PhillyFan33579

Not sure if I am supposed to reply to this thread, but we have Utopia booked in September and October this year. Always look forward to cruising on a new ship. It helps knowing I won’t be let down by certain areas of the ship like when we were on Icon. Oasis class ships are still my favorite.

For a few days I could see everything about everyone else’s cruises and was told by others they could see everything related to my cruise (passport, purchases, etc). The one thing you couldn’t see was the full credit card number for those who already had added one to their account.

Was it crowded? I sailed on Grandeur twice last year. According to numbers they showed at the Top Tier event, about 75 percent of the passengers on both cruises were Diamond or higher. Not really surprising since older ships like Grandeur tend to have a very different passenger demographic compared to newer ships like Oasis class ships.

Several years ago when I was still working I drove over the Skyway Bridge going to and from work. I lost count how many times I saw cruise ships going under the bridge (or in the immediate vicinity of the bridge) leaving the Port of Tampa. No matter how many times I saw it, it was always an incredible view.

A friend of mine linked several bookings on a cruise last year. We had shared booking numbers to link reservations so we would be seated at the same table in the MDR. Everyone called (which is the proper way to link bookings for MDR purposes) except my friend who thought linking the bookings online would do the same thing. Long story short, every one of the 8 people linked could see everyone else’s information until several days later when the reservations were unlinked online after numerous calls to RCI.

You can’t follow your suggestion for drink packages and dining packages. You have to cancel the package you previously purchased before it will allow you to purchase the package again at the lower price.

I haven’t been getting too many casino offers lately, but the ones I get are usually the ones like you booked. I refuse to book these offers because I have been spoiled, for lack of a better word, by much better offers in the past. My fear is too many people will book these offers and they will eventually become the new normal.

It takes 2 - 2.5 hours from the time you leave the port until you pass under the Skyway Bridge. This has been consistent on every cruise I have taken out of Port Tampa (roughly 12 cruises). The only variable is what time the ship actually leaves the port.

From my experience apps have always come one at a time, even when I order two escargots (by far my favorite appetizer). But like you mentioned I am sure there are countless times multiple apps were brought out at the same time.

Like I mentioned I am still paying for my cruises one way or the other. I have had good cruises in the casino, but they are far out numbered by the bad ones. I am sure there are exceptions out there who seem to always be lucky, but the casino comp program would not exist if everyone getting comped cruises was winning.

That’s good. My last few offers have been the one person free, pay for one person offers, which aren’t really offers in my book. Recently I have gotten more offers from Celebrity (only a few though), even though I haven’t gambled too much on Celebrity ships.

I would hope people are not going into credit card debt to go on a cruise or any vacation for that matter. But I guess the smart thing is to not speculate like you stated.

Most of my cruises are not casino comps. Over the last year or so I have gotten significantly fewer casino offers and I wasn’t getting a lot to begin with. Plus with casino offers I am still paying for my cruises, I am just paying for them ahead of time by donating a lot of money to the casino. Fewer casino offers is consistent with what others post online on a daily basis. No one knows for certain, but the consensus is casino offers have decreased due to the increased demand in cruising.

I didn’t mean to be condescending, just trying to convey accurate information. The name of the parent corporation is Royal Caribbean Group. The name of the cruise line is Royal Caribbean International. If you don’t believe me, you can easily find this information online.

Enjoyed reading your review/comments. Since you decided to stay with Royal for good, it’s probably time you learn the name of the cruise line…Royal Caribbean International (RCI). 🙂

At a recent lunch with officers this topic came up. The Hotel Director said there are no plans to combine RCI and Celebrity’s loyalty programs.

Have you cruised lately? I cruise at least once a month and ships are packed. I have seen nothing to indicate people can’t afford to cruise. If RCI ever changes the tiers, it will be in the other direction (i.e. more days needed to reach Diamond, etc.). RCI already has too many Diamond members. Because of this they changed the name of the Diamond Lounge and on certain cruised perks are taken away from Diamonds on the ship.

Thanks for good information as always.

I don’t think wasting water is an issue on a ship. It has been several years since I went on a behind the scenes tour so I don’t recall the exact figures/numbers, but ships have the capacity to generate way more fresh water than needed on the ship on a daily basis.

I don’t want to sound negative, but do you have a plan in the unlikely event (I am assuming here) that she says no? The only reason I ask is I have witnessed two women turn down a marriage proposal on RCI ships (one in Central Park near the Trellis Bar and one in Chops). From what I heard, in both of these situations the woman flew home at the next port (I don’t know if that is even an option these days).

I was referring to the recent shootings in Cozumel.

I think it is very appropriate to CC. In light of recent activity in Cozumel, you would be crazy to get off the ship at this port in my opinion. With all the posters on this site who were worried about going to Labadee when there is currently no verified threat there, it is highly likely these seem people would not get off a ship at Cozumel with the current incidents happening there.

I assume you mean April 4th, since I was at Coco Cay that date on Allure along with Anthem. The weather was bad all day, at least in my book, so I never got off the ship.

I thought the 1400 Lobby Bar on Icon was comparable to the Martini Bar on Celebrity. But as of today that is only one bar on one RCI ship.

To reiterate the post above, RCI does have ships with a comedy club.