tonyfsu21

Sabrina- Prayers for your dad’s speedy recovery. Great message and I agree, YOLO. It looks like the rain showers we have had over the past week or so should be gone and the sun should be shining! Enjoy your pre cruise beach stay with the family. 

On 12/26/2023 at 6:13 PM, RCL_Fan_121 said:

If we're planning to go to Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, Great Bay Beach in St. Maarten, and Reduit Beach in St. Lucia, are water shoes necessary?

Not necessary unless you don’t like sea grass which you may encounter. 

Anyone know which stand up comedians are on Symphony? I know it changes often and the cruise planner does not show names. Looking for New Years week. Thank you 

Anyone know what ship(s) Paul Ogata will be on for NYE and that week? 

11 minutes ago, Neesa said:

@tonyfsu21 I don't think the 1 bedroom aqua suites are Star, I think they are Sky class unless something has changed. i know the last time I was looking to book one that was their designation. Begs further investigation now on my part. 

If that’s the case, I understand the frustration. CLS on deck 17 is one of the best suite options on Oasis class ships. This is certainly a downgrade. I do know from my experience, RU clearly differentiates the 1 and 2 BR aqua theatre suites so perhaps OP accidentally bid on the wrong one? I personally wouldn’t trust the cast of characters running RU to  have the ability to understand an upgrade vs lateral move. 

8 hours ago, Michael L said:

We booked a loft suite for an upcoming cruise and they sent us a Royal Up offer for an aqua suite which we bid on and they accepted. We stayed in one before, and liked the extra large balcony at the back of the ship. After the "upgrade" notification we find out this is a recently redesignated one bedroom "aqua suite" on deck 11 with only one bathroom. This room was originally a lower  classification room and not even in the same suite category that we booked. The loft suite we booked was a one bedroom, two bathroom suite. They actually charged us additional money and downgraded us, and now refuse to give us back our original booking that they already resold. Will be filing a fraud complaint if they don't give our original booking back. I believe Royal Up is a separate company from Royal Caribbean, hired to bring in more money and fill empty suites, but sometimes also steal the suite you already booked and paid for an extra buck.
 

Royal Up is in fact run by a contractor. Aquatheatre suites are star class so I don’t think that could necessarily be considered a downgrade unless you are like me and value the stateroom size over the Royal genie. Either way, I doubt you get anywhere unless you have a good travel agent to fight this battle. I have been back and forth before with RU and it’s not pleasant. 

On 12/24/2023 at 4:37 AM, Rodders999 said:

Wildly dangerous. It would not be allowed in most civilised countries. Avoid avoid avoid. If you get hurt or lose a loved one don’t expect compensation. Beautiful but a health and safety nightmare. There are no safety measures in place. Strong current, slippery rocks, dangerous heights and no safety handrail. Protect your family and stay away. Remember “people have died here”

People have also died walking down the manicured & palm lined streets of Beverly Hills. I have done this excursion several times w/o incident. I certainly wouldn’t take a child but an able bodied adult with some common sense should have no problems completing the climb and meeting the donkey butt lady at the top (iykyk).

1 hour ago, iipabrewer said:

Wow 10:45! Do they start boarding much before that?

Right around 10:30 if everything goes right. I have sailed Freedom several times and it’s pretty consistent. 

44 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Actually, priority boarding is one of the few perks that you DO get with a JS.  Make sure you line up in the suites/Pinnacle line outside the terminal and you will be allowed into the terminal as soon as they open the doors, regardless of what your arrival time says on your boarding pass.  Once boarding begins the suites/Pinnacles will board first to at worst, simultaneously with GenPop.  Freedom docks at Terminal A so you will be in the Suites holding pin which is very nice.

^^^^^ This. Tooo add the the great information provided by @WAAAYTOOO, I have been onboard Freedom with a Red stripe beer in hand by 10:45am. The Suite/Pinnacle boarding is quick & efficient. 

If you bring a hair dryer (Dyson) pack it and carry on the ship and you will have no issues. My wife made the mistake only one time and the checked suitcase with Dyson ended up at ship security. We were wondering where our last suitcase was at 5pm….

18 minutes ago, Mike n Ky said:

There is no perfect solution to any loyalty program but one thing I haven't understood is the basic points on RC. You can book the cheapest cabin on the ship, pay maybe half the cost of a balc and get the same points. Unlike suites there are no additional benefits/perks on board.

It probably wouldn’t be a wise business decision to penalize the many families who save endlessly to book an interior cabin. I happen to agree with the points per night system as it stands. If you want to shell out suite level money then the 2 points per night is fair. 

15 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Well I can tell you without equivocation, Royal is making a ton of money off me and my pursuit of diamond plus. Once we hit it , we’ll check out celebrity. 

With Liberty at the helm, he will keep dangling that carrot. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls a fast one and adjusts the tiers to level the playing field. Fortunately we are deep into D+ so I don’t think Liberty or his cast of characters can impact us. 

13 minutes ago, twangster said:

I don't think the program is broken, it is doing exactly what it is intended to do, motivate repeat bookings.  

When a program is successful isn't a sign that it must change.  It's a sign that is has been designed properly.

If it isn't broken, it doesn't need to be fixed.

The C&A program is excellent and so is the suite program. Both are arguably the best in the industry. The casino program is broken and needs so be fixed and that’s something I think most players would agree with. I would also like to add the IT department and customer service are a dumpster fire that needs to be extinguished. 

1 hour ago, Happy Cruisers said:

I remain quite puzzled why anyone would make a vacation decision over C&A loyalty benefits.  For us, it's a nice kicker against another mass market line if we happen to be in the mood for a cruise vacation and if Royal is a serious option where we're looking to go on that cruise vacation, but it is by no means compelling as between one line or another or one type of vacation or another.  Resetting my loyalty account balance after X years if, you know, I hadn't been a loyal customer during that time, wouldn't impact my decision making vis a vis a mass market cruise line.  

What does impact my loyalty is discrete service by a disciplined staff who value my limited time, and, frankly, an overall high end experience.  And come to think of it, that's probably the compelling reason why I have exactly 0 cruises booked with Royal right now - that's just not the game they're looking to play - fine, of course; there are plenty enough other options for us. 

I am quite puzzled why someone wouldn’t?? What keeps us loyal is the D+ benefits which happen to be the best in the business IMHO. 

2 hours ago, ScottD said:

So they may have a few slides that just go down a flight of stairs--pretty cool. 

I agree, very interesting. I think it’s a great idea. 

20 minutes ago, NoobCruise said:

There is going to be a lot of drunk dads going down this slide. I predict this get closed before the end of the year.

I will be blazing down that slide with a Kraken Colada in my hand! 

1 minute ago, Keanoknick said:

If you're playing slots, should be able to do it for alot less than $5k.   I went from less than 100 points to over 2500 in one night on Allure back in June, bank roll was less than $2500.   Just need to cycle the winnings back through.  Some people claim to do it for $1k,  if you're lucky enough, I guess that's possible.

You were lucky. The key is you have to win. I mentioned $5k because you need a solid bankroll. 

31 minutes ago, NoobCruise said:

Found it! Maybe. This looks like a slide to me. 

 

Wow so it does appear as though my kids are going to be very happy! 

2 hours ago, NoobCruise said:

Since I posted this message I have seen the show in person, and while I am ashamed to admit initially I did try to cover my 5 year olds eyes during the bone breaking I quickly realized it would draw more attention to it. It was fine. Maybe the bone breaking was toned down after launch or maybe since my boy enjoyed it I cared less about it. There were definitely noticable "ooohs" from the audience (for lack of a better word) in disgust at certain moments. All that said I would see the show again. 

It's pretty lame and I found the shirtless gymnast far more offensive than the bone breaker. I didn't appreciate the show being wordless.

Yeah the show is no good. The only redeeming feature of the show is the contortionist. They should have saved a few bucks and just made this guy an elevator feature like the mobile piano player. 

38 minutes ago, bobroo said:

Maybe these are slides for really young kids??? Think of them less as features and more like objects.

This is the most likely scenario 

12 minutes ago, ScottD said:

I don't think it has a multi level dry slide...looking at the deck plans, that's the only deck I see that listed. I'm assuming its just a one level sliding board type thing?? 

Seems like odd placement. If you review an Oasis class ship w/ Abyss dry slide the entry is noted on the print but the exit on deck 6 is not labeled leaving me to believe this “dry slide” on Icon may start on deck 8 and take you to deck 7. It’s a stretch given the implications of an unsafe human pile up at the bottom but still a possibility. It would be even stranger to put a random slide on deck 7 that goes nowhere. 

Maybe I’m late to the party here but am I reading this right? Based on the deck plans is there a dry slide option to go from deck 8 to deck 7? If so, my kids are going to go nuts!!!! 

On 12/14/2023 at 9:20 AM, Matt said:

Thanks for sharing this. I'm surprised the cancellations are going as long as they are.

This is not surprising. I don’t think this excursion will ever see the light of day again and will be cancelled indefinitely. 

24 minutes ago, Shari said:

I am officially spoiled now.  Our experience in an Owner's Suite on Navigator of the Seas was fantastic.  The only issue was the main dining and the kitchen (more on that later).  This was my first experience in a suite that included the suite lounge and concierge.  My friend and I took full advantage.  We are both Diamond so we used our drink vouchers outside of the Suite Lounge Happy Hours.  We utilized the Suite Concierge a couple of time and he was fantastic. He was able to find out if the spa had any port day specials in advance of that port day so I had my first massage on this cruise and would recommend it to anyone.  The spa even gave us an extra $10 off of the special rate.  The Suite was so awesome and spacious (too bad this was only a 7 night cruise).  Since we were 2 friends I took the sofa that made into a bed and it was very comfortable (for only 1 person as I would not recommend for 2 people due to the raised area in the middle).  Now for the only down side to the cruise.  The host staff (specifically those at the computers) was awful.  We had My Time Dining and the first night they tried to sit us at a completely awful table (2 women together and I know this to be true because there were 2 women at that table when we left).   The next table was barely better but was not so out in the open that we accepted it.  The prime rib was so tough it was inedible (others around us complained too).  Our waiter noticed that we were not happy so he quietly informed his boss (the person in charge of that area, Jude).  Jude came over and asked us what was wrong.  We told him, he said to let the people up front that we were to be seated in his area the rest of the cruise and he took care of us.  The next morning we ordered Main Dining room service and it was a disaster.  My friend ordered an omelet with ham, cheese, and mushrooms with toast and the 2 sides being sauteed mushrooms and cheesy grits.  She got delivered a Smoked SALMON and mozzarella omelet with warm bread (no toasting) and no sides.  The server came up 2 more times and the order was never totally correct (the cheesy grits he brought were shredded cheddar cheese and no grits).  That evening in the main dining Jude asked us about our day and we told him what happened at breakfast. He went and got the head of room service, that person took our order for the next morning and personally brought it up.  We had no more room service issues and we did order dinner one night (with the help of Jude again).  Jude even sent us a dozen chocolate covered strawberries for our issues.  We took care of Jude at the end of the cruise, he truly was awesome and made up for the first night dining and morning breakfast.  All in all I would definitely sail in a suite again and hope I get another chance.  Thank you to everyone who answered my questions when I won the Royal Up.

Not sure what you are getting at with the seating two woman thing but I’m really glad to hear a recent Royal up (suite level) victory because they are few and far between these days. 

8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I mean you could possibly do it for less as long as you are on the slots and winning some of the time.

Anything is possible but a sizable bankroll is a must if the goal is from 0 to 2500.