mjldvlks

We were on Explorer last month for the Alaska cruise. Great cruuse, great crew, maybe the best cabin attendant and wait team we have ever had. BUT, not sure when, but Explorer has been re-configured to hold about 1000 more pax than the other Voyager class ships, close to 4000 total. For the first time in my experience, a Royal Caribbean ship felt way over-crowded. At peak times, elevators and the Windjammer were basically logjammed. I would avoid the ship unless I was REALLY interested in the itinerary.

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We spent 2 weeks in 7587 on Serenade last fall [the 1st interior down that hall]. We booked late and took an interior because the cruise was very popular and nothing else was available at anywhere near a reasonable price. The noise was definitely noticeable. Several nights they closed the fire doors to the Centrum but it was still pretty loud. It ended at a reasonable hour so not a sleep issue for us -- but would try to avoid that area if possible.

I think OP is asking whether the Military discount is combinable with the OBC -- don't think that has been answered and I don't know off the top of my head. Anyone?

Personally, I think the way Royal treats Military discounts is rather cynical -- we might give one if we need it to fill a ship but otherwise we don't really care.

. . . .

Companies need to find a happy medium.

If what was posted above about them averaging 104% across the fleet, I am guessing they are at least medium happy.

Seriously though, in addition to the above, think of all of the facilities the ship has to have available for kids, kids zone, adventure ocean, small life jackets, etc. I realize some of these things are extra cost and may not be used, but there is a cost to having the facilities and the personnel available.

If I remember correctly, passenger fares alone would only get the company to 90 some % of its overhead [the "nut" as a friend of mine used to say] at least on the CNBC special focusing on NCL a few years ago. Anyway, take all of these factors into consideration, it starts to make sense to charge full fare regardless of age.

Agreed. I remember rolling into the WJ on Radiance 4 years ago on boarding day to a huge table FULL of fresh fruit, carved melons and a nice crown and anchor ice sculpture. Where did all that go? :o I said it once and will say it again. If someone really wants to see all the cutbacks that are happening, all you have to do is take a 3 year break from cruising. The changes and cutbacks from 2012 to 2015 have been numerous yet prices are as high as ever. I can only guess it will be even more from 2015 - 2018.

 

They keep on sailing at 104% occupancy though and most of the cruisers have no idea how things were 3-5 years ago.

Ditto. I don't think I saw a single ice sculpture on our recent cruise. I wish now I had taken more photos in the past so I could remember what it was really like in the not so distant past.

Another area where short staffing was painfully evident was in the MDR. Our poor assistant waiters [we had MTD so it changed] were so stretched it took forever to get basic service like water refills and bread. It used to seem the assistant was their with bread before you even buttered your first item. The staff [last October -- to be clear] were eager and great -- no complaints, they just had way too much territory to cover. And if you say anything about the delay, the waiter and asst waiter get in trouble -- FOR SOMETHING THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT THEIR FAULT.

For a variety of reasons, I had a lengthy break between my last 2 cruises and the differences were stark. In the Windjammer for example, the choices were substantially diminished. There used to be a huge variety of fruits -- berries, apples, pineapple, and others. On Serenade in October, fresh fruit was basically melon. Sometimes a few others. Even Bananas were difficult to come by. I happened to be going through some old pictures from a 2010 cruise. One picture showed a table with loads of fresh fruit. There was nothing like it on Serenade in October. Also, everything seemed to take longer. I attribute this to short staffing. Anyway, we still had a great time and intend to go back, but it is truly a different product than it was 3-5 years ago.

Meant to add that we tried Rita's the last night. I agree it was not spectacular. Rita's on Serenade does not have a full menu -- essentially an appetizer type menu. It was OK, but once again I cannot even recall what I ordered. I probably would not pay an up charge for Rita's if I am ever back on Serenade. If you go during happy hour and get something like guacamole to go with a beer or two, that might be OK -- especially if you can use the comp drinks you get as diamond or above. I also noticed it was not well patronized. We were there shortly before closing, but we saw no other passengers the whole time we were there. We did see quite a few crew members there, however. For what it's worth, this was the night before we arrived in Ft Lauderdale and it was quite warm -- and not air conditioned.

Well I can add to the negativity about GT. Note that I am not a huge Italian food fan, so maybe take my comments with a grain of salt. We were on Serenade for the 2 week repo cruise in October and ate there twice [once would have been more than plenty but we got comped the second time because our Chef's table reservation was canceled]. The first time I got the filet and it was OK but not as good as I remember Portofino. One of our traveling companions got the filet and it was inedible. The rest of the entrees were maybe Olive Garden quality IMO. The second time my meal was so memorable I cannot recall what I got.

Desserts were not worth ordering. I tried the cake the first time and it was dry. In fact the second time the wait person recommended against the cake because he felt it was too dry. I tried the cannoli that time. It was OK but not great. I have not eaten enough cannoli to know what a good one really is, but, to me, the shell seemed to be really hard for a dessert. Kind of like a stale cookie. If I had it to do over, I would pass on dessert in GT and get cookies or something else at the Windjammer. Some people like the tiramisu. I have not tried that at GT or Portofino because I don't care for tiramisu as a general proposition.

The servers were great -- absolutely no complaints about service. Also had great time with or traveling companions. But I was not impressed with GT.

Yep, they told us she and Splendour were the fastest ships in the fleet.

LOL -- I remember the Splendour captain telling us the same thing on our 1st cruise in 2007. FWIW We enjoyed our cruise on Splendour enough [and Splendour and Legend are virtual twins] that we've kept going. Great ships.

This is from a cruise on Jewel [now some time ago]. If you look at the first two tables on your right by the windows you will see each is set for 10 [we had a large group that cruise].

Could be.

 

I'm interpreting wblynch as saying that the sister initially got 21 points for a 14 night pre-2011 cruise in a suite. This would make sense since that cruise should have gotten 3 cruise credits. Sometime after the Jan 2011 conversion, C&A was contacted and was convinced to recalculate the points for that pre-2011 cruise based on nights, and the point total for that cruise was changed to 28 points.

 

That's the way I understand what wblynch is saying, and I find it hard to believe, because if C&A started a precedent of recalculating pre-2011 cruises based on nights, they would have thousands of people calling to do the same thing.

But it is my understanding that is exactly what happened for folks who got LESS credit under the conversion than they would have earned for similar cruises under the new system. I saw many posts of folks who got corrections and I think I know one personally. As I said, my specific memory is for folks who took cruises longer than 7 days but less than the length that earned 2 credits under the old system. They got some additional adjustments under the conversion process. As I said, I think RCI bent over backwards to make sure no one got screwed in the conversion. One of their shining moments in customer service. Now whether they would still make adjustments 5 years after the fact I have no idea.

The situation I know of personally was a friend who was in a position that her next cruise [which was already booked] would have earned Diamond under the old system but after conversion, under the new system she need 1 or 2 additional cruises. My memory is that she was advanced to Diamond after the next cruise just as she would have been under the old system. I don't recall specifically why the new system + conversion changed her advancement. For us the conversion formula left us pretty much where we were so no big deal.

Not to be picky, but it is based on nights.

LOL -- you are absolutely correct, that would be my normal OCD way to phrase it but since most [at least by my experience] folks say days, I intentionally elected to be colloquial.

This is the first time I have heard of points being modified based on nights at sea for pre Jan 2011 cruises. Are you sure the 14 night cruise was before Jan 2011?

I think you are misunderstanding each other. The conversion took the cruise credits under the old system and converted them to points under the new system which ARE based on days at sea. In general, RCI did a good job of coming up with a formula that made sure everyone was treated fairly and was more or less in the same or better position (with regard to current level and prospects for next level) after conversion than before. There were, however, some folks who didn't fit the formula and got screwed to some extent. The one example I can think of is those who took cruises of 8-12 days which only got 1 credit under the old system, but obviously would get more than 7 points under the new. Under wblynch's example, the old system yileded 3 cruise credits which would convert to 21 points unde the new system. But an extra point each day for 14 days equals 28 points if the same cruise was taken under the new system. Anyway, my memory is that RCI was really good about making individual adjustments to fix these issues. I think that kind of adjustment is what we are talking about here.

Here is a picture demonstrating the Sun thing. This was taken from our port side balcony on Deck 9 of Independence [9656 to be precise] during our eastbound TA. You can see the shadow of the ship on the water. We were obviously on the shady side -- not following the advice above. Our selection was driven by price (as I recall about $600 pp for 2 weeks in a D balcony). But didn't find the shade to be a noticeable detriment to enjoying the balcony.

It's a little late as OP has already booked Indy, but I will add my comments anyway. Having cruised both, if ship/on-board environment/entertainment is the deciding factor, Indy wins in a landslide -- not even close. Our one and only TA (still probably my favorite cruise of all time) was aboard Independence and its size and variety of things to do were great for the sea days -- e.g. shops and venues of the Royal Promenade; Ice Shows (and ice skating if you care to); Flow Rider; etc. Plus a Freedom class ship's larger size gives you at least a little more stability in rougher weather.

Having been on Radiance class ships the last three cruises, I am not enthralled by the "acres of glass" factoid. Independence has plenty of places where you can get a good view from inside [just as the Radii have plenty of places where you can't]. Plus, the outdoor venues [which I much prefer to begin with] are, in my opinion, better on Independence -- at the very least there are more of them.

Now, having said the above, I think the Radii are fine ships. I enjoyed all of the cruises I have taken aboard them. Plus, the westbound TA route frequently traveled by the Radiance class TA -- British Isles, Iceland, ending in Boston or somewhere else in the northeast has a lot of appeal to me, so I might choose a Radiance class ship for that itinerary. But since you are headed east (with similar itineraries) and if the ship is the destination, Independence is the way to go.

Edited to add: And don't forget Brilliance still has those carnivorous shower curtains.

I've never seen anyone use a landyard with a gold card. That is just tacky and pretenious. . .

I do not specifically recall seeing the gold card lanyard thing, but it rings true. On our most recent cruise we had a huge number of pinnacles and many of them [i want to say most but never counted so I want to be accurate] wore their pins every day making it completely obvious who they thought they were. Pretentiousness seemed to go with the territory for most of them [with at least one notable exception]. Of course, as one recent reviewer posted in the review pages for that cruise, bad passenger behavior seemed to be a general norm for that cruise so maybe it wasn't just the pinnacles.

Thought the expired one might come in handy.

Enjoy your trip!

WOW, okay, I guess RCCL doesn't like us for some reason.

Apparently us neither. We got off Serenade on 11/2 and our upgraded status wasn't noted on the daily RCI spam email until the 14th.

The whole temporary paper license dance is not about the DMV being backed up or trying to get you out quick -- it is actually a security measure intended to verify that the address given is a valid address. They give you a temp and mail the regular license so that if you cannot receive mail at the address given your temp will expire and you will never receive the permanent license. When this process first started, shortly after 9-11 for us, my state was issuing temps on the equivalent of retail store receipts. They were flimsy and had little detail. We were specifically told they were not valid for travel, but that has been close to 15 years ago. With improved quality ,I can see them being more willing to accept the temps. Still, I would think having the expired license with you would be a good idea if you have it.

Please leet us know if it works.

Brilliance does have Rita's at least it's on the deck plan [port side behind Windjammer as stated above]. Have not been on Brilliance but just got off Serenade last month. Tried Rita's -- it was OK -- not bad not great. Obviously not memorable because I cannot for the life of me remember what we had. Pretty sure we had chips and guac -- chips pretty good, guac pretty average -- remember thinking it was not as good as what DW and I make at home -- but nothing really is.

I like good Mexican food [lived in San Antonio in my wayward youth so I think I have a fair idea what's good and what isn't]. Menu was limited - snack type stuff. As I said -- not bad not great. We were nearing Ft Lauderdale at the time we tried it and it was very warm [iIRC we were there about 8-9 p.m.] -- as if there is no AC in that area [same area as on Brilliance comparing deck plans]. Service was glacially slow -- but that seemed to me to be a defining characteristic of Serenade -- Brilliance may be better. During the entire time we were in Rita's, we were the only passengers. Several crew came in -- got the impression they liked as a way to get away for a few minutes. If you want to try it, do it soon, based on what we saw with regard to patronage, can't imagine it will last. Try it -- if you don't like it the Jammer is only a few steps away. Don't forget it is extra charge on an ala carte basis.

Our last 3 cruises have been on the Radiance class [Jewel, Radiance, and Serenade in that order] and frankly, I would not go out of my way for any of them. Of the 3 I enjoyed Radiance the most and Serenade the least with Jewel a close second at the bottom end of the scale. If the itinerary is good, they are acceptable -- that is the best I can say. The "all that glass" gushing is way over blown. There is a lot of glass, but most of it is crusted with sea spray. I much prefer being out on deck. And I have not been on any ship [RCI or otherwise] that you cannot find a good view (inside or out) if you want one [have not yet cruised Quantum or Oasis class]. I did enjoy the outdoor seating in the Jammer [and it is NOT going away with the new renovations -- Serenade has been through the renovations and the outdoor area is still there]. Amazingly, Serenade has been through the recent refurbishing and is still tired. A lot of rust, frayed and beaten up furniture, chipped paint and beaten up surfaces in our cabin and, as some one is a recent review mentioned, a lot of surfaces, bar tops, table tops, etc. just seemed sticky as if not quite clean. In general the absolute worst service I have received on any RCI ship has been on Jewel and Serenade. Keep in mind our Jewel cruise has now been a while and staff's change.

Anyway, if the itinerary appeals to you, go for it [and I will defer to those who have been there for comments on San Juan (but I would like to try it)], but I would not walk across the street for a Radiance class ship.

On our past fall foliage cruise from Quebec to New York, our first U.S. port was Bar Harbor, Maine, which was a tender port. During the cruise, we received information that customs would come aboard to clear us at Bar Harbor, and that we were to go to different areas of the ship at different times to be cleared. Princess arranged our time to go through customs to accommodate our Princess tours. . . .

Just got off an RCI cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale where Bar Harbor was our first US port. We actually went through what Mackenzie describes. Everyone was assigned a time to appear for the passport check and, while you could depart after the check without waiting for the process to finish, you could not get a tender ticket before being checked. It was indeed about a 10 second check, after which you received a sticker on your Sea Pass card to show you had been checked. Those with early excursions received priority to meet their tours. Very quick and painless. We then had to complete the standard customs declaration form on arrival in Ft Lauderdale.

OP -- if I read your post and the Princess website correctly, you are scheduled to to be in Boston from 8 am until 7 pm. I suspect you will actually dock before 8 am. I would not expect the passport check to interfere significantly with your time. Admittedly there is so much to see/do in Boston you can't do it all in one day, but what's new. It sounds like you have been to Boston before so I won't bore you with suggestions. Looks like a fantastic itinerary -- have a great cruise.

So passports are not really good for 10 years, but only 9 1/2 as you need to get it renewed in time so you are not within that 6 month window.

I think this has probably been talked to death already, but a couple of points,

(1) A US passport is good for exactly as long as it says it is . . . it will get you back into the US from anywhere until the expiration date stated on the passport. It is up to other countries to decide the requirements for admission to their respective countries. Some require a passport to be valid for 6 months after the date of entry.that's more like a visa issue than effectiveness of the passport. Also, some that require 6 months for admission do not enforce that rule if you are merely in transit.

(2) OP is asking about a Canadian Passport. I don't know the rules for Canada, but I have heard that some countries [NOT the US] will renew a passport by adding on the new term to the expiration date of the old one so you get your full ten years [or whatever term it is good for]. The US passport term begins the date of issuance so the 9 1/2 rule is essentially correct [keeping in mind the qualification that it is not a US law or regulation that effectively limits the term].

I agree with Merion Mom that wearing the life jackets would be -- on the whole -- a good idea.. The crew telling folks how to put them on and how to tuck the straps to prevent tripping hazards was a good thing and would help in an actual emergency [whether you end up wearing a jacket from your cabin or from the muster station.

On the other hand, in my opinion, the biggest benefits of muster drills are (1) the passengers getting familiar with moving en masse to the muster stations, and (2) the crew getting familiar with their duties during the move. This "rehearsal" can be helpful even if some of the stations are inaccessible in an actual emergency.

Several have mentioned Costa Concordia. There had not been a muster drill for at least some of the passengers on that cruise. You never know, but if there had been, perhaps the migration to muster stations [even though I believe part of the problem was the Captain's long delay in ordering muster/evacuation] would have been more efficient.

I join the multiple levels crowd:

1. When we commit the funds [especially final payment day].

2. When we pack the bags.

3. Dropping off the dog.

4. That first taste of crappy, outrageously expensive airport food [that tastes surprisingly good considering what it is and how much I paid for it].

5. Meeting friends we haven't seen since the last cruise in the hotel the night before.

6. First glimpse of the ship.

7. Using my passport in anger.

8. The "bong" of the seapass reader as we access the ship.

9. The first time a crew person says "welcome on board the ____ of the Seas."

10. More crappy food in the Windjammer [maybe it's the salt air, but it tastes pretty good too.]

11. Unpacking in the cabin.

12. First dinner.

13. Feeling the ship move.

. . . .

. . . . It keeps me coming back.