volk904

I would never worry about reviews even though I read them.  No doubt the Allure has some age but I am sure it is in decent shape.  The MDR food complaints are probably the same as very Royal Ship but you have a suite and can eat as many meals as you want in the private Coastal Kitchen so that is an upgrade.   Once you sail you can come back and give your opinion on the old gal.  

I would expect them to update to as many Wonder Features as possible.  

I think you to recheck what you mock booked. I just did a search using my comparison site. The Edge Balcony for 2 on Sept 8 was $1435 PP plus tax & port fees.  I would guess it would be less than $3400 total. Maybe you ran it as the all included package?  I would suggest you use a travel agent and look for a group rate. Their group rates are refundable with no extra fee. 

Royal said this week they expect to start back the refurbishment upgrades in 2024 but did not announce which ships or any details.  I would think if they still plan to keep them long term the Infinity and Connie will be a the top of the list.  That said it may not be done in the Jan dry dock but any ship coming out of a 3 week dry dock should be in pretty good shape. We did the Connie last fall and was old but still very nice.  

I think RCCL could be creative and and design a smaller ship that would meet all needs. The biggest issue in Tampa and probably Baltimore is the ships height so maybe you just create a ship not quite as tall.  

I bought 100 shares at $36 for the credit.  Then it dropped to $33 and I bought another 120 shares because there was no reason it should be so low. I begged my brother and sister to do it but their advisors told them it had risk.  Very happy sitting at over 100 per share.  My only regrets is not buying more when it was $33.  

We used SAS twice in 2022. They were great both times. Called us in advance and picked us up quickly.  We took them to FLL for early flights and it was perfect. That said in our case we used them for the first run to FLL between 8 & 830.  My brother used them recently but his flight was later so he took the later run and said they were late getting back for the second run. Other than waiting he was happy. Nice Mercedes vans.  

We have made the trip several times.  Shuttle ride is 30-45 minutes on weekends. We have made flights between 10:30 and 11:00 at FLL no problem.  If you walk off ship usually you can be through customs before 8. The key is walking off.  

We went to the Krazy Lobster and rode the pier shuttle back to the ship.  I hate the way they force you to walk through the port village to get a cab.  

Red Hook Ferry runs at the top of every hour. 20min trip. Cab ride is longer from Crown Bay but I would call it 30 min?   Ferry back runs at the bottom of the hour.  
 

I believe there is also a ferry that runs 3 times a day from Havensight but with a cruise schedule the times would need to match up

many cruise line also offer an excursion call explore St John’s on your own. The only drawback is time in st John’s. 

Celebrity only has CooCoo on a limted amount of cruises.  Book one that does not have it. 

I think the Beyond staying in Florida year round is pretty big news. Love the Beyond.  That said summer cruises are popular and right now May to September out of Florida there is more demand than ships with so many going to Alaska and Europe.  Celebrity still has two Edge Class ships the Apex and the brand new Accent going to Europe in 2024. You guys might have noticed that Celebrity has been throwing out a lot of discounts on Med cruises this summer. That shows more cabins than demand. Really a case of balancing the ships to keep them full as possible.  

Lots of people survive a 100 ft fall into the water as long as you don’t hit a life boat on the way down or hit the water wrong. Still really dumb. 

I like coco so this is good but it will be limited sailings.  Looks like a lot of shorter 3-4 day cruises.  I do think they are adding more adult space on the island.  

20 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

How many Celebrity cruises have you taken? If you're Elite on Celebrity...it translates to Diamond on RCCL. Happy sailing!

Thanks for all the feedback.  
I have 6 cruises on Celebrity so I am much closer to Diamond with Royal. Celebrity did give me some perks on my last cruise for my Royal Emerald status  which was nice.  I also have 4 on Princess and 2 on NCL from my early cruise days.  

Pros and cons I guess.  I use a TA and am happy with her. She answers quick and is great with details. Usually we get a small cabin credit from her.   The big advantage is  they have group rates that may be cheaper but they are refundable while Royal wants you to book non refundable or pay more.  

I am on a mission to make Diamond in 2024. Looking at options to earn my last 16 points.  Should have made Diamond long ago but took too many cruises on Celebrity.  I know you get double points for paying double to cruise single or for a suite.  My question is if you book a suite and pay double as a single to you get 4x points?  

I would have no issue booking 11 am flight from Miami from Port of Miami.  The important step is to walk on the ship early as allowed. Usually between 7am and 7:30 am.  If you cannot self assist you need to tell the ship you beed group 1.  
if you walk off you should be off ship and through customs before 8 and you have cab ride of less than 30 min. You should be at the airport by 8;45 and most likely before 8:30.  
 

i arrived in Mia last year twice and had flights out of FLL before 11 and made it with plenty of time to spare.  
 

just remember if the ship is late for some reason you might have to reschedule your flight.  

I think at sone point you will see Royal or Celebrity maybe both build some smaller ships around 3000 passengers to replace the M class and smaller RCL classes. There is too many ports that cannot take the monster ships by port or even passenger volume.  Baltimore, Tampa, Vancouver come to mind. Even Alaska cannot take the Oasis and larger ships.  In theory they could use the same basis design and them modify the common spaces  them to fit each lines needs.  Hi think they are running out of routes for the giant ships.  

Going on the Harmony in Sept.  what is the current Broadway Show?

Just my opinion but I think with full ships the new CEO is pushing the envelope on prices as far as he can to drive profit recovery.  As a stock holder I like it but as a passenger I don’t like it.  

Before Covid both M class left were scheduled for the upgrade soon. The thing I never understood was you would think much of the stuff was already ordered and being made. The upgrade on the Summitt is great and the Connie needs it soon.  

JVD is really great. When we went we managed to sign on with a group of 12 on the CC meet and mingle board for our cruise and charted a boat to go.  About the same price but we got almost 3 extra hours.  

I have a final payment due in June so I will be glad to have it but not near as good as the AmEx Celebrity deal. I spent $1000 and got a $350 credit on my card.  

Might depend on the ship. I had one on the E class. Best cabin we have ever had. The balcony was really large. That said I hated the location because it was inconvenient.  It is a pretty long walk from the elevators back to the cabin so quick trips for coffee or from the pool take extra time.  The walk to the shows covers the whole length of the ship.  For many I am sure this is no issue. One thing for sure is I got my walking in. Guess it is all a trade off.