JLMoran

Oh, that wasn't me, that was some poor sod who I caught on camera while I was sitting on the sidelines, enjoying the people watching. I can literally never try one of things. My right leg is nearly an inch shorter than my left, and after two fusion surgeries my right foot doesn't move at all at the ankle. So my balance without modified shoes is pretty awful. Maybe when I was 20 years younger and well ahead of fusion days I'd have given it a try, but not now.

Trust me, you're gonna love it! ?

No worries! If you can, just put those preferences in the poll so I can keep track of that (questions 2 and 3 are multiple choice). Depending on how many end up replying, I'll try and follow up on this thread with a final day and time that we can shoot for, based on what works for most.

Same, but I was hoping on the embarkation day that if they got a few extra bucks they'd make sure to put our bags on top of a nearly full cart, instead of at the bottom of an empty one. ?

The average is around $1-2 per bag, regardless of size, but by all means adjust the total as you see fit based on total load. I know when we had 8 bags to haul, I tipped $20 total ($2.50 per bag), and we'd made sure ahead of time that the big bags were under 50 pounds so they were manageable.

Well, in my case, because I'd look something like this:

I'm curious, how far off is your sailing? You're only the second person I'm aware of to actually get the call in any form.

Yes, both Oasis and Quantum class ships have this higher limit. On any ship, if the drink price is higher than the limit then you just pay the difference.

That last sentence is seriously disheartening, if true. I know it's capitalism, and "just business", and all that. But seriously, if someone who has invested a bunch of time and money into being a loyal customer, and has quickly climbed up the loyalty ranks, then goes and does something as drastic as you've done based on the experience from a single cruise... Maybe alarm bells shouldn't be ringing, but what the heck ever happened to wanting ongoing repeat customers who convince other people to use them?? You've spread so much goodwill about the company, made so many live blogs that really drove home the experience and got a bunch of us to (want to) book even more cruises with Royal, and just done a ton to drive home that Royal, while a business, is also a really good experience. No, they don't know that. But they should at least be thinking you're talking to family members, friends, etc and getting them to think about sailing with Royal. Do they truly not care if you now start potentially telling people that this awful thing happened and you were treated like it was your fault the drain backed up, and cause them to stop booking or cancel their own cruises? Would they have done the same to a Pinnacle member? I keep hearing about how the ship crews bend over backwards for Pinnacles, so I'd be hard-pressed to believe that if a Pinnacle member suddenly canceled 10 cruises that some high-level supervisor wouldn't have been flagged immediately and calling to find out what the heck happened to cause such a turnaround.

OK, this starts to make some sense to me now. That old system heavily rewarded taking short weekend cruises, as you could take 10 of those in an inside cabin and be Diamond for significantly lower cost than someone who wants to only take longer cruises. Now, with the tiers based on actual nights sailed, there's no real advantage to having a particular cruising length preference. The price per night for any given cabin category (I would hope) works out about the same in the end for a 3-night or 16-night cruise, so you've just got to sail those 80 nights (40 if you're living the suite life the whole time). So take 20 four-night cruises or 10 eight-nighters, you won't get there any faster. Hold on... Royal did something that actually leveled the playing field, instead of rewarding those who spend more money?!? GASP!

OK, several here have said they're sailing Anthem on October 13, but I've lost track. I only see myself and @ellcee on the master cruise calendar, so if you're sailing on this trip, please sound off! I'd also love to do a "mini-group meet-and-greet", and finally meet some of the great folks here. I've put together a poll to see if anyone else would be interested, and if so when / where would be best to meet up.

If you buy one, be very sure before using it to follow the testing instructions. This lets you verify the pouch is sealing properly and will not let any water in during normal use, before your smart phone is getting dunked. Better to have a few tissues or napkins get soaked than your phone! Also, be aware that the pouches are usually only good to about 3 feet / 1 meter deep. If you want to go deeper than that for more close-up shots, maybe invest in a more expensive watertight case like a LifeProof Fre, that's certified to 6 feet / 2 meters.

Absolutely not! I can't imagine how disgusting and awful that must have been, and I'm incredibly impressed that you didn't totally lose your... um, spit... over that when the concierge pulled that attitude with you! And to only offer you a room that literally just had the exact same issue?!?!? I'm really sorry that you ended up canceling 10 cruises over that, as it sounds like when you had some time to cool off and think about it you were regretting that decision a bit; but at the same time, as you pointed out that's over $20k that Royal just lost out on, from a single passenger, plus all the ancillary revenue they lost from drink package / internet / excursion purchases over those 10 cruises. That's not small potatoes, and I sincerely hope that after raising this with whoever up the chain, even all the way to corporate HQ in Miami, that your complaint will be properly recognized and the awful treatment you got on board remedied in some meaningful way. And clearly, the staff on that ship needs some serious retraining!

Thanks for the live blog! Very well done!

And, if you booked with a travel agent, it should be in your invoice / documents you received from them. If it isn't, be sure and email or call them to find out what they set you up with. While I was booked for traditional dining on both of my cruises so far, I was given the early seating each time and that's far too early for us. A quick email got it moved to the later seating without any problems; you can actually change your preference until a few days before boarding, although closer to boarding day means harder to make any MyTime Dining reservations as the slots fill up.

Hi @Jess, welcome to the boards! Matt posted this article in 2015 that answers most of your questions. There's also this other link that clarifies using your Starbucks card and star rewards. Per those articles: The Starbucks kiosks on the Oasis class ships are indeed SBUX-owned on-ship franchises. They serve all the standard stuff -- brewed coffees, lattes, cappuccinos / frappuccinos -- but based on what I read there you may not get the full list of beverage options. That is, I don't believe they serve Reserve coffees, have a Clover brewer or Nitro cold brew, etc. You are indeed able to use your Starbucks card for purchases, and you will gain stars for those purchases. However, you cannot claim rewards for the stars you've accumulated. This isn't uncommon; I've tried claiming rewards at SBUX kiosks in highway rest stop areas, and been told that they aren't allowed as they're not a standard franchise. You should be able to use the Starbucks app like anywhere else, as the scanners used appear to be standard in all locations, even those "non-standard" franchises I mentioned in the prior bullet point. I assume they're provided by the parent company as part and parcel of owning and running a franchise. Do note that if you use the app, you will only need VOOM Internet on board; you will not need to have your phone's cellular service enabled and should not worry about using your cellular provider's international travel plan while on board. In fact, those travel plans often don't apply on a ship, only on land, and if you leave your phone out of Airplane Mode while on board you could find yourself paying a ton of extra charges due to the ship's Cellular At Sea connection. Always be sure that as soon as you board (or at least by the time sail-away starts) that you put your phone into Airplane Mode, then re-enable wifi (and Bluetooth if you need it for a Fitbit or the like). Only go out of Airplane Mode when on land / in port, at which time your international travel plan will kick in normally.

I got the same price for my 2-device VOOM on Anthem next month. Lately the CP sales have been offering VOOM at 50% off on-board pricing for multi-device plans.

@Broons77, you're sailing Anthem on the 13th? You won't just have Ellcee visiting you at the Schooner Bar around 9 as well on night 2. ? This "mini group cruise" is turning into more of a full-blown "gotta set up a meet and greet event" cruise! @ellcee, is that five RCBlog members on our sailing now? Six? I still only see you and me on the Master Members Cruise List, but I know there are at least 3 others we've seen post as being on this sailing.

Thanks for the review, @averbeck! I'm on this exact sailing in just 19 more days, so the timing is great! How was the food quality in the Windjammer? I've read so many mixed reviews about both WJ and MDR on Anthem now (food is nice and hot / is only lukewarm, food is bland / has great flavor, service in MDR was great / awful,...) that I'm not entirely sure what to expect. I know food is the most subjective topic out of all, but the most-consistent complaints I've seen are about the service in the MDR (slow, inattentive) and the food quality in the WJ (sub-par, lukewarm at best, etc). If you could expand on either at all, would be much appreciated! We'll be having dinner in CK (minus one night for Wonderland) as we've booked a Jr. Suite and plan to take advantage, but my wife just wants to eat in the WJ for lunch each day; it would be good to know if I should give her a heads-up. I'm also looking to convince her to try Jamie's and Izumi for lunch on the sea days, but there's no ulterior motive there or anything... ? Thanks again!

For some reason, I've never seen a Refreshment + VOOM combo. As you noted, they have Deluxe + VOOM and Soda + VOOM; you'd think they'd want to have the other base covered, too.

The meal takes about 3 hours, and each glass (except for the little dessert wine one) is only filled about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way, so it's actually not as "bad" as the place setting might suggest. ?

Those are all part of the overall "Main Dining Room"; Anthem and the other Quantum class ships are different in that regard, as when they first came out they got rid of traditional MDR dining and had what they called "Dynamic Dining" instead. That's gone now, and you'll simply be assigned to one of the four room as your specific "MDR" for all meals. The only difference between them now is the decor; the menu is the same for all of them. You are going to have an amazing time! If you want to read a detailed review, I posted one here a while back: The menu seems to be similar across the fleet, based on some others' postings about it after my review. Not sure how often they change it out. And be aware you're completely free to ask for an extra glass (or two, or three,...) of any wine that you particularly enjoyed.

Following!

WhatsApp is also good for private messaging, as it also encrypts the chat on-device. If everyone is on iOS devices, the Messages app is probably best.