dcgrumpy

duplicate

19 minutes ago, IgKh said:

 

Thanks! That's the immediate thought, but it didn't seem right to me:

• Cabins don't come with dish soap and a suitable sponge as far as I can remember. Hand soap and toiler paper can be used in a pinch, but that's surely not what is intended by Royal? Just rinsing is not sufficient for a container holding sugary drinks.
• Not a single other piece of onboard crockery or cutlery has to be washed by guests on any cruise I've been on, so it is slightly strange that an up-charge offering will involve that?

Probably missing something basic here...

The difference is you own the cup, it's yours, so you wash it.

You could always skip the freestyle machines and get drinks from the bar. They'll give you a fresh glass. Or bring a small bottle of detergent and a sponge.

Me, I just rinse it in the cabin and let it air dry. I'm crazy like that. LOL

On 3/14/2022 at 9:36 AM, pasodancer said:

We paid $499 for a family of 6 for a Thrill Water Park Cabana which included admission.  It was cheaper getting the cabana (w/ the park included) than purchasing individual passes (believe they were going at $87 per person).  Only 1 ship was docked (Symphony) - low capacity of about 3,000.  Never felt crowded - lines were OK, maybe waited 10 minutes for a ride.

That's a great price. It's $1299 for my upcoming cruise. 

18 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Some have mentioned getting an email from RC, stating that RoyalUp is now open for their cruise.  If no such email arrives, could this be a sign, as well?

I never recived an email for my 5/15 Harmony cruise. I was able to bid 90 days out. 

11 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

Ahhh.  Gotcha.

I prefer RCCL, but one of the few areas that I think CCL excels is the quick service food area around the pool. Especially on Mardi Gras. 

Just now, bmc alabama said:

Johnny Rockets is not included.  It's $10 a pop.  Haven't been on a ship with mini bites.  El Loco Fresh is definitely a step in the right direction, but it's only on a few ships.

 

Every Carnival ship has Guy's Burgers included.  Mardi Gras has not only Guy's Burgers included, but also Shaq's Big Chicken, Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ (also upcharged on Oasis, for instance) the Deli, Pizza, Java Blue, etc.  In addition to that, two of the "specialty" restaurants, Cucina del Capitano and ChiBang are also included.  Just a lot more included options than RCCL.

 

We are going on Independence next week and our only included options are WJ, MDR, Sorrento's, and Cafe Promenade (which is very limited for what it is).

 

My main complaint is Johnny Rockets.  They should just drop that and include a deck based burger option.  Also, to me, I don't understand why they don't include the food options in Playmakers.  I was surprised to see that on Oasis, if I wanted fries there it was $3, but I could go up to the WJ and get them for free (but it was more of a hassle...).

Yes I know all that. That's why I was asking the other poster why he thinks the places on RCCL ships are fine,  but he  thinks that Guy's and Shaq's belong on "crappy Carnival cruises". 

7 minutes ago, owensamo said:

Does anyone know where they seat each dining time? We have 5:00 dining on one of our upcoming Harmony cruises, but friends on the same sailing have 5:15 for a dining time. Do they stagger entry for early/late dining? Or are those separate dining rooms/floors/etc?

That's odd. All of the recent compasses that I have seen for Harmony list early dining as 5pm. 

18 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

So you willingly admit you missed the deadline.  Sorry, to me, that's partially on the TA, more on you, and NONE on Royal.  It seems responsible, when you book a cruise with a future final payment date to mark that on your calendar AND even pay it a couple days if not a week before in case there's an issue.  

 

Guessing if you paid your mortgage or credit card bill even a minute late (12:00 am the day after it's due) you'd get hit with a late payment charge at minimum.  

 

Royal did you a FAVOR by reinstating the cruise.  By no means were they required to do so (without you paying the going rate).  Berating them because they won't "fix" YOUR mistake is putting the blame where it doesn't belong. 

MTE

I don't see how this could be Royal's fault. The TA should have reminded the OP, but the OP should have known when it was due. It doesn't matter if it was 6 hours or 1 minute, it was past due. 

I have a credit card that is due at 6pm on the due date. I think it's annoying and stupid, but if I forget and pay it at 6:05pm I'm going to get a late charge. 

My husband would probably say carafes of still and sparkling water in your room. We sailed on Scarlet Lady in January and he's still talking about it. LOL. And how much he'll miss it on Harmony in 2 weeks. 

6 hours ago, joeyancho said:

I knew someone was going to say this.   Please NO!   If you want that stuff cruise on crappy Carnival.  

Johnny Rocket's, El Loco Fresh, Mini Bites, Dog House...are fine. But something like Guy's Burger's or Shaq's Chicken would be bad? I'm not really getting the difference. 

On 4/30/2022 at 1:01 PM, flamingos said:

 

My paranoia isn't just related to the tests.  I do this every cruise, even in the Before Times.

Same, it has nothing to do with testing. Yes that's more thing, but it's just a blip on the radar.

I'm much more worried about somehow missing the ship, or realizing that I don't have my passport even though I've checked my bag 100 times on the way to the port to make sure it hasn't escaped...

One time my husband decided that he needed a harcut on the way to Port Everglades. He stopped at a barber shop. It took way longer than expected. I was having a panic attack in the car. Even though it was at least 3 hours before we needed to be onboard and we were literally 2 miles from the port. 

43 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

A couple of months ago our family members had their test done at a local pharmacy who failed to put their DOB on the test results.  They were pulled out of line and had to call the pharmacy to get the confirmation they had actually done their test.

 

Fortunately they sailed on a Saturday and were able to get in contact with the pharmacy.  Had it been on a Sunday they would have been out of luck as this small pharmacy is not open on Sundays…

This was a Royal cruise? Which port? I can't find anything on Royal's site saying anything about DOB. The place we use is a national urgent care chain. The results never list DOB. I used their test results to board Mardi Gras with no problem. My first post covid Royal cruise is in 2 weeks. 

32 minutes ago, gmerick said:

That roatan online piece is 4 years old:

Given in the port city of Roatán, on the 15th day of the month of August of the year 2018.

A lawyer

Myril Yannell Brooks Municipal Secretary

Yes. I said in earlier post that the photos were from 2018. It seems to be an ongoing issue

Pool deck bar for a frozen drink

Just now, ARandomTraveler said:

That does seem like old news. I wonder why the trip advisor "management" is telling people not to go there as of 2 days ago. 
 

If it's an old owner, why would they want to sabotage a business they sold? 

I don't know, but it seems like there is some sort of dispute going on between and the owners and someone else. Whether it's old owners or government officials, I don't know. https://roatan.online/little-french-key-fire

It looks like the phots on the FB page are from 2018 https://cruiseradio.net/fire-destroys-popular-caribbean-cruise-destination/

So I'm starting to believe that it's all BS

After searching FB I see tons of photos from the last week or two of people that seem to be legit, enjoying LFK. 

Now I'm reading that it is open. That supposedly the old owners are still in control of the Facebook page and are posting fake stories to keep people away. 

3 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Weird. Why are people making posts encouraging people to go there? Are they trying to kidnap people? Rob them? Is it just Little French Key that this is happening to, or is Roatan as a whole an unsafe port right now?

I have no idea. I also follow Victor Bodden and Daniel Johnson on FB and there is no mention on their pages. 

3 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

That's why I'm confused. The trip advisor account says "temporarily closed" even though people were posting positive reviews only 2 days ago. 
 

The  website says it's open.

 

Cruise critic "ports of call" section has a thread where someone said they were just there a couple days ago, but mitsugirly commented that they have spoken to the owner and saw pictures that the place was under siege. 
 

Is there a conspiracy here? I'm confused 😂 I haven't seen anyone on the RC threads saying anything about it, and RC still has Roatan on their cruise routes, so it must not be too dangerous there, but the fact that something dangerous seems to be happening (or not?), at least at Little French Key, makes me think I should stay on the ship at that port. 

Their FB page says they are closed and they have posted pictures of burned down buildings.

According to their FB page they are closed and under siege

8 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

anytime dining to start earlier. Carnival opens at 530 pm and you just push a button and computer matched to a table. None of this waiting around like rcl. 

 

Quit testing b2b if vaccinated. 

I agree, MTD ( or whatever they call it on carnival) on Mardi Gras was a breeze. We'd check in through the app as we were leaving the room and our table was ready by the time we go to the dining room. 

I wish Royal had more quick service food options around the pool. 

2 minutes ago, arlodog said:

Not rejected, but the people in front of us in line in November didn't have their date of birth printed on their results.  They hand wrote them in and they were accepted. They had to get a supervisor to approve, but it was a group of about 10 who were really worried.  I don't know where the tests were performed.  We had to move to a new line while they sorted it out. 

The urgent care where I normally get tested doesn't list the date of birth on their results. I don't see anything on Royal's site saying it has to have your DOB. 

Very common, like Ourusualbeach said it's the same type of room but not the same category. Check the price for 2 rooms, its often just about the same price or cheaper. I priced a cruise last night for 4 people. It was $100 cheaper to get 2 inside cabins over 1 inside cabin. 

We're sailing with our 3 kids this summer. Our balcony was $1400, a balcony for them was about $2350. Sorry kids, across the hall in an inside, it is. LOL

Same, even before Covid I was always worried that something would go wrong. When I sailed on Scarlet Lady  in January they did a rapid test at the pier. Forty five minutes after my husband received his results I was still waiting. The woman working kept going to check on them. My anxiety was through the roof. LOL