seasidemama

On 5/11/2024 at 4:54 PM, cruiseboy89130 said:

Unknown which ones exactly - Oasis, Wonder, Spectrum and Icon are known...

They will add one every x weeks - and when all have it - the IT will follow up to have it as an booking-option in advance!

Add anthem

Thanks! Appreciate the tips! 

Hi,

I'm booked on the symphony in a junior suite. I know that coastal kitchen dinner is included based on availability.

Wondering what I can expect - or is it YMMV type thing?

Do I try to book as soon as I get onboard? Do I go to coastal kitchen to book or should I do this in the crown lounge?

Is it possible to book all 7 nights right away?

First time in a junior suite..

Thanks!

Here with the same question. Anyone have recent estimate?  Also, taking into account traffic, how long should be schedule for the ride back?

@twangster the way the announcement is written, it seems that anyone who has service with a provider using starlink would have access to starlink satellites. If there's an additional charge I doubt many will be using this.

Trying to clarify if anyone knows from experience.

Is JR express included in the dining package on the Anthem?

The JR page on the Sailing (app) says that it's not but I remember this being included on the Oasis so you could use it for lunch with the $20 credit.

Can you you still use diamond drink vouchers for milkshakes?

This will be nice.

https://direct.starlink.com/

22 minutes ago, Tyler414 said:

This.  Take a quick ferry ride over and back.  Ferry is easy walk from RC port.  Big beach area, great food and drinks a Dinghy's Beach Bar. check out their web cam to get an idea of the beach area.  I've been there three different times myself.

Thanks

47 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Depends on the experience you want of course…

Our favorite beach is Sapphire, the amenities you want are there, and there is space to find a nice spot. You could head to a beach on STJ and include an island tour, just need to add ~1.5 - 2 hrs to your travel time.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. What is SJT? I was hoping for something that's not more than 30-40 minutes away.

Hi, second time taking the kiddos to St. Thomas port. last time we took a shared van/shuttle to megan's bay and the beach was so crowded it was highly unpleasant. Looking for an easy to get to (from RCL port) nice looking beach with chairs/umbrella rentals. Any suggestions highly appreciated.

Another option would be an excursion like the Kon Tiki Party Boat and Beach Fun or similar  - if doing an excursion I would prefer a water transfer rather than a vehicle. Would love any recommendations or tips. 

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

The black friday internet deal posters have said is if you want the 3 or 4 devices. Not for just 1 device.

Yes I was quoting the starting price for the first device.  It's all the same prices since before the black friday "sale" - I have been watching 1 person 3 devices for months now and prices have not gone down with the "sale" for any cruise except my January one. The January cruise has been hovering at $20 (for the first device) and now it's $18.  Last Year this was starting at $14.

Hi all - trying to decide whether to grab a ferry to great bay beach for a few hours or book a day pass at sonesta.

Anyone know how long to get from (RCL) cruise port to sonesta and taxi prices?

For Great Bay - I was looking at the shore excursion option - comes out to $50/pp with ferry and beach chair umbrella.  Anyone know what current prices are if I do it without an excursion (ferry & beach chair/umbrella).  I saw some old posts that it's $25/for two people but I'm not sure if the prices have since gone up like everything else.  We are three ppl. Thanks!

My black Friday presale only shows internet discount for a January cruise - $18/per device per day. Nothing for summer - same prices at $21/per device per day.

2 hours ago, tottenhamfc said:

This is true but the service from individuals on cruiseships is very good. It deserves some form of recognition. How else other than tips would they be recognized? If they were on land they would be working an 8 hour day with two days off. They would require more employees thus higher fares

They could be recognized by earning commensurate base salaries. This especially for behind the scenes employees who do not earn tips nor count tips as part of compensation package in any other industry but this one. Record earning could equal staff/crew bonuses. Instead, record earning from record high cruise fares have RCCL reaching out to customers asking for higher gratuities as well. Meanwhile, service is reduced. Everyone can vote with their wallets. Plenty of other options out there.

12 hours ago, SUgwoz said:

Traveling in general has gone up, trips to smoky mountains and northern GA was significantly higher than it was 3-4 years ago due to accommodation price increases.  A trip to Hawaii is about the same if not slightly lower, but that is not including food costs which will be higher

 

As for Icon which is targeting families that would otherwise do Disney vacations or Disney cruises. A frugal trip to Disney with a $150/night hotel, $70 per day per person tickets, and allocating $50 per day per person food budget. For a 7 night trip you are looking at $4400 for a family of four. 

 

There is still deals (relative to vacation other options) to be had if you are flexible with dates.  Seen guaranteed balcony cabins under $150 per person per night on freedom class. 

 

 

surfside balcony on cheapest icon sailing hurricane peak Sep 2025 with KSF is coming at $4,927 non refundable. Add +/- $900 for just wifi & gratuities and you’re at $1,400 more on icon before excursions. If you want an OV Balcony you’re coming in at just under $9,000. I’ll take disney any day if that is my trip’s budget.

I know you said you want your husband to do the solo, but just putting this out there: a 3 night in a JS will get you your 9 points and a close in freedom sailing might not be that expensive and no vacation days from work since you live in FL. Haven’t checked pricing but just an idea.

22 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Pizza, but I don't think many of us are super-motivated by even the best slice.  

 

I guess they found a way for people to pay for pizza after all

"All adults, All party, All day" - doesn't make me feel happy to the type of clientele they are marketing to.

I didn't read through this entire thread. I just have one question:  What is included in this "pass" other than access to an adult only beach?  Are there any amenities/specialty restaurants etc. similar to the beach club that you CAN'T get for free in Coco Cay proper or is the payment for a kid free beach experience and nothing else?

5 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

 

An interesting thought, what if CEOs such as Jason Liberty for Royal were given a nominal salary with the rest of their compensation made up of tips.  I bet the quality of the food in the MDR would go up markedly!  
 

 

What's good for the goose should be good for the gander

6 hours ago, SUgwoz said:

 

This is the case for Spring 2024 sailings.  Cheapest Guaranteed Balcony for 2 people $9K+, cheapest Guaranteed Balcony for 4 people (2 adults, 2 children), $4400.  

Cheaper for 4 than for 2? These sailings are going to be CROWDED! I wonder what that would do for people's perception of the experience..

8 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'd be suspicious if I were you. We already know the ceo and ta confirmed they hold back cabins so the choices are fewer. Keep checking.

Still works on people thinking they are sold out... FWIW, I've been following pricings and cabin availability on some upcoming sailings (not mine, just in general for curiosity) and a few weeks after final payment, lots of availability and lots of price drops on what seemed to be sold out ships.. More so than the usual amount for people dropping out before final payment.

On 9/4/2023 at 9:44 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

The minimum wage that P&O pays is EXACTLY the same as the minimum wage for the same position that Royal pays. 
The difference is P&O gets the money upfront to cover these costs, whereas Royal tries to guilt their customers into subsidizing this amount AFTER advertising a competitive low fare in their perspective market. 

Only glitch now is that Royal's fares are no longer low compared to the "competitive market". While this certainly was the logic in the not so distant past, I anticipate a lot more will be taking off mandatory gratuities (not just in Europe) now that the level of included service and amenities has dropped along with double/triple fares.

No, I don't blame the crew and I do believe they deserve to be paid well but I also think more people will be able to logic out any associated 'guilt' when paying more for less and expect Royal to pay their employees higher salaries based on higher revenue.

Also, I don't think staff will be as affected because there are less staff doing more work, so if gratuities really are distributed as per Royal's table, each employee should be getting a higher percentage of the overall gratuity pool. For example, cabin stewards used to service 10 rooms twice each day, and receive the share for 10 rooms. Now they service 20 rooms, once per day and receive the share for 20 rooms, so if even 50% of passengers remove gratuities, they would still get the same salary as previously with 100% passengers paying gratuities.. 

If Royal wants to give them a raise for the additional work they are doing, that's an employment contract issue.  

On 9/6/2023 at 2:05 PM, sadiwest said:

If you haven't seen any of my previous threads, long story short we had to cancel a cruise within days of departure *AGAIN * due to Covid.   Once DH was out of isolation we had to salvage a vacation and opted for an all inclusive Poconos resort some had called "a cruise on land". Most likely due to the number and types of activities offered, included.

 

I'm only posting this on RCCL because im seeing a lot of price complaints here...RCCL was the line we had to cancel, so using it for comparison. 

 

This is strictly my experience (YMMV). 

Recently booken then changed an Alaskan cruise on RCCL. That 7 night cruise (and nothing else) came in around $8k for 3 of us.   It was not a balcony cabin. One way Seward to ...Vancouver I think?   The Wednesday to Sunday Poconos trip came in about $7500. Now, that was 4 of us including 2 meals a day and all non alcoholic beverages but for 4 nights. 

 

If you want to skip this line or try that one....or even stop cruising altogether, that's your prerogative (always looks like that spelling is wrong).  For me, all other things being equal, I'll do the cruise for $500 more.

 

I get that its higher than before but so is everything and I still want a vacation.   Poconos was nice but I wanted to hear that tell tale "bing bong" sound that preceeds announcements for the 9 nights we had booked. 😪😪😪

Glad you were able to salvage your vacation. $7,500 for a 4 night poconos resort seems to me highway robbery. Not sure when this was, but a week in Miami with food would cost a lot less with the flights.. 

Your post got me googling for prices and this is what I found in about 5 minutes or less:

Thanksgiving week for 4 people in the Dominican Republic in a very nice all inclusive hotel comes in between $2000-$3,000 all in, food, alcohol, non motorized water sports AND gratuities No flights. That's a holiday week. Other weeks are cheaper. 

Same week with flights from JFK are at $1,000-$1,500 per person ($4,000-$6,000 total WITH flights). Again, all in with no added charges for wifi/drinks/food/gratuities/popcorn..., I was pricing a junior suite or comparable accommodation which is about 5 times bigger than a balcony stateroom. 

These add ons would run a family of four roughly another $450-$2,900 on Royal depending on what is added and age of guests (under 12 get charged less for some packages). $450 would be the only add on if not buying any drinks/wifi/specialty and just paying gratuities. 

Sure you can find some options that are unexplainably high like $7,500 for a 4 night poconos vacation, but more often than not, all inclusives now are a much better value for price paid than a Royal Caribbean cruise, that is if you can give up the bing bong... Alternatively, you can take the $3,000 savings and buy a fancy device making all the bing bong noises you can handle. 

5 hours ago, LuCruise said:

We booked a balcony for 3 on Wonder for March 2024 when it first came out.  Booked at around $4800 CAD.  The price now is over $9600 CAD.  That's an increase of $4800!!!

I can say similar pattern for our other bookings. 

 

I just hope it stays that you can still get a decent price if you book when released, but doesn't help for last minute or later bookings.

 

Most people can't plan that far in advance due to work and other obligations. Unless you book refundable for 5/6 different sailings just to hold the price. That's a lot of deposit money to pay just for the flexibility.