CharmMicah68

I was shocked at the cost for sailing on Enchantment.  I have friends who are sailing on her 6-22-24 and I thought about going along but 7 nights on that crap ship was over $5K (JS) !  ...even more once you added in grats.  No f'ing way !  

Wonder all the way based on Mason Jar alone! I’ve been in both 3x each and I would say Wonder is the better choice (but you can’t go wrong!!!). 

@Matt has made the news in an article in the UK’s Daily Mail detailing his Empire Supper Club experience. 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-13115163/icon-seas-expensive-restaurant.html
Some good publicity there.

Just got off 6 nights aboard Odyssey of the Seas and thought the Bionic Bar seemed like a huge waste of space. Kinda cool to get one drink from it but never had anyone sitting and enjoying the space like other bars. I definitely prefer the Champagne Bar that they have been getting rid of an replacing with Bionic on some ships. Just an observation. 

The most annoying cruiser is the one who has no concept of space and think they're the only people around. Walking down the middle of a busy promenade and they just stop randomly.

Probably the same people that take their good ole time stowing their bags while boarding a plane.

...sounds like a preface to removing/restricting some loyalty levels to me....but who knows.

If this actually comes to pass, it will be one of the GOOD changes that Royal has made.  Fingers crossed that they follow through without any "cruise enhancement" fees.

On that cruise, there weren't 300 people that got kicked off, but 300 people that voluntarily jumped overboard.

This was the first cruise where we practiced for a flash mob on the final night. I’ve never done anything like it and it was SO MUCH FUN! 10/10 would recommend.

I put in some upgrade bids for our cruise on Symphony leaving 11/18, and just found out yesterday morning (10/20) via email that I won an upgrade!  (From a Junior Suite to a Crown Loft Suite and Sky Class!  Woot woot!)  

Anyway, Royal sent me an updated receipt and itinerary within an hour of the upgrade, and my online Seapass and luggage tag were updated almost instantaneously.  

So in my experience, they have been very on top of the upgrade updates.  

(I am curious about how and when the Concierge services will reach out, but perhaps that is a topic for another thread.)

Hope your upgrade bid is a success!

Same here.....UNTIL YESTERDAY!  We were 12 days out until our Oasis cruise in Miami.  Crazy thing, is this is 2 times in a row for getting the upgrade.  We were awarded one on Wonder in July.  That makes me a moderate professional at the art of upgrading........

That settles it.  In an effort to show love to others.......I officially allow anyone gambling to get an upgrade (find the fun in trying) to call it a CharmMicah68.  Like using a rabbits foot or blowing on dice before a roll.  You're welcome.
Seriously.....I     don't know how it happens.  It feels like dumb luck.

So agree.  Royal has a very unfortunate pattern on making an unfavorable change followed far-too-soon by another even more, unfavorable change.  Eg, (1) saying that Hideaway Beach would be complimentary and then announcing a significant admission upcharge, (2), "THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE IN ADMISSION TO THE CROWN LOUNGE" followed by an almost immediate announcement of potentially limiting Diamonds' access during certain hours and (3) Increasing gratuities while simultaneously reducing the service provided (once a day room servicing).
You would think that the marketeers would have shouted - At least let a LITTLE time pass before immediately making us look like liars/money-grubbing scoundrels !

I heard that for those Diamonds who get banned during happy hour will get vouchers for free Sorrento's pizza from 5-8

Already told my wife we HAVE to go support Chris by spending a lot of time in the casino 😄

Happy to share with you all that I will be joining Icon Of The Seas later this year, and I will be a part of the start-up team.
 
I look forward to seeing all of you who have booked a cruise for 2024!
 
I'm excited to make video on the newest, biggest, and best ship in the world!
 
 

I just paid $4.95 for a gallon of gas and felt I was getting a good deal.  If I can get a burger and fries for under $10 I am doing good.  2 1/2 years ago gas was $3.25 and lunch as $4.  Inflation is killing everything including the cruise market.  We have been waiting to go back to Disneyland until the prices goes down and I just read Disney is raising prices.  Lucky, I have been booking 2 years out, so I am OK for the next year.  All I can do now is book my 2025 cruises when they come out and hope the prices come down.

I would think that this kind of activity on a cruise ship would be an invitation to injury lawsuits.  You would think they would have learned from the jumping bubble...whatever it was called....

I just did the final check-in for our 10-13-23 Mariner cruise and there were only 2 questions.  #1 was about 26 + weeks pregnant and #2 asked about current illness symptoms.  Gone are the old questions #1 and #2 about being vaccinated and/or boosted.
YIPPEE !!!!  Sounds like they are no longer tracking whether or not the pax are vaxxed.  VERY good news.

I got a couple of future cruises booked. I realize how lucky I am to be able to cruise often and to live close to a port. I’m a glass half full optimist and always look for the best in life and in people.
I’m addicted to the cruise life. I love the service, the crew and the food. Even if a meal may sometimes be a little bit off… it’s understandable that constant perfection is not possible on such an enormous scale. My servers are always anxious to please and will make any change or addition that I request. In fact, on all my cruises, I have never sent something back. But, that’s just me.
As far as the vouchers are concerned, I’m not a big drinker so I never use my six.. Usually two a day.
I like and appreciate the perks of my loyalty status. I mean, they can come and go at any time as the company sees fit to tweak them…either expanding, adjusting or even removing something.
As Super Mario has said time and again…the free WiFi perk that comes with reaching P is a big thing. I agree. I very much appreciate not being charged for WiFi every cruise. I thought the company might have reconsidered that perk post-shutdown when StarLink was added and prices went up. They could have easily justified removing the free WiFi and offering it at a discounted price. But they didn’t.
I don’t really frequent the loyalty lounges except maybe in the early morning for coffee. At that time they are usually sparsely occupied. I’m not a big conversationalist and can usually, if not always, be seen working on my iPad…or reading my smartphone.
I consider myself ‘low maintenance’…lol.
But, that’s just me…and this is just my opinion.
Hi. My name is Brian and I’m a Cruisaholic.
 

so i guess we should flood the appropriate channels with our displeasure 💃🏻😅😂 to see if we can ensure this potential voucher threat goes away…
it’s the vouchers that keep me sailing royal tbh. between the fares rising and the new wave of cruisers, as much as i love central park and oasis class — it’s a lot. have been exploring other lines and fares just to see what’s out there because there’s just a lot of “noise” these days. 
ironically, i will have made diamond plus after our sailing in december — but i know that there is NO way i make it to pinnacle unless i marry a captain of the fleet 😂 
diamond plus is wonderful for me; and 5 vouchers a day means i don’t have to buy a water package and can have champagne with dinner. maybe a corona at lunch. that’s it for me 😂

Yes, we are on Grandeur, the 4th cruise for us in Sept.  We disembark on Thursday and get a whole 7 days at home before going on a 15 night B2B on Mariner !  This cruise has been interesting.  As I mentioned elsewhere, this cruise is just overrun with children and I am not one to be bothered with children as a general rule.  The weather is making things worse since going outside or getting off the ship is really not an option.  The mania in the Centrum and WJ has gotten to me.  I think I am done with Grandeur, sadly.  The shining spots of this cruise have been the wonderful Staff and the good luck in the casino.  …and then, maybe I’m just ready to go home.  The internet is slightly better than it was on our 9-2 (Grandeur) sailing but still abysmal.  I feel bad for the VOOM staff.  I know there’s nothing they can do and they must field the endless complaints and complainers constantly demanding compensation.  On the good side, our JS is very comfortable and in a good location, so there’s that !  Tomorrow is PDCC (again !) then back to Tampa and home base for a week.  At the end of this one we will have 697 C&A points.  Hallelujah !

And I bet there are a good amount who still get the drink package despite having vouchers as well.

Yup. The big money-maker ships doing short cruises are full of new cruisers.  Lots of income being generated on those sailings. 
 
I have a difficult time to not believe every line of income and debit isn’t being scrutinized and that information being used to formulate long term goals.  
 
As I mentioned above, we’re Pandemic Diamonds.  We book lower price cabins and spend no extra money onboard. Mid level loyalty people like us aren’t bringing any extra income to Royal.  Despite what we read in our various echo chambers, I believe we are kind of like a silent majority, meaning the potential loss of our loyalty is outshined by the potential income of new cruisers.  This may seem short sighted to many of us, but I doubt Royal will lose money by consolidating/reworking/removing loyalty perks.
 
My prediction:  After a short outcry from current loyalty members, things will blow over and the money will keep coming in as people see Royal Caribbean as a viable alternative to land based vacations….just as they do now. People like us will just have to book older ships to get the price points we want. 
 
Royal Caribbean has a generous loyalty program compared to others, and I suspect they always will (when compared to others).  Our Diamond Status was matched by MSC to their second highest level…..you don’t get much. 

I think at that point they were just kicking the can down the road.  They needed cruisers.  Now they need cruisers less and have this problem they created, but are in a much better place to upset the loyal than they were then.

The jump from Emerald to Diamond has always been a little one. Without double points promo, you could do it with 3-4 regular cruises. Many did it in 2 during double points. 
We were Covid D+. Went from 83 (pre Covid) to 187 with 4 cruises. 2 were plain balcony, 1 GS for 7 nights and a 12 night in JS. We would NEVER have done that in a regular year. 
I really can’t understand how they didn’t see this massive influx to top tiers when they offered this. I mean really, what did they think would happen? 30% increase to top tiers is HUGE! Not to mention allllllll those free drinks! 
If they ever do away with the drink vouchers, it’ll be waaaaay bigger than PizzaGate or doing away with the crystal blocks (which ultimately were cheapened to the current version). Hmmmm could we see a return of the old, limited Happy Hour drink menu? 
Grab yer torches and pitchforks!