Hideaway Beach at Perfect Day

[GimmeOcean]

8 minutes ago, RD64 said:

They don’t care about -  or want the frequent cruisers who whine and complain about every possible perk they can get without spending an additional dime on board. They are not making any money off of you, and truly your loyalty means nothing. All cruise lines are looking for the first time - free spending cruiser - who isn’t obsessed with getting that free bag of laundry plus their drink coupons. # TrueFacts

If that were true they would have no loyalty plan at all.

[Mapleleafforever]

Only a matter of time until they start charging extra for access to the adults only Solarium on board the ship. 

[ALTravelGal]

The roll out video made it look cramped, crowded. And then there's the DJ everyone noticed.

[elizabethbp]

I really think this is   partly RCCL's response to Virgin Cruises and to attract some of the crowd Virgin gets, though  not sure a one day stop at a Las Vegas type pool is enough to woo that  group.  I do think it will be very popular with many of the  20- 30   something crowd I saw on my last cruise in July on Oasis. And that is fine.    

[Shiraus82]

Anthem in March $34,99. We're doing b2b and the week before is $52,99.

[Mum2Mercury]

12 hours ago, teddie said:

"Non-stop DJ" is a hard pass for us. I'll risk the screaming kid...

In all honesty, the screaming kid thing is kinda overblown.  I haven't personally seen a lot of unhappy children at Coco Cay -- or any beach.  

But I do see why some people might like to spend their day in an all-adult atmosphere.

12 hours ago, RD64 said:

They don’t care about -  or want the frequent cruisers who whine and complain about every possible perk they can get without spending an additional dime on board. They are not making any money off of you, and truly your loyalty means nothing. All cruise lines are looking for the first time - free spending cruiser - who isn’t obsessed with getting that free bag of laundry plus their drink coupons. # TrueFacts

Do first-time cruisers spend more?  

12 hours ago, teddie said:

Didja notice that every single virtual adult in this video appear to be 30 and under?  I wonder if there will be an age LIMIT! 🤣

They're all really good looking too.  It's a marketing video, so that's to be expected.  

12 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Only a matter of time until they start charging extra for access to the adults only Solarium on board the ship. 

I don't think that's a natural progression.  

8 hours ago, elizabethbp said:

I really think this is   partly RCCL's response to Virgin Cruises and to attract some of the crowd Virgin gets, though  not sure a one day stop at a Las Vegas type pool is enough to woo that  group.  I do think it will be very popular with many of the  20- 30   something crowd I saw on my last cruise in July on Oasis. And that is fine.    

Yes, it's fine that they have an option that doesn't appeal to everyone.  

7 hours ago, Shiraus82 said:

Anthem in March $34,99. We're doing b2b and the week before is $52,99.

I just checked the price for my upcoming Wonder cruise:  $64.99 + that 18% they add to everything.  I'm not the target audience, but I wouldn't be interested at any price.  

 

An idea:  They want this to appeal to party-people.  If they were to offer this area with unlimited drinks (or maybe X number of drinks for the day), they might attract people who aren't willing to pay for the drink package for the whole week.  Of course, they'd have to triple -- no quadruple -- the lifeguards.  

[island lady]

17 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

The above accounts aren't why we don't ever spend time in the main pool area but it sure is giving me another reason. 🙈

 

LOL.  Bucky and I never spend time in the pool areas on any ship.  (Which gives the chair hogs more territory! 😄 ).    Not a fan of the party/way too loud atmosphere, and won't get into any of the "bacteria soup" pots.  😉 

[island lady]

17 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

I've never experienced the mail pool, but maybe I should. LOL. 

 

Those are for postal workers only anyway.  😉 

[island lady]

13 hours ago, RD64 said:

They don’t care about -  or want the frequent cruisers who whine and complain about every possible perk they can get without spending an additional dime on board. They are not making any money off of you, and truly your loyalty means nothing. All cruise lines are looking for the first time - free spending cruiser - who isn’t obsessed with getting that free bag of laundry plus their drink coupons. # TrueFacts

 

I have been Pinnacle for awhile now.  And I sail in suites.  I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how much of my nest egg I have given RCI over the last 20 years.  

 

And no...I don't whine and complain about the lack of perks that are now constantly eroding with RCI.  I have another solution...I am not booking new cruises with RCI any longer.  Viking is now getting that business.  Money talks...and...

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by island lady

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, island lady said:

LOL.  Bucky and I never spend time in the pool areas on any ship.  (Which gives the chair hogs more territory! 😄 ).    Not a fan of the party/way too loud atmosphere, and won't get into any of the "bacteria soup" pots.  😉 

 

Yeah, it's the one place I do consider too crowded and the sun/heat hates me anyway. We do spend time lounging in the Solarium in the shade. Wife will occasionally just take a dip in the pool there if she's hot then come right back to the chairs.

 

Similar routine by the Oasis pool on CocoCay (our spot isn't that far from the DJ but it's definitely not what I'd consider loud). If it's hot we'll sit on the underwater benches by the trees to cool off then back to the chairs and umbrella. I have to maintain my comfort and appetite there for multiple food runs, of course. 😁

[not-enough-cruising]

47 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

.  

I don't think that's a natural progression.  

 

Other cruise lines are already charging for their version of the solarium. THAT Is the natural progression. Once one line is the test case that proves people will pay; others follow. 

[island lady]

39 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Yeah, it's the one place I do consider too crowded and the sun/heat hates me anyway. We do spend time lounging in the Solarium in the shade. Wife will occasionally just take a dip in the pool there if she's hot then come right back to the chairs.

 

Similar routine by the Oasis pool on CocoCay (our spot isn't that far from the DJ but it's definitely not what I'd consider loud). If it's hot we'll sit on the underwater benches by the trees to cool off then back to the chairs and umbrella. I have to maintain my comfort and appetite there for multiple food runs, of course. 😁

 

Mmmm...Coco locos!  😄 

[orville99]

13 hours ago, RD64 said:

They don’t care about -  or want the frequent cruisers who whine and complain about every possible perk they can get without spending an additional dime on board. They are not making any money off of you, and truly your loyalty means nothing. All cruise lines are looking for the first time - free spending cruiser - who isn’t obsessed with getting that free bag of laundry plus their drink coupons. # TrueFacts

 

53 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I have been Pinnacle for awhile now.  And I sail in suites.  I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how much of my nest egg I have given RCI over the last 20 years.  

 

And no...I don't whine and complain about the lack of perks that are now constantly eroding with RCI.  I have another solution...I am not booking new cruises with RCI any longer.  Viking is now getting that business.  Money talks...and...

I have never really thought about it this way before, but these two posts got me to check just how much revenue RCL has received from me since we started sailing with them. After all, if we Pins are only going to whine and complain about the "free" perks, I guess we should also understand how much those "free" perks actually cost.

 

To date, not including on board spend, the "free" perks we now receive have only cost us a mere  $350,172.65, and we currently have just $76,033.46 outstanding in booked cruises between February 2024 and April 2025. On board spend is probably in the neighborhood of another $50,000-$75,000 overall.

 

I guess ~$500,000 is about the going cost of "free" - who knew😇

[Rackham]

31 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Other cruise lines are already charging for their version of the solarium. THAT Is the natural progression. Once one line is the test case that proves people will pay; others follow. 

 

I'm not familiar with other lines' version of the solarium, but at least with Royal, I can't see them charging due to the size and location of the area. Charging for entry would cause major headaches with moving about the ship and further crowd the general pool deck. What I can see them doing, and what I suspect they're doing on Icon with The Hideaway, is adding upcharge areas aboard their ships which are specifically designed for this purpose. By doing so, Royal has a way for people who didn't book a cabin with access to the suite amenities to purchase admission to something like the suite neighborhood.

 

1. THE HIDEAWAY POOL

First things first — let's talk about the neighborhood. The Hideaway is a beach club located in the cruise ship's Chill Island neighborhood, which is home to four of the seven pools onboard. This is where you'll find the Hideaway Pool, the only suspended infinity pool at sea. This engineering marvel offers uninterrupted, 180-degree ocean views and endless chill vibes thanks to comfy in-water loungers that will make you feel like you're at a beach club in Mykonos or Majorca. This epic cruise ship pool is flanked by ample deck space with additional loungers for laying out and enjoying the sunshine.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/guides/best-cruise-ship-pools-icon

 

[bigque]

If you not a party person and don’t want that atmosphere then then just don’t book it! It’s been advertised for what it is….Coco Cay is what it is now… A big entertainment and amusement complex!

[not-enough-cruising]

11 minutes ago, Rackham said:

 

I'm not familiar with other lines' version of the solarium, but at least with Royal, I can't see them charging due to the size and location of the area. Charging for entry would cause major headaches with moving about the ship and further crowd the general pool deck. What I can see them doing, and what I suspect they're doing on Icon with The Hideaway, is adding upcharge areas aboard their ships which are specifically designed for this purpose. By doing so, Royal has a way for people who didn't book a cabin with access to the suite amenities to purchase admission to something like the suite neighborhood.

 

1. THE HIDEAWAY POOL

First things first — let's talk about the neighborhood. The Hideaway is a beach club located in the cruise ship's Chill Island neighborhood, which is home to four of the seven pools onboard. This is where you'll find the Hideaway Pool, the only suspended infinity pool at sea. This engineering marvel offers uninterrupted, 180-degree ocean views and endless chill vibes thanks to comfy in-water loungers that will make you feel like you're at a beach club in Mykonos or Majorca. This epic cruise ship pool is flanked by ample deck space with additional loungers for laying out and enjoying the sunshine.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/guides/best-cruise-ship-pools-icon

 

Here is an example of how NCL is capitalizing on the adults only experience. 
 

https://cruiseradio.net/vibe-beach-club-norwegian-cruise-line/

[orville99]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

Viking is now getting that business. 

We are starting to look at Regent Seven Seas for 2025-2026 cruises. Would love to try Viking, but we don't like to fly everywhere anymore (especially to Europe for every cruise), and Regent is a much more convenient option for us.

[BND]

16 hours ago, teddie said:

Didja notice that every single virtual adult in this video appear to be 30 and under?  I wonder if there will be an age LIMIT! 🤣

 

Teddie

 

Every cruise video I have ever seen has young, fit people in it.  Now, tell me what you actually see on a cruise?  It's purely marketing and has nothing to do with any "age limit" (BTW, not gonna happen).

[Mikew0805]

On 9/15/2023 at 7:16 AM, OCSC Mike said:

 

We sit close enough to hear the music and it's a short walk to the back of the swim up bar and I can't even hear the DJ. No adult kindergarten where we sit... and we could get much farther from the DJ if we wanted to.

 

The entire pool is just not loud at all in my experience, only right by the DJ.

Agree. I sit opposite side of pool, (Actually just in front of the helium ballon) and while I can hear the DJ and the music, it does not even come close to interfering with conversations or even a cat nap for a light sleeper like me. 

20 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I owe you more than one. Fortunately, soon we'll have 10 between me and my wife instead of 8 so I can be more generous. 😁

I barley use two of mine a day. It's pathetic. 

 

 

 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

 

I have never really thought about it this way before, but these two posts got me to check just how much revenue RCL has received from me since we started sailing with them. After all, if we Pins are only going to whine and complain about the "free" perks, I guess we should also understand how much those "free" perks actually cost.

 

To date, not including on board spend, the "free" perks we now receive have only cost us a mere  $350,172.65, and we currently have just $76,033.46 outstanding in booked cruises between February 2024 and April 2025. On board spend is probably in the neighborhood of another $50,000-$75,000 overall.

 

I guess ~$500,000 is about the going cost of "free" - who knew😇

 

Exactly!  Good post my friend.  🙂 

 

 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

We are starting to look at Regent Seven Seas for 2025-2026 cruises. Would love to try Viking, but we don't like to fly everywhere anymore (especially to Europe for every cruise), and Regent is a much more convenient option for us.

 

Yeah, we are outbound to Bucharest on Monday.  Will be with Viking for just shy of 4 weeks.  River cruise trip.  

 

The next two indeed include a long flight to Australia...but I gave up when RCI cancelled our last two bookings in a row to try to go down there.  Will make it worthwhile with being down there for almost two months.  

 

The last set is a simple flight to Milwaukee.  🙂   But then flying back from Nuuk Greenland.  

[MaryBCruisin]

Are hammock rafts allowed in the pools, the ones that only the head and foot are inflated?

[teddie]

6 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

18 hours ago, teddie said:

Didja notice that every single virtual adult in this video appear to be 30 and under?  I wonder if there will be an age LIMIT! 🤣

They're all really good looking too.  It's a marketing video, so that's to be expected.  

Obvi.  I was going for humor.... 🙂

 

Teddie

[teddie]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Every cruise video I have ever seen has young, fit people in it.  Now, tell me what you actually see on a cruise?  It's purely marketing and has nothing to do with any "age limit" (BTW, not gonna happen).

 

Of course, there will be no "age limit", lol.  Clearly, RCI is going for the younger demographic--I found it humorous.

 

Teddie

[orville99]

19 hours ago, teddie said:

Didja notice that every single virtual adult in this video appear to be 30 and under?  I wonder if there will be an age LIMIT! 🤣

 

Teddie

 

Maybe they should rename it Stepford Beach😇