JBC

I love Labadee. A cabana or bungalow for a beach day is great, and the prices are a lot less than Coco Cay. The lesser quality of the food doesn't bother me. It's essentially lunch, which I really don't eat much at anyway because I don't want to spoil dinner. Kids would enjoy Coco Cay better for the pools and water park, but my kids have told me the lines are awful in the water park when there are two ships at Coco Cay, which is pretty often. Coco Cay is bigger, newer, more amenities, better infrastructure, etc. Royal is also putting a lot of marketing behind it.

I'm currently planning a cruise for August 2023 with a large group, probably 10-15 staterooms. A few are not vaccinated and obviously this is their only concern with booking now. If they book a non-refundable fare and the vaccine requirement is still in place in August of 2023, does that allow them to get their deposit back? I guess I am wondering if the vaccine rule is an exception for a non-refundable fare. Assuming non-refundable means non-refundable for any reason, If you book a refundable fare, can you cancel for any reason and get your deposit back?

I held the phone while my wife did it, and vice versa. It's fairly straightforward. That said, it's all pretty dumb. You can barely swab your nose and they can't really tell how hard you are swabbing or how high up in your nose you go. These do it yourself tests are pretty easy to manipulate, if you ask me. They need to get rid of the testing altogether imo.

The total charge you pay for the package when you purchase in the cruise planner includes 18% gratuity. You won't have any additional charges on your account for it. Sometimes when you order a drink, the server will give you a zero balance slip to sign. There is a line on there to write in a gratuity amount. If you were to add additional gratuity on the slip, then that would appear in your account balance at the end of the cruise. That is optional as you have already paid the gratuity. I like to bring a lot of dollar bills with me, and if it is a situation where a server is delivering me a drink (at the pool, in the theater, etc) then I will give them a buck or two cash, instead of adding it on the slip. If I walk up to a bar and order a drink, I generally do not add or give anything additional. To each their own though.

I have never paid more than $60 for the DBP, and I get it on every cruise. I have seen posts from people showing screen shots of $80 and $90 and that is crazy. I am going on Symphony Feb 19th and right now in my cruise planner for that cruise the DBP is $60.99, which isn't crazy for a little more than 2 weeks out. This cruise also only has 3 stops, one of which is Coco Cay, so plenty of time to use the package. Maybe it's because it's a big ship, I don't know. I just feel that over the years, as long as you monitor the planner, you can always get a deal on the DBP. I easily get more than my money's worth out of it, but even I would have reservations paying $80-$90 for it. That's like a 35% increase, which means drinks on board would have to go to like $17-$18. That seems crazy, but with inflation the last two years, who knows, it's probably possible. I guess I better really step up my game on this cruise, just in case, lol.

We are going on Symphony the 3rd week of February (Me, wife, kids, sister, grandparents). This was a lift and shift from last February. Everyone in our group is vaccinated and boosted, and no one has any health issues. At this point, I don't care if all the ports are closed and all the shows on board are cancelled, they could park the ship in the middle of the ocean for a week, as long as the bars and restaurants on board are open, then we are going! It's better than sitting at home for another winter break. It is a personal decision for sure and everyone is different. Kids are getting older, grandparents are getting older, etc. You can't get the years back. That's how I feel.

$200 is steep for the beach club. I echo what others have said and feel $80-$120 is about what I would be ok with paying for passes. Wait for a sale. And while I have never had a cabana there, if you have regular passes and get off the ship first thing, you will have your choice of spots, and the attendants are just as good/timely as I imagine they are in the cabanas. I can't speak to the difference, but I have never had to wait very long if at all for an attendant the times I have been there (for drinks). I'm going there this February during winter break week on Symphony and we bought the passes for $118 a few months ago. Currently they are "on sale" at $179. I always keep an eye on it and will watch for any Black Friday sales but I am not expecting them to go lower than that.

This!

We were booked on Freedom in Feb 2022 and have been switched to Explorer. We are going to change to a different cruise all together. This is a big disappointment, we were on Freedom a number of years ago and loved it, were really looking forward to the amplified Freedom. We cruised on Adventure before and just are not fans of the voyager class. It just seemed lacking compared to Freedom and Oasis class, most notably the quality of the on board entertainment and shows. We will probably use this as an excuse to sail on Symphony.

The percentage off really doesn't matter, Royal plays with that math all the time. Generally anything under $50, regardless of whether it is "on sale" is a really good deal. Oasis class ships seem to be a tad higher, anything in the low $50s is good. The lowest I ever paid was on Adventure and that was $44. I think I snagged in on Harmony 2 years ago for $48 or $49. I am on Oasis in February and I bought it recently at $53, no sale. It hasn't gone cheaper yet, but I am always monitoring my cruise planner.

The system overloaded line is a bunch of crap. They charge you immediately for any purchases you make, you should get refunded in a similar fashion. 3-5 days at most. I am waiting on about $1,000 in cruise planner cancellations currently, little over three weeks now. Based on what I am reading from people here, I won't expect them anytime soon.

There are plenty of words/phrases in that declaration that could make me lose it! I tried to read the whole thing, but then I got to the granddaddy of them all "ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION". At that point, for the well being of myself and my monitor, I had to close the link. I am still holding out a sliver of hope that I am on Ovation in August. Have a great day everyone!

We get a bungalow every time we go to Labadee. They are worth every penny IMO. Water and sand are nice in that area, bathrooms and lunch are right there, the aqua park is right there, and the attendants are always very nice. You can have shade or sun if you want, and the bungalow area is not crowded at all. It's nice to not have to rush off the ship to secure a spot. For a tip, the guys in the golf carts at the end of the pier will drive you there. If you have a drink package, $5 or $10 to the attendants when you arrive will guarantee you will never be without a drink all day!

If you book a cruise and get OBC as part of your booking, do you get shareholder OBC on top of it? I've never booked a RC cruise where I haven't gotten OBC of some amount as part of the booking.

We sailed on Anthem the week after it had it's 3 day quarantine last month, and I didn't hesitate or worry about it. We don't have anything else scheduled until Ovation out of Seattle in August. If the ship sails, we will be on it. This media driven over blown panic is ridiculous, and the immediate and future economic ripple effects are going to be severe and long lasting. People need to take some extra precautions, turn off the news and stay off social media. If you are elderly or are in a high risk group, then yes, stay out of public places for a while until it clears up. Normal, healthy people do not need to go into panicked hiding. End rant.

Food and dining on a cruise ship is so subjective. You could serve two different people the exact same meal and one could hate it and one could love it. That said, I find that a pleasant MDR experience mostly depends on your servers. If you get good servers who chat, joke with you, etc, it makes the whole experience better, even if the food isn't great. No matter how good the food is, bad servers will ruin the experience.

Pro tip - stay off of that "other" website! I am sailing on Anthem in 11 days, and I am not concerned whatsoever. On my past RC cruises, I have never had a cleanliness issue with a room. As WAAAYTOOO said, Royal would be all over that type of issue if they were made aware it existed.

At night outside on the pool deck there will be a lot of people smoking cigars. Usually close to the pool bar. This seems to be the new Connoisseur Club. Also, I believe all the ships sell cigars in the store on the promenade that sells liquor. I was last on Freedom when they still had a Connoisseur Club. It was very nice and I had a couple of cigars in there during the week, but there was never more than a few people in there. All they had on was a tv, the atmosphere wasn't great. At night on the pool deck there will be music playing and it is more of a party atmosphere. I actually prefer it to the old Connoisseur Club.

Edited for reading too fast.

I was on Freedom a few years ago, and they had a connoisseur club for smoking. I believe it is being removed now during Freedom's dry dock. These are becoming a thing of the past. On other ships that I have been on that did not have connoisseur clubs, the only smoking areas were the casino and certain outdoor areas. Other than the casino, in the evenings by the pool bar is where the majority of smokers seemed to gather. A couple of us enjoyed cigars and drinks there a couple of times during the week, as did a lot of other people.

I am going to Coco Cay this February on Anthem, right now in my cruise planner the water park is $139 per person. I bought it a while back for $73.99 and I had a hard time swallowing that. Mariner will also be there the same day as us, so maybe that is why? Either way, that is crazy. Looking around the cruise planner, everything is more expensive now, no sale banners on anything. I thankfully made the last of my purchases on black friday, beverage and internet packages are all significantly higher now. Well, except for arcade credits. Those are still 20% off ?

Your experience at Coco Cay is a bit troubling. I am headed there in February on Anthem, and Mariner will also be there the same day with us. We bought beach club passes to try to avoid a total overcrowded situation, but we expect the beach club to be crowded as well. I am really hoping that stop won't be a a big disappointment.

I always thought the general rule is that they allow shorts in the MDR on regular nights but not on formal nights. I have witnessed them not allowing entry to people in shorts on formal nights. I suppose that is a loose policy that is getting even looser. Specialties I have seen plenty of people in shorts. I don't ever wear shorts to dinner in the MDR or in specialty restaurants when cruising, but obviously plenty of people do. I know it takes away from the ambiance of the room a little, but it doesn't bother me as long as they are dressier shorts, a button down or collared shirt, etc. I wish they would steadfastly enforce a rule of no casual shorts, bathing suits, t shirts, flip flops, etc. The market dictates these things I guess.

I love the pedialyte powder packets. 1 packet per bottle of water. After a night of "heavily enjoying" the various establishments onboard, I make sure I drink a bottle of water with the pedialyte packet in it right before bed. Makes quite a big difference in the morning. Also, after a day of a lot of sun with alcohol, drinking one of these before heading to dinner or continuing your evening will give you a nice re-charge. I buy the packets on amazon. Pedialyte powder packets - I don't leave home without them!!

Anything under $50 is a good price for the unlimited drink package. The lowest I have ever paid was $44. My upcoming February cruise it has been hovering between $51 and $55. I am expecting on Black Friday or Cyber Monday for it to drop to $46-$48, which is when I plan on buying it. Fingers crossed.