Fortypluscruiser

Tips should be included in the fare or prepaid at final payment if the cruise line does not want to raise prices to cover the tips.  If you buy a drink onboard, you don' t have the ability to remove the tip.  Nor would you try for an itinerary change or whatever other excuse amuses you.

Does anyone know if you get free water replenishment in concierge class like in Aquaclass?

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 

I should clarify that a bit.  Group space can usually only be created for double occupancy cabins and for balconies and below.  ( I have been told that sometimes group space is available for quad cabins)

 

If you want to book a suite (JS or better) or a cabin that holds more than 2 guests then you have to book those at prevailing rates and then they can be moved into the group to receive the benefit of the group amenities however the deposit would remain the same as how it was booked ( either refundable or non refundable)

Not true.  Group space rates can be available on any category; they are just harder to find with suites because there are fewer units made available at those rates.

 

 

Oh, and here's the link you claim that I don't have... http://www.channelstudy.info

Thank you! The link effectively refutes the OP which suggested that Bermuda might be balking at accommodating the Anthem. Which would have been a huge problem upsetting a whole bunch of people if it were true. Bermuda has known of RCCL's intention to replace Explorer with Quantum class since 2012. Unsupported conjecture that there are now problems that would affect thousands of people deserves to be refuted. Just by someone else in the future.

Agreed...

 

 

 

I don't have direct links, but it has been reported multiple times that Anthem cannot fit into Kings Wharf unless dredging takes place.

 

And yes, the underlying reason Quantum went to China was because Bermuda was not going to be ready for her. I don't usually say things like this, but...You're definitely wrong on this one...[/b]

Of course you don't have links. This is going to be my last post on CC for a while as clearly there is no place here for people who have facts as opposed to those who like to say "I heard" or even worse communicate their opinions as if they are facts. But first to finish up here...I had a private dinner with Mr Fain in November on the Quantum and we talked about why the Quantum was going to China. And it was most definitely not because of Bermuda. In fact, he promised at that time that Anthem would be picking up Explorer/Liberty summer ports in 2016. Second here is a quote (typos and all) from a Deployment VP at Royal Caribbean received within the last hour regarding this ridiculous thread.

"there is no truth to this perception as it relates to King Wharf. The Anthem is completely cleared to arrive at King's Wharf without complications on both the 9-night and 5-night itineraries.

St. George is a completely different topic and it is possible that the dredging comments on the Bermuda sight reflect that situation. Not an issue for us as we only stop in King's Wharf."

You guys are losing a great resource here...but I'm pretty sure no one cares.

Yes I did. Why do cruisers from the senior set insist on being so douchy? I saw all of that. I simply asked if anybody had heard anything. I get they can send me anywhere. I get that there are no guarantees. I also get that people either don't read the original post or don't comprehend what they read very well. Which was it for you?

I read it but you left out the fact that the web site only said Nassau in one place, and also said that the port listing might not be correct for your sailing. So the answer is that I was originally trying to put your mind at ease until I realized that you were just trying to get people worked up about a non issue.

I saw that, but I also saw this [ATTACH]363405[/ATTACH]

If you saw that then you also saw what it said about the search results not being the same as the actual detailed itinerary.

I am booked on Allure, leaving Ft. Lauderdale on March 6, 2016. When the cruise was booked and when looking at my future cruises on the RC website, it indicates my itinerary to be Labadee/Falmouth/Cozumel. This is what I signed up for.

 

When searching cruises on the RC website, the Allure is shown to be leaving Ft. Lauderdale on March 6 heading to Nassau/Falmouth/Cozumel. I have heard that Labadee is scheduled for a revamping next year, does anybody know if this is just an error on the website, or is there something RC & my TA have not made me aware of?

The Royal Caribbean website still shows Labadee.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/7NightWesternCaribbeanCruise-AL07W170?currencyCode=USD&sCruiseType=CO&sDateMin=2016-03-01&sDateMax=2016-03-31&sailDate=03%2F06%2F2016

If you look at this link provided by mbjboyle:

 

http://www.channelstudy.info/

 

You will see that the ship's draft is not the only issue. They want to widen the channel and make some of the turns less sharp too.

All of which has nothing to do with the Anthem's ability to call on Kings Wharf in 2016. This entire thread reads like "I need something relating to Royal Caribbean to get upset about."

I don't think RCI would make scheduling for Anthem - Bermuda if there were some issues for a such large ship to sail to Bermuda.

What anyone "thinks" (and that includes me) is meaningless. Does anyone have a link to an article or news clip that says that dredging is required before next spring in order for the Anthem to call on Kings Wharf???? Not articles that talk about calling on other areas of Bermuda.

Quantum went to China bc Bermuda wasnt dredged for her

Huh? Where do you get this stuff? The dredging issue in Bermuda has to do with bringing in larger cruise ships to St George in the future. As with anything that has environmental impact, there are people opposing it even though RCI is offering to help fund it. This has nothing to do with Kings Wharf or next year's Anthem sailings.

On paper they are. In practice, they are not.

So you are a travel agent then?

NCL is quite a bit more generous with their policies- they will almost always offer OBC-

This is not their policy at all. There are always exceptions to be found, but both company's policies are the same.

Final payment is due next week, though i've already paid it. i'm not willing to risk losing my room, though - we have an OS next to our friends' OS, and ever since we booked a year and a half ago we've been planning on opening up the balcony dividers to form a mega-balcony . :D

 

it sounds like the sale is being applied to existing bookings, though, so i can't imagine why i wouldn't be eligible - even if they couldn't figure out if there's a price drop since my category is sold out, they should at least be able to apply the OBC and free grats (and then i think that would reprice it, so they could see if there's been a drop...).

 

I may call back tomorrow to see. i think the woman i talked to today was kind of clueless - she also told me another room on a different cruise did not have a price drop, and looking at the website it pretty clearly did. so, i think i will just try to talk to someone else. if it doesn't work or isn't possible, i'll live. :D but it doesn't hurt to try.

If you're not yet in penalty, the sale is good for existing bookings at the current price. If the current rate is higher, you have to pay the additional amount and if there is no availability in your category then you would have to switch to an available category in order to take advantage.

There is another discussion on a sight that I can't mention. Apparently someone called the radio station and they only have 30 cabins booked. So something else is going on, especially being it's not spring break, summer, holiday, or any time the majority of kids are out of school, for no cabins to be available. I just hope it's not a charter, and we haven't been told yet.

Don't worry, it is NOT a charter. Over 80% of the ship is booked and deposited via traditional means.

I give up. You win. Isn't that what you want?

Any person that goes to book on the RCCL website (and most people BOOK through the cruise line)...... will see it is sold out, hence, my original question.....and someone was nice enough to provide the answer. Most people would move on, and book a different date, unless you are into this small town radio station....as did I.

 

Now....my question to YOU.....would you call the radio station to book this cruise, coming from CALIFORNIA??????? No, you would not. Why would you? You really need to move on.

If you feel the question has been answered, then I'm not sure why you haven't moved on. I can find at least 5 travel agencies who say they have inventory to sell for this date. Maybe someone here wants that date enough to try and find them. My original post was only intended to let other people know that they should not just give up if they really want this sailing.

Oh my goodness. Unless you are a SOUTH JERSEY WIBG Fan....how are you to even know this????? Only if you live in South Jersey, do you even GET this radio station. AGAIN....I AM REFERRING TO THE RCCL WEBSITE. What is soooooooo difficult to understand?????????

 

 

Via RCCL website:

 

Interior Outside Balcony Deluxe

Prices Starting From

Thu - 5 May 2016 Sold Out Sold Out Sold Out Sold Out

 

Geeeezzzzzzzzzzzzz

I understand. You mean not available to public on a DIRECT basis. But WIBG and various travel agencies have inventory readily available to the PUBLIC. If you want to know why the inventory is not available on a DIRECT basis, that is a more interesting question.

On the RCCL ....ALL categories are sold out. If "other" organizations are "holding" cabins for "potential" buyers, than so be it, but for the general public, it IS sold out.

Aren't the WIBG cabins available to the general public?

We are also booked on this sailing. Also watching to see what comes of this sold out status, concerned if chartered, when would RCI inform other passengers who have already booked?

It's not sold out. Besides the radio station, there are other organizations that still have inventory.

C&A told me i had to ask TA to release ownership of it, so they are doing it.

You do, but if they won't and it's an open booking, RCI will take it from them anyway.

This thread sounds a lot like one about climate change -- no matter what the overall reality, there are always plenty of exceptions to be found. The fact is that in the last year, the lowest price/best deal on the majority of RCI sailings has been realized by customers who bought more than a year in advance. So yes book early and definitely watch sailings after you book but also be aware that there are also non published rates that you will not see and will never be quoted by Royal Caribbean for customers who book direct.

I don't know many people that's for, but last month you could get roundtrip first/business for ~$850 each. (departing end of nov. return 8 days later.) We could get there cheaper, but to get the same flight times I wanted coach was $700. For 5+ hours of flight time I thought it was worth it.

 

$3400 seems high, but I don't know your dates, preferred flight times, or home airport. Prices for my dates have gone up in the last week also, especially the first/business class tickets.

 

It takes longer but I'd suggest you search like this and compare.

- round trip first class

- round trip business class

 

Then compare that to these searches.

- one way TO first class

- one way TO business class

- one way FROM first class

- one way FROM business class

 

Sometimes it's cheaper to fly different airlines TO and FROM versus the same one roundtrip. Just be aware if there is a stop to check that both segments of your flight are what you want. You may be looking at a cheaper flight then realize that one segment is coach and the other is first.

I think your MO is smart for the reasons you mention above. But you really can't have a discussion about First Class anymore because its meanings are so variable. For example, two weeks ago I looked at flights from JFK to SFO five days before departure date. And saw Business Class starting at $2550 and First Class at $749. But the Business Class was for an A319 seat with 58 inch pitch and lay flat bed while the First Class was for a 757 which had a 39 inch seat pitch (the First Class for the A319 had a 62 inch pitch and lie flat bed). So by itself, First Class is not enough information as it can mean a lot of different things.

To be fair, if you limit your information intake to the truly knowledgeable crowd here at CC, you'll be better informed than many TAs and RCI reps.

Fair???????? You mean if I have access to information directly from the company hierarchy, I'll be "better informed" reading posts here than relying on actual facts? Question for all of you: how do you tell the difference between fact and fiction here? Because I know that a lot of what is written here is opinion presented as fact. I limit my posts to subjects I know as opposed to what I think is true.

As for the 81% question, Royal's manifest is based on citizenship data. So if you consider that many folks living in the US are foreign citizens, the 81% number will not fully reflect the % of passengers onboard who live in the US.

The most likely answer is that the sailing is in limbo. Many times Royal (as well as other cruise lines) will close a sailing well into the future while a charter is in the process of being negotiated. This could take weeks and ultimately either confirm or fall through. So "inventory maintenance" is all the reservations folk have to tell you until something happens one way or another. Another thing they may do is close an adjacent sailing either for the same reason or because they want a landing spot for folks who are going to be displaced by the charter if it happens. This has happened in the Orient to me this year.

You are right about the prices. What I am surprised about its that the price on the Grandeur is sometimes higher than the Anthem! Really! What were they thinking!

Who are "they?" Royal has computer models that determine where pricing goes after a sailing opens based on cabins sold and # of days prior to sailing. I've often had issues with this computer model because it apparently fails to take into account unsold group space, but it is what it is.