nessy48

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Sent 6/11, response received 6/23.

Thanks!  I am curious if we get a response, what they will say to ours!

21 hours ago, twangster said:

I heard back from the executive office of Michael Bayley.

 

I was booked in a two bedroom aqua theater suite on Allure before Royal moved me to Liberty without any communication. 

 

Here is the executive explanation why:

 

"Given the closure of shipyards along with the disruption to the supply chain caused by this pandemic, the amplification of Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas has been placed on hold until further notice. This change does mean that the stateroom you were booked in – which we were planning on updating during this process – will no longer be renovated. As a result, your original stateroom’s capacity can no longer accommodate your party, and we’ll need to make a change to your stateroom. We’ve moved you to the best available stateroom, and your amenities will remain the same (as many as can be accommodated)."

 

Apparently the three of us on my Allure booking could never fit into the two bedroom aqua theatre suite on Allure.  Even had the terminal in Galveston completed on time, we apparently would have had to move because the two bedroom suites on Allure can't accommodate three guests.  

 

So you see it has nothing to do with construction delays in Galveston.  

 

The loss of Star Class by being forced onto Liberty in their eyes:  "your amenities will remain the same (as many as can be accommodated)."  This appears to confirm that Royal places no value in the Star Class program.  It's worthless.

 

It's a shame Michael Bayley knows so little about the ships in the Royal fleet.  

@twangster Just curious when did you email them?  I emailed a week ago about  not price protecting our A2 and moving us to Symphony (which I know they did with you also and I am so sorry), but have not heard back yet.  Curious how long it took them to get back to you.

Thanks

3 minutes ago, tegster said:

Just to add my experience.  I had booked a 2-Bedroom Grand Suite (GT) on the Allure for spring break 2022.  After I booked that, I went to add the connecting Ocean View Balcony, but they weren't booking them due to the halting of the Spa Cabins category.  Therefore, I booked my kids in a Central Park Balcony across the hall.  We got moved to the Liberty into another GT on Deck 8 in the AFT, while my boys were moved to an Ocean View Balcony on Deck 12.

 

Once I got the updated email that we could change to any Caribbean 7 day cruise, I call on June 12th and spent 2.5 hours with Royal Caribbean.  Went through the whole check, double check, triple check with resolutions.  Ultimately, got assigned a GT on Symphony for the same week - 1 of only 4 cabins in that category on the ship.  Was excited and tired and had to get back to work, so decided to hold off switching kids cabin until following week.  I had my cruise vacation receipt in hand with the new sailing.

 

Well, on June 17th, called in again to get kids cabin moved over to Symphony, but when looking up my Suite reservation the agent noticed I was back on the Liberty ! ! ! ! !   After lots of going back and forth, finally got the suite reassigned to the Symphony, as the other 3 were not available.  Got moved to Deck 9. 

 

Since I have minor kids, they must be in adjacent cabin or across the all.  The two adjacent cabins are also suites - no go for me!  Additionally, Deck 9 do not have Central Park balconies, but rather interior windows.  After additional authorizations, finally got a Central Park Interior View cabin assigned & price protected.  Generally, an interior would be less expensive, but the current rate difference was about $100, and my original price on the Allure was significantly less.  Minor inconvenience to have the kids in an interior as long as us adults still have the 2 bedroom suite.

 

So, takeaway is that yes with some patience, you can get where you want, but be prepared for time on the phone and monitor your bookings even after it all seems confirmed.

Unfortunately though, my TA spent 3 hours on the phone today and they won't even talk to us because we have a TA.  I would be happy to wait on the phone to get through to them, but its not possible.  

I think I am going to ask my TA to try again tomorrow, because they sent the email saying they would honor our original price.  I am going to reach out to them via social media though and let them know how disappointed I am

We had a 2 bedroom aquatheatre suite booked on Allure and were moved to Liberty with the cancellation.  Our TA held an A2 on Symphony the week before our original sailing.  Then the email came out that is posted above saying we will be price protected if it is within 4 weeks of our original sailing.  She just spent 3 hours on the phone with them to be told no by 4 different people because its too much of a price difference.  I am extremely disappointed with Royal right now.  Because we got a great deal on our original reso, now we are just SOL.  

We are having the same situation as @twangster.  We had a 2 bedroom aquatheatre suite booked on Allure and were moved to Liberty with the cancellation.  Our TA held an A2 on Symphony the week before our original sailing.  Then the email came out that is posted above saying we will be price protected if it is within 4 weeks of our original sailing.  She just spent 3 hours on the phone with them to be told no by 4 different people because its too much of a price difference.  I am extremely disappointed with Royal right now.  Because we got a great deal on our original reso, now we are just SOL.  

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

That or refund the deposit.  Anything other than Star Class on some ship that week is unacceptable.  

We feel the same way as you.  We booked star class on Allure with some friends in a 2 bedroom aqua theatre suite and they have moved us into a 2 bed grand suite on liberty.  We got such a good deal on the star class and it was our first time doing it, we are very frustrated.  If they are not going to offer an equivalent experience on another oasis class ship, we should have the option to refund our money.  I am going to call later to give my $.02.  Not that it will help, but I am hoping that if they get enough "complaints", maybe they will just move us to Allure out of FLL for the same room/date/price.  

We are extremely unhappy with these offers.  I was understanding that Allure won't be able to be going out of Galveston, but Liberty is not comparable to the Aquatheatre suite we have booked.  I am really hoping they change the offer to get a refund or allow us to go on Allure out of Fort Lauderdale. 

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Looks like the executive session where they discussed The terminal issue was private and not recorded

Damn, well thanks for checking!  Saves me time later!

You can watch the wharf meeting from yesterday online.  https://portofgalvestontx.new.swagit.com/videos/51447

I have not watched it yet, but my goal is to have it on today when I make some macarons later, hopefully we will know.  Once I hear an answer either way, I will update.  

No, it was $45/day for 2 people if you bought it that first day.  My husband and I paid $734 for both of us.

The cheapest I saw it prior to our Allure cruise was $42 a day.  When we got on Allure on Sunday, for the 1st day only, they had BOGO 1/2 off, so it was $45 for both for the week.  Ended up being $743 for the week if you purchased it on the first day, but there is no saying if that will be available.

I am not sure about Johnny Rockets, but I am pretty sure that lunch is not included on embarkation day because technically the ship is in port and lunch is only on sea days.

They (the system) knows where you eat and sends your gratuities there. [emoji4]

 

 

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So this might be opening pandora'a box here, but when y'all eat at a speciality restaurant, do you guys leave an additional gratuity? I have been on 13 cruises but now this ultimate dining package is making me want to make sure I am not screwing the servers over since they work so hard!

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So at the risk of sounding the alarm bells here, I am just wondering if anyone has brought this up at all. We are on symphony next thanksgiving and have prepaid gratuities on our reservation so it's all done and paid for by he time we get on the ship. On past cruises we have left extra money for our stateroom attendant, the waiter and the assistant waiter in addition to the recommended pre-paid amounts. If someone does the ultimate dining package, do the grat amounts change since you are never in the dining room? Or do the server part essentially transfer over to the speciality dining server? We also left grat for our speciality dining server when going to them. I just would love to do this on symphony when we go, just thinking of what I know my husband will ask! Thanks!

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Anyone know whether MTD is on the upper level of the MDR?

 

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We were on in April and had late seating and were on deck 5

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Thanks for the info. Have only sailed out of Galveston once before and am glad to here. We have a VERY tight flight at 11:05 am. I know, I know, I wanted to stay and extra day and do the same flight, as the miles we were using were the same, but got the veto from my wife, so we're going to take our three kids and all of our luggage off ourselves (I plan to look like a mule and hope I truly can carry everything). This is encouraging and solidifies what RC Customer Service told me, which is they get into port by 6:30 and clear customs by 7:30, so we should be fine to be off by 8 and then rush to the airport. Thanks!

When are you sailing? We were just on the April 23rd cruise and did the self carry off, but that is just because we did not have a flight, we could drive home. We got delayed and did not get into port until around 10 because the water was so choppy. I know that is rare though. I also heard that in the winter, there are sometimes fog issues that delay the arrival.

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Did Liberty have freestyle coke machines? Thank you.

No, they did nor

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Yeah, the seas were definitely crazy yesterday morning! We just sat and watched as we were so close to Galveston but could not get in! I will say, they did a great job getting everyone off the ship quickly once we were in port!

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As 1interpreter mentioned, they do think he jumped. I saw a ******** that someone posted for his family that states he did jump. We were on board also and they came over the speakers at 3:15am and apologized for waking us and asked that he call guest services. I know the last time he was seen on the cameras was 1:30, so maybe that is why we did not stop or turn around? Since they don't really know when he went over? I will say though, with the staff, you would have never known anything had happened, they went about their jobs like normal.

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Were there any stateroom newsletters that showed daily specials for places like the spa?

They left something on the bed every evening which had the activities for the following day and then the specials for the spa

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It's strange it is 5/9. We sail on 5/7. That would mean it changes mid-cruise.

I am not sure if that is correct. I saw that chart floating around, but then I saw these dates also. This one says 4/2 which would be the current cruise. I was just reading a live report from someone who was on liberty and it was the old menu last week.

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Not to throw a wrench into your plans, we were on the adventure at the end of April and there was a white party. Maybe they phased it out since he did not have one just now.

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Love reading this because we just got off the Adventure on April 30! Sounds like you have a different cruise director than we had. We had "Dan Dan" and he was awesome! Jesters is getting cut in the dry dock, so that is good news!

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This is so exciting to read because I just saw on Facebook the other day that someone I know from another cruise years ago is on this same sailing! So fun to be able to "follow along!" Have a wonderful cruise!

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Ah, this is so nice to read! We are on the adventure on April 23rd and it cannot come soon enough!

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