alamode123

Same exact thing happened to us on Mariner for March 11th sailing. First they cancelled our Navigator cruise on March 10th, then cancel Coco Cay.

Going to be hard pressed to book another RCL cruise after all this disappointment.

Here's a few from my last cruise, Fan2Sea on Brilliance, from a couple years ago.

On 12/14/2018 at 9:17 AM, Matt said:

Have you used it? I'm curious how accurate it is

I learned about it from touringplans.com. Here's a brand new article about it.

https://blog.touringplans.com/2018/12/19/priceline-deals-into-2019-vive-la-values/

Here's a chrome extension that claims to figure out what "mystery" hotel they are offering. 

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hotel-canary/akjikdkembhkhceaegjokdpggfcefigk

We did the same for our cruise in March. We've never been to Miami, so we're flying in two days early. Got The National Hotel in South Beach for $250/night. The rate on the hotel's web site is $450/night.

There's nothing wrong with being online for us. My girls actually want to live stream out to their friends to show them how fun the cruise is.

Fine if you want to be offline. But you're not getting a teen to carry a walkie talkie. Ain't gonna happen. The eye roll would be deadly.

Or get some audible books.

Two teenagers? I assume all of you will have the internet package, as teens cannot go 5 minutes without a phone. Use Google hangouts, Facebook messenger, whatsapp or any messaging app of your choice.

I could only imagine the major eye roll even suggesting walkie talkies or a white board. You really think they will come back to the room to read something when you can easily send a message on their phone?

For it to work, you have to adapt to the teen, not the other way around.

Thanks. We have the ultimate dining package, and from what I understand the hibachi isn't included. My girls like basic sushi (cucumber rolls etc.) and ramen/yakisoba, so I was hoping it was similar to the menu on Brilliance, the only other Royal cruise we've taken.

Is there a different menu for non-hibachi dining on the Mariner?

The previous price was too high for my liking. Hopefully there will be a price in the future I'm happy with.

Sailing on Mariner of the Seas March 11-15, 2019. i check periodically for deals, and up until today, the drink package was 10% off, at $56/day. Today it's 10% off at $59/day.

is this a common occurrence? Jack up the price before the cruise so the future 20% deal is actually the old 10% deal?

Thanks. We were just looking at various Youtube videos.

We're going to Coco Cay in March, and wondering what the area dedicated to the Deluxe Ocean View cabanas is like? We've looked on YouTube, and it seems to be very rocky with very little actual beach. How big is the exclusive beach area? Will it change with the renovations?

My 15-year-old girls are just worried that we'll have to walk a ways from our cabana to enjoy the beach, which kinda defeats the purpose.

One of the huge hidden pollutants of the sea is noise pollution. https://www.sonicsea.org/film

That being said, I'll be the guy on the pool deck selling black market plastic straws for $1 a piece. #ultimatestrawpackage

On 8/8/2018 at 3:14 PM, fonemanbob said:

Better odds at winning in the casino than a cruise being cancelled.

Where's my money then??

52 minutes ago, packercruising said:

Belize tenders? 

I like my Belize tenders with plum sauce, but my son prefers BBQ.

There are 3 games, candy crush, a bubble pop game and a shooter game.

19 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

For me, there were no benefit of changing to MEI as the didn't even come close to the pricing nor the perks I receive. But, in your case, it might be different. Check them out.

Pricing isn't decided by a travel agent, it's by RCCL. It will be the same regardless.

4 minutes ago, NS8VN said:

One thing that could bring those numbers even closer is transportation.  If you fly in to MCO Disney will drive you from the airport to your hotel and provide transportation throughout the entire property, as well as drive you back to the airport.  For a cruise you have to pay for that.  For Miami it should still be less than $30pp (the rough difference between these prices) if you arrange it privately, and probably a bit more than $30pp round trip if you arrange it through RCCL.  WDW also offers complimentary baggage transfers to and from the airport,  RCCL also has this but for an additional fee.

So these numbers are quite close and could easily be closer after considering getting you and your baggage to/from the airport and your destination.  Up until about a year ago I could look at parking for those not flying, but Disney decided free parking was just a bridge too far, so that's a wash now.

An UberXL from the airport to PortMiami is $30 according to their web site. As for parking, I don't drive so I never thought of that cost. (We're DVC members so wouldn't have to park regardless).

Mind you, this doesn't include the hotel the night before your cruise if you're flying in.

As per Matt's recent perfect day at CocoCay podcast, he stated he'd love to do a cost analysis of a weekend cruise vs the same weekend at WDW.

ROYAL PERFECT DAY CRUISE
I picked a 3 night cruise (Nov 1 to 4) on Navigator of the Seas, balcony room. Family of four (2 adults 2 kids).
Base price: $2121.40
Tips: $174.00
Waterpark cabana (includes waterpark admission): $684. (I averaged out the high and the low prices from the official prices).
GRAND TOTAL: $2979.40

WDW
3 nights, Port Orleans Riverside
Disney Dining plan (regular)
3 day Park hopper plus water park tickets
GRAND TOTAL: $3097.68

You could tweak the numbers with Ultimate Dining plan for Royal, or just buying a waterpark annual pass for WDW (or add a WDW cabana at the waterpark), but I think this is a fair comparison.

The only reimbursements you would receive is if you booked, say the waterpark, on your cruise planner, and it ends up not being ready by your cruise date.

44 minutes ago, Matt said:

Keep in mind that's an estimate and if the dock is any indication, those guestimates of when things will be ready is subject to change.  It is really hard to know at this time what will and what will not be open on your cruise.  I'd keep your expectations low, for now.

Expecting anything on time in the Caribbean is a silly thing to do.

Use a travel agent and they do that for you. I've received several emails from Sharla at MEI-travel telling me I've saved hundreds.

Thanks. As I've never been there, I had no idea what to expect. So with the cabanas, we get a private place to eat or something? they were only $30 more than the bungalows, so I figured why not.