North of 60

It would be nice if one of the price-protected options was for the same sail date. (I know, that's hard to do for a 5 day cruise, but sometimes vacation dates are chosen for a very specific reason.)

 

It would be nice if they would require charter groups to book the ship further in advance, say 18 months, to minimize the number of people booted off of a cruise.

I agree - we booked this cruise and the following 9 night on Navigator to celebrate our 20th anniversary on Dec 6.

It has been interesting going through travel sites looking for a cruise or B2B that will ensure we are onboard a ship on the 6th and not packing to leave on the 7th.

MSC, with their status match option, is very high up on the list - although they are a little more pricey.

My TA was insistent, up until a few days ago, that the sailing would go ahead. I was going to bet him gratuities vs doubling his commission that it would be cancelled. If cancelled, he pays gratuities for one of us. If it goes ahead, we will double his commission. I never tied him to that, so I lose again!

Arrggghhh

Chris in Inuvik

Same thing...and also a sensible idea. :cool: Concierge lounge becomes full Suites only Lounge as on Oasis class, and make the DL indeed renamed the concierge lounge (or simply the C&A lounge) for both D+ and Pinnacle, with no suites guests allowed unless at least D+.

 

Diamonds get their three drink vouchers. Actually thought it was going to that when they introduced those vouchers.

 

Was not that long ago that Ds were kicked out of the concierge lounges. Now comes Phase two with the obvious overcrowding.

I can only imagine the creaming if they tried something like that!!!

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All CL nickle and dime you one way or other. I don't drink so that is no sweat of my back. Plus is there is a "free" UBP that comes out to like $18/day.

 

Okay - What is a "UBP"???

Well go ahead and post the industry research proving your contention. Oh wait that's just your guess? Imagine that! What could your guess be based on? Could it be based on what the companies that do the market research and have access to that information are doing with Millions upon Millions... even billions of dollars? No. Apparently it's just based on your own personal antipathy for the changes that are going to be happening.

 

Like it or not the best insight we have into what we passengers collectively are likely to be rewarding the cruise lines for doing is by watching what the cruise lines do with the insights they get from their research. They are not guessing. They're doing research.

 

You don't like big ships. Message received. Get over it. Two 180,000 gross ton Carnival Mega ships are coming. They're not building them on a lark.

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Now we're getting into "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Holy cow, people ,... GROW UP.

If you are going to assert something, have some fact based evidence to back it up (debating 101)

No personal attacks. (Debating 101)

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Oasis is a slam dunk. It's just not for you. The 5th one is already on order and they fill up every sailing. It's a slam dunk.

 

I've never really understood the people who complain "it's a resort at sea" - what exactly do you think Carnival Glory/Vista/Dream/Magic etc. are? Carnival added an iMax theater, sky bikes, etc. It's no different in desire to add amenities and activities that people want to do. The real difference is that Royal simply does it much better.

 

What you are really saying is that you want to feel the ship move more (most people want it as still as can be). I tend to wonder where the cutoff is for you. Obviously you wouldn't like Vista - too much "resort", right? Maybe you prefer Seabourn? Why do you even sail Carnival if you don't like the floating resorts? Because that's exactly what Carnival is offering.

 

You are certainly entitled to like what you like, I just have a hard time making sense of it. Why wouldn't you sail on a line like Seabourn, then? No frills, WAY more ports than Carnival... etc. You could make your exact argument between the "ship" from Seabourn that goes everywhere and the "floating resorts" from Carnival with limited ports, no?

You might want to reword that first line ... how about "For me, Oasis is a slam dunk."

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All modern cruise ships from the major lines are floating shopping malls. Clearly, you haven't actually sailed on the larger ships. People that makes these ridiculous comments just come off as a cranky old man. "Who wants a computer in their pockets?" "Why do we need color on our TV!!!" "Who wants to ride on a floating shopping mall? (while sailing on a floating shopping mall)" Maybe you would prefer a Bass Tracker and a six pack?

And maybe we can keep the personal insults out of here? It was a serious question. If you can't respond seriously or with a little class, please don't bother responding.

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The issue with Carnival is that they don't make the ships bigger, thus the need to reduce the public areas :)

 

I think the new LNG ships from Carnival, I think 180,000GT - could actually solve this issue and may be a step in the right direction. That's a very large ship. I'm looking forward to seeing what they offer with the new designs. You will notice they are finally dumping the terrible Fincantieri builder. It's going to be a big departure from the existing ships, I think.

 

My only concern would be the initial specs are a little troubling and it sounds crowded.

 

Carnival new ship is 180,000GT and 5,200 passengers at double occupancy. Harmony of the Seas is 225,000GT and 5,400 passengers at double occupancy. That's a lot less space for nearly the same passenger load for Carnival. But I'll wait and see what they come up with before passing judgment.

Fincantieri may actually BUILD the ships, but have very little input in design. Maybe we should look at who designed the ships ...

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Huh?:confused:

It was a weak (maybe VERY weak) attempt at humour.

Sorry. Won't happen again.

Chris in Inuvik ---> Getting ready for my 50 lashes with a wet Nexus Card.

Legend's final cruise from Dubai to Barcelona from 13th March caught my eye last year. I liked the itinerary and the date. Having checked again the price of the cruise has been greatly reduced and I have discovered it is the ships final cruise before it is handed over to Thomson cruises. So... my question is essentially, on a final cruise is there a party atmosphere, or are things already winding down? I guess I'm not sure if the low price reflects demand for quite an unusual itinerary early in the season, or a belief that the cruise will be impacted by staff departure or lack of entertainment? I guess the attitude of the staff is the key?

 

Has anyone been on a 'final cruise' with RCCL?

Did you finally book this one? I see it is now sold out, and possibly over-sold.

There are roll calls for the last two or three cruises on the legend, and we have been discussing this very thing - what to expect.

Chris in Inuvik

... He confirmed, of course, that there was absolutely no need for the boarding pass and that this was not the first time that this particular officer had overstepped his authority. The manager made it very clear that remedial action would be taken.

And the remedial action turned out to be ... requiring all agents to ask for boarding passes in future.

You still haven't put forth anything that would make any sense about why anyone, especially an illegal alien, would forge a document to leave on a cruise that comes right back to the US. Illegal aliens don't routinely go on vacation and if they do they certainly aren't leaving the country they worked so hard to get into in the first place. They are not doing things to draw attention to themselves, which they most certainly would be doing if they went on a closed loop cruise. It makes even less sense for a US citizen to pay to have documents forged in order to go on a closed loop cruise. One of the intents of the REAL ID act is to make it harder to forge these documents.

How about someone who wants to go to another country and pick something up to bring back to the US, without using their real name / identity.

Getting something back via cruise ship is not unheard of - I saw a story recently where kilos of illegal drugs were seized from a cruise ship, and the passengers arrested.

A few years ago, we signed up for travel insurance through Aeroplan. It is actually Blue Cross.

We are covered for as many trips as we want, up to 30 days out of province (may be out of country - have to check that) each. That is 30 days each trip, not each person.

It is a little expensive - I think it was about $600 a year for both my wife and I, but it seems pretty comprehensive.

It also seems to cover pre-existing conditions, so long as your treatment / medicine hasn't changed in the 30 or so days before your trip.

We don't have to call them before each trip, just make sure we have the card with us that lays out procedures and phone numbers.

Chris in Inuvik, NWT

As luck would have it, there's no roll call yet, maybe it's too early. I was testing the prices, cheapest i can get is $336 per night w/ hhonors discount. If Holiday is at least 20% cheaper then i will take Johor out of the equation. They don't have a rail system from the airport like, Tokyo no?(assuming you've been there too)

 

 

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Another option to consider is Batam Indonesia.

It is a one hour ferry ride from Singapore, and the prices at the hotels are great.

Hi

I am wondering if my flight home is too tight.

I am taking the Freedom of the Sea on December 1st and the cruise ends

on Sunday 8th. On papers it says the ship arrives back to Port Canaveral at 6AM

and my flight at MCO is at 11h24 am.

 

It's my first time on Royal Caribbean and i am unsure how long till i can get off the ship. is there any advice you can give to catch my flight?

 

thanks!

Have been over to the dec 1 roll call for this sailing? It is a very active (and only slightly nuts) group, and we have lots planned both pre and during the cruise.

Would love to have you join us.