peter1975

Yep - to put it into perspective, we just returned from a full-ship charter on a sistership - Independence- Couples Cruise. We were in a category F large oceanview, and we understood we were paying more than we'd likely have to pay for a normal cruise. We paid a total of $2,800 for that cabin, including taxes/gratuities. To book that same cabin via this charter would cost the two of us $8,950 - without the "preferred seating" upcharge! A JS for two, with the "preferred seating" would cost a couple almost $17,000! I'm frankly surprised they sold many cabins at all, Maxwell must have some very wealthy fans!

I suspect all of those really nice staterooms have been booked by Maxwell and all of the other celebrity guests. You can peruse through the Maxwell at Sea Facebook page and read hundreds of comments by fans about how ridiculous the price is.

I´m with all of the People commenting about Elevator etiquette, but I strongly disagree with the Sentiment of having to walk one floor if I´m capable of doing it.

 

I don´t park in a handicap place, would book a handicapped cabin for more space or use handicapped restrooms - you get the drift - however even though I´m totally capable of walking a few flights of stairs it´s my decision to use the Elevators. Elevators are there for the use of everyone. They are not something reserved for handicapped folks, visible or not. On the same note I´m not going to push in front of a wheelchair or scooter if he was there before me and I will hold the door for the Person in it, but I expect the same respect from them to not push in front of me, if they are getting there behind me. Wait until it´s your turn. I know I have the choice, you not, but that´s not the Point IMO.

This makes you exactly the type of person this thread is talking about. Nobody questioned your right to use the elevator, but rather the necessity of using the elevator to only go up/down one flight. If you have the ability to walk you should. Why waste space and other people's time on the elevator when you don't have to? It comes across as ridiculous, rude, and lazy. IMHO.

The Maxwell cruise is still being offered for sale on the internet.Of course, maybe they have the same IT guys as RCI:rolleyes:

 

Thom

You can still book this cruise through the Maxwell website. I also recently emailed the Maxwell cruise people and asked if this was a full ship charter. Their reply was "yes". This was only about a week ago. Nobody is admitting publicly that this charter got cancelled or changed. In fact, charters aren't supposed to be able to be cancelled, per Royal Caribbean's charter policy.

Just out of curiosity, checked roll calls for the 5-3-2015 date and did not see one.

This is exactly how I first discovered the cruise I had just booked for my family and some friends was showing as a "full ship charter". I went to find my roll call after booking and couldn't find one! I thought it was odd and searched for my sailing on the internet and was shocked at what I saw! Full ship charter.

Someone should call RCL about this and see what they say ....

Wonder if they cancelled the whole charter. It is still showing prices etc. on their website.

I wondered this, too! I emailed the Maxwell cruise website and asked if this was a full ship charter, and they said "yes". So, I am not sure what to believe. I am booked on this cruise, but I don't want to go if there is a Maxwell group dominating the ship.

RCCL ship time is always the time zone of the port you leave from if from the USA.

I can also confirm this is NOT true. We sailed on the Navigator in October and the clocks were changed back one hour (I think on Mon or Tues) and then changed again forward a few days later (I think on Thur or Fri). This unexpected ship time change actually ruined our plans with a 3rd party tour company in Belize, so I completely understand the OP's question! In fact, I had been planning to ask the same question about the Vision for my upcoming cruise in January.

If a cruise is a full charter, it will not show up on Royal's website.

 

If you want to see if there's a large group on board, then try doing an internet search using the ship's name and various forms of the sailing date.

This should be true, I agree. But we recently booked a cruise (May 3, 2015 Freedom of the Seas) and have since found out that a group is advertising this same sailing as full ship charter. So, I'm not sure what to believe.

Do an internet search if you want to see for yourself. Their website states: "This is a full ship charter, which means that the entire ship will be dedicated to providing guests with the Maxwell + The 7 Seas experience"; however, you can get on RCL's website and book this sailing.

You're essentially dealing with a hotel. The scenario generally plays out like this: A convention books a block of rooms (or does a complete buy-out) with a guarantee (usually agreeing to fill 85-90% of the block in a hotel contract) and an attrition clause. If the convention doesn't fill its block (or sell out) by the attrition date, it can either release the rooms back (and pay the attrition penalty), pay for them out-of-pocket and hope they can recoup by selling them to people who book late, or sell them to someone else. Apparently, the Maxwell group didn't sell out and was forced to release the left over rooms back to the cruise line.

not to be disagreeable, but I have since found the following answer to my question on Royal Caribbean's website in regards to full ship charters:

"Once an Agreement is signed by the client, can the program be cancelled or can the client relinquish staterooms?

Unlike a large group contract, there is no provision in the Full Ship Charter Agreement that allows for cancellation of the program and/or for any number of staterooms. A client cannot reduce to a Half Ship Charter, Partial Charter or a group once signed as a Full Ship Charter."

Thus, your answer would appear to be incorrect. Ships are not at all like hotels.

Has anyone had any experience with or heard of any full ship charters that have later been converted to only partial ship charters? Does this actually happen?

Yup, our original cabin is available again.

 

Crazy!

 

It appears the Maxwell + the 7 Seas is still on too, which to me would mean clubs/areas unavailable to non-Maxwell cruisers. No thanks!

Odd that a charter can go from full ship to partial .... Does this really happen?

I know this is an old thread, but I found it in a search today and wanted to get some opinions.

Here is what happened today:

I started searching for a good priced cruise on the Freedom of the Seas.

There was a great price on the May 3rd, 2015 sailing. I booked my wife and I and two other couples.

A few hours later I decided to find the Roll Call board for our new sailing. I scrolled through 4 pages and couldn't find one that had been started, yet. I thought it was odd - since the cruise is in May. So, I did a Google search for Freedom of the Seas May 3, 2015 and discovered a page advertising this to be a "Maxwell" cruise. I turned to Cruise Critic and found this thread.

So, my question -- Is this a full charter or not? How am I able to book it? Am I going to get cancelled at some point?

Thanks!

Sorry for another OBC question! I feel like I should know the answer to this, but I'm just not sure.

I'm traveling with a group in January. Every stateroom in the group is getting a $100 OBC.

There are several families in the group who have two staterooms each (parents & kids). I know all onboard expenses for each family will be tied to just one sea pass account / credit card. How will the $100 OBC get used on the 2nd (kids) stateroom if all onboard expenses get charged to the 1st stateroom?

This was the same scenario for a friend a couple of years ago and the OBC on the 2nd stateroom went to waste.

I hope this question makes sense. Your help is greatly appreciated! :)

DH called today. They are not taking ANY one way rentals. We are staying at Holiday Inn Resort and they have a shuttle that will take us where we want to go plus the port. We are now trying to determine our transportation to Galveston as we have return booked through RCI.

 

I like peter 1975 Pink Taxi post and that is a very good cost for 4. Was the taxi large enough to handle 8 bags?:confused:

The taxi was a mini van. On the trip from our hotel to the port they folded down half of the back seat to create more room for luggage. I think you could probably fit 8 bags if they aren't too huge. We had 3 large suitcases, 1 rolling garment bag, 2 medium carry-on sized suitcases, and a couple of smaller bags.

We just completed a 7 night cruise on the Navigator out of Galveston. This is what we did:

We flew into Houston/Hobby airport on Saturday (the day before our cruise) and used the free hotel shuttle to get to the Marriott Springhill Suites near the airport. The hotel was very reasonably priced and was great for a one night stay. I had made a taxi reservation with Pink Galveston Taxi to get us to the port on Sunday. We scheduled the taxi to arrive at 10AM and they arrived as scheduled (a little early, actually). I highly recommend Pink Galveston Taxi! Our driver, Tate, was great! We arrived at the port in plenty of time -- around 10:45 or so. We let Tate know that we would love to use her company to get back to the airport after our cruise. On the morning of disembarkation I called Pink Galveston Taxi and gave them my best estimate of when we would be through customs and out the door. They were more than gracious with our ambiguous schedule and were there waiting for us as soon as we walked out to the taxi area. Here is where you have a real advantage over using the other taxi companies -- a bright pink taxi is very easy to find amongst all of the other regular yellow taxis! Our driver back to the airport was Tate's husband, John, and we had a great trip back to Houston/Hobby! Our group of 4 paid $95 + tip for each way.

So, if you are looking for a solution to getting to/from your Galveston port cruise please consider the above recommendation.

http://galvestonpinktaxi.com/contact/

One additional tip -- we got a last minute special on a car rental through Alamo -- total cost with tax: $24. These last minute specials are usually available 1-2 weeks ahead of time. We used the rental car from Saturday afternoon to Saturday night and were able to explore Galveston for a very cheap price (instead of just being "stuck" at our hotel for the day). Don't waste your money renting a car for a whole week AND pay for parking just to have the car sit there unused while you're cruising.

 

Based on other posts, I'm also in the minority because I think the food has improved over the years, not gotten worse.

You're only in the minority on cruise critic (haven for people who like to complain about everything). In reality, you're in the majority with people who actually love the food on the ship! (myself included). Don't feel bad or guilty for actually loving the food. Most people actually do.

Here's a vote for the little-known side that I think comes with the duck: Potato croquettes. Yum!!!! :)

Exactly what I was going to comment! No need for such rudeness.

 

Each person has their own idea of "valuables". No need to criticize another person's needs!

It's all in the delivery. The OP was over-the-top and ridiculous. You couldn't help but laugh. They are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill; they were trying to stir up trouble and create an issue where there really was none. So, don't be surprised and defensive about the well-deserved replies.

I can already tell this is going to be the start of a long, horrible cruise for this OP. (((sighs)))

I would definitely choose deck 9. Deck 6 is close to the entertainment and public spaces. We always stay in a balcony in the forward section and were never bothered by motion more than anywhere else on the ship.

There is no right or wrong answer. Everybody has a different opinion. Deck 6 is actually a more central location. You're not too far from anything you want to go to: Pool deck several decks up, entertainment and dining within a deck or two away, muster station a deck or two away, debarkation at ports a few decks down ... ;)

My philosophy is "There are no bad rooms on a cruise ship".

You're on a cruise for crying out loud!

I would also choose deck 9 because you have cabins above and below you. The only thing I noticed about forward cabins is a vibration when dropping the anchor. But the advantage is that you know when you have arrived.

You also arrive first ;)

Great, informative review! Thank you so much!

I hear Diamond members get to choose their color.

I also heard these bands can be used to reserve pool chairs and up to 10 seats at any of the shows.

I also heard these bands will sound an alarm if you enter the MDR on formal night without a tie.

I also heard they have a built-in cigarette smoke detector.

I read that they going to make passengers wear wristbands, they can also keep track to you, what you do, etc. I don't want to wear a wristband I am not a child I like the key card and prefer that!! I also don't want a robotic bartender either, but the question is if a robotic bartender serves you a drink I would have to say the robot doesn't deserve a tip!!

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Quantum-to-use-wrist-bands-instead-of-key-cards/?a=cruise&cid=eltrcruise

Since the ship is headed to China you probably won't have to worry about any of this too much ....

I've been on 13 cruises (4 of them on the Freedom) and I've stayed in an inside stateroom every time. They are a great value for the money! They are small, but laid out well. I have never had a problem with noise. Choose a stateroom at the aft of the ship in an interior hallway and you'll have very little traffic near your stateroom. My opinion -- don't hesitate for a minute to stay in an inside stateroom -- especially if the price is good. Unless you are planning to spend the majority of your cruise inside your room you should be totally fine!

No offense, but this is completely the wrong attitude to go into your cruise with. The majority of people who go on cruises love the food and are amazed by the taste and quality. If you don't like what you ordered just get something different. Don't become jaded by all of the negativity that gets posted on these board. Remember that people are about 20x more likely to post a complaint than a compliment. So, figure that for every negative review on here there was probably at least 20 others that were happy and/or amazed, but didn't post anything. You can't please everybody all of the time and some people you can please none of the time. The latter are the ones who like to post a lot on cruise critic. End of Rant.

 

 

Well no offence but you don't know me from a bar of soap,so keep your rants to yourself. Did I say it was rubbish? Didn't I say I hope to have nice food?

People having a go at others is also the norm on here I have noticed as well.

 

Thanks.

 

It seems that you forgot exactly what you posted: "I'm prepared to be less than wowed by the food.". This is the comment I was addressing. I didn't say anything mean or rude. Maybe you should be a little bit less snippy. I didn't know that I needed to know you better than a bar of soap to post a reply on Cruise Critic. My bad.