Fancypants!

I was on Harmony in a CLS in June and had a lot of trouble with the Voom on that trip. I think this was a problem ship-wide problem, as the Voom customer service line in the Promenade was always really long. I was on Harmony in June of 2018 also, and it was great then. I'm wondering if Harmony is having a problem with the Voom off and on now.

My cruise planner is showing our Oasis cruise in December as being $65 for the drink package without Voom. I guess they are just trying to see how high they can go before people stop purchasing it. $65 pre-cruise made my jaw drop, but $82 - that makes me fall flat on the floor. Yikes!

I haven't bought a dining package for our cruise on Symphony, but I went to the Cruise Planner and checked on the BOGO dining package, the 3 night dining package, and the Ultimate Dining package (which by the way is not actually available, but still shows up on the planner). When I click on "Additional Terms & Conditions apply" it says "Dine, Drink, Discover Promotion cannot be redeemed in Chops Grille. Offer is subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time." It's not very obvious. Since Chops is a place that many, many people have used in their packages, I think they should be more forthcoming with that info. I understand there is some small print, but I'm not sure how one knows that it is part of the "Dine, Drink, Discover promotion"; that isn't what it is called in the Cruise Planner. I also realize it says they can change whenever they want, but again, I think they should make it obvious instead of it being rather hidden and causing this sort of situation.

I just think that it is a good business practice for RCCL to make sure customers understand what they are purchasing. That's a bummer.

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

I don't think you've ever been in a Park Cafe, because your comment makes no sense.  

These items are certainly self-serve. 

 

They are in an open cooling case, free for the taking.  Which is probably why they are "just put in there all hodgepodge" -- they were probably all straight in the beginning (that's the way I've always seen them), but rude passengers messed them all up grabbing around for what they wanted.

Honestly, I wish the Cafe Promenade had these items instead of their "sandwiches" on offer, which are rarely appealing.  I love Freedom class, but the absence of Park Cafe and the available salads and sandwiches is a real downside to that class of ship.  Finding something decent to eat at night (after the nightclub closes) is a real struggle.

 

 

I’ve been in the Park Cafe, but only on Oasis class. I was incorrect that it isn’t self serve. I thought that I saw glass in front of the food in the OP’s picture, but there is not. I feel like there is somewhere else (on Oasis class) with prepackaged food where you have to ask for things like a fruit cup? Maybe the Wipeout Cafe? I can’t really remember.

And yes, late night food options that aren’t pizza or the items in the Promenade would be nice. I did like that on Celebrity, their “Windjammer equivalent” was open very late with a lot of different options.

I agree that it does look like gas station or cafeteria style food which isn't very appealing. All they need is a "sell by" date on the front package. They are also just put in there all hodgepodge, which doesn't help with making it look nice. Self serve options are nice, but it isn't really even self serve since you have to ask for it. Seems like just making it at the time of order wouldn't take very long and be more desirable for both taste and appearance.

Also, I also find it interesting how much plastic is being used for sandwiches, salads, and fruit cups, but straws are the current enemy...

13 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

Are suite perks considered a promotion? I can understand not getting promotions but if you are in star or sky class you get all of the benefits associated with that room.

I want to know this too! I thought of promotion more as some sort of sale or OBC promotion going on and not the perks associated with that class. If that's the case, I want to cancel my bids ASAP. Can anyone confirm that if you are upgraded with your bid - say from Sky Class to Star Class, that you will not get the beverage packages, dining package, nor Royal Genie??

15 minutes ago, Sailing_Canuck said:

Odd. No email received at all.  Not even a denial one and it's less than 24 hours till departure.

 

You could try calling Customer Service and innocently ask if they can tell you your stateroom number to see if it has changed? You could use the Crown and Anchor 1-800 number instead of the regular customer service line. I find I usually get better responses from them and the hold times are far less.

If you plug in your itinerary info into this RCI ran site, they will tell you the latest time of flight arrival and departure.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/airtravel/viewAirSeaTime.do?shipCode=AN&airportOfEmbarkation=EWR&portOfEmbarkation=BYE&airportOfDisembarkation=EWR&portOfDisembarkation=BYE&departureDay=09&departureMonth=05&departureYear=2019&x=52&y=17

Anyone have experience with moving more than 2 people with the upgrade? I currently have a room booked for 3, and I can't tell if they are saying that you shouldn't bid on it if it is more than 2 people, or if they mean they will just charge you for two of the guests, but move all 3 of you.

"Your bid is priced per person and based on two guests per stateroom for the entire length of your cruise. Only the first and second guest will be charged."

I know I could call, but literally my last two phone calls with them in the last couple weeks have yielded totally wrong answers.

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

We recently had a refund of an Ultimate Dining Package on Grandeur (long story) by the Chops Manager and that refund was given to use as OBC.  So I'm not sure how they would handle those refunds but those pre-paid expenses would be fully refunded to you, one way or another.

It would stink to have gratuities and drink packages refunded as OBC. That would be a lot of OBC. Maybe ok if you have some really expensive excursions or would like an excessive number of t-shirts, but otherwise, not so much. Doesn't make it as much of an upgrade in that case.

Thanks for the reply!

So here's a question...

"Your bid is priced per person and based on two guests per stateroom for the entire length of your cruise. Only the first and second guest will be charged."

So if you have 3 people in the room, I'm assuming the third person also moves along with you to the upgraded room if your bid is accepted, even though you don't provide a bid for them? I know that sounds like a stupid question, but their wording isn't completely clear.

If you receive an upgrade from a Sky Class to a Star Class but already paid for gratuities and drink packages, would those be refunded? I think the drink packages could be refunded, but I'd be concerned a little about the gratuities.

Also, I'm exactly 60 days out from my cruise and just got the offer today for anyone keeping track of that.

Does a 10:25am flight out of Miami after disembarking Symphony seem safe enough? Arrival of the ship is supposed to be 6am. The last port of call is Nassau, which is the previous day. I feel like the ship may arrive even earlier than 6am, but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean they will let passengers disembark earlier. I have the option of disembarking with suites or doing the early walk-off by ourselves. This is definitely not my first cruise, but I feel like I'd have more confidence in my decision if others would be willing to try it, as well.

Thanks for the help!

Oh boy! I can only imagine how much better the website will work after this maintenance period. :)

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More pics

 

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Kiddie menu will work in a pinch.

 

Banana Split is my favorite

Whoa! That kids menu is definitely different from the coastal kitchen kids menu on Harmony. It was the same three items EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I didn’t like to ask for substitutions because it seemed to stress them out and took a really long time. They also said they had to go to the Windjammer to see if they could find what we were looking for.

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I used to love to go to the loyalty desk and take all of the different catalogs for all of the different parts of the world and look at all of the options. I enjoyed those so much. There was something so satisfying about looking through those. I also miss the days of getting your cruise booklet in the mail, complete with luggage tags. Ahh, the good old days.

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My brother just got off Allure yesterday. He said the card was indeed on the door and the other on the table. He was in 11240. What's interesting is when he and his wife arrived at their cabin the door was open and a gentleman was in the room, a passenger. He told my brother he just wanted to see the inside of the OS cabin, so he used the key and just entered and took photos. Other than stuff like that I like the new system/

:o I was wondering if things like that happen...I'm surprised people don't get removed from the ship for that.

I read reports from some of the other cruise lines with these suite areas, I think NCL and MSC. Sometimes the suite pool becomes the kiddie pool.

I didn’t consider that, but that would be a problem. Maybe adults only hours could be an option? It would also be wonderful to have a late night pool again. That used to be my favorite time to go, but that doesn’t exist anymore.

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Sounds nice, wonder if the suite pool is limited to adults.

I think a pool up there would be an awesome benefit, but if you are paying for a child to be in a suite, I think they should be able to be in there too. It would be nice if they have to abide by rules, (which I personally noticed them cracking down on pool antics last year), but I seem to encounter more problems with overly intoxicated adults at the pools...including one that vomited a foot away from me in the pool on Oasis because she was so drunk. Yeah, that shut the pool down fast.

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Sarcasm aside, I think a private elevator and pool would be things that would be enjoyed by suite guests all over, and not just the China market. I can also see where other guests may not be keen on these extras taking up additional ship space and maybe appearing even more divisive.

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Interesting. I wonder if the suites only elevator will be adorned with the occasional half full beverage, half eaten cookie, or pizza crust? Without those extras, I think I’d feel lost.

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So this popped up today...40% chance of a Tropical Storm in the gulf this week. Let’s hope they are wrong.

https://usat.ly/2rDjbUa

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Part of the problem is that I don’t have a C&A # since this is my first cruise and they won’t let me sign up until this cruise is over.

 

 

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He can call Crown and Anchor and get you one. I just did this same thing for my son today. He’s never been on a cruise but will be coming with me for the first time. They assigned him a number and linked him as a relationship to me. He will have the same benefits as I do even though this is his first cruise.

Have fun on your first cruise!

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What does caller ID show for the upsell calls? With all the scams and robocalls these days I usually don't answer unknown numbers, but I'd hate to miss an upsell opportunity.

For me it showed up as “unknown” on my cell phone. I would normally not answer a call that said that, but I’m glad I did this time.

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The person who called me said to think it over and if I changed my mind to call back a certain number. Maybe they were having trouble with that upsell.

Interesting! That’s definitely nice to have that extra time to be sure it’s what you want.

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Even if you don’t get an email regarding the possibility of an upgrade for a price, you may still get a call. I was just called this week about upgrading on my June Harmony sailing (at a price) and I never received an email about the possibility of an upgrade. The tricky thing with the call is that you HAVE to answer right when they call, (in my experience they don’t leave a message), and you must decide right then. You can’t talk to your spouse and call back, etc. It’s now or never.

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This situation is just unfortunate and I can completely understand why you are upset. I’ve booked multiple guarantees and I always knew I was taking a gamble with the room location, but I didn’t know that I was also taking a gamble with sleeping on the floor (or whatever type of “bed” they are proposing). I think by not being forthcoming about that, they are being deceptive. They might give you cushions that are velcroed together as a bed? It seems rather odd to me to be going to a formal dinner all dressed up, only to retire to your stateroom to sleep on the floor.

I don’t really like the tone of the letter. He specifically states that your stateroom cannot be changed. You just asked for a letter confirming the sofa bed. Instead you got a letter implying a different kind of sofa bed than what everyone would’ve thought you were getting, and he also says you won’t be moved. This leaves you in a bad spot when you get there and he has basically stated they won’t be doing anything to help you.

Cruising is so fun, but it really has changed a lot. Years ago, I felt like they would bend over backwards to help, but I find they are being obstinate about this. The booking experience shouldn’t be stressful.

I’m hopeful that this will work out to your satisfaction, or that you will get offered a very reasonable upgrade closer to your sailing. Of the 3 guarantees I’ve booked, I’ve never ended up sailing in the room they originally assigned me. I’ve either moved within the category, (which I know you can’t do), or I’ve purchased an upgrade.

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