DCPIV

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

All of the Non Revolutionized M and S class ships do not have the same Retreat facilities as Edge class and Revolutionized M & S ships.

Revolutionized M class ships may have those facilities, but I can tell you that the Retreat Sundeck is not a particularly pleasant place there. There's no pool or other water features, and there's very little shade. 

I'm not overly thrilled with the lounge, either. It is a nice area with lovely folks, but it leaves a little to be desired. The only window is in the somewhat utilitarian bar area and only visible in there, and the furniture leaves a lot to be desired with regard to comfort and functionality.

That said, I very much enjoy the Retreat and recommend it to anyone willing to pay for it. 

I have no idea how to contact a ship directly, but one of these numbers might help. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/contact-us

The CSO could be extended again. I won't be surprised if CDC allows it to expire, but I also won't be surprised if they extend it for a few more months. It's premature to bet on either. 

As pointed out, the double standard is that children must be tested twice and that the second time must be at the pier. Adults can test ahead of time and just show up with results. 

Frankly, I don't understand so many demanding covid tests at the pier. Who wants to go through all the time, effort, and expense to arrive at the pier and then be denied boarding at the threshold? Be very careful what you wish for. 

I much prefer the luxury of testing beforehand. If it happens to be positive, then I can stay home. If negative, then I know I can just head on board.  

We enjoyed these events very much back when we could have a bit of quality conversation with one or more officers and the Captain would give candid updates about the line and the cruise industry in general. One particularly memorable one was about 15 years ago on Brilliance--we enjoyed a couple of good conversations with both the Hotel Director and Bar Manager (Director?).

The last "top tier" ballroom event also was some time ago and was not at all pleasant. I believe it was on Radiance about 10 years ago. The whole thing was awkward and felt thrown together. Canapés went around once, and they ran out before any server got to out seat.  We barely got a drink, and it was something of the aforementioned swill. The only speaker was the Loyalty Ambassador. I recall that some other officers were introduced, but I do not recall an opportunity to speak with any of them. It was held at an odd time, around 2 PM or so, rather than in the evening. There was a brief thanks and sales pitch, and then the band played. It felt more like a timeshare sales presentation with a watered- down vodka Martini on the rocks and warm sparkling wine. That last sentence also could serve as a brief definition of what could be my Hell. We now skip those. I'd just as soon spend time at the bar or swabbing the deck. 

We did enjoy a lunch with officers while on board Empress (RIP) a few years ago. It was a moderately sized event--three or four tables of eight diners, two of which were officers. That was quality time. I realize that cannot be done on ships much larger than Empress was, though.

4 minutes ago, nelblu said:

If you are so concerned, I would still call RCL customer service even though you used a T.A.  Either you are going to get an answer or they will refer you to your TA.  Nothing to lose other than a tele call.

OP already did so and was referred to TA (post #1).

19 hours ago, mscg2000 said:

I just wanted to correct the phone number for the Retreat Concierge. It 877-RETREAT

Thank you very much for correcting me on that! 

13 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I understand the difference between perks and amenities.  That's why I'm asking why they would not get the sky suite amenities which include the premium drink package and streaming wi-fi.

Because they, along with the gratuities and OBC, are Retreat perks rather than suite amenities. 

16 hours ago, LGW59 said:

agree, but your blanket comments re NY and Texans, quite harsh.  Much can be said of Philly, or any other big US city.  Enjoy your brownie.

I can't speak to the NY  comments, but I'm quite comfortable doing so with regard to the comments made about Texans on Galveston sailings. 

It wasn't that harsh of a statement. Believe me. 

13 hours ago, jelayne said:

The M & S class ships have about 52 suites and the Retreat lounge has 1 Concierge.

My recent Summit sailings have had 2 Retreat Concierges on board. There's a live thread that mentioned that was down to 1 momentarily with another to arrive soon. 

3 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

My recent experiences dining with others aboard ships have been uneventful and delightful, both in Luminae and MDR.  Since everyone is vaccinated,  the topic just never came up except to maybe briefly comment how nice it was to be somewhere where everyone IS vaccinated.  Cruising is such a comfortable, happy-place bubble right now.  I'm definitely looking forward to dining with others in the MDR on two upcoming cruises this month, too. 🤗

I must say that my recent experiences dining with others has been delightful, as well! 

2 minutes ago, Karen Lynn said:

So if in an infinite veranda on Apex… could the upgrade be to next category veranda  or another category all together ? And , perks drop off ..unless to a Royal Suite, am I reading that correctly?

 

thank you 

You still don't get suite perks in an RS, but an RS comes with more amenities. 

22 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Gotta' come to Seattle for a Alaska cruise.  Pretty nice people!

I've been to Seattle many times, and you're darn right about that. 

I've been to Alaska even more, and I love Alaskans.

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

There's truth in what you're saying. 

On the other hand the same can be said sailing out of Galveston with Texans on board all telling you about about their flag and that they can secede from the Union. In many respects Texans are very much like NY'ers. 

You are so right about that. I don't know how many folks in other parts of the world have told me that, when they ask anyone from the USA where they came from, they get one of four answers: "United States," "U.S.," "New York," or "Texas."

I'm a fifth generation Texan (maybe more, but antebellum and pre-Republic records get a little difficult to find,  sometimes). Still, caught me quite off guard the first time we sailed out of Galveston, and all the dinner waiters gathered to sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

Still brings a little tear to my eye. 😉

3 minutes ago, SWFL Cruisers said:

Some folks would complain that their ice-cream is too cold!

Hey, man. Brain freeze is real. 

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Yes somebody will always find something to complain about!😀

Too true.  I know some folks that, if you gave them a bar of gold, they'd complain about how heavy it was.

1 hour ago, angelsil said:

I get where OP is going. We love to try the local rum in the Caribbean and always try to bring back a bottle or two. If we could drink it on the ship, we probably would. Just to enjoy some local flavor. 

At one time, we could.  That was nice, and it's why I easily sympathized with OP.  I recall a stop in Barbados (years ago, back when there were no issues bringing local booze aboard).  We picked up a fifth of Mount Gay XO (US$10 from the distillery shop) to take home and also a pint of XO (a few bucks) to enjoy a nip on the balcony before dinner or as a night cap.

I didn't think much about that until we were in Havana.  While I could have brought back a bottle of Cuban rum to turn over to security and then bring home, I had no option to bring aboard any rum to enjoy while still on the ship.  I'm not sure why I thought about that, but I imagine it was because I was bringing on Cuban cigars that I could enjoy onboard.  It wasn't a big deal, but it did make me a little wistful.  

47 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Lets be clear here.  The only reason liquor is forbidden is because cruise ships want you to buy their liquor because liquor is profitable.  That's not a safety issue.

There's no doubt that sales are one reason (and a strong one at that).  However, there also is no doubt that they want to monitor drinking on board and make sure things stay relatively calm and safe.  That's why they'll cut someone off who gets out of hand.  It doesn't do anyone any good to cut someone off for the night or longer if they can just go back to their room and up-end a bottle.

17 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Has anyone used their price drop form instead of waiting on hold?

I looked at the form, but I decided not to use it.  It has you calculate the new price.  I much prefer that they figure out that price and reduction, if any, so that I need not be concerned with having it rejected on that issue.  For the same reason, it's no good on a sailing where your category is sold out.

On 11/3/2021 at 8:10 PM, D C said:

Has anyone upgraded onboard instead of going through the move up offer process?  

Seems like it should be possible, given the current low occupancy.

There may be low capacity, but it's heavily weighted towards suites.  Also, it seems Move Up bids are rather popular.  It can happen, though (as described above).

I think you pretty much got it figured out, other than loyalty points and missing out on any events that may be scheduled for Retreat only (officers reception, helipad sailaway).  I don't know if that's really a "big perk."

I wouldn't buy the things now.  It may not be certain, but there's still at least a decent chance that you'll get tests that expire too early. 

We have a January 9 sailing, and I'm not going to order them for a good month from now.

16 minutes ago, Lonedaddy said:

on the website for the retreat the list - but they dont say what the onboard credit and shore ex credit are - does anyone know?

As a guest of The Retreat, you’ll also enjoy a long list of thoughtfully curated amenities that start with five newly added perks*—a shore excursion credit, premium drinks, streaming Wi-Fi, tips, and an onboard credit to spend almost any way you like.

None of that will come with a Move Up bid, only those goodies that have been mentioned above.

@kfrey68 If you very interested in a Sky Suite (and there are some available), you ought to call the Retreat Concierge line (1-800-RETREAT).  I believe you want to go with option 3 on the automated system (Retreat Concierge)--you'll have no wait or a much reduced one.  Ask about pricing on an upgrade.  It's not uncommon that the price of an upgrade is about the same as the minimum Move Up bid.  It might even be less (it happened to us).  In any case, it might be worth it if it's around what you might have put in for a bid. 

With a direct upgrade, you get all the elevated perks (including the OBC and Sky Suite points), so account for that when you weigh price against value.  You also get to choose your room.

2 minutes ago, canderson said:

It's the app.  First night MDR dinner menu for this cruise (~50 hours from now) still only showing drinks and dessert!  At least they have their priorities straight!

Thanks. I tend to merge the app and website in my mind. 

47 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

I hope we can eventually get a better price. We booked our first suite for our 30th anniversary in 2023. It’s a 10 day cruise in Europe and priced at just over $11k. Last night I priced out a sky suite in the Caribbean for February 2023 and it was about $4500! I know that one is in Europe and one in Caribbean,  but that’s an awfully huge price difference for 3 extra days! I sure hope ours comes down in price!

I echo what @canderson said, and I'll add that February is a slow time for cruising, in general, and it's also a time where there is a lot of supply in the Caribbean (warm temperatures and all).  That tends to lead to low prices in the area.

This definitely sounds like the website has its wires crossed.

That said, we've also had our passports held on a few cruises, but (like others) it's been because of certain ports (St. Petersburg being one of those).