spiegeje

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

 I know rcl folks want to feel superior but for me it's a matter of price and perks.

I understand that perception exists, but I loved cruising with them because they always seemed to provide a good value with a luxury'ish feel, and they were making money then. It's different now.

I looked as far out as Royal's site allowed...April 2026 and there's a sailing on Independence out of Miami. A standard balcony is $3,277 for seven nights or $468 a night. This same sailing a year or two ago would have been $2,100. It goes to Coca Cay, Charlotte Amalie and San Juan. It's simply not worth it. I have found great bargains in the month of April in the past, but not now. The first screenshot is icognito mode and not logged in. The second is logged in with the same category cabin with the C&A discount. I think the book it early strategy is out the window right now while they ride this Icon publicity. It will have to go back to what competing lines are doing for me to continue with them.

5 minutes ago, maggie416 said:

I booked a cruise on Liberty of the Seas last August for this May. Balcony room, $2500 for 2, now over $8000!!! Really? For The Liberty???? So out of control, but people are paying so high prices it is!

Marg

Holy moly...you just hilited what I am seeing....personally, the thing that kept me going back to Royal doesn't seem to be there any more if they are pricing their product that way. I would have expected a higher price with a price check with your timeline, but $5,500 higher??!!! Wow....too bad we can't sell them on the black market.

Just now, Tatka said:

 

  Maybe... I personally do not like Carnival (honestly tried 3 times) , so for me it does not matter. Also people have own preferences ... like smaller ships with better itinerary. 

 

 

It's definitely subjective...and I shied away from Carnival because of some of the pics of the interiors of their older ships, however I am intrigued by the Excel Class of the Carnival Corp. Some of the vlogs I've seen have communicated that it isn't like the old cheesy Carnival vibe.

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Royal has group rates from many TAs that many of us, plus balcony discount plus DP340 for me as a solo. For me often royal comes out less expensive, not  more. I never book at the price on the site. All of mine are refundable group rates. Maybe it depends on your loyalty level but a balcony for me on harmony was $300  less than a inside on jubilee. I know this has been posted over and over again get a TA with geoup rates. 

 

Carnival gives me  nothing off as a solo. I agree prices are thru the roof but imo so are carnivals prices. I'm booked on adventure, harmony, marine, wonder, utopia and then voyager TA plus a extra leg on voyager for another 10 days. Some of mine are balconys, though boardwalk or park view. Oasis class has more balconys so more reasonably priced. Everyone is different for me as a solo, royal is usually a best fit. 

 

I just came back from a really nice 14 day journey cruise on carnival so I dont have anything against them but not willing to pay $200 a day when on rcl I get my 5 free drinks and 2 days of wifi. I missed my perks. I only need to book 14 more days of royal to hit pinnacle I kept thinking  as I was doing my carnival cruise.

I am Diamond with Royal and use a TA every time, and have benefited from group rates they have a few times. My diamond discount should apply since I did the dummy bookings while logged in. I think they are milking the Icon pub as much as they can and pricing everything within a year to a point where they may be alienating some of their Loyal to Royal guests.

8 minutes ago, Tatka said:

Enchantment is a smaller ship with a limited number of balconies. It is supply vs demand.

 

Balconies on Anthem cost less

I understand your point, however, pricing for an OV midship (no balcony) on Enchantment is $368.97 per night for two vs Celebration at $363.32 per night for two for a balcony. I predict that Royal's current high pricing may not last as people choose a much better product for lower cost.

5 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

It just shows what cruise line is most popular and in highest demand.

I think it is because Royal's marketing is superior to the other lines. That combined with all the recent free publicity...they changed their philosophy from providing a great experience at a great value to getting whatever people will pay. I will walk away from them to another line, personally, and would not be surpised if others do the same...especially now that Carnival is publicizing an answer to Perfect Day with their own Celebration Island. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

1 minute ago, Dewaldcruiser said:

Seems like current demand is through the roof along with revenue.   Seems unlikely that prices will go down until the demand subsides.  Not seeing the demand go down especially for the newer ships any time soon though.

I did the comparison because Royal's Enchantment of the Seas (built in 1996) sailing from Tampa in mid-May is priced 50% higher than Carnival Celebration (built in 2022) sailing from Miami in late May. This is not to mention the cost of Icon of the Seas right now. Holy Moly. That's an expensive proposition for dueling pianos and a giant orb with a view of the water.

40 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

You're looking at cruises 4 months out. No surprise they're expensive.

True, but its a comparison of cruise prices at the same time from Florida ports in the same month using dummy bookings created on the same day.

Look at Celebration vs Enchantment.

It's not about trying to book a cruise 4 months out. I may do the same thing for two years down the line, but doing dummy bookings with Royal 2-3 years out is shocking as well. I currently have 3 reasonably priced sailings with Royal booked now. I can't get that pricing any longer. Jason Liberty's finance background is starting to show. I predict people may start walking to other lines especially when the Icon honeymoon dies.

I was thinking about how pricing is through the roof these days and given the recent earnings announcements, I wondered if a correction may be coming and how far off it may be.

I have no idea, because Royal Caribbean's marketing seems superior to the other cruise lines and demand seems disproportionate to Royal vs other lines. I looked for late May sailings from Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and Tampa. I compared the May 25 sailing on Icon, Symphony, Wonder and Enchantment for similar category cabins to compare with Carnival Celebration. I realize it's not completely apples to apples, but this was eye opening.

Results (guarantees when the option was available):

• Carnival Celebration -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Miami -- total cost for two is $2,543.30 -- cost per night $363.32
• Icon -- 7 night sailing on May 25 from Miami -- total cost for two is $9,767.38 -- cost per night $1,395.34
• Symphony -- 6 night sailing on May 4 from Port Everglades -- total cost for two is $2,994.48 (the sailings from PE were limited to Symphony 6 night and 3 night -- not a good comparison) -- cost per night $499
• Wonder -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Port Canaveral -- total cost for two is $4,707.94 -- cost per night $672.56
• Enchantment -- 7 night sailing on May 11 from Tampa -- total cost for two is $3,798.76 -- cost per night $542.68 per night --> What??!

I have to conclude that unless there is a correction soon, I may be trying other lines. I just don't see that the value that Royal has been known for exists right now considering a ship like Enchantment gets more for 7 nights than Carnival's second newest ship that has been getting good reviews. I am loyal to Royal, but there is a limit, and sadly, I am close to it. I don't think I will be "Loyal to Royal" much longer. I'm curious to know what others are thinking.

I have been to both and they are fantastic. I will give the edge to Jaime's Blue Reef because it is much closer to the port and the amenities, and I really liked the staff at Blue Reef. The food is brought to your palapa on the beach which is in contrast to Maya Chan which is buffet style.

In terms of the amenities, I did an impulse scuba dive with Pepe's Dive Shop which is attached to the hotel. There are also several other dive shops and other businesses nearby. I am sure that one day, I will re-visit Maya Chan, but I am already planning to return to Blue Reef soon.

The Roatan Tourism Bureau is reporting as of this morning that Allure, scheduled to arrive May 10, has canceled this arrival, and the remainder of the “season” due to the damage to the dock. They said smaller ships can still dock, but not Allure.

 

I’m on a June sailing which, in my Cruise Planner, is still showing Roatan. I’m sure it will take some time to make these changes and notify everyone. Assuming this is accurate information from the Tourism Bureau, what do you think Royal will do? Is there another port they might substitute? (We are already scheduled to go to Cozumel and Costa Maya.). Maybe Grand Cayman? Or do you think it will just be a sea day? Would you expect they’ll offer OBC for the inconvenience?

 

Personally I’m ok with it. Was looking forward to my excursion, but it is what it is. Nothing to get all angry about!

 

What are your thoughts for how they’ll deal with the change?

We are on the June 17 sailing of Allure on this itinerary and have watch the YouTube video of the Armonia's crash into the pier too many times to count. I am completely gutted (to use a British term) over this, because I really wanted to go to Costa Maya for a number of reasons...one is that my oldest daughter wanted to do a specific excursion there.

As far as alternatives, the only ones I see as possible are a stop at Labadee, or maybe even a stop at San Juan which would require a left turn from Nassau instead of to the right, but seems doable if the ship doesn't stay there all day. Allure cannot make it to Grand Cayman because that requires getting to shore via tender, and Oasis class ships are not tender capable.

The news reports I saw regarding the dock at Roatan seems to say the repairs will take three months. One of the issues is the time it will take to procure the equipment needed to do the repairs. Unless there's a miracle, I don't see Allure returning to Roatan this season unless they go very late in it. It's really, really frustrating, espcially considering our sailing is past the final payment date.

1. I feel really bad for the merchants who will miss out on an Oasis class ship visiting...if Allure visits 10 times in the season, that's potentially 60,000 customers...

2. MSC needs to hold its crew members accountable, especially the captain and cover not only repairs but enhancement to the dock facilities

3. If the harbour pilot was on board, he needs to be fired if he hasn't been already. II don't know if Roatan requires harbour pilots.

We are first time cruisers thinking about going on Jewel of the Seas Greek Isles cruise for our honeymoon!

The dates are already out for June 2019 when we intend to go.

Would like advice on which area of the ship and which side of ship is best? We would like to be able to see the islands from our balcony as we cruise into them.

Any other tips appreciated thanks :)

Corner aft balconies are best. If that's not an option, Deck 7 forward or aft are about three feet deeper on Radiance Class ships like Jewell than balconies that are midships or on other decks.

Señor Frogs is a raucous and loud bar. It's pretty fun if you're tipping a few. Other than Señor Frogs, there's Fat Tuesday and maybe some things to do at Atlantis. The midnight sail away on the pool deck is fun.

Fantastic review-very helpful. I am glad we booked a 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary on this ship next year. This will be our second cruise.

I was there in January and toured the forts. I was not impressed with the forts or the stories they tried to convey. The staff were disinterested and only interested in tips. As far as structuring your port visit the way you describe, I dint think there's a problem with that. If you need to get somewhere that is too far to walk, cabs are plentiful and cheap if you want to do it on your own.

We sailed on her on a four night cruise in January and found the ship to be great. She is a little old and slightly dated, but overall, it was a great experience. The pool area is huge and the Solarium is very cozy. We ate at Windjammer twice, the MDR for dinner three times and for breakfast twice, Park Cafe a couple times and Chops once. The food was really good. It wasn't spectacular. The crew were always friendly and fun to interact with. The cruise director was fantastic and the shows and quizzes were very good. I would skip the jewelry sales pitch activities.

If I ever go to Nassau on a cruise again, I am staying on the ship unless I want to find a place with WiFi in town. There's a Starbucks and a Hard Rock Cafe a couple blocks from the cruise port on the opposite side of the straw market. The Starbucks was closed due to a warehouse fire. I don't know if it has reopened. Besides a couple of forts further into the island, there's not much to see outside of the small downtown area. Atlantis is a money pit. If you want to go to the beach, you can walk the approximate mile to the Fish Fry and hang on the beach adjacent to it. If you don't want to walk, it's a cheap cab ride. You can see the cruise terminal and the ship to your right from there.

Coco Cay was really nice since Enchantment was the only ship there that day. If there's more than one ship, get to the island early and stake your claim of beach space for the day. They'll up sell you on excursions including the inflatable water park which I thought was a rip off. The cookout was pretty typical food, but pretty good. Get in line early for better selections.

We were in a junior suite deck 8 starboard aft.

I would sail on this ship again.