Auburn14

I'd love to see them sail to Costa Maya as a regular stop, we loved it when we stopped there several years ago.

Free ice cream > CL access :P

 

Yeah, especially with DL access  :P . I'd rather be in the DL with the wall of windows anyways!

I read elsewhere that Liberty will be staying on her 4-5-5 night rotation Summer and Fall 2015. 

 

Can anybody confirm this?

I had no idea you got CL access. I would definitely consider it for a short cruise! 

 

Do you get double points or just the CL access?

5/4/14 Allure of the Seas

 

12/13/14 Explorer of the Seas 

 

:D

Someone earlier had mentioned that maybe you could book a specific sailing (to get the OBC), and then reschedule it over and over further and further out. Then, someone chimed in and said that you would sacrifice your OBC by doing that.

 

I spoke with Cynthia from the RC executive office yesterday and very directly clarified this. AS LONG AS the ship that you "reschedule" or rebook on is the same duration of sailing and the same category of stateroom, you will get the same OBC as you originally got. Just something to be aware of.

 

I just read on another board that a representative expressed that they will allow the passenger to change the reservation twice and receive the respective on board booking OBC. Changes after that point will knock the onboard credit value down to the open booking values. 

 

I think this may be a case of nobody at Royal Caribbean knowing what the policy is (if there is one yet!), so we all get a different answer. 

We're heading back to the Caribbean on Allure in May. Probably our 9th time on the Western route, but we tried Oasis in December and loved it, so we had to book Allure!

We stay at the Marriott Harbor Beach whenever possible, whether its before or after a cruise or weekend in Fort Lauderdale. It can be expensive, but the resort is gorgeous... paradise. You can walk about 10 minutes down the beach and watch the ships sail from the rocky area in front of the condo complexes. It's about 5 minutes drive from the pier. 

 

Another place that we like and can occasionally snag a deal is the Westin Beach Resort. Its a little farther down Las Olas.

 

We've also had good experiences with the Embassy Suites if we have an afternoon arrival and just need a place to sleep and shower pre-cruise. It's right there by the port.

The bigger issue with them trying to get people to book specific cruises is those loyalty desks are notoriously understaffed.  We had an appointment on Navigator of the Seas and gave up after waiting for 45 minutes because the backlog was incredible.

 

Adding on to this, when booking a sailing a year out or longer onboard, it's inevitable that we occasionally have to move the date up or back a week, depending on our schedules. Under the new policy, it appears the OBC would be diminished to the open booking amount if the ship or sail date is changed.

I'm pretty upset about this change. I read about it on the CC message boards. I was planning on buying a few more on the Allure in May, but now its just not even worth the time and effort.

 

We generally take one long and one short cruise per year, so no OBC for the short cruises is a bummer, but a measly $25 for a 6-9 night cruise is laughable.

 

I'll gladly join in on the emailing. I saw a few posts about it on their Facebook page today, I don't know whether or not that was anybody here.

We swam in CocoCay in early April a few years back and it was like Matt said, fine once you got used to it.

 

It can probably vary though, since the weather can vary pretty drastically in the Bahamas in February and March.

Hey! I've been reading this blog for months and I'm excited to be a member. We are from Alabama and our upcoming cruise on the Allure will be our 15th with Royal Caribbean. I look forward to getting to know everybody better and keeping up on the latest news. :)