Bruin Steve

For my 18 night April Transpacific on Anthem, it's $40 pp pn...50% off for Diamond and above: ...Still not worth my taking. As D+. we get 10 free drinks between us, so it's like paying up front for drinks 11 through 16 or 18...My wife can't drink more than about three per night, so the rest are mine. I'll save the extra $1700 (with gratuities) and cope with just the freebies...If I go over, I'll pay by the drink.

So...Brilliance OTS just came out of dry dock a few days ago. Since it's an older ship...and since I have it booked for June 2026, I am really interested in what they've done. Replaced shower curtains with glass? Added outlets and USB ports near beds? New mattresses/bedding? Those would be of most interest to me...but did RCCL spend the money?

We're on this...and the segment prior...Leaving SUNDAY!!!

One additional piece of advice. Don't buy the narrow ones. Buy the wider ones that say they are for Princess, Carnival, HAL, etc. Easier to put in the narrow RCCL and Celebrity tags...and, if you ever take a cruise on a different line, those same wide tag holders will work for those as well. And yes, make sure it's the metal rings and that they have a ziploc closure so the inside won't get wet. And, when you print out the tags from the website, ignore the instructions and just cut out the tag itself--right along the edges--fold in half and insert.

Agree. We are Diamond Plus...we get five free drinks per day. Buying a package is like pre-paying for drinks #6-11...and that is just to BREAK EVEN! My wife has trouble drinking five. She'd fall asleep at dinner drinking eleven. I usually drink her last couple of vouchers every night. Unless you drink A LOT...and I mean REALLY A LOT, you're better off just paying by the drink. Also, when we cruise, we often also drink off the ship in port--wine tasting tours, tequila or rum distillery tours or just a drink with lunch in town...Figure those into how much you can really drink. And, yes, for D+, that 20% package discount--if you can figure out how it works, still comes far short of the value of the five vouchers. The discount SHOULD be the value of those five vouchers...anything less and we're double-paying. All the drink package means is that the cruise lines have figured out a way to get people to pre-pay for more than the actually drink on the average...and even for those who go over, remember drinks are already a high profit margin item...the drink for which they charge $10 really only costs the cruis line about 50 cents!

I have zero doubt that mine is wrong. It has been as long as I have been able to see it posted online. They are missing at least 3 cruises I took on the old Viking Serenade back in the late 80s/early 90s...OTOH, they have me down for a cruise during the same dates I am sure I was on a Celebrity cruise...AND they have me down for a couple of cruises back in 1970 (when I was a minor and would have had to go with my parents--who I know NEVER took me on a cruise). Or maybe I was? You know what they say: "If you remember the 70s, you weren't there!" And, of course, several years back, they changed the whole points system and converted everyone from "old points" to "new points". So, I don't know what I really should have...and neither does Royal Caribbean BUT, I've learned to not worry about it...It doesn't really matter. I am well into Diamond Plus and nowhere near Pinnacle. So, in the end it matters little. I MIG>HT get to Pinnacle...but, it likely won't be until I'm well into my late 90s...and, IF I'm still around...and IF I can still cruise, I won't care about my status, I'll just be happy to be there.

I have been usung Air2Sea--or its Celebrity counterpart (same people) for most of my last several cruises. I have found a great many advantages--like being fully changable and fully refundable until final cruise payment date. But, yes, there can also be a few issues. I have learned how to easily deal with these. First, understand that there can be multiple reasons for cancelations and flight changes...and, more often, these are the fault of the airline, not Air2Sea. ALWAYS best to check your flights OFTEN--usually by going onto the airline website and logging in. Make sure you have the airlines 6-digit code--which may be different than the one you get from Air2Sea. Also helps to have this for thing such as seat reservations. The one major issue that is an unfortunate quirk with Air2Sea is that they do not actually ticket your flights until after they are paid for...and with SOME airlines, this causes a cancelation issue. The airlines' computer system assumes they are abandonned reservations. Check your reservations to see if this is the case. There are a couple of ways to deal with it. One is to pay for the tickets up front and ask Air2Sea to ticket them immediately. But I have never needed to do this. I've always alerted Air2Sea about the issue and they've always either gotten an extension with the airline (the cae with my current upcoming March Japan cruise where the airline extended the thing until mid-January...or...they've just ticketed in advance without my paying. In the event nothing works, I have found that the best way to handle it is to escalate the case to the Royal Caribbean Executive Offices and get them to step in. Of course, if the reason for the cancelation was the airline and not Air2Sea, the airline is required to find you alternate flights. In your case, I would have to know more of the reasons to know how you might have proceded. As to Customer Service, I've found that ALL dustomer service has gotten pretty bad post-pandemic--cruise lines (all of them), airlines, etc. Everyone laid off their reps, then hired new ones when things kicked back up--and threw them out there with little training and support. Everyone's wait times have gotten horrific and many reps lack answers. When you run into that, smart to quickly escalate. Ask to seak to a supervisor...and failing to find a competent person at that level, get in touch with corporate HQ. Keep trying until you find someone with knowledge and authority.

It's all "marketing"...Prices go up and down with supply and demand. Sometimes they advertise $ or % off, but the prices adjust and you end up in the same place...or not. I just got an email from Celebrity about a "Black Friday" sale and certain percentages off, etc. I booked a cruise and got a great price. Today, I checked again...same cruise, same cabin, same amenities--still under the same Black Friday sale--went UP $350!!!. Best thing to do--ALWAYS--is to book if you like the price, then check back CONSTANTLY...during sales, during arbitrary times, whenever... If the price comes down, call and reprice...If the price goes up, laugh and consider yourself smart.

"Stifling hot"??? "Stifling" is NOT a word you ever hear here..."Stifling" is an East Coast thing...it's a Florida thing--where YOU have such high humidity that when you walk outside it's like walking into a sauna. Yes, in the middle of our hottest months (typically July/August), temperatures in our INLAND VALLEYS and DESERTS can get extremely high, temperatures along the coast NEVER do. Another thing to know about SoCal is that the climate is NOT entirely the same throughout the region. It's a LARGE area. It is transversed by several mountain ranges. The coastal basin and the coastal areas have an extremely temperate climate while inland valleys can get hot. The Pacific Ocean, which as has been noted, has fairly cool water, acts as a moderating force--it physically cools the air over it...so, areas along the coast rarely get hot. I grew up at the beach in the Pacific Palisades/Malibu area...and my parents' home NEVER even had an Air Conditioning system! And it never mattered. In 42 years they lived there, the temperatures almost never got out of the 70s! Cool breezes blow off the Pacific--even in the height of the summer months. And, remember, even in those hottest summer months, the humidity is extremely low. And you are on vacation. You can wear shorts and T-shirts and remain entirely comfortable. Now, MOST of the year, I'd avoid Florida--Hot and muggy lots of the year, hurricanes for a good portion... But, Southern California? The weather is, pretty much, the BEST IN THE WORLD...

Okay...First you have to understand Southern California climate. It is different than most parts of the world. We have what is called a Mediterranean climate. It exists in only a few small regions of the world--parts of Spain, Italy, Greece, Israel, Tunesia and Morocco in the Mediterranean...Central Chile...around Perth, Australia...Capetown, South Africa...and Southern California. It is marked by extremely low annual precipitation--usually sometime between October and March (though Climate Change and El Nino have been playing a little havoc with that of late) and low humidity. Summers typically very dry and hot, rest of year usually mild. Perhaps only about 15-20 rainy days per year. Usually skes are blue with bright sunshine. We have no hurricanes. Typhoons exist in the Pacific but rarely venture north of Cabo...and if so, only in a very weakened state. Snow only exists in extremely high elevations. You will likely experience beautiful warm weather from April to October...and may still get the same at any other time during the year. For example, the expected high today in Los Angeles is 76 Fahrenheit, zero chance of rain...and we are well into November! Of course, during winter months, it would be hard to predict with certainty. As to "rough waters", know this: Many people THINK the waters here are "rough" first day out of Los Angeles or last day back. BUT this is not due to weather or oceanic conditions. Modern cruise ships have "stabilizers", large retractable wings which spread out under the surface of the water with computerized engines that are used to level the ship. However, they also slow ship's speed. So, when the itinerary calls for the ship to go a long distance, in order to make good time, they retract the stabilizers--and the result is that the ship rocks a bit more. Most Mexican Riviera itineraries have long stretches on those first and/or last days going to or returning from Puerto Vallarta to Los Angeles--hence the impression of rockier seas. Also know that the ocean water near Los Angeles is much cooler than the Caribbean because the prevailing currents circulate south from Alaska. But, the bottom line is that there really is not a bad time to cruise out of Los Angeles. Rather base it on YOUR schedule, what sort of weather you may be getting away from back home, when kids are in or out of school, etc. We live in SoCal, so we cruise out of LA often--just to get away between more exotic cruises...and often cruise in December/January...and most often have had great weather. In fact, we are cruising out of LA December 1 this year on Celebrity Eclipse. We also love the Navigator of the Seas and have cruised it several times.

Prices are generated by a computer based on an algorithm that uses availability/supply and demand...So, often, they make little sense. We are on an upcoming Celebrity Eclipse cruise where, RIGHT NOW, a standard balcony is priced at $970 pp but an upscaled Concierge class balcony is priced at $479 pp!! Seriously. But, it changes constantly... We have another upcoming cruise...on Celebrity Millennium in Japan, 12 nights, one of B2B cruises...where we originally booked in 2019 for 2021...but got lifted and shifted constantly due to the pandemic. We originally booked an OV fro somewhere around $2500-3000 pp since all the balconies were sold out. I kept monitoring the website for balconies becoming available. Suddenly, one night THREE Concierge balconies suddenly came up...and, since it looked to the computer like supply and demand so drastically reversed, it priced them at a mere $1050 pp!!! I knew this would not last long, so I grabbed one fast...figured I'd call my TA in the morning and sort it all out...and, I immediately called my sister and B-I-L--who were also on the cruise--and they grabbed one of the others. The third one disappeared in mere minutes as well...and the category was, again, sold out. BUT, in the meanwhile, we've lifted and shifted three times, retaining that incredible price...and, in the lift and shifts, it changed to a 12 night cruise so they LOWERED the price. We will be going, finally, in March 2024...and for that particular sailing, we now have a 12 night cruise in a Concierge balcony with included drinks, Wifi, gratuities and $400 in OBC for a mere $1836--TOTAL for two!!! The lesson is, when you see one of those computer priced anomalies, GRAB IT FAST!!!

First, it's never a question of "how many" shore excursions you should take...rather, plan each port stop independently. Second, recognize that, with any port, there are multiple options: a) Shore excursion, b) Visit "on your own", c) "private" non-cruise line tours. We will, sometimes, take a shore excursion, often take a private tour...and, occasionally, when we are very familiar and comfortable with a port, just visit on our own. First look at the individual port and ask yourself if there is something you MUST do or see there. Then, check the shore excursions and see what is offered than may match your desires. Then look for a non-ship tour. There may be groups forming on the internet that you can join. Check other websites--Try Facebook or Cruisecritic.com. Those sites have specific "Roll Call" threads for your sailing and often, people on those roll calls are planning tours and need others to join. Or, do a Google search for complanies offering tours in those ports (Viator and "Get Your Guide" are also good clearinghouses for finding these tours). Don't be afraid to do a non-ship tour. Those companies are VERY GOOD at getting you back to the ship on time and often have smaller group sizes and better prices. In doing a tour versus doing your own thing, consider that many of the sites you may want to visit are far from the port. Organized tours (shorex or private) are good at handling the logistics. Obnn your itinerary, in particular, Civitavecchia (for Rome), Livorno or La Spezia (for Florence) , Naples (whether you visit Capri, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast or elsewhere) and Marseilles (if you want to go to any of the towns in Provence) are all a good distance from the port and best done if you have a tour with transportation and a tour company who knows the logistics. Personally, I would NOT stay on the ship in Marseilles--Past couple of cruises (both in the last year or so), we've used this port stop to visit a) Aigues-Mortes and b) the Luberon region and it's villages. Both made for really nice days. Also, there are other towns worth visiting nearby--like Nimes, Avignon and Arles. In the Naples area, I much prefer visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum rather than Capri as the historical and archaeological value is fascinating and unmatched. For Rome and Florence, with only a short port day in each, it's noce to have a well-organized tour so as to not waste time on logistics. Have fun.

I'm usually not in a suite...but I'm Diamind Plus...so my wife and I each get five drinks a day... It NEVER makes sense to buy the package...It's like paying, ahead of time, for drinks #6 through #12...and we've NEVER drank that much... IF we go over the five, paying for the next few drinks is STILL CHEAPER than the package. IF those extra drinks are only cokes, it still comes WAY under. Cikes are a LOT cheaper...We'd have to drink about 30 of those each to break even n the package. And C&A puts a bunch of free water bottles in our cabin as well. To those who say "buy the package so you can relax and niot worry about it", I say "Huh? IF we pay BY THE drink, we don't worry about it either--the bar tab comes out WAY less than the package would have cost."

We've known all along that we were cruising during the Paris Olympics. In fact, our cruises start in Southampton the same day the Olympics start in Paris...So, we knew thatr whatever day we chose to fly in, we'd be competing for those places on the plane with a lot of people headed for Paris...as well as a lot of people just flying to Europe because the kids are on vacation...as are teachers and school personnel...as are people just getting out of here to avoid the worst of summer heat. Add in that, as the pandemic fades further and is farther in the rear view mirror, more people are just finally getting out. AND, at the same time, the airlines just made it through a few tough years and have cut staff and schedules...and are looking for any ways they can find to recover financially. So, it was extra important to us to BOOK EARLY, find the best fares we could, grab the best available flights before they filled up...and to fully expect that availability disappears and fares go UP. After seeing the initially posted astronomical fares, we felt lucky to have sufficient air miles in reserve...and knew that chances were the airlines would post a minimal number of seats available to purchase for miles on the best flights. And so, we grabbed ours on the very first day available...11 months out for the one-way to Europe, then 11 months prior to our return for the one-way back home. I do not think this is the summer to gamble on "wait-and-see"...

All sorts of ways. Often, we've suspected plain, old-fahioned computer glitches. But, more likely, often, the bar server doesn't take your card, they merely ask you your cabin number. So, someone walks into a bar and orders a drink...they state, either by accident, or possibly on purpose, the WRONG cabin number--and it happens to be YOUR cabin number. The bar gives them a drink...and charges it to YOUR vouchers. Or, perhaps the bar server writes the cabin number wrong--and someone else's drink gets charged to you. We've been charged vouchers for drinks served in bars we never visited--and during port hours when we've been off the ship on an excursion somewhere. We've also been charged double vouchers for the same drink-likely due to bartender error. And we've also had ALL of our vouchers disappear before we've even had a single drink that day--that happened to us on Navigator several days on one cruise--and Guest Services checked our accounts on their computer and had no record of ANY drinks ordered--the system just kept deleting vouchers.