whenismynextcruise

We used the spa on our Navigator cruise in 2016 and even though I had a voucher for $50 (won in the raffle!) We still found the prices to be WAY over-priced compared to land spas in the UK - you can get a whole spa day including a treatment and lunch, at a good quality spa, for a comparable price. 
Unfortunately we were both disappointed with the service and experience. We both had a hot stones massage. The treatment rooms were cramped and clinical - more like going to a salon at home rather than an expensive spa. The atmosphere was not relaxing. Despite paying for a 50min treatment, and following the advice to arrive early to go through pre-treatment paperwork/consultation "so you don't miss any treatment time", the massage itself was only about 30mins with an overly long 'consultation' at the start, which seemed more of a way to find out what other treatments they might be able to sell you, and a very hard-sell pitch at the end - not a relaxing end to a spa treatment. 
We both LOVE going for spa treatments and are willing to put our hands in our pockets for a good service but we didn't feel we got  that and won't be going again on our next cruise. 

I look at this similary to sharing the drink package. If an area is for suite guests only than imo you would be taking up space and potentially views of those that paid for that experience. Others may disagree just my two cents 

Way i see it, it's RC who make the rules not the guests, so if RC dont want shorts in MDR on formal or any other night ban them!!! TOTAL BAN 
No one should judge or look down on anyone due to what they are wearing if RC says it's ok. In my opinon a nice pair of shorts with the right shirt or polo shirt can in fact look way better than a pair of trousers, it's not what you wear but how you wear it  

I do shorts, and a polo shirt in the MDR, and slacks, and a button down shirt in the pay restaurants 
 

After years of cruising with Royal, I am a convinced that anytime you you tip and that receipt, envelope, or anything else that says "gratuity" and also has a Royal Caribbean logo on it--those funds are going into that ships general tip pool for all employees. That includes leaving a buck or two tip on a receipt for drinks. That bartender/server/room attendant does not individually receive those funds. That is true for the above pictured envelope. Cash to that guy or gal you want to thank? That goes entirely to that person you want to acknowledge.
Case in point: want to know why that employee Waaaytoo described was afraid to touch that little blue envelope??? Because management is afraid an employee would stick it in their pocket and not put it into the collective fund and probably has given extreme warning to any employee thinking of not sharing that money.
 
You don't need no stink'in envelope, there is nothing to hide. Be proud of your acknowledgment and carry some small bills in your pocket when you are onboard. Enjoy the smile you get in return for your couple bucks.
 
 
 

I'm totally a gambler. I booked a cruise on Allure for Sept 16th.. But I live in Ft. Lauderdale so if there is a hurricane I rather be on a cruise then in my hot apartment with no power... And if they did cancel my cruise I wouldn't be out any airfare so for me its worth the gamble 

The sad part about this is that they will never have to realize this and can keep charging more. People will pay. Maybe not many of us here but the way they are marketing cruises now with iFly, Dodgem cars, FlowRider, water slides, kids programs, etc and now water parks on what used to be serene private islands its a whole new passenger demographic. They don't know what is "used to be like" and are willing to pay for just about anything. 15 years ago I never would have ever thought that I would pay $4.50 or more for a cup of coffee but now its normal. For vacations people are more willing to pay for an experience now than they ever were before and because of it we will continue to see nickel and diming happen not just on cruise ships but everywhere else. Its simple really. They charge more because people are willing to pay more. RCL is marketing itself as a family vacation destination now and as more families embrace this new option it creates a new stream of revenue. Instead of going to Epcot to have a faux international experience people can take their families to 2 or 3 different countries in a week and what a great opportunity that is for kids.
I personally have been thinking about trying Celebrity for this reason. I read this recently as a comparison:
Royal Caribbean has lower-priced entry-level cabins, larger ships, more emphasis on family travel and less emphasis on service, while Celebrity has slightly higher priced entry-level rooms and more emphasis on a refined experience and good service.
I am certainly not giving up on RCL myself but I can't change the direction that a multi-billion dollar cruise line is taking. Maybe its time to focus on what I want and will get out of my vacation dollar as opposed to feeling nostalgic for what it used to get me.
Just my humble opinion.
 

Remember, you are in a foreign country.  If you miss the ship for any reason (taxi or bus breaks down, you get injured or ill, get arrested, stuck in traffic, or any other delay) you can’t leave the country without a passport.  I always use a passport (even though a birth certificate or passport card is acceptable to board a Caribbean cruise) and I always carry my passport ashore.  Otherwise your day goes from bad to worse while you wade through the red tape of getting out of the country.
Also, you can not use a passport card for air travel, so if all you have is a passport card and you miss the ship, you can NOT just board the next flight off the island... and if they won’t accept a valid passport card at the airport, what do you think they will say when you show them your phone with a photo of your passport... or a paper copy?
At least with a passport you have a chance to catch a flight to the next port and resume your cruise instead of waiting for a day or two to get a replacement.

Like has been stated here before...Royal is a business and its goal is max profits and money to shareholders.
 
SO increase pricing on anything and everything to the point that breaks customers...thereby maxing profits right up to that point. THEN you can lower prices slightly, make it look like your giving everyone a break but really prices are much higher than before.
 
And most here seem to be ok with that. I once again say time will tell...cruising used to be affordable. But everything has gone up in price on top of how much extra's that you have to pay for now.
 
Just since I started in 2013 I would say pricing is now on average about 50%...I used to cruise multiple times a year...now its down to about once a year.
 
 

thanks @Matt. what you say makes sense. We have only cruised in the winter. An escape from cold New England weather. And with Anthem in NJ it is soooo convenient not to have to fly to Florida when the port is only a 4 hour drive. We will have to consider a summer cruise :) 
and thanks to @WAAAYTOOO  - I have never been to Freeport and wont plan to go! Great advice. We will continue to enjoy the relative peace of our ship day in Nassau! 

UGH.  You would not want to go to Freeport.  That place is a total dump.  I am not a huge fan of Nassau but Freeport is WAAAY worse.

Anthem's itineraries are tied to the time of year.  In Winter, late fall & early spring, Bermuda, Canada or New England are out as options.  So that leaves going south.  Once you get past the Bahamas, you're talking about a cruise longer than a week.  Most Americans (especially families on vacation) are unwilling/unable to take more than a week off of work.
During the summer, you get more varied itineraries.  Check out our Anthem of the Seas group cruise 2019 as a glowing example: Bermuda, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Labadee.
Fall takes Anthem to Canada/New England.
Key West is further away from Canaveral, so it may be logistically impossible. Also, Key West may not be able to handle a Quantum class ship in terms of its docking facility.
 

We also like the Bayonne to Bahamas route on Anthem and have done it 3 times so far. Its a long day to one of the them parks that will fly by incredibly fast. It doesnt sound like you are traveling with kids so that is a plus in a way. 2 adults move around a lot easier than with kids and expectations are usually different. And if you have been to either park before you could do some pre-planning for what you want to see or do.  I also see it as "something to do" in the otherwise boring port of Cape Canaveral. I say go for it and add a memory for yourselves.
An off thread thought on this itinerary to Bayonne to Bahamas is why doesn't Royal look into changing this one up? I love the ship and I like even more the escape to warm weather but Cape Canaveral and Nassau are about 2 of the worst ports of call. Much has been said in these posts about the lack of things to do there. Cant they come up with something else? Inset Key West for Canaveral? Switch Nassau for Freeport? We are on Anthem again for Thanksgiving and this year they have changed it from 7 to 8  nights adding a cruising day which is great but after 3 years cant they change it up a little? First world problem I know. Just wondering...........

This is just about the dumbest thing ever!  A juvenile that never grew up?

I can see the argument for not tipping additional if you don't have a drink package, since you are paying the gratuity already and you likely are not looking for a lot of repeat service, otherwise you would have a drink package.  I always buy one though, and I always bring $100 in ones on a week long cruise.  Throw them in the safe, and take as needed throughout the week.  Heading to sit by the pool for a few hours on a sea day, I will grab some ones and go.  $2 on the first drink and a buck on the rest and you will never wait for a drink server to come by.  After dinner and heading out to the shows and bars for the night, I will grab more and do the same.  Bartenders pick up on the cash tippers real fast.  Give them your card with the cash right when you are ordering, your drinks will be on point!  Rented a bungalow at Labadee, the group of us pooled and gave the two attendants $10 each as soon as we arrived, as soon as the bar opened they brought us a cooler full of beer, and it was never empty.  Took care of them both on the way out as well, and they couldn't have thanked us enough.  To each their own, but if you have a drink package, I don't see how after spending thousands on a cruise, why an extra hundred makes any difference, especially when it will make your experience so much better.       

I LOVE the port at Baltimore.  I completely agree - so close to so many population areas - including mine !
The PROBLEM with Baltimore is....where do you go ?  We have gone to Bermuda sooooo many times now.  I love cruising so I don't mind going to Bermuda over and over....and over and over again.  But unless you have at least 9 days to cruise, you cannot get anywhere else.  Once we're retired, if we are still in the Metro DC area (which I pray we are NOT !) then I will take FULL advantage of the longer trips on Grandeur (or whichever ship is here) but until then, I guess it will continue to be Bermuda.  We do have a Christmas/New Year's cruise booked for this year and it will be our first out of Baltimore (12 nights).  Looking forward to that one !  ...and one day we will take the New England cruise too.  We are primarily winter cruisers so the options out of Baltimore are very limited this time of year.

Hey @twangsterisnt the "An ULCC (Ultra Low Cost Carrier) in the cruise industry could have the same effect eating into a portion of cruise customers that seek the low cost getaway cruises." already called Carnival? :)

Hey @twangsterisnt the "An ULCC (Ultra Low Cost Carrier) in the cruise industry could have the same effect eating into a portion of cruise customers that seek the low cost getaway cruises." already called Carnival? :)

Thanks so much @monorailmedic
The blog you posted is great! Looks like I will be booking for Cuba.

I have been on Deck 10 aft before (one of the Jr. Suites on the fantail) and there IS noise associated with chair movement, etc. coming from the WJ above.  It was not so excessive that I would not get a cabin in this location again.  It seemed to be worst in the morning, but I am fairly easy to please...so it might be more annoying to others than it was to me.  All things being equal (same exact room, etc.) I would probably go with Deck 7.  When you are aft like that there is very little foot traffic - generally nobody's back there unless they "live" back there.
 
Regarding the placement of the bed on balconies.
 
1.  Look at the deck plan and place yourself, mentally, in the hallway, facing the closed doors of the balcony rooms.  Be sure you are in the hallway.
2.  Find the closest set of adjoining rooms (you can tell them by the double-ended arrow that designates that these rooms are adjoining).
3.  The room on the right-hand side - the one with the arrow pointing to the right - will be the room with the beds near the balcony.  The ones with the arrow pointing left are the ones with the beds near the closets.  These cabins are manufactured in "sets" and they always follow this pattern.
4.  Moving toward the cabin that you are interested in, alternate, "closet, balcony, closet, balcony, etc." until you get to your cabin.  The most popular configuration is with the bed near the balcony.  It gives you the most room inside your cabin....therefore, this configuration is considered to be the "right" one.  The easy way to remember this rule is, "right is right" meaning that if you want your bed near the balcony, you want the "right" configuration - the cabin on the right.  Soon you will just be able to say, "right, wrong, right, wrong".  It's easier than saying "balcony, closet."
5.  For Freedom, Deck 7, the nearest set of adjoining rooms are cabins 7394 and 7396.  So 7396 is the "right" cabin and so are 7392, 88, 84, etc.  94, 90, 86, etc. will all have the bed near the closets.  BTW, these rooms are D3, not D1.  If you want a D1 cabin on 7 they would be 7370 - 7378 (and 7668 - 7678 on the port side),  Of these cabins the D1 "right" cabins would be 7376 and 7372 (and 7678, 7674 and 7670 on the port side).
 
It's easy once you get the hang of it.  I have never known it to be wrong.

I have cruised both ways and to tell the truth I have to say I like solo cruising the best I have a cruise on the brilliance oct 1 2018 5 nite out of Tampa and I have a studio inside there are only 3 on the ship then I have a 8 night nov 24 2018 on the adventure out of port everglades with the family. I love being with the family but I come home tired every time from the cruise , as Twangster said when cruising solo I am in charge of my itinerary I eat when I want nap when I want go where I want any time I want I must confess I am not to much of a people person I always manage to meet nice people though on board and have always found some one to pal up with to see the ports or eat with and I am always though not actively for someone to eat with because I cant stand large tables of people I don't know and have more than once opted for dinner in the windjammer alone when the MDR Maitre d told me that there was no option but to sit with large groups of paired off strangers. When you solo its your choice you tend to get much more rest catch a movie if you want to meet and greet there are always solo get togethers and don't forget the joy of adventureing and discovering new areas of the ship spend hours talking to the crew learning much about the ports we are visiting even paling up with some of them and finding that special hidden eatery as I did in the dud port of Freeport they had a lobster roll sandwhich that I think about once a week or so and cant wait to return to Freeport and that is something I have never heard any where from anyone I look forward to my next solo and the only negative I can think of is your security in port be careful where you go and do stay with the other cruisers in the area ,other than that for me its a win win cruise on my friends 

Solo travel is defn pricey. Royal pretty much charges 200% so all your saving is the port fees and taxes for the 2nd person by going alone.  As for rooms...some ships do have the studio rooms, but they are few and sell out pretty quickly.  My experience has been there is little to no savings from a "regular" room, BUT you get double CA points in  an inside or higher room so that maybe something to consider.
As for the cruise itself, it does have things listed for solo traveler get-togethers....but my experience with those is that its the same as the LGBTQ meeting type things.....they say its solo get together at the Viking Crown Lounge at 10:30pm.....and when you go there is no one there or there are people there just hanging out and drinking and they defn aren't single.....well there maybe single ppl there but they aren't there cause its the place to meet, they are just there cause they happen to be drinking at that bar at that time.
 
I wouldn't worry in town or on excursions on your own either as long as you are smart and staying in the tourist areas. And quite often you may meet up or end up out there with people from your ship that you have met or talked with or made plans with.
 
Of course you can sign up on CC too for Roll Call for your cruise which can help. I did that for my last cruise and we all met up for a slot pull. Was a lot of fun and neat to put some faces to names you have chatted with prior to the cruise.
 
I would say travel alone and take a chance and enjoy it! Perhaps the shorter cruises might be better based on the normal demographics and atmosphere of the ships, but to each their own!
 
 

I cruise solo often as my family and friends don't have my flexibility to travel like I do.
I really enjoy solo cruising and it makes cruises with family or friends even more special and different.  I used to travel for business a lot and became used to dining alone on business trips.  Due to that it doesn't concern me to eat in the MDR alone.   If you have a flexible calendar there are deal opportunities.  I can't count the number of times I've asked someone to cruise but they can only go a certain week and rate are double that week.  Being by myself I can sail in an interior cabin and have lots of room.  That alone saves a lot of money, like getting free excursions, internet and drinks.
Studio cabins tend to run ~75% of the cost of paying for double occupancy.  Sometimes they restrict promos and inventory to solo cruisers despite requiring you to pay for two.  In some cases I add someone I've cruised with before to a booking to get a cabin type or promo rate.  Truth is if that person could go at the last minute they would be welcome to join me but more often than not they are a no show at check in.  In those cases the taxes and port fees end up refunded automatically shortly into or after a cruise.   I don't pre-pay gratuity in the cases where a 2nd person is added who might not sail.
Studio cabins do not get double C&A points.  Booking a non-studio cabin including 'Guarantee' cabins do get double C&A points.  Not many ships have studio cabins and they go quickly.  Sometimes they are only slightly cheaper than a regular cabin.  Studio cabins are sometimes pretty small and if the price difference is small I'll go into a regular cabin and take advantage of the double C&A points.  I love suites but just can't justify them when solo.   
There is something really nice about solo cruising.  Do what you want, when you want.  There are often single seats in the theater available as people space themselves out when they sit leaving one seat between them and the next couple.  Sometimes there are single loungers by the pool available for the same reason.  MDR service tends to be very fast when solo.  
If you are the type of person who is comfortable being by yourself solo cruising is great.  Tons of happy people around and lots of public places but easy to slip away and have some alone time when you feel like it. 

To be honest with you, I remember some CDs who were pretty good and some not so good. But then again, I have no idea who they were! As long as my drink package is good to go, they all are OK with me. 

So, why are folks so interested in who the cruise director is or isn't? Yeah, nice to know, but, that isn't going to influence me one way or the other when booking a cruise. I look at the itinerary and ship amenities. Or am I being obtuse?