Starry Eyes

I’d be glad I pack a few items in my carry on bag; those dry items will help me get through this problem (as they would a delayed or lost or stolen bag). I’d take photos of the bags and damaged items. I’d send spouse (with photos) to Guest Service (or concierge if available). I’d probably rinse any effected washable items in my cabin sink or shower to try to minimize staining & leave it all hanging. I’d hope spouse would come back with offer of laundry services.

Before the pandemic we parked off site, too. When we started using them, the lot we used was substantially cheaper and we we grew accustomed to their lot/shuttle services. When cruises re-started, we wanted to avoid shared shuttles, so we parked at the terminal. Now we are accustomed to that convenience. We are unlikely to give up that convenience, especially as prices at our former off site parking have risen, reducing the savings.

LOL. These boards would get boring without you and island lady. We wouldn’t want that.

Are you going to lead by example, Jimbo? No posts until 14 days after you book a cruise?🤣

Hyperbole

If the OP was really taking responsibility, the OP only needed to tell us they were still waiting after x days for a cruise planner refund, and despite an email saying 14 business days, they were now told 30 business days. There was no need for a long diatribe. The OP shifted blame to the “silly website” rather than taking responsibility for messing up the order themselves. The OP also tried to shift blame by claiming they canceled in two minutes, which is immaterial; they canceled after completing a transaction which necessitated a refund. They had to think before hitting the purchase button, not after. Referring to customer service as the Guatemalan call center is “another poor showing” by the OP. The OP made a poor choice using a debit card. Act in haste, repent at leisure.

Oasis Class embarks at Terminal 1…Wonder and Indy are using T1 this season. Jewel and Mariner are using T5 this season. Were you on the one that returned Saturday Jan 12, 2019 rather than the 13th? I was on that cruise and also stayed healthy. If it was the same one, perhaps you walked off super early or drove away without looking around the port, but there were other ships in Port Canaveral that Saturday. You should be glad you parked in the garage. It was a difficult day for the shuttle drivers & passengers, as there had far more people to transport to off-site lots due to Oasis early arrival.

If you paid at entry, you likely parked at Terminal 1 in 2019. The OP is sailing on Mariner which sails from Terminal 5 this season. Cars pay at exit. The garages at the terminals are more convenient than off site lots, though they do cost a bit more. Like the rest of us, the OP will need to weigh the cost vs convenience. Lately we have chosen convenience.

It was price protection plus the OBC. We see threads like this on the boards for various lines regularly. All the major cruise lines charter their ships. Those who get bumped by these charters are unhappy. I feel for the OP, but it sounds pretty standard.

If you can be satisfied with any OV cabin on the ship for that price, book the gty.

Lots of people lurk on silly websites

The two of you plus eight other couples…so would be a round table for 18? That would be an enormous table. And somehow your Diamond drinks bought shots for everyone each night. Hmm, any chance that it was eight other people (4 other couples) at the table?

I understand. We flew to ports when we lived in the upper Midwest. Still we regularly meet people who elect to drive substantial distances to port rather than fly. I suspect they will get enough volunteers taking the downgrade with compensation. Though DH generally resists inside cabins, he would have accepted a downgrade to an inside cabin (with compensation) rather than canceling planned vacation with time off work, air travel and hotel reservations. While he might not volunteer for a downgrade, he’d accept one if push came to shove.

Still coming up for me. Now options to select a room for more $ as well. It is not bargain pricing, but it suggests the cruise as a whole is not oversold…rather certain categories are oversold.

Inside gty cabin are being sold for Dec 11 Wonder cruise on Royal’s website. That suggests there are more than enough inside cabins to accommodate volunteers accepting downgrades.

When deciding whether or not to book gty, I encourage people to imagine being assigned the worst room for them (people’s idea of the worst room many vary) and decide if they’d still be satisfied. A person with a bum knee and prone to seasickness might hate to be assigned a cabin high and forward while another person would be disappointed to get a cabin on a very low deck; both might be happier if those two people could swap. I agree that the cruiseline has the right to change the location of a gty cabin. Still in practice, once assigned they simply are not moving them regularly, as you implied.

Once assigned, rarely does Royal change a gty assignment. If they assign an inside cabin on deck 10 to a gty booking, as in your example, that cabin is no longer marketed to someone shopping for a cruise.

When they are offering a downgrade to an inside cabin on the same cruise, it really does not matter where one lives. People need to take the same flights or the same drive whether they sail in a balcony or an inside cabin. Floridians are good targets for move over offers, but I meet lots of people who drive (rather than fly) to cruises from other states. Furthermore, there are plenty of snowbirds with permanent addresses in other states who are in Florida for months. As it is just an email offer, the cruiselines can cast a wider net than just Floridians. I suspect they will get sufficient volunteers to switch to inside cabin in exchange for refund of cruise fare. The last time Wonder was oversold, they made offers to move people off the ship. Then days before sailing, there were enough cancellations they had a few cabins to sell on that cruise.

Yeah, we have carried OTC meds for years. Several years ago, we were a couple miles into the drive toward port when we realized neither of us packed the OTC meds; though we both felt well, we doubled back for the meds, just in case. We will add an Ace wrap to our kit as DH needed one on last cruise.

Personally I tend to ignore the suggested bids, but I do pay attention to the minimum bids. If you want to gamble, you could cancel the all the bids on your cabin then see what offers are available. Maybe they will also be better. Of course, there’s a small chance your offers will get worse; you never know what RoyalUp might do.

Oh, I know it is possible so I want the bids in place. There is always a chance somebody will have to cancel.

There’s no cruise credit on our booking. The appearance of the problem seemed to correlate with the assignment of the gty cabin (though it had not happened to us previously on gty bookings). I have heard of it happening to others, though not repeatedly. Our bids are still in place, though few cabins are left, so odds if upgrade are low. I hope your bids stick, too. We are looking forward to NYE cruise, upgrade or no.

You do you. I certainly did not mean to imply the service change would influence everyone’s habits or yours specifically. I only meant that it may change some people’s patterns. I occasionally hang personal items to dry in that “small, closed space” and have been surprised how quickly they dry. That leads me to believe the bathrooms generally have a high ventilation rate, so, depending on number and hanging pattern, the towels may be dry not damp in the morning.

It might reduce towel usage a bit. Right now some guests might immediately toss every used towel onto the floor. With the new system, if a guest with morning service uses a towel in the afternoon, they might hang up the towel (allowing it to be re-used if needed before the next service and also keeping the bath neater). Every time a guest doesn’t toss that once used, air dried towel to the floor in the morning before service, the ship will wash one less towel.

Yeah, I would think the triple/quad cabins would need service twice a day so the extra beds could be set up/taken down. Still one visit could be quicker than current service, I suppose. DH and I would adjust well, I suspect.