Doug_Texas

I was on Icon Maiden and it truly was a set apart experience. I don't mind RCL pricing up significantly for Icon class ships, especially in the first 2 or 3 years. My real issue is that they hiked pricing on the rest of the fleet. I've got 7 booked RCL cruises and the pricing is significantly higher than pre-COVID, way more than inflation. The most interesting thing to me is the squeeze between the mass market segment and the premium segment. For apples-to-apples cruise lengths and ports you can now book Celebrity or Princess for the same price as Royal. Virgin and Holland America are still a little higher. I've got a side-by-side pair of cruises out of Galveston where the 7 day Princess with drink package and gratuities is exactly the same price as Royal with gratuities but no drinks package (I'm D+ so this is an equivalent cruise for me). I'll be interested in my reaction to consecutive cruises to the same ports on different cruise lines. I've got a 15 day Oceania which is definitely higher price as it is a luxury small ship line but their alcohol drinks package is $30 pp / per day including gratuities. If you follow RCL bookings they are definitely not negatively impacted by their huge price increases but I have to wonder if the "empty nesters" move to better alternatives over the next 3-5 years.

Totallty agree, Disney ridiculous!

Sadly, this situation will not be resolved. It has gotten worse over time not better. We went to Sandals Antigua where it is adults only and they told people that you had better put belongings down on beach chairs by 6 am. They were right, by 6:30 everything was staked out. On RCL it doesn’t help that there are over 5,000 passengers competing for 400 pool loungers (or whatever the actual math is). We compete with other passengers to reserve seats for the shows. I see people every morning “reserving” 4 chairs at 7 am. It’s a herd mentality. I think now there are the hogs who don’t care and the non-hogs watching the hogs and getting angry. I’m a lot happier on vacation not using their chairs and loungers at all and not having to think about what others are doing. Get a waterproof pool tote to leave near the pool and let the others battle it out.

We spend the day at the pool but quit using pool chairs/loungers because of the 30 minute vacancy limit. We found ourselves in the pool making conversation and often ended up staying in the water well beyond the 30 minutes. It took a while to get used to not using a chair at all and sometimes it is a challenge where to put towels, sandals, phones, suntan lotion, etc. but it’s the right thing to do as a lot of people want to lay and read or visit in the chair. They should have access to the chairs and loungers. If you are not in it, release it. (RCL, a wall of cubbie holes to put things where they would stay dry wound be nice. I saw something like that on Icon but the location could be improved.)

We dress well because that is part of the experience for us. We have cruised so much with Royal that we are used to the t-shirts, shorts, and baseball caps in the MDR on formal night. We know that dress codes are for the most point useless on a mass market cruise line. My only issue is RCL is continuing to message this "formal night" and "dress to impress" nonsense. They have no dress code for any dining Except Empire Supper Club. Quit telling people that you do have a dress code. Just call those 2 nights "photo nights". Also they enforce 18+ in "The Hideaway" and couldn't care less in the 18+ Solarium. Adjust your messaging and the Cruise Compass to reality so inexperienced cruisers know what to pack.

We've been to Falmouth twice in the last 6 months, the last time was February. Falmouth is a terrible port. Either you can go somewhere close that is poor or someplace far away like Montego Bay. We are not "stay on the ship" people but beach people. We take a taxi ($20 per person round trip) to "Blue Waters Beach Club". The journey is safe but I don't think I would take kids there. It's only 10 minutes away by taxi and inexpensive (the only selling points of the place). The entrance fee is $10 per person and incudes a beach chair. A bucket of four 9 oz Heinekens is $20. It's not a great place but it's a beach.

If excursions are cancelled at least 48 hours before you sail (either by you or RCL) you get refund to original payment method.

I have had no experience with reimbursements after the fact but have had great success on board cancelling for refund before arrival at the port. As soon as the itinerary change is announced my efforts to cancel for a full refund have been honored on the ship before arriving in port. I know this doesn't address your desire for financial compensation after the fact, sorry you went through this.

We've used Viator many times and have been satisfied. We usually check out direct operator bookings first as Viator charges the operator quite a bit. Shore Excursions Group https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/ and Viator are our secondary "go to" resources for shore options.

I got shafted in a similar way when RCL made my Greek island cruise a charter fairly close to sailing. The problem was American Airlines allowed me a credit equal to the airfare paid but only valid for TRAVEL 1 year from the original booking date. I had 4 months to TRAVEL on $4,000 worth of airfare. Since AA offered a short fuse credit RCL wouldn't help bear the airfare expense and neither would the travel insurance company. I think this is a real loophole that should be closed on behalf of paying passengers. The conversion to charter is a a fairly common occurrence with RCL. This practice shouldn't be allowed within 12 months of sailing. I also got burned on a sailing change on Navigator similar to you. I'm on Explorer 6 months after your booking and am crossing my fingers.

I think @AshleyDillo provided a nice response. Most of my travel insurance has been medical insurance so I have less direct experience with claims. I have had a couple of rounds of general travel insurance. I hadn’t seen the provision that @AshleyDillo discussed that provides a flat amount for any itinerary change which could apply here. For more general coverage showing specific financial loss for a covered reason. As others have said RCL provides full refunds for any contacted activity at Labadee so it seems like a difficult bar to meet. There are also usually general coverage exclusions for war, natural disasters, acts of God, etc. that you might evaluate. Itinerary changes are common in the cruise industry and are highlighted in the cruise contract (your ticket). I’ve had it happen 3 times in the last year.

MSC is very smart to offer status match to get new customers. However, you need to cruise MSC at least once every 36 months or "poof", your Voyagers Club status is gone and you can't apply for status match again. Also, if your RCL D+ maps to MSC Gold and you do a match, it can't be re-evaluated if you make Pinnacle (MSC Diamond). MSC status match is a great idea and they go beyond most other cruise lines in this regard but there are caveats. If you are on the brink of Pinnacle you might want to wait on the match until you cross over.

We have been to Labadee many times and love it. The speculation regarding how unlikely it is that the unrest would affect Labadee is a mute discussion. The U.S. State department has said there are hundreds of U.S. citizens in Haiti wanting to leave and they have no plans to rescue them (said in briefing today, 3/15). If there was a negative passenger outcome at Labadee with this backdrop, RCL could potentially face hundreds of millions of dollars in civil damages from gross negligence for passenger outcomes including wrongful death. Legally, the risk of this outcome would be deemed "foreseeable" with Royal breaching it's standard of care. Royal had no choice. Passengers can't assume the risk, Royal owns the risk. Frankly, I'm surprised the Royal lawyers took this long. I love Labadee and hope the situation is resolved soon.

Hoping this violence in Haiti ends soon. There has been violence and demonstrations in Cap-Haitien which is only a 30 minute drive from Labadee.

I believe they have 7+ night Caribbean already scheduled up to April, 2026. They were released prior to the deployment schedule announcement. I was disappointed as well as I have a "NextCruise" deposit that is awaiting sailing.

A TA response on the Blog would be helpful here (since I may not know what I'm talking about) - I believe when a travel agency sets up a group rate which provides additional discounts, that correct group rate is reflected correctly on the RCL cruise receipt. You show a "cruise receipt" generated by RCL which is likely correct - the gratuities included but the special price promised no where to be found. The suggestion that RCL waive gratuities may be asking RCL to absorb the dishonest quote from the agency.

This was a fantastic read! My #1 take away is ALWAYS cash tip as the receipt tipping method is costing them 1 minute per guest check. It dissatisfies the bartender but also when you think about a busy night at the Schooner or Dueling Pianos your ability to get a drink from a server is severely hampered by the number of paper tips. I'd also be interested in tip breakdown between the bartenders and the servers - I'm sure they are a major part of the picture. I'd assume the cash tips are split between bartenders are servers but how would be interesting.

Frankly, Royal is getting exhausting. There should be no debate that the fine service people deserve great compensation. But gees, every time I turn around Royal is holding a masterclass in separating me from my money. Firstly, the Royal beverage packages are the most expensive at sea - so your 18% is higher dollar amount. Second, in one year Royal changed cabin service from twice a day to once a day, I did not mind but RCL and / or cabin attendants benefitted. Right on the heels of that gratuities go from $14.50 to to $16.00 and we all scramble to pre-pay our existing bookings quickly. Now one year later the $16.00 to $18.00 and I need to start looking at my cruise receipts and call my TA again. Then at the end comes the “Tip Tip Hooray” envelope suggesting you should do your share. We always throw extra cash along the way but if you want to feel nickel and dimed this is the place. Oh and if you want one of the new ships, well you know that pricing. i’ve never been on Virgin Voyages but on their web you see one price (that is reasonable) that includes gratuities, WiFi, and sodas, juices, and water it is obvious they are stepping into a marketing hole Royal and others created.

I'm D+ and probably will never reach Pinnacle. In my mind Pinnacle should be reserved as a very elite tier. I like it as it is today. Besides, they throw a couple of nice perks at D+ with 340 points or more.

Galveston has Harmony for 7+ night cruises. Don’t see a 2nd Oasis class here. The new RCL terminal in Galveston is large and stunning. I could see getting an Icon class in 3 years once all three ships launch. Problem with that is lack of decent ports to visit.

We used Allianz for comprehensive single trip travel protection and when COVID hit they were a life saver. Very good company. Now we are older and travel a lot. We’ve transitioned for GeoBlue annual medical only insurance. The comprehensive travel insurance plans typically don’t cover health coverage well enough for us at a reasonable cost. We want $1M+ coverage, police that acts as primary health insurer international, and one that pays providers directly (we can’t be stuck somewhere that wants $100K pre-pay for surgery/treatment), and one that fully covers air evac. GeoBlue is under $200 pp for annual plan. I can mitigate my own cancellations of airfare and hotels and am willing to roll the dice on cruise fare.

We used to use this very often. It used to be very cheap, like $78 per cabin on an 1 week cruise. Our thinking was bare bones policy for cheap. It’s not so cheap anymore and I had one claim for cancellation where it took two months, many claim documents just to get a FCC, and multiple phone calls. We’re no longer a fan.

Hydrogen fuel cells only have 40% - 50% of LNG energy density. LNG tanks are problematic for RCL from a density standpoint so I can't see them going less dense.

There is a phenomenal itinerary this year as a 9-day sailing (Ultimate Fjords) as a part of the World Cruise in August. However, the price has gone up 67% since we booked it last year.

We just got off Independence and was chatting with the Captain - he said a couple of interesting things. He said he considered Icon class assignment but the training curriculum was extremely long because of all of the LNG onboard considerations and local port requirements. He said LNG and biodiesel don't solve RCLs long term propulsion issues. He said the line will definitely go nuclear as this is the only way to meet environmental requirements without needing port refueling for different size ships (energy density). Don't know if this was spit balling as opposed to an informed comment but I was stunned. There is no place less nuclear tolerant than the USA and future of fusion nuclear isn't soon enough for Discovery. Time will tell.