Spurschick

The problem with your question is what one person likes doesn't mean another likes it or rates that as highly.

We have sailed one ship, that whilst by no means awful, we didn't feel the love and changed our upcoming cruises booked on her to other ships. That being said we were sailing that ship for convenience not the itinerary. If it was sailing an itinerary we really wanted to do then yes we would go back on her.

When sailing for an itinerary there have been several times that the itinerary we wanted to do is limited to either one ship or in some cases we have only been able to do on different lines. It's always worked out fine. Does that mean we were bowled over by the other lines - not in all cases, but did it make them awful cruises - not in the slightest.

IMHO there are two types of cruises. You go for the ship or you go for the itinerary. We know that what we regard the best ship is not always going to do the best itinerary. It's give and take. If there is somewhere that you want to go then go. If you don't go with a negative attitude about the ship you will be fine!

incorrect.

 

if it is designated a Suite Lounge then ONLY suite passengers( regardless of C&A status) and Pinnacles may access it.

 

if it is designated a CONCIERGE LOUNGE, then Diamond plus, Pinnacles and Suite guest have access.

 

Diamonds only have access to the Diamond Lounge, not a CL or SL. (unless in a suite).

That's what they said??? So why are you disagreeing when you agree?

If your comped suite is a true suite and not a junior suite you have a lot of extra benefits, especially on an Oasis class ship. Suite lounge on board, specialty dining, reserved seating, concierge use, and more, at no additional charge. These benefits apply only to the people booked in the suite, other than perhaps having others as guests for dinner - don't miss out on the benefits of the "suite life".

I'm intrigued as well. Firstly anything above a JS normally has a sofa bed yet OP says it doesn't. I can't believe the OP has no idea what cabin they are in. Firstly it says on boarding pass! Secondly, even if the cruise was free, I'd want to look at the cabin beforehand, check its location etc.

One way to resolve the cabin issue would be for the OP to advise what color sea pass they have. That would help narrow it down!

The only way I figure this might happened is they sailing on a sister line of RC and they established their casino record there. That record is transferable within the "RC Family" of lines.

 

Something like booking a Celebrity Cruise while onboard a RC one.

I know they were looking at an interchangeable program between the casino programs of Celebrity and RC but that was not in place the last time I checked (and I check often as want to book X). The OP doesn't make any comparisons to Celebrity which would only leave getting it comped through M Life. ( sorry just caught up to post 32!!!)

Would love it if it stays as an Indian restaurant when she comes back to Miami.

Even when staying in RS we don't get a welcome email. We hear from concierge normally around one week before the cruise.

I know RS on other ships in the fleet doesn't have sea/sky/star class but still. Never heard of anyone in Star class hearing anything until a week before either.

This is nothing. It is very tame discussion by CC standards. If you want to really stir things up, you can ask few new questions that have more firework potential.

 

Few topic suggestions to get you started:

 

1 – Why can’t the slob cruisers dress better on formal nights?

 

2 – Do I really have to tip the workers?

 

3 – Should Royal have bathrooms to accommodate transgender cruisers?

 

Light the match with these topics and RUN AWAY really fast to observe from a distance…;p

I can't believe you forgot the "should RC introduce first class vs steerage class" and should only first class passengers have access to pepper grinders;)

Only had to use onboard dr once (fortunately) and that was about 12 years ago. DD would not stop vomiting. Saw dr for a couple of minutes and was given some medication. Cost around $140 back then.

I have been in various sales roles over the last 44 years so do feel for them so i am respectful towards them and on the last 3 cruises.Vision,Independence and Freedom we have been approached and they have been very flexible on price so we have negotiated a deal on his ship and we enjoyed the Specialty restaurants on each i negotiated a price with the manager to go back later in the cruise.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

We are respectful of them and I get that that is what they are being asked to do and is part of their job, just like everyone that calls me up every day I get its their jobs too. It just takes away that being on vacation feeling.

RC send more than enough emails promoting all this before you sail. If we want something we pre book before we sail. Unfortunately being on a ship with sales pitches everywhere doesn't quite have the same relaxation effect.

Thankfully we find that after a couple of days it is not so prevalent, but the first couple of days on some ships it has been non stop. On one ship we were on even the captain during his noon announcements was making sales pitches!

It's one thing to have a stand set up that people can choose to visit, but I can see how interrupting people that are eating or in a conversation can be viewed as crossing a line in terms of etiquette.

We have noticed it more and more especially over the last year. Whilst we politely decline, I personally feel like it's a move in the wrong direction.

If they are trying to sell us dining etc, we just say we are already booked and they soon stop asking us.

I spend all day at work getting bombarded with sales pitches from companies that want to sell me things, vendors turning up at my office with sales pitches, promotions etc. Sorry but I go on vacation to get away from all of that, not to feel like I'm at work.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but I'm a newbie and I'm going to ask anyway! ;p

 

What do you do with your Seapass card (on a lanyard or not) when you go in pools, hot tubs, etc? It's just going to be my son and I, and I'm not sure what exactly to do with things like that when we are planning to get wet. Do you leave them on a chair? That doesn't sound like the greatest of plans to me.

 

Be gentle! Thanks!

Wrap in clothes on deck chair or put in shoe under deck chair. If on lanyard I wrap the lanyard round the side of the deck chair and put the clothes or towel on top I always find a deck chair within sight of where I am.

International flights have more opportunity to make time up. I have done plenty of transatlantics that have been 30-45 minutes late taking off and managed to land early and had to wait for the gate to open:rolleyes:

We pre pay the full amount and take cash to tip the waiter in the specialty restaurants rather than add onto the tab.

Fanny packs are making a fashion come-back:

 

http://nypost.com/2017/03/27/fanny-packs-are-making-a-comeback/

Agreed. My DH can't stand my old style one so I bought a nice Vera Bradley one. He dislikes that even more :')

Please don't use a lanyard.

It is a very bad look.

Use a small keychain and keep it in your pocket.

That's fine if you have a pocket. If I am wearing a skirt I don't have that option!

Today I upgraded from a D8 Ocean Balcony to Jr Suite on Harmony of the Seas. The rate listed online was part of their weekly Going Going Gone Sale and Royal Caribbean didn't want to give me the current rate, as it was for "New Bookings Only." I don't mind sharing but it was around $650 more than my current rate, but this is the first time I've seen them push back when I'm trying to pay them more. In the past, I've ran into this when it's a "no cost" upgrade. But today, was the first trying to pay them more money and they were turning it away.

 

My travel agent got it done after an hour talking with them, so in the end I got the suite.

 

Has anyone else ran into this issue trying to upgrade (for more money) and they say no? :confused:

If it is a promotion with restrictions for new bookings only then yes. The cruise is repriced which technically cancels the old booking and is repriced as a new booking. Outside of final payment date I normally don't get much resistance but as you are within final payment I expect that was why it was harder to get it resolved.

I am on the Oasis for the total eclipse on 8/21/17. Do you think that Royal will provide the viewing glasses on board or should I order from Amazon before I go?:cool:

I would take my own that way you won't be disappointed if they don't have. Walmarts and Lowes have in stock as well and I have seen a commemorative book that comes with glasses as well.

Dfw to lhr still running around $1700 for the dates I need;(

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

Depends on what month you are looking at but that's the prices for next year.thry sometimes come down a bit when they go a fall sale. With the exchange rate as it is that's a pretty standard rate to U.K.

You could see if RC or a TA could get you better rates.

I'm just wondering if Royal Caribbean automatically bumps you up if you opt into the program or if they call/email to confirm first. Even though 99.9% of the time I would take whatever upgrade is available, it's still nice to know that in the event I handpick my cabin and forget to change my settings that I don't get bumped.

When we had the one and only free upgrade we knew nothing about it until check in at the port.

Frequency of upgrades for us, once in a blue moon.

That said due to the types of cabins we book there is normally little to upgrade us to.

My parents on the other hand like to book last minute and end up booking lower category cabins, yet have been upgraded a lot more.

Is this for your November 12th cruise? There are several cabins showing up as available for that cruise. The problem is more that from what I have read the person that wants the cabin for a family member wants the cabin cheap (at your rate rather than the prevailing rate) and if you are transferring it to them and they reprice then it is a lot of work to get a specific cabin when they could book one of the currently open cabins and move to yours once you cancel and it opens up.

I admire the lengths you are going to to help this person out.

The other option is that you add the granddaughter of the interested party to the cabin. And have your guest as a no show (if it is currently booked as a single) someone else would be able to confirm if it would be doable or if it reprices.

Best of luck

Head on over to the Celebrity boards. A plethora of people would disagree with you that RCCL is the only wonky cruise website.

 

You could do the same with MSC as well, followed by NCL, Princess and (surprisingly) Regent.

Princess (touch wood) I have so far been lucky with.

I have noticed a marked improvement with MSC in the last few days. Celebrities is just frustrating, much preferred the old layout. RC I find works fine on an iPad :D

Perhaps I am more tolerant as i have a website that I have to use on a daily basis that was recently revised and now I have to go through a multitude of links to get to the information I need.

Why companies feel like they have to do a complete overhaul of a website that is perfectly fine is beyond me.

Oh, wow! I need to look into that part... She said it would be around $150 a person for taxes and fees but that is for airfare and the cruise. My sister, brother in law, and my son and I will be going... May need to look into the actual cost of just booking ourselves out of Galveston instead. [emoji848]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

$150 pp total for airfare and taxes and fees sounds cheap. I would recommend that you get the exact ship and departure date and cabin type. Also you would want to confirm what flights they are including with that price. We were never offered any flights with ours. Also make sure there are no hidden fees like you have to stay at X hotel or use y transfers etc. depending on airline do you have to pay for baggage etc. especially now AA do some fares on some routes that are cheaper but do not allow hand luggage.

Once you call the booking people and get an exact figure and all the information you will be able to compare like for like. Hope it works out well but just make sure you have all the facts and before jumping feet first into it.

Good luck and let us know how it works out

Well, it was a "gift" for watching a timeshare presentation. I watched the presentation, said no, and they gave me the gift anyway.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

When we received one of those so say gifts, I called to enquire and they pretty much wanted more for taxes and fees than I could have booked the cabin directly with the cruise line myself. Needless to say we didn't go.

If you are comparing Indy with Serenade the Indy looks like it has an extra port depending on the dates you wish to sail. If you prefer bigger ships I would go with the Indy.