TX-Cruiser

Yep! You will get an email from them a week to two weeks before sailing and they will set everything up. Shows, dining, etc.

Just out of curiosity, what are the expected to be adding for the World Cruise?

I have never known a ship to have open casino in any port that I have sailed. That is with 30 cruises under our belt but maybe there are some exceptions.

Time will tell. Check in is in a week so we will vet out the barcode trick. No current assignment and category showing sold out. Of course that doesn’t mean they haven’t set assigned cabins for GTY rooms.

Yes! I believe the check in date is 11-2 so I will certainly do that when the time comes. Thank you very much.

We booked a Suite GTY for a December sailing. Rarely are we ever married to a cabin, especially on an itinerary we have sailed a dozen times. It was a good deal so we took a shot in the dark. I was reading on another line’s board that a customer was offered a future credit because they could not fulfill the customer’s reservation. Frankly speaking for this sailing…it would just be an “is what it is” situation since we will plan to drive down the day of. Has anyone ever had their GTY reservation cancelled on RCCL?

Thank you all so much. So much food for thought here.....

Looking for a sport fishing recommendation for Costa Maya for December

Just to clarify we have sailed the The Retreat and loved it. The big issue there is we both stopped drinking two years ago simply for better health. So the issue there is that if we could do that without having a drink package that would be great. This is one reason we book suites on RC. We like to sail everywhere....haha.

I still feel like Celebrity is a good match for my husband and I (65 & 56) and we also sail on RC when with our adult children. I do feel like I am starting to desire a little more refinement but not too refined...ie, stuffy. We are very "Texas" people...love great food and great entertainment but prefer to enjoy it in nice jeans & boots. We will dress up if we have to...haha. The big hurtle I have been finding is my husband loves to play cards. He loves blackjack and enjoys roulette. So a casino on board is a must. Anyone looking for a similar sweet spot? In regard to cost, we are very much focused on value over cost. Luxury has value, but we don't need to go crazy either. I hope this all makes sense.

Can anyone tell me when shows will populate on the app for a December sailing? We just booked and I don’t see any shows at all. This is our 14th sailing with RC and I am not keen on this reservation system but I digress…I guess I better get with it.

Thank you and we of course are fine with that. The balcony locations were not that desirable so it was simply a shot in the dark. It is a class we book often anyway (JS) but it was $400 cheaper to book the JSG vs a specific suite number.

Hi all...we booked a December cruise last night and the pickings were slim in cabin choice, nothing stood out as excellent so we just did a suite guarantee. What has your experience been with this choice? My husband loves coastal kitchen but don't tend to use the other perks...except the sundeck if available. For more info this is for Harmony.

In December of last year, we booked a suite and they had a cap on quad occupancy so even though we were in a two bed room they would only allow two of us to be in the suite (we were sailing in two weeks). Our twenty year olds were across the hall but I was placed in the inside cabin for legal reasons with one twenty year old and my husband in the suite with the other. On our first day we went to the suite lounge and they keyed my card for the suite perks and the girls just did their thing with no perks. They were very nice and allowed them to eat with us in Coastal Kitchen when ever we wanted (which wasn’t much). This was our experience and will note we were very nice about it, we booked late, took full responsibility for that and didn’t expect anything. We also ate at “off” times when the girls joined us. We never used the suite seats in the venues because the girls didn’t like their location and thought the people who sat their were “stuffy” 🤪 We are also diamond, not sure if that matters but just showing the full picture.

He was traveling as a single

I posted an update on the original post that after some push back (SS of their own website and language from the cruise contract) that I received another email that said after a second opinion they were issuing a refund. I suspect a change is on the horizon.

Edited to update that I pushed back a bit and received this message: " "My apologies I was able to get a second opinion on the policy updates we are able to provide a full refund" I bet a change is coming. ***Original Post*** We are traveling in a group this week and one our group members has tested positive (unfortunately) for COVID. RCCL is now saying the policy has changed to no refunds and just FCC @50% cruise fare and taxes to original form of payment. This is very different than what is on their website and in the e-docs. The exact wording was as follows: "Upon speaking with GRS agent XXXXX he advised that we are no longer issuing refunds guest will receive 50% FCC instead and taxes and fees refunded back to original form of payment."

Fun Fact and completely off topic but 10 years or so ago, Freedom of the Seas, our suitcases arrived in our stateroom (hardside luggage) and everything inside was soaking wet. And I mean soaking. I was so perplexed by it and come to find out, a dock porter (not RCCL) had mishandled a cart and it fell into the water in port. RCCL dock hands fished them all out (about 20 cases and many our party of 8.) Whenever we cruise now, I use my packing cubes and slide them in those jumbo zip lock storage bags (for bedding)....that was a real rough sailing for 24 hours until some of our clothing started to come back from laundry. Not to mention the unfixable things. Like my formal shoes and handbags.

As our kids get older we are running into an issue with kids between 18-21. We are sailing later this week and our TA set us a form called "Consent for Minors (0-17) to Travel without a Parent" for our daughter's friend who is sailing with us. When her parents took it to their attorney's office to be notarized they questioned why she (20) would need this form. Now I have no issue having the form, but our reservation and our configuration of rooms is proving problematic for us for various reason. My husband and daughter are booked in our Suite, even though I will be staying there and I am booked with our daughter's friend in a regular cabin (no extra loyalty points for me, no suite designation on my room key, etc..we were told by the TA to just switch keys when we got on board....no I wonder if that is even okay to do) We were told it had to be this way because technically 20 year olds can't sail without someone over 21. With Virgin allowing 18 years old to sail without this restriction, it does not seem like a "maritime law", maybe just a policy for US sailings. Can someone who has knowledge of this lay this out for me? Mainly...do we need this form?

Thank you everyone. We booked our sailing for the Apex-British Isles in May today. Leaving the suite life behind for this sailing and we’ll see if we mourn the Retreat perks. I suspect for this sailing we will be on the move so much it won’t matter much. Time will tell.

Hate to be a buzz kill but we just drink water. No coffee, no tea, no alcohol and certainly zero soda. We used to…made some major changes for health reasons and haven’t looked back. Ship water is fine and if we want bottled water we have our selection though Elite Tier perks.

We sailed in a suite on Celebrity Apex and loved it. With that said, we are having a harder time stomaching the cost now that both of us are no longer drinking. Any thoughts on if Celebrity will ever move away from the all inclusive nature of their suite fares?

We have been on both. Me 55 and husband 64, actually currently have two favorite classes....Ovation Class on RCCL and Edge on Celebrity. I liked Virgin, I work with young people and I love their energy and the food was amazing. With that said, I love a good show and that was completely lacking. Was the food better on Virgin?....depends. We enjoy speciality dining and if you do that then it is a draw. If you are only judging main stream to main stream, then Virgin all the way. Virgin intrigued me but only because it was a new experience....I don't need to do it again but I didn't have any regrets. Hope that all makes sense. I felt Celebrity has the edge on embarkation and but Virgin 100% has it on disembarkation. Now, with that said, Virgin doesn't make it really clear how to get off the ship. There are no luggage tags sent to your room. You just leave your original ones on. We would not have known that had we not gone to guest services to figure it all out.

On the fly we booked on the Scarlet Lady yesterday for next Wednesday. We are Diamond on RCCL and Elite + on Celebrity but I have been intrigued by VV and thought...heck Columbus took a chance so why not. We are older than what seems to be the target crowd but that is okay too....it is just 4 days...just enough time to get the feel of the ship, find out if it is right for us, etc. I have done close to no research (very unlike me) but I did download the app, and seems to be zero left for dining reservations in the key restaurants. Do they have some availability on board or should we brace for pizza? Can anyone shed light on Scarlett night...I have read that there is Scarlett night but not sure the details. Any other "must brings" to not stick out like sore old thumbs? Any other tips would be great. We will be on deck 13 in a balcony. Thanks in advance TXC

Got back from GOS on Friday. She is an aging lady but in good shape for her age. I wanted to comment on the staff. I have sailed over 20 RCCL sailings. There was an odd vibe with the crew on this ship. I couldn't figure it out until our last day when I was having a chat with a crew member (I am being deliberately vague to protect their identity) They were telling us their contracts were being extended, basically without a choice. They are TIRED, many way past their 6 month contracts. (That is the allure of a cruise contract...6 months on....a few months off...the job is demanding) This particular crew member was MONTHS past their originally deadline, with another extension coming. The only way to not be extended is to resign. I just don't get that philosophy (on RCCL's part) and it was very disappointing to hear. They are tired, and sore, and lonely and missing their families. It is psychologically damaging to not have an end in sight, to feel like you are being held hostage. I asked some other crew members about this and they all confirmed it....then it made sense....this crew....way beyond their contract dates feel forced to be there. It was not that they were unpleasant....they just were not happy. There was no joy, no life....it made me really sad and more so as I reflect on the situation. I spoke my peace with RCCL for what it was worth.