PhillyFan33579

On 5/1/2024 at 11:39 AM, Smiley_Man said:

Definitely only one device per stateroom.

Not true. We bought the Key 3 times in the last few months (only because it was $3 more per day than WiFi on these cruises). We both got our own separate WiFi/Internet account on all 3 cruises. As others have stated, in my opinion the Key is only worth it when it is less than $5 per day more than WiFi and you were planning on buying WiFi for both people (or however many people are in your cabin). 

3 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Nice.  I wish our Home Depot up here offered daily military 10% discounts.  We have tried several times, but gave up.  We like our Lowes, and the same...just phone number...we are in their system.  

That is interesting your local Home Depot doesn’t offer a 10 percent discount. Every Home Depot I have ever shopped at has always offered a 10 percent military discount. Additionally, Home Depot’s webpage says military get a 10 percent discount at stores. Weird that one store appears to not be following guidance put out by Home Depot. 

6 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Really?  Our area Home Depot only offers on very rare select days the military discount, both here in Titusville and Merritt Island.   Our Lowes here offers it daily.  

 

Where are you getting that discount daily from Home Depot?  

I currently live in Lakewood Ranch. There are 3 Home Depots I go to (depending where/what I am doing), which all offer a 10 percent discount for military. Over the years I have lived in Colorado, Alabama, South Carolina, and several places around Tampa. Every Home Depot I have been to always gave a 10 percent discount to military. The only thing that has changed is several years ago you had to register/verify your military service in their system (I had to do this for Lowe’s too). Now at Home Depot (and Lowe’s too) I just provide my phone number and the discount is automatically applied. 

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

IMHO...the really high rates that RCI is charging now, it would go a long way for them to offer regular standard Military and senior discounts as a PR statement.  

 

Let's face it....RCI is not intending to lure the seniors much any longer anyway, what with the Mega theme park ships geared for families.  And military, police discounts are just a nice thing to do for those that serve.   Lowes gets our business over Home Depot.  😉 

 

I agree with you that RCI is not targeting seniors. Fortunately Celebrity fills that square very well.

Lowe’s and Home Depot both offer 10% discount to military. It was that way during the 20 plus years I served on active duty in the USAF and has remained that way the 17 plus years since I retired from the USAF. 

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I must be the only person here who really hates the hassle of packing up and moving cabins. 

I feel the same way you do. I don’t have another B2B booked until 2025, but rule number one is we wouldn’t book a B2B without having the same cabin for both cruises. 

1 hour ago, renza said:

The new class of ships is going to be discovery. The smaller class of ships will retire and a new discovery class will be introduced.  Smaller newer ships it’s been out for a while.

Unless you know something I don’t know, there has been no official announcement from RCI about the long rumored Project Discovery. A few months ago I thought RCI’s “big” announcement was going to be about Project Discovery, only to find out the news was RCI is building a 7th Oasis class ship.  

9 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

We cruise both cruiselines but i admit i'm partial to Royal at this point. We still book Carnival mainly for a great itinerary, i'm diamond on both so i guess i get a little "special attention" on both although it's not really much?!

What kind of special attention do you get? I am Platinum on CCL and Diamond Plus on RCI, but I don’t feel like I get special attention from either cruise line based on my loyalty level. To be fair, I have not cruised on CCL since 2019 and I have no plans to cruise on CCL again, so I can’t address how CCL currently treats Platinums and Diamonds. 

I have never received a 55 and over discount that was less than the current “sale” price. 

1 hour ago, Cruising89143 said:

I’m currently board the Navigator. My favorite ship in the RCI fleet. This is cruise #13 on this ship with three more planned over the next few months before we board the Odyssey for the TA. No longer interested in the Oasis class and no interest at all in Icon. Some of us enjoy the smaller ships and RCI knows this. While we also like X, RCI has its advantages as well. 

I agree with you about Celebrity. On Apex right now, which is probably my favorite ship. I like Oasis class ships and enjoyed Icon, but Apex is the perfect size ship in my world. Also helps that you rarely see kids on most Celebrity cruises. No doubt there will be lots of people happy if RCI announces a new smaller class ship, but I still believe the majority of RCI cruisers, which by definition only has to be 51% (using whole numbers), will not care too much about a new smaller class ship. If/when they officially announce Project Discovery, I will be curious to see how many “features” they can fit on a smaller ship and what the price point will be with cruise fares. 
 

Just an FYI, l like all classes of RCI ships. Over the next few months I have cruises booked on Freedom, Independence twice, Radiance, Grandeur and Enchantment. 

Just now, SeaMee said:

But did you have to pay an extra single fare supplement?

No. Obviously I lost the fare for my GF, but I didn’t have to pay any additional supplement. 

5 hours ago, Smiley_Man said:

I know a lot of people were unhappy with there being no Broadway show on Wonder, and Icon "reversed the trend" with Wizard of Oz, so it will be interesting to see what ends up on Utopia.

I was surprised Wonder didn’t have a Broadway show. I was very disappointed in Voices, one of the worst shows I have seen on any RCI ship. Tap Factory was really good when it was on Wonder. 

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Nothing happens if you don't contact RCI and you don't get the extra C&A points.

I did a 4 day cruise on Allure last month (can’t believe it’s already May). My GF was supposed to go on the cruise with me, but she ended up not going due to a last minute family emergency. I called RCI to cancel her, but it was too late due to the manifest already being turned in. So she was a no show and her taxes and port fees were returned to my credit card shortly after the cruise. Surprisingly I received double points for the cruise (I was in a CP balcony). 

17 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We’ve noticed that the food can be awful on one ship, and good (but not great) on another. It seems some chefs aren’t good and some are.  

So, on the ships with lousy food, I mention it in my post cruise comments (as well as mention it while on the ship) and when it’s good I also mention it…..I’m not sure if that helps get rid of the lousy chefs, but it can’t hurt to try. 

As much as the crew talks about the importance of the surveys, I hope leadership takes them seriously. Your chefs comment is right on the nail in my book. I find it interesting when someone makes a comment like the food was great when we cruised on Oasis (could be any ship) last year. It’s likely the head chef and kitchen staff has turned over 100%, although a lot of crew seem to stay on the same ship contact after contract. But just because the food was great on a ship a year ago, does not mean it will be great a year later. 

12 hours ago, twangster said:

This brochure is now a little dated in that it does not include Icon or Utopia, but it does summarize the entertainment available on rest of the fleet fairly well:

 

Royal Caribbean Entertainment Guide

 

There are ships that have a Broadway show and an alternate Royal Caribbean produced show but there are no ships that have multiple Broadway shows.

 

Royal has been shifting away from Broadway shows due in part to licensing costs but also other factors.  Instead they have recently begun putting that money into homegrown production shows.

 

 

Icon has Wizard of Oz, which was really good in my book. I tend to agree with your comment about RCI shifting away from Broadway shows, but really curious to see if RCI has Broadway shows on their next two Icon ships. 

5 hours ago, crzndeb said:

I survived 54 nights last year and I don’t use laundry service. It can be done, if you don’t mind creative handwashing. I pack magnetic hooks and also have a clothesline with clips attached. When I would wash things in the evening, they would be dry the next day. And as mentioned, rolling in towels and walking on them to get as much water as you can,  before hanging to dry.

Did you do 54 consecutive days last year? I had over 100 days last year but the longest I was ever on a ship was 9 straight days. Easy to survive without doing laundry on 9 day cruises and less. I am impressed if you “survived” 54 consecutive days. 

Just now, Southern Dan said:

If I remember correctly I read somewhere that after the 2025 season Norway is cracking down on ship emissions so a more "green" ship will be required to sail to certain regions up around there.  Someone else here probably has better details....

Thanks. That’s basically what I read from googling after reading RobInMn’s post. 

1 hour ago, RobInMN said:

I don't necessarily love the smaller ships, in and of themselves. When it comes to the ship, I love the Oasis class and the amenities the newer ships have to offer.

However, I love where the smaller ships can go. We loved our Artic Circle, and Iceland & Ireland cruises. We loved doing the Panama Canal. Very excited that this new class will give us the best of both. Not to mention the fact that RCI is dropping the Norwegian fjords due to the new environmental restrictions that I believe they will solve with this new class (LNG?)

 

We have a Norwegian Fjords cruise booked in Summer 2025 on Independence. Is this cruise going to be cancelled? It is part of a B2B cruise we have booked on Independence. 

43 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I bet after Utopia launches they start to hype discovery 

Possibly, but you still have the 7th Oasis class ship coming plus Star and the 3rd Icon class ship. Just my two cents opinion, and probably not worth that much, but I think the majority of RCI cruisers won’t get excited about a new, smaller class ship (if/when it happens). 

11 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

SMH, stupid that it isn't a fleet wide policy.  My wife told me that the guy in front of her in the line was loading up on red bulls to take off the ship on that last morning.  He was using both his and his wife's D drinks.  

 

It's people like this who're going to ruin it for the rest of us.

Agree that people like the one you mentioned will likely lead to a fleet wide policy none of us will like (i.e. no vouchers debarkation morning). 

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Not for boarding, but for scanning at bars prior to getting a card.

Like I mentioned I always save boarding passes to my wallet, but I can’t remember the last time a bartender asked to see a boarding pass when I went to a bar after boarding the ship (which is the first thing I do every cruise). All they ask for is my cabin number. Of course having the boarding pass handy in my app wallet helps so I don’t forget my cabin number, which happens way too often when I first board a ship. 

8 hours ago, watcher_62 said:

My wife and I have booked a cabin each on an upcoming sailing and are bringing another couple.  We will swap keys through guest services once onboard, which we have done before with no issue.  The couple we are bringing this time wish to purchase a beverage package (we are d+ so no need for us).  We are hoping that someone reading this may have done this "swap" and purchase before.  Can't see why they wouldn't want to sell a beverage package to our friends once they are in the same cabin.  Anyone have experience with this?  Thanks in advance.

Have tried this in the past and it didn’t work the way you suggested. The best you can do is have your friends buy the deluxe beverage package and you and your wife buy the refreshment package (assuming you want to help your friends out). 

7 hours ago, RobInMN said:

While I have no issues with and prefer to use the app, I do pack a printed copy in my carry on just is case.

 

Curious why you would print out a copy just in case. I always add our boarding passes to my wallet (IPhone). I understand the possibility of WiFi not working at the port, but passes in your wallet always work, assuming your phone still works/has power. 

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

We were on Adventure in February and were able to get Latte's before debarkation with our vouchers so perhaps it is now fleet wide.  

I was on Explorer a few weeks ago and they wouldn’t let you use vouchers on debarkation morning. However, when I was on Allure the first week of April we were able to get mimosas using vouchers debarkation morning. No rhyme or reason as far as I can tell. 

3 hours ago, miked0035 said:

Thank you! I am on Adventure OTS

When I was on Adventure several months ago they did not allow you to use Diamond Plus drinks on debarkation morning. There have been numerous posts about this issue. From my experience and from what I have heard getting loyalty level drinks on debarkation morning varies from ship to ship and sometimes from cruise to cruise. 

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

So in your opinion if someone doesnt like one thing, the food they are wrong to cruise again with royal. I'm not a big fan and been doing more pay restaurants to get around this. Im a very picky eater. I disagree that if someone dosnt think royal has great food they need to stop cruising royal. There are other considerations. .. like no other line gives solos a discount imo. Food isnt the only consideration. No one line is perfect in all aspects.

 

Just my opinion,,there are other things than food to consider before someone says if you arent a fan then you should never cruise royal again. ..again that's why I do more and more pay options. I'm not a fan. And I dont do italian on any line. Ugggh. I dont eat pasta or red sauce. So to you that means quit cruising instead of getting around it. 

I was referring to people who say things similar to none of the food was edible on the ship. Based on your comment I assume you enjoy the food in speciality restaurants. I would never go on a ship if I didn’t like any of the food they served. I have never been on MSC, but I have friends who have who won’t cruise on MSC again because they didn’t like the food on the ship, even though they liked a lot of things about MSC including the ship itself.