lv2bcruzin

4 hours ago, ssb said:

Good communication and documentation is control, 

which makes for good relationship !!!. Thanks thanks lv2bcruzin!!!

Create your own travel agency LLC, get with a host agency for all you mentioned plus more and get commissions on your own travel, and write off all your travel expenses. That's what we actually did when it was clear we would be traveling as a life style.

So, a bit more to the story, but essentially control is key and TA benefits aren't worth losing that control in our opinion. So, we did as mentioned and get the best of both worlds. We are our own TA.

12 minutes ago, ssb said:

We book -  On Board with Next Cruise, Transfer to our Travel Agency;  Get Group Rates, Cabin Selection , On Board Credits , In Cabin Gifts , Freebies, Credit Card Points for Travel and Ship , Refundable Pricing, and Own in Excess of 100 shares of Royal Caribbean Stock with Profits . Am I missing something ?

 

Control

First cruise 23 years ago I used a TA.

Have booked direct since and that is for all our travel unless we get a good deal using points via Chase Sapphire and Chase Travel.

We will be sailing in an ocean view balcony on the Odyssey with our 5 year old in December. We normally sail in a JS or above for the extra space since our son started to join us, but we booked last minute and it seems the ship is sold out.

It will be interesting to see how things work out and this thread definitely brings up some good points. We normally tip the stateroom attendant to start the cruise if we need anything out of the ordinary. This is in addition to the standard gratuities and tends to uplevel the service throughout. I wonder if this type of tipping strategy is still valued or if they just pass completely on the opportunity in which case I guess we fold and/or open it ourselves.

I did a quick search and was not able to find a similar Q&A, though it seems it probably has been answered previously. Apologies in advance if I missed it.

We finally used our Future Cruise Credits to book the Odyssey on 12/9/23. The original cruise was booked onboard via NextCruise during the Cruise With Confidence days (December 2021). We had a good amount of OBC with that booking because of the NextCruise promotion.

My question is  - Should the OBC transfer to the cruise we just booked using the FCCs? My assumption is/was the OBC does not transfer (i.e. we gave up the OBC once the cruise was canceled), but I wanted to check if anyone had experience in the same situation.

I've kept all our invoices from cruising since 2014 and interestingly enough there are invoices for the same cabin on the same ship (which of course would've been a newer ship at the time) which are almost the same cost pp/nt. We generally shoot for $100/pp/nt in a balcony stateroom and go up from there if we are sailing in a suite. Occasionally, we would luck out and find one for $50-$75 pp/nt, but those were on much older and smaller ships.

Last week we booked an 8nt Odyssey 12/9/23 (44 days out at time of booking) sailing in a large balcony stateroom for $96 pp/nt. In 2014 we booked a 7nt Freedom aft balcony for $118 pp/nt. Go figure.

With all that said, the extras/perks/C&A benefits have definitely been reduced. I remember $20 for all you can eat at Chops in the early 2000's. Those were the days!

Currently $61/day plus gratuities so about $71/day total for our Allure sailing on 1/19. Yesterday there was no banner on the package. Today there is BOGO 50% off banner. Same price.

We stayed in a GS on Oasis a couple years ago. Great experience. The cabin has plenty of space and the extra perks are always nice. Oasis is a great ship to have a GS on. SL & CK are nice spots to enjoy as well as the suite sun deck which is almost always low key and has it's own bar area.

Here are some photos of the GS we stayed in (along with many other Oasis photos): https://www.flickr.com/photos/lv2bcruzin/29429795076/in/album-72157670209883393/

4 hours ago, louv2000 said:

If (big IF!) we win our Royal up bid from Sky class to Star class will they refund our pre-paid gratuities automatically?

We also have a bid in from our 2 bedroom GS to a 2 bedroom Aquatheater... Min bid though, so no expectations. 

While those do look handy, I've always found there to be plenty of storage space. That pic reminds me of a clutter covered refrigerator. :p

And, another vote for 150 CP

FYI - It's not needed. If you don't have a valid photo uploaded, they will take your photo at the terminal which is the normal process and it adds about 3 seconds to check-in. So, don't sweat it if you don't want to bother with it.

We just got off the Anthem (10/21 - 10/28) and I would say we experienced both scenarios. Many times dirty dishes were left in the public areas for extended periods of time or walking into a public area with many tables occupied by dirty dishes. Other times it was kept very clean. The place where it was the worst was the Windjammer. Many times it was a crap shoot whether or not there were people still at the table and were up getting more food or had indeed left for good. We were always looking for personal belongings to decide, but that didn't always work. The worst place within the Windjammer was at the far back outdoor area. Tables had dirty dishes on them for 20 mins plus many times. In one instance my sister and brother-in-law let us know they had left that area about 15 minutes before we arrived during breakfast. They came back to join us when we got there and said the table they were sitting at still had all their dirty dishes on it.

So, I absolutely believe the OP and also believe others who have said the areas have been clean as we experienced both. One overly dirty area were the elevators. Almost every elevator for the entire cruise had something spilled on it and you could tell it had been there for awhile as dirt from being stepped on was accumulating on it.

DL, balcony discount, 3 free drinks are pretty much the three we get the most use out of. That being said we still buy the drink pkg.

Weather doesn't affect whether or not we use our balcony (perhaps a hurricane would :p ). Humidity doesn't bother us at all. We wouldn't bother sailing to the Caribbean if humidity was an issue, let alone pay the extra cash for an unused perk. We use our balcony many times a day. Morning, throughout the day, evening. If we make a trip back to the cabin for some reason during the day I always go out on the balcony. Mornings and evenings we always take time to enjoy.

Yesterday (I'm still on my cruise) I received a plate of sweets.

 

I have over a week to go on this cruise.

LUCKY!!!! :cool:;p:cool:;p

I too have been using private/incognito windows exclusively.

 

Turns out RCI is not the only website that requires this.

This is all due to browser cache as those modes do not save any website data after the browser is closed. Clearing all cache without being in those modes does the same thing. For some clearing their cache isn't possible, especially if they are using a work computer that doesn't allow them to clear their cache. But, you shouldn't be viewing cruise info on your work computer right? ;):D:p:cool:

The DL concierge has helped us book shows, excursions, dining, etc and in many cases got us some of those reservations when we were told previously they were not available. Always have been very helpful and got us exactly what we needed whereas GS provided us with instructions on how to take care of it ourselves which is not an issue as we can handle it, but that is the difference we noticed between the two. We don't use the concierge every cruise, but when we do we tip them more.

Never had an issue with booking onboard and the staff has always been helpful. Granted in general we already know the cruise and cabin we want to book, but even when we haven't they have always been great. Pretty much like most cruise customer service.. YMMV.

I'm with you brother, but we're a dying breed.

 

Entitled, socially illiterate, physically unfit, optically obtuse & sartorially sorry individuals are the rule of the day. They're everywhere.

 

These people are touched. I swear most of the under 40's I meet are somewhere just short of Asperger's on the Autism Scale.

 

They have so many complaints, it's truly traumatic to be them.

 

"Packing a suit makes my suitcase heavy." Get to the gym cupcake.

 

"It's hot." The ship has air con & deodorant is available onboard.

 

"I don't like fixed dining time." You're right, we forgot, the World now revolves around you and your whim of the minute schedule.

 

"I don't like to sit with strangers for dinner" We know, face to face interaction is a skill and you don't have it.

 

"I have to talk to people all day at work and this is a vacation." Please, if you were at all skilled in the art of conversation you would realize that speaking with me is an exercise in drawing you out and I'm going to make you feel like a star. I'm not trying to sell you insurance.

 

"I paid for this vacation." We all did. Back in the day, part of that payment went to knowing that part of the cruise experience meant dressing for dinner, meeting new people, & enjoying the atmosphere. We understand that you have no idea why you showing up in shorts on formal night kind of blows that for us. I'm sorry you never went to the Prom.

 

So yes, I've given up on most of the cruise lines. I'm smart enough to read the writing on the wall.

 

It's your loss though.

+100000000! Great post... Hilarious. :'):'):')

In one way or another I think everyone has a problem with that site every day.

This article's context isn't exactly the same, but makes some of the same points many would make to those who feel they shouldn't dress the part: Mark Zuckerberg, you dress like crap. And, yes, I know this is an exaggerated view in regards to formal nights. :p

• So...have you done a GUAR cabin?
  
  • Yes
    

  [*]What did you book and what did you get?

  • W, JS
    

  [*]Were you happy with the cabin that was assigned?

  • Yes
    

  [*]Would you do it again?

  • Yes - If the price is heavily discounted and we do not have specific location preference (which was the reason we booked previously). Sometimes, certain categories are only at specific locations which makes worrying about location irrelevant.
    

  [*]How long did it take to get assigned?

  • Within a few weeks of booking. The cruises were about a year out when originally booked.
    

  [*]Any other thoughts or suggestions on guaranteed cabins?

  • It's a crap shoot, but it's always worked out for us. In one instance we were put in an accessible JS which was basically as big as a GS. This happens when the accessible cabins haven't been booked and they open up to the general public closer to the cruise date.
    

It's my vacation and I don't feel like wearing anything at all to dinner. I'm not hurting anyone else, so why does it matter? I suppose I can wear a strategically placed sock if forced to. But, I'm not wearing a tie! :cool::rolleyes::cool::rolleyes:

I would recommend heading right to the bumper cars if you are interested in using them. The line is shortest right after boarding so there will be a short wait.

Interesting way to start a cruise.... :p I head straight to the nearest cocktail lounge. :cool: As you mentioned, the line is the shortest right after boarding! :D