twangster

The ultimate cancel culture.

JR milkshake discount is clearly defined now. 50% off a Johnny Rockets milkshake (2 coupons per sailing) This was variable before or non-existent.

One nice change is that onboard offers are more clear now and more of them are in the published benefits grid. Before many were onboard offers on a letter in your cabin but not widely published for all to see before boarding.

Specialty dining venues updated in BOGO. Hooked excluded. Izumi (non-Hibachi) is unclear. Purchase one cover charge in a specialty restaurant on the fi rst or second day of your cruise and the second cover charge is free. Excludes Izumi Hibachi, Teppanyaki, Chef’s Table, and Hooked Seafood .

Free laundry for top elite is updated. This occurred with last update I think. Free laundry is a specific day. Otherwise up to a $10 discount.

DP340 time has adjusted. It used to be July and August. Now it's June 15 through Aug. 15. More holidays are now blacked out too. Old verbiage Single members must have 340 Cruise Points earned in order to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas and New Year) and the months of July and August are not included in this offer. March 2023 verbiage: Single members must have at least 340 Cruise Points earned to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring break) and the peak summer months of June 15 thru August 15 are not included in this offer.

For some time now there have been reports of this occurring. Granted most folks reported the opposite but it's not something that hasn't been reported before so this isn't totally new. People have reported for years that dependent children lost their status at 18 and were reset to their natural level. There were not a lot of reports of it happening but there have been reports. Most families did not experience this but that doesn't make it a documented policy. When it has happened and it was appealed, the appeal reportedly was denied. It has become more of a practice than a policy. In practice, most families saw their children's status frozen upon turning 18 but as stated there have been reported cases of the opposite. It is odd that a phone agent and a ship LA both cited this recently. It's even more odd that an LA went out of their way to make the phone call to inform a guest of this change. Most would presumably choose to avoid the confrontation and demote after the cruise without saying a word. I've yet to find written policy that explicitly states it one way or the other. The so-called "policy" has been an interpretation based on what occurred more often. Here is 2017 verbiage from an old PDF I found. A Crown & Anchor Society member can be added into a relationship with other family members in the same household and receive equivalent tier status; however Cruise Points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the Program level accrual system described above. Pinnacle Club member tier status will not be awarded to dependents if earned by their parent and/or guardian. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual, spouse or significant other by one of them accumulating 700 Cruise Points or more in the CAS program. For all tiers except Pinnacle Club, a relationship is defined as a spouse or significant other and children less than 18 years old. For Pinnacle Club a relationship is considered a spouse and/or significant other. Children will be taken out of a relationship with a parent or guardian upon their 18th birthday date. If it is found that a dependent or child is not immediately removed from a relationship upon their 18th birthday and accumulates a higher tier status outside of this time period, the dependents record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. Interpretation hinges on: Children will be taken out of a relationship with a parent or guardian upon their 18th birthday date. If they are taken out of the relationship then they would not be eligible for any status other than their natural status. Some people interpreted that children would have their status frozen upon their 18th birthday but it has never actually stated that. ...the dependents record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. This is ambiguous because it doesn't define what "appropriate tier status" is supposed to be. The frozen level or the earned by their own actual points level? So what happens upon a divorce? Are the individuals set back to their natural points levels or does the person with the lower personal points become frozen at their pre-divorce level? It's kind of the same scenario as a dependent turning 18. They are no longer in the relationship, but what happens to their status? It's never been clear in the published verbiage. The lastest is now dated March 10, 2023. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf A Crown & Anchor Society member can be added into a relationship with other family members in the same household and receive equivalent tier status; however, Cruise Points will remain according to actual cruises taken and calculated using the Program level accrual system described above. Pinnacle Club member tier status will not be awarded to dependents if earned by their parent and/or guardian. Pinnacle Club member tier status can only be earned by an individual, spouse or significant other* by one of them accumulating 700 Cruise Points or more in the Crown & Anchor Society program. For all tiers except Pinnacle Club, a relationship is defined as a spouse or significant other* and children less than 18 years old. For Pinnacle Club a relationship is considered a spouse and/or significant other*. *In all instances, a “significant other” is defined as someone in a similar relationship to an individual as a spouse. Note there is less verbiage but it is clear that you must be under 18 to be a dependent in a family relationship. If over 18 you cannot be in a relationship. That leads us to the next question. What happens if you are no longer eligible to be in a defined relationship? It doesn't say if CAS level becomes frozen or not. So that leaves the CAS in a position to make a determination such as "No relationship, no match. No freeze. Period.". My formerly dependent children missed the boat on dependent status because we used to cruise other cruise lines and their first Royal cruise occured when they were over 17. When I called to see if there was any manner that would allow them to be retroactively adjusted I was told no and the reason given was because as soon as they turned 18 they would have lost the status match anyways, so even if they were retroactively made my status as 17 yo's it would be instantly lost because of their current age. That conversation occurred a number of years ago so going back a number of years the policy has been "Lose status on the 18th birthday" and not "frozen at the 18th birthday" despite that is what most seem to have experienced. I'm guessing in this case the daughter's account was flagged because of the phone call pre-cruise. Had that call not happened they would have likely continued to fly under the radar like the vast majority of people with now older than dependent children. With the account flagged the LA onboard must have seen the red flag and acted by fulfilling the record will be adjusted back to the appropriate tier status. Lesson learned - if you are over 17 and a former dependent status match benefactor keep quiet and fly under the radar.

I'd love to get a Spectrum block. He must have a couple he would be willing to trade by now. 🤣

Hopefully he is a decent gambler and not ruining his life because of a gambling addiction.

This picture was taken as we left Hubbard Glacier on the first trip for this class to Alaska in 2019. On subsequent trips on both Ovation and Quantum I've always seen someone using the Flowrider when it was running in Alaska. This wasn't staged.

If you have a valid booking it is still possible to arrive at the terminal with no paperwork. Security will escort you to someone who can validate your name is on the manifest. There are some people, primarily older people, who don't have a smartphone or computer. However you need to be on the manifest (have a confirmed booking). It may not be the quickest process but it can be done.

D+ seapass card opens the Ovation suite sun deck (or used to pre-shutdown).

It's also possible the TA site has old cached data. One TA I used to use would often advertise rates but if you tried to book them it would fail. The one cabin at that rate was grabbed by someone else.

Much more likely to see the Salmon runs after mid-August. Earlier than that you probably won't see them. That also mens bears are enjoying the Salmon runs so the opportunity for some wildlife is better. There is no wrong month to cruise Alaska. You'll see stuff that is less likely in other months. Other wildlife may not be as prevalent. It all depends. I've sailed Alaska six times from mid-May to September. Each was great, each was different.

Reports of a Sargasso contractor at the terminal blocking D+ from using the Suites entrance in Florida Does that count?

Yes, in theory, at least for the 1/3 of the fleet that had O3b to begin with. However once they gave up their slots with O3b it might be impossible to get those back if O3b has assigned them to other customers. The larger issue is cost which is why they migrated to Starlink. Keep in mind Royal isn't trying, or even pretending to try, to provide great internet service. They moved to Starlink to have a supplier that provided a lower cost solution. To move back to a higher cost provider is probably a much bigger issue compared to the actual technology involved. We have seen that for their beverage suppliers they had no problem simply saying X brand of beverage is not available. They could have found a source for X brand but at a higher cost. Instead of going there they simply said, nope, brand X is not available right now. Once you consider that an internet provider is just that, one of many potential providers, Royal is not trying to achieve performance targets with any supplier, beyond cost. If O3b offered a steep discount to go back to them then maybe it would be an option. But why would a provider, seeing a competitor fail miserably, offer a steep discount to allow customers to switch back? That breaks their business model - stable and reliable service at a cost for stable and reliable service. Royal isn't trying to provide the best, they are trying to provide good enough, at an economical supplier cost. That's isn't what O3b provides. They provide solid solutions, but at an appropriate rate for solid and reliable service. It all comes back to... you get what you pay for. Which by the way, is probably exactly what RCG stakeholders (investors) want to see then do in their current financial condition.

Bad news for the state of Starlink Maritime service. The Starlink v2-mini satellites that we supposed to be an interim band aid for many things Starlink but especially the maritime service have suffered a setback. This will delay Starlink Maritime service getting any better in the near term. https://spacenews.com/spacex-experiencing-problems-with-first-upgraded-starlink-v2-satellites/

Ship's are managed as if they are a franchise with management onboard making up their own rules. This has long been a frustration with the UDP. One ship does it one way, another ship does it similar but maybe not. The UDP becomes like dealing with stock investments... Performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Take everything posted about the UDP in this light. Ask onboard and try.

Spouses share "relationship" points. Whoever has the highest personal point count determines the level that the relationship has. That also applies to dependent children until their 18th birthday. You may need to call CAS to have the relationship put into effect. ‭(800) 526-9723‬ Note that everyone still has their own unique points based solely on cruises they have sailed, but the higher points tally will be displayed and determine the level that everyone in the relationship shares. A solo cruiser does qualify for an extra point per night (unless they are booked in a studio cabin, then single points). For this reason it can be beneficial to put the adult with the highest personal points count into the cabin by themselves so that everyone benefits from their new points count. Once onboard you can move people around based on preferences. If you have the most points then booking you in the role as the solo cruiser works best. For example if you have 50 points and your spouse has 40 points you will both appear to have 50 points. However since your spouse only has 40 points if they are in the cabin by themselves their points will go up from 40 to 54 for a seven night cruise (7 x 2). Your points would go from 50 to 57 for a seven night cruise ( 7 x 1 ) if booked in a cabin with the kids. The relationship points would then be 57. If you book yourself in the cabin by yourself then you would go from 50 to 64 for a seven night cruise (7 x 2). Your spouse would go from 40 to 47 but that would occur in the background and not be visible. The relationship points would be 64 so everyone would appear to have 64. The same works even better with a suite. Book the highest points holder in a suite alone so they get 3 points per night.

Here is a Cruise Compass from Alaska last year. Maybe it will answer some questions: QN 7 Night Alaska May 9 2022.PDF

I can see the merit of the new design. Unless you add lighting to the old style blocks the details get lost. The new design stands out, they are legible from a few feet away.

Carnival is better for comfort food and more of it is complimentary.

Indy takes over the "OMG I can't afford that cruise" slot.

If anyone else can't get resolution from MSC increasing the price of a confirmed booking here are some resources to consider: Dear -----------------, The Florida Attorney General's Office received your email regarding your concerns with MSC Cruises. Attorney General Moody asked that I respond. We appreciate hearing from you, and I am sorry for your difficulties.The Attorney General's Office is concerned with all potentially unfair and deceptive trade practices. We are forwarding your information to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division for review. We are also forwarding your complaint to the state's mediation program, operated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). You may follow up with the mediation program at: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Consumer Services 2005 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399 Telephone: (850) 410-3800 Toll-free within FL: (800) 435-7352 Website: https://www.fdacs.gov/Divisions-Offices/Consumer-Services Complaint/License Search: https://csapp.800helpfla.com/cspublicapp/businesssearch/businesssearch.aspx In addition, the Federal Maritime Commission, Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS), offers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services for passengers who have encountered a problem on a cruise. You can find more information about the services offered through CADRS, along with contact information for the agency, online at: https://www.fmc.gov/databases-services/consumer-affairs-dispute-resolution-services/ Finally, Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act provides individuals with a private remedy to bring an action for damages, attorney's fees and court costs. Because our office is not at liberty to give legal advice or guidance to private individuals, if you need legal guidance please consult a private attorney. If you need help finding a Florida attorney, The Florida Bar offers a Lawyer Referral Service toll-free in the U.S. at (800) 342-8011 or online at https://www.floridabar.org/public/lrs/. Thank you for contacting the Attorney General's office. I hope this proves helpful to you. Sincerely, Ariam Hernandez Office of Citizen Services Florida Attorney General's Office PL-01, The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050 Telephone: (850) 414-3990 Toll-free within Florida: (866) 966-7226 Website: www.myfloridalegal.com PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL. THIS ADDRESS IS FOR PROCESSING ONLY. To contact this office please visit the Attorney General's website at www.myfloridalegal.com and complete the on-line contact form. Again, thank you for contacting the Office of the Florida Attorney General. ________________________________________________________________________

Not a seafood eater but I recently did CT on Oasis while in Star because it was just $25 and there were some friends also in Star that would be with me at CT. I can eat some seafood, it's not an allergy issue but a dislike of strong fish tastes. My genie had passed along my dislike of seafood and they accommodated with substitutions. I did accept the lobster course. While lost on me I can eat lobster. For the fish course they subbed some dried chicken. Our CT was in the Solarium Bistro where at night they have the mini plates with one of them being chicken. They basically took one of those chicken plates and that as my substitution. As chicken goes it was bland and dry. It was the worst course for me. The rest was fine. Overall I'm glad I did CT. The company of friends alone made it worthwhile. It was a nice experience, not great but not bad either. Not worth more than the $25 I paid so I'm glad I did it while in Star. If I had paid full price I would have been harsher with this review.