Geezer Of The Seas

We knew our first cruise was an aberration given it was during the post covid restart and sailing with a 50% capacity limit. As I recall, it was booked under a 60% off for both our fares, Florida resident kicker & a senior discount. First cruise ever? In a suite? Hell yeah!!!! Those were the days....... Still, nearly 7K for 4 days on a 21 year old ship? Our April trip in a Junior suite on Wonder was less (not by a lot), and 3 days longer. I know the cruise lines price by seasonal demand, but the value proposition isn't there for us, but that's us.

Not even sure that matters now. Our 5 day Western Caribbean (Cozumel was the only port) we did last month was booked 45 days out and was just under 2K for a balcony on deck 9. I get apples to apples comparison of cruise fares with Royal or any other line is like trying to pin Jello to the wall, but Geez........when they say dynamic pricing they ain't lying.

It will be two years in February since Mr. & Mrs Geezer took our first cruise. A birthday gift for Mrs. Geezer. 4 nights on Mariner, Grand Suite, Nassau & Coco Cay, total fare (including port charges, gratuities & travel protection from Royal, $1801. Yes, one helluva deal. Fast forward to today. For fun, and at the urging of the 'absolutely last day of the cyber sale' e-mail, I looked up the same itinerary, same ship, same accommodations; it even falls on the same calendar days (Feb8-12th). Fare & port charges, nothing else....................over $6900!!!!! We're booked for a 7 day Caribbean itinerary on HAL (Nieuw Amsterdam) next November in a Signature Suite for $2700 less. C'mon man!!!!!! Yeah, inflation, fuel, corporate debt, demand, yada, yada, but does Royal really have to pay off its debt in one cruise???????????? To borrow from a George Harrison song title.......MY SWEET LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what's up with that? Well, at least we'll have done 5 cruises.

Wouldn't try that in Tampa......

Boy there's gonna be a bunch of choreography required scheduling all the new homeport vessels and 2 new cruise lines setting up shop over the next couple years at PC. The port executive pretty much acknowledged 2 weeks ago things are getting tight , more so with the new terminal coming, apparently on the site currently occupied by Bluewaters Marina. Then there's the cargo pier expansion and rocket people wanting a seat at the table......

Depends on how many body organs I might have to sell..................

When pondering a Thanksgiving '24 cruise trips on Utopia and an older ship (Voyager) displayed. 4 days, Voyager 11-25, Utopia 11-26. I selected an oceanview balcony for both. I know they're holiday cruises, but it appears the price differential between old and new is being whittled away........

As my 13 year old grandson would say...............Bruh!!!!!!

THIS.......and then some.

Well stated Ditch Doc. It's an utter tragedy..........and was totally preventable but for adolescent delusions of invincibility. A close look at balconies with the yellow tape on TMZ site tells me everything. The tables were right up against the balcony glass. Someone was likely trying for a social media moment.

For the OP: 100% capacity is 2 passengers in every cabin (like double occupancy in a hotel). Over 100% is bodies in sofa beds and Pullmans. Our last 3 cruises were all varying degrees over 100% on Jewel Wonder & Mariner. Wonder was 263 passengers short of absolute maximum occupancy. Lot o' people no matter how you slice it; the ships handle it pretty well.....except for the elevators.

As I recall, this isn't the first incident of this type involving "interior" balconies on an Oasis Class vessel. Though overboards and incidents like this are a rather infrequent occurrence, have to wonder at what point do cruise lines eliminate or modify these "attractive nuisances" (as PI attorneys refer to them)? We'll be sailing in a giant enclosed box?

I recall WOW bands in April this year on Wonder.......then wondered what good they were when servers/bartenders asked passengers to remove them so they could process their drink orders. Removing my Sea Pass card from the lanyard pouch seemed easier, and no additional cost. Observed the same thing in shops onboard.

Can't wax political here, but suffice it to say the permit will be renewed, the Conch Republic will secede from Florida, and a civil war will ensue.......

2 weeks ago on Mariner the great Promenade blowout sale began once we were offshore. Buy 3 cartons get one free. Didn't pay attention to the price either, since price is what inspired me to quit. But here's a question to ponder. Port Merchants on Mariner sells cigars & cigarettes. What they don't sell is lighters......anywhere on the ship. I packed 2 lighters, gave one to a woman in the 'leper colony' that didn't have one........and lost my backup 2 days later.

Our power bill sees to it we love 78 in the summer & 75 in the winter. As far as ship HVAC, I've observed newer appears to be better. On Wonder, we could've hung a side of beef in our cabin at the midpoint setting. Jewel & Mariner required a little more finesse with the thermostat.

With all the bootie displayed, one could open a tea room/coffee shop, a dry cleaning establishment and with that one heavy gauge extension cord, its owner could have packed a table or radial arm saw and done a little woodworking in their cabin.

Last cruise we decided it was a one suitcase trip and left the hoity toity at home. But, on Formal Night we ate in the Windjammer out of respect for the event and folks who want to dress nicely.

Beyond Meat & Impossible items stocked in the grocery we shop aren't moving like they once did, and are often on sale. The lab grown stuff sounds all ghoulish, but after reading the ingredients list in Beyond Burgers............sounds like a high school chemistry project. I'll stick with the real deal, if it's gonna kill me, at least I know my enemy........and at age 70, not big on my list of worries.

Hey, we resemble that remark! You left out the ambiance of seagulls pooping on the Plexiglas canopy over your head. Whatever doldrums the share price experienced recently seem to have been exorcised. And....RCCL is now running a positive P/E ratio and net margin...........and we all helped!

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy While essential oils aren't specifically banned, there's a couple of points in the prohibited items list that could be broadly interpreted. Their ship, their rules. You could call customer service and ask. What you get for a response? Well...... Bottom line, if it concerns you, they're expensive and you don't want them seized, leave them at home.

Our last 2 cruises (Wonder in April, Mariner last week) were crazy efficient with the embark/disembark process. We're 11:30 to 1:00 pm "embarkers" and do the luggage assist disembark at whatever time we're given. But man, the crew on both ships were like a well oiled machines, especially with disembarkation. Wonder's was memorable because of the tornado warning that was issued and everything was paused til the thunderstorm passed. We were waiting in the MDR and treated to a couple hundred cell phone push alerts going off simultaneously.

Did nana do the perp walk? Sort of related; some clown apparently took our room service breakfast order tag off our door before they were collected on our deck on our recent cruise. Called Room Service 90 minutes after requested delivery time passed. The crew member I spoke with checked, sure enough they didn't have an order for us. He apologized, stating tag grabs are a favorite pastime of drunks and kids. Reaffirming my faith in the species.......

The demand for plant based fake meat seems to be declining. A fad? I'll admit to eating the occasional Beyond Burger at a Florida based upscale burger chain until they closed the neighborhood store. Were it not for the condiments, it would have been completely devoid of flavor and had a really weird texture. I really went for the peanut oil fried onion rings which were out of this world.

Mariner of the Seas for us. Our first cruise and our most recent. And now she's gonna be redeployed to Galveston..... Why, Royal, why????