Hutcherl

Aberdeen are my Local football team ( soccer ), as we are in an area of green fields with lots of sheep opposition fans insinuate that we have relations with them. So we call ourselves "The Sheep"
 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=aberdeen+fc+sheep+on+fire&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=sfIhG-7ZOs1F_M%3A%2CY35uIHnbExJmlM%2C_&usg=__ZoBeGu238VPwgqtxe5EBxgJuo0A%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBgaPN9IzZAhWHfFAKHR35AZ8Q9QEIVDAI#imgrc=b8ERxnykpXSm1M:

I remember when I went back for college. Luckily, I met an amazing local who is now my wife,  so hopefully, I won't have to go back anytime soon. Its one of those places you think oh I could never live there its too small, then you visit and decide to never go home lol.

Yikes! What’s next?  Where will it stop? 
I can’t imagine that there will be much interest in this.  Maybe this will die on its own. But then again, who knows what people will continue to pay extra for?
 RC is smart and has been successful, to this point, in finding additional ways to generate more revenue.   We, as consumers, determine how far they take stuff like this.  
  I’m still booking a annual RC cruise for my family.   We don’t opt for most of the extras because we are happy with the way we have always cruised so no real value for us.   It is definitely alarming though.  

Thanks! Might have to take you up on your offer.  Considering a week in Grand Cayman in August.  It’s the most beautiful island in the Carribean that I have visited so far.  

Omg....I was trying so hard to be polite and wait for someone to make a comment about this before I jumped in. I laughed so hard at this comment because hubby and I have always said Disney must be the worse for this!!  Really?!  Your kids are just on the other side of the curtain. I hardly call that privacy lol! At least RC price point is affordable enough that you could get 2 connecting rooms and hope for some privacy.  In fact, I've paid less for 2 connecting rooms on RC than 1 on Disney!  It's entertaining reading for sure! ?

I would even settle for the "upsell fairy"!  No one ever comes to visit us lol.

Enjoy!  No better way to build even greater excitement right before a cruise than to get information like that!! 

I too am booked on MSC Seaside, March 31... I was going to go with a Royal option, but the Next Cruise changes, plus some of the drink package changes really just put up a red flag for me.   I just finished a 12nt Anthem that was quite nice, but I really think now is the time to spread my wings and check out what else is out there.  I never thought I'd choose another line, but RCI has convinced me to do so.  The status match, plus automatic 15% off your fare for first responders and teachers, plus OBC & drinks, and the already low fare... it was actually a really easy decision for me.  
 
I consider myself pretty easy to please, but I just don't like to feel as though I'm being taken advantage of, and as of late, I'd be lying if I said I had not felt that way with my friends at RCI.   I'll never dispute their incredible product, but some of the changes are just a wee bit difficult to swallow as a veteran cruiser.  
 
I guess I now get to see if the grass is truly greener.  :-) 

Noted. Still using it as a selling point to hubby lol...

I'm pretty sure that, on your second sailing, you get some perks, but nothing to write home about.

Thank you, yeah we called and they took the $115 difference off the amount we owe. So used that savings plus our $100 room credit towards the purchase of the deluxe drink package.

Just repriced my June 2019 Harmony sailing.  Cruise fare stayed the same but the OBC offer went to $125 from 50.  Finally a promotion that is actually saving me some $.  Deluxe bev package discount on June 2018 Oasis and now this.  Granted,  it’s not much but at least it’s something! 

Word to your mother........

Just read this in the Port Canaveral 2017/2018 Directory.
"Cruise Terminal 3, one of the Port's oldest cruise terminals currently being used for single-day port-of-call vessels, will be replaced by a state-of-the-art facility able to serve cruise vessels with up to 8,000 passengers calling on the Port.  The Port will invest $150 million for the new terminal, targeted for completion in 2019, which will support an estimated nearly 4,000 permanent jobs."
No idea how new this news is, but it's the first I've heard of it.

I'm calling pics or shenanigans on this one!  ?

keeping an eye out never hurts indeed,  im hoping for some good drink package,  internet deals now,  go cyber/black days. 

Does anybody have any experience in a room of this type?  It’s a Harmony inside stateroom category 2s room 9179 Central Park view virtual balcony?  I’m kinda confused on the virtual view.  I asked the RC rep what might be a silly question- Is the virtual view of the Central Park or the ocean? She politely laughed and said it’s the ocean.  My booking states Central Park view.  I’m confused!  Any help is appreciated 

FLL is a breeze.  Suggest a window seat on the left side of the plane after the cruise.  This was Allure after our cruise in May as we climbed out of FLL.

I’m still waiting for my drink package to reduce. Harmony for April 21 and it has said $55 a day for as far as I been looking. Once it goes down I will cancel and rebook it. Will use savings for excursions if they are still available.

How could you NOT have a good time when you're on a cruise ...... I believe the real trick is allowing yourself to be flexible with whatever comes down the pike.  Those that are real rigid with their plans would've had a lousy time on this one ..... Nothing went according to plan, not even the belly-flop contest, (CANCELED!)

I am really hoping for a black Friday/cyber Monday sale...if we are buying 2 drink P kgs, it would really be nice if I could save 11 bucks a day!  Jane

I eat an extremely clean diet and have a strict training program pretty much year-round.  I exercise on the ship simply b/c I would be grouchy otherwise.  I also love that there are so many healthy options in the Windjammer and in the MDR.  I indulge on the ship with wine and cocktails, and I tend to have dessert at dinner.  I bring protein shakes and bars for in between meals, so I'm not starving and so that I don't overindulge at meals.  As someone else mentioned, between walking around the ship, taking the stairs & shore excursions, there's plenty of ways to burn off those extra calories.
The main reason for me chiming in on this topic, though is this ... traveling in general tends to make one retain water, especially flying.  No matter how well you eat or don't eat, you will tend to gain 5-10 lbs of water weight.  (I can gain 7 lbs of water overnight if my sodium intake is too high in one day or if I have a couple of glasses of wine.)  Typically, the day we get home, my weight will be down or stable & then 2-3 days later that extra "weight" shows up on the scale.  It's not fat, it's water.  And, as soon as I get my diet & exercise back to normal, that water weight slides back off.
My best advice?  Just stay off the scale for about 2 weeks after you get home.  Otherwise, you get discouraged & give up on dieting altogether.  It's an unhealthy mental game.

I hate to be skeptical..but they are a business..and ur damn right with all the cancelled cruises and donations that's eating into their bottom line! Were they going to do this anyways?....prob so....however, what a great time to slip in this extra cost when everyone is praising there hurricane relief efforts.
 
Just sayin.......

To close this - I escalated, and escalated, and escalated until there was no one higher up to escalate it to ... and finally they agreed.  It took what I consider an inordinate amount of time for them to accept my additional money, but they did.  Now I'll have a balcony for 7 days to replace the 3 days in Old San Juan that we'll have to forgo pre-cruise due to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.  To top it off, my airline waived the change fees so that we fly in the day of the cruise, so all in all this was a good Monday. :)

Happy to report that early this morning I checked online again and notice that limit had been lifted.  So I called RC right away to ask for the upgrade.  In the end we are good, now in a suite with 1 1/2 bath and an extra pullman bed so the kids don't have to share a bed plus free gratuities for all   Told the kiddies they would get their own room maybe next time lol.  And yes, Matt, I booked with the NRD so it was my understanding all along that I would have to pay a penalty of $100pp for one of the cancelled rooms (not both rooms) which is what ended up happening.  The remainder of my deposit goes to a FCC which can be applied to this cruise in a few weeks.  Something interesting though, after reading bcarney's posts about his FCC, I did ask them what happens after I apply this FCC and sometime before sailing in March I decide I want to upgrade again, would my FCC be lost since already applied?  They (agent and supervisor) assured me no it would not be, it would simply be reapplied by a supervisor since it is not expired and I am not changing the sail date or ship.  They said this is done all the time.  So what I have learned from all this is that the front end agents often do not know the rules and sometimes even the supervisor does not because with my case they had to go to a manager.  With all this I was on hold for probably over and hour but worth it because it was good learning experience to not take the first agent's word for it all the time.  And I may be in the minority here but I prefer to book and deal directly with RC because I can argue my own case and have control over my own booking.  I blame it on my Type A personality lol.