Atlantix2000

18 hours ago, Kathrine said:

Super helpful. Thank you for weighing in, I appreciate the feedback! Will look for other excursions that we can actually enjoy. 

Sounds like you've already gotten the right feedback, but I'll just add that the biggest problem is geography.  While cruise lines like to say they are stopping in Orlando (or Rome, etc), that's really just the closest major city to the port.  In reality, Orlando is closer to the center of Florida than it is to Port Canaveral on the coast.  So traveling to Disney World means devoting at least 2 hours of travel time, plus time getting on and off the ship, plus some safety margin so you don't miss the ship.  Stops at Port Canaveral also tend to not include as many hours on shore as stops in the islands which makes it harder to justify the trip to Disney.

If you are annual passholders at Disney, then I could see justifying the trip since you'd only have to pay for transportation (but then you can't book Royal's excursion since that would include a Disney ticket you don't need).  If it's your first time going to Disney, I would strongly recommend against doing it in the middle of a cruise.  If you're somewhere in between, then I would just lean against the trip.

2 hours ago, bretts173 said:

And even then most people will purchase some sort of espresso.

then most people are purchasing specialty coffee.  For the original question, perhaps we can sum this up that for Royal (and most of the world) - Espresso is always Specialty Coffee, Non-Espresso may or may not be Specialty Coffee.

Apps showing schedules allow flexibility that paper schedules don't.  They can be updated throughout the day if the weather/illness/etc causes a change to an activity/show/etc.  It's also more environmentally friendly than printing something that is only valid for a single day.

You can eat at the same time with the same waiter whether you do "My Time Dining" or traditional.

There's no shuffleboard because most of Royal (and Carnival's) guests have never played it!

Much of your complaints are a generational issue.  I mean this in the kindest way possible, but it sounds like you are older than the target market for the mainstream cruise lines.  There's nothing wrong with that, but you may need to seek out smaller, more luxurious cruise lines to find what you are looking for.

On 11/3/2023 at 8:50 PM, Inkd said:

Thanks everyone for the replies, seems like I will have to bring my own freshly ground beans and travel cafetière and ask for water or organise a kettle in my room, like I have to when I usually visit the USA.

Depending on what you mean by bringing your own freshly ground beans, that may not be allowed.  Any food products you bring on board have to be factory sealed or will be confiscated.

On 11/3/2023 at 8:47 PM, Inkd said:

We don't have mass pots of coffee here, never seen them. Anybody who served that here wouldn't last a month in business. 

I seriously doubt every restaurant in your country is serving you coffee that they brewed just for you.

11 hours ago, Inkd said:

Hey y'all

I'm going on my first cruise in the new year and i'm wondering what consitutes a specialty coffee.

Can I assume that normal coffee is barista made basic drinks like espresso, piccolo, latte, machhiato etc?

Thanks

Nope, barista-made including everything you listed is specialty coffee.  Normal coffee is just coffee from a pot where you add your own cream and sugar.

@Foodog You don't mention what category those 3 cabins are which makes it harder to evaluate the Royal Up offers.  Typically, you can only increase your category a certain amount of levels through Royal Up.  So I'm assuming your cabin 3 (that allows bidding all the way up to Owner's Suite) is already a higher category than the other 2 cabins (that only go up to Junior Suite).

What is a mummy's favorite style of music?   Wrap Music!

6 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

But this is where it gets confusing.   Someone from our group called Royal and this is what she posted:

"I just got off the phone. The representative said that since it’s a closed loop cruise- we do NOT need to have a passport AND we WILL be able to get off the ship with ONLY our sea pass. We will not need to carry around our documents at the port. I’m going to double check as soon as I arrive to board the cruise but for safe measures, I am skipping an excursion for Martinique just in case. PHEW!!!!"

This is what the Admin in the Roll Call group posted:

"Yes you can still cruise just not allowed off the ship."

I wouldn't put much faith in a phone call to a representative that doesn't specifically mention Martinique in their answer.  The reply as written is the standard reply for most normal cruises.  If the representative didn't understand that there are exceptions, they'll just repeat the standard scripted answer.  As for the Roll Call admin, I also disagree with that statement.  My understanding is that you enter a country by entering their waters.  Staying on the ship changes nothing.  If you don't have the proper documentation to enter a country, you will be denied boarding.

13 hours ago, Chester said:

Can anyone kindly give any update as to when, or if the cruises to Israel and Egypt in 2024 are to be cancelled.

I have contacted Celebrity and have just been given the company line of passengers and crew safety is paramount, but nothing to state if the cruises will be cancelled or a itinerary change.

Extremely sad and distressing loss of life in the area at the moment ,which most if not all other cruise lines have cancelled all cruises.

How can anyone predict the future?  2024 cruises to Israel and Egypt are months away.  If you are booked and hoping to get your money back, I'd say it's way too early for the cruise lines to cancel.  You'll have to weigh the pros and cons and possible financial penalties of canceling vs waiting to see what happens next year.

1 hour ago, Btcruiser said:

I’m surprised they don’t do this to be honest. I bet it would generate decent revenue for them and people would be willing to do it for your exact reason of convenience. 

It used to exist and generate revenue but tux rentals died out as formal dress became less popular.  Once the costs and hassle of storage and cleaning the tuxes exceeded the revenue, they got rid of the offer.

12 minutes ago, KevinJ said:

We're on Symphony for the transatlantic on Sunday and are planning to try and use our BOGO, but we don't want to eat either the 1st or 2nd night. We'd like to do night 5 and 10. Our plan is to hit Chops when we first board and see what we can work out. The way the benefit is worded it sys to buy a specially dinner on either the first or second night? It doesn't actually say you need to eat that night, perhaps it's implied. The other issue we have is that there are three of us. I've heard that a solo using the BOGO will just get 50% off.

If you are making a reservation while on the ship, then you do not pre-pay for the meal.  So yes, buying does imply eating since you'll get the bill at the end of the meal like a normal restaurant.  The rule is written to encourage specialty dining on the first couple nights when the restaurants typically aren't as booked because many people (especially first time cruisers) don't do any planning and won't know to make reservations until they get on the ship.  For a transatlantic, I imagine they have more flexibility than normal given the length of the cruise but then again the clientele is also more experienced and restaurants may be more booked.

1 hour ago, aileency said:

Hey

Does anyone know if its possible to ring and ask RC for a price over the phone. I from Ireland and booked and paid for my cruise in EURO - my planner is giving the deluxe drink price at €96 per day - when i use the formula above its $80. or does anyone know how i can get the dollar rate?

 

I feel like this ended up in the wrong thread since it's missing context about a formula, but I'll answer this:  Drink packages booked in dollars would most likely (always?) book under US rules.  In that case, the price given does NOT include the 18% gratuity which gets added during the checkout process.  Drink packages booked in euros are already going to have gratuity included.  Therefore to compare prices correctly, you need account for both currency conversion AND gratuity.  If you have converted 96 euros to 80 dollars, then the daily dollar rate is about $68 (since $68 *1.18 = $80).

14 hours ago, gik55 said:

We just returned from a Vision of the Seas cruise.  On a couple of the days, the Cruise Compass didn't list a Drink of the Day.  That spot on the Cruise Compass, instead, mentioned a mini-drink-package.  

It's too late now, since we're no longer on the ship, but is there ALWAYS a Drink of the Day?  Would a bartender or waiter have told us the Drink of the Day, if asked?

Thanks.

I don't have nearly enough nights at sea to make such a definitive statement as "always", but in my experience, there's been a Drink of the Day every day I've been on board.  To the best of my memory, there was always a sign on the bar (but not necessarily every bar since not every bar has every ingredient).  No idea if it was in the Cruise Compass or not.

13 hours ago, RH_cruise said:

It seems like the site doesn't optimize for mobile. 

Depends on your definition of optimize.  Removing things so that the main part of the site (the actual blog post) can fill the smaller screen is an optimization.  It would be preferable if features like search were still accessible from a menu but I don't know if Matt can provide that.  The website/forum software Matt uses can be customized but it may not provide that option.  From a mobile, you can always hit "Show desktop version" in your web browser but you'll probably have to zoom and scroll more due to the formatting.

3 hours ago, SweetPea said:

I perused that CC thread and had to look up Lelepa. Wow! I admit, i didn't see the market for that in that area but looks amazing. 

Did this post end up in the wrong thread?  I don't see any references to CC or Lelepa.

1 hour ago, Last Lion said:

No the FCC was not a settlement of any sort just their way of compensating me for two far less enjoyable days remaining on the cruise. Just a goodwill gesture on their part unrelated to the other reports I filed.

To you it may have looked like a goodwill gesture, but legally it may now be considered an accepted settlement.  That's why everyone is saying you'll need to talk to an attorney.

7 hours ago, Cookie said:

What is to stop someone else from taking your room key?  Or even your luggage?  They dont put your luggage in your room?

If someone takes your room key, they will only have access to a room you haven't been in yet.  That's not really a concern because if you get there and someone else has put there stuff there, you just contact the cabin attendant and they'll take care of it.  The other person won't be able to charge anything to your account because your picture would pop up on the screen and the cashier/bartender would know it isn't you.

You will usually have access to your room long before your luggage is delivered.  There will be giant piles of luggage near the crew elevators.  The cabin attendants will eventually move/separate those piles and deliver to the correct rooms but you can always go find your own luggage if you want.  No, nothing really prevents someone from taking the wrong bag, but there are cameras to identify who took the wrong bag.  I'd be way more worried about the parts of the trip BEFORE the luggage end up in that pile.

3 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The “Master Members Cruise list” is a locked thread. You cannot post there. If you click on it, there is a link there to post your info to the “When is your next cruise?” thread. From there, I will add it to the master list.

Actually, that link https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/17-when-is-your-next-cruise/ is broken because it is missing the "?" after index.php (likely due to upgraded forum software since that post was created).  Right now, clicking that link gives the result Fuzzywuzzy stated.  The correct link should be https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17-when-is-your-next-cruise/

In the upper right corner of the homepage, there's a search box (see where I typed Anthem).  Once I hit the arrow on the right, I get a list of blog entries on Anthem.  Now, my screen is maximized, when I it's not maximized, the menu at the top and the right column with the search and quote sections disappear depending on the width of the window.

It's somebody's job to clean those fountains at every restaurant (whether on land or at sea).  My wife was a former restaurant manager and she says it's one of the more common items that get flagged during health inspections.  Same issue exists for ice makers.  When's the last time you cleaned the water and/or ice discharge on your refrigerator at home?  Odds are it's filthy because most people don't actually clean it.  If you wipe with a q-tip/cloth and you see pink, that's mold.

11 hours ago, nferr said:

They sat me alone on the Anthem in December and that was a full sailing. They didn't ask me but that what I would have requested anyway. I had My Time dining but I reserved the same time each night in advance.

The default seating for My Time Dining is a table for just your party (solo in your case).  The default seating for Traditional Dining is grouping smaller parties together (bunch of singles or 3/4 couples together, etc).

21 hours ago, Doug_Texas said:

That's not what is going on.  One cruise the 3 Night Package "sold out" within a couple of hours.  I called RCL to inquire if it was actually sold out or an IT issue.  They told me to keep checking cruise planner because they will put it on sale again.  Probably want people who book cruises later in the calendar to have a shot at the package as well.  Plus the marketing benefit of constantly having people check back on cruise planner.

That sounds more like a phone agent misinterpreting a question (which happens ALL the time).  Putting something "on sale again" could be interpreted multiple ways depending on the agent's grasp of English and Royal's policies.  The website could put something "on sale again" by running another same/different promotion for a package at some "discounted" price but that doesn't mean it is available to purchase for your specific cruise.  The website could put something "on sale again" because someone has canceled their purchase and the package is now available again for your specific cruise.  Both are valid interpretations and both, one, or neither could occur multiple times between now and your cruise.  Thus, all you can do is check the cruise planner repeatedly.

1 hour ago, Arthea Reno said:

Quick question… I run a FB page for a sailing group. I had a member point out to me that in our cruise documents it states that we have to have our set sail passes actually printed out to board and if we don’t their will be additional paperwork required at the terminal. I did check and the document does indeed state that. However, most of the people in my group and on many other groups, including myself, just use the digital on our phones. I think the digital one is all that we need, am I correct? Just triple checking for my group members. The wording on the document needs to be updated to reflect that a digital copy will also be accepted as well. I am pretty sure I am correct. Thanks for any and all help. 
 

A. Reno

This is definitely a case of no one (including Royal's employees) reading (and updating) all the fine print.  You don't even HAVE to do any form of check-in.  As long as you paid for the cruise, you can just show up at the port (with appropriate identification like passport or driver's license with birth certificate).  Sure, it will take longer (potentially a LOT longer) and you'll probably have to talk to multiple port employees who have no idea how to handle you, but it CAN be done.

But yes, digital is perfectly acceptable.  Though I've heard the recommendation to screenshot your set sail pass (or print a backup).  If the terminal wi-fi or your cell service has issues, you might not be able to pull up the set sail pass!

I don't know if this is a definitive enough answer but according to this thread on CC, only some suites on Quantum class ships have pullman beds. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2751884-odyssey-of-the-seas/

Also, the description of the interior rooms on Royal's deck plans for Odyssey says:

• Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed
• One double sofa bed in staterooms with up to 4 guests

I didn't check every deck thoroughly, but I didn't notice any interiors that slept anything other than 2 or 4.  So I'm going to say no, you won't find 4 separate sleeping surfaces.  If this is for parents with 2 kids that won't share, the parents could take the sofa and the kids take the twins.  But if it's 4 adults or some other combination that needs 4 beds, looks like you'd be out of luck.

I wouldn't wear denim (shorts or pants) to bed because they don't slide around properly on sheets when turning.  But everything else qualifies as pajamas in my book.  Best not to criticize others choice of clothing.