Baron Barracuda

On the other hand some prices do go down. Last June we considered the 33 day Grand Hawaii and Polynesia sailing for this Nov 10th. Price for a PV2 was $18K. Then they rolled out a sale at $14.2K and we happily booked. In August the SUM23 promo dropped the price to $11.2 so we cancelled and rebooked, paying the $100 penalty. Price is now $10.2k + free air. I can see at least 40 cabins still available with v2 going for $4,499. Not bad for 33 days.

Have sailed out of Cape Liberty many times during all seasons. First day can at times be choppy but Oasis class handles it much better than Quantum class. Once you round Cape Hatteras and pass from the Atlantic into the Gulfstream it's always been smooth sailing.

Thanks Peregrina651, Johndfk and Heidi13. I thought customs would be in SD. I remember years ago on Caribbean cruises we cleared customs several times in San Juan prior to returning to Miami. No luggage involved, everyone just paraded through mdr passports in hand. Peregrina, I hear your arguments against arriving too early but after flying in from east coast dw will likely be up pacing at 4am. Will try to stall hotel departure but no promises.

We're sailing on the Star in three weeks from B93 which appears to have an actual terminal building. Flying in the night before and staying near LAX. Our plan was to arrive at pier just before 11am but if dw thinks she can board at 10am she'll push to get there early. Bad idea? Bonus question - as we return from Polynesia do we go through customs at SD our first US port or LA at end of cruise?

Is it coincidental that 28 million Americans had to resume making student loan payments this month? Those payments which have been suspended since covid are reportedly putting a major crimp in many peoples discretionary cash flow. Wouldn't be surprised if new reservations are falling and existing ones are being cancelled at FP date. This would especially impact their targeted younger demographic.

While I fully expect RCL to post great 3q earnings I don't expect the stock to bounce much. Most of the good news was already built into the price during the earlier run-up. Market remains concerned about high fuel costs and rising interest rates. Price drop in cruise stocks parallels pretty much mirrors action in other energy dependent / highly leveraged businesses like airlines. A risk item no one is talking about however is how younger people (Royal's target demographic) will modify their spending in response to the resumption of student loan payments.

Form 8-K (link also available on RCL investor relations site under SEC filings) https://app.quotemedia.com/data/downloadFiling?webmasterId=101533&ref=317798163&type=PDF&symbol=RCL&cdn=5a82df69040b4add281b7168a5705d9b&companyName=Royal+Caribbean+Cruises+Ltd.&formType=8-K&dateFiled=2023-10-11

This is just dumb. How can they forecast based solely from the last three years covid depressed results. Yes, balance sheet is a mess but just this week they re-negotiated some debt paying down part of a line of credit and securing a lower rate on several $ billion.

If the Journey cover band was DSB they are really good. Saw them on Anthem pre-covid.

Debt maturity schedule is on their web site https://www.rclinvestor.com/content/uploads/2023/09/RCG-2Q23-Public-Schedule.pdf

Saw one of cruises listed in the new STS23 promo is my upcoming 33 night Grand Polynesia & Hawaii sailing. They must be having trouble filling the ship as all the DV's previously priced at $11K then reduced to $7K+ are now down to $5K+. Great value!!! My PV2 which I originally considered at $17k but fortunately waited and booked at a lower price and later cancelled and rebooked lower still is now $10k. Wondering if I should ever book early again.

IMO most of the volatility in RCL stock is segment, not company driven. Oil began it's rise in July and airline & cruise stocks topped out soon after. Since early August UAL, LUV, CCL and NCLH are all down about 30% while RCL is only down 20%. During that period the DJIA & S&P are down 10%. CCL recently reported a very strong quarter, finally producing a positive EPS thanks to higher fares and and an occupancy rate of 109%. Just as significantly in the first 9 months of 2023 they paid down 10% of their total debt and refinanced some of the balance. They claim their ships have achieved record early booking levels for 2024 - 2025 at significantly higher rates than 2019. We can only hope RCL will paint a similar rosy picture when they report. I directly hold only 100 shares of RCL, believing the volatility in the stock makes it a better options play. I'm short out of the money calls and puts expecting the stock to fluctuate between 80 and 100 over the next year.

Go to Amazon and search for magnetic hooks for cruises. Lots of choices. Sets of 4 with 25lb limit are only about $5. Four 100lb ones only $10. Many are 4+ stars with thousands of reviews. We use the heavy duty ones so dw can hang clothesline (not necessary on VO with included laundry).

Viking Ocean has free self service laundry and they even provide the soap.

We've done both cabs and transfers from ship to FLL and definitely prefer cab. You can remain on ship until they throw you off, plenty of cabs waiting at curb side, price is cheaper than transfer and cabbie will take you directly to your terminal. Haven't flown from FLL recently but there used to be restrictions on how early they would let you check your luggage. Below is from the county web site Broward.org. Might want to check with your airline. At FLL Airport Checking Baggage The earliest some airlines will check baggage is two to three hours before your scheduled departure. You may experience longer than normal check-in lines, especially with morning departures. Contact your airline for check-in times. We encourage you to take advantage of your cruise line's shore excursions and avoid arriving at the airport too early for your flight. Earlier Flights The airlines discourage passengers to “standby" for earlier flights on cruise days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) because flights are booked to capacity. On cruise days, many returning passengers arrive at FLL at 8:30 a.m. for flights scheduled throughout the day. This may result in crowded terminals and limited seating at the airport.

Don't remember a single complaint about menus or food quality in all years the late chef Michel Roux was in charge. He is sorely missed.

We have the 33 day Grand Polynesia coming up soon including 21 sea days and dw has been looking forward to several kitchen table sessions. Will be devastated if there aren't any. I really wish Viking would post all the Chefs Table menus somewhere on their web site. I have nine but would like to see them all. They used to post the ones for our upcoming cruises in MVJ but seem to have stopped. Now there's just a note saying "sample menus coming soon". On a 33 day sailing will they tweak the Manfredi's menu from time to time?

When we have insurance questions we always contact Insuremytrip. Very knowledgeable folks who can translate insurance-speak into English.

It's been frequently discussed on cc (but not on the Viking board) how staff, including managers are unwilling to intervene in these situations out of fear that the loudmouth will take offense and lodge a complaint against them jeopardizing their position or employment.

Selecting the best travel insurance policy for you can be daunting. Policies may appear similar but beware the fine print. When we have questions I call Insuremytrip. Good people who have never steered me wrong.

A number of times we requested a table for two in early traditional on M & S class but were assigned either a larger table or second seating. Never a problem. At embarkation there is a head waiter stationed at the mdr entrance to handle change requests. Always been very accommodative.

Also in a little over two years the SPR has been reduced from roughly 650mm barrels to 350 million. At some point that will have to be replenished likely pushing prices higher.

Two months ago oil was below $70 now $87. Last quarter RCL reported they were 55% hedged for remainder of this year and 25% next year. They estimated full year impact of a 10% rise in fuel is -$111MM. So at current price that's vulnerability of -$222MM. Another impact of rising fuel will be higher airfares which travelers must take into consideration when deciding whether to book a cruise.

We have the same situation as OP on our Grand Hawaii and Polynesia sailing this November. Hilo Hawaii, our first stop shows two included excursions, the 3 1/2 hour Hilo Highlights plus the 6 1/2 hour Secrets of Puna. We're in a PV and booked the longer tour as soon as reservations opened. Within 10 minutes it sold out. When others on our meet&mingle board expressed disappointment I referred them to TellUs. Later out of curiosity I checked the shore excursion descriptions on the VO web site and found Secrets of Puna listed as a pay excursion. On MVJ I remain booked with no additional charge.

Other than Ocean vs River to make a recommendation it would help to know your friend's preferences: sea days vs port days, discovering new places or revisiting familiar ones, longer itineraries vs shorter ones, summer sunshine or other cooler seasons.