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Peter D

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Everything posted by Peter D

  1. It is difficult to believe this is even the enchantment. I have my doubts.
  2. It is showing now for our April cruise. Its up to $35pp. Yikes! Gone are the days of $19.99pp it seems.
  3. Chef's table is now listed as 'Smart Casual Attire' like every other specialty restaurant.
  4. I would say it is not as good as coffee shop, but it might suit your needs. The coffee machine in the lounge is pretty easy to operate, but it really can only do basic espresso drinks (espresso, capuccino, latte, maybe americano) and while I think there is sugar/sweeteners, there are no flavored syrups or options for cream/milk. The machine supplies its own 'dairy' for those drinks that need them. Your best bet will be the coffee card and then go and check it out to see if it will serve your needs going forward.
  5. We did the train last year and I would definitely do it again, but there are a couple things I would do differently. 1. Two of us had 3 suitcases, which was a bit of a challenge managing on the train. Luckily it was not too crowded leaving Rome (morning) so we managed, but it is definitely easier if you can travel lighter. As we were staying overnight in Civitavecchia, we opted to just walk from Train to hotel (about 1km) and then from hotel to port (another 1km). 2. Plan the return trip- Post cruise, the train station is chaotic to buy tickets back to Rome and they sell out for early trains. I would highly recommend buying the return ticket to Rome before going to ship, so that when you leave, you can basically get right on the train. Also, the trains are even more crowded going back, so luggage is still a factor.
  6. Don't forget that the 1 day of Voom is for each Diamond person as well, and the the free day of internet can be used toward purchasing a package onboard (one day value onboard is usually $26.99-$30.99). If you are willing to go without internet on embarkation day after sail away (no cellular service) and wait until midnight of day 2, it may be cheaper than buying voom ahead of time. That means going without internet from about 6pm to midnight on embarkation, then purchasing 6 day plan with 1 day free. Using my worst case Icon sailing in October, internet pricing for 1 device is 23.99 (planner price) vs 30.99 (onboard). Pre-purchased cost for 7 days would be $167.93. Onboard using one day discount on day 2 would be essentially only 5 day cost (30.99*5=$154.95 for example) or $13 cheaper onboard. Obviously the longer you are willing to go without internet the cheaper it gets if you decide to get it later in the cruise. For what it's worth, I have heard stories of people buying voom through planner and then getting one day credit applied once on board through guest services, but I have never tried that myself and would not count on that.
  7. St Maarten is very easy to get to beach at Philipsburg. Just plan to take water taxi right off ship to Great Bay beach. It may not be the best beach option of the locations you are traveling to, but extremely easy to get to and its not bad.
  8. 1.) Grand Cayman is a worthwhile port to visit at least once if you ever revisit doing Western itineraries. 2.) Even if driving is a requirement, I'd still consider FLL and MIA. That gives you so many options of ships/itineraries. If you are already willing to drive 9.5 hours, the additional 3 hours seems a no brainer to me. Of course, at those driving times, I'd personally opt to fly. Also, you didn't mention your departure location, but maybe Bayonne is within your 9.5-12 hours drive. Bayonne offers even more ships and itinerary options. 3.) When I book cruises, I try to pick either a new itinerary and/or a new ship. While you didn't mention that you did or did not cruise on a Quantum Class ship, I would not rule them out if an itinerary suits. Odyssey of the Seas is a great ship that does many of the itineraries. I think Icon is also a ship I'd try to consider if possible. 4.) For Southern itineraries, I would echo the ABC islands. I have only been to them one time, but I would definitely go back. Aruba and Curacao are frequently highlighted as best, but when we did Bonaire, we did an island tour that included the salt flats where were quite picturesque. For Eastern itineraries, if you could find one that does Bermuda (overnight even better), I would be highly recommend considering that as well.
  9. The craps table on ships are $10 minimum and 1x odds, though they will usually allow $25 (6/8) and $20 (5/9) odds on a $15 pass line. There are probably other similar exceptions, but in general, single odds only.
  10. The free experience is straight up, hold for scenery, and straight down. The extended experiences are longer, because in addition to going straight up, it will swing out over the water (during sea days). Personally, I do not think the extended experience is worth $49.
  11. According to their website https://phoenixclassicrockband.com/ Phoenix is doing two weeks on Icon in March, April, and May. One week on Icon in June before starting on Oasis.
  12. Does seem like less and less tribute bands, but they are still around. DSB (Journey) is schedule on Symphony of Seas Feb 10 sailing.
  13. I changed a non-refundable reservation to a different sail date and was 'charged' change fee, but I was pleasantly surprised with it and was wondering if others have experienced the same. When I called my travel agent (Costco travel) to change my sailing date, I was expecting a $100pp change fee. What I thought was going to happen was my $500 NRD on the old booking would become $300 'credit or NRD' toward the new booking, but instead it became a $700 NRD. I was surprised, but also welcome it as it really didn't cost anything to change. The additional $200 was applied against the total price, and though it results in higher non refundable deposit, I don't consider it a change fee per se. Has anyone else seen this 'change fee' approach?
  14. Has anyone dined at Empire Supper Club yet that was able to book online for $200pp instead of $236pp? If so, anyone on ship say anything about whether or not it was a mistake at the time?
  15. It is pretty well known and maybe even common for people to book a refundable booking and consider changes to a non refundable deposit (NRD) as sail date gets closer. I know you also can make any changes you want to a NRD booking on the same sailing/ship, but you'd lose all or portion of NRD if you try to change to different ship or sail date. The question is, can you change your NRD booking to a refundable booking on the same sailing/ship? I have never tried and my hunch tells me no, but I was wondering if anyone knows for sure.
  16. I think Royal Suite Class is just the term Royal uses for suites on the newer, bigger ships and the Royal Suite Guarantee can be any suite class cabin which includes Jr Suites, (and will likely be a Jr suite).
  17. That is very strange. I wonder if it is yet another RCL website glitch. I have only ever used the GTY-suite (Category WS) which has been that first one ($735pp) and it assigned a J3 Junior suite. I see absolutely no reason to select the Junior Suite option for $975pp. Did a quick look on a random Navigator cruise and the "pick your room" listed Junior Suite for $946 and Junior suite for $1056. First was for category J4 and second was category J3.
  18. You did not mention any specific class of ship, but our family of 5 (2 adults and 3 older children) has stayed many times in the promenade family staterooms on Freedom class ships. They are now called Spacious Promenade view interior category 1Q. There are four total, located mid ship deck 7 (7307 and 7607) and 8 (8307 and 8607) on all Freedom Class ships. Highly recommend them, though they probably sell out fast. You can easily find youtube tour videos of these rooms.
  19. Star class question regarding Complimentary Gratuities: Δ Complimentary Gratuities benefit applies only to onboard staff who provide standard dining and culinary services, stateroom and general housekeeping services. Star guests may tip their Royal Genie and Concierge separately, at their own discretion. What overlap is there between the Royal Genie and the (Suite) Concierge? I thought Genie was the concierge for Star Class suites?
  20. In October, the craps table minimum was $10. I'd expect the same for March.
  21. It's strange that your TA put you on a wait list for My Time Dining. I thought that was always a default if you could not get a main dining time (early or late). If you keep checking with your TA, you might get it changed officially and then you can book your dining times through the cruise planner. Good luck.
  22. Wonder of Seas 30 Dec 2023 and then Icon of the Seas starting 13Jan2024. https://www.paulogata.com/shows/
  23. I think I also saw the post referenced here, but I do question difference being only with Voom. If it were just everything except free internet, that would be one thing, but the perks listed, being same as Sea Class perks are: Coastal Kitchen for dinner only (based on availability), no access to suite lounge, and (presumably) no Concierge service. If it is truly everything except internet, then that is really pathetic. I wonder if the point of this whole Sky Jr Class was to make regular Jr suite more appealing.
  24. I am glad to hear you are having your TA confirm, but the concerning thing about 'Pretty sure website wasn't updated' is Royal updated the website to state "Sky Junior Suite Exclusives" but not actually update the perks which are identical to the Jr Suite Sea Class perks. The Utopia Sky Jr suite states "Sky Class Exclusive" and is the true sky class perks. At this point based on all the discussions, I am very leery of this whole Sky Jr Suite program.
  25. Just out of curiosity, which ship are you looking at for Sky Junior Suite? Double check that the perks are indeed sky class perks, because ships like Oasis are calling it Sky Junior Suite and only quoting Sea Class perks.
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