Swar

On Explorer now through November 11th. There is a 10 Euro shuttle from many spots in Ravenna. Book lunch and dinners in Ravenna before you get here. Many are full and do not take walkins. Ship is awesome.

We are on the Explorer now through November 11th. Ravenna is a nice stop for a night or two. Make lunch and dinner reservations before you get in town.  Restaurants are full and may not take walkins. The 10€ shuttle was quick and efficient from the hotel to the ship - book now! The ship is great and the crew is super. Windjammer is the only crowded spot. Casino has been nice. Looking forward to welcoming everyone onboard.

I really don't know of any to add. I would not stop at Nassau, if I was a decision maker.

7 hours ago, mac66 said:

Wife and I are on the Serenade for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise Feb 4. We've been on all the big ships. Looking forward to the Sera.

My wife, I and two buddies are on 4 Feb. My wife and I are staying on for a B2B. I did Serenade late last year and loved it. CAPT Stig is a great captain and very personable. Serenade is also the ship doing the world cruise starting in December. I enjoy all classes of ships and I'm sure everyone will have fun.

Sometimes the offers are still good past the listed expiration dates. My wife has 2 cruises with expiration dates of 8 December that we could book for first quarter 2023, if we had the time (already have @ 8 booked for that time period). Generally, as long as the cruises are still listed in your clubroyaleoffers.com site - you can book them.

110 plus 2 more Friday/Saturday. Sailing days.

On 12/23/2022 at 5:39 PM, LCWind said:

New ships off limits for 1 year.  Which means you can’t book Icon but can book Wonder.

Any cruise 7 days or less are eligible for your free annual cruise.

We got a comped balcony a month after Wonder started sailing.

We do a new Seapass because of credit card issues and not wanting to see each other's account statement.

We used to ask for just new keys. The last three cruises we actually changed the names in the rooms with no problems at all. Just go to customer service once onboard and ask.

Last year our yearly comped cruises did not show up until late April. The window should at least go for one year after the voucher shows up in Clubroyaleoffers.com

Just off the Brilliance this morning. Had dinner all four nights in the MDR. Excellent service for our table of four. Ordered 2-3 rounds of drinks and they were delivered promptly. First time in @10 cruises that we ate in the MDR. Service 10/10, food 7/10. Average time to consume a meal @1 hour. Looking forward to the new menu.

4 hours ago, TXcruzer said:

Protest?  This is a sarcastic post, right?         Right??

Not at all sarcastic. Not to disparage anyone, but RCL is in constant contact with all the host port Countries. Take it easy. I'm out of this conversation.

7 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

Royal is under no obligation to protest. They are a business, not diplomats. Doing anything would get them zero. Nobody is being disparage by customs in Israel. They are known for being the toughest most no nonsense militant country to get into. This is not new or unusual in any way whatsoever for Israel. There laws are militant strict. They negotiate with know one on anything. Due some research before you travel. 

The original poster stated that the customs officials were saying bad things about passengers, in Hebrew ,to see if the cruisers could understand them - disparagement. I think a business should look out for the interest of its customers. Working on international committees and living in the Middle East and Europe for years taught me that their Governments are VERY sensitive to perceptions of bias and unfairness. All cruise lines have Port Agreements with the various Countries. These agreements spell out specific rights and obligations not only for the ship, but also for the crew and passengers. I've seen a lot of people complain about bad treatment by RCL. Complaining, by RCL, to unfair or arbitrary practices is about the same. Saying that, know before you go, be respectful, and never "demand" fair treatment in a foreign Port. 

Agreed that RCL has no legal standing in this situation. However, if passengers/employees are routinely being disparaged and held up, then RCL should have an obligation to at least protest through diplomatic or other channels.

Just checked into room 1104 on the Brilliance. Center most room on deck 10. Wonderful full view balcony and a fairly big room. Kinda like it.

Missing staff? Maybe. If RCL gives me a better breakdown of where the gratuity goes, I could add them in. Paying almost $40 /day seems excessive. Some people say "if you cannot afford the gratuities, how can you afford to cruise". I pay for the service I see. I'm not saying my procedure is the best, but it is what I do. Baking gratuities into the cruise price seems the best method. 

Let me count the ways I hate Wonderland. lol Food is subpar, presentation is weak, not filling, not edible and not fun. I would love a Hooked, Mason Jar, or Playmakers to replace Wonderland on every ship. Tried Wonderland on two ships and was very disappointed both times.

We have stopped paying for automatic gratuities. We pay our room attendant $10-$15 /day. We tip for every drink we order, We do not do MDR. We pay 18% gratuity for specialty dining and sometimes an extra tip. On the first day of every cruise, we go to customer service and have them delete gratuities. No discussion or argument.

My wife does. Never had a problem.

I always tip for any drink, soda or water. Sometimes I'll identify a favorite waiter, in a place I will come to often, and give them a $20 on the first day of a cruise. One of the waiters invited me to his wedding in India after I tipped him well and bought him a pair of tennis shoes (he couldn't get off the ship). He kept on my left shoulder the entire trip while in the casino.

My wife and I tether her Android phone to my computer all the time, while in the room or at a table. Speed is ok most of the time, even while we are both streaming. I use a VPN when I'm on my D+ days and it lets me stream fairly well even though I only have SURF. I also have cruise long SURF and STREAM by being a Signature member so am "authorized" 2 devices most days. I tether mostly because the 2 devices I'm authorized keep knocking one of us off if one of the devices is a computer.

Usually the fog that affects cruise ships, in Tampa, does not affect the airplanes in my experience. I was in a fog hold once, on brilliance, as planes flew in and out of TPA.

Take the $7 round trip water taxi (5-10 minute walk from the ship). When you get off the taxi MANY vendors will offer you a bucket of drinks, a chair, and an umbrella for @$25 /person. Swimming is fine and the two dogs are quite amusing as they run up and down the beach. Access to bathrooms and wifi is usually included. Shopping and reasaurants are right behind the beach. St. Maarten is probably the one island I will never do a paid shore excursion on due to the easy access and low price of a DIY.

There are vendors who do stop by, but not too much of a bother.

You can call RCL and see what the price is to pay for an upgrade outright. Then you would get the extra points. I have done this 1-2 times and got the room and the points Rare, but it happens.

On at least one occasion, I was offered a RU on a RU, I was given the original RU over a month out and the second one weeks out. For example, the first RU options were from an interior to a OV or balcony. The second RU was for Jr. Suite and above.