Airbear232

Thank you for asking this question, I was going to do the same.

I’d say it’s a step in the right direction. Does it go far enough, not sure. In OPs situation, if Royal had enough knowledge beforehand, to warn people before hand not to board flights and didn’t, then I don’t think it’s enough.

If you’re doing the Ravenna to Rome trip that’s a beautiful itinerary especially the first one that goes to Split. If you are on that cruise, look into visiting the Krka Falls. We went last year and it was absolutely beautiful (look it up on YouTube). Again, if doing Ravenna to Rome, you can spend a few days before and after cruise in Venice and Rome. I can spend a week easily in either just walking about. IMHO, you can’t go wrong with a Mediterranean cruise. In terms of excursions, we generally don’t use Royal, there are many better options. Also, in many ports, it’s easy to do things on your own. In terms of Air2Sea, they don’t work with all airlines but with most major airlines. No issues booking business class. We like to use them if we are flying in close to sailing date or if we are leaving immediately after the cruise, as they need to ensure you get to the cruise. We generally don’t care as much about the cabin on European cruises as they are port intensive and we don’t use the amenities on ship as much. For my DW, a big part of the whole thing is the planning and anticipation. I hope you have a great trip.

I took it as education and not a rant, YMMV.

Why? They’ve outlined the issue and the loss. At this point it’s up to Royal to reply with a suitable course of action. I thought the letter was very well written.

We’ve never had an issue booking on board. We’ve also used multiple BOGO’s for family meals. Also, drink vouchers we’re accepted at Chops.

Great post, thanks!

For some reason people are very adamant on their views for this topic. I go by logic and personal observation. In the end, Royal will run their company as they and their major stakeholders wish. Being on Radiance two weeks ago, is not the same as being on Radiance in April or October. My own believe is that the new ships will be 90k tonnes or less. Time will tell.

I’m going to disagree, they are not always “packed” with families and kids. While we took our kids out of school during the school year, most people don’t. And, for this reason, they cannot survive as just a “family” line. They need their older demographic. It’s fun to speculate about this and people are very passionate about what the line is going to do.

I disagree, I don’t believe Royal is just a family line. That business model won’t work nor does it account for the different itineraries they run.

I imagine the logic is surveys done too long after cruise 1: don’t work with their timelines for feedback to crew; and 2: may become less accurate as time goes on. We make notes during the cruise on who we want to praise, and usually complete when we receive them.

Welcome surprise!

Sounds like a good change.

Thank you everyone who has shared their experiences so far. It looks like it has been an amazing experience. I hope Royal does this again in the future as it is something on DWs and my bucket list. A question for you all, do you find the smaller ship to be an overall advantage in giving you access to many places inaccessible to larger ships?

Oh my fellow Gen Xer, while much of what you say is probably undoubtedly true, there is just something that appeals to me about wearing watches. I have a few. Aesthetically, they just look so much better than the lumps of plastic worn by so many today. In a world where I may want to know the time and where I may not want to be tracked 24/7, they still serve a purpose.

If the world cruise is deemed a success, then I believe you can expect to see a new class of ships under 90k tons. If there is a successful business case, then they will build it. For my part, I've loved the larger ships. I'm partial to Allure and my DW and I can watch Mamma Mia again and again. However, I'm very much becoming amongst the "Bored of the Seas". Sorry, a big amusement park floating in the water just isn't enough anymore. I want good itineraries, good food, and decent entertainment. I might just go mad if I have to go back to Perfect Day again. Yuck!

By anonymous, I mean keeping out of the feed information that can identify the cabin occupant.

If the total number of cabins sold is static, it doesn’t matter. However, if the bidders cabins are resold, then the amount the cabins were initially sold at becomes a factor in maximizing revenue.

Interesting. But, as long as the data is "anonymous", the more data points you have the better you are able to predictively maximize total revenue.

If the goal of the program is revenue maximization, then the initial cost of each cabin would be a variable that you would want to consider.

Begs the question on what all of the rules are and whether in situations like yours they can be compelled to honour a defined process.

I agree, it makes sense in terms of Royal maximizing revenue. However, it all seems very disingenuous. For example, take two cabins same category that are side by side. Hypothetically, if PAX in cabin A booked well in advance of sailing and had a cheaper rate than PAX in cabin B who booked much later. Then, the company (algorithm) would potentially award an upgrade to PAX in cabin A even if it is substantially lower than the bid from PAX in cabin B because it would take into account being able to realize a much greater gain on selling Cabin A to someone else than it would in awarding the cabin to PAX in cabin B who bid more. It would be interesting to know what percentage of “winners” comes from cabins that were sold at lower overall fees.

Really interesting, what you post. How do they describe the process - does the highest bidder win? And how do they define bid, is it what you bid or your fare + what you bid? How about tie breakers? Do factors like average spend onboard or casino activity come into play?

Thanks, if the Captain officiates, (IMHO) maybe worth it, otherwise you can organize most of that aboard ship much better for less.

So, what's included with the wedding package for $1995? Curious.