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Change of Itinerary for Anthem March 15 to 23, 2019


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I can see why bartenders would like them to close the island.  Food and beverages come off the ship.  They get up at 4am and begin moving cart after cart of supplies down to I-95 getting ready to load them onto tenders.  When they skip due to weather all that has to be brought back up stairs and unloaded.  They told me about it on Anthem when I asked the coolers of CocoLoco's stacked behind the bar after we missed.  

They want the pier more than we do so they don't have to waste their time preparing for the stop that could be missed.  

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Im also on the March 15 Anthem cruise, the fact that they changed the port call less than a week before hand is very disappointing, and the way they just shrug their shoulders and say "here have fun in Miami" is just terrible.  Its like going to a restaurant and they told you they will switch your steak with chicken breast, because THEIR kitchen reno wasn't ready, hope you enjoy.  At least if I was at a restaurant they will offer a complimentary glass of wine or free dessert.  They won't even reply to our inquiries at Royal Carribean 

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6 hours ago, twangster said:

The issue at present is directly related to the pier.  The pier is not directly related to the "Perfect Day" expansion.  Pier construction began in 2017 and was announced in the years before that.

"Perfect Day" was announced last year and only became possible because of the pier.  If Perfect Day had never moved forward as a project this itinerary change would still be occurring because of the pier.  

Without the pier my personal success rate at CocoCay is 33%.  66% of the time I miss calls on CocoCay due to weather.  Tendering isn't possible if the forecast isn't ideal for the entire day.  Unloading passengers in the morning then having a storm roll in and being unable to re-board the passengers by tender in the afternoon can not be allowed to occur so they have to err on the side of caution.  That has always led to a high miss rate and the very reason why they are building the pier.

At no point in the years leading up this has anyone, TA or Royal ever warned a guest about that.  They plan and hope to reach CocoCay every time, but in reality they can't.  Two of my recent misses occurred on Anthem.  

Not informing passengers ahead of time, sailing down the coast and only then claiming "sorry, no Cococay" would be a lack of transparency,

What they did was transparent.  Unpopular and disappointing,  but transparent.  

I disagree, transparency means absolutely nothing after final payment. What good is it? 

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1 hour ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

I disagree, transparency means absolutely nothing after final payment. What good is it? 

I'm not sure I understand. 

Transparency means being open and honest and telling the truth, which they did.  Had they not said anything, let everyone board, start sailing and the day before claim "Weather, can't go" that would not be transparent.  That would be easy and no one would complain.  They didn't do despite knowing how unpopular telling everyone upfront would be.  At least this way guests do have time to think about plans and research.   

Before or after final payment is irrelevant.  They didn't know this 90 days ago.  

Make no mistake it's disappointing.  It was disappointing to me when they replaced CocoCay with Miami for my January visit.  But they were transparent about it.

It was disappointing when they canceled my Navigator cruise a few weeks on 12 days notice.  

It was disappointing when hurricanes caused changes in 2018.

Disappointment does not equal a lack of transparency.  

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48 minutes ago, twangster said:

I'm not sure I understand. 

Transparency means being open and honest and telling the truth, which they did.  Had they not said anything, let everyone board, start sailing and the day before claim "Weather, can't go" that would not be transparent.  

Before or after final payment is irrelevant.  They didn't know this 90 days ago.  

Make no mistake it's disappointing.  It was disappointing to me when they replaced CocoCay with Miami for my January visit.  But they were transparent about it.

It was disappointing when they canceled my Navigator cruise a few weeks on 12 days notice.  

It was disappointing when hurricanes caused changes in 2018.

Disappointment does not equal a lack of transparency.  

How can you be so sure they didn’t know? You made a lot of points none have any bearing on the point I’m trying to make. Telling people this close to their cruise does absolutely nothing for them. For those that got a drink package will no longer receive a day on a beach which drinks were included, imo those people should receive some money back.  You think missing out on something because of a hurricane has anything to do with this, not even close to the same. 

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30 minutes ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

How can you be so sure they didn’t know? You made a lot of points none have any bearing on the point I’m trying to make. Telling people this close to their cruise does absolutely nothing for them. For those that got a drink package will no longer receive a day on a beach which drinks were included, imo those people should receive some money back.  You think missing out on something because of a hurricane has anything to do with this, not even close to the same. 

The drink package still works on the ship like it does on Nassau or Port Canaveral. 

Telling people this close absolutely allows them time to think about what they might do that day in Miami.  They can research and make plans. 

Telling them 30 days ago would change this how? 

Telling them 60 days ago would change this how?  

Building a pier outdoors in the weather is unpredictable.  Concrete can't be poured when it's raining.  Beams can't be hoisted by cranes in winds.  It's unsafe for construction crews at times.  They didn't know 30 days ago or 60 days ago.  They would need to look at 10 to 14 day weather forecasts and make plans to accomplish the needed construction during this cruise.   

They can't force construction crews to work in unsafe weather conditions.  That's how lives are lost.  

I lived through such a change myself.  Disappointed?  Sure I was.  But I got over it and enjoyed my cruise.

Dwelling on it when it's out of your control and out of Royal's control accomplishes nothing. 

 

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7 hours ago, twangster said:

The drink package still works on the ship like it does on Nassau or Port Canaveral. 

Telling people this close absolutely allows them time to think about what they might do that day in Miami.  They can research and make plans. 

Telling them 30 days ago would change this how? 

Telling them 60 days ago would change this how?  

Building a pier outdoors in the weather is unpredictable.  Concrete can't be poured when it's raining.  Beams can't be hoisted by cranes in winds.  It's unsafe for construction crews at times.  They didn't know 30 days ago or 60 days ago.  They would need to look at 10 to 14 day weather forecasts and make plans to accomplish the needed construction during this cruise.   

They can't force construction crews to work in unsafe weather conditions.  That's how lives are lost.  

I lived through such a change myself.  Disappointed?  Sure I was.  But I got over it and enjoyed my cruise.

Dwelling on it when it's out of your control and out of Royal's control accomplishes nothing. 

 

The only part I want to comment on is the part when you say if they told people 60 days ago how would that change things.. I think one of the posters said they booked the cruise in January. If they did thats about 60 days ago. If Royal would of told them hey its possible in March we are going to have to cancel some Coco Cay sailings maybe they wouldn't of booked the cruise? But maybe they still would of I don't know. Now I know Royal would never make such an announcement because they need to fill their ships. That is the only part that bothers me. The last minute bookers kind of get screwed and I feel by January Royal knew that sometime in March not an exact day buy sometime in March this would be happening and I just feel they should of given people a heads up that the bridge would need to be built. Thats all I'm saying. 

 

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9 hours ago, twangster said:

The drink package still works on the ship like it does on Nassau or Port Canaveral. 

Telling people this close absolutely allows them time to think about what they might do that day in Miami.  They can research and make plans. 

Telling them 30 days ago would change this how? 

Telling them 60 days ago would change this how?  

Building a pier outdoors in the weather is unpredictable.  Concrete can't be poured when it's raining.  Beams can't be hoisted by cranes in winds.  It's unsafe for construction crews at times.  They didn't know 30 days ago or 60 days ago.  They would need to look at 10 to 14 day weather forecasts and make plans to accomplish the needed construction during this cruise.   

They can't force construction crews to work in unsafe weather conditions.  That's how lives are lost.  

I lived through such a change myself.  Disappointed?  Sure I was.  But I got over it and enjoyed my cruise.

Dwelling on it when it's out of your control and out of Royal's control accomplishes nothing. 

 

Yes The drink package will work on the ship however it will not work while in Miami the way it would in coco cay therefore people are losing a major benefit. For me I usually buy a pineapple and probably fill 7-8 times throughout the day, to do that in Miami would put a serious damper on my wallet.

I certainly never said force construction workers to work in bad weather. 

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Drink packages are optional and you can cancel it for a full refund if the value is no longer there for you.  

People routinely have the drink package and miss calls on CocoCay.   It’s happended to me and it happens often due to weather.  It’s happened for years.  

There is no question this is disappointing.   It’s still better to find out 12 days before compared to the day of your visit.  At least now people have time to re-evaluate drink package purchases and to think about their plans for that day. 

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14 minutes ago, twangster said:

Drink packages are optional and you can cancel it for a full refund if the value is no longer there for you.  

People routinely have the drink package and miss calls on CocoCay.   It’s happended to me and it happens often due to weather.  It’s happened for years.  

There is no question this is disappointing.   It’s still better to find out 12 days before compared to the day of your visit.  At least now people have time to re-evaluate drink package purchases and to think about their plans for that day. 

That is correct, people can cancel the drink package at anytime up to 3 days prior to sailing. 

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On 3/12/2019 at 5:26 AM, AGSLC5 said:

I am in No way saying Royal handled this situation correctly because I don't think they have, but I think the reason they handled it this way is because exactly what you said if they would announced this change awhile ago people wouldn't of booked because like you said no one wants to go to Miami. my personal opinion is they have probably known since at least January this was going to happen. I live in Ft. Lauderdale so I am on Mariner for weekend cruises quite a bit. I was just there 3 weeks ago and in my opinion they need to cancel all Coco Cay sailings until the construction is finished. I found it noisy and annoying and I rather they just shut the island down and finish on time and give everyone the experience they see In the ads. I feel bad for people like you who felt they were promised something and aren't going to get it. I also would be very mad about Miami. I live here and I am Not a fan of Miami at all. The only thing I can say is I have been on Anthem and its a beautiful ship so hopefully you will enjoy that part. 

Oh I’m going for the ship hands down, I’ve been studying RC’a ships for more than a decade. I just wish there could’ve been somewhere mentioning a possibility the island could be inexcusable. I’m okay to see Miami, but it’s just the last port I think of beside disembarking.

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The pier was supposed to be completed in June 2018.  Then November 2018.  Then December 2018.  Then January 2019.  Now March 2019.  Those are the dates their construction company gave them.  It didn't work out that way.  

Royal is not a construction company.  They hired an American company called "American Bridge" headquartered out of Pittsburg, PA to build the pier.  

As construction has progressed and is getting closer to completion, accuracy of the final date becomes greater.

If they had altered June 2018 sailings that would have disrupted guests for no reason.

If they had altered November 2018 sailings that would have disrupted guests for no reason.

If they had altered December 2018 sailings that would have disrupted guests for no reason.

Now that the pier is nearly ready they have greater clarity that it is actually nearly finished.  

Mariner completed a tender based visit last week and after that they tested the portion of the pier that is complete to confirm if they could begin to use it.  Meanwhile they continue to work on the additional length of the pier required to support larger Oasis and Quantum class ships.  

They are adjusting the project plan based on how it is playing out.  This couldn't be forecasted or planned months go, they are adapting and adjusting as it develops by the construction company that is performing the work and you have to know they are absolutely beating on that company to get 'ur done. 

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