GLS

I was on this sailing as well and agree completely with the OP. Getting a refund is one thing but to say we should check our CP and consider canceling is ridiculous to suggest. Should be known to all cruisers at time of booking not a couple of months prior when changes/cancellations have costs associated with them. For the poster who said that this could be booked in advance with reservations (regardless of price) is completely inaccurate. Signs posted and staff communicated to us that this was a closed party with no access. And I would agree that Windjammer and other venues were impacted by this - take away a common eatery with already low staff levels ship wide and you end up with a cluster like we had. We were told by RC staff that this area was "bought out" by the group - not sure why they would lie - point being by OP if this group can "buy out" the Solarium, consider some credit or other accommodations to the other cruisers. Point is, in my opinion, ship was full, they devoted significant staff to this area daily (from what I could see) for a small group that paid $$$ impacting other areas of the ship. Comparison to go-carts and other options is also ridiculous - you can choose to wait in line for those if you choose regardless of the wait. There was no option to wait to get into the Solarium Bistro. RC should consider all of the cruisers when negotiating these events/transactions -that's it, nothing more.