Gears

This is an interesting thread. I am an RC fan for many reasons...and I have to say that being a D+ CA member it would be very difficult to push me off that mantle (so to speak). Price is part of a total experience that culminates with an emotional response resulting in...buying. Free Internet...means nothing if it barely works (not to mention when there was no such thing). A bunch of free drinks...get them already. 

When I get home after my cruise...which website am I shopping on? That's the result.

Let's hear the total value MSC (or insert your other choice) review.

36 minutes ago, bcarney said:

After 15 (soon to be 16) consecutive RC cruises I bit the bullet and reserved an MSC Seaside cruise.  An interior for 4 on Rhapsody was $2767, with a $1000 deposit.  No other perks.  The same week on Seaside was $2365, in a BALCONY room, with two 12 drink coupons and free internet, $100 OBC, and only $96 deposit.  It was a no-brainer.

I would like to hear about your experience too. All things considered, when you disembark, will it be a better overall experience (cost included in that)?

There is a difference between 'lower price' and 'better price'. If someone was to ask me what the lowest price cruise line was I wouldn't say RC. If they were to ask me which is the best value I would say RC.

We used to book onboard with Next Cruise...but all things considered, we can no longer find a reason to do so.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

For the record I've never been a fan of Carnival pizza either across 10 ships.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  

The Molson score for Carnival's pizza?

Sorrentos is about the only thing I tell people to stay away from. Hard to understand how something so bad can be repeated over and over again with incredible consistency. I equate it to dipping a slice of gooey white bread into tomato soup and sprinkling some ultra cheap Parmesan cheese on it.

1 hour ago, Sabrinaklai said:

Slightly off topic question...when sailing in a JS, do you pay regular or suite gratuities? Since you don't get a lot of the suite benefits it would almost seem a bit unfair to be charged the suite gratuities....

Suite gratuities unfortunately. 

Great job finding a solution!

Love hearing stories like that instead of griping that solves nothing.

10 minutes ago, Orange Crush said:

Why are they so secretive about how the points system works?  Fear of people gaming the system?

The best customer is an educated customer...so the lack of consistency/details/etc. is strange. One would think that appropriate advertising and detail should get more people in the casino.

I'm going to take a wild stab (gamble) that it might have something to do with cruise line competitive information.

February 25, 2018 - Allure of the Seas

B2B with,

March 4, 2018 - Allure of the Seas

We're D+, but haven't been on any of the Oasis class ships yet. 

On 12/15/2017 at 11:58 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

The cost of the deluxe beverage package went up for every cruise that I have booked (for which the beverage package price was available).  No savings whatsoever.  Obviously they increased the cost of the package before the sale started.  So slimy.

Has anyone seen the combo deluxe beverage + ultimate dining package anywhere ?  It seems to have disappeared completely.  Are they no longer offering this combination package ?

The only place I have read about the bev + dinning package combo is here. We have two cruises booked for 2018 and the option has never been available on either.

Hair dryer, yes (not in the bathroom). Shower cap...sometimes. Shampoo & conditioner, no. Coffee maker...hit & miss.

Toidie po po, yes. Tissues, yes.

We don't, nor have we had any reason to try another cruise line. We like RCL for many reasons. There is no such thing as perfect, but all things considered they are excellent.

There are pluses and minuses to everything and trying to find greener grass for the purposes of a couple of free things on a vacation...or any other trivial, petty, non-life threatening, doesn't mean didily squat to us enjoying our vacation reason...is energy best spent elsewhere...like booking your next cruise.

We have a much better time on our vacation because...we know the ships, what to expect from everything from picking a stateroom to disembarking. End-to-end, top-to-bottom we haven't found a better vacation option.

On 12/6/2017 at 12:15 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.

I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.

It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

@WAAAYTOOO showing your value again! 

I have been on this ferry about a dozen times...once I had green barfy face. @rjac has good advice.

This is a 'pick your pain' situation. 

A. Go with your current docs and cross your fingers. If you run into problems you will wish you got those stinking passports.

B. Deal with the near term battle of getting passports. Relax on your vacation.

26 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

I don't know the cost as I have always had a drink package. However, I believe on the last cruise a can of coke was around $4.50 or something crazy and absurd. I can't imagine what they would charge for a shot of liquor!

You can order a 12 pack of Coke to be delivered to your room and put them in the fridge. A case of 12 is $28 US or about $2.33/can (gratuity not included of course). You can buy this through cruise planner.

FAQs say VPNs should work.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-internet-wifi-speed

Security policy settings on your company's end may prevent it from working also (like where the traffic is coming from).

5 minutes ago, RBRSKI said:

Good Morning,

So my family and I had the pleasure of Meeting him on our Thanksgiving cruise aboard the Freedom.  What a great man.  Very humble and spoke with us for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Look for him on your next cruise and his wood sign.

We've met him as well. My wife and I are trying to figure out how we can do this...

1 hour ago, KathyC said:

Bored watching the AMAs so I'm going thru the Royal Gifts and it's so strange how some items availability is.  Why is something is available on Oasis and Harmony, but not on Allure, and vice versa?  They are all out of Florida, same class.  I can get beach sandals on Allure, but not Harmony or Oasis, but can get the beach towel on Oasis and Harmony but not Allure.  LOL

Agreed. It doesn't make sense that some things are not available more consistently. What's the difference between Oasis, Harmony and Allure other than their names?

Enquiring minds want to know!  

 @MKSglitz If you have a reservation, go to Cruise Planner and click on Royal Gifts. Not that easy to navigate, but...

On 11/18/2017 at 3:32 AM, Shaun long said:

Can I bring a bottle of Bacardi and vodka on board at the start of our cruise 

Sure...but don't expect to drink it as it will be confiscated and you'll get summoned to the penalty box. 

If you want a bottle of something, you should be able order it through the 'Gifts' section of your cruise planner. Packages like a bottle of Bacardi and Coke, Sapphire gin and tonic, etc.

We were on the Independence in January 2009. They had a sale that I had not seen previously or since. For every $2 you spend you get $1 in coupons to spend in Shops On Board. My wife and I were sure it was a misprint...but I asked and it was legit. I bought a Tag watch (it was a good price on board)...we couldn't spend all the coupon money ($680 worth as I recall). I was sure someone screwed up that sale concept.

We haven't seen the coupon concept since. Maybe I ruined it... 

27 minutes ago, twangster said:

What's with all the Canucks on this forum? 

 

We've takin' it over...Hochberg just thinks he runs it. Website updates from an igloo around the tree line...

It doesn't work that way. You're looking at from the point of view of '8' dinners.

A 4-night package is per person as in 4 dinners per person who has to be chosen in the reservation.

Best way for us Canucks...

Get a US based bank account and a USD credit card. Most of our banks offer this (RBC does). You can usually get an account (again, based in the US) and a no fee USD credit card. The account will generally have a fee, but what you will save very much offsets the fee.

Open a $USD account in Canada, move funds from your $CDN account to your $USD account using your online banking (this is where your conversion happens), then transfer the USD funds from your Canadian based account to your USD account based in the US (again, in your online banking), then pay your USD credit card from your USD account in the US. It's all online, no physical bank.

The best conversion rate is achieved by transferring online from your $CDN account to your $USD account based in Canada (have to do it at some point!). No crappy exchange rate from your $CDN credit card and no foreign exchange fees on top of that. What you will save more than covers the monthly account fees for the US based account multifold.