MaritimeR&R

Thanks.

WOW! Couldn't get any worst?

Still hoping for better in April, otherwise - back to Celebrity...

See my thread for cancelling my 3 cruises on the Anthem for the problems I saw/experienced on the same sailing as the OP

On the Anthem TA, the Windjammer was locked up tight some time after dinner. No 24 hour station (as had previously been promised).

No 24 hr Windjammer or for that matter any place on the ship. The Café Promenade will have coffee available but no snacks until 6am.

I had booked my Anthem cruises prior to doing the Quantum inaugural and one other Quantum sailing. There were lots of problems and dislikes with Quantum that I won't go into here, but I decided to keep the four sailings I had booked with Anthem in the hopes that by my Thanksgiving sailing, many of my dislikes would be resolved. A few were, but many not and so, despite the convenience of not having to fly to board her, I opted while still on board her to cancel my other cruises on her and book other RC ships for the same time periods. Two of the cruises cost me more than the Quantum due to the late booking, but I am happy I made the switch.:)

Some of the problems on the Anthem Thanksgiving sailing:

• level of service among many of the crew
  
• poor stateroom prep despite special needs notifications: no shower stool
  
• no bathrobes in room - took 2 days to get them
  
• 2 broken elevators - one for the entire length of the cruise
  
• coffee machine in the Concierge Lounge broken for the first four days of the cruise
  
• cabin door repeatedly would not close or was extremely difficult to open - despite repeated attempts to fix it
  
• long lines for activities (yes I know it was a holiday sailing but the allocated times could have been better planned out)
  
• Hit and miss in the Specialty Restaurants - Thanksgiving at Chops took almost 2 1/2 hrs. - had to keep reminding our waiter that we ordered drinks, needed bread, etc.
  
• Lots of creaks and noises- one being a loud repetitive thumping
  
• limited number of bars made frozen cocktails due to the lack of a blender
  
• embarkation time was 11:30 - got on board at 2:05 due to Wi-Fi issues
  in addition: Windjammer was not open 24 hrs as stated; and there was a charge for WOW bands despite the new policy going into effect AFTER final payment had been made and set sail pass said it would be in stateroom
  

:confused:

Don't all ships sailing out of the US do this?

I've received a number of W2-G's from Carnival over the past few years.

Only 2 cruises on RC and have yet to get a payout so can't compare.

I have received many hand pays over the years from RC and never gotten a W2-G from them.

Quantum class ships and other select ships will now be giving out W2-G tax statements for hand pays so Casino wins be taxable for US citizens. Casino Royale will be issuing win/loss statements upon request at the end of the year.:(

Just returned from my Anthem 11/22 sailing on which a friend won a $1,800. ish jackpot on one of Quick Hit machines in the casino. She was given a W-2G form by the Casino and told she would have to claim her win on her tax form. We were told by the Casino that this is a new policy being enacted on Quantum class ships and other "select" ships due to RC wanting to carry more cash and wanting the ability to be able to wire money back and forth into the states. RC could only do that if they registered with the IRS. So, now, any hand pays will be taxable.:(

- The change in policy should not have applied to guest already booked, or at the very least, to those already paid-in-full and past the payment due date.

I agree totally with this. It's not the charge itself, but rather the principle.

You got it. I was Diamond back when we used to get in the Concierge Lounges, when that was the only lounge. In 2009 Diamonds got the boot and after an uproar they ended up getting a Diamond "event" that then turned into the Diamond Lounges. As soon as they announced the Diamond lounges on each ship I figured they would eventually boot the Diamonds out again (I was D+ by then). With the 3 drinks on the seapass and the availability of drink packages the writing is on the wall. D will get the boot again.

 

They keep holding out the carrot and then pulling the tablecloth out from beneath you every few years while you are enjoying that carrot. Kind of like the stock market really. We just buy the drink packages and enjoy ourselves anywhere on the ship. The top one includes all the specialty coffees as well. Easy fix.

 

What D's and D+ should be asking for is a drink package discount. Come on Royal Caribbean it's about time for that drink package discount!

I started a thread that asked what perk C&A members would like to see added and a drink package discount by level was one of the most requested.

You also get points for days spent on land when on cruisetours.

oops! Forgot that one!

Interesting. We've always gotten a silver SeaPass card when in a JS.

Same here.

When Explorer was still here in Bayonne, they always gave a silver SeaPass for a JS>

With RC slowly changing the CL's to SL's, the DL's are going to get very crowded anyway. RC is going to have to address this one down the road.

Just wondering how you build up points,other than the amount of nights you cruise? Do store excursions count? Drink packages? What else can help you accumulate points?

There have been a few sailings lately where 3 additional points could be earned by each person in the cabin having an OBA of $450., but that is a recent thing. Aside from earning points for nights cruised (anywhere from 1-3 pts for each night depending on whether you are solo in a particular class of cabin, a double, or are booked in a suite as a solo or double) that's it.

Unless there is a special promotion like the recent one, you have to sail to accumulate loyalty points.

Thanks everyone for your ideas. We can only hope that someone from RC is monitoring these boards and takes our suggestions seriously!

A level between D+ and Pinnacle! :)

I agree. As a solo traveler who will finally pass the 340 cruise point mark this year (I wish I had gotten all those double points for past cruises before Oct 2014) I am looking forward to getting the 150% single supplement added to my benefits. I think in a race to the grave or one to achieve Pinnacle, the grave will win. :D Another reachable level in my lifetime would be nice.

I agree with this one big time. We buy he package so that's 3 drinks a night they are not having to buy for us.

I am not a big alcohol drinker, though I do like my virgin frozen drinks, but I took my one of my sons, his wife, and two children on the Liberty this past summer. Two ultimate packages, and three royal replenish made a big dent in my cruise budget. They have all sailed before and a discount for each of them and for me would have helped a lot.

Discount on oceanview rooms.

Until recently (because of a last-minute change in my travel plans) I have never booked an oceanview or an inside, but to my surprise when I did, I received a C&A discount of $70. Not sure if it was because of the particular ship or what.

Would like to see a separate Balcony Discount Cagetory for PC Members which should be slightly higher than D+.

I agree. It shouldn't be the same as D+, especially since it's an additional 520 pts to get to Pinnacle.

I am only speaking for myself, but I would love to see a discount, based on loyalty level, for the drink packages.:D

Strange but not unexpected with the new site. Seems like they are hell bent on driving customers away from their site to the TA's.

As of this morning, all links on the price-monitoring site now take you to the "new website." Someone must be monitoring CC threads as it is too coincidental that the simpler way of finding a cabin has now disappeared!:(

Not everyone has access to the site you are using. Are you using a public site or one for travel agents?

A public price-monitoring site that can be found using google.

With the new and improved :rolleyes: website sometimes it will not show every category available but will default to only one category such as only showing a D8 and a D2 but omitting every thing else.; You need to select the change cabin option and type in a known available cabin in your category to bring it up.

I did that over and over, Ken. I inputted the cabin class option and specific deck - response there are no cabins available on deck __ in that class; I inputted the cabin class and the specific cabin number - response: not available. I even went as far as to change the number of people from a solo to a couple in case the site was not allowing a solo to book that particular cabin or cabin class -- no success.

Like I said, it might have just been a glitch, but wanted to make others aware.

I decided last minute after checking price-monitoring site to book a Feb. Anthem sailing and wanted a particular cabin on a specific deck. The cabin was shown to be available on the link from the price-monitoring site, so I logged into my C&A account on the RC website with the intention of reserving it.

The RC website not only stated that cabin was unavailable but also stated that there were no cabins available on that deck in the class I wanted; I tried submitting the information, logging in and out and clearing my browser cache several times. Finally, I opened a second window back to the price-monitoring site, and sure enough, it showed the cabin available along with other cabins in that same class on that same deck.

I used the price-monitoring-site's link to the cruise (all the while still logged in via the other window) and was able to reserve it.

It may have been an isolated glitch, but if you are interested in a particular cabin or class, I would check out its availability via a second source.

Starting Mon., Nov. 2, Club Royale will be opening one hour earlier and closing one hour later on weekdays. They will also have limited hours on Saturday and Sunday.

it does not

ditto