Engineroom Snipe

To change the discussion slightly: I was one to tie vacation demand in general to airfare and airline demand. There are airlines starting to show distress, Spirit Airlines being one of them (discount, but maybe a canary in the coal mine) as well as a few others. So far, cruising in general is still robust at the high end. Do you think cruising is a lagging indicator in general compared to airlines or are they completely disconnected right now? I believe this is on topic because how does one measure cruising vacation dollars against travel dollars in general which affects their stock prices? Just throwing some thoughts into the discussion flow.

Absolutely agree that this will wear them out in about 90 minutes of action, sun, water, and fun. They can then refuel themselves at lunch and do some other free beaches and water activities for about two hours before they crash. They will have more fun there than waiting in line for a paid waterslide. Plenty to do at that age without spending any additional money. The Oasis Lagoon pool is free and I have seen all ages just have so much fun there. The depth of the pool goes from inches into feet over a huge area so everyone can feel comfortable at their own level of fun. Plenty of life jackets available for extra safety. Enjoy.

Two months ago, I saw weakness in the cruise pricing into this fall. The past two weeks have been explosive on pricing similar to last year at this time. My crystal ball might be broken. The cruise prices have been approaching the prices of all inclusive resorts Maybe it is the airfare difference? I have always felt in the past that cruising was ALWAYS cheaper than any alternative vacation but something is amiss here. I have two very frugal and well priced cruises this year and next year. I am straining to buy more through my excellent TA but the margins are getting very thin. They are on older ships during the shoulder seasons. My higher prices are good music to stockholders.It is hard to complain about the prices when so many potential cruisers are willing to purchase the experience. I loathe to say it, "Until consumers stop buying, the prices will go up." "Supply and demand........" Ouch.............. More like.. 😭

How dare you suggest that you are not completely serious here on CC? This is the epitome of high class and high eyebrow evaluations of everything cruising. May I suggest that you clean-up your act by removing your beard and become a cleanly shaven respectable cruiser. Maybe just rename yourself as the 'Beardless Cruiser." Or,.....you can just keep having fun! Not much of a choice after a bit of thinking about it....... 🤣

I booked it for the $19.99 and the big plus is the heated pool. I agree with @cruiseaholic777 that the heated pool in April was nice. I am passing at even $35 for my next cruise. Especially since we are the second ship that gets off three hours later than the first on our port day. We will only have about five hours max on the island. The food choices at the Hide Away are noticeably less than the regular free areas. The only plus was the fried coconut shrimp. Everything else was the available for free somewhere else on the island.

Which keeps the theme of this discussion 'rolling'. One man's "Hell ball" is another man's "Heavenly sprout." There is no accounting for taste when it come to 'taste." Thank goodness we are all different or else we would all be fighting over the same food. I am glad everyone does not like cruising, the prices would only go up more due to demand if they did.

Arrrrrrg,........ there goes the last of the vegetable gold..... "down the hatch." 😢

More zucchini for the rest of us, pass it over please! 😁

I enjoyed two cruises on the Oasis out of Bayonne in September 2022, and September 2023. At the right price, I would do them again in a heartbeat. During my cruises, I thought the Park Cafe was a bit lacking but others thought it was good. I spent more time at the Bistro during breakfast and lunch which I thought was very good. Look around and you can find something you like to eat somewhere and something you like to do. I did the escape room and enjoyed it. We adapted to the Windjammer by getting there at the opening of any meal we were interested in and had no drama. We did not leave hungry. The MDR was a bit of hit or miss so we enjoyed the good meals and did not stress about the so-so meals. Everything can change on the next cruise as crew is always turning over and new supplies can bring superior or inferior food onboard. A vacation is hard to be all things for everyone no matter what you do.

Obviously, I was not! Happy to know the ship has not sailed! 🤣

I could write negative articles about people who enjoy recreational vehicle camping (I was one of them), camping in general, NASCAR, DISNEY, UNIVERSAL, flying, etc., etc. This is America. What YOU do for fun is your choice. If I do not think it is fun, who cares, you enjoy it. I do not feel the need or want to waste the time trying to convince you that you should not be enjoying it. Hopefully, everyone finds things they enjoy doing and in most cases, people with similar interest will bond together and enjoy each others' company.

Many reviews depend on the type of cruising desired. Some people love the big ships for the many restaurants and activities on board. They are going to be leaning towards a good review because the larger ships are their style. Should you like a smaller more intimate ship with less bells and whistles, Your experience may vary. Always remember that negative reviews will in general outnumber positive reviews due to human nature. If I feel I had a good experience for the money I paid, I would not post for I got what I expected. If I feel that the experience was very bad for my purchase price, I am much more likely to complain about it. Keep an open mind.

As @Biker19 would say,"Welcome to Cruise Critic." Only certain shows are available for reservations according to the ship you are on. You state your cruise departs on 04/08/2024, I assume this is a wrong date or you missed your sailing. 08/08/2024 sounds better if you are cruising this August. Only certain activities can be booked ahead of time and you are on the right track by checking your cruise planner on the internet. I would keep checking everyday. What you see is what you can reserve until you get onboard the ship (or in the cruise terminal close enough to connect to the ship's wifi). I am sure others will chime in shortly for my answer is brief.

There are many people who try to help their fellow cruisers and @Ourusualbeach consistently provides accurate answer. Thank you for your time.

Your observations align with my experience on the Vision this April when the main and only all age pool is closed for any reason. The four remaining hot tubs become a shoulder to shoulder pool with almost all occupants under 10 years old. Any sane adult abandons the tub and I find very few adults directly supervising any children (when I had my young children in any pool, my wife or I were in the pool or readily available watching them). I could not even fathom cruising this ship in the summer with an advertised "Kids Sail Free" promotion. Any experienced cruiser would have no pity for me as they would say, "What were you thinking?" Royal should enforce their rules but I am not going to try and enforce the rules for them in what is an overwhelming situation that rears its ugly head on a repetitive basis.

Thanks for the correction. This is why I try to post direct quotes from Royal which I did not read the "Dadong." I learned something today.

My point was that Royal Caribbean Group would not suffer if high end Crown and Anchor point achievers went to Celebrity with cabins opening for higher spenders at RCI. In the end, everyone would benefit. While not good for RCI specifically, Royal Caribbean Group would prefer to keep them "in the family" as opposed to going to "The Haven" at another cruise lines for the same price as a suite on RCI. When looking at discounts, Celebrity seems to offer more "upgrades" and add-ons for the same price as RCI which would indicate that they need to do this to fill cabins compared to RCI.

Yes, but these cruisers are doing ten to fifteen cruises each year for more than twenty years. Royal gets to keep their money on Celebrity while freeing up cabins (and suites) on their family ships. This especially works if the cruisers are happy with the change of venue.

Finally finished reading all of the posts on this thread. Royal must know its needs older cruisers, younger cruisers, AND their associated families for maximum profit. Older cruisers who have point status on Celebrity now have the option of taking the family (to include grandchildren) on a theme park ship without losing their perks after the new reciprocity agreement between Royal brands. These cruisers might have hesitated a bit since they enjoyed superior perks if they stayed with Celebrity for their cruises. As posted on this RC blog, higher end Crown and Anchor members can have a more "adult" experience on Celebrity without losing their premium perks. While similar in many ways, Celebrity does have some different itineraries that might entice a long time cruiser looking for a bit of variety. Royal will go for the money. The larger ships have many more opportunities to spend onboard. Just the nature of the corporate beast. There is discussion how older cruisers have more money to spend but they also have built in perks (Crown and Anchor perks) which decrease the reason for spending. There are exceptions to my next statement: It would be reasonable that as we get older, we drink and eat less. This could be due to medical issues, the desire to stay healthy in order to live longer and enjoy activities, and the inability to pack down the food like we did in our youth. Shore excursion become limited due to age restrictions (DO NOT want to get into this discussion since other threads have been dedicated to it). The exception to this would be that we spend more on the dining experience when we do eat, regardless of portions since quality is more important. I sailed on the Nordic Prince, Song of America, Sun Viking and more in my day. The Sun Viking had only 700 people on one of my voyages. I have enjoyed myself on Oasis Class ships. They all have their place. They all have pluses and minuses. The big questions: What is most profitable for RCI? What motivates customers to book more cruises? How much are customers willing to pay for that experience? The answers will decide what next ships are built or acquired.

@mattR Please check the screen describing the package before you proceed to "cart checkout". There will be a bullet with one paragraph describing the conditions: This is from the website on my next cruise for the 3 night package on the Odyssey: What's Included Three nights of dining at specialty restaurants. If choosing a restaurant with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $20 food credit. For ships with Izumi Sushi, you’ll have a choice of a prix fixe menu, or a $39.99 food credit for the a la carte menu. For ships with the following venues, these are included with an additional surcharge: Izumi Hibachi/Teppanyaki — $15 surcharge. Chef's Table — $49.99 surcharge. The Unlimited Dining Plan is different on the exact same cruise: What's Included Specialty dining for dinner every night of your sailing and lunch on sea days. For venues with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $20 food credit — with the exception of Izumi in the Park, where you’ll receive a $10 food credit. Credits can only be used once a day. For ships with Izumi Sushi, you’ll have a choice of a prix fixe menu, or a $39.99 food credit for the a la carte menu. For ships with the following venues, these are included with an additional surcharge: Izumi Hibachi/Teppanyaki — $15 surcharge. Izumi Omakase — $59.99. Chef's Table — $49.99 surcharge. Empire Supper Club — $130 surcharge. Wonderland by DaDong — $24.99 surcharge. These will be charged once onboard. For applicable sailings, Holiday Celebration Dinners are included with a $49.99 surcharge. This will be charged once onboard. There is a surcharge for Wonderland on the Unlimited Option. In your case, there is no surcharge for the 3 meal plan if you were cruising on my date on the Odyssey. You have to look at what they offer on your specific cruise. For a non-suite guest, going to any open specialty restaurant immediately upon boarding is in general your best bet. You can make reservations for all specialty restaurants in one place except for Izumi Hibachi which must be made in person at that specific restaurant. There are multiple previous threads stating that even suite guest have been told by their concierge that Izumi Hibachi was sold out by early afternoon on boarding day. Experienced cruisers make out a written list which they hand to the person doing reservations having first and second choices of dining they want because you might not get your first time choice.

@Scottdalfonso stated, contamination in the pools was a long thread just recently discussed and it seems as if it will be on ongoing problem. As I stated in that thread, I sailed the Vision in April. When the one and only pool that all ages gets shutdown due to any reason, it really affects the vibe during the day. @PhillyFan33579, you identify the weakness of staff enforcing the rules, hard to get a "10" from customers when you tell them something they do not want to hear let alone do. I do not think they get support from management when they do try and enforce the rules which leads to the "look the other way" on inappropriate behavior.

I would be interested in the cost and time needed to retrofit existing ships. Cruise lines would not have choice if mandated but I can see the lines trying to use older ships at ports not mandating the practice until they can be sold or scrapped.

New York City, NY, Council voted to instigate the start of shore power for cruise ships this year in March but the wording was very "elastic" with no absolute time lines as much as goals to work towards by the year "2035". I saw it as more of a wish list trying to prepare and prod the cruise line users of the port for mandates to come. In so many words, if you are building new ships, start thinking of shore power. As already mentioned in previous posts, the council does not even know how much power could be needed, who would supply it, and who pays for the infrastructure to make it available? I can only see this as being funded by cruise ship passengers as additional port fees down the line.

Definitely seeing softness in the cruising fares as of September this year. Many cruisers will be adjusting their higher priced fares from 6 months ago. One year out bookings seem to be weak with many more cabins to choose from compared to the last 16 months. The only high demand season seems to be summer but even that is starting to show weakness at the end of August.

OMG! You are talking to a person who using @LobsterStalker as their call sign. I love the irony of it all. I will share mine with just about anyone. I like lobsters but I am not a "stalker". 🤣