not-enough-cruising

Technically, no

Yes All Oasis class ships have ice shows, as well as Freedom and Voyager classes.

NCL is struggling mightily. Their post Covid debt servicing is progressing very slowly in comparison to Royal and Carnival The Prima class ships have not been received favorably by their customers, and have been outright vilified by many.

I must admit, I have never done MTD (I rather avoid the MDR as much as possible),as such I can not speak to whether or not MTD has a waitlist.

There are also at least two other variables at play here. 1. You booked relatively last minute, that can have an influence on what is available. 2. The more likely situation is you were given bad information from Royal CS and/or IT. Enjoy your cruise.

Royal does not inform you of any type of partial charter. We have experienced this several times over the years, it’s really not a big deal and you really don’t even notice the groups for the most part. The only time Royal will contact you about a charter is if it is a full ship charter and your cruise has been canceled

EXACTLY!! Plus the “deals” are usually very poor. Last week we were on Harmony, my sister went to Next Cruise out of curiosity to price Icon for next year. She was quoted an obscene amount for a D4 cabin. I emailed my TA, was quoted $1600 less for the cabin, and offered $250 OBC.

And stay away from the "Next Cruise" desk

Well said, and to add to the point, removing gratuities does NOT equate "not tipping"

Thank you so much for the information. That will settle the minds of many of us on Harmony currently!!!

Several of the AI beach clubs CAP their attendance numbers, Sanchos being one of them.

Agreed. I have never seen fire doors locked; in reality, I would imagine locking the fire doors would be a safety “No-No”

Please do, I would gain much peace of mind knowing how things are there.

Upper decks are closed off Sail Away party in the promenade

Harmony pushed away from the pier @ 1545, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

I certainly will

We have 5 cars in the North Lot; we drove down from Dallas yesterday. Can’t say I am worried, it is what it is at this point; but talking to the island residents the last 24 hours or so; they are relatively confident that the lions share of rain will fall on Houston; and the predicted storm surge is well managed on this side of the island. We will see soon enough.

Just got to our room on Harmony, bags unpacked and settled in. So far it’s been a normal day as far as boarding process is concerned. The crowds seem normal and leads one to conclude that very few cancelled. Sitting on the balcony now, compared to this morning it’s very calm and quiet. Sun is shining and skies are blue. On the drive down the sea wall this morning from our hotel it was incredibly windy, and the swells were large. We are still on schedule for 1600 departure.

Rooms are generally ready between 1300-1400. There is no access to drop off carry ons in your room prior to this time.

As of now, absolutely nothing to worry about for Galveston, Sunday

The path is nowhere near Galveston or the approach route of returning ships. we board Harmony Sunday

But the post I was responding to said they had never seen “an assigned cabin CHANGED”, not denied boarding.

We were bumped from our assigned room on Allure in February 2022 at embarkation due to an issue with the latch and the door on the balcony

I use a TA all the time, I have NEVER paid "sticker price" for a cruise, the TA always has group space and the fares are always cheaper (sometimes considerably) the deposits are fully refundable, and there is always some type of perk thrown in (OBC, dining, wine.....) Also, some of those premium spots on the ship that show sold out when you look on the Royal website, are actually available and being held by travel agents for their customers. The most important benefit, to me, without question, is anytime I have an issue I email the TA, and it is handled in a matter of hours. No phone calls, no dealing with offshore customer service, no phone trees, and no endless waits on hold.

unless you are stopping in Cuba (not an issue currently), Martinique, or Colombia