BennyandBo

3 hours ago, teddy said:

The only thing that’s been consistent is the inconsistency.  
 

 

LOL. That should be the company slogan.

Thank you for your honest unedited review/opinion. I hope I have a better food experience in May then you did, but after reading things like this I have concerns.

The first word that comes to mind ends in em. Lol.

Don't worry about what they think. Just enjoy your trip on your terms.

Life is too hard and short to spend one second on this.

3 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

We have friends who want to cruise with us and because we live in different places and have kids in school, we're having trouble finding a time to go that isn't summer. We'd love to do an itinerary that has CocoCay (preferable, but really any Caribbean itinerary) because we're worried the kids would be bored going to Canada. Those of you who have done Caribbean in the summer, how did you handle the heat/sun? We've always cruised in March or April before and even then, it can be hard to handle. My oldest and I are very fair skinned and have to be super careful to not burn terribly. Would the kids even have fun at CocoCay in August, for example? 

More jellyfish in July and August. The longer it's hotter, the more they are there. Use lots of safe sea sunscreen and water shoes. Long sleeve rashguarde swim shirts help too.

Formal is whatever you want it to be. Cruise casual too. On a formal night you will see dresses, jackets, ties, polo shirts, khakis, t-shirts, jeans, and shorts. Same goes for cruise casual. It's completely up to the individual. The only thing that will keep you from being allowed in the Main Dining room is swimming attire, and tank tops for men. (Something about visible arm pits) The opportunity is there to have a professional photo taken if you wish $$$. This is the only thing that can play into your decision on what to put on. Again, that's optional and for a fee. Basically, You do you. Enjoy.

This is ridiculous. If in the WindJammer people can and will pile on their plate as much as they want. If I order two entrees in the MDR it's not because I even plan on finishing both. It's because one is more about trying something I'm not too sure about. A curiosity thing. And as far as waste goes. The second entree is already cooked and ready to go. They aren't gonna put it in Tupperware and reuse the next night if nobody orders all. 

#me2

12 minutes ago, brgreens said:

Well, with so many seasoned cruisers here, I'm sure SOMEBODY can lead the drill.....

You put your left foot in, you take your left foot out, you put....No wait that's the hokey pokey. LOL

#me2

#me2

Me too

5 hours ago, Mturk said:

This cruise was cancelled. We were booked on this cruise and we got an email on December 7 saying it was cancelled due to it being "chartered".

Selling an already sold product out from beneath you. This is the kind of thing that's puts a bad taste in my mouth. Seek out the deals and details with the tour operators far in advance of selling to the general public Royal. I worked for a tour company years ago and these contracts were planned 2 plus years in advance. That way you don't piss off and alienate hundreds to thousands of customers by selling their purchase out from beneath them. It's dirty and unnecessary.

17 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I've sailed out of Galveston where different venues were reserved for group activities because of "group cruises" booked by fans of country music groups.  On one Liberty sailing the Star Lounge was closed for the entire week.  

I've never made it to one (yet) but I think the RC Blog group cruise has reserved areas before.

I get that people are sometimes disappointed, but it is not different than booking Disney and finding out that your favorite ride is down for maintenance.

The fact is that this happens and people can make their own choices.

Like Disney, have a page right up in front, in bold letters, telling you minimum 9 months to a year in advance about scheduled special events and how they may effect certain venues. I'll happily argue against anyone who claims Royal offers that level of transparency, because they don't. But it works well for Disney and delivers a higher level of customer service. I would welcome a well placed page on Royal’s site with advanced notice of such events and the impact they will have on venues. A calendar of special events and venue availabilities right off the home page. 

13 minutes ago, Xaa said:

What's baked in is based on their current method of allocation.  Your method has them handing it out more frequently.  No way handing more money back to complainers for this type of thing would have an impact that ended up in my fare.

Venue's sell out.   Be disappointed if you miss out.  Don't expect a refund.

And I disagree with you. See how life works. LOL.

21 minutes ago, Xaa said:

I don't want your 10% happy fee baked into my cruise fare.

This is no different than the aqua show selling out.  It's a venue, they took reservations with a fee and it sold out.  It was available to be booked first come first served like a multitude of other things on a cruise.

A 10% "happy fee" is already baked in. Please don't kid yourself. Every time someone complains and receives fcc where do you think it comes from? It's just good customer service. And they are making plenty of extra profits from the sale of a kosher kitchen to dip into. 

1 hour ago, Infinity said:

Our first RC cruise this summer has us at Perfect Day at CocoCay on June 20, 2023. The port schedule is showing three ships there that day with the potential for 13,000+ total passengers, which scares me for the crowds. Is it possible for more than 2 ships to be there the same day? Or is it likely that the schedule will change for one of the ships?

Serenade and Oasis are the only two listed for that day. 

I think setting aside a 10% credit for those who are going to complain over this type of closure makes good customer service sense. As the number of people who will actually bother to complain is limited and this will fix the situation. As I've said before it is in everyone's best interest to not have unhappy customers on board. Or in the future. 

And on a personal note. It does stink that Royal does this. Especially for profit. And don't give me they are a business crap. The business screwed it's customers that they had already taken money from, buy reselling an already sold product. The only leeway I can give is from the perspective of needing a place to prepare kosher meals. But this too should have been advertised from the day the trip became listed as available. They knew two years in advance this would happen. It's selling an already sold product a second time. On land that's illegal.

1 hour ago, gi333 said:

Hey guys. Is January the lowest price of the year for August cruise? The Current sale is ending January 31 and it's making me crazy cause I wonder if I should book now or maybe get a better deal. 

 

Thanks 

A cruise in August will only go up in price with time, not down. 

3 hours ago, Midwest Cruiser said:

Chris Wong explains this in his Sign on vlog. 

 

IMHO I have never understood the argument or push for all of these things. We saw from the restart that it didn't matter the Measures in place there was going to be cases. Just how viruses work to be honest. I was one that was comfortable if they would have just opened everything wide open to begin with. 

I'm ok if the crew chooses on their own to mask when and where they feel the need to do so.

I also understand that the cruise lines can't stand to have multiples of crew out sick either but I don't think this is any different then when there were Norovirus outbreaks or Flu/cold outbreaks before 2020. In fact we boarded Oasis just as they finished cleaning here in the same terminal as a norovirus outbreak. Didn't think anything of it.

As a classic reminder that viruses are going to virus with everything thrown at them. https://www.mynbc5.com/article/miami-cruise-ship-positive-covid-cases/38566444

Again not trying to start a debate on this subject just has me scratching my head that we are still doing these 

"Again not trying to start a debate". 

Literally everything you are saying is opening up a window for just that. It's like saying your not trying to do that is your get out of jail free card to ramble on about your personal beliefs on Covid, Masks, etc. 

Everyone should just live by the, You Do You, I'll Do Me policy. 

On 3/1/2019 at 12:17 PM, Todd W said:

I hope you're right. Given all that  I can only assume would be involved to not only build the pool but adding the water and filtration system needed to set in place, i can't imagine it being possible not only from a financial standpoint but an engineering as well.    But then again with the new slides and they are adding with "Amped" it may well be a reality. 

They can build one that's up a level like on Wonder. No worrying about moving what's below. Just a big bowl up a few stairs.

46 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

 You can get coke, sprite and diet coke at any bar. If you want root beer, any flavored soda, etc you will be out of luck. Many people get the package for freestyle choices. So when they are out, it's a pain.

I don't think so. I think most get the package for cost savings. 3 sodas and your even for the day. If in restaurants your stuck with Coke, diet Coke, sprite etc. Most places it's a basic 3 or 4 to choose from anyway. The additional freestyle choices I think are just a plus to those who order with meals out anyway.

23 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

I thought the width stayed the same as a king but the length of the bed ended up being shorter, so the dimensions are technically a queen but turned the other way, so you don't feel it as much unless you're really tall? DH and I use King at home and the Royal "king/queen" feels very similar when we sleep.

We have a custom king at home. That's 2 Twin XL's which are 5 to 8 inches longer then a standard twin. Twin basically comes in 2 different sizes. Length being the difference.

4 hours ago, Jerry Altmann said:

Presently sailing on Enchantment and just happened to look at Message Board and learned Catholic Mass was to be celebrated in the conference room. About 120 passengers showed up in an unprepared overcrowded room . We had to set up the chairs and accommodated everyone. It was a beautiful service conducted by two Archdiocese of Baltimore priests who we have socialized with since. We then had a second Sunday mass in the Spotlight Lounge that was attended by about two hundred passengers. The ship would not put a posting in the Cruise Compass saying it was against company policy so the message board and word of mouth was all that was used to announce the event. Curiously, the ship did post in the cruise compass an announcement for Jewish Sabbath Observance-self guided. It also posted for LGBT get togethers daily.  We are Pinnacles and this is the first time in about 30 cruises that we have had Catholic Mass on board. Apparently, Royal Caribbean does not foster having priests on board to say Mass and we saw this first hand. What a mistake!

I have to go with Xaa on this. I don't see the relevance of bringing up LGBT get together's. Comparing Catholic and Jewish yes. They are both religions. 

Frankly I don't want anyone advertising a religion in my face ever, let alone on my vacation. It's not just Royal Caribbean, I "don't foster having priests on board to say Mass" as well. But I could care less if others do. Just don't advertise it. Maybe now you see why a large company like RoyalCaribbean carefully walks a line on advertising religion on board. 

I don't know the exact answer but the twins to queen/king system is what most ships use. So they are easily switchable for individuals to couples to use. I've never found them to feel child like in size, but maybe not as big as most kings. However, this is the size on offer on most ships and cabins. Doable for even a larger couple. I speak from experience. LOL. (We ain't small change)

I'll add at the risk of offending people. LOL. Many cruise passengers (all that food on offer each day) are full size adult's. The system and size of the beds together for couples always seems to work out. We are both 5'11 and 220 and 290 lbs respectively and never had a problem. I really wouldn't worry. Take a look at some travel videos on YouTube. Lots of plus size YouTube couples make these bed configurations work with no problem. It's the standard system. I know first time it can all seen new and odd.

14 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:

Wonderful, I am glad it was informative.  I errantly thought this was common knowledge, as has been an issue for a decade or more.

No, this was a new one for me. Something to avoid by at least sitting on towels.