publicpersona

That was meant to be an illustration. I was not asserting any specific price was available. That said, WOTS is $1123 for a balcony in the distant future. Also, inside for $1281 this summer (8/27). But don't get me wrong .. I'm with you. My threshold for booking is somewhere between $75/$100 nt. So no Royal cruises currently on the books.

Watching it now. How long was the webinar?

First let me stipulate that MSC is far and away a better value in mass market cruising. I am also someone with 60+ Royal/Celebrity cruises who is now taking the occasional cruise on MSC just because of that value. But there's something else at work here with cruise pricing. Royal uses dynamic pricing with very intelligent retail optimization for hospitality software. This can result is very bizarre pricing. Wonder inside today is $2481 but it could be $1200 next week, or $3800. MSC does the same, though. I booked MSC Seaside 6/8 balcony 3 nt for $550 (w. drinks and wifi) a few days ago, then watched it go up to about $1000, and then back down to $679. Hmmm .. was it the CDC health inspection impact on demand? Maybe. Bottom line is that it pays to watch pricing trends over time before booking.

You certain about that? There is a specific subscription dialog for the Power Up Points program, though I'm sure getting added to that also gets you all the marketing email as well. But here's the thing .. I've been getting Celebrity marketing emails (often twice a day) for 15 years, and also have explicitly subscribed to PUP emails many times. Yet, I have never ever received a PUP email. Many on this thread attest to that .. despite subscribing, no PUP emails ever. If it weren't for this thread ..

I'd like to find the bar on a Celebrity ship that is pouring $40-$100/bottle champagne by the glass. Not saying it didn't happen, but I've never seen anything on a wine list like that.

Did they tell you or provide a way to look at actual prices for the sailings? I am reluctant to submit a request to book a cruise and to get a call back with “confirmation” with no mention of price. FWIW, in terms of figuring out the basis of the offer, I was a high level in MGM’s club years ago but not because I’d ever stepped foot in any of their casinos but because I status matched RC Diamond Plus.

Before commenting, I had searched for exactly that but went to the thread that was most recent (this one). Comments in the other thread say these offers are based in past casino spend, but I feel pretty confident I didn’t get offered 60% off because I laundered $40 OBN through a slot machine four years ago. Then again, maybe so since others have reported resulting cruise fare is close to or more than anyone can book on the website.

There is a link in the email to fill out a form to request someone call you to sell you the cruise. I think we are (almost) all here in this thread to see if we can find out more specifics without having to express interest and get a phone call.

So you called in and they confirmed you would receive 60% off one of these cruises, even though you’ve had minimal casino spend?

OK, so if you’ve ever used your cruise card in the casino, you are Pearl. And from the one data point above, we might assume Pearl get 10% off non-discounted and refundable fares.

Are you sure it was asking for the number? The BCC Member field on the form has Yes/No in the dropdown.

I just received the email as well citing my tier as Pearl. My gaming experience on any cruise has been limited to using the loyalty match play coupons and calling it a day. I therefore get the feeling this type of email was marketing to everyone, BCC or not. Nevertheless, if anyone thinks this could result in a discounted cruise without obligation on my part, I'll look into. Like @TMLAalum, I would prefer to see the cruises and prices without having a phone call about it.

This is true but keep expectations realistic. The low-tier package wines are so generic, they are described only as being "a variety of vintages from around the world" which means it will have been produced in some year and from grapes grown somewhere on this planet. Often these are bulk purchase wines that are $7 or less a bottle in the grocery store, and about $3/bottle when purchased in large quantity. The upgraded tier are better wines and very drinkable, but still ones that are in the $8-$11/bottle grocery store range. You are simply not going to get a $28/bottle wine on either package. And last caveat .. very often, the wine you get will bear some resemblance to what you ordered, but influenced by "what's open". The bar staff really don't appreciate the difference between a New Zealand and Oregan sauvignon blanc, for example.

To be clear, you mean the upgrade from Bella to Fantastica gets that benefit.

I don't doubt that, but the math gets kinda weird. The deposit is already around 50% of the cruise fare, so cancelling after 8/8/23 really means no refund at all already. I was expecting this would be a non-refundable fare so not surprised at that .. just trying to make sense of the details at that link. I've since done several dummy bookings and see that those details are the same regardless of other particulars of the booking.

About to pull the trigger on another cruise and want to make really sure I understand the cancellation penalties. In the pricing details, it shows a non-refundable resident special offer. That seems clear. But when I click on the Cancellation Fees link for details, it says nothing about any cancellation fee if cancelled prior to July 24. Which do I trust (OK, obvious answer - trust the one that does Celebrity the most good)?

Looks like you got some answers from Pinnacles. I'm a mere Diamond Plus that is just halfway to Pinnacle. There was no special lunch or breakfast that included Diamond Plus. The only event we were invited to was to come to the theatre and drink as many mimosas and proseccos that you could down in 45 minutes. I love a challenge. Oh yeah, they had officers on stage too.

It was OK for breakfast and lunch. Some reduction in choices, but acceptable. Surprisingly hard to get pizza. They have it, but bring out just one or two at a time. I did not experience dinner there.

This could easily vary with different sailings/different itineraries, but I never saw any signs indicating Bamboo was adults only, and it always had kids in it. If you do an image search for "Meraviglia Bamboo pool" you'll see many images of the pool with kids in it and none showing any signs indicating adults only. As I said, this would be a great pool to make adults only, but it never has been designated such that I can find.

I've got no data other than personal experience to support this, but it seems fairly clear that most people with drink packages "optimize" the value of the package on the first 1-3 days before settling into a more moderate consumption pattern. Heck, on debarkation day of an 8-nt I just finished, I said to myself "No, I really don't need a bellini this morning". Royal knows this, and doesn't sell packages on short cruises.

Confirming as correct, as recently as last week aboard Jewel. Also confirming that each D+ two days can be done one day at a time. Schedule your time spanning days, and keeping in mind in U.S. ports where you have cell service for hotspotting. Re discussion of hotspotting off a single device. You can't hotspot wi-fi to wi-fi on an iOS device natively, I have no knowledge of Android devices.

Same story here. I've signed up many times and never get any PUP email. Yet, today I'm sure I'll receive multiple emails frantically telling me that the once in a lifetime "Book It" sale is ending and I better rush to book, and also the email tomorrow with Great News! about how it got extended. And then another one in a few days with the same once in a lifetime sale.

The reason they are giving for this cutback is "sustainability." I suppose that they are single-handedly going to save the planet by not emptying my trashcan but once a day. That said, I didn't have much of an issue with it once the stateroom attendant started leaving extra towels. It does complicate things that require brief interaction with the attendant such as handing in a bag o' laundry for the boil and bake. As others have reported, our attendant lowered his voice and told us none of them liked this. He said the number of staterooms he covers haven't changed, so it really doesn't make any sense. I suppose he knows that the other shoe may soon drop when nearly half of them are sent home.

Yes, I wasn't saying this was specific to Jewel. As another comment here said, it had typically been 1 PM pre-COVID, but I can remember when 12 PM was common. During the post-pandemic restart, ships sailed under capacity so it isn't fair to compare, but I did several sailings where the rooms were ready to those who first boarded at 10:30 or so. Then there was the hybrid which was that even though not all rooms were ready, it was OK to drop off carry-ons and put into the closet and lock the door.

Just off a Jewel of the Seas 8nt Eastern Caribbean cruise. I don't write reviews but just a few quick notes. For context, we've been on around 70 cruises over the last 32 years, most of which have been on Royal. Things I didn't like so much: Staterooms weren't ready until 2 PM - I don't understand this. I do realize there is more to do on turnaround day and "enhanced cleaning for COVID" doubtless adds to the task list. But while on a typical day, particularly sea days, staterooms aren't available to start cleaning until 8-10 AM, on turnaround day many people are out of their rooms well before 7 AM (and everyone is out by 8 AM), and there's no guest belongings strewn about the rooms to slow them down. When we walked down the hall at 6:30 AM, several rooms were already being cleaned and beds were stripped. Smoke stench in the casino and surroundings - We made the mistake once of walking through the casino. It was on day one before the casino even opened but still the stench was terrible. And this extended to the centrum area on deck 6. Wine service is a bit frustrating - I'm not a wine snob, but I do know the difference between bulk table wines that cost them $2-$3/bottle in bulk, and a decent grocery store wine that sells in the $7-$10/bottle range. Bar servers really don't care what they pour .. it's basically whatever is open (this tendency is not unique to Royal). There is seldom any connection between what the menu shows (even in the app where keeping it updated is easier), and what you can actually order. There were several interesting and good quality wines shown at the $14/glass range, but few of them were to be actually served. On one evening I attempted to order a Robert Mondavi chard as listed on that bar's menu and was told that there was none of that anywhere on the ship. On the next evening, I was told that same chard was ALL they had in that venue. I long for the days of the Vintages/Cellar Masters kind of venue on the ship but they have all but disappeared. Oh yes, on the Jewel there is a bar called Vintages, but it actually had very little wine. Things I was neutral about: Jewel needs a dry dock - There's just a lot of signs of wear and tear. On the other hand, everything was clean and well-kept as usual to the extent that it could be. Once a day service - I really don't need the room cleaned twice a day. Once our room steward started leaving a couple extra towels, I was fine with it. Where it got a little problematic was things that required a little interaction with the room steward such as putting in a bag o' laundry. We saw far less of him on this cruise than usual. Food - Despite the elimination of classic fare on the menus, I found something I liked each night in the MDR. No complaints from me. Those with dietary needs towards specific items were justified in their complaints of lack of standby go-tos. Portions are noticeably smaller, but maybe that's OK for as many courses as you are consuming. Crown & Anchor amenities - yes, there have been significant cutbacks. But the flexibility to use drink coupons all day long and on the private destinations is a great improvement over happy hour. The Diamond Lounge on the Jewel is really nice, so I've adjusted to being kicked out of the Concierge Lounge. The bag o' laundry for the boil and bake is still there, although there is some confusion about when/how to use it now. Some are saying it is only available on the days the general population is offered the deal, but the loyalty ambassador said it wasn't limited to that day. The app - I do want a paper Compass each day, but the app was useful for a lot of things. I wish the bar menus had been more accurate, but the dining menus were good. Entertainment - One headliner was a waste of time. One was worth a standing ovation. The two production shows we saw were entertaining, even if getting old after so many years of the same show. The criticism I have was scheduling. Having two shows (one at 7 and one at 9) is what I expect so whether you dine early or late, you can catch a show. But Jewel had their shows at 8 and 10. That doesn't work out so well. Farewell show was at 7:15 only which conflicted with dinner for many. Things I did like .. a lot: Starlink wi-fi - Oh my gosh this was amazingly fast. We've come a long way from the 300 baud like wi-fi of years past. We were actually able to stream on it without any issue. The only issue we had was login/connect issues. Getting to the captive web page to start a session was hit and miss. Turning off Private IP on iOS devices seemed to be necessary. Getting connected to the ship guest wi-fi wasn't the issue. It was that you needed to go through the captive page to start a session. Going to login.com or the onboard URL was rarely successful. The app sometimes stubbornly said "Looking for your cruise" and offered no other option. But once underway, it worked extremely well. And I love that on Royal, one device means "at a time". I like to use my iPad in the stateroom, but I'm not going to carry it around the ship. Oh! And wi-fi also worked extremely well on CocoCay. Chef's table - While the specialty restaurants have lost their value proposition (even on our BOGO nights), I was surprised to find Chef's Table was a great bang for the buck. The food and paired wines were excellent. The description in the app said beverages were not included, but of course the wine is. CocoCay - We've been avoiding CocoCay for several years based on Royal's marketing of it as an amusement park of thrills and water park experience. As we remember CocoCay when it was simply an island with beaches, we didn't want to be disappointed. But it turns out, the water park serves as a kid magnet in one section of the island. Elsewhere, there are several excellent beaches with plenty of capacity of nice lounge chairs and umbrellas and ample services (food, restaurants, walking paths). We were fortunate enough to be the only ship there that day, and it being a small ship, but it seemed to me there was plenty of capacity to handle much more. Royal should do themselves a favor and feature pics of Chill Beach and South Beach as much as the water slides. Royal in general - lots of folks on the cruise and here on CC dis Royal constantly and point to all the things that are no longer there. But we're still finding it a consistently good product and will cruise it again and again.