Twenty2020

Well RCI is now about on par with a Golden Corral level experience across the board. Would make sense that the food matches the product and clientele.

What ship?

No they haven't said that. They said they were in a planning phase and were considering it. But it still had a ways to go, including being approved by the board.

What is Royal's market then?

I kind of doubt it. Back when Royal was building ships like you are discussing they didn't own Celebrity or SS. They bought X in what...'97? And SS just a few years ago. So they were already building out and planning Voyager and Radiance class while they absorbed X, which was a very small line at the time. Fast forward to today... The company now has a significant fleet of X ships with more coming. If cruisers are interested in that type of product RCG already offers it. Little reason for them to cannibalize sales from X rather than just building more X ships to service demand for those itineraries. Most brands don't attempt to be everything to everyone. Just like Carnival and Princess cater to different demos under the same parent company.

Crown lounge (Olive or Twist) is open until 2AM. It's basically a DJ/dance club starting at about 11p. Looks like most all of the other bars down on decks 4 and 5 are open until 1am. You could always get a drink and head out to the outdoor Promenade that wraps around deck 4. Boleros, Schooner Bar are both right next to the outdoor area on 4.

The pool bar (Lime and Coconut) is open until 11PM. Some nights they are showing movies out there.

It's like Hunter S Thompson writing a cruise review.

It's definitely satire... Or maybe just dark humor. Depending upon your take.

To be fair... The writer is known for being satirical. I thought it was kind of funny in a dark humor sort of way. Not surprised he wrote for Succession. Some of you need a little more sense of humor. Like he insulted your child or something.

Yes but Port Baltimore is one of the busiest shipping ports on the entire east coast. Priority 1A (after search and rescue) is going to be clearing the shipping channel. I think there are like 7 cargo ships currently stuck in the harbor.

Shipping lanes will be back open quickly. The port traffic is too important economically. Obviously rebuilding the bridge will take years but I see no reason why ships wouldn't be sailing relatively soon.

Always enjoyed it. Very pretty spot for a beach day. Never had an issue finding plenty of chairs. Food is nothing great, but whatever. Beer is cold. Vendors are easy to avoid. I'm 100% positive Royal will be back there... Likely sooner than later.

Per passengers on Oasis, the captain made an intercom announcement to the ship about the issue.

How are they going to 'fix' it?

Wasn't two weeks ago President's day week? I would anticipate a lot of kids to now be the norm on most RC sailings, with exception of the older smaller ships and long itinerary. Suggest looking at other lines as Royal is now THE family cruise line.

Re: crowds. I understand they are still not sailing at full capacity, correct? If so, then I don't know if an honest comparison of pool deck crowds can be yet made.

I don't know how you can expect Royal to rebook you on a cruise that doesn't even yet exist. The priority should be given to the full WC guests, and allowing them to decide their voyage should take precedence to any mini segmenters. Cruises get cancelled.. Sometimes a lot closer then the 2.5 months you've received. That's the nature of cruising and why travel insurance is a product. Considering the fact that the base reason for all of this is active war and ongoing loss of life.... Your complaints about a cruise cancelation is particularly out of touch. Hopefully you can still get your stateroom.

It's been pretty clear for a couple months now that world events (war) were going to take the Suez passage off the table.

That's a very low payout... But wouldn't surprise me if it's that low on a cruise ship. In Vegas, slots payout in the 90-95% range. Some even higher. https://vegas411.com/gaming-gambling/top-casinos-in-las-vegas-with-the-best-slot-payouts/?amp=1

Freedom looking really good!

So both Wonder and Utopia are doing 3/4n out of PC... Same iteniary? Wow that's a lot of capacity for the same short trips.

Yeah we have one cruise booked for Apr 2025 that was what I consider a reasonable group rate.... And then we are likely done with RCCL. Looking at other lines or possibly non cruise vacations in general until some semblance of value returns.

Those are simply the left over group rates from the launch dates. There are still a handful of them left. But non-existent (that cheap) for anything after April 2025. A couple of weeks ago could have booked OV balcony for Sep24 and April25 for $2800. Now gone and rates are $6-7k. We're definitely not looking at booking any further cruises. I can do a lot better trips for $1k/night base costs.

Yeah I see there are some amenities here and there that are different. But the overall structure and layout of the ship is a lot more like an Oasis class ship than not. People are making it out to be more than it is. Seems to me this is closer of when RCI went from Voyager class --> Freedom class.... Rather than say, Freedom class --> Oasis class