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For some (like me) here is what is happening...When my cruise originally got cancelled I was offered the 125% OBC in leu of planner item refunds.....but then several months later they simply credited the refund (100%) back to my credit cards....now they are applying 25% as OBC as a way to "honor" the original offer.  I will say that while it took almost 8 months, in the end everything worked out.

1 hour ago, marti314 said:

GO to the pub, ask for a pint of Cider (if it's on tap) or a bottle of strongbow.  Might have to wait a few minutes (some bartenders wont serve you a shot and a beer).  Get a short of Fireball, proceed to dump the fireball into the cider.  You now have a cinnamon-y delicious and strong concoction.

OMG!! Someone introduced me to this mix at a socce game...... no idea who won....or if they even played

1 hour ago, ManonM said:

Are there Coca-Cola Freestyle machines on Liberty of the seas?

Alas, no

I buy it for the convenience.  I suspect I actually lose a little but really like not "budget watching" during my cruise.  Will probably skip it on my Alaska cruise next year wit the long port calls.

Two days a Coco Cay and one at Nassau?  Now theres a cruise to avoid like the plague!  Yuck!

3 hours ago, AnnetteJackson said:

Sorry it took so long for them to reach out.  I know for the very few that I had (MATT) it was taking longer than normal today because we always look at what you have booked and if possibly its cheaper for you to upgrade.  I had at least 7 I had to email on today to say - it cost more, but you get XX OBC - or you could change categories and get XYZ - this offer was not good to many that we have found

Didnt take long at all (sorry if I implied it did!).  My TA contacted me within an hour of my original  check how the sale would effect upgrading my sons room for a ocean-view to a balcony.

2 minutes ago, AnnetteJackson said:

I do not use the consumer site so not sure what you see vs what I see.  I would recommend reaching out to your TA and asking them to reprice for you.  Let them know you want to see the price with the OBC so you can see what compares.  You cant look at a similar sailing because it all depends on supply and demand.  If they dont have the offer on your category for the sailing you would not get the OBC without the offer.

Yeah, my TA (MEI) just reached out to me and my catagory being sold out is problmeatic and my sons catagory actually went up in pirce.  I could save by changing to a regular balcony but no way am i giving up an aft balcony on my dream vacation!

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

No. You can still re-price the room even if your room category is sold out. I have done this many times. It might affect some OBC that you might have but if the actual price has gone down and you are outside of final payment (and within NA) then you should be able to re-price it.

It would actually add OBC in my case as I booked the day the cruise first posted and there was no OBC offered.  The problem is, how do you reprice the room if the catagory is sold out as there is no way to look at that catagories pricing on-line?

5 minutes ago, AnnetteJackson said:

Not all categories will be available with the offer.  If they have already moved to a waitlist situation then it will not have the offer on it.  You could look at other categories to see what the offer would be to possibly upgrade, but you might would lose the aft balcony by moving to another category.  I have looked at many reservations today, and just remember that KSF doesnt always work to a better price even with OBC.  They play with the names on these offers to attract more business.  Most of my clients that I looked at today would have to pay more.  I was only able to save 2 families money and even that was at small amounts ($42)

I understand that not all categories may be in the offer, but how can i definitivly find out?  In the past I could just call RC and ask, but as I understand it, they wont speak to me if it shows I have a TA (I honestly waffled on using a TA specifically for that lack of control but took the leap)
FYI: The room catagory in quesiton is the more expensive of the two "Spacious Balcony" catagories (aft cabins) on the June 19th sailing of Radiance out of Seawrd.....

Greetings,

   A quick question:  I have a room already booked and now there is a significant sale going on.  I know in previous cruises i have been able to reprice my room to take advantage of the sale without actually changing my reservation or room.  In the past I have been able to tell if i was saving money simply by doing a fake reservation of a room in the same category.  Alas, this time all the rooms in my catagory are alreayd sold (aft balcony) so no way to price-check.  Any idea how I can solve this?  Using a different date with similar prices it looks like I can save $1000.  I am using a TA this time but last time I asked about a sale she implied I would have to change rooms. Is that true?

Looks like they updated the site overnight and the northbound itinerary now shows the bay and not Skagway, while southbound (except for one date) keeps Skagway 

So it gets a bit more interesting....when you initially click on the northbounds, the itinerary includes Skagway, but when you click on "Explore this itinerary and move thru the days you get the change to Glacier Bay.......when you try the same thing southbound you keep Skagway and don't do Glacier Bay,,,,,,,,,,yet

......Did some research by specifically looking at Glacier Bay in RC and there is ONE southbound trip going to the Bay (so far) and thats the one on May 22nd.  It does Hubbard, then the bay then Juneau.....but now Juneau is 13.5 hours! From 7:00 am to 8:30 PM (so leaves a half hour earlier).  But whats really interesting as it lists Hubbard as tendered.......

Thinking that need to tender on Mondays might keep Radiance out of the Bay for most south bound trips....time will tell

Alas, going to the RC site gives no clues.  even for the May 15th sailing it still shows the old itinerary

Oh God no!! Please RCCL dont mess with my #1 bucket list trip! I beg you.  Already have an incredible day planned in Juneau including an evening whale watch.  I am sure the bay is nice but really dont want to give up a port for it.  Still, this is a north-bound May trip and mine is southbound end of June and no letter yet......As soon as RC won a bid I suspected they would change Radiance.  Will still love the trip

I suspect the impact is far less than people think (and probably the reason RCCL is honoring it).  The only people who would even have been aware of it were either coincidently on the site pricing a drink package already or just happened to be out on one of these social media outlets at the right time.  It was also available only on certain sailings of certain ships and for a rather limited time.  I know I am on this page or several RCCL FB throughout the day and by the time I was aware of it and jumped out to my cruise it was either over or didnt effect my cruise (Radiance June 2020)

6 minutes ago, levy1980 said:

Is there anywhere I can find out closing times of the pools/minigolf/table tennis tables on HOS?

If you look at the top of this blog you will see "Cruise Compass".  Click on that then use the filter to see only HOS compasses.  Find one that matches your itinerary and you can glean opening and closing times for all kinds of things.  It's an awesome source for seeing what kind of activities/opportunities you will have on your cruise

6 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Does the winner get a Darwin Award?

Arent the bulk of Darwin Award winners dead?

On 5/31/2019 at 10:01 PM, twangster said:

Found a video that got lost for a bit.

Day 4 before our arrival into Icy Strait Point.  Having breakfast on my balcony when this happens...

Dall's Porpoises.  

Watching your videos I am beginning to think I might have made a mistake....Alaska is #1 on my bucket list, so when it came time to finally book my own Alaska cruise I pulled out all the stops and splurged, spending the extra bucks to get the corner aft balcony room.....now perhaps I am overthinking this but it seems to me there would be a greater chance of seeing aquatic activity from a normal "side" balcony than from the aft as off to the sides is seas relatively undisturbed by the ship while to the aft is water being actively disturbed by the ship and therefore may be lacking in aquatic activity....hopefully I am wrong as everything else about the aft balcony seems to be a plus (room for 4 chairs!!)

On 5/28/2019 at 11:59 PM, twangster said:

Update:  My custom creation from the Skagway Glass Blowing Experience arrived in the mail today!

And to think... that's my hot air trapped inside the globe.  

My other purchases from their shop arrived yesterday but since many are gifts for family and friends no pics.

I opted for the flat base so I could put it on a table.  As dorky as this sounds, whenever I look at this I'll be brought right back to Skagway and this awesome Alaskan cruise experience on Ovation of the Seas.

Might i ask...How big is it?

On 5/21/2019 at 1:50 AM, twangster said:

I was growing thirsty so I found a solution to the problem. 

At a local bar...  

That solved my thirst issue but with a growing hunger I needed to find some food.

This was solved at the Sitka Hotel.

Fish and Chips.

Plus a local porter to wash it down.

From here I set out to self explore Sitka on my own.

It's a very nice town with a population of 8,900 making it the 5th largest town in Alaska.

It's very easy to walk with numerous sign posts such as this one to help you find your way around.

The airport is on an island accessed by this bridge.  

The site of Baranof castle that has long since been lost but this was also the site where the purchase of Alaska was concluded when America bought it from Russia. 

Finally back to the visitor's center downtown to queue up for the shuttle back to the ship.

The line moved quickly with a number of buses ready and waiting to bring us to the ship.  

Sitka is only accessible by air or sea.  The total road available is 14 miles.  

Crap!! You just cost me thousands of dollars.  haven't even gone on my first Alaskan cruise (Radiance in 2020) and now already know i need to book a second so i can see Sitka (really want to go to Raptor Center)

ummmmmm.....was on Liberty the week before this and while the app does not have the planner it DOES have the compass and you can easily move things from the compass to your personal calendar

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

You don't have to buy two. 

Solo cruisers can take advantage of this deal and pay the advertised lower rate as opposed to $63 in your example.

In December I cruised with a 20 year daughter.  I bought the deluxe drink package, she didn't since she was under 21.  Same application of the BOGO.  

I assume anyone who qualifies for a medical or religious waiver would also benefit from the current approach.  The SO would not have to buy it at $63, but the advertised lower rate.

If that is true then there really is no way to clearly state this BOGO 50% sale as in reality that is not what it is!  It's actually more of a "25% off sale" (gets you the same prices without the implication you have to buy 2)

Since to take advantage of the deal you have to buy two packages, why not say "$94 USD for 2 adults per day"....or...."First adult $63 USD / Second adult $31 USD per day"

Cincinnati doesnt have chili, they have overrated spaghetti sauce

I found the Invicta prices to be comparable to that offered by other outlets.  seems Invicta sets very high ($1000+) "retail prices"....that no one actually sells at!  After seeing Invictas on-board I checked them out on-line after the cruise and found an Invicta I liked that the cruise didnt have at about the same price as the cruise offerings, so i bought it

Found a bug this week.  We have two cabins reserved (so two reservations linked together).  On my app it shows my reservation and my room but it lists my son's excursions instead of mine in "My Calendar"......everything shows up fine on the normal on-line planner.