la_croisiere_s'amuse

@cruisegirl1, @RoperDK, I hope you enjoyed your cruises. 🙂 Any thoughts to share with us on the ship's condition after dry dock?

Thanks Anton!  This is the FAQ link I was talking about, where it isn't listed:

What benefits are included in each Royal Suite Class Tier? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

So yeah, looks like a case of Royal's world-class website again.  😣 Good to know I'm not losing my mind, though!

I was just looking at the Sea/Sky/Star class amenities chart, and I noticed that complimentary room service was nowhere to be found. I also clicked on the "See all amenities" button that takes you to the FAQ ... still nothing. 🫤

I could have sworn that the service fee for room service was waived for Grand Suites and above, although admittedly we don't do room service much and we don't always sail in suites, so it's been some time since I've ordered from a suite. Is my memory failing me? Or has this perk been removed? Or is it just another case of Royal's stellar website quality? 🙄

35 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Find a good travel agent with group space. Those are nearly always refundable, and relatively reasonably priced. 

Exactly this. Unless it's a suite, we ALWAYS get refundable deposits with no price bump. It does require some flexibility, since balcony groups rates may not be available for every single cruise. But since we seldom have our heart set on one specific date/ship/itinerary, it works well for us.

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Another thing I find amusing is how people extrapolate their opinions of icon and oasis to everyone. Even though the large ships are getting premium fares and are selling full but the small ships are the lowest fares and don’t always sail full. 

Excellent point. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I've enjoyed everything from the dearly departed Sovereign class to the Oasis class. But even those who are adamantly against the "floating theme parks" can't argue with the numbers. The megaships are selling like crazy, for top dollar.

Personally, I haven't tried the Icon because I focus on bang for the buck, and consequently I never sail on the latest & greatest. Which also means I probably won't sail on this new class until they're a few years old. But there are things I love about every class of ship I've tried, and I expect that to continue as I eventually explore the new ones. 🙂 

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

On my cruise with the Explorer, no fried chicken, no short ribs… menus repeating. Food at MDR nothing to crave for.

Wait ... so you're saying that they repeated the MDR menus rather than going through the standard rotation? Like, instead of the Welcome Aboard menu (where the fried chicken appears) you had another Italian/Mexican/Caribbean night? If I'm understanding you correctly, I can definitely understand why you were unhappy. 

1 hour ago, puggylicious said:

Thank you. Did they have any complimentary things to eat?

I usually see banana bread and sometimes homemade granola bars, and some ships will have fruit but I'm not sure about Symphony specifically. I've never seen anything more than that.

11 hours ago, laurieal said:

 

 Then, at last, it was time for my Aqua 80 reservation. 
 

What an awesome show! A must see, for sure. My favourite part is always when they’re splashing around in, like, an inch of water. 

 

Do not miss it if you’re on the Oasis. 

OH, what a relief!! I was so afraid that you wouldn't get a chance to see it. In my humble opinion, it's the entire reason that one sails on the Oasis. 😉 I'm not generally a huge fan of Boardwalk balconies, but on the Oasis I make an exception. As long as it's all the way aft on deck 8. 😄

9 hours ago, jennellen said:

I just booked a September cruise in mid April and got the senior discount.  I turn 55 before sail date.  It was $259 off, which I was super happy about.  Didn't realize the senior discounts were so rare.  So now I'm even happier to get it, even though couldn't believe at 55 I would qualify.  But I'll take all the discounts I can get.  

It seems to be yet another case where experiences vary. 🙂 Since DH crossed the senior discount threshold, we've received it several times--probably not quite half the time, but at least a third.

And I agree, 55 is awfully young, but no complaints! 

On 4/23/2024 at 3:45 PM, cruiseguy1016 said:

The 3rd party tour companies know the cruise ship schedules. Their reputation and future business depend on them being reliable.

Plus, many of them also guarantee that they will pay your expenses to catch you up with the ship or get you back to the home port if they don't get you back on time. They are really, really motivated to ensure that doesn't happen.

Depends on what you mean by "late November." 🙂 If you're talking about this year, Thanksgiving falls very late--November 28th. So if you're looking at the very last week of November, it could be done on the 29th or 30th. I've never experienced, heard or read about a ship decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. 

Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise! 🙂

I'm also a non-drinker. I find that swapping the alcohol in standard cocktails with soda or juice makes the concoction ridiculously sweet, but club soda works well. 

Another thing I've discovered is that the bar staff aren't necessarily familiar with the "zero-proof cocktails" listed on the menus in the app. Especially in the dining room. So I keep my app pulled up so I can just show it to them and say "I'd like this."

Looks like I have popular opinions! My favorite ship for Broadway is Allure (Mamma Mia), which unfortunately has my least favorite Aqua Theater show.  On the flip side, my favorite Aqua Theater show is on Oasis (Aqua 80), which unfortunately has my LEAST favorite Broadway show. 😉 

No strong feelings about any of the ice or secondary main theater shows. 

1 hour ago, Big_G said:

 

Keep checking. It's $86.99 now for our May Icon but we actually got it for $75 last week.

WHOA!! It's a good thing you posted the screen shot, because even seeing it with my own eyes, it's still hard to believe that price. I'm glad to hear there's still hope if they find they aren't selling well. Currently, my two upcoming CocoCay stops are both over $200. No thank you. 🫤

54 minutes ago, DennysDad said:

What ever happened to vacation time for vacations? Nobody ever looked back at the end of their life and said, I should have worked more.

I believe the question was about working from the ship, not working on vacation. The two don't always go hand in hand for those of us who are still of working age.

5 minutes ago, LittleMissMagic said:

Why so steep? The pricing makes me think that Royal wants to discourage people from buying it....

Possibly, or maybe it's just because they know people are still willing to pay the higher prices. Since they are a for-profit corporation dragging a massive debt, I can't say I blame them. Eventually the pricing will hit a ceiling, at least presumably, where people stop buying. But until then, I don't predict any price reductions to speak of. 🙁

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

That's subjective. It's special to me. I enjoyed some of the CL snacks on Wonder 2 weeks ago.

Agreed, some of the appetizers are nothing special but some of them are quite tasty. And I find that on some ships, the CL desserts are leaps & bounds better than anything from the dining room, Windjammer or Coastal Kitchen--and some of the specialty dining desserts, for that matter.

2 hours ago, sisocialworker said:

does RCI add 18% to the listed price for entry or cabanas, or just some tax rate

No, the 18% gratuity is only for food and beverage items. The Bahamas tax runs approximately 10%, and it is added onto Beach Club, cabanas, kayaks etc.

The short answer: because people are willing to pay those prices. 😉 Every cruise line uses a different pricing model, and as you've probably seen, prices can vary dramatically (both cruise fare and add-ons) from ship to ship and date to date.

The good news is that nobody is ever compelled to purchase any of it. 🙂 

6 hours ago, temple1 said:

Instead of doing the origami folds suggested on the luggage tags, I use the paper cutter to trim it down

6 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Bought luggage tag holders years ago. Trim the extra off, write our name, slip them in the holders.  Easy to attach before leaving the hotel for the port.

5 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

This is how we do it also. It's so easy to do it this way. No need to bring tape or staplers with you. But, what seems so simple to me may not seem that way to others.

I'm a big fan of the luggage tag holders as well. However, as a well-educated and allegedly intelligent person, I'm embarrassed to admit how many cruises it took me to realize that I no longer needed to do the origami and could just use the paper cutter. 🤣😂 

Unfortunately, no Royal Caribbean ships have self-service laundry facilities. Some were added to the ship currently doing the world cruise, but it's generally believed that they will not stay available to passengers afterwards. 

Irons and steamers are both prohibited. There are laundry/pressing services available for quite a steep fee, but most people get by with just Downy Wrinkle Release and steaming items on the back of the bathroom door while they shower. 

36 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The more important thing is that since it is no longer the Diamond Lounge, diamond members are not allowed in for afternoon happy hour times. You can peak in from the outside like gold and platinum members

Not true. As pointed out above, the evening (not afternoon) happy hour is sometimes open to Diamond members and sometimes not, depending on numbers. We have seen it both ways since the switch. 

23 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

If you miss the ship your passport is left with the port agent.

12 hours ago, SRF said:

MAY.  Not guaranteed. 
 

but likely. 
 

do you feel lucky?

9 hours ago, island lady said:

 We leave our passport book in the safe, where the ship's crew would look for it if needed.

 

This last part is the critical thing to remember, and something I didn't know for my first several cruises.  I'm sure there have been exceptions, but in virtually all cases of missing the ship, the crew will look in your cabin safe for your passport. I'm told that if the passport isn't there, they will sometimes do a cursory look around, but they will not dig through your belongings. So if you do choose to leave your passports onboard (which I do, for the record, unless specifically instructed otherwise), make sure they are in your safe!

51 minutes ago, cruisingjandb said:

I know this is a little off topic but what can anyone tell me about Adventure of the Seas. Anyone on it recently?

You will probably have better luck asking your question in a separate thread, since people aren't likely to click on a thread asking about Vision class ships looking for a question about Voyager class. 😉