Engineroom Snipe

Many good ideas and opinions happening right now. Time will tell. I do not need to stoke the flames of debate further. I enjoy reading the opinions and projections. Good stuff.

Those days cannot be compared to "after Covid.". No judgement, just an observation.

I know there is more capacity in the pipeline but I am more concerned with what capacity they would be willing to lose if it increases profit. As noted by many on CC, the older smaller ships might become dispensable if their profit margins become less per passenger then the big ships. Does 'Royal' decide fewer large ships provide more profit than many small ships? The newer larger ships provide much more opportunity for on-board spending which is another profit driver. If the ICON and another Oasis class ship arrive at Coco Cay simultaneously, The over-the-water Cabanas could fetch $5,000 +. Heck, there might even be bidding wars. The CEO believes there is still a 30% price differential between his shipboards experiences and a similar land experience and wants to get that differential as low as possible which will mean higher prices in the future. Until hotels, airfares, and other all inclusive experiences start dropping their prices, there is no competition to keep Royal prices from increasing. One can try other cruise lines but they all tend to mimic each other once a price is increased on things like wi-fi, drink prices, gratuities, dining packages, special neighborhoods, and on-board activities.

The last girl mentioned in your post was the Vision of the Seas Captain's daughter sighted in Adventure Ocean. It all makes perfect sense now. 😜

They confiscate the paint products under the aspect of being "flammable" upon boarding but you and I know the truth: they are just trying to protect their profits. "Royal" must have had this problem in the past. 😉🎨

You are going to have to wait until the ship starts showing some rust before the prices come down.

I was more in the direction that your grapes were fermented in a barrel before ingestion. 😁

Does your liquid form get modified from its original "liquid density"? I suspect that a "yeast" infection might have tainted your original grape and the liquid form might be contaminated with non-original specifications. 😜

Ditto. I know it seems like ancient history for most cruisers but there was a 6pm or 8pm only seating time for the evening meal on the Nordic Prince in the late 1980s. Like clockwork, there were two shows at 8pm and 10pm to accommodate a 90 minute meal with 30 minutes to reset the tables for the next group and allows guest to seat themselves at the next venue. I was advised by my travel agent that If we wanted an extremely leisurely meal with no time constraints, to book the 8pm dining. The older crowd in general went early and the younger crowd went later which also led into a later dance party and a view into the Midnight Buffet. Very few people ate that much at the buffet but it was an event just to look at the offerings.The huge butter creations were stored from week to week as they were for show and not to be consumed. The ice sculptures were fantastic and I was able to see one created during the cruise on deck. In general, one ice sculpture was created everyday for the Midnight Buffet. Everything operated on "Ship's Time" and the cruisers happily followed the 'Pied Piper'. I do like having options now but I also enjoyed having my options somewhat limited when I was younger. Easier to make decisions.

Ok, what do you have against dried grapes, Mister? 🤔

Exactly. Some people enjoy non-MDR meals. Some people insist MDR meals are the best, Others swear by Unlimited Dining venues versus the non-MDR and MDR meals. The list goes on and on why people like their cruises. You do your cruise your way, I will do my cruise my way. Our paths do not have to meet and it is a waste of my time to convince you that your way is wrong because you will still be doing your way on your next cruise! 🤣

I agree in general that all areas in the ship are safe but the police were called in at 7:15am in Bayonne, NJ on September 10, 2023, as we tried to leave the terminal parking area. There was severe shouting and threats from a departing cruiser to all vehicles who stopped him or delayed him from getting out of the cruise parking lot. The police had to threaten him with arrest to get him to comply with their orders to get back into his car and wait for the parking lot to start moving. He was one of a few passengers I observed who were not so well behaved on board. I could understand the poster saying some places "felt safer" after witnessing the language, profanity, and physical intimidation I observed onboard from those cruisers. Was I intimidated? No. I would be concerned if something happened to my wife? Absolutely. Should someone try to hurt my wife, well: a life sentence does not mean as much anymore since I am on the back end of the bell curve of life.

I have also seen it listed under the "Dining" under "Bars & Lounges" where it list a restriction for "Diamond Club" on some of the older ships where they have not updated the app yet to call it "Crown Lounge." Some people also get this confused with Viking Lounge which in most of my recent cruises was never affected by overflow from the more restrictive lounges. My last November cruise was the first one that the app mentioned the "Crown Lounge" not being available to Diamond C&A members before the cruise started during the rush hour periods of 5pm to 8pm. This did not affect me in any way since my wife and I prefer the Schooner Bar music and vibe before our 7:45pm MDR seating.

November, 2023, on Jewel from Bayonne to Puerto Rico, close to 1,200 Diamond and higher with a 2,150 occupancy (maximum available was about 2,400 on that ship). I believe that Diamond Plus and higher was almost 600. The high Pinnacles were in the 3,000 to 6,000 point range if one could imagine it. Literally, more than half the ship seemed to be in theater for the Crown and Anchor welcome event. I remember one person tripping down the stairs and taking a hard fall trying to find a seat. She seemed to be ok but I was very worried for her.

I resemble that statement. ☺️

I too have no desire to have the market crash. Many are riding their 401ks into "the seas of retirement on cruises." "Live long and prosper." (Mr. Spock, as portrayed by actor Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry)

You have now shown your "Royal" weakness, 'wifi'. "I'll get you my pretty......" (The Wizard of Oz, 1939). The flying 'Royal' monkeys are waiting to take you away from your "free" wifi. The man behind the curtain, "Nothing to see here, just an additional wifi charge for the man who must have access to the stock market." As they cut from the scene where the Scare Crow has lost all of his stuffing. 😢 😠

"You got a rowboat?" Must be at least Diamond+ to be offered a seat at the oars! I agree, so much speculation on so many levels. I book a cabin on a cruise and enjoy each and every day. Should I get some sort of 'perk', I am grateful. One never knows how many more days at sea are in the cards of life.

"Lower than diamond...", they are relegated to shoveling the coal into the boilers in order to get one plate at Sorrentos. May God bless the "little people". I might be one of them. 😉

I like your post but maybe the problem is that "It's all getting point-full." I think it is human nature to try and get as much as possible for your purchases. Every little bit helps but now everyone is competing in larger numbers. The situations are becoming "Catch-22".

Sometimes, it takes years to change anything 'Royal'. Remember "Dynamic Dining"? That was an absolute fiasco that took almost two years to stop. I would never place that type of "load" on @Ozark_Kid for just posting an opinion and answering questions to the best of their ability.

"Oldie but Goldie" when you compare the price and experience. I am a repetitive poster who is willing to cruise at the right price point. One could accuse me of being a cruise mercenary and I would have a difficulty defending the argument. 😁

Thank you for your post.

I hate the feeling on my flops as I pull away from the sticky mess, let alone if it gets on my wife's sundress! 🤣

Let me throw a debate grenade into the conversation: Popcorn is a mess to clean so we charge to reduce it. Cruisers still insist on buying it so we charge more based on the cost and effort to clean spaces after selling it. I do not know about other people's experiences, but melting ice cream is sticky and can become a slipping hazard on the pool deck. I have seen a few wilting cones on top of deck lounge chairs melting like Frosty the Snowman under a heat lamp. Do we start charging for the "included with the price" soft-serve on the pool deck to avoid such meltdowns and their clean-up costs? 🤔