ckfred

We were on the Majesty last month, and all of the C&A members were at the same party. But, there were only 250 members on a full ship. That was low, compared to other ships I've been on.

If there was a top tier event, there would have been only 15 people. Out of the 250, 200 were Gold.

That said, I admittedly go for the free drinks. But then, the only beverage package we get are soda packages for my son and me, and a water package for my wife.

By the same token, I like hearing the captain's story. My father-in-law is a former U.S. Navy officer and maritime industry consultant.

If you participate in a ship-board activity while docked in an overnight port, the member of the cruise member's staff might kid everyone for not being off the ship.

We were in Reykjavik on an overnight docking, and the staff member couldn't believe how many people showed up at 10:30 for trivia. Most everyone had been off the ship for an extended time the day before and just wanted to relax, while a number of passengers were on excursions or shopping downtown.

Last summer, we had made it to Platinum on C&A. For dinner on the Brilliance, our family of 3 was seated at a table for 3. Considering that our son often ate with other teens in the youth program, it was often just the two of us for dinner.

Last week on the Majesty, the three of us were seated at a table for 4, with the 4th seat empty.

This time, we missed not having other people to converse over dinner.

If you achieve a higher status on C&A, do they assign you to smaller tables?

I actually look forward to meeting people at dinner. Any way to get assigned to a table with other people?

Personally, I like cooler destinations, like Alaska, New England, and the Canadian Maritimes.

That said, I'm a little peeved that RC hasn't had British Isles cruise from 2014 to 2016. There is one British Isles cruise in 2017, but it's in May, before U.S. schools let out for the summer.

While Celebrity has British Isles cruises, they seem to start and end in Amsterdam and last 12 to 14 nights. I would like a cruise of 7 to 10 nights out of Southampton, so I can spend several days in London, or possibly Scotland.

I don't mind eating dinner at the same time. I still travel with a child, albeit he turns 13 in a month. Still, we try to eat dinner at the same time every night, absent my wife getting stuck at work or soccer practice or a track meet running long.

It seems to me with Dynamic Dining, there is too much temptation to start scheduling too many things in the late afternoon. Then comes the question, such as "Are we eating at 5:30 or 7:00 tonight?" If you know that dinner is 6pm every night, then you plan around it.

Last week on the Majesty, we skipped a trivia event, because it was right up against the first seating for dinner.

If you make dinner reservations in advance, then it becomes too tempting to reschedule them because of trivia, a one-hour sale, an unexpected show in the theater, and so on.

Cons for aft cabins:

1. You do feel more motion, if the seas are on the rough side.

2. While we did hear any engine noise, we could feel a little more vibration, especially if the ship was sailing at a high rate of speed.

3. It can be a long walk to the elevator, especially on a Freedom-class ship.

Pro:

1. The view.

2. More balcony space than the typical cabin in the cabin grade.

3. On a corner, you can see both aft and to the side.

4. You also have a better view of the sky, since the cabins are stacked one on top of the other. We had a great view of a full moon and many, many stars on the Freedom a couple of years ago.

5. There is definitely less noise from the hallway, since aft cabins are so far from the elevators.

I've noticed that on a cruise out of Harwich last summer, far more people were dressed for formal night than on a cruise out of a U.S. port. And, the number of men and boys wearing tuxes was much, much higher than out of a U.S. port.

But, I got the idea that the U.K. is more formal than the U.S. In the U.S., business casual, although predominantly polos or dress shirts and Dockers, can be almost anything goes.

Riding the Tube in London last summer, people were dressed more formal than on commuter trains in Chicago. A lot of men were suits with no ties.

First, what is smart casual? I was on the Brilliance last summer out of Harwich, and frankly, the attire in the MDR on smart casual night wasn't that much different than casual night. Some women were a bit dressier, but that was about it.

Second, I really wish RC would enforce the "no shorts" policy in the MDR. I saw a number of people on the Brilliance in shorts (and that, despite the fact that in my opinion, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland were too cold and rainy for shorts, but that's just from living for 50+ years in the Midwest). Last week on the Majesty, there were even more shorts in the MDR for dinner.

I know that formal attire is "suggested" in the MDR on formal nights, but no where does it say that shorts aren't suggested or pants and dresses/skirts are suggested. Everything I've read says no shorts in the MDR.

We were on the Majesty last week and usually had iced tea with dinner 3 out of 4 nights. Frankly, it was the best iced tea I've ever had, dark in color and a flavor as strong as hot tea. It was better than the iced tea served in teh Windjammer, which was much lighter in color and tasted like like cold water with Linus Van Pelt's brown crayon used for flavoring.

Does anyone know where RC gets the MDR iced tea? We asked our waiter, and she said that the kitchen simply has one gallon bottles marked ice tea.

What Carnival does, is for Carnival to decide.....it doesn't necessarily mean Royal will go the same path as the Fathom brand is doing under Carnival.

Except in the business world, companies will copy each other as quickly as they can, whether it's airlines all implementing change fees, checked bag fees, and food for purchase in coach; hotels all copying Westin's Heavenly bed and binge buying mattresses; or RC copying NCL's Freestyle Sailing by introducing Dynamic Dining.

Starwood and Marriott are both preparing to operate hotels in Cuba. In my mind, it's not a matter of "if" RC will sail to Cuba but "when".

In the past, if an airline has changed a flight time, I've had no trouble moving to a different flight.

Several years ago, we were on an American Airlines flight that was supposed to depart Boston at noon. That flight was dropped, and we were put on a 2:30 departure. I called American, explained that we were getting off a cruise ship, and would prefer to depart on the 10:15 flight.

No problem.

I would in the future fly into a embarkation city the day before. Things can go wrong, even with early departures.

We were on the Majesty last week, flying to Miami on a 3pm flight Sunday afternoon. I found out Saturday morning that the flight was cancelled, because the widebody plane was needed to cover a flight to China, due to another plane developing mechanical problems.

You would think that a plane leaving early in the day wouldn't have mechanical issues, but that happens, as well as weather causing problems.

I was once on an 8am flight out of Chicago-O'Hare that wound up leaving at 11am, because the fog that was expected to roll in at 10am rolled in around 6:30. Plenty of arriving flights had to divert, and our airline was shuffling aircraft all morning.

If RC plans to make Royal Caribbean a more mass-market brand with larger ships, while Celebrity has smaller ships to go after the cruiser wanting to visit smaller cities, the one thing that RC needs to do is unify the loyalty programs.

It makes no sense that a cruiser can't accumulate points while sailing on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and other RC cruise lines.

If you look at the airlines, you can belong to one frequent flyer program while accumulating miles on other airlines within an alliance, as well as hotels and rental cars.

I'm not saying that RC should have a loyalty program with the myriad ways to accumulate miles as an airline F/F program, but at least let us get C&A points while sailing on Celebrity.

What I have learned over time is staff on ships, even Hotel Managers with years of experience like John the HM on Majesty, have extremely limited information and until a Royal senior executive is willing to put their name to something - rumors are just that or worse 'speculation'. Most rumors in my life have turned out to be false.

John said that he had no idea why the Empress was brought back, other than it fits in Havana harbor.

The Empress displaces about 48,000 tons, while the next smallest ship, the Majesty, displaces 73,000 tons. Empress carries about 900 fewer people than the Majesty. So, going to Cuba makes a lot of sense, especially since Carnival has already announced its intentions of sailing to Cuba.

With RC having 4 Oasis-class ships and 5 Quantum-class ships by 2020, it makes no sense to bring back such a small ship. It would make more sense to bring back the Sovereign or the Monarch before the Empress.

I dont understand the attraction of a cruise to Cuba either. What, exactly, does Cuba have that the other islands dont? Or is it just because its likely going to be a new stop and we have been forbidden to go there for the last 50 years or more?

 

The pictures Ive seen of some of the places there are beautiful. No more so than most any other island Ive been to though.

It's partly that, like people wanting Coors beer, before it was sold east of the Mississippi. Partly, Cuba was one of the more popular island getaways in the 1950s. Partly, Cuba is stuck in a time warp, since cars and other technology seem stuck in the 1950s.

I would also add that Cuba has the same affinity for baseball as the U.S. Last is the fact that Earnest Hemingway spent a lot of time in Cuba. I know a few people who want to do a Hemingway pub crawl in Havana.

I have a Bulova which I bought on the Rhapsody in 2011, and I had seen that exact model in a jewelry store near my home. It's the real McCoy.

My wife wanted me to buy a Tissot model that she had looked into buying for me for a birthday gift a year or two earlier.

The watches on RC ships are genuine, and I assume that they are bought through normal distribution channels. If RC was selling fake watches or sourced them through, shall we say "less-than-legal channels", I would think that law enforcement would be seizing them, when ships docked in U.S. ports.

I was on the Majesty's 4-day cruise last week. For the longest time, there was no roll call for the cruise. So, I started the thread. Only 2 other people signed up, even though the Majesty was full with 2,700 passengers, nearly 2,000 from the U.S. according to the Cruise Director.

Interesting. We are Platinum, but I didn't get that e-mail. Last week, we were on the Majesty, in a JS. Never saw the robes. Last year on the Brilliance out of Harwich, the robes showed up in our cabin (not a suite) on the second day.

We flew into MCO the night before a cruise on the Freedom. We stayed at the Hyatt Orlando Airport, which is literally inside inside the terminal. So, there is no need to find a hotel courtesy bus after arrival.

In the morning, it's simply walk to the area in the baggage claim where RC meets arriving passengers.

We were on the Majesty last week and took a cab from our hotel (Hampton Inn Airport South), rather than book and special for a hotel stay and transportation to the Miami cruise terminal. But for a cruise out of Port Canaveral, I would stay at the Airport Hyatt and take the RC bus.

However, according to the Majesty's hotel director, the reason for the return of the Empress to the RC fleet is the fact that Havana is not prepared to handle the mega ships of today, like Oasis, Freedom, and Quantum. The Empress can dock in Havana with no trouble, and its passenger capacity can be handled by the current cruise facilities.

It all depends on the cruise. We were on the Majest last week, which has space for about 2,700 passengers. Yet, according to the hotel director, there were less than 300 C&A members on the cruise. About 200 were Gold, and about 50 were Platinum. So, that meant there were about 50 between E, D, D+, and PC.

I just got off the Majesty this morning. Clearly, she needs a refurbishment. About the only area that didn't look tired and worn was the MDR on Deck 3. From the Windjammer to our JS to the Schooner Bar to the theater, it was clear how long it has been since the Majesty has been in dry dock for a major refurbishment.

That said, the crew was outstanding, very, very friendly and helpful. And, they were able to handle a lot of issues. The weather at Coco Cay went south, such that the decision was made just after 12pm to evacuate the island and head for Key West. Then, we had to divert to Miami because of a medical emergency. Then, we were about 35 minutes late out of Key West, because of yet another medical emergency, calling an ambulance to the pier. Finally, the late show on Thursday was cancelled, because of technical problems in the theater.

My only complaint is that the Majesty no longer offers the checking of baggage through to a passenger's final destination via air. That was a bit of a pain having to claim the bag off the carousel in the cruise terminal, schlep it out to the bus, and haul it up to ticketing at Miami International.

I just got off the Majesty this morning, and the hotel director had some comments at the C&A reception.

First, Majesty is getting a multi-million dollar refurbishment. Clearly, she needs it. Except for the MDR on Deck 3, she looked tired and worn. She had shown her age since my last cruise in March of 2010.

Now, the fact that the refurbishment has been scaled back could very well mean that RC had already decided that the Majesty was only going to stay with RC for a short amount of time, before going back into dry dock in Freeport for the work needed to prep her for joining one of RC's European lines.

The reason that she is staying with RC is that the economy in Europe is still struggling, and RC decided that it didn't need another ship catering to the European market.

Second, the hotel director joked that he had no idea why Empress was being brought back to the RC fleet, except for the fact that she fits very nicely in Havana harbor. The assumption there is the Cuban government hasn't done the work necessary to accept any of the large ships like RC's Oasis, Quantum, and Freedom-class ships, the NCL Breakaway class, or the Carnaval Dream and Conquest classes.

And, it could be that RC thinks that the attraction of Cuba doesn't need a ship with the bells and whistles that one finds on the newer ships.w

It seems to me that something doesn't make sense. A friend of my wife and family was scheduled to take either the Allure or the Oasis out of Ft. Lauderdale, when a hurricane disrupted the ship's arrival. The ship was a day or two late into port, and the whole itinerary was thrown off, because of more bad weather in the Caribbean.

RC offered two choices. A. Passengers could cancel the cruise, and RC would reimburse passengers for air fare. Besides the refund, RC offered a discount for a future cruise.

B. If the passenger decided to keep the booking, RC paid for rescheduled air travel. Since some passengers had already arrived in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area, RC reimbursed people for the additional stays in hotels, as well as per diems for meals. On board, every passenger got on-board credit, as well as a discount for a future cruise.

Now, RC could have easily said that the hurricane was an act of God and washed its hands of the situation.

That's why the initial posting sounds a little suspicious. I would like to know the ship names and the sailing dates.

I would also be curious to know if the person booked directly with RC or used a travel agent. A TA can do wonders, when things go wrong, because he or she has contacts with cruise lines to make arrangements that might be harder, dealing with the customer service desk on your own.

Cruise lines aren't the only ones who have problems. I've been on two RC cruises where the cruise was fine, but getting home was a nightmare, because of a plane with mechanical issues and waves of thunderstorms causing Orlando International to shut down repeatedly.

Some observations for this situation and future problems.

Besides contacting RC, I would contact your travel agent. Depending on the amount of business that your TA and the agency do with RC, they might have some additional leverage for getting a better resolution.

I would find out if fees charged by a ship's doctor can be submitted as a claim with your health insurer or for any trip insurance that you buy for future cruises. Considering that our family physician charges about $160 for an office visit, the $200 that the ship's doctor requested doesn't seem horribly expensive.

In the future, I would contact your cruise line to let them know about your child's medical concerns and give them contact information for your physician. The better a doctor can plan for possible treatment of your child, the better.

Last, while reading about your experience, I wondered if RC violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Certainly, if the situation is covered by the act, it would apply with a U.S. cruise line operating a ship out of a U.S. territory. I'm not sure which federal agency would be the right one to contact. But it seems to me that kicking a passenger and family off a ship over a medical concern that, at least according to the family, is not difficult to treat, would at least get the appropriate federal agency to look into the matter.

Getting a refund can take time. We submitted out paperwork for Norwegian shopping on the Brilliance, while docked in Geirenger.

That was early August. I mailed the tax forms for Iceland upon our arrival at home. That was mid August.

All of the refunds were credited to our charge cards in November.

That said, I have found great values for watches and jewelry on RC ships.

But, it does pay to find a good jeweler that isn't kicking back to the cruise line. My wife did some heavy duty shopping in St. Martin, finding items that were substantially cheaper than than family-owned or chain jewelers in and around our home.