Spurschick

Not always. On Brilliance, Platinum, Diamond and Diamond + were all in the same area of the MDR.

Sometimes. Depends on how many are on board:D

Other than offering you a few price protected cruises (that don't work for you) and the OBC that can be used on any sailing they won't offer anything. Our cruise next March was originally chartered but luckily they offered a date that worked for us.

 

You are doing a B2B so your options are limited. You could ask if they would apply the OBC to the sailing that you still have left. Of you came up with alternative dates you could ask them if they would honour the same prices for those dates but even if they agreed they would likely honour the pricing on only one of the dates and not on both halves of a B2B.

 

I feel that while their policies regarding being bumped from a cruise are not bad if it's one cruise but they certainly do nothing for those that had B2B's booked.

I agree to ask for OBC to be applied to the section of cruise not cancelled. We were booked on the same cruise as Ken. We had issues as the cabin we booked was not available on any of the other cruises they offered us and the alternatives dates for the same cruise didn't work so we switched ships and itineraries.

We had a cruise for November booked as well as the cancelled cruise and asked if they could flip them so we still had both the cruises we wanted and they would only guarantee the price protection on one of them, so that wasn't going to work::rolleyes:

They did offer to put the obc on any cruise we wanted but the price guarantee was only for the cruises they offered.

I am wondering IF it is worth having obc transferred to the still standing cruise and seeing if there is another cruise, even if it another cruise line that offers the sailing you want that you can tag onto it to still try and make a b2b even if it is on two ships? Not ideal switching ships, but may help salvage some of your plans.

We just got off the NOS on Sunday. We were in a GS. As far as I could tell the only ones that were in the lounge as per our luggage tags we Suite/Pinnacle.

We could get our food in the Windjammer then take it into Chops, where we could get coffee, water or juice.

The biggest benefit is the priority of disembarkation:D

Yes, only suites and pinnacle in your lounge. Suites and pinnacles get off first. Diamond plus held in different area, get off second.

Diamond held in another area get off third, so on and so forth. There are multiple areas throughout the ship, normally in speciality restaurants or certain sections of the MDR. Each group is held somewhere different due to capacity limitations and to ensure priority departure of the correct guests at the correct times.

Agree the disembarkation is great:D

I had posted on the earlier thread but there was a link to a site that we are not allowed to post. Not sure how long the thread was up so I wanted to repost with proper links so that others could see.

 

I know my kids are excited how about Abigail.

Thanks,

I didn't think I was going that crazy quite yet!!!!!

As of yet I have just told the other half! I need her to finish her homework before I tell her or she will end up researching all night;) I really hope it is done in dry dock and we are not disappointed by not having for next year.

I am excited, they look cool:D

Michael Bayley has announced that they will retrofit oasis and Allure with waterslides.

 

 

http://www.ttgdigital.com/news/water-slides-coming-to-royals-oasis-class-ships/4696005.article

 

 

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships are likely to have water slides added to them, the line’s new boss has revealed.

 

 

 

The company had already announced that Harmony of the Seas, which is due for delivery in mid-2016 would have several water slides. However, Michael Bayley told TTG that they were also likely to be fitted on Oasis and Allure of the Seas.

 

“I’d like to bring water slides to the Oasis-class - on Allure and Oasis as well, all four ships [a fourth ship is due for delivery in 2018].”

 

Rival lines Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines have both featured water slides on their ships, but Harmony of the Seas will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to include such an addition.

 

Bayley also hinted the slides could be introduced on to Quantum-class ships: “We haven’t asked the question with our design team yet about how we would put them onboard, but if we could then we would.”

 

He was also quizzed by TTG as to whether he believed the UK would ever be home to an Oasis-class ship.

 

“When we built the first Voyager-class ship, we never thought we could move it out of the US because they were so big, so I learned to assume that questions about having ships like Oasis in the UK could be a yes - things just continue to evolve.”

 

Asked what kind of innovative addition he would like to see on a Royal Caribbean ship, Bayley revealed an unusual ambition: “I’m not saying we’re doing this,” he warned first, before adding: “But I’d like to see something like a ski slope [in a ski dome] like they have in Dubai. You could ski from the ship into the sea, and create a lagoon for people to ski into.”

 

Bayley was keen to stress how important the trade remained to the line. “Agents are everything for us. They are partners - we work hard to help them and expect their full support. We’re not fair weather friends - we’ve always committed ourselves to the travel agent community.”

Thanks for posting Ken.

I am going crazy, I actually saw this posted earlier today by someone, opened the link and emailed to DH. Do you think I can find the thread it was mentioned on to show him where it was being discussed:rolleyes:

At least I found this one:D

I think I remember using it when platinum so I guess it starts then.

As someone else said, I also used it when I was platinum. There may be a different, more "special" place for D/D+ and suites. :)

 

I find it helpful now with the change to people being able to carry off their bags instead of only leaving them out overnight and picking them up based on their color. There is always a long line of people waiting to get off the ship when we clear customs, and I have been able to go ahead of the non-CA cruisers every time. To me, it's worth it to get ahead of the crowd; I don't care about the breakfast. It just depends on what you need.

Just to further clarify. As per member benefits all levels get departure lounge,, but priority departure is diamond and above

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/benefitsLoggedout.do

If any other levels get priority departure then another example of royal being inconsistent;)!!!!!

As someone else said, I also used it when I was platinum. There may be a different, more "special" place for D/D+ and suites. :)

 

I find it helpful now with the change to people being able to carry off their bags instead of only leaving them out overnight and picking them up based on their color. There is always a long line of people waiting to get off the ship when we clear customs, and I have been able to go ahead of the non-CA cruisers every time. To me, it's worth it to get ahead of the crowd; I don't care about the breakfast. It just depends on what you need.

There are seperate areas for each group, yes. But my point was gold doesn't get first priority. It starts with pinnacle and suites and then diamond plus and then diamonds. They get priority from the priority list;) I was referring to actuaL priority departure opposed to a waiting area and breakfast;)

I was responding to a comment referring to getting off before everyone else. As gold, you are unlikely to be getting off before too many people was the point I was trying to make.

I am aware that every level has a breakfast and so called priority departure lounge, however given the percentage of passengers that are gold or above, that's like saying the whole shop gets priority to disembark:D

Sold out doesn't necessarily mean max capacity. Max capacity is when all mulptiple berths that can be sold are sold. Without knowing your sail date can't say for certain, but unlikely to be full of families.

We travel peak times a lot. Never found it overcrowded on a normal, peak time, full capacity cruise. Only time we ever found issues with crowding was when we unwittingly booked a short cruise only to get on board and find it was super bowl weekend:eek::eek: then we avoided the bars:D

True :)

 

Usually it will be in the dining room or a lounge. The breakfast is pastries and coffee and juice.

 

What's nice about it to me is that you *usually* get to get off the ship ahead of the other folks. I appreciate this benefit because I'm usually trying to get a fairly early flight. I just get breakfast at the airport.

My understanding is priority departure is for diamond and above and suite guests. Op is gold. I doubt they will be high on the early departure list.:)

When we docked in Falmouth, there is a nice contained area right by the port. There were several cafes etc there. We enjoyed the traditional Jamaican patties. I would recommend wandering around the port area and just see what catches your eye.! Not on the beach, but nice social feel.

Spurschick-

Thanks for your stamp of approval on the travel insurance company. I've always used them for coverage, but never had to file a claim with them. Hoping that won't occur this time either, but glad that I've got the peace of mind that comes with being insured.

You are welcome. I hope you don't need to claim. I agree on peace of mind:) you never know what will happen or when.

Wishing you the best with your situation.

Current drink price thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195706

Only you can answer how much you are likely to drink, but the drink prices here should allow you to work out how much you are likely to spend if buying on a per drink basis.

Hi there, we have just booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on Jewel of the Seas this coming November. I was just wondering if there some sort of café that is open all day/night that serves coffee and maybe a cookie/sandwich.

 

We cruised Freedom of the Seas last year and got addicted to the Café Promenade. Is there an equivalent on JOS?

 

As far as I can see there is only the MDR, 2 specialty restaurants and the Windjammer for food and drink. Am I missing anything?

 

Also, does anyone know when the 2 formal nights are? Same as FOS with Monday and Thursday?

 

Thanks in advance for your time!

The cafe in the Solarium is open 24 hours. :D

Whilst the solarium is open 24 hours the cafe is not.

See post 53 onwards. The cruise compass shows the hours for both seaview cafe and solarium cafe on jewel.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2132766&page=3

Glad to know that your process was simple; wonder whether it was because your insurance was purchased via RCI? Mine is with Travel Guard, so in the event that we need to cancel, hopefully it will go smoothly and not take forever for the refund.

Whilst I have not had to cancel a cruise, I have made claims in the past with travelguard. One was for medical treatment onboard for DD, the other for a land vacation where I was stranded due to flight cancelations. In both instances they were very easy to deal with, and paid promptly. I was so impressed with my experience, I have never hesitated to use them every time we travel.

Independence has three concierges. One concierge is in charge of the concierge lounge; two are assigned to the Diamond lounge. To address an email to the main concierge you have to do it differently from the ship that only has one concierge:

 

ID_concierge01@rccl.com

 

If you don't specify 01, 02, etc. the email goes to the dead letter box.

 

Hope this helps.

 

BigHattMan

This thread is from 2013!!!!!! They are long sailed by now:D

There is an upto date thread for emails for ships.

John&LaLa posted either today or yesterday a copy of the letter that he received in a JS's on Oasis in the last week or 2. It invited JS guests for dinner at CK subject to availability. They were to contact the concierge for reservations.

 

I am assuming that this is relatively new as this is the first that we are hearing of it. Perhaps they were finding that there were empty seats and decided to open it up a bit.

 

Thanks for posting the letter. You beat me to it:D

Agree, it was the first we heard of JS in CK as well. Can't argue with a letter:D

We travel with two people with severe shellfish allergies.

On each of our RCI cruises, the head-waiter, and one time the chef, visited our table the first night to point out appropriate choices.

 

At the end of the first meal, they brought us the menu for the second night and let us pre-order meals that would be safe.

 

This is one reason we are a bit nervous about Dynamic Dining and not having the same waiters each evening.

 

All in all, we have found RCI to be very accommodating to our special dietary needs.

If you do Dynamic Dining Classic you keep the waiters.

I believe excursions have to be cancelled 4 days before the start of the cruise in order to get a refund to the credit card. After that, they can be cancelled up to 24 hours before the excursion, and the refund wll go as a credit on the onboard account.

Thanks for clarifying the cut off for card reimbursement as opposed to OBC. The only time I had to cancel was for my parents onboard. Even though I paid as I booked for all of us at the same time as our reservations were linked, they ended up with the OBC::rolleyes:

I am getting ready to book some helicopter excursions for Alaska through the cruiseline.

 

Can you cancel them for a refund prior to embarking if we decide against them?

Yes

You have up until 24 hours before to cancel. If you cancel before sailing it will go back to payment card. If you cancel onboard you will get obc.

Just remember though, that helicopter excursions have limited availability and I think have to have a certain number of people. If you cancel too late it may end up cancelling for anyone else booked with you. If you are not sure, I would recommend waiting until you decide definitively if you want to do that excursion, so that others don't miss out on the opportunity. Tours that cater for larger quantities of people don't get badly affected by one or two cancellations. But these types of excursions it can throw out greatly.

For those of you wanting a photo, here is a panorama of the layout on the Oasis. The left side is Coastal Kitchen, the middle has the bar and Chef's Table and the right side is the suite lounge. I couldn't get all of the suite lounge in the photo. The wall of windows continues behind me. The concierges sit at the small desk just to the right of the Chef's Table by the pole. The small buffet in the suite lounge is next to the windows all the way to the right in the photo. I hope this is helpful.

 

Thanks for posting. I wasn't expecting it to be so open plan !!! I think given that another person mentioned they could get in CK for dinner in a JS but couldn't use the lounge, I thought it may have been sectioned off more. At least I now know what to expect :D

My neighbors were suppose to be on the Majesty Monday April 27. Anyone know why the cruise was cancelled. Thanks

There is another thread started on this. I will try to find.

It is going into emergency dry dock for repairs.

Here is the thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2200963

Big difference between losing your cabin due to chartering an entire ship (which has happened to me twice in the short time I have cruised) and having your pre-selected cabin taken from you with no explanation.

I know there is a difference, however given the choice of having the wrong cabin or the wrong cruise I know which I would pick:)! My point is OP is now two cabins out from where they started. It sounds like they are now alternate cabins as opposed to connecting. Iritating, yes. Dissappointing, yes. But still close.

Firstly I was trying to make the point that, yes if you book something and make payment for it you should get what you paid for. It doesn't matter whether it is a charter or a cabin change, both paid for something they didn't receive. In the OPs case, at least they get the cruise they booked, allbeit in a different cabin location.

Secondly, who is to say that they were not moved because someone prior to them had booked that cabin and they got moved and complained and got moved back as there had been a previous complaint.? We don't know the full circumstances around the move. I am not saying that is what did happen, but there is likely a chain of events that led up to the cabin being changed and we don't know where or why the error arose.

It is one thing to ask RC to contact the people in the cabin and explain the circumstances and ask them to move And to me that is a reasonable request. It may also be possible, that when the op boards, if they are unable to resolve beforehand, they are able to ask the new guests in that room to switch at check in or once onboard.

I genuinely hope they resolve, but I hope it doesn't let their holiday be ruined if it doesn't work out as desired.

Agreed $100. is nice, but better would have been to give you the room you had back, and notified the people who got your room they were moved to the room given you!:confused:

Given op is now two rooms down (if I read it correctly) I don't see the harm in RC switching them with op. It should, theoretically be a straightforward switch. The rooms sound like they are close enough.

Seriously? In the scheme of things and life this is not a big deal but if I pay money, make a reservation 16 months before the cruise I expect to get what I reserved. :confused:

 

I have been very busy with work this week so this has had to take a backseat but since I have not received an email response I plan to make some phone calls. Any ideas where I would find a phone # other than the main line on the website?

Whilst I agree that things shouldn't change once booked and paid for, at least you are still on the cruise. Multitudes of people booked when the itineraries were released only to then have their cruises completely cancelled due to the ships being chartered out.

We not only had to change ship, itinerary and also slightly amend the date and cabin type as the cabin category we had booked was already sold out even that far in advance, and we were restricted to dates available for us to travel. other than same class ship there was nothing comparable to what we had booked.

Dependent on the category booked, compensation was pretty minimal given that people had to completely rethink their vacation.

Yes, I am still irritated about what happened but we will still enjoy what we have instead.

I am not trying to say what has happened is not irritating, but it could have been worse.

Sorry, I wasn't saying that now that I'm Diamond I get access to "any" lounge, I was just saying that i am happy to get access to "a" lounge, thats all. I understand I don't get access to the concierge lounge, unless of course I fork out the money and buy a suite (or like I have in the past and get room #6305 on the Freedom Class):D. And I have to agree with the previous poster, when we had access to the concierge lounge on the Indy last year it was packed, you couldn't find a seat.

No problem:D

By the way, if you think the CL's on the bigger ships are busy, when we were on the Jewel in November there wasn't even standing room:eek: you were lucky if you could get in the door. I will see if it improves in the summer months:D