the balcony, sit in the balcony. Where ever you want. If you want you can even be a part of some of the shows, or not. Totally your choice.
 
Schedule yourself something to do every minute or, sit by the pool and do nothing, your choice.
 
Get that massage, spend time at the spa. Consult with the experts on how to look and feel younger. Get a massage outside on a beach. Get wild.
 
Visit great and exotic places daily. Have adventures, exploring new worlds and activities at every port. Experience things you would never do at home. Step out of your comfort zone or not.
 
You are the captain of your vacation. There’s no one to tell you no you can’t do that because you don’t have the time, money, means. Just do it. It’s included. All inclusive. Food, Shows, Ports, Room, Drinks, FUN.
 
Then reality sets in, sometimes the last day, sometimes at the airport making connections, sometimes the day you get home. Your going to be living on land again, in some real space with an actual separate bedroom and bathroom. Your glad your going home, but then again, you have to face what you left: work, relationships, commitments, deadlines, quotas, ect. You have to play catch up on the things that didn’t get done while you were gone. Put out fires at work, find out whos been doing what to whom…..
 
What to do? Arrange your cruise pictures and relive your cruising experience. Next time take better pictures and include people and yourself in the pictures. Talk about the great time you had. Start planning your next cruise, and maybe even book it. Start saving again and start the process all over again.
 
Counting your cruise points you earned and what is it going to take, to get to the next level. How many cruises? Trying to figure out if you want to try another cruise company, new destinations, new friends, new experiences. All the choices.
 
Try to relive some of the experiences. Go to a show, plan an event, go to a restaurant with a buffet. Dream. Tell your therapist.
 
What do you do in between cruises?
 
What do you do to get over missing the cruise life?

Just returned from the 4 day Bahamas itinerary on Enchantment which included Coco Cay.  After reading Matt's post about the wedding he attended there I decided to trek out and find the site.  I did indeed find the site which is beautiful as well as a few other nice places I thought I would share.  Site A (sorry, couldn't recall which circle it was at) is a beautifully remote tiny piece of beach which had several chairs and two thatch umbrellas.  NOBODY was there!  Site B was just a nice view from the West end.  To get to these places you will want to follow the nature trail out toward the West end of the island.  I marked this with white arrows.  To get back to the main activities portion of the island follow the vehicle path which I marked with blue dots.  It is a pretty good walk so be sure to have water with you.  I made it to the West end of the island in about 30 minutes at a nice calm pace.  Also, be sure someone knows where you are going or better yet take a partner. If you want to see Iguanas go to the area around the small bridge near the tenders.  Look up into the branches or on the embankment along the water.  Oh, by the way, enjoy the shells you find and take pictures.  You cannot take them back with you.  When they x-ray your bags prior to getting back on the tenders they will politely ask you for shells.  Didn't know this one but I do now.
 
Dan and Monika
Riverview, FL

Guess what just came in the mail?
 
A crystal block award and all our pins that we never got. Amazing. My faith in Royal Caribbean is restored.
 
Another crystal block award level will be reached on our next cruise in August 2015. We now know, to inform the loyalty person on-board, if it is not in our room.
 
We have heard a lot of people and couples that have not received earned awards and/or pins. All you need to do is call Crown & Anchor number and let them know and they mail it to you.

Royal Caribbean is now offering special deals.........
 
They first add charges for: tips, beverages, and then......
 
They offer to take them away as incentives to book a cruise. What is this called?
 
They were not charges before and now they are making it an incentive to book, to take them away.
 
Then they raise the prices on a select number of cruises, then offer on-board credit. What does this sound like?
 
Royal Caribbean should be giving Royal, over the top, offers and service. WOW us,
 
We are still loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers, but this is getting annoying. This is a first rate, number 1 company. Why are they participating in this type of PR?
 
Create a charge and then offer it as a incentive to take it away or offer a FREE item that used to be free.

Gratuity; [gruh-too-i-tee, -tyoo-]
Word Origin  noun, plural gratuities. 1. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip.
2. something given without claim or demand.
dictionary.com
 
There are also some labor code issues in California, and I’m sure in other States:
 
Labor Code Section 351 prohibits employers and their agents from sharing in or keeping any portion of a gratuity left for or given to one or more employees by a patron. Furthermore it is illegal for employers to make wage deductions from gratuities, or from using gratuities as direct or indirect credits against an employee’s wages. The law further states that gratuities are the sole property of the employee or employees to whom they are given. "Gratuity" is defined in the Labor Code as a tip, gratuity, or money that has been paid or given to or left for an employee by a patron of a business over and above the actual amount due for services rendered or for goods, food, drink, articles sold or served to patrons.
 
I don’t know how Royal Caribbean Ltd is addressing the accounting of this mandatory fee to each and every person that boards their ships. But then again, they are not an American corporation. The corporation is in Liberia and based in Miami. I do not know the implications of that, nor care to.
 
Another thing. Now they are offering free gratuities on select cruises. isn't that an oxymoron? How can they give you something free, when it is a free choice to begin with? These are not gratuities.
 
This is not a gratuity, it is a fee. And if it is given out as a tiered amount to the service providers (asto position, time on the job, salary,ect.) and not an equal amount to everyone, is it not, a fee for salary?
 
 If you multiply the number of rooms and then the number of people in that room and times it by the mandatory “gratuity chargeâ€, we are paying the service staff's salary. This is a significant charge. Are we shown where that money goes? I would venture to guess that the trickle down effect to the actual service providers is miniscule.
 
But, back to the mis-labeling of an added fee as a gratuity. A mandatory fee, or as Royal Caribbean labels it, gratuity, if not given to reward above and beyond regular service, the service provider is not motivated to provide over the top service if they get the same pay regardless. The "not so good" people and paid exactly the same as the "outstanding" people.
 
But, now, Royal Caribbean encourages you to tip more if you see a great person. We pay a “gratuityâ€, then Royal Caribbean encourages us to double tip. Does that make any sense?
 
Also what about the port intensive stops when most of the ships cruisers are gone all day and the charge for the whole day of disembarkation and the whole day of disembarking? So may questions? These charges are each and every day times each and every person, doesn’t matter if you are there or not, or if you are able to use them or not.
 
I regress.
The charge for the cruise, unless you are in a high end Suite, can be 50% or less than the total cost of the cruise.
 
Royal Caribbean tries to make more on, not in rank order, the Drinks, Photos, Excursions, and now you can add to that list, Mandatory Gratuities. Some feel this is deceptive pricing and feel blind-sided when they get home to find out they paid double or more, than they actually thought. Doesn’t feel good.
 
I still feel that Royal Caribbean and all their cruise lines offer the best bang-for-our-buck, but these issues are troubling.
Why is Royal Caribbean getting involved in these practices that are causing a lot of cruisers (first timers and long devoted ones) grief? Only management can answer these questions.
 
In the mean time, we all are just wanting to have FUN and not have to think about these things. But when issues keep bubbling to the top, they need corporate attention. Or at least a much different approach.
 
Even the best of companies, in the best of times, need to differentate themselves from everyone else and get ahead of the pack. Royal Caribbean does that with cruise destinations and ports offered.
 
Go beyond what is expected. WOW us.
 
 
 
 
 

Here's a tracking site of Hurricane Danny:
 
http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2015/Tropical-Storm-Danny?map=5day
 
At the current rate, 12 miles an hour, it is covering ~288 miles a day. Most ships travel at 18-24 miles per hour, so they can usually out run hurricanes, storms, and tropical depressions.
 
If Royal Caribbean or it's Captain feels any danger they/he will re-route the ship. Safety of the passengers and ship is priority #1.
 
I think there is a phone app too, but just can't seem to find it now :(

Here's a tracking site of Hurricane Danny:
 
http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2015/Tropical-Storm-Danny?map=5day
 
At the current rate, 12 miles an hour, it is covering ~288 miles a day. Most ships travel at 18-24 miles per hour, so they can usually out run hurricanes, storms, and tropical depressions.
 
If Royal Caribbean or it's Captain feels any danger they/he will re-route the ship. Safety of the passengers and ship is priority #1.
 
I think there is a phone app too, but just can't seem to find it now :(

Currently it's a category 1 hurricane
 
Here's the NOAA link to info. They update this here:
 
https://www.facebook.com/NWSNHC

Here's another helpful link:
 
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

It's currently moving at 12 miles an hour. Hopefully, you should be OK I would think.

I appreciate all the posts, and I mean all. We all don't need to agree on everything and if everyone would agree, something would be terribly wrong.
 
Keep in mind we all enjoy cruising and enjoy the BEST in service, and with the BEST cruise line.
 
Although, we cruise mostly on Royal Caribbean, we do cruise on other lines. They all have their issues but on the whole, I think the Royal Caribbean product is the best for us.
 
I do think that Royal Caribbean can do better and should strive for that. And, not be bogged down with these things that create a not so good memory. These are vacations for most/ FUN times and one bad memory or experience can leave a lasting, long-term impression.
 
Studies have shown that it takes a lot of positive things to happen to overcome one negative thing.
 
There are too many other companies that go to the same ports with similar Itineraries and offer a similar product.
 
Royal Caribbean, stand out, be the BEST that we know you can be. Make us all proud and want to be loyal, returning customers.
 
And if you disagree with this or anything, please feel free, to post about it.
 
Thank you, to all that have taken the time and effort to post here.

Not only has Royal Caribbean made everyone pay tips, they upped the percentage, to what they think everyone should give.
 
Has Royal Caribbean ever produced a study showing the habits of tipping on any Royal Caribbean ship?
 
Has Royal Caribbean ever stated how much of the manditory tipping actually goes to the staff?
 
And keep in mind, this manditory tipping is attached to every man, woman and child (no matter the ages). My children and now grand-children do not tip. But cruise on Royal Caribbean and now they do.
 
Every day (the day you leave port, the days you are off the ship, the days you don't use the service, and the day you return to port).
 
The tipping is tiered. The standard rooms are at one percentage and the suites are on another. Same service but if you are paying more for a room, you pay more tips.
 
You can not remove the amount of the tips that Royal Carribean has decided you should pay their workers. Royal Caribbean will not allow you to remove the charges, but they say you can change the amounts by favoring one worker over another. How does this work. Will they show us that more monies go to different workers?
 
The company line, we are doing it because other cruise lines are doing it, is not a good reason to do anything. My children always use that, Billy's doing it, so now I am doing it. Didn't work then, doesn't work now.
 
To admonish everyone and justifing it by saying, some of you are not tipping or tipping enough, shame on you. No, shame on everyone, we are now going to make you tip, and what we think you should tip, no matter what. That is bad parenting and, bad policy for a cruise line that should stand ahead of the pack.
 
This seems to be a major point of contention among the cruising population and seems to be discussed on every Royal Caribbean cruise we go on.

Royal Caribbean is now offering special deals.........
 
They first add charges for: tips, beverages, and then......
 
They offer to take them away as incentives to book a cruise. What is this called?
 
They were not charges before and now they are making it an incentive to book, to take them away.
 
Then they raise the prices on a select number of cruises, then offer on-board credit. What does this sound like?
 
Royal Caribbean should be giving Royal, over the top, offers and service. WOW us,
 
We are still loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers, but this is getting annoying. This is a first rate, number 1 company. Why are they participating in this type of PR?
 
Create a charge and then offer it as a incentive to take it away or offer a FREE item that used to be free.

Thank you, Matt, for your thoughts. This seems to be what the cruise lines say that do this.
 
Royal Caribbean needs to be the industry leader, not follower. They, to stay ahead of the pack, should be offering things beyond the industry standard.
 
And when evaluating tips, rarely do those getting the tips report everything. This is an issue that has been as long as there have been servers.
 
So they track tips, and because some are not tipping as they think they should, everyone now is made to make up the difference? Punish everyone for the lack of some. Not a good policy.
 
Tips are just that, tips. They are not salary, and are not given by everyone, and not at the same %. Some do not decerve tips and some deserve a high % tip.
 
That is what makes them special and demand better than normal service. We, before the manditory tipping thing, would tip a lot. And we got, what we thought, was better, over the top, service.
 
When they become manditory (no choice and raised %) they are no longer tips.
 
I also bet, with the manditory tipping, the tipping dropped off to almost nothing (except those that don't realize that they are alreading tipping).

Yes, it is true that Royal Caribbean states that they have the best or same prices but, you have to book it at the right date, and even time, or you'll miss it. Then once you book your cruise through RC you can not add other bonuses or add on reductions. You can call them if you notice a reduction in pricing of a room in your category, but you have to be stern with them and they will always not give you the better price. It is a real pain to go through RC for any reductions once you have booked the room.
 
A good travel agent will get you the best price and include some of the extra mandatory charges that Royal Caribbean attaches to your bill (ie: gratuities, beverage packages, etc.). Also, they usually add some On Board Credit to your account.
 
It can, and usually is, less expensive to book through an outside, independent  agent. We have booked quite a few cruises through Royal Caribbean and if they assign you an RC agent, you again, will not be able to change anything on your reservation without going directly through your RC agent. This is a pain, and they do not offer anything extra to go through them other than the advertized bonuses. And any agent can get you those plus a lot more.
.

I am aquiring quite a large collection of shot glasses. Every time we cruise I manage to go home with a new shot glass. Usually it is of the ship we are on, but lately, I am getting shot glasses from the ports of call.
 
The wife collects magnets. We have run out of space on the side of our refrigerator.
 
Met a couple on the last cruise where he was collecting rocks from the beaches they visited and she collected Christmas ornaments. They have a whole tree of ornaments of where they have cruised.
 
Is anyone else building a collection? What are you collecting?

Guess what just came in the mail?
 
A crystal block award and all our pins that we never got. Amazing. My faith in Royal Caribbean is restored.
 
Another crystal block award level will be reached on our next cruise in August 2015. We now know, to inform the loyalty person on-board, if it is not in our room.
 
We have heard a lot of people and couples that have not received earned awards and/or pins. All you need to do is call Crown & Anchor number and let them know and they mail it to you.