ChattTN

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241964

 

Still just a few new little tidbits of info. :(

I agree but looks like we are just a couple weeks or so away from the official announcement. :) Based on pricing that I have been checking on suites for next summers family vacation, it looks like they have the new perks priced in....

I would hope that they would have been able to stick to it in the middle of peak season otherwise the industry would have way too many cabins...

I will be interested to see how it holds up in shoulder (and slower) seasons. As it is too easy for travelers to pick a different line as other lines continue to expand as well....

I have pre paid my gratuities but I don't know what other tips to expect...

 

Coastal Kitchen? How much?

Concierge? How much?

Bartenders are an easy one....

On recent cruise for our family of 4...

Concierge - $75 - He was extremely helpful from cabana reservations, to shore excursions, to priority walk downs, etc...overall made sure we had a great cruise

CL lounge servers - $25 in envelope at end of cruise went into their bucket

Stateroom Attendant - He went over and above every single day.... Additional $40 at end of cruise....

Thinking about a last minute B2B (Eastern/Western Caribbean). Have went on many of these (always RCI and mostly Freedom class) but always in the winter. Assume heat/humidity at the ports will be pretty nasty. What about sea days? Plenty windy and not crazy hot?

 

More kids on board? What else might differ a little from what I'm used to? I know the prices on these summer cruises are CRAZY high compared to what I'm used to.

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, input, etc.!!

You are in for a wonderful cruise.

Is it summer.. YES, but the average temperature in St. Marteen in August is only 4 degrees warmer than April (88F versus 84F), and in Cozumel the average foes up from 86 to 91.

Will there be children, Yes most likely, but they have their areas and we adults have ours...

Have a great trip....

I came across an acticle on a web site called travelpulse published July 16, 2015. This article called is called "Royal Caribbean Sets the Stage for Anthem of the Seas' US Debut".

 

In this article it states that 'Royal Caribbean will introduce, within the next 30 days, a new program called the Royal Suite Class'.

 

I won't hold my breath but seems that some news maybe coming soon. Hopefully by the middle of August.

 

Manny

Looking forward to the announcement(s)...

Can anyone tell me if you get insurance and if anyone bought it with insuremytrip and are they ok.

Haven't used them before, but do use Nationwide's new cruise insurance program and seems to be very reasonably prices and they have good reviews from people that have had to use the coverage.

I don't know about that. I booked airfare on American Airlines 8 months in advance to Puerto Rico and got tickets for $345/pp round trip. 1 month later the cost went way up and has held pretty steady at $1400 for the same flight; however drops here and there to around $1020 have happened, but no less than that. I'm 3 weeks out from my cruise and have checked every day, and at the 7 week mark it was still $1400. I wouldn't risk waiting to buy airfare until the last minute; if you see a price you're willing to pay, buy them.

My comment was related to domestic flights not international. OP is looking to get to FLL from CLE. International flights have different set of "general booking guidelines". Also, it is important to know the markets you are trying to fly between and the season. All markets have unique dynamics that influence pricing, but in general buying too soon and too late can and likely will increase the cost.

We are going on Navigator April 2016 and I've been chomping at the bit to get our airfare booked from CLE or CAK to FLL. We haven't traveled by air in quite a few years and we are in a bit of sticker shock at prices and minimal to nonexistant amount of non-stop flights. Southwest is only booking through beginning of April right now and they seem to be the only airline that doesn't charge for bags. I found Jetblue flights direct & through cruiseair, good thing is they are non-stop both ways, but we'd have to pay for checked bags. Only difference in price appeared to be the $45 processing fee with cruiseair. Anyone have experience using cruiseair they can share and what exactly is the difference between booking direct with jetblue or through cruiseair. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

It is hard not to want to book early, but there are tons of articles backed with a lot of data that best time to buy domestic flights is 7-8 weeks before departure. Plenty of exceptions including discount airlines and volume of available flights from your origin, but they might be worth the read before booking this far in advance...

Do the prices of the drink packages go up closer to the sailing date? I wanted the Premium Package and it was $49 per person per day. Now it's $58.

The price hasn't changed. The $49 price was before automatic gratuity was added. The $58 includes the gratuities.

We had 8414 on Freedom in May and views were great. We are sneaking away without the kids in August so we booked Indy 7708. Cant say I have stayed there yet, but overall I think you made the right decision.

Generally, I've seen the limit at 2 orders of 8 tags. We've gotten them in less than a week.

+1

We were just on Freedom in 5/24 and were able to order two sets of 8 online (one at a time).

Freedom 8414 Royal Family Suite Balcony - May 2015

Do you remember if they had any left handed clubs? I have avoided it in the past, but if I had a bunch of OBC on a rainy day maybe.

I didn't notice if they had left handed clubs, or at least I don't remember either way..

Yes there is simulator, just used it on 5/24 sailing. You can call ahead or get access by just stoppin in to the same place they pass out wrist bands for the flow rider. Short version is $25/hour for a one or up to 4 people, several courses to chose from to play. It doesn't have putting mechanism so based on how close you approach shot lands you give yourself you own score for "number of puts"... My 14 year old enjoyed using it....

That's too bad -- the $140 worked great for two devices for us with the D+ discount. Is the speed that much better? It was very slow for us on 5-17-2015.

 

Was it $140 for one device?

It was our first cruise so I cant compare overall speed. But seemed fine to us. I was able to upload photos and short videos to Facebook without issues and don't remember sitting around and thinking about the service being slow. Only issue I had was trying to send photo's though iMessage, otherwise no issues.

Yes price was quoted during online log in as $20 a day for first device and $10 a day for second device. During initial log in it "searched" for available discounts, so for everyone with status I guess you will still get discounted price offers.

It should be noted that the WiFi went back up on Freedom. I was on 5/24/15 sailing and "unlimited" price was $210 for two devices. Basically they stated $20/day for one device and $10 for second (BOGO of sorts). Talking to crew they said price increase was due to the fact that they had upgraded the system. Overall speed wasn't an issue.

Should also be noted that on 5/24 sailing the Compass still said $140 for two devices so a trip to Guest Services on last day of trip got me a manual adjustment of $70 to lower our price to match.

We were on 5/24 sailing and had RFS AFT (8414) . We had all cushions and the suite beside us had cushions as well...

I am just off Freedom sailing (5/24) and did not have any issues with having drink package. I was never avoided and I never felt that they were not working hard. The bartenders were top notch and responsive. I'm guessing RCI is allocating them the package tips based on who actually made/delivered the drink which along with their strong work ethic keeps them engaged.....

Just off Freedom (5/24) sailing and was in 8414. Let me just say, great cabin for families. Also, don't worry about the "privacy issue". There are only a couple decks worth of cabins above that can look down on you if they walk up to their rail and look I will gladly take that to be able to have good view of the sky (sun and stars). Cabin was in great shape, no visible wear and the extra space was perfect for our family of 4 (including 14 and 16 year olds). I know my better half will be posting review with pics at some point... but trust me the room and balcony are great.... And yes there are now cushions on all the furniture...

While not a supe veteran cruise. I vote that you look into Freedom out of Canaveral on the Western itinerary. We just finished (yesterday) a family cruise with 14 & 16 year olds and had a great (best family vacation) trip.

Freedom sounds like a close drive, it has tons to do and should be less expensive than Oasis.

1) I really enjoyed starting and ending cruise with a sea day.

2) Labadee is a very nice and was a great place to simply relax

3) Falmouth - Port area is nice - we didn't leave it, but on next visit will venture out

4) Grand Cayman - Do stingray city. We tried and our excursion got canceled at last minute. We took cab to turtle farm and then over to 7 mile beach, both of which were nice.

5) Cozumel - Nice and great dolphin excursions available as well as shopping if that's more your speed. Also a party vibe a Senior Frogs if that is your speed or bar crawl excursions available if that is more your speed

We are now leaving PC. Thoughts and prayers with whomever was taken off....

Onboard channel indicates we have turned back to PC. Overheard medical emergency PA announcement around 9:00 eastern. Hopefully everyone ok. Making 23.5 knots....

Hello,

 

We are not big drinkers and are perfectly happy with our 3 free drinks per day as Diamond cruisers. However, I am curious. It seems that two or more people could easily share the cost of a drink package if the person who owns the package took on the role of drink purchaser. If the package is truly "unlimited", then the card holder should be able to get as many beverages as they want, from any bar. My hunch is there is a time limit between purchases.

 

In short it would be theft. There is no real difference in what you mentioned than stealing a "2nd" shirt off the rack at a department store and walking out without paying for it just because the store may not have modern security devices or just because you bought one shirt....

Hello all,

 

We are seasoned cruisers but are new to RC and are looking at booking the Independence June 2016 for our 30th anniversary. So the cabin availability is good now and the second person half off seems to be a recurring offer. I noticed that every June they run a 3 day sale and include a $200 OBC for balconies. I checked the best rate guarantee and its basically crap.

 

How would you suggest a newbie book to get the best rate and OBC offers.

 

P.S thanks to the folks who pointed out the JS is a waste without perks.

Newbie myself, but the best rate guarantee actually worked well for me multiple times. I was successful booking cabin I wanted earlier (and getting cabin I wanted) and then letting RCL price match when prices (or sales) happened to actually be lower than what I booked. Assuming you are a North American booking, RCL with price match multiple times between your initial booking and the final payment date. All it took for me was a 5 minute call to RCL to get a price math when it was warranted (I did not use a TA).....

Maybe I missed the post. We are sailing next month and are curious if the cushions for the outdoor furniture on the suites (loungers) returned to Freedom?