Garnet21

RCL has cancelled our March 10-15 cruise on Navigator of the Seas, as well as a couple others. Supposedly they have chartered all three cruises.

8 months away. March break. All they offered was $100 onboard credit to rebook and my rebooking fees on my flights.

I can't even find a four night cruise interior cabin at the same price of my large Panoramic room 5 night cruise. If I say screw it and don't travel, I lose $2000 in flights, which, since I booked my flights early, have to be used by the end of April 2019.

My twin girls are so upset, and I have no idea what to do. I used MEI travel and will talk to Sharla in the morning, but rooms booked up fast overnight. Right now our best option may be Universal Orlando this August before school starts.

We had the perfect cruise. I booked the corner large panoramic room on the corner of the ship. We had a beach bungalow on Labadee and ultimate dining package, all set for Navigator a month after its refurb. Now, nothing. it's 2am and I can't sleep.

Never, ever, EVER will I EVER book Royal again, and I will tell everyone I know what happened and to never, ever, EVER book with them.

They screwed three ships worth of customers for a little extra cash.

I saved nearly $300 by repricing my October cruise on Brilliance.  Thanks Matt!  ?

As I write this on July 10th, 2018 - Radiance of the Seas, Southbound, interior cabin, $499 pp.  Ocean view $799.  (plus $193 pp port fees/taxes)
No special C&A discount, no casino rate or other promo.
YOLO!
Seriously, for Alaska this is a fantastic price.  Airfare wasn't that bad either but when a 7 night Alaskan cruise is cheaper than a Caribbean cruise I YOLO booked it! I did this itinerary on Celebrity last year and I've already booked a few excursions I couldn't last time. 
Anchorage to Seward train is available too, both direct or through Royal.  I booked it through Royal this time. 

Love the two chairs each reserved with a single sandal. Must be two one-footed individuals of the same size travelling together.

I just thought of another time I engaged my TA mid-cruise.  I had a deal that provided two specialty dinners.  Normally only one is offered on any given cruise.  On Allure they were refusing to recognize both dining certificates.  I emailed my TA (yay Voom!), went off to have another drink and see the aqua theater show.  An hour later it was resolved and I got both my specialty dinners. 
She contacted the ship and pointed out the error of their ways.  Again, I'm not sure what or how I could prove to them they were wrong.

I'm sorry you had to go through all of this but I'll echo what many others recommended: use a travel agent.  There's no additional cost to use a travel agent and they are great at guarding against these sort of issues.

I get reminders all the time for final payment. 

I booked a tight connection in Salt Lake and for the first time ever my arrival gate was literally right beside my connecting departure gate.  Connection made, the flight up to Seattle was uneventful. 
We arrived at our gate at 9:38am.  After waiting for my checked bag and hailing a Lyft ($39.95) I got to the hotel at 10:45am. 
Ride sharing apps use an area of the parking garage to operate from.  After baggage claim you have to proceed up one level and across a skybridge into the garage to row "i" where there were dozens of folks waiting for their drivers.
At the hotel apparently I was the first to check in from the group and they had one room ready on the 2nd floor so I took it despite not really having a view of any sort. 
Bag dropped in my room I headed out for the 10 minute walk to the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass.

T minus 2 days.
Bags packed.  Boarding pass printed.  SetSail pass printed.  Luggage tags ready.  Check, check, check and check.  I think I'm ready. 
Amazingly I don't feel like I forgotten anything, which means in about 10 hours at 35,000' I will remember exactly what I forgot.  Such is cruising.
For the flight to Seattle tomorrow I have a 6am departure.  I had plenty of choices of flight times all day but I chose 6am so I could visit something in Seattle I've always wanted but haven't been able to yet.  The Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit at the base of the Space Needle.  I'm a sucker for blown glass so I'm looking forward to this as a pre-cruise excursion.
I'm flying with Delta, my favorite airline since I am heavily vested in it's frequent flier program.  At 13,500 Skymiles this may be the cheapest round trip flight I've booked using frequent flier miles.  A direct flight was available departing later and arriving at nearly the same time but at several thousand more miles so I chose a connection in Salt Lake City given the early time of day plus day before cruise booking.  Connections don't bother me since I've flown a bunch.  Loyalty pays - I've been upgraded to first class on both segments.  Not bad for an 'award' ticket.
My son is joining me on this cruise flying in from the East coast.  With a Friday to Friday cruise itinerary it meant an extra day of vacation for him so another day on top of that to fly in the day before was a problem.  He doesn't get that much time off at this point in his career.  He elected to fly in the day off the cruise, something I tend to avoid.  Flying from the East coast the time change is working in his favor.  Fingers crossed.
I booked my cruise through MEI Travel and added the official hotel for the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise when it was offered oh so long ago.  Time flies, it's almost cruise day!   Shout out to Jacki York at MEI Travel for proactively checking each and every sale over several months to verify I had the best price.
Our cabin on this cruise is an interior with virtual balcony.  A full balcony cabin was nearly twice the price, per person of course.  I did an Alaskan cruise last year on Celebrity with a balcony.  One Alaska lesson I learned last year was that good excursions can be pricey.  Alaska excursions are well worth the price in my opinion to experience Alaska however adding up the total cost of a vacation experience on my second Alaska cruise I chose to spend money favoring excursions that were my second choice from last year over the cabin so interior virtual balcony it is.  Basically by booking an interior cabin we got our excursions 'included' compared to the cost of booking a balcony.  
Excursions this time around:
Juneau

Skagway
(The description read much better when I booked it!)

Victoria

Booked during various sales it definitely pays to book excursions early and watch sales.  Most of them have increased in price over the months since booking.  I booked our excursions with enough time for us to self explore before or after as weather permits.  Alaska here we come!
With that it's time to close my laptop and pack it, else I might forget it in the morning at oh-dark-early when my ride arrives to carry me to the airport.

There is a big deck and an overflow lot.  When we sailed in May, there was plenty of spots.  There are three ships sailing out of there in the summer, two Royal and one Celebrity.  You are basically taking the spots that the cruise before you vacated, so don't worry!  We've sailed from Bayonne a few times, only once since they added the deck and there was always enough parking. 

Twangster is pretty specific about who he will adopt, from a previous post he only considers pinnacle+. And you know you would end up being his camera mule don't you. 

The idea of a B2B is very appealing.  I would stay on the same ship in the same stateroom if the itinerary changed.  I wouldn't want to bother making a lateral move but I suppose on an Oasis class ship it might be interesting to be in Central Park for a week and then perhaps an ocean view.   An exception to an itinerary change  would be something like the Mariner GC.  Unfortunately, it occurs in the heart of tax season. LOL  I would consider hopping on another ship if it was an easy transfer.  I guess it all depends on the ships and the ports.  

If you were considering doing a B2B, would you? 
a - Stay on the same ship & cabin category? Why?
b - Switch it up with the ships/cruise line and/or cabin category? Why?
I'm curious as to others preferences and why. We might learn something new from one another !! Feel free to share your experiences !!

Day 4 - St Thomas Departure
I had a 6pm MTD reservation but decided to skip it in favor of the sunset.  Not a bad decision as it turns out.

It started out pretty great but as the sun went down further it got a bit better.

Looking back towards St Thomas with the Windjammer Al Fresco seating area:

At this point the sun was below below the horizon but it begin to illuminate the clouds and I just couldn't stop taking pictures.

As it became darker the colors became more vibrant.

Show nearly over, I grabbed one more photo with the deck 12 slide in the foreground.

These were all taken with an iPhone 8.  I think they turned out okay.

Person was injured on the job and then later fired because the company claimed the injury prevented her from doing her job.  I won't comment on the judgement amount, it will most likely come down upon appeal, but I wouldn't call this as frivolous as filing as suit against McD's for overcharging 30 cents on a burger.

Most companies have insurance against this sort of thing in the first place.  

Well to say that we are extremely grateful is an understatement!  Hubby had a heart attack this past Thursday, heart cath on Friday to find what the doctors call the "widow maker" with the main artery in his heart 99% blocked.  They were able to fix it with a balloon and stint.  We came home on Saturday and other than being very sore is feeling pretty good. He has to take it easy for a few weeks.  I asked the doctor about flying for our Alaska cruise and he said he could fly in 4 weeks.  We were 2 days shy of the 4 weeks and the doctor gave his blessing.  I did have trip insurance but thankful that he is still here and to be able to still go.  Hubby is very active and that was in his favor too. 

I'm with Twangbot on this one.  Even if I was inclined to buy a drinks package (which I am not) I don't think I could sustain it for 12 straight days.  I would be a zombie by day 6.

Is your hotel in Orlando charging for parking?
Taxi isn't going to be cheap, much more than parking assuming a 7 night cruise.
Uber/Lyft is $60-$80 each way.  Parking at the port will resemble airport parking rates but it is convenient - load up your car and hit the road.

Send an email to [email protected] and include your reservation number, ship name and departure date.  Ask them for the entertainment lineup and they'll respond with all the bands, comedians, headliners, etc. (usually takes a couple weeks).

I'd love later hours for WJ.  I don't need 24 hours, but open till midnight seems like an simple change.

In am returning right now from Harmony of the Seas.  It was our first cruise ever!  My hubby and I took our14 year old son, and I just wanted to share his first time with the teen club, which was VERY important to us on our vacation.  The first night, there was a meet and greet in the club, and he said that it was PACKED!  The kids seemed to exchange Instagram addresses, phone numbers etc. the first night and then arrange to meet up throughout the week in groups of 5-30 kids.  He had a blast!   The kids met for lunches, dinners, Flowrider sessions, and the late night dance parties were amazing he said.  The Hush silent dance party with the headphones was the best party of his life he said.   They had games like Battle of the Sexes, which was a boys vs girls very competitive game, karaoke, and many other events.  They had an ice skating party, which required long pants, so pack those too!  My son is pretty outgoing and had no problem making lots of friends and tearfully told us this morning that he had the best week of his life........  my hubby and I felt like we had a “date” with it being just the two of us for the majority of the week, so keep that in mind parents!  To sum it up, have no fears about your teen making friends and finding lots of kids to do fun things with all week!  Have a great trip!  

Kettles aren't unhears of as they're provided on sailing out of England. I, too, would like the WJ to be open later as well as a cooked to order 24 venue like available on NCL. 

OK, I recently asked you all about Next Cruise.  Well, this past week was my first ever cruise, on the Harmony!  My Mom and I went to Next Cruise to get some prices on Day 2.  You all were right, prices are all set, no haggling is done.  My price that was quoted is the exact one quoted on their website and same as my travel agent, BUT the OBC is where it changes.  My travel agent AND the website offer $25 OBC for an inside room.  next Cruise gave me $150 OBC!  That might not be a big deal to some of you, but I was very excited and I booked it!  Just wanted to let you all know.  Oh, and Next Cruise was VERY busy all week every time I passed through the Royal Promenade!

Quebec City is spectacular. The "lower" part of the city, the old port, is a maze of cobblestone streets and little stores, and then you can take the funicular railway up a very steep cliff to the upper city, with stupendous views of the St Lawrence River and more historical buildings. The remaining city fortifications - the wall in particular - are well worth seeing. The hop on hop off bus is a great way to see a lot with little effort - you can buy tickets in the upper city, just across from the viewing area at the top of the cliff. 
I highly recommend it as a destination - that being said, no idea where the cruise ship terminal is compared with the Chateau Frontenac (which is rather central to the area I was describing). But I'm sure you'll find out!