Jetdriver787

Only available on ships with the Bionic bar.

The menus are pretty much the same fleet wide. Lobster is available ($) and appeals to Europeans as much as it does to anyone else. It isn’t offered on the last formal night (apart from UK cruises.) I suspect it’s more a case of the local provision cost not appealing to Miami based accountants? longer cruises usually do what recording artists do when they need to put food on the table quickly. Produce a “Greatest hits” compilation. Expect to see “Best of Royal” and “Now that’s what I call Royal 86!” (I made that last one up!) I always crack a smile at some of the theme night choices. Roast Beef on “Taste of France!”🇫🇷 It’s not that the French don’t eat beef, they do (as long as it’s French,) it’s just that “le Rost Bif” is their passive aggressive name for the English! As if that weren’t bad enough, “Taste of the United Kingdom”🇬🇧 night included Escargot’s 🐌! Don't even get me started on the Desserts. “Sticky Toffee Pudding” and “Spotted Dick and custard” are only eaten by American tourists in London, British Schoolchildren from the 1960’s and advocates (as opposed to Avacardos) of Marks & Spencer’s “Nostalgia” range of classic puddings! On the Med’ cruises, “lobster night” is glossed over by the substitution of some sort of mildly obese Shrimp? 🍤 Enjoy!

It’s a programme run by a company called “Plusgrade” who do this and similar programmes for around 200 cruise lines, airlines, hotels, rail companies. It has almost nothing to do with spot availability. The programmes are designed to maximise revenue for the subscribing operator for slow selling inventory at points where it wants to address that balance. It also maximises revenue for late cancelled bookings by applying algorithms that looks at cascades as well as individual upgrades. Where inventory becomes available, the cascade pathway will often result in maximising ancillary revenue to the operator by selecting individual bids that are not necessarily the maximum in that category. It is really just a speculative bid on something that usually doesn’t exist. If you (likely) are unsuccessful then nothing is lost. On the other hand you are contracting to a binding commitment at any point a successful offer is made.

Sometimes a picture says a thousand words! 🤣 #HelenofTroy

Only, you will never guess what happened straight after…..? 😷

What kinds of tea on ovation? A lower case one but a capital “O” 🤷‍♂️

We are just embarking on our 6th TA cruise in a months time. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned but we have always found very useful, are airline loyalty programmes! Even if you aren’t currently signed up to one or don’t have many points, membership can give you a lot of flexibility and a considerable amount of extra comfort at a surprisingly low price. One of the (many) frustrations of these programmes are the difficulty of finding available flights when you want them. Cruisers usually avoid this problem by being able to book a long way in advance at “quieter” times of the year. Another frustration with these programmes is often that when you find a flight you can use, it can be very difficult (if not impossible) to marry it up to a return flight. Obviously “one way” cruisers don’t have this problem. As many people know (or discover) one way air fare is often significantly more expensive than a return journey. Reward tickets are very much geared to one way travel and proportionally priced per sector. This type of ticket is also (usually) very flexible. In that you can change or cancel the ticket up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund of the points and around $100 change or cancellation fee. If you don’t have enough airline points within a scheme, you can often purchase up to a certain number a year. Often and particularly for premium class travel, this can be a very cost efficient way to obtain a suitable and highly flexible ticket. we have used this method for all of our TA’s for air travel between Europe and the USA/Caribbean. Also used them for a lot of one way travel within Europe.

Well, I feel that my input on this discussion has been supported where challenged. But I can’t help feeling that further research would probably be futile if it were only to meet with curmudgeonly and vacuous retort? Perhaps you could offer examples that support your own?

Far from it! Whilst it is most certainly not a requirement, the cruise line would always encourage you strongly to avail yourself of travel insurance, since that would ordinarily provide the obvious and satisfactory route for redress in the event of most claims. The problem potentially comes when that means of redress is negated by the actions (or lack of them where they might reasonably be expected,) by the tour operator.

You’re welcome!

From the UK booking T&C’s Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (‘RCCL’) and RCL Cruises Ltd are members of ABTA with membership numbers Y1650 and L8357/Y3001 respectively. ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. For further information about ABTA, the Code of Conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint, contact ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ.” BOOKING CONDITIONS – UNITED KINGDOM Important Notice: You are viewing the Booking Conditions applicable to cruises with Royal Caribbean International (and any related goods and services booked through Royal Caribbean Group). These Booking Conditions are applicable only to guests whose Primary Country of Residence is the UK. If your Primary Country of Residence is not the UK, then please visit to determine the Booking Terms and Conditions that apply to you. “Primary Country of Residence” means the country where you primarily reside at the time of booking the cruise. This should be indicated by you, your agent, or other representative at the time of booking the cruise or at online check-in. These Booking Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and any claims or disputes must be resolved by alternative dispute resolution or under the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales. If you have any questions about which Booking Conditions apply to your booking (or any related goods and services), please speak to your travel agent or your local RCL representative.

Absolutely not? “The main risk to flag up is that operating holidays against FCDO advice could invalidate your public liability insurance. Would it only be invalid in relation to covid-19 related claims? Or would it be completely withdrawn even if someone makes a claim for slip/trip accident? The answer lies in the T&C’s of your insurance policy. Another risk, and one that has been highly publicised for certain ABTA members, is that you could be in breach of the membership rules for any trade association that you are part of. In Conclusion In short, yes you can operate holidays against FCDO advice. There are risks involved and so you need to be fully aware of those risks before taking a commercial view on whether it is worthwhile to proceed. However, when it comes to refunds for customers that do not want to travel due to FCDO advice, the customers are currently in a strong position – even if you get them to sign a form to waive any rights to a refund!”

Complicit is perhaps hyperbolic and liability would be for a court to determine, but if the protection provided by the travellers insurance is negated by the tour operators actions in full or in part, it may well provide another avenue for redress?

The distinction here isn’t about how you feel with regards to how any country might or might not be safe, it’s about how the vacation operator (in this case RCI) feels about it! Governments issue travel advisories for other countries around the world. That then enables individuals and corporations to make their own risk assessments about travel to those regions. One significant issue arises when that advice has secondary consequences that may not be immediately obvious to the travelling public. An example of this is travel insurance. I was sent a reminder just yesterday from my own travel insurer (through a major international bank) that travelling to a country that is currently against my own countries travel advice, would in effect, void the coverage of my policy. Under the section of what is not covered it states: “Any claim if you travel against the advice of the FCDO, or do not comply with advice or measures which have been put in place by a government in the UK or overseas.” Those first 2 words are very important. RCI not only expects me to assuage my liability by taking out personal travel insurance, but also their potential exposure as well. If I trip up getting off the ship in Fort Lauderdale and need (notoriously cheap) medical attention at a local emergency room, then I can reasonably expect the insurer to pay if my ship stopped at Falmouth. Not so, if it ported at Labadee? A lot of countries have similar criteria which allows insurers to exclude the additional risk. It doesn’t stop the individual (or even the tour operator) from travelling there, However, the operator is exposed to a raft of potential claims if they were complicit in negating their lay customers coverage.

We did a B2B in Barcelona last November (same suite.) We were very impressed with the setup which was done in the MDR by simply organising a short walkway through one door and out of the other. In between, we were ushered past a few tables where we were scanned off one cruise and then presented with our new cards. These were then scanned on to the new cruise. All took less than 2 minutes and never had to get off at all. In contrast we did a B2B in Barbados the previous year which wasn’t quite so seamless. In fairness the Lady “organising” it was new, and unfamiliar with the procedure. She was helped by a few more experienced colleagues who stopped it from being a complete shambles, but it did involve getting off the ship and reboarding in any event.

I agree LB. Speaking as an obsessive who believes global sea levels will rise by 3ft every time one of my family leaves the 4.5w LED bulb on in the bathroom, I do feel slightly hypocritical in stuffing my AA card (Automobiles, not the “meh” airline or friend of Bill W,) in order to ensure the AC doesn’t rise above the temperature at which a woolly Mammoth might actually begin to defrost! Some hotels used to “chip” the cards so they only activated the slot reader. I’m surprised RCI don’t do that and charge you $29.99 a day (plus gratuity) for said privilege. Why, they could even package it as a utility whereby you get to leave all the electrics on and get your toilet unblocked without the threat of a $100 penalty, for say $39.99 (plus gratuity) per day? In all fairness, I do think leaving the lights and AC on when you leave the room, is more justified if there is any likelihood of the room steward hiding under your bed or installing video cameras while you are out!

Sigh! it’s insurance folks! The standard (and not unreasonable) defence of “You should have taken out travel insurance!” Leaves you corporately vulnerable when said insurance won’t cover the risk that you are then potentially opening yourself up to redirected claims from. That risk isn’t just from “armed hoards storming the battlement’s” it is from anything and anywhere that the now invalid policy might otherwise have covered.

“Out of an abundance of caution!” 👍 the very phrase I predicted the company would use, yesterday. With over $50M sunk into this venue, I honestly feel for the company, but once travel insurers started to baulk at coverage, the writing was already on the wall. It’s been a tough few years for this industry and hopefully the situation will improve soon,

It was almost inevitable. Insurers around the world were driving the response!

“That implies that it is inherently dangerous to be at Labadee and that we know this danger is going to become a reality. That is pure fiction. Sensationalism and just plain wrong.” Well….lets wait and see! Although, I expect the terms used will be more along the lines of: “Out of an abundance of caution; Safety is always our first priority; To ensure guest and crew safety (they used this one today already!) When the foreign offices of major governments are recommending that citizens don’t travel there (even to the bits rented to foreign shipping companies,) that is information that can be used to help make informed decisions. Those decisions are then for the individual, all assuming the cruise line is still prepared to consider the risk acceptable.

“RCI is a public company they hate bad press so they do a little window dressing…” Reminds me of Boeing and the 737Max MCAT fiasco! Almost every other country on the planet had withdrawn the types operating certificate before the FAA (its country of manufacture) finally capitulated to the inevitable. I suspect it’s only a matter of time?

The mistake here is thinking there is a “prize” or a “winner!” It’s something we are all guilty of, but truth be told it is simply an invitation to enter into a conditional binding contract that becomes binding if and when the vendor accepts it. It is a system run by a company acting as an agent for a large number of “hospitality” organisations such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines. The purpose is to balance and fill perishable inventory before the opportunity expires. it is important to understand that there doesn’t (and very often isn’t) have to be any inventory available at the point the apparent “offer” is made. The “offer” is usually a conditional offer to bid on something that might or not actually exist at that point, and at any other unspecified point in time right up until the ship sails, the hotel date expires, or the aircraft doors close for departure. All of these hospitality venues have inventory that from time to time becomes available and needs filling when it might otherwise be difficult to sell through their normal commercial outlets. Similarly, it can sometimes happen that a sales profile is distorted beyond what might normally be expected for a particular point in the year. An airline with a two thirds empty business cabin but a full economy cabin will often use this form of rebalancing to take bid upgrades, and free high demand (and usually profitable) economy seats, that it can more easily sell. likewise cruise ships with a wider range of inventory category will often accept bid upgrades into a slower selling category in order to free up cheaper and easier sales inventory. Suites are usually very popular and often the first categories to sell out, but sometimes they don’t, and as with any category, there will always be a percentage of “no-shows” and late cancellations for a variety of reasons. These programmes are a very efficient way of filling any such inventory, particularly as one cabin may result in a “domino” or “cascade” revenue opportunity further down the food chain.

No you haven’t quite “got it?” The insurance companies decide on the terms under which they offer coverage. Rarely is general coverage offered in contravention of advice to not travel that otherwise conflicts with FCO advice. UK tour operators would invariably cease scheduled operations once that advice has been issued.

Not “the very same?” I believe this information, specific to the point, was updated on the 07th March. ” Warnings and insurance Still current at: 11 March 2024 Updated: 7 March 2024 Latest update: This travel advice has been rewritten to reflect the latest security situation in Haiti (Warnings and insurance)”

The UK foreign office has advised against ALL travel to Haiti. This has implications for travel insurance policies. “The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides advice about risks of travel to help British nationals make informed decisions. Find out more about FCDO travel advice. FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against FCDO advice. Consular support is also severely limited where FCDO advises against travel.”