Pratique

I'm not making a blanket statement about pins. I know that if there are hundreds of them on the ship only a relative few will be in the lounges at any given time. But sometimes it only takes a few to distract the crew with long-winded conversations. And we see the pins on their shirts giving them away. I don't know what the solution is or will be, but it is an ongoing issue. Maybe one we just learn to live with or find another cruise line I suppose.

But that kind of proves another point, that occasional suite guests are not in the cliques with the pins and don't have that level of personal info to figure it out. All they (we) see are a bunch of pins holding court in the lounge. It's not like we're going to say, "oh, they're cool, we'll come back later when some seats open up." (Although the pins and the crew would be happy if we did.) Let's flip it and call it the Pinnacle Lounge where suite guests are welcome on a space-available basis. Seems fair since the pins have "earned" it. Long story short there is a capacity issue on a vessel with limited capacity. They can't make everyone happy so something has to give.

Either way the suite lounge experience isn't all that special anymore and it's not just the guests making it that way. We sometimes hang out there on boarding day if the rooms are not ready yet (but increasingly we just find a table in the WJ and deal with that madness so we can get some more food variety) and again on departing day if we are meeting the concierge there for an escort off of the ship. In between it's just quick visits for drinks during less busy hours. But it's also the principle of paying for a suite with SL benefits and not being able to use it because it is full, kind of dilutes the whole suite experience.

The number of pins in the SL at the same time seems to vary greatly from one cruise to the next. If there is any rhyme or reason to this, I haven't figured it out, but I posit that it is nearly impossible to predict what it will be like on any given cruise with any accuracy. At least with the current admission policies.

If you have less than eight drinks per day, then no (no benefit). If you are going to drink while ashore (except private islands), then definitely no. If you are in a suite, then no (Suite Lounge). If you are Diamond or higher, then no (vouchers). If you eat in the specialty restaurants, then no (comped drinks). Otherwise, sure why not, you're on holiday live it up.

Captain Rob on docking Wonder at PC. https://youtu.be/OEOxZDIlt0Y?si=-f7eIe912AjCtpOJ

A few months ago PC announced a new terminal will be open as soon as 2026. They were mum on details while they negotiate with the various interested parties. I'm not up to date on this (is it still a secret where the new terminal will go?) but there was the strong suggestion that there would be impacts on existing operations at the port regardless of where the new terminal is built. When Celebrity starts home porting at PC next year there will be "a lot of moving parts" to get the new terminal built, so says the CEO of PC. Likely they will still be using T6 next summer for the second Oasis class ship, but things could change at any time including itineraries.

Royal never liked doing this and Covid travel restrictions put an end to downlining. You might try to email royalguestrelations@rccl.com to ask; however, in the past it was only granted on a case-by-case basis so be prepared to explain why you are doing it. If you do not intend to return to the ship then they need to know so they don't hold the ship and waste time trying to hunt you down before departing.

The fixed price restaurants might vary per sailing, check the planner for "sales." The a-la-carte prices were the ones mentioned above.

In theory, yes. Royal is counting on people willing to pay any amount to avoid the MDR and WJ as the variety and quality in those venues declines. That is why I eat in the specialty venues and then go stuff myself in the WJ, or take food back to the cabin for a midnight snack, so I can "feel" as if I am getting my money's worth. 😃 Fine with me if the specialty venues are less than full, makes for a better experience. EDIT to add: I've been pricing out Disney Wish and it makes RC look like a bargain.

It's more than that in a suite. Fresh ice, fresh bath and pool towels, a copy of the Compass, clearing out plates, cups and silverware we used in the room during the day, and the turndown, among other things.

I'm not sure we know who is quitting, who is continuing, and who is joining. We don't have that level of data. My point is that people will stomp their feet if they have to pay extra for pizza but if that actually happens will they really make a stink about it on CC or just accept it? Or rationalize how it saves them money because they are only paying for what they eat? And why be upset about the pizza but not about the housekeeping? I suppose people new to cruising won't know the thousand cuts that have already occurred, and either they will enjoy the first experience and come back for more or they will be one-and-done. There are more than a few old timers on CC who have proclaimed that they are leaving or at least reducing the number of cruises they take on Royal. And then there are those who are just happy to be on the ship (including me, for now at least). But I always expected to eventually phase out cruise vacations before all these changes hit because all good things must end. Right now the cruise industry seems to be enjoying the post-pandemic surge, but it is just a surge and eventually the pendulum swings back. If and when they eliminate twice daily housekeeping from the suites then I will be upset because those suites are expensive and I pay for them because I want to be pampered while on vacation. If I was in a cheap inside cabin then I wouldn't care so much. Or a cabin in the woods.

I've said this before but I believe there are many things Royal could eliminate and there would be folks here rationalizing how it is a good thing. Apparently once a day housekeeping is the best thing since sliced bread but the idea of up-charging for pizza is way over the line. So maybe I was wrong.

I would like that too but the world doesn't work that way. Imagine if auto mechanics were tipped positions and the customer got to decide how much they got paid. They would be shorted all the time. There is also a disparity in how the service industry compensates the tipped workers who are the ones generating revenue for the business but the business does not reward them for their hard work and instead relies on the customer to do it. No wonder turnover is so high. Recently there is growing backlash to tipping culture. People are getting tired of being asked to tip up to 50% for things that were not tipped in the past, like take-out meals. We were just at an Angels game last month in a suite. The server presented us with a tablet to add a tip and it had an option for 120% (presented as a dollar amount not a percentage) which my mother mistakenly hit and it could not be undone, she had to dispute it with the credit card company. It's getting out of control IMHO.

They prefer it because they are only paid $2 an hour. I presume it varies but my sister waited tables at a chain restaurant that required her to put 8% of her sales into the tip pool regardless of how much she received in tips. She got to keep whatever was left. If guests shorted her on the tips then it came out of her pocket. And there was this game where if she passed some of her cash tips to the seater or bus boy then they would give her tables preference. It was ugly especially when foreign guests who are not used to tipping would run up big checks and leave paltry (or no) tips.

The airlines and hotels hold back inventory using similar thinking to make sure they still have seats/rooms to sell (or use for re-bookings) on short notice and to increase revenue. They probably teach this stuff in business school. Will it backfire? Probably not but even if it does they will be able to adjust without going bankrupt. Not sure why customers expect these companies to be more generous? They are all seeking to maximize profit. At least Royal is open about what they are doing.

It has been reported that vigilante groups in Port-au-Prince are pushing back on the gangs with limited success. There are many Haitians who want peace and stability but sadly the country has been unable to achieve lasting stability since colonial times and that is unlikely to significantly change anytime soon. The international community is looking for someone to lead a coalition to restore the government but no one wants to touch the situation right now. Again, for perspective, the U.S. embassy has identified a handful of neighborhoods in the capital where kidnappings have been prevalent. The State Department travel warning exists because law enforcement has been ineffective and the embassy has limited resources to assist U.S. citizens. Labadee has private security. It may not be perfect but it is something, which is more than nothing. Criminals tend to target the weakest points and furthermore the gangs in Haiti have not proven that they are sophisticated or organized enough to effectively attack the cruise port. They can kidnap one or two people at a time from vulnerable locations and not face any legal or organizational consequences except perhaps from rival gangs. I still would not try to convince anyone to go to Labadee and if one is cynical about the cruise line's commitment to guest safety then definitely don't go.

It seems that many of the comments here can be classified either as "I am very concerned" or "I am not particularly concerned." We all have different comfort levels. I think that if one is inclined to avoid Labadee then there is always the option to cancel or change plans. If that results in a financial penalty, then one can raise the issue about the travel warning with Royal and see if they will make an exception, but otherwise those are the terms agreed to when the cruise was purchased. As far as the insurance, the only people who can definitively answer that question are at the insurance company because every policy is different, and even then they may say that it depends on your coverage and the nature of the prospective claim. I would not trust any advice given here about insurance even if someone has a copy of the policy to review because it would be nothing more than an unofficial interpretation. Also, emergency medical evacuations from Labadee nearly always come via air from the Dominican Republic or in exceptional cases from Puerto Rico or Turks and Caicos, which may affect the policy differently than if the evacuation occured within Haiti.

Labadee is not specifically mentioned within the travel advisory but is discussed generally in the safety and security section of the country information page for Haiti. To put things in perspective, the State Department notes that tourists travel to Haiti at their own risk with Labadee being the exception. The recent travel advisory was issued because the U.S. embassy has very limited resources to assist U.S. citizens who are in Haiti. Cruise passengers at Labadee do not formally enter the country and are the responsibility of the cruise line, not the embassy. If someone does not want to travel to Labadee then I would not try and talk them into it. Personally, I have felt safe there because it is a secured environment. I was on one cruise years ago where the channel was temporarily blocked by some fishing boats and I assume that some arrangement (most likely handled locally) was made to clear them away. Sketchy, yes, but I trust that the captain would not have entered if it was unsafe to do so.

Does it surprise you that Royal is still sailing to Labadee?

Spirit is still flying to Cap-Haitian.

Yes we have ordered to go in the past. I was on Oasis in June and this was most definitely not true. We were very disappointed by the selection of food in the SL. Mostly cookies and fruit, very little in the way of hot food. Major cutbacks have occurred.

Yeah us too.

In June I parked in the overflow lot and I paid when I entered. It was $210 to park outside next to an abandoned warehouse.

We once offered our stateroom attendant, who we bonded with during the cruise, some frequent flyer miles so she could fly her family from Trinidad to Walt Disney World. She was deeply touched by the offer but ultimately declined because there were too many other financial and logistical obstacles in her path. It was a rare circumstance to make a personal connection with the crew like that. Of course, she got some extra cash. But the gesture was meaningful to her, and the next time we were on that ship she recognized us in the corridor and went out of her way to say hello even though she was not our attendant. Everyone has a different way of approaching this situation. Do what you think is best.