twangster

Bucket 'o minutes on NCL. (I think)

Program was launched early in July.

First of all satellite internet is very expensive but Starlink has promised they will reduce marine internet operating costs by 70% but we'll only know once they continue to build out their constellation which is in its infancy. For their own small fleet of recovery vessels SpaceX was paying $165k per month for 1/3 the ships that Royal has at half the bandwidth that Royal uses. Based on that one could guess Royal pays just under a million a month on satellite internet. Prior to the shutdown Bayley suggested internet costs them "millions a month" so somewhere between one million a month and Bayley's "millions" is the actual number. No company can give away a million a month and eat it as a loss. It's going to get covered to maintain profitability and shareholder value. The solution would be to cover internet costs through increased base cruise fares. Like any that costs extra on a ship it could be included by increasing cruise fares. Drinks could be all inclusive (by increasing cruise fares). Daily service charges could be included (by increasing cruise fares). Internet could be included (by increasing cruise fares). In fact that is exactly what Celebrity does - their "Always In" fares include drinks, internet and gratuity by charging higher cruise fares. They even have premium versions with better drinks and more internet speeds with even higher fares. What about someone who doesn't drink alcohol? They are paying more on Celebrity so others get drinks included. What about someone who doesn't want the internet on a cruise? They are paying more on Celebrity so others get internet included. Anytime you enter the discussion of "it should be included" you force people who have no use for it to pay more so you can get it for "free" (not free).

+ Celebrity (albeit at a higher cost)

Quantum had fresh water in May.

Until Royal or any cruise line publishes the number of positives that are being caught pre-cruise none of us really know or have a basis of hard data to make claims either way. I do see a double standard compared to similar environments that are or were also a higher potential spread environment. There are many places that testing could have reduced spread and prevented infections yet only cruise lines required a test. If tests are so effective in stopping spread why wasn't testing implemented elsewhere? Here in the US the CDC has removed all testing requirements everywhere including cruise ships. If any cruise line feels they are still needed to reduce risk to their business they should provide them at no cost. No more blaming the gov't. If Royal wants tests, Royal should pay for them. I've sailed five lines during the restart. It's time to look at booking more cruises with cruise lines that align with my thoughts and don't force me to pay more money out of pocket. At the end of the day when you put it all on a spreadsheet Royal is putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage. As an investor in the company I don't see why.

Some ships will divert one bottle of wine to the MDR for that sailing. It doesn't always happen and they don't tell you that unless you inquire with the LA or the MDR wait staff tell you. Mariner did that recently, Quantum did as well. Most other ships haven't done that for me before the shutdown. It's one of those Royal inconsistencies.

There were no reservations in May. Just walked in.

Those four drinks include fresh squeezed orange juice, specialty coffee, fruit smoothie at vitality spa and vitamin water. I get free laundry at my level and rarely use it. The free photo is nice from time to time. To each their own.

Pretty sad loyalty program when free laundry is the top perk. I'm two cruises away from Platinum on CCL. CCL gives Platinum two bags of laundry on a 3 night cruise. How many people need to do laundry on a 3 night cruise? Zero motivation for me to book a cruise based on VIFP perks. Suspect I'll be two cruises from Platinum 5 years from now. If I do book something on CCL it won't be because of the loyalty program. Isn't a loyalty program supposed to motivate you to come back?

My first Royal cruise was towards the end of 2016. I made Pinnacle in 2020. Easy peasy.

The few remaining holdouts in the Eastern Caribbean will hopefully see the latest CDC updates and follow by lifting their protocols. Next step is for the US to end the PHE.

If they are in their 20's now with 2,000+ points they may be one of a very few people in the Crown and Anchor society who might ever be in a position to challenge Super Mario for the title.

If you had never sailed on a Royal ship before then boardred Oasis class would you ever guess that deck 17/18 was the "Viking Crown"? I can understand that you knew that was the closest thing to a VCL based on prior VCL experiences on earlier ships yet for a new to Royal guests I think they'd have a hard time finding a "Viking Crown" on a scavenger hunt while on any Oasis class.

No ship in the Royal fleet is family friendly for free communications using your personal devices. Royal has monetized the ability to text. That starts with the $2 daily fee per person to use the Royal app for chat and much higher if you want to use an internet based chat or text app on your own devices.

As far as Port Canaveral goes I like the accessibility of the port to the public in general. Port Everglades is a fortress. No one would go to Port Everglades if not going on a cruise, in fact you can't really. The Port of Miami doesn't really lend itself as a port to drop by and enjoy the port without a cruise either. Port Canaveral is a place where you can go and find many restaurants/bars and other attractions so that you could go there without being booked on a cruise. As a cruise guest that's easier when sailing from terminals 1 and 3 and less so for terminals like 5 and higher yet a local can go to PCN and enjoy the port without being booked on a cruise at all and that is rare for many cruise ports in the US. For example there is a campground at PCN for folks that have nothing to do with a cruise.

They don't really belong in an apples-to-apples comparison (specialty vs. CK). There are two, maybe three CK dinner menus that stand out for my food preferences. Since food is personal that will vary for each guest. CK service has always been better than MDR in my opinion so even when CK food isn't much different than MDR, service has always been better and so is the ambiance. Yet I wouldn't ever say that CK was designed to eliminate the need or desire for specialty dining. That's probably the intention. Why discourage suite guests from spending more for specialty dining? CK was presumably intended to be a prefered suite venue compared to the MDR but not a suitable replacement for specialty dining. YMMV.

Wonder clearly doesn't have a crown either but the crown first truly disappeared with Quantum. Oasis class sort-of-crown was the first marker of it's departure. They copied the Oasis pseudo-crown through Symphony. Yet it's hard to claim that Oasis in 2009 really had a VCL. When Coastal Kitchen was introduced on Oasis after Quantum was deployed without a VCL that should have been the first absolute notation it was going, going, ...and gone. One could argue Quantum's lack of a VCL was the first confirmed buh-bye to the VCL and that was 2014.

Some cruise lines had this already during the initial restart. Unvax kids couldn't disembark in several ports. When they tried to get off the sea card scan at security made that "nope" buzzer sound. I remember the posts well with guests ranting at guest services over it. "No one told us", "My child has been forever mentally broken by it", "I'll never cruise this line again" and so on. I assume they'll do the same at GC. Aren't they still asking to see proof of vax at check in? Granted it's gone from the app but vax can still show it at check in right?

In the world of airline loyalty programs there are the concept of "mileage runs" where people fly certain flights just to earn status. The primary difference is that airlines require annual qualification and for many frequent business travelers there can be more incentive to level up for certain perks like free upgrades to first class. One similarity between cruise lines and airlines... if your butt isn't on board you don't get status credit for that booking. If cruise lines awarded points for booking a cruise but not sailing the cruise then folks would find the cheapest last minute deals and book them just to get the points. It doesn't work that way. Sleep in a Royal bed on board a ship or no points for you. Extra points for a no show cabin mate is purely YMMV.

I used to say that too. It's not a matter of having a butt kissed. That doesn't happen. It does open doors that are not opened when the pin is off. It's hard to explain but you'll see once you get there. Keep an open mind.

Voyager class is a sweet spot for me. Not too big so easy to get around but new enough that there are many modern features like water slides. Royal has updated most Voyager class ships to refresh them. Voyager did get updated before the shutdown. Being much smaller than Oasis class obviously they don't have the real estate to have everything that Oasis class has. Across the fleet Oasis class are in a league of their own both literally and figuratively. No other ships to date are as big or have everything that Oasis class offers. The extra wide Oasis platform gives them space to do things like Central Park and the Boardwalk. Oasis class are newer than older Voyager class ships so naturally that means there are features that have evolved over time that won't be found on the older ships. Keep in mind that at one time Voyager class were the largest cruise ships in the world. They remain larger than anything that other lines like Carnival ever had before Mardi Gras launched last year. So they aren't a small ship by any means, just not nearly as large as their bigger sisters in the Oasis class.

Key card? Everyone who sails is given a sea pass card. Are you referring to "The Key" program that comes with Voom internet and other "priority" perks? I personally see no value in "The Key". Wheelchair or not the value of "The Key" is a personal matter no different than if you should buy a dining package or a beverage package. "The Key" comes with private hours at activities like the zip line or flowrider. Does your wheelchair bound friend use these activities? Does your friend always buy a paid Voom plan? For many people the value of "The Key" is bound to having a paid Voom internet plan. The value or wisdom then relates to the cost of Voom versus the cost of "The Key". The boarding lunch is a one time first day thing but you have to be there early enough to eat at the lunch. For many "Key" perks there is no apparent correlation to a wheelchair guest so it comes down to personal preferences for the perks that come with "The Key". Priority boarding on day one might be of some value if getting on board first means something to your group. That is a one time perk mostly wasted if you are not in the terminal early on day one.

Ask a travel agent for a quote for 3 guests. We all know that Royal's website leaves a lot to be desired. Every week we see evidence of some wonky behaviour on the website. Travel agents don't use the public website when they quote or book a cruise.