What is/was your line in the sand?

[rimmit]

20 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Funnily enough I was just doing that today. We have 2020 booked with Royal, but was getting an idea of itineraries/costs/ideas for 2021.

Yes, it's too far out to be using the 2020 numbers/itineraries for 2021 and thinking they will be "accurate", but nevertheless as everyone here knows, research is everything lest you be fooled by "sales" banners....... LOL

 

The prices on Celebrity are pretty volatile.  More so than RCI.  The big sales I have noticed for X are when they start adding perks for free.  Typically you have to pay the Refundable rate to get two perks,  but sometimes they have get one or two perks free.  So you can book at the NRD rate and get perks and this can be a significant difference.

 

For is, in April of this year X started running KIds sail free and they don’t limit the dates like RCI does.  We can cruise cheaper on X AND get perks like a drink package and free grats than on RCI without a drink package.  While we have the reciprocal Elite status as we are D+, the only thing that really matters is the happy hour. X happy hour is 2 hours from 5-7 and it is UNLIMITED.  It doesn’t matter though as most who would benefit from the unlimited happy hour drinks just get the beverage package.   So there is barely any uptick during happy hour unlike on RCI where the bar tenders are fighting for their lives during the 3.5 hour happy hour.  Makes a much more enjoyable experience around the bars during happy hour time.   

Edited September 26, 2019 by rimmit

[rimmit]

15 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

If RCCL started producing ships that I just didn't care for.  Fortunately they've already built ones that I love, and I hope they keep them for many years to come.

 

I am a little concerned though, because I'm not a huge fan of the Oasis class and I'm not sure I'd like the Quantum class based on my research.

 

I'm happy to stick with Freedom and Voyager class as long as they do itineraries that we like. 

 

Dan

 

I wasn’t the biggest fan of quantum class initially,  but if you go on a couple cruises where the weather is cold or less than ideal you will quickly appreciate the quantum class.  It is an excellent cold weather ship.

[mugtech]

25 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

I find NCL has more inspired itineraries.  Where could RCI be going that NCL doesn’t cover?  NCL hits south America and is starting to go to South Africa, and in general does a better job of covering the globe.  Just curious.  I don’t watch NCL deployments as closely as RCI but definitely keep up to date with their more exotic ones as we are running out of fresh itineraries on RCI.

The most exotic cruises are with their worst ships and very expensive.  The Spirit is priced out of sight and the Dawn is a terrible ship for long distance voyages with the observation deck lounge replaced with cabins. Both RCI and X have better Asian itineraries than NCL, as they both have multiple cruises with stops in the Philippines and Taiwan.  In addition RCI Trans Pacific cruises offer more variety.  Comparable cruises are priced higher on NCL, probably because of the free drinks package which I don't use but know I am paying for others to drink.

[mugtech]

47 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

I am glad we tried X.  We really have enjoyed coming back to that line.  It has cutbacks as well,  but still an enjoyable product line RCI.

Saw the X add last night, Jefferson Airplane singing White Rabbit.  Gotta wonder what they have in mind going forward.

[rimmit]

2 minutes ago, mugtech said:

The most exotic cruises are with their worst ships and very expensive.  The Spirit is priced out of sight and the Dawn is a terrible ship for long distance voyages with the observation deck lounge replaced with cabins. Both RCI and X have better Asian itineraries than NCL, as they both have multiple cruises with stops in the Philippines and Taiwan.  In addition RCI Trans Pacific cruises offer more variety.  Comparable cruises are priced higher on NCL, probably because of the free drinks package which I don't use but know I am paying for others to drink.

 

Gotcha.  I don’t know the NCL fleet well.  I just look at the itineraries.  Didn’t realize the ships were that undesirable.  The negative for RCI in Asia is that it is aimed for the short cruise Asian market AND the demographic is also the short cruise Asian market.  Not the 2 week long American market cruiser so for RCI you have to B2b2b it with some repeat stops.  RCI only have a very small number of cruises over 9 days in Asia.  I never paid attention to the Philippines stops as I am Filipino and my extended family still lives there so I have been there many times.  

 

Thankfully, X does offer longer itineraries in Asia.

 

I have noticed NCL is more expensive unless you do the sail away rate but you lose the perks.  Paying grats on the beverage package really kinda kills the “perk” value.

[orville99]

Platinum on Disney and Princess; 3-star on HAL, and dropped all three of them once we started sailing on Royal. See no reason at all to go out and try any other lines.

[rimmit]

1 minute ago, mugtech said:

Saw the X add last night, Jefferson Airplane singing White Rabbit.  Gotta wonder what they have in mind going forward.

 

I think they are actually aiming at the aging millennial/gen Y market with kids....   they have invested a lot recently in their kids program and are offering Kids sale free for the first time in years.

[rimmit]

2 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Platinum on Disney and Princess; 3-star on HAL, and dropped all three of them once we started sailing on Royal. See no reason at all to go out and try any other lines.

 

RCI definitely beats all three on the base rate/value aspect.

[fscool]

Keeping sending you to CocoCay and then dock 2 ships there.  Oh wait....they are doing that.

[Debitoo]

17 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Saw the X add last night, Jefferson Airplane singing White Rabbit.  Gotta wonder what they have in mind going forward.

Saw that too. Wondered the same thing. 😱

[mugtech]

14 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

 Not the 2 week long American market cruiser so for RCI you have to B2b2b it with some repeat stops.  RCI only have a very small number of cruises over 9 days in Asia.  I never paid attention to the Philippines stops as I am Filipino and my extended family still lives there so I have been there many times.  

 

Thankfully, X does offer longer itineraries in Asia.

 

 

We are excited that Spectrum and Quantum are both stopping in Ilocos this year, about an hour north of where we live 6 months of the year.  Eager to see Subic Bay and sail into Manila Bay, where my father was in 1945.  Looking at taking the X 14 day next year which stops in Boracay and Puerto Princessa.  Where is your family in the Philippines? 

[rimmit]

8 minutes ago, mugtech said:

We are excited that Spectrum and Quantum are both stopping in Ilocos this year, about an hour north of where we live 6 months of the year.  Eager to see Subic Bay and sail into Manila Bay, where my father was in 1945.  Looking at taking the X 14 day next year which stops in Boracay and Puerto Princessa.  Where is your family in the Philippines? 

 

They live mostly in Quezon City these days.  My father is from Tangub, in Mindanao originally.  They also have a lot of land in Coron, Palawan.  They have a biodiversity park they run there, Kingfisher Park.  

 

http://www.kingfisherpark.com/

 

It is absolutely beautiful there.  They used to have some overwater bungalows until Typhoon Yolanda wiped them out.  

 

Puerta Princessa is great.  Go to the underground caves there.  It’s really nice.

 

Boracay has a beautiful beach.

 

If you have time go to Corregidor while

in manila. As a WWII history person you will enjoy it.

[rimmit]

The Philippines is truly an untapped treasure and ripe for tourism.  Pretty much everyone speaks English and it’s dirt cheap.  

 

The terrorists were a problem for a while especially in the south.  They have thankfully stopped beheading the tourists which has helped tourism immensely.

[toxicfairy]

Lack of communication during Hurricane Harvy. We called before we flew out and were told if we weren't on the pier we would lose our money ... They were not cancelling. So we flew out and got there just before it hit. They would give slow infrequent uodates. And refused to cancel even AFTER the PORT Closed! Then would not reimburse us for anything extra ...being stuck for 5 days in a hotel...purchasing all our meals and finally the rental car to get home when after 5 days the airport was still closed! Then i wanted the same cruise ,same rooms ( or comparable) same price for the following year...I was told rates went up but I'm sure if you keep your eyes open you can find a good sale! I was pissed to say the least. But after a different cruise line that i wasn't thrilled with I'm heading back to Royal in February.

[goldfish65]

1 hour ago, rimmit said:

 

LLP is definitely scares me.   I heard the footstools May be making a comeback...   we will see how true that is.

 

What is LLP?

[mayleeman]

10 minutes ago, rimmit said:

They have thankfully stopped beheading the tourists which has helped tourism immensely.

 

One could see how that would at least allow for more returnees.

Edited September 26, 2019 by mayleeman

[soremekun]

21 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

 

What is LLP?

Is it the CEO of Celebrity?

[Anton]

29 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

 

What is LLP?

 Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the Celebrity president and CEO.

[Coralc]

38 minutes ago, toxicfairy said:

Lack of communication during Hurricane Harvy. We called before we flew out and were told if we weren't on the pier we would lose our money ... They were not cancelling. So we flew out and got there just before it hit. They would give slow infrequent uodates. And refused to cancel even AFTER the PORT Closed! Then would not reimburse us for anything extra ...being stuck for 5 days in a hotel...purchasing all our meals and finally the rental car to get home when after 5 days the airport was still closed! Then i wanted the same cruise ,same rooms ( or comparable) same price for the following year...I was told rates went up but I'm sure if you keep your eyes open you can find a good sale! I was pissed to say the least. But after a different cruise line that i wasn't thrilled with I'm heading back to Royal in February.

 

I remember that mess that you were stuck in TF. They handled that Hurricane Harvey sailing very, very badly. Royal Caribbean never should have told people to come to a hurricane area. Thankfully. They seemed to have learned something and seem to have handled more recent hurricanes in a more thoughtful manner. 

 

We get fed up with Royal Caribbean sometimes, but not enough to switch lines yet. Part of it is familiarity, so we have a better idea of what to do when things go wrong. 

 

We only sailed with Carnival once, in 1998, as relatively new cruisers. And that cruise was so bad that we never have sailed with them again. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Coralc

[BND]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

If they removed the Diamond Lounge RC would cease to be our first choice of cruiselines.

And, you'd go where?  Even Celebrity only gives free drinks and apps most nights, not all-none the first night or on Captain's night.  Other cruiselines do nothing like it.   As D+, it wouldn't stop us from going on RCI.  Otherwise, the lounge is just a room with a coffee maker (that often doesn't work).  And, during happy hour, it can be so crowded.  We actually prefer the CL on ships that have them.

 

The only thing that would make us stop is if prices got way too out of control.

[molsonschooner]

2 hours ago, boscobeans said:

It was the DD debacle but it just caused us to cancel and rebook with X and then another RC ship.  Once it was ended we booked on the ANTHEM.

 

Still cruising both but more now on RC since LLP has begun her transition of Celebrity....

what was the DD debacle and what/who is LLP

[WeLuvVacation]

We'd be hard pressed to switch away from RCL. Removing the Diamond Lounge/happy hours would be cause to leave with no replacement (like adding additional free drinks on the card each night.) We both like the ship layouts and the activities so that is a plus. Food is still pretty good so the food quality declining would be another reason to leave.

[mk-ultra]

[Grabbing Popcorn] This will be a fun ride.  Quick: someone add tipping to this thread!

Edited September 26, 2019 by mk-ultra

[billslowsky]

If they went back to strict MDR dress codes, that would do it for me.

[Milwaukee Eight]

Not a line in the sand but our last experience as a Suite Guest on Harmony Presidents cruise, we have decided to try other vacations (River Cruise, a week in NYC, a few days in NOLA, a land tour of Israel x 2, and a week in Sturgis). We have found these other vacations.