happy cruisers 2

Anyone else affected by this ship change for cruise to Greenland? We got our cabin assignment notification today, Dec. 1st. By email, we got notices that all of our booked excursions and packages and dinner times were cancelled. Sure hope RC takes care of rebooking everything we had selected.

So I called the toll free number listed on the RC notice I received in early November and someone in "Redeployment" answered quickly. She seemed more informed than the Customer Support person who previously answered via email. Still no answer to my question, but she suggested I call back in a week if I don't hear anything else from RC sooner. In the future, I will call vs. email.

Thanks for the comments. Well, I did get an email response within two days (which actually surprised me) from a Customer Support person. However, the reply doesn't make sense based on prior written communication received from Royal. Based on what today's message says, I would say the Customer Support person is not aware of the situation, but should be, or should have looked into it further before replying. Overall, the reply was NOT helpful at all. I'll try calling and hope I can get the necessary info that way. Yes, for such a large company that aims to offer an excellent experience for guests, I would say the "contact us" link in their site is not helpful (at least in my two experiences).

Thanks, AshleyDillo and billdauterive. I will keep your suggestions in mind and look into them further. Both sound like what we're looking for.

So if you dig deep enough into the RC site, you can find a link to contact them with a question. First they want your name, email address, cruise, reservation number, who you booked through, etc. They say they'll reply soon. I once contacted them this way (maybe a year or two ago) and never got a reply. Tried it again a couple days ago, and will keep watching for a reply. Have any of you ever had success reaching someone / getting an answer this way? If I don't hear from them I'll resort to calling and hoping for someone who can help.

Thanks, kfrancis6975! Very helpful info. It seems that every time we've docked in Cozumel it is HOT. Taxi ride will be our choice, I'm sure. And COZ Coffee looks great.

We are eagerly awaiting our cabin assignment on Jewel for a Sept. 2024 cruise to Greenland. Due to the Israel/Gaza conflict the ship was changed. We had already selected our cabin on Grandeur and were notified that if RC didn't hear from us by Nov. 22 our reservation would be transferred to Jewel without us needing to do anything. (We booked this through the RC site and didn't use an agent). We're guessing we might get notification of the new cabin assignment in the next few days or perhaps next week. Would be interested in hearing from others in similar situation when you get your notification!

We started in the U District up in the Green Lake and Ravenna area. Then we moved to Tukwila, Kent and Federal Way. Lastly, and the best, we were in West Seattle. Beach Drive and Harbor Avenue. We had friends in Issaquah. Great memories. Nice area to live in at the time.

Congratulations on reaching Pinnacle, Linda R !! Once we complete our 3 (so far) cruises in 2024 we'll be close to D+ but I really don't see us ever getting to Pinnacle. Maybe the Ultimate World Cruise (or multiple segments) would do it??! We used to live in Seattle also. Have been gone for 12 years now. Thanks for your tips! We're in the process of looking for an agent.

So, I realize "frequent" cruisers means different things to different people. Maybe I should have said "Experienced" cruisers. Thanks for all of your input! I think we've been fortunate to have our past cruises go quite smoothly, even though we booked them ourselves. You've convinced me, though, that we should work with a TA. My biggest issue is finding lower costs, not so much the extras we'll get once on board. Plus the fact that the agent can work on any problems that arise.

Many years back, we used travel agents for various trips and cruises. Recently though, doing multiple Royal Caribbean cruises, we just search the web site for cruises and select on our own -- sometimes using Air2Sea if we need to fly or arrange transfers. Now we are realizing that we might be able to save some money (or get added perks) by getting a travel agent involved. I guess the questions are these: Do you frequent cruisers use a TA all the time or most of the time? Is it truly a mistake (price-wise) to find and book cruises ourselves? If we decide to find a TA, do you recommend a reputable agent in our neighborhood/city or is it just as good to deal with a large group such as MEI, that is in another state?

Great! This trip sounds nice! We would want to extend our time in Canada, I'm sure. Glad you liked it so much. Thanks for the info.

whitsmom, thanks for the info. I'll look at the departure ports again. How did you like this cruise? We enjoy every ship, but I'm wondering about the ports and overall experience.

Through Google searching I see beautiful advertising on the RC website for cruises that include Quebec City, but I can't find a way to see actual cruise listings. They don't seem to appear in the drop downs of departure ports or destinations. Any ideas or suggestions?

We were booked on Grandeur for a 15-night out of Boston to Greenland (with stops in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) for Sept 2024, but got notification that (due to the current Israel situation) ships are changing and we will now be doing same itinerary, on same days, on Jewel. Won't find out new cabin number until around Nov 22 (next week). Currently, our list of upcoming cruises shows this one as Canceled. I have a feeling once this all gets sorted out, this particular cruise will again appear on the RC website.

Thanks for the suggestions, HeWhoWaits and DandA. bobroo, my research says Royal docks at the International Terminal, so my questions were based on that info.

We've been on prior cruises that stopped in Cozumel, but never ventured farther than the shops at the dock (which didn't impress). Now we're thinking we would like to get to San Miguel and walk, shop, eat, drink, etc. on our own for maybe 2 to 4 hours. Questions: Is it close enough to walk from ship to where we'd want to be in San Miguel? Better to take a taxi? At what spot in town would you suggest starting our independent walk?

You guys have convinced us that skipping the Cape is the right thing. We'll turn our focus to staying in a nice hotel for two nights and seeing what interests us in Boston. I appreciate your help.

We've been to Costa Maya several times and have never done the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins tour that RCI offers. I'm looking for input from those who have done this 4-hour tour. The description mentions an air-conditioned bus and a drive of around one hour each direction. In the past, our concerns were HOT and HUMID weather and feeling "stuck" somewhere in miserable climate that we'll have to endure. What kind of bus is used? Also, how are the roads? Are they decent, or are they not recommended for a bad back? I have an image in my mind of the transportation and the "roads" to get there and maybe I am totally wrong. I'd love to hear your experiences and whether you liked it or not. Our next cruise to Mexico is in May. Thanks!

Thanks, Peter D. That is something that I had wondered about. Seems like it would save some time, and perhaps there are some tours out of Provincetown. I'll look into it, although we have accepted the fact that the Cape might be unrealistic for just one day. We'll find plenty to do in Boston, but I'll do more research on Provincetown.

Why not just plan to be present in your room at the time you've selected for delivery? In our experiences with room service, someone will call to tell you they are on their way. When they arrive, you open the cabin door, tell them where you'd like them to set your food, say "thank you", hand them a tip (if you choose to) and off they go. To answer your question: I really don't know if they will deliver your food if you're not in your room.

We found the experience to be super smooth last month. Very quick process. We parked off-site in a nearby garage and used the parking garage's shuttle to the terminal. Weather was great, so no rain or extreme heat to deal with outdoors on our particular days leaving and returning. We were impressed.

We recently did two 7-night B2Bs on Allure out of Galveston. I'm sure, as OCSC Mike says, it depends on the port. In our case, we did not need to leave the ship. The consecutive cruisers met in the main dining room at the appointed time and a customs official came onboard and into the dining room, rather than making all of us get off the ship. WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! We sat at tables, passports open and ready, and he came to each table to check whatever he needed to check. It was very smooth and efficient.

PatsFanBrian, you are the local expert who I needed to hear from. I sure do appreciate your input. You have convinced us that trying to do the day-trip to Cape Cod is not a good idea. It's disappointing, but I know we need to spend more time in the area if we want to explore the Cape. Last time we were in Boston (another cruise) we did the Hop-On, Hop-Off tour which gave us just a bit of an overview of some things. This time we'll have a full day to do some walking, eating, etc. close to wherever we get a hotel. Thanks again. Your advice is invaluable and most likely saves us a lot of frustration. We hope to have a great time in the city prior to our cruise the next day.

On our recent cruise on Allure a man and lady seemed to always have breakfast at Coastal Kitchen and he spent LOTS of time on his cell phone, even while eating, while his wife or partner sat there with him. I thought to myself, WOW, he must be someone important or have very important business to conduct while on their cruise. Maybe he's doing deals with his broker? Maybe he's running a business? Whatever. We found it odd that this had to be done while he ate breakfast, but I sure didn't let it affect my enjoyment of our cruise. At least he wasn't loud, and we were not close enough to hear the conversations. Not something I would have done or wanted multiple people doing though.