Doug_Texas

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.

Our particular sailing had Cannes France, Funchal Portugal, and Malaga Spain. We enjoyed the stops but they were not stops limited to small ships. We’d like to find one in the future with Canary Islands.

We did a 2022 transatlantic on Rhapsody. We absolutely loved the crossing experienced. Less crowding on the ships, more mature cruisers, we made multiple shipboard friends and that’s not normal for us. We sailed from Barcelona to Barbados. It was mid October and every day got warmer and better for the pool. Also we kept picking up an hour of time change overnight as we sailed west. We liked that the beating of the long flight was at the beginning of vacation when we were excited rather than at then end when we are exhausted. We’ve heard from others on the blog who feel totally differently about east bound vs west bound. Our only issue was that 8 sea days on a Vision class ship (Rhapsody OTS) became a bit boring. The small ship provided little diversion from the pool and dining room. The same lounge singer was in the Centrum day after day. So we booked a west bound crossing for 2025 on Independence OTS. Our thinking is that an AMPED Freedom class ship will provide more diversity onboard. As soon as November comes this year and the 2026 transatlantic autumn deployment schedule is released we will book either a Quantum or Oasis class crossing.

I am seeing 7 night sailings on Icon and Star that are running $4,200 for 2 people INSIDE CABIN just with cruise fare and taxes (just the standard caribbean ports from Florida). There are definitely Celebrity 7 night sailings on Edge class for surprising prices (7 night “Beyond" out of Miami for 2 for $1,706 incl tax). It’s not to spur debate about Icon class vs Edge class and there are similar Oasis class vs Edge class examples but the point is that is if there is a point I get 5 drink vouchers on Celebrity there will definitely be some booking shifts in my empty nester family. There are many Celebrity sailings that are really attractive from a ports-of-call standpoint but I can’t go on Celebrity without a drinks package where on RCL the D+ vouchers, 2 bottles of carry on wine, and 1 bottle amenity wine is sufficient.

It’s like Easter egg hunts, it’s for the kids. We never pick one up but frequently point one out to a kid and they are usually delighted. We have a lot of grandkids so appreciate this opportunity for the kids to enjoy something like this. Now it’s a different conversation if they start showing up on adult cruises like Virgin Voyages.

Agree 100%. A little excited and a little nervous with the rumors of revamping and merging RCL and Celebrity loyalty programs.

Perhaps passengers / crew is telling when it comes to service. Regent is 1:1 with under 1,000 passengers and Oceania is 4:3 with mostly under 700 and always under 1,300.

Agree Carnival is terrible. In 2024 they are scrapping Ectasy, Fantasy, Fascination, Inspiration, and Sensation. Good riddance!

I wish more cruise lines would go to the Virgin Voyages approach where gratuities are not even a discussion. It’s frustrating that everything onboard has 18% added or $18 pp/day added then at the end you get the “Tip Tip Hooray” envelopes. I don’t mind taking care of others that take care of you but I am so often confused on RCL. When I started hearing that the daily gratuities were also compensation for back office hotel staff, cabin assistants, laundry staff, kitchen staff, dining room support staff, etc. I just started accepting that these charges should be regarded as a part of the cruise fare.