DunkelBierJay

During some idle time this morning, I was thinking about how pricing is through the roof, and wondered if a correction may be coming. I have no idea, because Royal Caribbean's marketing seems superior to the other cruise lines and demand seems disproportionate to Royal vs other lines. I looked for late May sailings from Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and Tampa. I compared the May 25 sailing on Icon, Symphony, Wonder and Enchantment for similar category cabins to compare with Carnival Celebration. I realize it's not completely apples to apples, but this was eye opening. Results (guarantees when the option was available): Carnival Celebration -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Miami -- total cost for two is $2,543.30 -- cost per night $363.32 Icon -- 7 night sailing on May 25 from Miami -- total cost for two is $9,767.38 -- cost per night $1,395.34 Symphony -- 6 night sailing on May 4 from Port Everglades -- total cost for two is $2,994.48 (the sailings from PE were limited to Symphony 6 night and 3 night -- not a good comparison) -- cost per night $499 Wonder -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Port Canaveral -- total cost for two is $4,707.94 -- cost per night $672.56 Enchantment -- 7 night sailing on May 11 from Tampa -- total cost for two is $3,798.76 -- cost per night $542.68 per night I have to conclude that unless there is a correction soon, I may be trying other lines. I just don't see that the value that Royal has been known for exists right now considering a ship like Enchantment gets more for 7 nights than Carnival's second newest ship that has been getting good reviews. I am loyal to Royal, but there is a limit, and sadly, I am close to it. I'm curious to know what others are thinking.

I take this as don't go east of the hospital, south of Ft Fincastle or west of Junkanoo Beach and keep your head on a swivel and valuables on the ship if on foot. Otherwise, it's a taxi or bus to Bar Mar, Atlantis or similar.

This is just a guess...but if you're trying to book this from an IP address that is not in Florida, the discount may not work. I don't know if that's the case in the posts above, but if you have a VPN and you can specify a US location in Florida, the discount may work. I use a paid VPN, and there is a server in Tampa that is available.

I'm on the Serenade Facebook group and I see nothing but positive on it. The influencers seem to influence people who wouldn't buy a cruise anyway. The drama is just engagement and monetization for them.

It's not a sailing I would ever book at that price...I did that itinerary plus Nassau last year as a solo for less than $1000 total. It's crazy how the pricing is even in non-peak months.

I was curious about this, so I did a dummy booking for 2 travelers and for 1 traveler on Mariner on a 4 night sailing from Port Canaveral on April 4, 2024. Given the reports that Celebrity is charging extra for single travelers, I wondered if Royal may be starting to do the same. I share the observation that a single traveler does not consume as much complimentary food, and that is a cost savings for the company. If the food cost is $30 per person per day for the company, then they would theoretically save $120 on that sailing for one fewer guest. I don't really know how to apply a value on things like fewer people to take care of in a stateroom, less use of pool towels, etc. I did a 2 passenger booking in Microsoft Edge and a 1 passenger booking in Firefox in private (incognito) mode. This was necessary because if you allow for cookies, one of the bookings will bump the other. I made the booking of a spacious ocean view balcony on deck 6. The same cabin was available on the port side (cabin 6604) and starboard side (cabin 6304) directly opposite the other on the deck, so I am certain this is apples to apples. I didn't try to book the same exact cabin because I got kicked out when I used different tabs in the same browser. The two person booking was $2,919.16 and the one person booking was $2,816.08. The difference was in Taxes & Fees. Taxes on the two person booking was $206.16 and the one person was $103.08. I was not able to duplicate your results with my dummy bookings. I don't have a definitive reason for why my results were different than yours other than they are different sailings with different sets of conditions.

Please consider that when people do this...nice things get taken away from those who follow the rules when this kind of thing increases...you said it yourself....

I recently resolved that I will book specialty dining on the last night of my cruises. I thought it was cool on my first couple of cruises, but I started thinking about the napkin waving implications even if I had not yet been hit with a missile. It doesn't get me to pay any more gratuities...A short word of thanks we'll miss you (yeah, sure) from the head waiter and executive chef is enough IMO.

This is good information...a number of those came up on the insuremytrip.com aggregator which I like to use because of the compare plan feature and the ability to email the summary

I sometimes use this to see if a port is going to be crowded https://cruisedig.com/ports

Yikes. Good luck.

Items 1 and 2 are answered in replies to your post. I want to stress how important it will be to get off the ship as soon as you can to make that flight time...that is cutting it WAY too close. I would do self-assist and get to the debarkation point on board as early as 5:30 or 6:00 am whether the ship is alongside or not. The other thing I would consider is to change the flight to a later time if possible. The Key is pretty much worthless for what you are trying to do.

The last time I got the Key, it was at $19.99 a day. I don't think it will ever get to that level again. I thought it was marginally worth it then when Voom was going for $13.99 a day. Now, Voom is probably bottoming out at $17.99 a day. You can book Chops lunch separately and share one Voom account for much less. The other perks are just, meh.

If I were to guess what the issue is...and it's just a guess is the availability of RFID chips for this kind of purpose. It may just be a supply thing and RCI has bigger fish to fry right now.

On Oasis class, I have only stayed in CP balconies and like them. Given a port intensive itinerary, I would seriously consider staying with the inside for a lot of the reasons posted previously. I am usually up before sunrise walking around the open decks so I can catch sunrises and a coffee, so I get my Vit D. If I was inclined to order room service for breakfast, I would stay with the CP balcony, but since your alternative is a CP View...I would stay where I was and use the extra money for a couple of really nice lunches in port or specialty dining.

We are preparing to book one of two itineraries on Navigator out of LA. The only difference is Mazatlan or Vallarta. Which has the best options for all inclusive beach days and what port is most preferred over the other. Looking at the September 2024 sailings.

I've done this before as well...and there is nothing like walking into your hotel room within 20 minutes of getting off your flight. It is a little pricey, but it's fantastic if you fly in late.

Hotels near the port can be pricey, but I think the best value by far is the Embassy Suites. It is right on the trolly line, so if you don't mind schlepping luggage up a couple steps, it's a fantastic way to get to any of the cruise terminals. I arrived during a Lightening game at the nearby arena before, and sometimes they make some streets one-way when that happens It can be confusing for the cab or uber/lyft driver getting to the door, but it's only a minor issue. Lots of great restaurants nearby. Highly recommend. I echo @need2cruz.

Well, this is a hot topic because the drip drip drip is now a regular flow. I wrote a post earlier that may not have posted, so here is a summary: It's definitely irritating in an environment where they are taking away services and perks while waiters still make the "give me a ten" pitch. I noticed the recent survey I completed didn't ask about it...I always lied and gave a 10 anyway if an 8 was warranted and I liked the waiter. No more...I won't go to the last night in the MDR any longer so I don't have to hear it...the song and dance is a little old too I would like to see more choice or no choice More choice -- let guests pick how much service they want in their rooms...example 2-5 night sailings can get 1X service, 6-9 night can get 2X service, etc...all in exchange for lower gratuities -- I say this knowing that it's wise for company employee eyes to make sure everything is cool in the staterooms Less choice -- work it into the cruise fare and be done with it RCI is posting record on board sales and this doesn't sit well They may need to re-work the MDR concept or eliminate it entirely and just go for buffet plus more choice with specialty dining I share the sentiment of many with ...and to those who are ok with it's only another $28 for a 7 night cruise...ordinarily, I would be with you, but I am drawing the line here, not because I can't afford it, but because the company's timing with and positioning on this is so poor.

Did you look in the My Calendar link in the calendar section? Items you book in the Cruise Planner should show up there. Another way to track them is to flag your email confirmations.

Probably won't book scuba through Royal again. I've always felt either rushed or on an overcrowded dive boat. There was one dive in Cozumel where another person (beginner diver) on the excursion got sea sick and hurled over the boat while hugging my gear. I liked that a lot. Scuba at PDCC?...don't even bother. It's an awful shore dive. I've done third party a few times, and it's always better.

become a monetized cruise vlogger with 100,000+ subscriber. sound simple.

January 2015 on Enchantment. In some ways I liked it better then that I do now.

Look for open skating on a recent Allure Cruise Compass: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=274

If you get stuck in Vancouver with a passport card only, you would need to take a bus, train or one-way car rental back to the US. You can't fly.