Starry Eyes

For those who prioritize chasing loyalty levels, it always would have made sense to concentrate on one line. Others just pick the cruise that works best for them and let loyalty benefits come as they will. Some fall somewhere in between.

A Zenith that wants to sail on Royal Caribbean benefits, just as a Pinnacle who wants to sail on Celebrity benefits. Both Z’s and P’s (including never plan to cross over to the other line) must accept others at their level.

We have not sailed Celebrity for a few years, but IIRC back then a cabinmate (even a newbie) received the benefits of their Captain’s Club cabinmate. What is their current policy for cabinmates?

The cruiselines must think otherwise, as they have offered gty for years with no sign of phase out. Of course if you don’t like gty, then you shouldn’t book gty….but what’s it to you if some other person who is flexible about location books gty? With bidding programs like RoyalUp, it is even less likely the cruiselines will do away with gty, as gty bookings can fill in vacancies created at the end of RoyalUp wins (or at the end of a cascade of wins).

Autocorrect seems to think you’d rather have swimwear with breakfast rather than a Bellini😂

Zenith Featured Benefits Access to The Retreat Lounge/Michael’s Club(*see FAQ for reciprocal*) Upon reaching the Zenith tier, receive a complimentary 7-night Caribbean or Bermuda cruise (in a Veranda stateroom only)+++(see FAQ for reciprocal) 25% off Specialty Dining cover charge Complimentary Laundry Complimentary Premium Drink Package Complimentary Premium WiFi

My reading is that the current format is Celebrity based Zeniths will get access while the reciprocal Zeniths should expect not to have access.

They have excluded retreat lounge access from the reciprocal benefits list (except when staying in Retreat or if exception is made at sole discretion of X)

Notice that some benefits are excluded from the match (from the FAQ section). Are there any loyalty benefits that are excluded from the Loyalty Status Match program? Some brand loyalty benefits are reserved exclusively for loyalty program members who have attained tier status based on points or nights sailed within each brand, as opposed to those who earned status through the Status Match program. Since Status Match members only receive the tier and not the associated points, they are ineligible for the benefits listed below. Crown & Anchor Society: Complimentary Pinnacle Club milestone cruises Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club amenities Single supplement cruise fare reduction Cheers with an Officer onboard event Milestone recognition (Crystal Block) Upgraded bathroom amenities Pinnacle Club milestone kits Chef’s Choice amenity Captain’s Club: Complimentary Zenith cruises Zenith milestone kits WWF® donations Retreat Lounge access when not staying in the Retreat Status match members will only be permitted to access the Retreat Lounge when not staying in the Retreat based on availability and at the sole discretion of Celebrity Cruises Venetian Society: “Sail with Us” referral offer prior to your first Silversea voyage, and certain other promotions Complimentary cruises Milestone recognition during the Venetian Society Party

Thanks, that answers my question. Cabin 11696 was not designed to accommodate a sofa bed. It only sleeps two. (As you may know, the cabins are built in pairs. Cabin 11696 is the right cabin of the pair and has the bed by the balcony. Sofa beds on Allure go in cabins with bed by the closet/bathroom; those are the left of the paired cabins). I’m pretty sure it is either a sofa or a love seat in Allure balcony cabins (not just a chair). The loveseats maybe smaller than I remember… I’m short but I might not fit well. Often the arms lift off cruise ship sofas/loveseats; if so that would help. I do want to believe they will eventually assign a triple cabin, but, I’ll still ask…how tall is your GD?

You have certainly been more than diligent re-checking the bar code trick, though the Apple Wallet method seems pretty foolproof. I totally trust my Apple Wallet decoding. When other people use various other bar code readers, there could be more chance for an error (due the reader or the operator or some combination); that’s not the issue in your situation. While you see your barcode result, the customer service reps do not and if a customer mentions it, reps do not act on the barcode results. They are not official assignments. I’m afraid you are in a holding pattern until you get an official assignment. Meanwhile, are we certain the deckplan that says capacity 2 is really up to date? For example, is there a chance they changed the regular sofa for a sofa bed? Would you be willing to share the cabin number from your barcode so the rest of us can look at the cabin configuration? I haven’t tried, but I think I could sleep on the sofa in an Oasis class balcony cabin. Your GD might be able to manage also, if worst came to worst. I’d opt that sofa over an air mattress.

If you are only seeing the cabin number in the barcode, your cabin has not been officially assigned. If the cabin is not truly assigned, Royal Caribbean has not (?yet) made an error for you to protest. I’d be concerned, too, if I were in you position, but I don’t think your phone calls will do any good until you have an actual cabin assignment. Personally, I do not bother printing luggage tags while my cabin is still officially gty. What method are you using to read the barcode…Apple Wallet or a barcode reading app or some other method?

Do you think they are doing large numbers of RoyalUp allocations five months out? I don’t think I usually even have bidding offers then.

Just a guess…they may have accumulated enough bookings that gty guests will eventually fill all those (previously available) balcony cabins, so they stopped taking balcony reservations. If people cancel or upgrade, the category may open again.

Ships generally dock at their ports of call even if rain is expected. No promises, of course, as high winds or high seas (even without rain) can sometimes prevent a ship from docking. I agree with the others who said that (a) advanced forecasts are wrong and (b) rain in Bahamas, Caribbean and Florida can be short events. Nevertheless, if you do indeed get some adverse weather, be glad you chose a big ship. O class ships have a variety of indoor venues to enjoy. Sure, others might also be enjoying those venues, but I have found it to be even worse on a ship with fewer indoor options.

There is a grace period on most credit cards. If we pay our full credit card balance on time each month we don’t pay any interest. By paying this way we do not go into debt for a cruise yet we get certain payment protections from the credit card company plus extra member benefits (cash back, travel insurance, etc). Retailers pay a transaction fee so credit card companies can make a profit even if we don’t pay interest. Of course, plenty of people carry a balance on their credit cards; they may pay substantial interest.

My post wasn’t about rates it was about the number of different insurers offering policies and the limits on medical coverage on those policies. The offering will vary by place of residence (county and state) as well as age. When the oldest person was your age, we had more insurers offering us annual policies including some high medical coverage limits ($500k or 1M). As the oldest traveler was into 70’s then into 80’s, there were fewer choices and lower medical limits on annual policies.

I understand you took the 10K from another poster and I’d have made the same comment if the number had been triple. Would 300k in medical plus medical evac for one of you had been a big deal? Even worse, what if a serious accident resulted in both of you sustaining life severe injuries? Yes, during your cruising you were lucky while without travel medical. I hope your luck continues in you post-cruising years. So far, we have been lucky with travel medical; I hope we never need to use it. I also hope I don’t need to use my auto or home insurance. When we age our higher limit travel medical options seem to decline. I wish a company offered a high deductible, high limit, annual (or multi year) policy to cover those of us concerned about really catastrophic travel medical events.

I’m glad neither of you ever had a serious medical issue during your cruising years. Between medical expenses and medical transport back to your own country, such an event can cost far, far more than $10k.

That’s how I feel as well. The medical coverage and med evac limits on many travel insurance policies are way too skimpy for my tastes. While having $25,000 in medical coverage (Royal plan limit) is far better than none, it still won’t cover a the medical expenses from a really serious accident or illness.

Many of us without allergies enjoy lunch in a specialty restaurant on embarkation day. It is a relaxing way to start a cruise…perhaps even more so in your case.

The embarkation lunch for Key guests is typically held in the MDR. Some ships also offer a special lunch for back to back guests; that may be in the MDR as well. However, on embarkation day the MDR is not open for lunch for all guests.

If those are the only two items of significant interest to you, then I’d say don’t buy the Key. Instead, book lunch at a specialty restaurant on embarkation day (a nice experience for less money than the Key). The MDR is open for breakfast on debarkation morning. If other Key benefits also quite valuable to you, my opinion might be different. Also the price of the Key varies. Obviously it is much more tempting to buy the Key when the price is lower. How much per day? What ship? Have you considered renting a scooter, especially it is a large ship?

Thank goodness that is a rare event. Of course, your delayed excursion that day held the ship for any cruisers on non-ship sponsored excursions that day who arrived even slightly ahead of you. Due to the age exclusion, the OP’s party may not have the option to select a ship sponsored excursion. All they can do is research their vendors and select excursions with care. On St Maarten and St Thomas, the OP can probably find reliable excursion vendors and return to the ship in a timely fashion, barring a major rock slide or other incident.

I mentioned private excursions because the OP is traveling with parents, so there are at least 3 people in the OP’s party, maybe more. A private excursion could also be designed and paced just for that family’s interests and needs. You, of course, have different needs and tons of experience.