Doug_Texas

If you use a BOGO you should tip the free meal as it doesn’t provide a gratuity.

Well said.

Does this law apply to Ticketmaster?

… and a liability thing.

Cruise Critic reported that passengers on Celebrity 1/25/2025 Equinox sailing recently received letters saying Labadee was being replaced with Nassau. Of course cruises can always alter back to original itinerary but it doesn’t sound like an immanent restart.

So the D+ to Elite Plus mapping is clear - 2 bags of laundry, great. No dinks vouchers and no 2 days free WiFi but you get a limited “happy hour”. Applaud the new enhanced tier matching but not really compelling. Does anyone know what 20% off drinks package is? Is it additional 20% of their advertised packages pre-cruise or is it like Royal where the 20% off is off list price and in reality more expensive than their “specials”.

I think the point was COVID spurred the RCCL “Cruise with Confidence” program which indeed hasn’t been an active program for some time now.

Agree! Leave everything alone. D+ has the best perks of all cruise lines and RCCL has the most expensive drinks package at sea. 5 vouchers pp is huge. We save $1,200+ per cruise under the existing program. Giving you C&A points on Celebrity will certainly result in giving something else back.

Yay D+ - don’t forget to pick up your complimentary D+ luggage tags even though you will never use them. Costa Maya port has two complimentary swimming pools and a strip of sand with cheap bar drinks inside the port so you can stretch your onboard D+ vouchers.

I’ve seen jumps in port result in a “lifetime cruise ban”.

It has seemed to us that even if the comedians are the same, we have a much better time (and perceive the act better / more interactive) in the Attic than the theater.

There are some authentic efforts on Royal like Sabor for TexMex but sadly, nothing on Ovation. It’s like asking an Italian person what do they think of Sorrentos.

We have 3 grown children and 7 grandchildren and brought our kids up cruising. Back then families predominantly cruised June-July-Aug during summer vacation and couples cruised a lot during the school year. This natural division of cruisers no longer exists. We sail a lot in February and Sept./Oct and have noticed the ship has a full compliment of kids that we would think would be in school. There is no school year anymore with regard to demographics on the ship - parents pull the kids out of school I assume because cruise fares are much lower. The only recourse for empty nesters who want a little calmer experience on Royal is to book older ships or longer sailings. This is a reality we have accepted and adjusted our cruise bookings accordingly. Transatlantic always works.

There is no RCL screening but in the Caribbean I have seen local authorities with dogs screening passengers for fruit in particular.

This waiting process is exactly what happened on inaugural Icon sailing with Empire Supper Club. The blog had a number of users flag it the moment it opened up and I booked the same day. Keep a daily eye on the blog, sign up for thread notifications, and check cruise planner (web) often.

This doesn’t affect my cruise analysis as the taxes and port fees were always apparent but hopefully this new law was aimed at the lodging industry with the hidden “resort fees” which are often very difficult to find.

I’m looking forward to feedback you kicked off. We end up in Cozumel often as we sail out of Galveston a lot. We go to Mr Sanchos Beach Club but most of the blog group are fans of Paradise Beach Club that we are going to try next time out.

Our cruise companions used to split Royal and Celebrity 50/50. They have moved back to 100% Royal with the commentary that the food is about equal now, the service is the same, but the D+ vouchers tip the scale.

You need multiple cruise lines out of Australia so Royal has a check on price hikes. Disney ($$$$$) certainly won’t keep prices checked.

We went on maiden voyage and had the time of our life. Wy wife wants to know when we can go again. Hope everyone sours on Icon so the prices drop.

Azamara is in the same luxury class as Oceania. Much more affordable but still very upscale. Silversea, Regent, & Seabourn (amongst others) are considered ultra-luxury and their prices show it. I’ll probably never see Silversea.

We have missed our MDR fixed time and gone to the MTD podium later and got seated.

Also when you think about what you are insuring with paying for refundable that in reality if you have a non-refundable and you can change your sailing (different date, different ship, different itinerary is okay) before the full payment date instead of a full cancel your penalty is actually $100 pp, not $500.

…. and as you check for price drops pay particular attention around “Black Friday” sale period if you are sailing after November.