BoyntonBeth

Yep, this info was released by RCCL give or take a month ago or so. It appears Anthem of the Seas will be replacing Independence of the Seas. Indy currently spends about 6 months in Europe before doing a TA and spending about the same out of Port Everglades. ...

The initial preliminary announcement mentioned that the ship will be all-season and will sail "longer" itineraries. I hope that means 10/11 nights like LG is doing this winter.:D

It appears that deployment info will be announced in late Feb.

The Tampa Amtrack station is located apx 2 miles from the Port of Tampa in the Western edge of the Ybor City area.

 

Your best bet would be to find an Ybor City hotel that offers a port shuttle. You would be only 2 miles away so even without a shuttle, a taxi would only be a few $.

 

The hotels discussed above are not really near Amtrack and you may be spending more on a Taxi to justify any savings.

 

Try the Hampton Ybor City. It has been mentioned on these boards as a very decent hotel.

 

Also, here is a list of Downtown Tampa hotels. Just to give you an idea, the closest hotel to the port is the Tampa Marriott Waterside. If you find the Ybor City hotels in the map, you will be in the general location of the Amtrack station.

 

http://www.downtowntampahotels.com/

Good info. Thanks.

I'm thinking of taking Amtrak to Tampa the day before a cruise. Are there any decent but inexpensive hotels near the train station?

How far from the station are the hotels discussed here?

Thanx for your help.

In another cruise board, I got an information sheet to see which ship will be refitted at which date.

JEWEL seems to be the last one and is due to be refitted in spring 2016.

 

According to the port schedule of St. Maarten JEWEL could be wintered again in San Juan, together with NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS...

http://201.220.14.27/sxmonline/VesselScheduleCruise.aspx

And Anthem shows up beginning with December '15!:D

Anyone know what the current options are for the Internet packages on Oasis? Hoping they still have the minutes plans, I.e. 60 minutes for x$ for the durations of the cruise. I just need to quickly check email once a day. Thanks!

I was on OA b2b the past 2 weeks. They did not have any pay-as-you-go options, just packages.

Got an email from Keith just before he signed off LG on Fri. He'll have a shorter than usual vacation then EX March to May. He didn't give me exact dates before he left the ship.

While the 3/4 day cruises appear to be quite successful I doubt that they would replace the Majesty with the Navigator. Quite often RCI needs to discount these prices down to as low as $99 to fill the ship. Not sure that they would almost want to double the capacity for these short cruises. More likely you would see a vision class ship replace her.

You may be right, but there's another reason for discounting MJ. The ship doesn't offer much. With more entertainment venues and more dining venues, the price and capacity can increase. NV is viable in that market.

Do you know when Butcher will be back from vacation? Will he be in Diamond Lounge or Concierge Lounge?

Thanks.

Check with Royal Caribbean.

I can be a bit more helpful.

hey cruise pup,

 

i'm at one of the lowest levels [platinum?] w/ 30 points i think.

 

questions:

1. are the rccl 'saving(s) certificates' the same for all levels, e.g., does a diamond-plus get better savings than a lowly platinum member--or is it strictly: better class cabin get's higher savings?

2. are 'balcony discounts located online, at the same place (on the rccl site as the 'saving certs") or are they somewhere different?

3. last question (for now ;-) are these savings certs and balcony discounts combinable with military and/or shareholder benefits?

 

...over...

1. Certs vary by level. New certs came out today. Go to Royal website and sign in. Under C&A tab you'll find Special Offers and then Savings Certs for your level.

2. Also under Special Offers you'll find On Board Booking Bonus, again for your level.

3. Saving certs OR balcony discounts are combinable with any one fare that applies - military, resident, senior, or single.

Here's where it gets tricky. This is my explanation of how it works, not why Royal says it works!

Shareholder OBC can be used with any fare that is not discounted by an adjustment. You can get a military fare, etc, and use the Shareholder benefit. You cannot use that benefit with a balcony or suite because the the discount is subtracted from the fare (and split between roommates).

Finally, you cannot use a shareholder OBC with an OBC you get from booking while onboard another cruise. The shareholder OBC is higher for an inside/outside short cruise, but the other OBC is better for longer cruises and/or balconies.

[quote=DonnaK;41017056

Legend OTS - Keith Williams started Sept 30 until January 24. (who will be CD Jan 24- March 17) Topi Ylönen starts on March 17 for the 2014 European Season

Spent some time with Keith in Antigua last week. Paul Rutter is the next CD after Keith goes on vacation. Keith doesn't know where/when he will be next.

Leigh is going to be displaced when EX moves to Asia at the end of the year, so perhaps they are assigning him to his new home after his break.

 

Sounds like a lot of the info that I already have might be changing! I'll need people to keep an eye out for unexpected shuffling around of CDs and to report any CD movement back to this thread.

Donna,

Here's one of those changes for you. EX is NOT going to Asia at the end of the year. Deployment is now showing from PCN through March 12, 2015. I already booked the first 3 "new" cruises in Jan '15!

Carly signs off Jan 11. Dennis there until she returns Mar 15.

If you go to the Royal website you can find the deck plans for all their ships. For Navigator, the menu of decks that comes up is for the balance of this year, but below that you can change the date to the revised deck plans. Deck 12 on the new plan clearly shows all cabins up front.

Gus Andersson has advised that he is now officially named as the 2nd QN captain.

Great team!!

Anthony will do the 1-nighter and Rico will take over on Monday. He's been on since St Maarten which I think was Tuesday.

Karen,

I'll be boarding Adventure Oct 13 which seems to be the start of week #10 in the current rotation. This is a 14 night cruise. Do you know if they change mid-cruise or if contracts are 11 weeks or even 9 weeks?

Thx

Since MJ is still part of the fleet "currently", that would leave 20 plus EN.

I know MJ is still part of the fleet. But, my premise was that MJ is the only ship where there is no mystery regarding concierge staffing because there are no concierges on MJ. Hence, there are only 19 plus EN which are subject to change!!

Patti,

 

I'll go out on a limb and say with 100% confidence we know about MJ. So that leaves only 19 plus EN which are subject to change.:rolleyes:

There are currently 21 ships in the RCI fleet. When MJ leaves then the number will go down to 20.:D

Right. So that leaves only 19 plus EN subject to change!:eek:

ROFL LMAO!!!:D:D Don't forget the other 20 ships in the fleet!!

Patti,

I'll go out on a limb and say with 100% confidence we know about MJ. So that leaves only 19 plus EN which are subject to change.:rolleyes:

But, if they decide to keep MJ even longer than currently scheduled, I suppose it's possible that they could add a make-shift lounge.:eek:

I guess even the definite ones are not definite!!!

Capt Karin is assigned to Majesty now, she will not be going back to Serenade. The captains are only on a ship 3-5 years before RCI moves them. They want their masters to be familiar with all the class of ships that they have. The ones that have been on a ship for longer are the ones with some seniority and and pick and choose when they move and what ship they go to.

Wasn't Karin on Monarch long enough to be familiar w/Sovereign class?

I'm trying to recall a TV in any concierge lounge...maybe I just didn't notice one.:confused:

Radiance class (at least before revitalization) had a TV next to the sink.

Dahlgren is going to Quantum

 

And trust that I have insider info. ;)

You may or may not have inside information, but Capt Patrik has said publicly and frequently that he will be taking the ship out. This is not new, so it certainly doesn't do anything for your credibility.

I suppose you'll tell us next that your source told you there will be a 3rd Quantum-class ship. Again, public knowledge.:eek:

Since Nyseter is gone from AL, I'm thinking Dustin may go back as master this time.

 

I'll be home off and on. I was originally scheduled to take my father-in-law to U of M hospital for melanoma surgery but when my knee failed I had to beg off. However, I'm still stuck with pet sitting the next 2 weeks before I go to Mom's in Canada. If you call on Monday, please try calling between 10 and 11 am...I'm pretty sure I'll be home then. Or if that doesn't work, try 5 pm.

I was thinking master also.

No point in calling in the morning since I don't expect to be on the ship before 11:30 or so. I'll keep trying but you should also.

I knew Holmes had been on AD long enough to be ready for a move. So Grimstad will be leaving FR before the end of a regular 10 week rotation???? I had him just starting on FR 6-30. Holmes is on vacay and would only be cutting his time off by 3 weeks so it is possible for Holmes to go back to work 8-1. Now we'll need to find out who's going to relieve Gronhaug on AD!!!! As well as settling the MJ mess, who's master 7-28 and for how long. :)

Karen,

I'm on MJ on Mon 7/29, so I'll try to call you.

Also, what do you know about Dustin? Will he go back to AL as staff capt?