Lovetocruise2002

They were considering max capacity at around 7600

It was just under 5000.

I would not give much thought to the survey. Out of all the star class cruises we have done, we are about 50/50 for getting the survey. For the one coming up on Oasis in March, we did not get our survey but we already heard from our Genie. That is the important thing. Any requests you have, just send that directly to Nityam. He is great btw. We have never had him, but we know him and have sailed with him a few times.

I got the same email too earlier this afternoon. Haven’t sailed a single sailing on X, and I get all the emails from them. Sailed a ton on Royal and stool cannot get onto their mailing list.

Exactly!

Yes! So my new rule for pre-cruise flights after March 2022 was to take the very first possible flight out of DTW. Then the ATL fiasco happened in July 2023, and my new rule is: take first flight out of DTW, and fly in two days early whenever possible. I am really liking that extra day buffer.

Depends on the sale, but usually you would lose the credit. Unless it’s a Next Cruise offer. Those remain. That is where you would have to do the math to see if it’s worth the re-price.

I thought I had read somewhere that Icon 3 was Q2 of 2026? But I could be wrong; I am having a hard time keeping track these days

This was me...until March 2022....lol My whole family, except me, are not morning people. However, ever since that March 2022 fiasco (still traumatized from that), I told them that we are no longer going by what is "convenient for all". We are taking the first flight possible out of DTW on the day of travel. If that means we have to roll off our driveway at 4:30am then so be it. They are all grumbling but at least it gives us more time to drive or make other arrangements if you know what hits the fan. I am kicking myself because for our cruise in 3 weeks, it was considerably cheaper to take the afternoon flight to MIA from DTW. I booked it thinking I would move it to the early 8:30am flight before final payment. Then, things got crazy in December (when it was final payment time) with my Dad and I forgot to move it. Anyhow, now I am praying that doesn't come back to bite me in 3 weeks. The freeloaders and Hubby are happy though.

This is correct. We were on the inaugural sailing and this was told to us (and many others) by many different crew members. No specific details on how they would increase, just that they plan to ramp up to full capacity by summer sailings. I saw a few Pins post about this who stayed on for the sailing after ours. That they would be running specifically the special WJ lunch (with seafood) for the first 4 weeks. Not sure how true/not true that is.

Good old dynamic pricing.... You could be right. Group rates could take that out.

No. It's like KSF, or Instant savings, or whatever promo they are running at the moment. Your TA OBC should be on top of whatever promos that RC is running when you book. Very true. But I suppose it also depends how much the booking jumped with the new sale. I would think that if not suite, it probably would not have jumped as much either.

I think part of the reason prices have "gone up" is because of the new "sale" with OBC. If I do a mock booking of the sailings that I have a hold on from Tuesday night, they have all gone up by about $500-$600 but then I get back $600 in OBC if I book today, so it's really a wash.

Also something that crossed my mind when I read that

I don’t even know what to think anymore about Wonder and Texas. First Michael Bayley’s announcement, then Allure shows up there unexpectedly, now Cruise Director Mitch (who I would say must know something…he is in their sales department) is dropping hints of big things coming to Texas other than Allure, and pretty much confirming 3/4 nights for Wonder out of Miami. Guess I have to wait patiently until next week. My poor TA who has multiple holds for me lol

Two clues from Cruise Director Mitch, who many of you know works for the sales department now. This is from his FB page over the last hour…

I would assume Nov/december 2024 if they stick to their usual release schedules

Yup. Wonder for August 2025 and the Utopia for December 2025. That is the master plan. Hearing rumours that Wonder might move to Galveston pretty much solidified that plan a few months ago. I have priced out star and icon for those dates too but more than likely we will save icon class for summer 2026.

No. I have a very specific plan. Both freeloaders have not sailed Wonder. We are taking them on that. It's 100% for the ship. I will likely book Utopia for December 2025 (NYE). And then in 2026 we will deal with Icon class for the freeloaders. It's all about the ship.

Symphony is out for sure for the time being. However, I am not certain that Wonder is totally out yet. We'll find out next week. I would not be surprised to see Wonder move over to Galveston in March/April 2026.

That is what I am hoping for (that she moves to FL or MIA). I am fully prepared to book a b2b on Wonder sometime towards mid-end of August 2025.

A random question...Can the terminal in LA handle an Oasis class sized ship? I don't want to be surprised and find Wonder in LA in August 2025...that would be worse than Galveston for me.

That is my thought....

I am looking at booking as far into August 2025 as I can manage and maybe it will be cheaper due to hurricane season lol

You are right @Sweety, normally I cannot because I am stuck teaching during those times, and my own kids have school during those times. However, every few years, I take a year off teaching, and Icon inaugural happened to fall into this year that I am off teaching. I started doing this when I went back to work and the kids were little. It gave me a chance every few years to slow down and spend more time with them. Those who teach know that your days are a blur and sadly, you sometimes spend more time with the kids in your classroom, more than your own. Anyway, with the freeloaders now almost 16/18, this is my last "year off". The next time I am off, I will be sailing my "hell to the bell" cruise! Looking like 2030 at this point. Cannot wait. No more sailing during high season at that point. @WAAAYTOOO apologies for the hijack