thefoodguyjamesinasia

We are now less than 30 days until our 10 night South Pacific cruise on Voyager of the Seas out of Sydney. Never took a 10 night cruise so I have a question for you all. I have been told there are two formal evenings on a night cruise; does anyone know what days of the cruise would be; for example second & six nights.....
 
We have to dress up for work and social fucntions here in Hong Kong; so a formal evening, dress-up dinner is not our thing so we were planning on hitting up some of the speciality restaurants those two evenings.
 
 

Points are not usually credited until the ship turns in all the paperwork for that sailing...about a week after.
 
You can always ask though.

I think you will have progressed to the next Crown & Anchor level after your cruise.  Is there not a platinum level anymore? (That's the level I am)

I just moved from gold to Platinum  2cruises ago. Nothing happened during the cruise, it does take about a week or so once back for the change to be reflected.
 
There isn't really anything much you would benefit from anyways between those 2 levels. On my next cruise I had a pin in my room and robes and was invited to a special function.

Just booked a last minute cruise on Voyager of the Seas; it leaves this Thursday from Hong Kong on a five night trip to Taiwan. Plus, the Junior Suite is only US$34 more than a balcony class; get those double C&A points that I need.

Just booked a last minute cruise on Voyager of the Seas; it leaves this Thursday from Hong Kong on a five night trip to Taiwan. Plus, the Junior Suite is only US$34 more than a balcony class; get those double C&A points that I need.

Just booked a last minute cruise on Voyager of the Seas; it leaves this Thursday from Hong Kong on a five night trip to Taiwan. Plus, the Junior Suite is only US$34 more than a balcony class; get those double C&A points that I need.

Stumbled across this while looking at Diamond Plus Benefits. I guess they had spellcheck disabled. I have been considered and old crow at times... Haha.

Today when I checked my cruise prices (as I do EVERY morning...at least once !) I noticed something I have never really seen before - that I can recall, anyway.
 
A real sale !
 
Maybe this was promo'ed ahead of time and I just missed it but for every one of my sailings, there is a dollar discount straight off the price....and none of the baseline prices appear to have gone up.
 
-$100 for my 26 June 16 Freedom
-$200 for my 23 December 16 Navigator (this is a Christmas/New Year's combo !)
-$100 for my 11 Feb 17 Harmony
-$100 for my 23 Dec 17 Adventure
 
What's amazing is that this discount is the same to every cabin category.  So it appears to be a straight up dollars off for every cabin on every sailing that I looked at.
 
Maybe I just picked some lucky cruises. 

I would just book the three nights, it always seem to work out in the end. If you have already paid they will get you in as they do not want to refund.

I know was not a negative comment against you.....I to have swallowed those hooks. Somehow the hook always is easy going in but painful in the end.  

I am, however, relatively comfortable with the prices of the liquor I bought, both on the ship and in port.
 
I just can't believe just how much I brought home.  I don't even drink a lot of mixed drinks, 
but I know these prices were solid, and some aren't sold in the U.S., so I did it.
 

 
 
Y'all come over for a mojito!

If you knew how well they are paid compared to what they can earn in their home countries you would say they are overpaid. The Worlds a big place, people need to stop thinking everything revolts around United States standards.

It is not the amount of the increase. It is more about exactly what these fees are and the number on increases within the last year.  Royal really needs to start paying the staff and stop looking at the outdated model of tipping to correct this issue.

Not sure if it's happened before but on Wednesday, November 16th something very cool will take place in St. Maarten: 3 Royal Caribbean ships will be docked there and 3 different classes.
 
The new Harmony of the Seas, joined by: Anthem of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas. I think it'll be very cool to see Oasis class, Quantum class, and Freedom class all at the same port on the same day! And who knows, maybe I will be reporting "live" from one of them ;) :)

Or just get a drink package.  Have a few too many and you could sleep on a park bench.  :D

Her real home port for most of the cruise year is Tianjin, China. The home port when in Australia is Sydney for the Australian season. With Singapore and Hong Kong being other ports that have several cruises each this year. While the reported information makes it seem like Hong Kong is the home for this ship, this is a common thing here in Asia, it is more about the statement and the story then the facts.  Looks like Hong Kong wants to do a little face saving here.

From South China Morning Post.....
 
Royal Caribbean International has arranged for another world-class cruise liner to make Hong Kong its mother port, to meet the growing demand from China.
Ovation of the Seas, which cost US$1 billion to build and could host as many as 4,180 guests, will dock at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal this November after it finishes its 53-day world tour. This will be the largest cruise liner to use Hong Kong as its home port.
During its time in Hong Kong, the new liner, with a displacement of 168,000 tons, will offer five shipping lines from the city to Taiwan and Japan, ranging from four nights to eight nights, according to Liu Zinan, the company’s China and north Asia-Pacific region president.
Unlike Royal Caribbean’s other ships, Ovation of the Seas was tailor-made for the China market, with a special focus on Chinese food.
Popular mainland film star Fan Bingbing will be the “godmother†of the new ship, the first Chinese personality to assume the post in cruise history. Traditionally, a female civilian is invited to “sponsor†a seagoing vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection on it.
The company will collaborate with China’s Forbidden City Museum to display ancient artwork on the ship and introduce Chinese culture to guests through relevant courses.
Royal Caribbean will partner with Xin Dau Ji, a Cantonese restaurant chain in Hong Kong, to offer over 20 dishes on each sailing from the city.

I was kind of surprised how many Diamond perks I used.
 
Balcony discount. (tho I've been doing this since I was platinum)
Priority boarding. Tho they seem to have fixed the boarding backlog problem in Galveston (at least this year).
 
Free drinks. Yeah, lots of those.
The free 24 hour wifi. I've noticed they've changed the structure on how they charge but my IT husband still is boggled they charge by time and not amount of data.
 
The 20% spa discount. I had booked a couples massage before the cruise and when it came time to pay, it was "oh you're diamond would you like to use your discount?" That's 20% off $380, I said "yes please".
 
The look on the bartender's face was priceless when I walked into Vintages and said "I'd like to use my BOGO" and ordered 2 glasses of Caymus.
 
I used the single drink discount when ordering a drink (that I actually paid for!) and the bartender noticed mine was still active. Saved what? Two, three dollars?
 
I've used the logo merchandise discount previous cruises but not this one.
I've used the free photograph coupon previous cruises but not this one.
We used to use the free spin ones but stopped when they stopped giving out keychains or whatever it was.
 
One day they sent up a plate of sweets out of the blue, I think that was a diamond thing. Speaking of, you'll get a couple bottles of water and a package of cookies first day.
 
Crew members tend to be more deferential when they notice you're diamond (but not always).
 
Oh and you get a diamond pin but I've only seen the men wear those. They're so cute, especially when they get their first platinum pin.
 
If you don't think you've had enough free booze, go to the Welcome Back event for some more.
 
Oh something I used heavily - the coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge. Cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, works for me.
 
Anything else I think is too much trouble to chase down/arrange.
 
And Bob's your uncle.

It has become complicated for them.  
 
Way back when, the cruise experience was basically the same for everyone.  You only paid for what type cabin you wanted and any differences were inside the cabin... not outside.  The only "special" guests to contend with were the frequent floaters.  Now that the model dictates that the cost of the cabin can impact the entire cruise experience (suites), the suite guests are also a "special" group to contend with.  (I'm not judging, as people should get what they paid for, as advertized).  So you have 2 special groups...who is more special?  One spends a lot of $$$ on a single sailing, while the other spends lots of $$$ over the long haul.  How do you make them both feel like they are the tops without the other knowing?  Is a frequent floater staying in a suite "extra" special?  Add into the mix the fact that creating a popular product has caused your frequent floater program to explode in popularity, and you can almost end up with more guests with some sort of status than those with none on a single sailing.  
 
Popularity is a double edged sword it would seem.
 
As for me, I've been D+ for a while now, and I never use the DL or CL (and since I don't book suites, won't be using the SL either).  You're much more likely to find me in the back booth at Sorentos, the cigar lounge, or the Viking Crown, reading a book.  Even at my hoped for rate of 3 or 4 sailings a year, I probably won't ever see a Pinnacle Club badge with my name on it.  And thats ok, as I like the product, and will sail with them as long as I do.  

My wife and I are at the Diamond level. We will reach Diamond Plus level at the end of 2016. I would hope that RC does not move the Diamond Plus points level further away from us. The cost to give us a few drinks every day does not cost them that much. I could see RC creating a couple levels between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle. Allowing us access only the in the Diamond and Diamond Plus Lounge is fine.
Suite lounge and the Concierge Lounge is off limits to us. We have not earned that level thus we have not been awarded that access.
Spending money at specialty restaurants, on board experiences could be a way to achieve additional points.  
 
Buying points is a bad concept. Points should always be earned by nights at sea. 
 
I have a friend that is Diamond Plus. He and his wife and son take a RC cruise two or three times a year.The husband and wife became Diamond Plus five years ago and since then every cruise from then on they have put in their son's name using his credit card. The parents paid the cc bill. At 21 years old and still in college the son is now Diamond Plus.
 
Current cruises they take are now registered and paid for by the parents and they are back to accumulating points.
Thank you
JR

I'm already dealing with a Starbucks Rewards restructuring; I can't handle another change in reward systems at this moment, especially when I'm about to hit Diamond. ;)

Then I would say she was doing exactly what her job is. To make customers believe that the cruise packaged being offered to them, is a great deal and value. The differences in promotion packages is in part based upon location and what is needed from the buyer. Canada cruise offers (BC Area Cruises) would include things like airfare promotions, cruise discounts offered to Southern Florida residents would offer other things because the customers drive.  
 
What the Royal Representatives will not tell you is sometimes the best deal is not from your local area. In the past passengers from Canada have sometimes done better on the US Site. You need to not only look at your local offers but any offer you can qualify for. 

At this time about 50% of Royal's market is not from the United States. I know as Americans we tend to think we are the center of the World and everything is centered around the United States but it is not. So in this international market the ADA from the United States does not apply. And getting doctors notes or proof maybe is again a hard thing to do in the United States but not in many other parts of the World. I know I can walk into a doctors office here pay 500 pesos under US$11.00, so really what good does a extra paperwork due? And I believe under US ADA rules a merchant cannot even asked about the disability, only are you disabled. But I could be wrong....
 
I know a person who wants to travel with his dogs on airplanes, he has doctors documentation that his dogs are service animals and they travel with him in the passenger cabin. Is it right to do this? No but it is done, because under the rules the airlines hands are tied. People lie and cheat all the time, it has always happen and you can never completely stop it.  So if someone wants to do these things good luck trying to stop them.

Yes I can blame the passenger for lying and filling out a form saying that they require an accessible cabin when they DO NOT, and are just doing it to get a larger cabin. I can't believe you feel that is justified.
 
There are 2700 cabins on an Oasis class ship. Only 46 are accessible cabins. I don't think it is to much to ask that able-bodied persons pick from the 2645 that are still available and leave the 46 to the people that have to have them in order to cruise!!