robsmom

I understand your desire to keep traditions going.   Am I the only one that thinks requesting this is over the top.   Many of us have traditional items we have for holidays.   Is it fair to expect the kitchen to accommodate everyone.  We always have lasagna for Christmas Eve.  Many Italians have seven fishes.  My Grandparents always served Prime Rib on Christmas Day.   English families may still have a Christmas Goose.   Many people have Turkey. Others have Ham.   I am sure Indian Christians have some Indian Holiday favorites.    Then, let’s talk about Desserts.   For me it isn’t Christmas without an almond ring.  Others want a YuleLog.    Do you see my point?  It is unrealistic to expect the chefs to prepare a personalized meal for each family.   If they offer this curtesy to you, shouldn’t everyone get the same service.    I agree with the posts that say go to the Buffet, as you will definitely find Chinese Food there.   

I suspect that the changes won’t impact my booking in the future, but we shall see.   I have a sky suite in May on the Equinox.   I really never use my butler on any suite on any line and much prefer the concept of a team.   I don’t need a dedicated person and I don’t need much brought to my cabin.  If I can order room service, I don’t care who delivers it.  I don’t want course by course service.   If there is someone at a desk that will book reservations for me and answer questions that is great.  If there is service in the lounge and on the retreat deck, I am happy.   The biggest thing for me will probably be the food in Luminae.  If I see a drop in the quality of food similar to that reported in the MDR, that might cause me to change my thoughts on future bookings.   I also have reached a point where loyalty isn’t that important to me.  If I book suites, I can get perks on any line.  At this point I book based on itinerary, ship, room, and perks combined.  

Multiple excursions were sold out for my cruise next May when I first booked it in Late July.   Very surprising.  I was able to take advantage of the sale and saved about $500, but there was one that I had booked that I couldn’t save on because it was sold out now.   I do hope that they add some more excursions and I am also starting to research other excursion options because I have booked a few that I am not that excited about.   

12 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

The definition of a recession is two contiguous quarters of a decline in GDP.  Any exceptions or conditions anyone tries to put on that is just an attempt to redefine the term, although other economic factors could help (or hurt) how a recession affects us.  Low unemployment was not the result of newly-created jobs (which would be good for the economy), but is the result of pandemic lockdowns and "relief money", which is bad for the economy. 

 

Consumer debt dropped some during the pandemic, but it is quickly on its way back to record highs, and higher interest rates are going to hurt - badly.  Unfortunately, The Fed has no choice but to raise interest rates.  It's the only way to make money more valuable, and right now, inflation nearing double-digit rates is our biggest economic challenge.  Yes, it's like turning a water hose on in your house to put out a fire - it's going to make a mess that will take time and effort to clean up, but it's better than letting the whole house burn down.   

 

In terms of cruise fares, I believe that for the next year, not much will change since they are still riding the wave of pent-up demand with the slow return to "normalcy".  I expect that demand for the most and least expensive cabins will remain high, but the "middle" will suffer - i.e. balcony rooms, JS, etc.  As is usual, most people who can afford suites and other expensive vacations tend to be less affected by economic changes, whereas the people booking mid-class cabins will downgrade to the cheapest options just to have the opportunity to sail.  I can see demand for the UDP , The Key, and some ShorEx waning.  Liquor sales and the DBP will likely not change much - people gotta have their booze.  We'll see more last-minute bookings, which may result in more sales to fill cabins. 

 

Basically, RCCL better enjoy what they have now because it's probably going to get worse, but still not as bad as the shutdowns. 

 I don’t want to argue the “official” definition of recession, because it has become a political debate today and I am not viewing it politically.   I do have a degree in Economics.    It doesn’t change the answer that we both gave in that right now there is still demand for cruising, but if we move into (or are already in) a prolonged recession that will change.    To modify the famous quote:  What is the difference between a recession and a depression? In a recession your neighbor can not afford to cruise,  in a depression you can not afford to cruise! 

If you lookat todays data, yes GDP is down, but so was unemployment.  The 2 quarter GDP decline is one measure of recession, but most economists also say a recessions includes increased unemployment.   That said, with the rise of interest rates the fed is trying to cause a small recession and we arelikely headed to a recession of some sort.  Hopefully small.   Within the data, demand is still up for travel and services had GDP growth while hard goods declined.   There is still pent up demand from Covid and the US households have good balance sheets.   I don’t think you will see prices decline anytime soon.   JMO

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

As mentioned in post #5, look at the current sailing, not yours.

Ty.  That works.  I missed that suggestion earlier.   

22 hours ago, nferr said:

The lunch menus are right on the RCL website.

Can you post a link.  I have looked at Izumi and Giovanni and neither shows a lunch menu.   I have the same issue as the OP as they are not in the app.   In fact, if you look at the schedules, they don’t even show as being open for lunch on Sea Days.  Chops is the only lunch option.  I don’t think this is true, as I think at least Izumi has lunch.  

22 hours ago, susanf31 said:

Again, let's not get off on a "that's not fair" tangent.

 

I'm not asking to cut in line. I've been told by a security agent who works at this terminal every week that there is NO LINE at 10:00 a.m.

 

The question is - if the doors open at 10:00 and we are allowed inside AND THERE IS NO LINE, has anyone ever been able to check-in before their check-in time?

 

I would think that if there is NO LINE and a people with a noon check-in get there early, they might want to go ahead and board them since such a huge line will soon be building around noon.

 

If no, then if they arrive at 10:00, right when the doors open, perhaps they will be able to have a seat in the terminal instead of standing in line outside in the heat.

 

One good thing about Port Canaveral is even if they aren't allowed in, there are several restaurants within walking distance to hang out in while waiting on assigned check-in times.  🙂

I agree that in your scenario, they might want to check people in earlier if possible to lower lines.  That said, if this is regularly the case, why wouldn’t they just give more people the earlier time.  The reality i, that if the line is busy midday it might be because people do come earlier and over time this creates backups.   Alternatively,  Royal is not properly spreading people out, which is quite possible given their business process/IT success rate. 

Just now, rudeney said:

 

You should be able to use the app for check-in and go right to the boarding time to pick a slot for both of you.  You can come back later to enter all the other info (passports, vaccines, etc.).

Thank You, I did not realize this.  Will do.   

This is very helpful.   I sent my passport in for a renewal.  It should be back with plenty of time to spare for the cruise, but might not make the day that check in opens.  I will check my husband in and try to get an early time.  I won’t worry if mine is done later and I end up with a different time. 

My husband is still working, so we are limited on time.   I think once we are both retired, we will try a inside cabin and see how it goes.  I am not sure how many weeks that we will want to be at sea.  My gut is that we will want to cruise less in balcony or suite cabins, but I am honestly not sure.  We want to go to South America and Asia on longer cruises and inside cabins would certainly help the budget.  We used to use the balcony quite a bit, but on the last few cruises we have used it less.    I guess we will see.   

4 hours ago, ravenjls said:

Yikes! I will be on Anthem in a month and so far Spectra, The Gift and We will Rock You have been mentioned as not enjoyable!  Maybe the juggler will be good...haha

I have seen We will Rock you three times and absolutely love it.   I guess you have to enjoy Queen’s music.   I have to agree with others that I was not a fan of The Gift or Spectra.  

2 hours ago, Roybthered said:

Benny,

Question from a Brit, do you know if anyone took an excursion to Disney from the ship and all was good? We are looking at doing so with our Granddaughter but being Brits are struggling getting a day pass over here as only 7 and 14 day ones are available. Our friends from over the pond are looking at getting 1 day passes for us so are just hoping the excursion there and back was ok.

 

I think it is a lot of travel time and a lot of money for a very short time in the park.   If you get the one day past you also need to make a reservation for the park you want to go to.  You will want to pay extra to get the genie plus passes for a major ride or two.   With 4 hours in the park you will only be able to maybe do 2 passes and a handful of minor rides.   Since you are coming from the UK, maybe this is your only chance to see Disney, but if you go just keep your expectations low.  

I think it varies by ship.  I looked at it for our Oasis cruise.   I decided to go UDP, but if I wanted 2 specialty meals the price was right.   It is currently $83.99.  Chops is $54.99.    Anything over 29 would be a discount.  150 Park is 64.99, Giovanni’s is 41.99.   hibachi is $45.99( would have a $10 surcharge, but still be a discount).     It can work, but is not a huge savings.  In our case we really wanted 150 park and Chef’s Table.   ($150 total).  UDP was $207 and now includes a discount to $45 for Chef’ table.  So total cost will be $252.   For $102 more we have up to 4 more dinners and 3 sea days for possible lunches.    My husband loves Izumi for lunch and I want to try Portside BBQ.  

The cruise ships are no longer allowed in Venice proper.   If you have an overnight in Ravenna, the ship will stay there until departure on the second day.  You are free to come and go.   There should be excursions offered for day 2 that would include transportation to Venice.   

Thanks.  Will do this.  
 

Hello, in my planner I have the option to book My time dining, but no option to book Coastal Kitchen.   I am in a GS.  Is it possible to book times for Coastal Kitchen in advance? Thanks! 

Was night 5 lobster night in the main dining room? 

On 4/28/2022 at 3:51 PM, jean87510 said:

It was known as teacher's convention week and was usually the 1st week of November.  Always right after Halloween.  It has only been a couple of days in the past few years.  Problem was the teachers were supposed to be at the conventions but many were posting on social media pictures of themselves on cruises, Disney, Cancun... family in tow, drinks in hand clearly NOT at a working convention.  Plus the taxpayers of NJ were paying for them for this week.  And a lot of the teachers stupidly would brag about their escapades on social media and would laugh about how they were getting paid.  This led to the downfall.  I know quite a few people who did this.  

I have lived in NJ my entire life. It is not past tense, it was and still is a convention that starts on Thursday.  The convention itself was never a full week and it never cost the taxpayers as these were scheduled days off as noted by a poster above.  As a child we always just had the Thursday and Friday off.  I believe the big change came after 9/11 and Columbine.  For safety reasons, children were no longer allowed in school on Election Day if it was used as a polling place.  Most school districts were then closed three days that week. My son’s quickly went to being off Tuesday-Friday.  After a year of that they went to being closed all week, because so many families took their kids out on Monday anyway.   To the original poster, we traveled many times during that week.  I believe, the ship will be child heavy no matter were you cruise out off.  

17 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I agree with what you say and totally understand what you mean but the stock price right now does not represent the underlying economic value of the company. The underlying economic value of NCL is probably not lower now than it was a month ago, only time will tell.

 

If NCL survive, which I think they will, the stock price will most likely return to the value it had before Corona.

 

But as I said, I'm not an expert. 

Not an expert either and I have not spent anytime looking at NCL’s number.   I would argue that the economic value has declined.   The question is by how much.   Clearly they will have a loss for 2020.   What will 2021 look like?  Future years? Do they have dividends? Will those dividends be reduced or eliminated?   How much more debt will they have to take on to maintain cash flow?   Investors who agree with you that there is no decline in value (or not as much as the market currently believes) would be the people buying now.    Those who think the value could be lower are sellers.     If you believe in the company, think it has a strong enough balance sheet to survive and prosper, than by all means purchase.   For me, the risk is too great and I would not go near this one right now. 

32 minutes ago, elwood_98034 said:

The thing with any industry geared for discretionary expenditure like Disney, Universal Studios, or NCL, etc., is their value is totally dependent on their market, and the willingness of their consumers to pay. Would I want to get on a cruise ship any time in the next year? No.

totally agree.  Cancelled our November trip yesterday.   Even if I ever decide to cruise again, the prices will be much lower.   I may never cruise again.   I was just trying to address the economics of the OP’s suggestion.   

It is a nice sentiment, but not economically sound.   Even if millions of dollars were pumped into buying the stock, it just raises the stock price.  It changes who owns the company, but not the underlying economic value of the company.  Typically, there is a correlation between the stock price and the economic value (or at least the perceived or anticipated value).   If a group of cruise enthusiasts artificially inflate the price, this will benefit the investors already owing the stock, who will see that the price is now higher than what they value the company at and will now sell.  Selling will drive the price back down.   Without huge financial backing it would be nearly impossible to sustain an artificial price for any period of time.  Regarding the banks,  They will make loans based upon the balance sheet and projected income statement, not the share price.     If you want to help NCL, a better use of the check would be to put deposits on future ships.   This allows NCL to show the banks that they have projected future revenue.  

Buying stock does not keep a company afloat.   NCL gets none of the money.    Buy stock if you think it is a good buy right now.  That is fine, but buying or not buying stock will not help the industry.  

I don’t think they were tested tested.   I think it is poor wording or journalism.    I think that They have been screened and past screening.    I think that is why they are not debarking.  

6 hours ago, HalfHand said:

No conspiracy. Someone asked, I looked at it. My statements were factual.

 

My last statement was the address was legit and it was hosted on their site.

 

I have no idea why it isn't listed with their other press releases, so I offered a guess.

The answer to that it obvious.   They don’t want this information out there any more than they are forced to share it.