hmallett

Been thinking about an Alaska cruise in 2016, and have been waiting for what seems like an age for RC to release their itinerary, and now they have.

What a disappointment the prices are though. A balcony at a reasonable time of year comes out at about £4000 (cruise only). By contrast a similar cruise on Celebrity is just over £2000.

We've got a couple of RC Next Cruise Certificates to use, but we won't be using them in Alaska!

Is anyone else surprised at RC's pricing?

Had an aft for the last couple of cruises, plus the next one!

As others say, you might get a bigger balcony. However it might be overlooked from above. You might also find soot on it too. Oily soot that doesn't just wipe off.

However, you might find that you get some really nice views, particularly when under way. And you probably won't get much traffic passing your stateroom door.

You might find a bit more up-and-down motion and a bit more propeller vibration that if you were mid-ships though.

I'm planning to book a cruise on Celebrity. I have a couple of RC Next Cruise Certificates. Can I use these for the deposit with Celebrity? If so, is there any advantage in doing so?

I'm in the UK, if that makes a difference.

Room decorations are a matter of personal preference. We had some for a birthday on the last cruise, and they were OK.

The Classic Romance Package seems a good deal to us. We had it one cruise as a treat, then we decided it was a good deal (a framed photo would be about half the package price), so we've had it on each cruise since.

Yes you do. You get a menu to select which options you want, which you hand in to your head waiter the night before.

We got it on the previous cruise, and thought it was good value, so we ordered it for our next cruise too.

The food is nice, but it's not as if you're short of food on the cruise anyway! The normal breakfasts we have ordered from room service have been plenty, but the breakfasts you get as part of the package are huge!

The portrait is one of the ones they take of you through the cruise. The frame is nice though.

Hey, last time I checked, Caribbean is very international with lots of countries! :p:rolleyes: :D

Where does the "Royal" come from then? :p

And that is one more reason why Oasis and Allure will probably stay right where they are. Those two ships are suited to sea days as there is so much to do on them. And I suspect that RCI likes having them out at seas racking up on board charges instead of in port with passengers, and their seapasses, ashore.

I suspect that you're right. If everyone's in ports all day long, they may be less likely to be willing to pay for one of the many speciality restaurants available.

You are telling me that Oasis can fit into St. Thomas but not into Naples?

I've never been to St. Thomas, so if you'd like to buy me a ticket for research purposes... ;)

I don't know specifically about Naples, but I was told by an RC source that many of the ports weren't big enough. I suppose that could mean that they aren't long enough, deep enough, or don't have the capacity for that many visitors. Don't forget that for a week-long cruise you need several ports which can accommodate the ship. Especially as in Europe we tend to have ports most days, with few sea days, unlike the Caribbean cruises.

Why doesn't RCCL try using the really big ships in Europe...? This would make for more variety on the ports.

Because they won't fit in the ports.