notladjr

$69 pp for Jewel of the Seas 9-15-19 out of Rome. Caught it on sale awhile back. 

Do you remember what the name of the great restaurant you ate at in Athens was? Was it in the Plaka neighborhood?

I hate that this happened to you.  I am always a little apprehensive about leaving luggage outside our door so usually wait until just before midnight and we make sure all valuables are in our hand luggage we keep with us. No jewelry, money, phones,tablets, etc in the luggage outside the door. 

On 6/12/2019 at 9:56 AM, ndabunka said:

As was pointed out in this thread, you don't have to "wait" for anything.  You can check yourself to see if you will be able to participate in the Royal Up! program on your own.  Just go to the RCI website and locate the Royal Up! page and then navigate (click a button) that reads something to the wording of "Check your Royal Up Status"

The link should look something like this 

upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer

This is good to know. Something I did not. I did learn when I found that link that you have to be within 30 days of your cruise to inquire if you can bid under the Royal Up program.

Whoever was in charge of the implementation of The Key program should be fired or at least demoted as that seems to be the worst thing.  That crew members on ships were not fully trained on it before implementation is inexcusable.  I have read too many instances of crew members not even knowing features of it like hand luggage storage and delivery to cabins or priority disembarking at ports. 

I know one thing, this thread has discouraged me from ever wanting to book a guarantee cabin if the cruise lines can bump people down from whatever catagory cabin they supposedly havea guarantee for. Scary.

I was offered a free cruise last month on a different cruise line if I booked an inside cabin guarantee. We had just gotten off a cruise a couple of months before and have a big European cruise and vacation coming up in a few months so we took them up on this free offer. My first ever guarantee cabin. I was nervous as all get out and then about 10 days before our cruise we were assinged a midship handicap accessible cabin. Perfectly located where I would have picked a cabin. My biggest fear had been the cabin would be below one of the very loud music venues that was active until late at night.

When we got there the cabin was very large, almost like a suite. We loved it. We got settled in then that night the phone rang and guest services said that after boarding some guests had informed them they needed a handicap accessible cabin and they wanted to know if we needed one. I told them no but that we were very pleased with the location of the cabin and the extra space. I then asked him how in the world someone could wait until they actually boarded the ship to decide they needed an accessible cabin. He said he didn't know, that he was just trying to accomodate the customer. He said they would put us in an UPGRADED cabin, an oceanview one. He name the deck (below the water line - something I avoid) and i instantly knew he was talking about a cabin directly underneath the music venue as I had feared we would get. Sure enough that was the case. Clearly the last cabins someone with any knowledge would book. I told guest services I did not want to be on deck 1 or 2 or beneath a music venue. I was hoping maybe they would come back with a decend location / cabin in which case I would have been cooperative. I did not tell him that though as I wanted that to come from them voluntarily. I also want to point out that if he had given me a good explanation of why at the lst minute, hours after boarding, someone needed our cabin I would have given it up. They said they would check into some alternatives and get back with me. I never heard from them again the entire cruise.

Wow! Talk about a thread getting off track. The talk about different ships stability is interesting and deserves a thread of its own but it would be nice if this thread could stay about the subject title.

Speaking of which I think in the wee hours of 5/24 I recevied an email from AMEX that Royal Caribbean had refunded my cancelled Indy cruise deposit. As of that evening my TA said she still had not seen the future cruise credit.

We are going to use the future cruise credit for a Caribbean cruise on Harmony so I can finally experience an Oasis class ship. I am exctied about that but that cruise is no way in the same league as the amazing 15 night Caribbean / Transatlantic crossing to Ireland then England cruise we had booked on Indy. i am still bummed about that but appreciate Royal Caribbeans gesture of the cruise credit.

I would go from an ocean view to an inside cabin for $500 total in a heartbeat. You could always cancel one or more of your prepurchased items and repurchase them with the OBC if you do decide to take what they are offering.

I do agree it is a breach of contrract and I am sure that is why they are offering you the OBC and $100 pp. I don't know how they can "overbook" a cruise since they obviously already had the commitment to you for that catagory of cabin. Really strange that this happend to you.

5 hours ago, Suebiker said:

Just wondering if anyone has had their deposit back yet?  We have received our FCC email but have not received our deposit back yet.  Has anybody received theirs yet?

I have been told my deposit will be refunded in the next 48-72 hours if I remember correctly and that future cruise credits will be issued on 5/23.

We had a junior suite on the 15 night Indy repositioning cruise and those are sold out on Anthem.  Plus it gets to England earlier than I would like because of weather considerations.  So instead taking our approximately $1300 future cruise credit and am using it for a 7 night Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas so we can finally check out an Oasis class ship. Still heartbroken our dream cruise is not going to happen for our 40th anniversary. 

Such a nightmare for all involved. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the passengers who lost their lives and their loved ones both on the cruise with them and back at home as well as the pilot who lost his or her life.

Let's also not forget that it appears from news reports that many of the survivors are hospitalized, some with very serious injuries. Our thoughts and prayers need to go out to them as well.

The other day just before Royal Caribbean announced keeping Indy in Florida because of anticpated demand for Coco Cay I had just read a passenger review of Coco Cay where they said it was very nice but with just one ship there the wait for the big water slides was something like 1 1/2 hours. Now granted this is an anecdotal report but if true how in the world are they going to be able to handle the added passenger count from Indy to the ones they had already planned on going there???

1 hour ago, beardedladies said:

When you factor in all the land-based operations (and those senior exec's wages!), a new ship every year at around 1 billion dollars a pop, numerous existing ship revitalisations.... I'd say he was roughly correct at $3.9 billion profit from the ships themselves.

 Well those new ships and ground based services do have to be paid for so it is unrealistic to look at their gross margin without looking at their expenses which means looking at their net income.

4 hours ago, peterhof said:

Yes indeed they will, plus of course lots of the more mature passengers will opt to buy the 3 specialty restaurant deal which just now is a bargain at £55 pp. Thus, RCI can cut down the tables in the MDR and maybe reduce the number of staff.

 

Six years ago, when I had lots of time on my hands, I did a best gestimate of clear profit per cruise for a 7-night cruise on a 90,000 tonne ship, which included everything, cost of meals, wages to crew, casino takings, shore excursions, bingo profit, specialty restaurants, port fees, etc. etc etc. and the clear profit figure was just over £1million per cruise. On a ship the size of the Indy, the profit margins produce an even greater sum and on the Oasis class could easily double or tremble the £1million.

 

When you consider that most RCI ships sail practically continuously all year round for ten years and operate on a break down scenario, rather than a pro-active 6-monthly maintenance program, Indy and other ships her size may well return a £100million profit for the company, per year. With 26 ships in the fleet and more to come, that means that RCI ships return a profit figure of approx £2.6 Billion per year. translated to US$ that is approx $3.9 Billion per year - wow

Royal Caribbean's 2018 net income is about half what you are projecting. $1.6 billion dollars not $3.9 billion. As a shareholder I am glad to see they are in the black!

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20294-royal-caribbean-reports-2018-full-year-and-q4-earnings.html

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Big headache for anyone who has booked the TA, especially anyone who might have tagged on a B2B. 

We are booked on the May TA for our 40th wedding anniversary. Had splurged on a junior suite for the first time. I am so disappointed. So many of the TA's are too early in the Spring for good weather once you get to Europe but this one was perfect arriving in the UK mid May. I guess my ambitious plan to be Diamond by early 2021 has taken a hit! 

24 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

 

Where do you get those parts?  Rockauto.com?  Amazon? 

For azipods definitely Rockauto.com

I have this suite 1106 booked on Indy and would like to find this Cruise Rick's review. but have been unable to. Can someone point me to where it is? Thanks!

I can't believe they won't put her in drydock ASAP to resolve this issue. It is just crazy to reduce speed and skip ports for about six months!

That bacon clothesline looks as good as I imagined! I will be having that next week on Nieuw Statendam!

2 minutes ago, GRACECRUISE said:

Bacon clothesline was an appetizer.  Did not take a picture.  Three strips of thick bacon hanging from small meat hooks.  The bacon is a bit candied.  Has rosemary hanging with it.  Comes with a lemon and dill pickle to cut the sweetness.  It was so good.

 

 

We board Nieuw Statendam this coming Sunday April 7th and I sure hope the Pinnacle Grille has the new menu because this bacon appetizer sounds great. Of course bacon always sounds great!

On 3/24/2019 at 6:33 PM, canadarocks said:

Normally we would NEVER book a flight that lands on the same day as our cruise departure day. But in May 2020 we have a cruise that doesn't sail until 7:00pm out of Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy. The next port is Naples Italy and we are docked there the next day from 7:00am until 6:00pm. My intention is to book through HAL's Flight Ease (if the pricing is right) and I will likely book their transfer to the Civitavecchia port as well. I'm quite positive it will be an overnight flight, regardless if I book through Flight Ease or not.  I'm thinking that even if for some reason our flight is delayed by even up to a full day, we could start our cruise from Naples quite easily. We have been to Rome previously, so no desire to visit pre-cruise. If we don't encounter any delays, arriving on the same day as sail away would save us the cost of a hotel, meals, etc. 

 

So am I crazy to consider doing this? 

Yes you are crazy. Why not play it safe by spending $150 bucks for a decent hotel and fly in the night before? I have also been to Rome before but can't imagine not wanting to spend at least a little bit of time there again! 

8 minutes ago, GRACECRUISE said:

Just of Rotterdam with new Pinnacle menu and loved it.

Bacon Clothesline - We got one just to see it and it was fantastic.  Would get again,

New Bread basket - I could of had dinner just with that.  A garlic cheese stuffed bread and a loaf bread

Crab cakes were now lump but tasted the same to us

Beets were a great addition.

First time my mom has ever been a member of the clean plate club with the shortribs and mashed potatoes

The cheesecake lollipops for dessert were wonderful and just the right size.

 

We asked for the ribeyes burnt on the outside and med rare inside and it was just that.  One of the best steaks we have gotten there with a nice crust on the outside.

 

We all loved the new menu.

 

What is the "bacon clothesline"? Is that an entree or appetizer?

1 hour ago, MarshaTN said:

My ship! Yikes. Doing the transatlantic crossing in 20 days.

Don't you mean "were  doing the transatlantic crossing in 20 days "?

9 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

My emotional support dogs ! I need lots of emotional support since the Buffalo Bills have not be in the superbowl in way to many years. Do you think RCCL will allow me to bring them ?  

If its any consolation it wouldn't matter if the Bills were in the Superbowl because a few years back they proved they can't win them even if they get there! (how in the world do you make it to 4 Super Bowls in a row and not win at least one????). Come to think of it though at least your team got there those times. My Tennessee Titans have only gottern there once and lost.

On 3/23/2019 at 7:50 PM, Tinytinkmom said:

We just returned from our first Holland America cruise on the Nieuw Statendam (LOVED it!!!), and are in the process of booking a July 2020 cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  We typically stay in ocean view cabins (though we have also done inside and verandahs over the years), but I really like the size and layout of the inside J rooms, especially as there will be 4 of us in the cabin for 12 nights!  However, I see that there are a few potential noisemakers on the deck above - BB King, the casino, etc.  Any suggestions for particular J category staterooms that are quiet?  Thank you!

Our first HAL cruise was on Nieuw Amsterdam 11/25/18. We had an inside cabin but it was a Spa one. You are correct to be worried about cabins beneath BB Kings. BB Kings was increditble, the best music I have ever heard on a ship, but one night around 10 pm I was going from one end of the ship to the other and ended up doing so walking on the deck below BB Kings. If the cabins had anywehre near the noise that was coming from the ceiling in the corridor those people had to be miserable if they were in their rooms trying to sleep.