BeancounterUSA

I will be on this sailing as well.  We're from Alabama and driving on Sat.  Look forward to reading your review while I'm onboard.

Certainly need to bring passport, vax card, negative test.

I would suggest, if you are using your app for your sea pass card, to get it retrieved on your phone before you get to the port, in case you have poor service.  Adding to Wallet solves this as well.

I always print my sea pass cards, just in case.

I also make copies of my passports to take on shore, just in case, while leaving my passports in the room safe.  On shore, I also take a copy of that day's Cruise Compass, which has contact information for the port agent.

I also make copies of my health insurance cards, and take on shore excursions, just in case.

I did a Central Park balcony on Harmony previously and got a double sized balcony (cabin #'s that end in 229 and 629).  Back then they offered extras such as lunch in a specialty restaurant or bottle of wine.  It was nice and peaceful and relaxing, but it's correct that a balcony without a view of the water and without a breeze is different.  Simple solution is to go to the many places on the ship where you can see the ocean and get the best of both worlds. We definately prioritized going places to see the ocean such as deck 15 and the promenade walk around (aft chairs).  So the balcony was a relaxation place for us.

Do you have any idea about how many total passengers for this test cruise, and have you been assigned a "role"?

I got an email today for my Aug 29 sailing.

At the top of the section it says "Guests who provide documentation of full vaccination will be exempt from these requirements, unless specified below."

Look at your email again and see if that language is at the top of the protocols for unvaccinated guests.

Before you go, practice on line with a strategy trainer.  google wizard of odds play for fun and practice, practice, practice with play money.  If you sit at a black jack table and are dealt a 14, freeze if the dealer up card is a 4,5 or 6 unless you want to get yelled at.  The first thing you need to know is if you bust they take your money right away, even if the dealer ultimately bust.  Therefore, 14 is a good hand if the dealer is forced to hit on a 16.

3 minutes ago, dandi799 said:

I was just able to check in this morning for our 8/14 Symphony sailing. (29 days out)

And our 8/29 Symphony also opened mid morning today, all checked-in and set sail passes printed and on my phone.  I imagine I was amongst the early check ins and we got a boarding time of 3:00.  Can't find anyone who got an earlier time.  Our sail away was postponed to 7:00pm

On 7/14/2021 at 3:13 PM, maureencruiser said:

 

Any $18 drink packages? 😝

I was one of the lucky ones to get that deal during the summer of 2019.  Unfortunately, my Apr 2020 cruise I bought it for was cancelled due to Covid and the deal went away.  

I'm on Symphony Aug 29th and I open the app every day to see if I can check in yet.  I'm curious to know, from those who have successfully used the app to check in, where on app do we go to check in (assuming it is available)?  I want to make sure I'm looking for it in the right place.

I can tell the app is updating, because they had to adjust our itinerary to drop Labadee and add Nassau.  I just don't know where to look for an eventual check in which could be available any day now.

On 5/26/2021 at 11:19 AM, RedIguana said:

Was explorer ever able to complete her amplification? I know it was postponed at one point. I'm curious how much difference there would be in activities if she has completed her amp. I've only done Harmony (with DD who was 19) and several of the Sovereign classes (with DW, we are both 50's). Unless you are suite class or key, shows etc. have a long wait time or early sign up on Harmony (JS on Harmony with Key worked out pretty well, this was march 2019 so key was pretty new). Harmony is a great ship though. Have explorer booked for 8 day southern next august.

No, it has not been amped yet and won't be by Feb 22.  I was on the Navigator in 2019 shortly after its amplification and it makes a huge difference.  However, I'm going on the Explorer in March 2022 to St. Martin and the ABC islands, so it obviously doesn't make a difference to me.

If a mediation "fails" then I have a hard time believing it was really a mediation, but rather another venue in which both sides restate their position.

A true mediation from my experience, has a mediator, who makes a decision both parties are bound by.  Having been involved in a corporate mediation some years ago, I can say that it's my opinion that mediators have a goal of ending the dispute with both parties about equally unhappy. 

I just had to cancel my Apr 18 cruise on Brilliance of the Seas because I have diabetes and I don't think they'll allow me to board.  I pre-purchased valet parking for $95.  Went to the website and all my documents and don't see a way to get a refund.  The parking pass is also the contract and it says non-refundable.  Given the changing landscape in the last week, anyone know if there is a change in policy that would allow a refund?  Advice on what to do?

More than once, I've gotten my dessert to go, put it in my room fridge and eaten it as a late night snack on my balcony.  I'm also one of those who scopes out the menus and know what I want, including dessert, before I ever enter the dining room.

39 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

I'm a bit curious if they'll release the numbers to share holders.

1.  it would be immaterial and not require disclosure

2.  The money they collect goes into a liability account called Deferred Revenue, not into the income statement until it is earned.  By definition, this won't impact their P&L until 2020.

3.  To the extent that it makes any kind of a difference, it may need to be reflected in their future earnings per share guidance, but again, I seriously doubt that it would rise to the level of materiality.

11 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

how are they penalizing guests? 

There are people saying that they cancelled a previous purchase in order to buy at the $18 rate.  When their $18 purchase is cancelled and the previously purchased rate is now at a higher rate, those people feel like they were penalized.

30 minutes ago, Big_G said:

This may avert some poor IT working slob from being hung out a corporate window

I doubt the $18 amount was the fault of IT.  More likely, IMO, is that it was a keypunch mistake by one of their lower level pricing people.  For example, if the intended rate was $48 for their 4th of July sale, you'll notice the 1 and the 4 key are right next to each other.   If IT is to blame here, it would be they didn't create a system with min/max prices that generates an "are you sure" warning that requires a manager to over ride.  In fact, if I were involved in this operation, that's the corrective action I would recommend if my root cause assumption is correct.

One thing this incident shows is the power of social media to spread a message.  I first saw the issue on a facebook group for one of the ships.  I immediately went to my cruise planner for my 2020 sailing and tried to order it.  It didn't work the first two times, but I went back into my cart and was able to to checkout after entering credit card info and rec'd the email confirm.  I then checked cruise critic and saw this thread.  Then there is the subsequent word of mouth spreading of the news.

Selfishly, I was a little concerned about people actually calling Royal Caribbean, my first thought being let's all keep this on the down low.  I also saw posts from travel agents saying that they, too, were calling to confirm (understandable because they want to communicate properly with their customers) but selfishly wishing that everyone would settle down and let this play out.

As Royal Caribbean deploys different pricing initiatives in a market place that has different levels of price elasticity of demand, I myself have seen the wide fluctuation in cabin prices as well as cruise planner pricing.  It's really a game for them to maximize their income, and for us to get the best value for what we are interested in to maximize having an enjoyable vacation.  When those two lines cross is the best result for all, but oftentimes we spend too much and sometimes they discount too much.  This was a rare case of the opposite, and the social media platforms were ready to spread the news very quickly.

I did Uber on Fri, Jun 21 at about 8:00 am.

When you get off the ship, and enter the terminal, you have to go to the far left to go through customs.  When you exit customs, and exit Terminal A outside, you have to go to the other side.  If you are looking from the ship to the Terminal, the area to meet your ride is on the far right.  If you look from outside the terminal toward the ship it's on the far left.

Anyway, there will be lots of people trying to do the same thing and trying to find their specific ride.  There are signs with numbered areas you can tell your driver to pick you up at, but it's very chaotic.  We lucked out and found our driver and a space opened up for him to pull into and load our luggage.  Hope this helps.

32 minutes ago, st5310 said:

Please describe for me the skill level required to punch out numbers on a paper card.

Hearing the number, Finding the number called and correctly punching it out on each of your cards before the next number is called out.  Kind of a hand-eye-ear coordination thing. If you have 24 cards, it can be seen to require a skill to do it accurately every time.   I can't tell you how difficult this must have been for some considering the number of times a Bingo was claimed and found to be incorrect because someone didn't do it right the old way.  With the tablet you don't have to anything except shout Bingo when the tablet tells you to.

As far as your comment about the odds to win in Bingo vs the casino, I hope you understand I was defending the decision to play Bingo.  And I actually wouldn't compare the odds in Bingo (100 people play, 1 winner and 99 losers) to those in the casino (Blackjack with basic strategy has a little over 1% casino advantage unless you play a 6/5 game with no double after split, Craps has some bets that are true odds bets).  That said, I have frequently lost more in the casino overall than I did playing Bingo.  I've also almost always won more in the casino than at Bingo.

22 minutes ago, BunnyHutt said:

I think you’ve missed the entire point of this thread - cruisers miss the good old days of paper cards, ball in the cage, inexpensive Bingo. Period. 

I don't think I hijacked the thread, especially since the original poster referred to tablets and didn't mention balls in the cage electronic.   Please understand that I get the point you are trying to make.  I'm simply trying to straighten out some confusing statements and provide my own perspective, which is the point of these boards, even if they don't agree with your point of view

Also pointed out that if the introduction of the tablets is problematic, you do NOT have to buy the package with a  tablet.  You can buy a less expensive card only package.  On the Symphony in March there were two lower priced card only options.  On the Navigator last week there was also a package as low as $17 that was card only, which is a relatively low overall cost option but also cost more per card.  I agree it was not the ball in the cage version.

Another point is that you do not have to play if you don't like it.  Plenty of other activities on the ship.  But if you do, find the package that's best for you with the understanding that there can only be one winner per game.  The point is to make the choice for you in order to have fun, and winning is the cherry on top because you should not expect to win.

Finally, all of the above is just my opinion.  Please let me know if I typed something that was factually incorrect.

Have yet to see a cogent post in this thread about the value proposition of playing Bingo.  Several posts are also confusing the tablet and the term "machines".  They are not the same things.  Tablets are an option for playing and machines is a reference to the old ping pong ball method or the new electronic method depending on who is commenting.

First of all, by its very nature, Bingo is a negative expectation game.  There is only 1 winner per game (unless there is a tie in which case the spot is split) regardless of the number of people.  Therefore, almost everyone in the room will lose, and very few will win during a session.  The amount won by the winner is based on the number of players and whether it is game 1 of 3 (lowest $), game 2 of 3(medium $) or the last game (highest $) of the session.  You do NOT have to buy the package that includes the tablet.  There are two other options for purchasing cards that you can mark yourself, and if you buy the package with the tablet you get paper cards in addition to the tablet to mark on your own.  The tablet option is priced to give you more chances (24 on each tablet) per $.  The card only option has fewer chances but a higher price per chance and a lower overall cost.

It takes almost no skill to use the tablet.  After every ball it arranges the 24 cards in order of the fewest numbers needed to win.  If it gets to 1 number needed it will generate a musical tone so you can stand up and get booed.  If you win it will tell you in an unmistakable way.  Can't tell you how many times (pre-tablet) there was a Bongo (someone who claims a win but made a mistake) in the "old" days.

It's really that simple.  When you boil it all down, you look at the overall price for each package, the price of the number of cards (chances)/$, and what is best for you, individually, to enjoy your 1 or so in which you have a small chance to win and will most likely lose.  If you don't want to play, don't play.   If you play, do it in such a way, with your package choice, where you will have fun even if(when) you lose.  /rant

It looks like the 5 day Brilliance sailings that go to Grand Cayman, still have Cozumel and two sea days, so if you want, you may be able to switch over to one of those sailings.

Also, one of the ways the cruise line benefits by doing this, is the savings in fuel cost by avoiding the long run from Key West to Cozumel and back vs Key West to Bahamas and back.  I don't know how to quantify this, but I'll bet its not immaterial to Royal Caribbean's bottom line for the voyage.  

Also, having just been to CocoCay last week, and having been to Cozumel several times (including KW/Cozumel on the Jewel out of Tampa in 2013), I would personally prefer CocoCay and it's not even close.  However, I think the loss of a sea day vs Nassau is unfavorable, in my opinion.  Wonder why they have added an extra port and taken away a sea day, if that would result in a net loss of onboard revenue opportunities to the cruise line based on the comments above.

Never saw a cruise compass for the May 20th sailing, but I've attached the Jun 3rd Navigator Miami-CocoCay-Nassau-AtSea 4 day Perfect day compass

navigator jun 3 cruise compass.pdf

DramaQueen22, can you tell us what the evening entertainment was for each night?

I was on the Symphony in March and the pizza was fabulous.  There were only two of us, but if I were there with a larger crowd I would have seen if I could have requested whole pizzas for a group with the ingredients we like best.