Ann262

I am glad she is okay. It certainly sounds like she has some problems.  Hopefully, this will be her wake up call to get help.

I am not loving that I am going to have to book all my shows and make restaurant reservations before I even board the ship.

What kind of beer do they have on tap?

I think the couple that got the letter that called them insidious was owed an apology. That's it, though, not compensation.

I do think much of the negativity is coming from those cruisers who seem to feel like everything should be elegant and perfectly to THEIR liking from the moment they step out of the cab until they debark. They don't like changes they tend to dwell on the issues. Too bad for them. They can bitch and whine while I go have fun.

Unless I am misunderstanding something, originally poster referred to the child as a "toddler" and RC planned a pack-and-play for the child. Later the child is said to be a 3-year-old. In my opinion a 3-year-old is not a toddler, therefore, I think the original poster has some responsibility here. Might be a communications error as to the age and size of the child, especially if the original booking agent did not do the math as to the child's age and just heard the word "toddler."

 

Hopefully can be resolved.

I really don't think it is the original poster'f fault. If there is an age limit the booking agent should ask the age of the child. I, personally,consider a 3 year old a toddler. You don't. It is a subjective term. It is the booking agent's responsibility to get the booking done correctly.

I am glad you got it all worked out. :-)

I get it! For years my husband and I loved to cruise!

Then it got kind of "same old, same old" to me. We have hopped around lines and even started choosing different itineraries but have not gotten away from that feeling. I find it hard to enjoy a city when I am having to look at my watch and worry about getting back to the ship on time.

My husband really wants to cruise as his retirement party. I booked the Quantum hoping that the newness of the ship and its offerings will help me not feel that way. It is just going to the Bahamas so I am not that interested in exploring the ports so I am hoping I won't have that feeling of "Oh crap! We have to head back to the ship".

Oh Yay!!

Thank you for your reply!

Hi everyone! We are booked on the Anthem next December. My husband loves his craft beers. I am looking at the drink packages. Does the premium package include beers at Michaels?

Appreciate your thoughts here, we do have to travel with thousands of others now as opposed to hundreds.

Our quantum cruise sailed with 3500 passengers as oppose the 4900 full occupancy on 1st December, why not full for a new ship with all the publicity?

There could be many reasons for that. Consider that marketers try a lot of things. Some things work well, some not so well so they get scrapped. In the case of the sailing you were on, many cruisers avoid ships so near to their inaugural cruise because there are bound to be many kinks to work out. I am one of those. Give it at least 6 months, then let me board. Another reason might be the time of year. That is a notable low week. There are lots of reasons your ship might not have been full that had nothing to do with fee restaurants or fees for room service. Don't you think?

That is frustrating. Something for me to look forward to

It seems to be a trend that has been discussed on these boards for years. When we took our first cruise in 1993, we have a tiny, dark inside cabin that was not much more than a closet and we paid 999 per person for that cruise. Everything other than shore excursions, spa treatments and alcohol was included. There were no fees for room service, no fee restaurants or fee food. If it was food, it was included. There were no fee areas of the ship and no places, restaurants or lounges that were only for certain passengers. We didn't mind paying 999 per person for our "closet" and loved every minute of the cruise.

I just booked a balcony cabin on the Anthem for about that same fare just last week. Considering inflation over the last 20+ years, I am paying much less for my cabin now(a better one) but there are certain restaurants, food, apparently room service that I will have to pay for now, if I want to partake.

Sure, I would rather not have to pay for the extras, who wouldn't? I do think the industry is doing a good job of keeping fares affordable while maintaining lots of choices that are included in the fare but making up for it with some "ala carte" pricing for certain things. I think they are striking a good balance between charging a fare then having everything "ala carte" (like a hotel) and charging high fares and including everything. I think there are lines that live at various points along that spectrum.

The cruise lines exist to make a profit. I am not going to get mad at them for wanting to profitable, though they do need to please their passengers as a whole.

We like to get a drink and explore the ship!

I guess it is too late now, since you already booked your flight, but I wouldn't book a flight out before noon from a cruise ship. It is just too stressful and makes for an unpleasant end to a nice trip.

I think the little extra fees have been around on all ships most lines for awhile. I don't mind, I can pick and choose. What I hope I don't experience on the Anthem is being constantly having someone in my face to sell me something. I don't like that.

We sailed on Liberty of the Seas many years ago and were not impressed by it.

Oh boy! Hopefully someone will take the credit.

Yes, I found my role call and checked in. :-)

That is crazy!

You really put in alot of time and effort into this review.

THANK YOU!!!!:D

Yes, thank you!

if you really wanted to go to a specific port that is centered around your vacation then why are you on a cruise ship that will be there for a day instead of taking a vacation for several days in that particular port. I don't get that. Better to be stuck on a ship in the Caribbean than stuck in 2 feet of snow in New Hampshire.

 

 

 

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When I am only interested in one specific city or area, I plan a land vacation, of course. Many of the cruises I have chosen were based on itineraries of several places I wanted to see. Of course, I agree that being on a ship somewhere is better than being home and at work stuck in the snow and, I realize there is always plenty to do on an RCI ship. Still, they have a responsibility to keep things in working order. Yes, things break, but if that break means they can't deliver what you paid for, they should give you a partial refund or OBC. Not jus refund the port taxes.

That is just my opinion.

Why was my thread moved? Doesn't this belong in the Royal Carribean forum? :confused:

Curious. If you were Royal Caribbean and there was an engine issue or a storm coming and the safety of passengers were in question and you had the option of not making the next port and going somewhere else what would you do? This is a no brainier in my opinion. They do the best they can. Things happen.

 

 

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Of course I know they do the bes they can and that "things happen". I expect them do what they have to do for everyone's safety. If it is a weather issue, I don't expect any kind of credit. Weather happens and it is not within anyone's control. If it is an engine issue, I expect to be compensated for the portion of my cruise that I paid for and didn't receive. It is their engine and in their control. I don't think that is unreasonable.

When I booked my Anthem cruise last night and read about Dynamic Dining, I thought it sounded wonderful. I also thought, "Oh, I bet there are many on CC who don't like this!"

When we went on our first cruise in 1993, it had the traditional MDR experience, 2 formal night, etc. That was an awesome trip and I remember thinking that I didn't want ANYTHING to change about the cruise experience after that. We went on several others with the MDR experience and, to be honest, it got old. The most fun MDR experiences for us were the two times we sailed with big groups and knew everyone at our table. The others, well, people were nice but rarely did we have much in common and never did I eagerly look forward to dinners with them.

I found over the years, as lines started offering more flexible options, I started enjoying dinner so much more. We make friends about the ship and with the flexible options we could go to dinner with them! Usually, those were the people we had things in common with, not people that we were randomly assigned a dinner table with. Dinners became much more fun. I also don't like a set time every day. Some days, I want an early dinner, sometimes I want a later dinner. The flexibility of time is so nice! The old way, some days, we would come back to the ship STARVING but had late seating - oh, so we would get a "snack". You know how well that works when you are really hungry. We would end up going to dinner later already full. On the other hand, when we had early seating, we felt rushed on port days. In the old days, if you didn't go to your MDR seating, you were relegated to the buffet. No one ever went hungry but if you wanted to be seated, waited on and not pay an extra fee, you had to be at your MDR seating. I am glad those days are over.

I also like that there are no longer ship wide "formal" nights. People who want to get dressed up and be formal can go to the formal restaurant. The rest of us don't have to but we can still go to a nice restaurant for dinner - we don't have to be relegated to the buffet.

I realize that many who have been cruising for many many years prefer the old way and may resent the lines trying to appeal to the younger tastes but, the cruise line does have to stay in business. Like all other businesses, they have to change with the times to stay alive. Believe me, if the vast majority of cruisers don't like Dynamic Dining and take their business elsewhere, they will look to make some changes. The reason they are in business is to make a profit.

At least they are giving you a credit.