Engineroom Snipe

I would appreciate being spoon fed with information. Are you selling me a discounted vacation experience that I need to hunt for information regarding a major port change? Is it too much to adjust a major itinerary port change and throw me a bone as to where I will park my car and expect it to be there with an out-of-state license tag after eight days when I get off the ship with my luggage? My cruise line has only given me six days notice after booking it one year in advance. How am I being unreasonable in trying to pry some information from them. If Royal wants to sell themselves as a discount cruise line, fine. This type of experience would be appropriate. I do not think these expectations to be outlandish.

If we were all sitting around the Crown Lounge talking and reading the voices and body language, everything would be clear. Reading words on a website leaves some interpretations to conjecture and misinterpretations. No one met disrespect or harm. I understand how this might trigger hard memories.

That was a hard time in the Navy. The Navy teaches you to bond and connect with all of your shipmates. When something goes wrong, I believe the Navy used those bonds to wish away a bad experience. Your reflections echo a darkness around that episode and era. My condolences to you. After that incident, that class of battleships were quietly put to rest within years. The excuse was they were too labor intensive and the resources would be best used elsewhere. I will let it go at that. Their lives were not wasted in vain. Sorry for your husband's and your loss of friends. No military man serves without the support of his wife and family. Regards.

Yes, the City of Norfolk is doing a really great job compared to Royal.

You can request them at the port as many posters have properly stated. That said, printing them out ahead of time and having them attached to your bags can cross one more travel item off of your list. I attach three or four on different handles for insurance so it can be read from many angles. If one gets torn off from handling, there are backups. As you get close to your cruise, Royal will have your cruise document available in one selection and luggage tags available in another. Download and print the luggage tags which include your cabin but not your name. Optional to fill in your name. In most cases, your luggage will be in your cabin passageway within 100 feet of your cabin. I have had to "forage" for my luggage sometimes but they will hopefully be on your deck in your general area. Once or twice in thirty plus years, the baggage was on the opposite side of the ship in an area that I would not normally think of where it should be. If you do not succeed at first, cast a bigger net. Like an Easter Egg hunt, let's find the luggage. All part of the cruising experience, albeit, it could be an airplane, bus, or train experience as well.

+1 to Cruise Control Transportation. No, I get nothing from recommending them. Nice to know others have been treated well too.

I really want to make this cruise. I almost have my fabulous partner into the mood. I do not expect transportation or OBC. I need to know that Royal owns this situation and starts to communicate what is happening in a fashion that makes me feel confident about a successful cruise experience. Norfolk is saying, "We are open for business." Let us know where the parking is, when to arrive, here are the shuttles, let me know what I have to do to make this successful. I need this from Royal, not from all of you loyal CC posters.Not from Norfolk City services which have been really great. I think Norfolk is owning this much more than Royal. Royal is not communicating directly to me except for the minimum amount of information. I have paid for the cruise and I am trying to make it work. "Need Input." (Short Circuit, 1986)

OMG! If all of the plaintiffs stood in a single line it would go on for miles and miles! I can hear it now, "I was here first.....No, I was here first,.......Hey, did that person just cut in line?" I am doing my best to persuade my lovely lady of many years to go on this cruise despite the changes. I think she feels all of the occurrences affecting our cruise are Omens to let this Great White Whale sail without us. I might start to believe..... 😁

That is the way I feel leaving a Disney Theme Park.

I would not be surprised that the Baltimore Port parking area might be temporarily converted to a work base for the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies as they bring in their response trailers and equipment. It is fenced in for security, has a large amount of enclosed heated/air conditioned space, and has access to a the water with a large docking area.

Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for Royal. One of the reasons they try to pack in the ports in short hop-to-hop is to save fuel. Secondary ones are more money from more shore excursions and less eating and drinking from everyone getting of the boat.

I am good. Hard to complain about losing a cruise compared to the families that lost the workers. We have made some other vacation plans and will spend the money elsewhere. As long as my wife is healthy and happy, I live the good life everyday.

I might be losing my house on one bet here and I would have lost my vacation house on this one. I am with you. I think the biggest difference was the fuel savings first and time second. They have enough supplies on board to get them to Port Canaveral where they will load up.

Gives Royal quite a bit of leeway to have you start anywhere and end anywhere. 😮

If you missed ship's movement in the Navy you are in deep "@@@@". Replace the p in ship with a t.

Everyone is under enough stress. It is a good idea to let them have some elbow space. They will not be in the best of moods on this journey.

I respect your background. A 2 cycle diesel uses a forced air blower (in many cases called a 'root' blower) which compresses atmospheric air to a higher pressure. The air is hot and dense after compression. A water cooled heat exchange often called an "after cooler" is used to cool the compressed air to make it more dense. After that, the turbocharger uses wasted energy of the exhaust combustion cycles to once again compress the intake air before injection into the engine. A lowly standard engine that would normally provide 198 hp without after cooling or turbocharging becomes a 460 hp powerhouse. As you know from your experience, the trade-off is engine life span before destruction. More hp equals more heat and the metal block does not have as many engine hours available.

You might have a point. Lots of parking at Baltimore Terminal not being used. Revenue for Baltimore Terminal and savings for cruisers. Organized busing to Norfolk and back. A great idea you gave them for free but I appreciate you.

70x50=3500 Keep those buses rolling, Rawhide!

Got you. I might only get a bit of mileage out of the offer. I just want to get that email stating that I do not qualify for the hotel expenses and gently place it in my post review of the cruise experience. "Would you recommend your friends or family for a Royal Caribbean experience?" Well, kinda no because there are so many costs that I am used to but rather hard to explain when they get that final bill. I have cruised for 35 years but it is hard to convey all of the add-ons and possible pit-falls to my children without them looking at me and going.,,,, 😲

While I am not surprised, my earlier post said a big (BUT IF) Royal Bean Counters are calculating the whole situation. Booking occupancy is at the highest levels we have seen even before Pre-Covid levels Royal can afford to cut their losses and lose a few customers "overboard". (Toy Story, Mr. Potato Head as he tosses 'Woody" overboard from the moving truck.) No FCC or OBC for you! Similar to a Seinfeld Sketch (No Soup for You!)

As @chengkp75 stated, it is a lagging power boost which needs increased power pulses from the engines to get it up to speed.

The turbocharger energy comes from exhaust gas pulses from combustion.

And I really appreciated your detailed review.

Fine print, offering up to $200 for change of plans to include mileage. I am traveling from New Jersey. I will document my additional mileage both to and from Baltimore to Norfolk. I accept that I am responsible for my original mileage to Baltimore back and forth. I will present receipts for my motel from the night before since I do not want to wake up at 4am in the morning to arrive at noon, too exhausting and too many variables. Not aligned with this post but a little disappointed that Royal does not seem to display any accommodations approaching the real cost of changing the port for me. I have to flex. I will flex. Not a good feeling going into my cruise. I think the bean counters have won the battle but Royal will lose the war of experienced cruisers second guessing more cruises with them. I can not claim any of the expenses on my travel insurance because Royal has not cancelled the cruise and my insurance does not start until midnight of the day I travel for the original cruise. Happy they did not cancel the cruise but unhappy about all the other little things. Regards.