jcc1025

On 9/27/2022 at 3:34 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

July on Navigator I paid $72 USD when we sailed.  I would say $75.99 for a NYE isn't bad.  We are doing Wonder for Thanksgiving and that DBP has been $68 to $78.  Labor Day sale was $72 then back to $78 the next week.  

Yes, now that they have moved back to the west coast we are duing some of the short cruises and did a couple of the two day shakeout crusis. Current price for our December cruise is $75 and we have a seven day scheduled out of Galveston next year that is currently $77. I would be suprised if they did not move a NYE package up above the average. 

The package will change from week to week. They post new pricing on Tuesday or Wed. of each week usually. The price will change between $75 and $80 depending on the week. If you book one and it drops in the future enough to make it worthwile you can cancell your orginal purchase and repurchase at the new price. Did this once and its easy but means checking the price on a weekly basis. 

23 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

I love all of my children equally.  🙂 

We do also, but for our grqndchildren there are so many more options designed for them on the Liberty/Oasis class ships that us choose those when they sail with us. 

While we usually sail on the larger class we do like the smaller classes. We were invited to sail on the two day shakeout cruise on Radiance this year in Feb. out of LA and it was wonderful. We sailed Radiance to Alaska the first year she was in service and our returned reminded us of how much we like the class. Lots of glass views of the ocean and it does not have all the toys so a more relaxed sail. This is the ship that made us love the Chanpaign Bar. Both the large and small ships have their plus and minus you just need to judge what your are looking for, but if you don't have kids and looking for a great relaxing cruise the Radiance classs is outstanding. 

Seems to me that the bottom line is that if you don't like the price, don't buy it. Purchases are always price/value propositions. You have to make a personal decision on the cost and if its not up to your vaule then don't buy it. I never understand the need to discuss this stuff on these boards. 

Agree with others, I have cashed points several times for free crusies, which are for window staterooms. Since we book a balcony or JS they discount the price based on the standard window stateroom and that credit does not show up until a short time prior until the past payment date is due. 

3 hours ago, newfiegirl4 said:

Hey, Can anyone advise on the purchase of the booze pkg before cruising in November on the Harmony? When is the best time to book? If there is a best time…lol. I know it’s a choice but would like to know opinions on the best time. 
Coming from Canada and right now the cost is $102 per day! Another 
thank you 

Another options that we have used before is to book the package. Watch the prices and if it dropes cancel the original booking and repurchase. Their is not going to be some massive savings they move it a couple of percentage points but sometimes if the ship is not full they will drop it some prior to sailing to try and intice people to sign up. 

On 9/8/2022 at 5:30 PM, Cruisingrampy said:

Im on a 4 day cruise coming up on the navigator have a specialty lunch and dinner booked just wondering if the specialty package is worth it or if the included places are good enough? Its about $340 for the package for the 2 of us

We were on the three day Navigator in August and are going back again in October. We have the dinning package and think it is worth the money if you are looking for a nice dinning experience each night and the food was very good. In addition, and they don't say this but some other locations like Playmaters lunch are also part of the package which is a fun place with some good food and service.  I am a Windjammer fan but on a cruise we like to have a special dinner experiece that these three offer and a couple of them are newer RCCL spots. We have also done Chiefs' Table a few times and in you just want to do one special meal would recommend it. Its a wine paring menue and many aimed at the more foodie fans but it is a great experience. Have a great cruise, it is a fun ship. 

It was on our last cruise in August. 

We are D+ on Royal and have sailed out of Galveston many times. We think these ships have a good balance of quite and fun locations and like the size. We are excited to be going out on Allure, our favore class on RCCL when they start to sail out of the new terminal next year. 

We were on the Radiance shake out cruise in April out of LA and sailed on her in 2001 to Alaska, One of our favorite clases and tours. With all the windows and beautifal Alaska views you are in for an amazing trip. Don't forget charges for phones, something we have done before. Not sure what your excursion picks are, but Whale watching in Alaske is unbelivalbe. Radiance is a smaller ship but one of our favorites, You are way ahead of almost everyone in your planning. Have a great cruise and post back with your experiences. 

Its a very nice stop with some good shops, resturantes, and bars. We do the golf cart tour often and like the stop. We live here and make the day trip to Catalina every so often. 

On 7/28/2022 at 1:54 PM, emeraldcity said:

I've been giving the server a dollar for the drinks that are loaded on my card, but is that enough? 

 

Mainly, I'm confused about whether servers receive any compensation for those D and D+ drinks. If they don't and it's a $10 drink, then my dollar is only a 10% tip and I need to up my game.

 

And I'm sure this topic has been covered, but I tried several searches, and apparently my searching skills are deficient.

I do the same and at the end of the cruise if there is a specific bar and group I always tip extata. I do this in cash as ai understand the ticket tips are shared amound the shift as it should be, but the cash tips go into a jar at the bar and are shared amound the bartenders at that time. 

3 hours ago, Turk1 said:

Has anyone done the 3 venue package and how did that work out?

We agree with the others, no problem in getting reservations. We have done the Ultimate Dinning Package on Allure for seven days as well. Also agree that Giovanni's is the best. We are not big meat eaters and Chops is good but the first time I went to Giovannis's i decided to try Osso Buco for the first time, now I always look forward to going back and ordering it. I look at the menu and say I should get something else, but in the end always order it. On the Oasis class ships the same thing happened with the 150 Resturante, is clearly one of the best and most interesting meals we have had on sea or land. From the cucumger mantini and salt tasting to the menu is is outstanding. And we have also done. Chierf's Kitchen a few times and would highly recommend it if you are interestd in a food/wine paring option that is outstandin. Its a little pricy but worth it, after all your on vacation. 

Your best hope is that testing will not be required. We have done a b2b on Liberty out of Galveston and if you have to get a test during the turn over, unless you have a day in port it will be almost impossible unless the other cruise line accepts these at home test and I don't think any of them do. We loved our b2b but would never do one that require a ship or stateroom chage. Royal was great on ours and we look forward to more in the future. 

This one is kind of hard. We live in Long Beach and the area where the Long Beach Cruise terminal is located is on a peninsula next to the Queen Mary. There are no hotels or retail spaces other than resturants within walking distance. 

There are lots of hotels and good resturants across the marina on Shorline drive but this is a high tourist area and there are no big chain retail store near by, although there would be some small convienciene and liquer stores in the areas within walking distance. Walking distance to the larger retail location you mentioned would be well inland and require some kind of private transportation to get to the pier on sailing day. 

16 hours ago, twangster said:

Eight double occupancy cabins are the minimum for certain types of groups.  Free cabin excluded, maybe try talking to TA before trying to navigate groups on your own.  It's a free call with a reputable TA to talk options.  No commitment. 

It was the TA I talked to that does these cruises that gave me this information. Maybe she misunderstood that we wanted a free cabin for the tripel occ., we actuall only want a on board credit t use for group activities. While I ususally book my own single cruses through Royal they have a policy that you have to use a TA if you are trying to book a group larger than four cabins. 

14 hours ago, whitshel said:

There are 2 aspects of the group.

 

#1 is the pricing.  Group pricing will be based off dbl occupancy, that is correct.

#2 for the 8 cabins to get the 1 free berth, that can be a triple or quad cabin.  You wont get the group pricing for that cabin but it will count as one of the 8 for the free berth and it will receive the group amenities.  (OBC etc)

 

TBH a lot times the current royal pricing is cheaper than the group pricing anyway.  So they will book at the current  price and just move that cabin in the group. 

Thanks, we are not trying to get a free berth for the thiple occ. or any cabin. We understood we could also get a on board credit equal to the average size cabin booked by the eight  or more. We would rather have the on board credit to do things like host Chief't Tale or shore excurisions for the group. Thank you for the response. going to call Royle but wanted to see if anyonoe had had the issue of a triple occ. not counting toward the eight. 

16 hours ago, MCC retired said:

8 cabins double occ  booked into your group will give you 1 guest cruise fare (not the port or tax’s) rebated to the group leader .

3rd, 4th do not count , 

The mom and 1 kid will count as dbl occ .

You should also receive amenities of your choice depending on how many Group Points are allotted for your ship/sailing date .

The issue that the TA, who does a lot of these, said is that since its a triple occ. that they don't count that cabin. I will call Royal directly to check it out but just wondered if anyone else has run into this issue. Tanks for taking the time to answer. Happy sailing. 

Since I almost always sail in the Caribbean I go for Red Stripe, to support the locals. Also will always try some local beers when on shore and try things I can't get a home and again to help the locals. 

We are planning on booking a large group of eight or more cabins for a birthday celebration next year on Allure. We understand from both what is on the RCCL site and information we heard from a friend that if we booked more than eight cabins there were some extra benifits and rebates from Royal. Yesterday I began the process and in talking to a TA she informed we that if a stateroom had more than two people in it that Royal did not count that cabin toward the group number, that they only counted cabins with two passengers. This sounds strange to me, but lots of things that sound strange to me are in fact true but wanted to see if anyone here had done these booking and if this was in fact the policy. We have eight confirmed cabings but one has a mom and two childrend and the TA said it would not count towad their discound/rebate policy. 

On 7/20/2022 at 10:11 AM, jsf said:

A friend told me she has a RCCL credit card and builds up points, how does this work and can you apply to cruises or purchase onboard items?

We have used the RCCL card for years. You get points for each dollar spent and double points on all purchases with Royal on while on the ships. I know there are better cards out there but since cruising is our go to trip we use this card. We put alot of payments on the card and pay it off each month. So far we have gotten two free cruises and used it to discount others. Again for all my fellow financial friends out there I know its not the best but is is the one we have chosen to use and like it. 

On 7/12/2022 at 2:35 PM, sandebeach said:

I have had so many great cruises but one of the memorable ones was sailing through the Panama Canal. It was quite an experience to see all the ships lined up outside Colon waiting to enter the canal, then going through all the locks in the Canal, and then at the end of the day seeing Panama City and sailing under the Bridge of the Americas. 

This is on our bucket list.

What a great question. Really made me think after so many cruises and really every one was memorable but if we had to pick one it would be our 12 day on Brilliance in the southern Mediterranean. Loved the ports, mostly the islands, Crete, Roades, Malta. A couple of days in Barcelona prior to sailing. We usually sail with friends or family but my wife were on it alone and that made is a very special trip as well. Alaska is a close second. 

Yes and then for those who give good personal service I take some cash and tip them. One of my pet peves is hearing people who come up with one or two anecdotal experience or two which I some times think they are looking for during a cruise to justify to themselves and others why they didn't tip the service staff. Would always love to ask them about their company or job and how they are perfect in every customer experience. This is at the top of my pet peeve list on cruises.