Smooth_J

35 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Says one time, but as others said, it's worth trying. If ypu do, will you come back to let us know the outcome?

On 9/4/2024 at 6:22 PM, Oceans 818 said:

Anything is possible with MSC. As Illbcruzn4life said, it can't hurt to try! Good luck and happy sailing :) 

On 9/4/2024 at 3:26 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

one time match. cant hurt by trying

I finally received a response, and oh well… it is what it is. At least I tried though. 

So with RCL, I am Diamond Plus, so I matched with MSC Gold and received my number. 

However with Hilton, I am Diamond and I read that I could be MSC Diamond if I used that instead.

Can it be changed, or its a one time status match?

On 9/24/2023 at 7:51 AM, LuCruise said:

Thanks for the reply.  We ended up booking it.  Agree, also like the fact that it's just a few hours long and early starting time.  Our cruise is in Dec so I can report back and let you know if you haven't gone yet and still deciding.

I am thinking about taking this on our next cruise in August. Do you know if you need to walk much for this tour, or do you have a bus taking you between the stops?

So I was looking on the cruise planner, and saw two different beach escapes in the Dominican Republic. One was at Viva Dominicus, and the other was at Catalonia Bayahibe. Has anyone taken either of them as a shore excursion? We have limited time (5 hours), so I want to get my most bang for my buck with the buffet, and other amenities.

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Where are you hearing that?  The issue isn't about the power converters, it's a different safety feature that's the issue.

 

We've been sailing with a 4 USB outlet plug block for about a decade, and have had no second glances at it.  And that's probably 30-40 cruises.

There was another thread about this on this forum or another and they posted a picture of the “bad table” where all the contraband was. Some also stated that anything with a multi plug could be confiscated. I do sail with the blocks and multiplug adapters and I personally had no issues. However it’s something to keep aware of.

I would be careful about bringing these all-in-one blocks on board. I have heard that they (cruise terminal) might confiscate them. I had a nice conversation with RCL about this, and since they are a 3rd party and don't work directly for RCL you might get some mixed results (even though they are RCL approved). My recent cruise I bought several different types, some in my luggage, and some in my carry on - all had no issues. However again, your results could vary.

Just be sure you don't bring anything that appears to be a corded surge protector. Regardless if its not a surge project or a power strip, they will take it from you.

I am on Anthem as well, and we are cruising along at a nice and healthy 20+ knots. We are also near some storm too, so its a bit rocky at the moment.

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

 

🤞

Would you mind keeping us updated for those of us who are due to sail on her in the next few weeks?

35 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Absolutely.  I don’t have the WiFi package on the ship but can update at our first port which will either be Port Canaveral on the 21st or Nassau the following day.

of course, if I find out anything before the cruise, I will make sure to post

 

I will be boarding on the 19th, so I will let everyone know as well. However I just received word for the Suite Concierge:

"The current information is that we are going according to schedule, no itinerary change has been communicated ."

1 hour ago, Toddcan said:

Did that.   Connectivity still the same.. drops every few minutes

This is going to be an interesting cruise… 😞 I highly doubt they would let me get access to the wireless controller too… oh well.

1 hour ago, PSU said:

I thought the Genie was not included in the gratuities. So people do tip the Genie at least $200 for the week or more, depending on how much he or she did for you.

13 minutes ago, cindyscruise said:

Genie is not included in the gratuities.  

Its not, but I wanted to know how much would people would tip in general.

Since Star class includes gratuities, I am just curious how much you would tip extra to the genie? The family and I never took star class (only sky), and even though we won't use a lot of the benefits (don't drink, don't mind the MDR/Costal, etc), I wouldn't mind trying it at least once.

Back to the topic of the original OP.

My wife just saw a FB post that someone called RCL, and it was stated Florida will be skipped for the 3/19 cruise as well. I don't have any other information other than that.

Current tracking puts Anthem running at 19 knots back to Bayonne.

12 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

My options are

Randomized MAC

Phone MAC

 

If I pick phone MAC, I can connect to ship wifi, but have no response from websites... they time out.   Android phone

The authentication is based on the mac address. You will need to logout, switch off the randomized mac, and then sign on again to test out the theory.

47 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

I remember reading a post a while back that the connectivity issues could be related to something called "randomized MAC" and that switching to your device's MAC instead might fix the problem.

I'm not tech savvy enough to go into the ins and outs but maybe you could try this.

I think the post I saw was by @twangster

Possible... mac address masking/spoofing could cause issues, and the iPhone has the setting turned on by default. The mac address is unique and tied to a particular device. If a lot of people have this feature turned on, and it seems to be required for authentication... there might be a possibility of a duplicate or just issues in general.

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Anyone getting an email or notification regarding the March 19th sailing? So far I have heard nothing and am assuming all will be as planned but I'm totally fine either way.

I am on the 19th cruising, and I have not received any emails. Maybe they are hoping they can repair it along the way or at the Bayonne port.

There will always be some sort of market for smaller cruise ships as not everyone likes those massive vessels. However as others have pointed out, its possibly cheaper to have more people on a bigger ship than a small ship. In has to be some type of balance point.

When the sales were in full swing and things were a lot cheaper - I had to pick between a 2 bedroom GS or a 2 bedroom ATS. In the end, I opted for the the 2 bedroom GS mainly for the noise aspect of it all, and the price. I don't mind the shows, and maybe it wouldn't be that loud, but I am a very light sleeper/napper and the slightest noise would bother me.

Also, I know it would be a difference in "class" - sky vs star. That didn't bother me either since I wouldn't really use most of the benefits that star has to offer (ie don't drink, we like the MDR/Costal, etc). To each their own though...

I see on cruise mapper that it hit 19 knots... hopefully this is a good sign as it was only doing 17 knots going down from Bayonne before.

I have received an upgrade in the past however that was during the 2021 season when people didn't sail that much yet. Usually I never get upgraded, and I just pick the room I want before hand. I upgrade if I have the money or there is some sort of availability of a better cabin.

Never mind the cruise prices, I was looking at the cruise planner for a cruise in July 2024, and I was blown away at the price increases.

I think they are just trying to bring more of a crowd in as they need to pay for these large and expensive ships. By cutting services and lowering costs, you are making the investors (like myself) happier due to stock prices. However there is always that line that you need to cross before a customer gets annoyed, and I believe RCL is testing the waters.

On the 19th as well, and was planning to stay in the ship anyway and take care of some needed “work” that day. So I hope the internet is working better since StarLink took over. 

1 hour ago, George C said:

Wish more suites had a second bathroom or even half. 

Every cabin has a on-going price tag associated with it, and I agree a lot of cabins need to have more than 1 bathroom (or even a 1/2 bath). Its all about space, location, and money. A great example of this is the VP class on the Liberty. It has to fill that niche/void which is why it has not only 1.5 baths, but a large panoramic view.

Also, a lot of the cabin are pre-fabricated and just literally slide into place during the construction, while others are more built out and require more work to achieve (ie lofts).

Thank you for the input everyone. As stated above, my thinking is based on perceived value and price. My family and I are frequent cruisers, and we sail at least once if not twice per year. It seems to me, that besides the room, the genie would make or break the experiences.

Another thing I thought of just now is usually the genie would be waiting for us, and have a set schedule to do XYZ. My family tries to avoid static schedules, mainly due to having multiple children (11 and 2). Even for dinner at the MDR, we rarely arrive at the 5:30PM mark. Maybe when they get older (more so the 2 year old) it would be better, but not now.

So this is not the normal question related to the differences between Sky and Star, however I am looking for some convincing/justification as I personally don’t see the added benefits of Star.

Complimentary Specialty Restaurants - family is perfectly fine at the MDR or even Costal.

Complimentary Ultimate/Refreshment Beverage Package - we don't drink, and we are diamond plus anyway.

Royal Genie - while having someone you can personally contact is nice, we found the concierge pretty helpful.