jticarruthers

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum ;) I would pay you not to let me have internet access, I know that absent a 90% off special I am not going to buy the drink package, so the only thing I am going to be doing in cruise planner is shore excursions ... log in one time, book them if I am planning to do any through Royal and then done until the cruise.

Semi-regular occurrence, RCI's computer system executes a random reprice and you have to prove it was incorrect to get it reset.

Recall though that people like us are the educated cruise minority, the majority of people (and Royal's target market) have never cruised and don't know better. This is just part of their ongoing realization that churning through a never ending stream of first time cruisers is vastly more profitable than catering to those of us that are savvy enough to know not to buy the pictures, how to work the system to wait for the sales and the discounts, that are comfortable booking private excursions instead of through the ship, etc.

Making it easy to opt out would defeat the purpose. The idea being that most people wont even know you can opt out and will just buy the package for two "because that's how it works" .. if you put a button on the screen that says "click here" if you object to buying alcohol for personal reasons it would be easy to click it and go back to buying for one.

I cant speak to current situation but I do know that Carnival allowed for similar exemptions when we first sailed them ~10 years ago. You had to make the request to be exempted, it wasn't just check a box while you were ordering but if you pushed they would let you buy for just one adult. Not really a drink package buyer so I cant say if they still honor that policy or if they have tightened up.

Simple answer, drink cards are not as wildly profitable as drink packages.

The Miami terminal had signage up directing to a line for Global Entry, but the line was closed off. Last cruise we came into Miami on did not have signage but when I asked one of the "traffic cops" she walked us to the front of the line and had us cut in at the front for the next available agent. Last couple of cruises we did not receive or need the CBP paperwork (regardless of Global Entry), it seems something has changed there were you only have to fill in the forms if you have something to declare ?

I know only a limited subset of people are interested/enrolled but FYI just off Enchantment on Monday and we were informed that despite the global entry signs around the terminal, the line with a global entry symbol above it, etc. they no longer support/accept Global Entry. Questioned it with several reps who all indicated that yes I might have used it before in Port of Miami and yes I might have used it before with Royal but no it was no longer an option. Not a huge deal as the line was short and moving well but frustrating to spend $ on a program and see that it is getting less support instead of spreading.

Definitely progressing, just off Enchantment yesterday and there was one group of pilings near shore, another off to the west and they had several barges clustered along the "pier line" shown in the diagram working on another set of pilings.

Glad you get it straightened out bc.

Maybe the last weekend of Feb if someone gets really aggressive in the planning department but its usually a weekly dribble of new itineraries through march and into april.

Depends on your child and her interests/maturity. We started cruising with our son when he was about 5/6. First cruise we brought him to MDR with us and he loved it, he has never shown any interest in skipping it since and actually gets a little bummed if we decide to skip dinner and hit the buffet. I dont recall whether Adventure Ocean is open the first night now, i know it did not used to be but thought i read they had changed that so it might be a night 1 option, just keep in mind night 1 is usually a madhouse for everyone so in terms of meeting kids may or may not be a good time.

Its one of the "cards" they have to play to try and drum up the sales if they are struggling. I think Adventure last thanksgiving they came out on day 2 or 3 of a 7 day, could be early, could be late, might not even offer them, so unfortunately "counting" on the drink card is not a solid plan.

With the damage to the ports being so recent, in fairness to RCI I don't think they know yet what ports you will be visiting. If the existing ones are reopened then great, if they aren't then RCI will have to substitute alternate ports. With your cruise being almost 2 months out it's hard to know which ports will have reopened by then.

Not really surprised, although nothing like the magnitude (either in the real world or the cruise world) I battled the system last year for my AOTS disappointment and learned the hard way that now that business is booming again they can take a hard line on customer issues and know that there will be plenty of new customers lined up on the pier waiting to fill any empty spots. I would definitely be filing a complaint with my credit card company that they did not deliver the product and have refused to offer a refund. Arguing that a cruise leaving on a different day with a completely different(and much shorter) itinerary requiring you to pay for new flights and hotels is the same as the original product ordered would be pretty unbelievable.

Unfortunately itinerary changes are specifically spelled out in the fine print as not being grounds to cancel the cruise.

If the credit works the same way as the one we received from Adventure last year it is a $ value equal to that % of part of the fare that you paid for the current cruise. It is only calculated on the commissionable fare not the full fare so it is a little less than you would expect. For example, if you paid $1000 + taxes and fees for the AOTS cruise on 9/23 you would probably get about $400 (being 50% of the $800 commissionable fare, not 50% of the $1000 full fare).

I would say no chance of the 10/8 sailing being cancelled, there is nothing wrong with the ship and so no way is RCI just going to not do a cruise that week (Espcecially this far out). Good chance that the itinerary changes some more though as they look around for alternate ports of call to build a sailing plan around.

IIRC Maho was hard hit failry recently in another hurricane ... I don't think it was the one last year, thinking about 3-4 years back but I could be imagining it. I just remember seeing lots of pictures of the beach stripped back to rock before they replenished the sand. Its early yet but I would imagine if they rebuilt it once they will do it again.

Could be March depending on the order they release in next time around but that's the timeframe.

OP can you confirm which year you are talking about ? I am looking at booking the 9/29/17 cruise on Enchantment which is scheduled to return to port on 10/2/17. The website is showing the 9/29 and 10/2 cruises as available for booking and the 10/2 does have an itinerary change warning listed on it but it is just for re-ordering the ports no indication that it is leaving a day early. Would seem strange to reduce the 3 night on 9/29 to a 2 night and then presumably extend the 4 night on 10/2 to a 5 night ? Unless they are trying to squeeze something in ...

Except you forfeited your deposit if you did that so you didn't really win anything ... put down $50 deposit, received $50 OBC, cancelled cruise, received no refund. Net result spent $50 to get $50.

Tried Majesty for the first time and despite my somewhat negative attitude towards RCI at the moment thought it was a good ship and a good cruise. Certainly lacking in the big shows/big entertainment aspects but that's what you get on a small ship on a weekend cruise. Havent sailed Enchantment yet (possibly next month) so I cant compare them from experience but based on reviews etc I would have thought the two ships to be fairly similar ?

Sailed Vision about 2-3 years ago, solid ship ... had a great time and would be happy to sail her again. Generally speaking a more limited set of entertainment options than the bigger ships but good vibe and a good time. Look for the pool tables in the lounge area, its a trip playing pool when the boat is in motion and I think they were implementing an "Aerial" type act in the atrium when we were aboard so keep your eyes open for that.

Forgot to list, trying MSC Seaside in 2018. Slightly mixed feelings about the concept but great price, right timeframe, new ship ... so worth a try.