Starry Eyes

I’d suggest you post the cabin number(s) of the cabin(s) of interest on Indy. That way people can look at a deck plan and give you their opinions. If you are lucky might even get feedback from someone who has stayed in the cabin.

Thanks for sharing that info. It may help someone picking a promenade cabin, as one does not automatically expect a gift shop to be noisy. I agree that RoyalUp bids come with a risk that you will not like your new cabin location. I’m sorry this happened to you, but I hope you are doing your best to enjoy your cruise.

Many of us would not expect loud music from a gift shop below. Please share the ship and cabin number so others can avoid that cabin. We have enjoyed promenade cabins, though we watched the parades from our window or we were out of the cabin.

No, the consumer website is as opaque as ever for balcony gty.

They may have recently improved that invoice issue.😀 My invoice from a gty booking this week specifies my category. It clearly says: XB GTY OCEAN VIEW BALCONY GUARANTEE

Are you using the Royal Caribbean website to do the mock booking price check or some other site? If you are using some other online travel website, you might be seeing a rate (such as a group rate) that Royal CSR’s cannot see or get for you. If you are using the Royal website, you cannot just trust the highlighted price on the first page; sometimes the cabins at that rate are gone. Click through so you have picked the actual cabin category, then look at the pricing detail. Make sure you are comparing your old cabin fare category to the new cabin fare in the exact same category (not total to total). If the difference is in the taxes/port fees/etc, you don’t get a price adjustment. If the better price is in a different category and you would be happier in that new category for that price, ask them price quote for that new category rather than a price adjustment. I think there can be another issue with mock bookings when inventory is low in that category. When a customer clicks on a cabin the system often seems to it out of inventory for about 15 minutes so that customer can complete the transaction. So, for example, if Royal is only offering one more cabin at $XXX and you click on it to do a mock booking price check, the only cabin at that rate $XXX is tied up (by you, but nobody knows that) if you call in immediately to get that rate. Of course, if you wait the rate might reappear or someone else might tie it up by clicking on it, or someone else might book it.

To add balance: anecdotally, I will say each time I have won and been upgraded to a GS or higher, it has not been one that was previously shown as available. Mine seem to have been cancellations and/or vacancies generated during “waterfall” upgrades. YMMV.

That’s all persons who have cruised within a year. I suspect the result would differ if weighted by number of cruises per year, as most of the passengers taking lots of cruises per year are older.

Let’s try a different situation. You want to buy a used car. Two essentially identical ones are available. As they equally nice, they are worth the same amount, right? While chatting you learn one seller received that car A as a graduation gift while the other seller purchased his car B himself upon graduation. Are they still worth the same amount, or do you think previous cost impacts the next transaction?

If a person is at all picky about cabins and is contemplating booking a gty, that person should do their due diligence. They need to carefully investigate the cabins in that category on that ship, picture the worst one for them (people have different personal preferences), and decide if they can be happy in that worst cabin at that price. If not, they should not book the gty. Only the guest can do this due diligence as only the guest knows what they like/dislike in a cabin. Evidently you booked an OV gty on this cruise without doing your due diligence. That’s on you; learn from it. You had limited booking options and may have made the same choice even if the had researched the cabins if you really wanted to be on this leg if the WC. Do you have any RoyalUp offers? If so, perhaps this barcode info will encourage you to up your bids.

True, depending on the corporation’s goals, they might assess the impact of the enhanced status match, then decide whether or to proceed with further integration of the loyalty programs. Pins got a nice boost as Zenith gets some nice benefits. There are more D+ than Pins, and speaking as a D+, the boost from E benefits to E+ benefits isn’t so inspiring. I’ll appreciate the little extras if we take a Celebrity cruise,but those extra benefits won’t inspire me to book with Celebrity. Heck, the D+’s with aspirations of making P might be more inclined to stay only with Royal to reach P/Z, then branch out.

Here’s a different hypothesis. Remember in about Sept 2023 there was discussion the Celebrity and Royal Caribbean loyalty programs may be merged in the future. If those rumors were true and the corporation really is thinking of combining the programs, a more comprehensive status match is a reasonable first step.

But the corporation knows who belongs to both loyalty programs and Celebrity notified you of the benefits you would now get as a Zenith. As it is not a difficult concept, how many emails do you need?🤣🤣🤣

And I expect you’d have gotten one from RCI If your RCI status had changed. RCI knows you were informed of the new loyalty matching program by two corporate partners. Plus there info about the program on the Internet, which you well know as evidenced by this thread. What more could an RCI email add?

You’ve heard from X and Silversea. What are you expecting from RCL? Do you need an email from RCL reassuring you that your RCL status has not changed?😂😂😂

I was initially puzzled when I read this. Why would Brazilian P’s be more problematic than any other P’s? Then I realized autocorrect must have changed bazillion to brazilian, LOL.

Quantum is in Elliott Bay in Washington state awaiting help from tug per media report. https://komonews.com/amp/news/local/high-winds-strand-cruise-ships-in-elliott-bay-cruise-royal-caribbean-vessel-united-states-coast-guard-uscg-tugboat-elliott-bay-alaska-quantum-of-the-seas

X is coming to Port Canaveral in December https://www.portcanaveral.com/Celebrity-Cruises-2024

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.