RoyalDiamond

Say HI to Marcia and Lisa!

Peter

I would so LOVE to be on board and sail the remaining way to the Gulf during daylight hours!

Peter

Hello, leaving New Orleans, not in Los Angeles, Why do you think they are called RCCL, ROYAL CHINA CRUISE LINE! :eek:

LOL...Love it.

Peter

We have friends on board now as well. They are still in the River because of a barge/cargo vessel ahead is disabled. They cannot get past it since it is in narrow area of the river. We'll see how this drama plays out...

A new terminal would be fantastic. Fingers crossed! I believe Celebrity has a cruise that overnights in New Orleans in Feb 2017, but it's a port of call, and not originating there.

Peter

Hi, response to Royaldiamond: the Navigator of the Seas is not going to be based out of Miami. It will be cruising out of Ft Lauderdale starting in early November of this year. We are booked on the first Eastern Caribbean it does....the 14th for a 8 day cruise to San Juan, St Maarten, St Kitt and their private island.

It will be in Fort Lauderdale, but when it returns in Nov 2016, it will be in Miami. At least, we're booked on the transatlantic Nov 2016 from Southampton to Miami!

There's a good price on the 12/6/15 Navigator 6 night sailing out of FLL, tax free as well if anyone can take advantage of it.

Thank you for the info! I just booked it! Fantastic rate!

Peter

Just booked Navigator for Dec 6, 2015 since it will be in Fort Lauderdale then! Fantastic rate!!!

Peter

It's always fun to spend a few extra days pre/post cruise in New Orleans. I've heard every excuse from port fees, catering issues, too expensive to have a pilot on board for the 7-hour trip down the river, etc. All excuses, since those costs are just passed along to the passengers in the fares. If other cruise lines can do it, I'm not buying those excuses! LOL I have found fares out of New Orleans to be slightly higher than those out of Galveston, but they are adding a LARGER ship in Galveston!? Perhaps they think the New Orleans passengers will go to Galveston? No thanks! Oh well. I guess this is how those on the west coast felt when losing RCCL cruises. I live in Chicago, so it's not like my "home port" or anything. But, it is one of my favorites.....

Peter

We had no problem with Navigator. We will gladly sail on it again....when it leaves Galveston! LOL Galveston is not the most convenient port, being so far from Houston. But, we also didn't enjoy how "county and western" the ship was out of there. EVERY announcement ended with "Yee Haw" or "Yeah buddy." Just not our taste. Even Bolero's (a Latin venue) was playing country and western music. For those who like that, great. But just not for us. So, we love Navigator, but will gladly sail her when she gets to Miami! YAY!

Peter

When Serenade departs New Orleans today, Royal has once again abandoned the city as a departure port. This is sad, as sailing out of New Orleans is one of my favorite departures. I love sailing down the river all afternoon and evening before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. I know it's a business decision, but when I was on Serenade last month for 14 days, no one really had an answer as to why they're leaving. There is nothing listed out of New Orleans for the next couple of years. Meanwhile, that "other" cruise line has announced that they're bringing in a bigger ship to New Orleans, so there is an obvious demand. Please, Royal, reconsider and come back to New Orleans...

Peter

Majesty is the "sister ship" to Monarch. So if you enjoyed Monarch, you should enjoy Majesty! Since those cruises are short (3 or 4 nights), it's a good way to see if you'll both enjoy it. I enjoy the smaller ships for certain reasons, as well as the larger ones for other reasons! Majesty does have tiny cabins compared to other ships (depending on the category that you booked), but that's fine for shorter cruises. We love Majesty!

Peter

The prices are misleading at first, since they are displayed as an average...with the BOGOHO discount already applied. As mentioned, click on the final price, and it shows $839 per person, with the $420 discount for the second person. It is valid for the inside cabin. But, in reality, the prices have been increased overall, and then marketed as a sale with half off. I don't like that!

Peter

See you on board Peter:) Waiting to add the first Caribbean sailing as a B2B that is if they decide to begin the Caribbean sailings right away. Perhaps showcase her to the South Florida agents and press first. Keeping an eye on that

Yes...we're watching for that as well! We're boarding Serenade this Saturday in New Orleans for 2 weeks, so I'm ready to create some "on board bookings." LOL

Peter

Bob I am booked on the transatlantic and this is the pricing I was given for these two categories for two people

 

 

D8 1st person $849

2nd person 1199

plus taxes= $2048 (note this included my D+ discount)

 

B1 1st person $689

2nd person $1039

plus taxes $1888 (includes my D+ discount)

We booked a D7...$1209 each, minus $350 balcony discount, $150 on board credit. So total is less than $2000 for both of us for a 13-night cruise. Reasonable, IMO. Of course, I'll watch prices over the next 18 months to see what happens...LOL

Peter

Full production with intermission! It's fantastic. There are usually 3 performances per cruise. Some in the afternoon, and at least one evening show.

I wouldn't say those affected know what's going on. My parents were among those displaced and they have been very disappointed in the communication from the cruise line. They are booked on back to back cruises, this one and next week and haven't heard much. They were in the group that got denied boarding and were literally left on the pier, no assistance with hotel etc.

 

They finally got in touch with someone on the phone, but they didn't know much either. They offered to go to one of the other ships, either Galveston or Ft Lauderdale but because they were booked on back to backs, RCCL wouldn't let them change the second cruise. Sounds like the person on the phone didn't have the training or authority to make changes.

 

You are correct machines break, it happens. The biggest issue is the lack of communication.

That does stink....will they stay in New Orleans for the week until the next cruise? I suppose their refund will be used for hotel expenses.

Peter

I don't expect Royal to give ME information...I'm not there and not on the cruise! Saying that they're withholding information is just silly. Those affected KNOW what's going on....well, sort of. LOL. For those on future cruises, the cruise line doesn't KNOW yet about them...they don't even know about THIS sailing... so what are they going to tell us? Your cruise may or may not be affected? It just seems silly.

It is unfortunate, and inconvenient. But, machines break! They didn't do it on purpose. I'm sure Royal didn't want to refund money and give out free cruises! Disappointing...YES. But, they didn't want to ruin anyone's vacation time or experience. Honestly!

Peter

$12 total per day, per guest. So, if you're on a 7-day cruise, the TOTAL gratuities that you would pay would be $84. The same for anyone else in the cabin...

Agreed! ChoiceAir isn't always the best deal. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Do some checking around.

I was on the sailing, and agree it was nothing different that a "regular sailing." After 60 cruises with RCCL, this in fact was pretty boring! They DID market it as the "inaugural sailing" and most of us expected a little more. They certainly charged us a premium for this sailing! There were NO special inaugural parties or events, no special entertainers, etc. in fact, the same performers performed in the theatre for 2 nights, and then another entertainer performed for 2 nights. They really should have had a "major" entertainer for an "inaugural sailing." Don't get me wrong, some things were fantastic (Mamma Mia).

That being said, I'm not looking for compensation or special privileges because of it. I purchased a cruise, and I got one. But, I'll certainly NEVER spend that much for an "inaugural" sailing again!

Peter

I just noticed this change, as well. Although, no one has "officially" notified us. You'd think they would know how many ships are booked to go to Cozumel BEFORE selling the itinerary. We've been to Cozumel many times, so we are actually looking forward to the change. But, they should have notified everyone much sooner than this!

We're also on Legend on Feb 6....and we've received notice that Tortola has been scrapped and St Thomas is replacing it (due to pier construction). Gee, it would be nice to know this BEFORE final payment was due so people could change their plans if they wanted. It doesn't really bother us, but I'm sure there are some people who already had plans and excursions organized.

Peter

We also came off the 3 Night Sampler in a category DO, room 6226. We did not hear any noise or movement from the lifeboats at all. Our room was not totally obstructed, we were able to see on the left side of us, Deck 5 below where they had some outside deck chairs and we did see the ocean with no problem. IMO, hubby and I found this cabin a little too small for us, we are used to D1 or JS. Only if the price was right at the last minute, we would have no problem booking a DO again.

All "D" cabins are the same size. A D1 is the same size as a D0...the only difference is location and the D1s have larger balconies.

Smoking was permitted the entire inaugural cruise..Nov 23-Dec 1. We didn't hear of any news that the policy would be changing.

We found the SJ layout very inconvenient. One room has the toilet and sink, the other room has the tub, shower, and sink, but no toilet. There is NO counter space in either one. We found ourselves running back and forth from one to the other constantly.....

Peter