Peter D

Just heard while on Odyssey that Effectors III will be on Icon as well.

26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@Peter D in your example the obstruction balcony cost more. For the OP this could be the opposite but either way GTY doesn't guarantee you anything but the cabin category.

However those obstructed rooms are usually by the lifeboat. This is usually deck 6.

It is true that the pricing makes no sense.  The 'we pick' price is only $1388.

More fuzzy math....  In any case, obstructions do seem possible.

As a slightly off topic, I tried once to book a 'We pick' Balcony on Oasis through Next Cruise.  I was informed that the published GTY was for a GTY Neighborhood view balcony.  If I wanted a GTY ocean view, it was different (unpublished) price, but I could specify it.   It would not have been evident just looking at the RCL web pricing system.   

What is interesting is that right now, that sailing shows two options in the 'you select' mode and one is specifically identified as obstructed.  That suggests that you can pay for additional quality of GTY to avoid obstruction.  

I doubt they can do that and I would not want to risk it.  I think you are better off paying the final payment before you leave for your cruise, so there is no issue.  

Last year was the first CK experience for us.  We dined in CK nightly, but because we had different waiter nearly every night, we opted to tip a few bucks each night.

There is a robust discussion on this thread. 

This is also the website for Canada admission.   https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/inadmissibility.html

Does not sound very promising to travel to Alaska via Canada with DUI convictions.

I do not have any experience on that itinerary in May/June, but I have done the Canada cruise before.  I'd expect cool temperatures while at sea.   Barring any storms, the wave conditions should also be pretty good.  New England weather in late May is typical in 60s, so I would expect similar or maybe cooler while at sea.   The outdoor pools on the ship will likely be pretty cold, but the Solarium pool will be nice.  There is always hot tubs.

18 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've never had any crew member other than the MDR waiter give me the "give us 10s!" speech

It is peculiar how it is always dining room staff that mentions the survey and asks for 10s.  On Voyager in March,  I answered the question 'did anyone ask?' as yes for the first time ever.  The head waiter did so over the announcement during 'dance' night.  Maybe its a way that dining is trying to get 'disqualified' from the survey results.  If there is a top tier event Q&A opportunity, it would be interesting to probe about this question and the survey.

All of our August Juneau excursion have greyed out 'Reserve' with note. "Sorry, we’re working on enhancing excursion options. Check back soon". 

On port days, the Northstar goes straight up and then down.  One thing about that is it actually goes higher than it does when it swing out over water so the view of a port is quite cool.  I have done the over water experience, but not since they began charging for it and I would not personally pay for it.  I think the length of the experience is about the same.  When it goes straight up, it stays up there for a few minutes. 

The mattresses are generally too firm for us, but we always ask room steward for additional topper.  They have no problem adding them, and it makes the difference for me.  Bottom line, they might be able to improve it for you, so ask.

We were on Voyager in March.  They would not serve both entrees at the same time.  We did not insist, but rather just rolled with it.  One thing we noticed is that each entrée was piping hot.  I don't know if it was because waiter went to galley and get the second one when time to serve it or if they had means of keeping it hot in service area.  Either way, not sure if that was a result of 'one at a time' or if it was unrelated.  In general, all food on this particular sailing was very hot.

On 4/8/2023 at 10:44 AM, hugh said:

My partner and I are part of the lgbt+ community my partner is gender fluid so sometimes wears more feminine outfits,they wish to wear a bathing suit at the pool some days just looking to find out if they would be met with much resistance from other guests any input would be great thanks

All Guests are expected to adhere to the code of conduct.

Guest Conduct Policy (royalcaribbean.com)

Do the Quantum class ships no longer offer complimentary iFLY?  I remember that they previously offered free versions (about 1 minute fly time) and pay version that had longer fly times.  The cruise planner version costs $29 (on Odyssey), but it is sold out.

Does Allure offer All Access Tours?  If so, did you consider requesting it from your Genie?

Here is the train link.  https://www.alaskarailroad.com/  Last year we did the Seward to Anchorage leg in Goldstar service and it was really excellent overall (though the dining was poor, likely due to early in season/startup).  The outdoor viewing platform was awesome.  I would expect the Anchorage to Seward trip is also very good, but if I were going to do it, I'd try to go early and spend a couple days in Seward pre-cruise.  

On board Voyager, an interesting  observation that I didn’t anticipate based on the original “Uncork more savings”.   The wine discount perk mentioned above in “uncork”  comes at the expense of a drink voucher.   So basically $14 drink voucher to get 20-40% off bottle of wine.   

Going on Wonder in October and wanted to try Hooked.  Is it your typical specialty where you can order multiple apps and one entrée (like Chops) or do they allow multiple apps and entrees?  What kind of steak do they serve with surf and turf?

I just did a quick check on cruise planner/ for Wonder in October for comparison.

"officer lunch" (chops lunch) $50

"exclusive food and wine pairing with sommelier" (chefs table) $170

"inside access tour" (all access tour) $318

2 device internet  $224.

Laundry Service $35  

Bottle of Veuve Clicquot $114.

I have a feeling someone in IT missed a 9...  $88.99 instead of $889.99

26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

So yes all of the sailings I was able to snag this for say sold out or working on the fun under packages. So hopefully they honor them because it was for sure a glitch.

Mine says....

Not offered on my May2023 Odyssey or Aug2023 Quantum, but it was offered on Oct2023 Wonder which I snagged.  It is listed as sold out already on wonder.

A quick search for Boston "Old Town Trolley Tours' has a stop at Black Falcon cruise ship terminal which is only a block or two from the ship.  The website states that this stop is only in use when cruise ships are in port.  

On 3/1/2023 at 11:20 AM, FSUFAN said:

I have used Costco Travel and they have been good.  I don't get to bid on Royal Up, but I am an executive member with 2% cash back and have a Costco credit card for another 3% cash back.  So, 5% total plus they always have a Shop Card add-on. I got $190 shop card for a cruise on Quantum and $340 for a cruise on HAL.

I have not really run into any issue where I need a real hands-on TA so maybe I've been lucky with Costco Travel. 

We took an anniversary trip and booked a Costco resort trip.  Weather (Ice Storm) messed up the first leg/day of the flight.  Costco TA got us a big refund (over $500) for the delay, got us upgraded to a suite at the hotel and the trip insurance purchased thru them got me another $550 back for the delay.  So, I am happy with them.

I also use Costco Travel for the reasons you mentioned.  I didn't have any issues (other than long wait times on phone) during covid cancellations.  They do not do anything 'on their own', only when prompted to do so.  This is probably a major difference between them and others like MEI.

I also would recommend the Costco Travel sponsored travel insurance through Covermore (Zurich company).  Their coverages are quite good and the premiums are comparable to others I have looked at.  Their premiums are simple calculation of 5% trip cost.  Not sure if they have annual travel insurance plans.

I know Chris Wong is a very popular one on YouTube, but I thought it might be a good idea to share other YouTube channels for crew members.  Maybe it will generate some subscribers, views, and likes for their YouTube content.  If they get enough of a following, it might help generate some additional revenue for them as a side hustle. 

This video is one from a synchronize swimmer who has been on Harmony and currently on Oasis (Aqua 80's).  She does short videos that frequently give behind scenes of the aqua shows.  

 If anyone cares to share others, that would be cool.  

1 hour ago, Matt said:

If you hit "yes" to anything in the health questionnaire, it's automatic denial of boarding.

My advice is wait until you get to the terminal so you can explain things.

Truth about any 'yes'.  My mother-in-law did the check in for herself and my 80 year old father-in-law.  She accidently checked he was pregnant. Denied...  he had to take a pregnancy test at the port (KIDDING! ), but they did have delay at the port.