Dan-P

Absolutely.  Have made several life-long friends cruising.  But, have also made some lifelong friends during non-cruise vacations.  The world is a big place - strike up conversations wherever you are - you just never know who you may meet/become friends with.

Dan.

9 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Best of luck to all of us that are experiencing a change of ships. I love Radiance but not for the caribbean. At least I feel if we had to have a change from Freedom to Explorer we did OK. 

Yeah, I'm not real excited about the change from Explorer to Radiance and even less excited about the change in itinerary.  The 9nt first leg of our B2B is 100% different.  Not even heading to the same part of the Caribbean.  The 5nt second leg is going to Key West instead of Nassau.  I'll take that change all day.

Currently, when I log into my account, I can see that both of my cruises have been moved to Radiance, and can see our cabin assignments - which are two different cabins (when we had the same center hump JS booked on Explorer) - but am hoping my TA will be able to get that squared away.  Clearly no desire to move cabins for the B2B.

Dan.

15 minutes ago, Sianli said:

 Well i'm Well I'm hoping that you are right.  I did talk to 3 different people there. Maybe I will call the direct # they gave me to call Friday on my lunch break. This is Explorer  March 20, 22 sailing and does not show up for purchase. Maybe they are scheduling a dry dock in there?

I had a back to back booked on Explorer out of Miami in February 2022 and am being moved to Radiance.  Only one of the two cruises shows up online as bookable right now.  I think they are still working behind the scenes getting folks moved so have the sailings blocked out.  I'm not even sure travel agents can seem them properly yet.

Dan.

29 minutes ago, Sianli said:

I just spent 39 minutes on the phone wanting to change the room location when they changed my Freedom sailing to Explorer. After much holding time, they put me through to re-deployment who now tell me that this sailing is being changed to Radiance and itinerary/rooms not set yet, but to check again on Friday. Maybe they gave me bad info, but I am not willing to spend another 40 minutes on the phone to see if I am getting the same answer this morning. Anyone else heard this?

If you were booked on Freedom out of San Juan, you will now be on Explorer.

Those originally booked on Explorer out of Miami will now be on Radiance.

Seems as though someone you were speaking with was a bit confused if they thought Radiance would be in San Juan.

Dan.

I am on sailings in Feb 2022, but here is where I am so far:

I had a B2B booked.  Both sailings have been moved to the Radiance.  They moved us to a different junior suite for each leg, when we had the same center hump junior suite for both on Explorer, and they have our OBC all jacked up.  We booked this B2B onboard a previous sailing, so had OBC from that, and we also had a ton of OBC from taking 125% Cruise Planner credit from a cancelled cruise that we had already applied to the 9nt sailing.

I suspect Royal is still working to get OBC squared away, but I've told my T/A that he has until the current cancellation date (Oct 30), to get us in the same cabin or we will cancel the 5nt - second portion of the B2B.  Just not worth messing with changing cabins.

We did an all-inclusive resort in September (our first time at an AI), in place of a cancelled cruise, and absolutely loved it.  We have booked two all-inclusive trips in place of cruises going forward already.  With the cruise industry in such a mess right now, that may be our future vacation direction.  We are D+ with Royal, but are growing really tired of having vacation plans messed up, even if at no fault of the industry itself.

Dan.

29 minutes ago, NthernLgts said:

I’m pretty sure that the schedule on that link will be tossed out the window. My letter said that the new Radiance cruise would be sailing on the exact same date from Miami, December 10th 2021. There’s nothing on the link for that date.  

There’s more questions than answers right now.  

The December 10, 2021 9nt is listed on there - second page of the PDF:

Miami, Florida • Cruising • Labadee, Haiti• San Juan, Puerto Rico •Philipsburg, St. Maarten •Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis •St. Croix, U.S Virgin Islands •Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic• Cruising• Miami, Florida

Dan.

1 minute ago, Wine-O said:

The ABC Islands is why we booked this.  Originally scheduled for Explorer in 2021 but Lift & Shift to 2022.  Not sure what we are going to do as we were looking forward to cruising to the ABC's again.  🍷

Agreed.  We were booked on a B2B with one leg booked specifically for the 9nt ABC run.

The new 9nt isn't horrible, but isn't the ABCs!  Not sure what we are going to do yet.

Dan.

Here's the Radiance itineraries.  Not "similar", at least not the 9nt.  We were booked on a B2B on Explorer in Feb 2022.

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/RD_Caribbean.pdf

Dan.

5 minutes ago, amp-qld said:

Grahaminca,

 

Where is the Radiance cruise in January 2022 supposed to be?  We were supposed to be on it in February from Brisbane to the South Pacific but they've just cancelled that and I can't now find where Radiance is supposed to be after October 2021.

Radiance will be in Miami now for late 2021-early 2022.

And the 9nt itinerary (ABC Islands) we had booked on Explorer is nowhere close to similar to the new.

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/RD_Caribbean.pdf

Dan.

56 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

I understand that point but if that was purely the case why switch itineraries completely?

 

Surely Explorer can sail the same ports as the Freedom dates it's replacing. Same for Radiance doing the ABC itinerary it's replacing. 

Radiance is not doing the ABC run in place of Explorer.  We were booked on a B2B on Explorer in Feb 2022, primarily for the 9nt ABC run.  Radiance itineraries for our two dates are completely different.  Our Feb 18th 9nt was Labadee and ABC, you can look in the below PDF to see what it is now.  Our 5nt on Feb 27 was Nassau & Labadee - now Labadee & Key West (an improvement on that one in my opinion).

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/RD_Caribbean.pdf 

Since I crashed a Freedom/Explorer thread, here's the Explorer flyer:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/EX.pdf

And Freedom:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/19071003_FR_Caribbean.pdf 

Dan.

We just stayed at Excellence Playa Mujeres (Cancun) last week.  Was the nicest adult only place I have ever personally been.  Beautiful property, beach and pools, great food and drinks, and the staff went above and beyond.  No time shares, no visitor/day passes, just pure relaxation.  Five star and top notch all around.

Dan.

11 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

That was my understanding as well.  I just haven’t seen any photos showing both sets in the water yet.  

Matt did a great live FB video from one of the floating cabanas this morning.  If you are on that social media site, checkout his blog page.  Not sure it covered both sets, but was a pretty extensive walk around the floating cabanas.

Dan.

4 minutes ago, cnoelle said:

Hello - I'm sure this is shown or otherwise referenced somewhere but I'm not finding it. I know that there is an 18% gratuity added to alcoholic beverage purchases but I'm wondering if that is also the case when you have the deluxe beverage pkg. So if we have the package and got a $10 drink, would we see a charge to our account of $1.80 or does RCL include gratuities with the packages? I'm assuming not but just want to verify.

You pay the 18% upfront when you purchase the package, so no additional gratuity charge for individual drinks with the package.  UNLESS, you go over the package limit.  If the limit is $13 and you purchaser a $14 drink, you will pay $1.00 for the overage and the $.18 for the gratuity on that overage, so $1.18.

Dan.

16 hours ago, beachwestie said:

Were you satisfied with their service?  Were they punctual?? And if I could ask, what did they charge you?

They are extremely punctual, communicate well, and the trips have always gone as planned.  The vehicles, typically SUVs, are clean and well maintained.  Private ride, no waiting, no additional stops unless you request/arrange it.  They have vehicles that can handle large groups too.

We were curbside post cruise about 90 mins ahead of our scheduled pickup time.  I called and they were able to be there in about 20 mins to get us.

For two of us with luggage, our last trip in May 2019:

FLL to Miami hotel: $100.50 (including 20% gratuity).

Port Miami to Ft Lauderdale hotel: $114.00 (including 20% tip).

Not the cheapest for sure, but has worked well for us.

Dan.

YES!  Another Chris *live* review.  Following along and thanks for all of your great pics.  Always helps with the withdraws while not onboard.

I'm a bit sad that we are missing you by a couple weeks though.  We board Allure on Sept 8.

Have a great rest of your trip.

Dan.

Oh yeah, Marla says "Hi" too!  😉

On 6/30/2019 at 9:43 PM, STANMELB said:

 

Sailing on the Allure this week. 12 Pinnacles on board, same as last week. Concierges informed us that 96 Pinnacles are booked on the Allure sailing September 8, 2019.

 

 

 

96 Pineapples?  Good lord!  I'm on that sailing.  Will have to wear my sunglasses indoors to deal with all the reflections from the nametags!  <yikes>.  😜

Any confirmation on why so many will be on that particular sailing?  Might be the first top tier event I go to just to watch them duke it out for who has the most points!  😂

Lowly Diamond here, and my first Oasis class sailing, and we are in a JS.  Was hoping to hit CK at least one night, but now see that may not happen.

Dan.

Within the same city, I use Uber/Lyft.  Between cities, I use Larry's Limo service ( http://www.larryslimo.com/ ) .  Always prompt, courteous and clean cars/SUVs.  Costs more than a shared shuttle or Uber/Lyft, but I like the piece of mind having it pre-scheduled.  Also like not waiting for anyone else and not making additional stops.  I just used them a few weeks ago.  Had them pick us up at the FLL airport and drop us at our hotel in Miami.  Post cruise, had them pick us up at the Port of Miami and drop us at our hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Dan.

On 6/15/2019 at 12:11 PM, Retired LEO said:

This is being reported on the current Navigator sailing and will be fleet wide (at least for Freedom and below classes)

 

Junior suite cards are the standard blue

Full suite guests cards are SILVER

Pinnacle and Masters in Club Royale are GOLD

 

This change took place last week

 

 

 

Neither here nor there really, but the first sailing for Navigator with the new Seapass colors was the Memorial Day cruise - May 27th.  I was on it - in a Grand Suite - and had a silver card.

I spoke with the Concierge about it and it was a change made by shoreside starting on that sailing.  Throughout the four days they were using handmade and crudely printed signs to replace the "Gold Card" signs in the various reserved seating spots around the ship.  It was confusing to many of the staff as well.  When I showed up at Chops on Day 2 for the suite breakfast, the sign still said "Gold Card."  By the time I was finished eating and left, they had a handmade sign in place.  The signs said something to the effect of "Reserved for Concierge Suites and Pinnacle Club Members" or something to that effect.  I should have taken some pictures I guess.

Dan.

According to my T/A this is a known issue and Royal is working to fix it.  My last two cruises, after making final payment, the invoice from Royal has shown a remaining balance.  The one cruise I was just on last week without issue and the next is a crusie in September that I just made final payment on.  My T/A sends me screen shots of his system showing a $0 balance and he then has to call Royal to get an invoice from them showing a $0 balance.

Not shocked, but still amazed with as much business as Royal does digitally/through their website that their I/T can be so bad.

Dan.

Posted in a another Royal Up thread, but figured it was relevant here too:

In February 2019,  I booked a quick 4nt getaway on the Navigator for the end of May 2019.  It was booked through my T/A.  On April 12, 2019, I received the RoyalUp email.  I had a junior suite booked.  I bid $200/person on an upgrade to a grand suite.  That was lower middle of the bid range.  Received an email on April 30 confirming my bid was accepted.  So $424 total with the additional suite gratuities for the upgrade to a GS over the JS.

That is at the top end of my price comfort level for a 4nt cruise, but was still much cheaper overall than it would have been to direct book the grand suite.

I'm happy and she (my other half) will be super surprised which makes it even more worth it!  😍

Dan.

In February,  I booked a quick 4nt getaway on the Navigator for the end of May.  It was booked through my T/A.  On April 12th, I received the RoyalUp email.  I had a junior suite booked.  I bid $200/person on an upgrade to a grand suite.  That was lower middle of the bid range.  Received an email on April 30 confirming my bid was accepted.  So $424 total with the additional suite gratuities for the upgrade to a GS over the JS.

That is at the top end of my price comfort level for a 4nt cruise, but was still much cheaper overall than it would have been to direct book the grand suite.

I'm happy and she (my other half) will be super surprised which makes it even more worth it!  😍

Dan.

2 minutes ago, Doug910 said:

We convinced our family group of 14 to book the Navigator OTS for June. When we boarded the Allure OTS this past November, upon entering the ship for the first time on the Promenade Deck, the ship certainly had a WOW factor. Then we sailed on the Adventure OTS in March, and we boarded the ship on Deck 4, between the aft elevator bank and the MDR...Meh! So, my question is, when boarding the Navigator OTS, what will our group witness first? WOW or meh? Thanks in advance for your answers.

Same class of ship as the Adventure (Voyager class), so will basically be the same boarding experience.  With that said, the Navigator has had the recent "Amped" upgrades, so overall the ship will have a different feel from the Adventure.

Dan.

On 4/22/2019 at 5:41 PM, Jeremiah1212 said:

If you really want to splurge just get an UberLUX or Lux SUV. It will cost probably 4x what a regular Uber will cost for the 10-15 minute ride. Escalades, Yukon Denali's, QX80 type vehicle are readily available. No need to book ahead.

Last UberLux I did in FLL was an Infinity QX60 crossover.  Nice vehicle and served its purpose.  Was about twice the price of an UberXL.

Dan.

On 4/21/2019 at 12:20 PM, Corby114 said:

If you have your heart set on a limo service contact Larry’s Limos. Clean vehicles, knowledgeable drivers, and reasonable rates. As other posters have all ready explained, it a very short fifteen minute ride and personally not worth it since you are so close to Port Everglades. 

I second Larry's ( http://www.larryslimo.com/ ) if you decide you really want to go the Limo route.  We use them when we fly into FLL but cruise out of Miami.  Punctual, clean cars, and friendly drivers.  Just called and booked a trip with them yesterday actually.

Dan.

24 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

Thanks Dan.  I guess I wasn’t clear in my explanation to my friend when I asked him. That being said I’m really excited to visit CoCo Cay in the future. The sand looks so soft and welcoming. 

 

The data is good to know as well regarding pricing. 

The pier is a game changer, as so many ships would miss the stop due to weather conditions causing the tenders to not run.

With that said, and we are probably in the minority, but we loved it as a relatively undeveloped island.  Gave the true feeling of being on a private/deserted island if you walked far enough around away from the tender area.

The upgrades and additions are amazing, but I think it will now feel more like a day pass to an all inclusive resort than a secluded private island.  Not that that is a bad thing, just different.

After seeing pics and vids of the Oasis Lagoon (pool), swim up bar and the general area, we decided that was going to be home base instead of the Chill Island cabana out on the beach.  If everything opens as planned in May, we should be one of the first handful of ships in to the bulk of the island being open.

Some future trip we'll get an over-the-water cabana.  Still cheaper than flying to Bora Bora and/or Tahiti.  😉

Dan.