leaveitallbehind

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

Of course. It wouldn't matter if the deposit was all that increased. It is the cost of the cruise that matters. That is what increases.

I was responding to another poster that indicated deposits are higher for refundable deposits - which they are not.  Obviously the increase is in the base fare for the privilege of complete change and cancelation flexibility without penalty.  We are saying the same thing.

18 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree, most ones I check Refundable is almost same as Deposit up to 2-3times more. Last one I Booked $450 Deposit, Refundable $1368 more. 

The deposit amounts for non-suite category staterooms are the same for NRD and refundable deposits. There has never been a difference in our experience booking both.  The fare rates are different.

39 minutes ago, twangster said:

The default is NRD unless you make a point of adding the refundable fee.  Started long before the pandemic but junior suites becoming NRD only was a more recent change, like 2022 IIRC. 

 

Echo what others said, using a TA allows access to group rates when they are available, or refundable rates for non-suites.  In the case of non-groups the upcharge for refundable may not be appealing.  

May just be semantics, but there are two fare bases - refundable and non-refundable deposits.  Refundable is at a higher fare base and NRD is at a lower fare base.  There is not a fee per se being added to NRD to make it refundable.  Selecting that deposit option simply directs your booking to the higher fares.  Often those fares are at a higher differential than the NRD deposit amount, in a sense mitigating the NRD change and cancelation risks.

And I am not aware of any suite refundable deposits.  That is something new in my experience but certainly worth looking for.

BTW you can convert a refundable deposit fare to a NRD fare prior to final payment at the then prevailing NRD fare base at n/c.

To clarify with US originated bookings, no, all deposits are not now NRD.  The only stateroom deposits that are always non-refundable are suites.  All other stateroom categories have the option for refundable or non-refundable deposits and corresponding fares.  The key to note is that the default option on the website is NRD.  But refundable is an option, and available to any booking.  Travel agents have no special access to them, but do have access to non-published group fares.

The deposit amounts for all non-suite categories is the same for NRD and refundable fares, with refundable having the option to change or cancel a booking without penalty.  NRD will charge a fee for changes, but the full deposits are sacrificed if the cruise is canceled.

Our current Odyssey Oct. '25 cruise is booked with a refundable deposit.

11 hours ago, LindaJ+ said:

Also - I'm assuming with a fixed dining time (as part of a group)  that we will have the same table every night ... so the first night we should allow extra time for the staff to show everyone to their tables, but after that we can just walk in directly to our place. 

You just need to coordinate at time for all in your group to show up at the MDR lobby. That may take a few extra minutes early to make sure all arrive on time.  When you check in, the maître d will have someone show you to your table.  It really doesn't require any extra time.

I prefer ports of call that have real places to go and a variety of things to do instead of a confined manufactured space.  JMO.  

Pass.  Rather have the extra time being cut out at Aruba and the day at sea.

Agree, 5 or 6 minutes tops, including elevator time.  How long would it take you to walk 1,000 ft at home, maybe 3 minutes?  Just trying to make a comparison.  The ships are big but quite manageable.

I agree that it would be very rare these days. You could always ask at guest services once you board to see if there are any upgraded staterooms available, but it would not likely be free and would be at the difference you paid v the last market price for that category.  The days of free upgrade fairy offerings I believe are long gone.

In our 32 year cruising career we had it happen at n/c twice on RCCL from a Balcony to a JS, and from a JS to a GS. And never on Celebrity.  But those were both years pre-covid.

I am not familiar with any specific wine only packages.  Both the classic and premium packages offer unlimited wine with the premium offering the "better" brands.  Bottles of wine for purchase vary in price but are not inexpensive, although Captain's Club members are offered discounts on wine bottle purchases based on tier level.  The corkage fee - if charged - would apply to bottles of wine brought to dining venues to be opened there.

Just to add to clarify, the motion that intensifies the further forward and higher up on decks you are is the up and down motion of the ship as it moves forward.  The side to side rolling motion will be felt the same anywhere on the ship, more intensely on the higher decks.  But this rolling motion is what the stabilizers mitigate.

Have there been any changes in your profile?  As long as you have confirmed your correct email address and permission to use it for promotions, you should receive them.  We still do and because of the volume of emails, I recently changed to a different email less used that is now receiving them.  

22 minutes ago, twangster said:

If you are trying to avoid the potential for a tropical storm you'll need to avoid May through October.  

Not criticizing, but hurricane season actually us June 1 through November 30, or half the year. And the peak of that season is typically mid-August to early October. But July would still fall within hurricane season.

But as others have indicated, I would not avoid booking a cruise based on that in of itself as hurricane season does not mean that hurricanes will happen with certainty on any given date, just that conditions are correct that hurricanes can happen on any given date.  Too much variability to worry about any given sailing date IMO.

And I also agree with the other factors you mention with moving to a July date.  

As indicated, all specialty restaurant dining packages, with the exception of the placeholder reservation typically made for night one, are made on board.

Just go to any specialty restaurant after you board and the Maître D can confirm your preference for the placeholder reservation and book the rest of the nights and times for you at the restaurants of your choice.  It generally takes about 10 minutes.

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

They built these new ships with no helicopter pads - better I guess to have more income producing areas than to prepare for a passenger or crew emergency.  Anyway............I'm guess that's the issue.

I think it is more likely that making an actual helicopter landing at sea on a ship - moving or not - is rather dangerous and perhaps when you factor in the actual number of times a helicopter pad is used for an emergency evacuation it becomes less necessary to have one. 

We have been on a ship when a helicopter evacuation was performed and they hovered over the moving ship above the pool deck and airlifted the passenger from there.  I guess the seriousness of the passengers' condition outweighed the risk of the airlift.

We have also been on a ship that turned around to meet a coast guard vessel an hour or so away to evacuate an ill passenger rather than do so by helicopter.  I think airlifts are very risky.

It is one or the other, whichever is better, but not both in combination.  Anecdotally, we just used our CC discount to upgrade from classic to premium beverage and base to premium wifi on our upcoming Eclipse cruise.  The CC discount was significantly better in our case.  

9 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

They did announce that and then changed their minds. There was big backlog for a while. We never got ours on a June 2022 Harmony cruise and it took 6-8 months for them to ship it to us.

 

I *think* supplies are better for the most part now but I could be wrong or some ships could be exceptions. My in-laws received their first block onboard Wonder last June.

Thanks for the update.  I wasn't sure if they reversed that decision or not as we received one on board after that from the Loyalty Ambassadors inventory but its been a while since and I wasn't sure what the situation was.

5 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

We had this situation with block #2 on Oasis in May 2022. We waited about 8 months before receiving it. We called to check several times.

#1 and #3 were received right on the ship.

I had mentioned this earlier and could be wrong but I was told several years ago that they were no longer producing them and that supply could be sketchy as it would be based on remaining inventory on hand with the ships.  Again, I could be wrong and things may have changed since then.  It has been a while since we got our last and based on our current RCCL bookings and planned ones it may be a year or so until our next one. (Do more on Celebrity now).  Have to wait and see what happens then,

2 minutes ago, sushigirl53 said:

I don't remember if downloading it to a PDF was an option, but I will check again and see. I may have missed something. Thanks for the suggestion.

Maybe decide things that would not be of interest and reduce your search by that. The excursions should be categorized by type and activity and that may provide a way to reduce the options for consideration.

22 minutes ago, sushigirl53 said:

It appears that it is possible to print out copies of the pages that you see online, but that takes about 12/24 sheets of paper and gobs of printer ink.

I am not aware of any consolidated version of the excursions in printed or other format to simplify the website research task.  Unfortunately I think you have realized the available method of printing this out and I don't know of any shortcut to the process. 

Is it possible to download the information maybe in a PDF format that could be flipped through easier than looking at the webpage?  

5 minutes ago, doghog said:

Hopefully we won't need to. We would expect to be recognized at a special gathering and our photo taken with the Captain and displayed on the ship so others could be envious and talk about it on CC. 😂

Sounds like a much better plan.  Not too far off what actually was done not too many years ago where they would announce with fanfare and recognize all of us extra special big wig ultra high mega tier cruisers with a cocktail in hand and a smile on our faces.  Not that it ever made an impression on me, of course!

57 minutes ago, doghog said:

If we did get the block we wouldn't display it. 

You mean you won't be wearing a 3 pound glass block around you neck on a lanyard?  Shame on you - where's your loyalty??  LOL

1 hour ago, doghog said:

We've got a B2B March 2025. I'll stop by the LA desk on that cruise. 

I certainly could be wrong, but unless things have changed, I believe the blocks are now subject to remaining inventory availability.

6 minutes ago, Octavias said:

Wow, the edge sure is having its time in the spotlight.  I sure hope the passenger is OK.  Does this mean a missed port or ?  How do they handle it when they need to turn back for an emergency? 

The port the ship is returning to will be notified of the situation so they can prepare how to best receive the ship and the passenger.  The Captain will then determine the total time lost due to the emergency in comparison with the remaining itinerary and will make a determination regarding any missed or possible alternate ports of call, or additional time at sea as a result.  It is one of those unexpected situations that can and do arise during a cruise, and the Captain will adjust accordingly.

10 hours ago, John GLISSMEYER said:

...What seems odd is that if it were a true emergency then there should be a helicopter that can evacuate the patient in this weather. Every minute counts in an emergency. 

Are you a ship Captain?  Or Coast Guard pilot?  Or medical personnel? Do you know the facts of the passengers' situation?  I would put my faith in the Captain of the ship, the Coast Guard authority, and the ships' medical staff in making what they feel is the best decision to address the passenger's situation while maintaining the highest level of safety for both the helicopter, the ship, and the passenger over any lay person's uniformed opinion.