Goodtime Cruizin

I think both itineraries are excellent, and it's a matter of personal taste. I could not pass up pizza in Naples, nor an overnight in Venice.

My choice as well!

Looks like the fun is over on the low prices on Harmony. Our D1 balcony for 3 on 3/18/17 is now $560.00 more than on Monday when we booked.

Reminds me of the original BOGOHO early in Mat 2014. They let their loyal TAs and Customers jump on board, fill many, many cabins on many, many different ships and itineraries. The lower fares lasted a bout a week to 10 days. Then the fares could a direct line shot up in a sure but steady increases. One of my fares went up 155% by week six.

I'm not a Pinnacle, D+ or even D, but it appears to me that there is no doubt that Royal has serviced their customer base very, very well. To a degree, the loyalty program has grown throgh the years and as a result needs some adjusting and additional space to handle the large amount of loyal customers. I commend Royal on having this issue. It tells me that they have done well through the years and serviced their clients.

Cheers to each of you that have reached the level of D, D+, and P

Was it blue lint? Mine was blue! I bet it was the same lint!

Just saw a Beer Tasting on a Compass. Anyone been to one?

I attended one while on the Navigator. (I think) Anyway it was a good experience. You'll taste 5 or 6 different beers and also have an informative discussion about how the beer was made, when, etc. It was entertaining, plus good beer! Please note, the Preimum Beverage Pkg does not cover the fee, which I think was about $15 charged to my sea pass.

1. Ice skating was available on days 3, 6 and 7

2. The piano player is listed as "Piano Man Dan" - have no idea how long he will be on board the ship

3. On day 4 you can get the form for the airline transfers - the service fee is $20 per person plus the cost the airlines charge for your luggage. You will receive your luggage tags on day 7 and also your boarding passes. You then can get off the ship anytime you want on the departure day.

4. Hair Salon cost - I have short hair and paid $39 to have it washed, blow dried and the curling iron used. I think the cost may depend on the length of the hair.

Thanks! We're going to try the Luggage Serice.

It sounds like you had a nice cruise vacation. Good for you!

A few questions..

1. By chance do you recall who the entertainer was a the Piano Bar?

2. And if you do, by chance would you know long he/she will be on the ship?

3. RCL baggage transfer service to airport...how did you go about reserving this and what was the cost?

Finally...

4. It'll be the DW's birthday on the embarkation day. So I plan to gift her a cake, champagne, a massage and hair day. I can price all of these goodies except for the hair day. What do think might be the cost for a 'do' ? No cutting or coloring etc., just shampooed and styled.

We sail Indy in Oct. & we're looking forward to it! Thanks for your review!

19 months on our next cruise and 20 months on the next. We're firm believers in booking way ahead. The price has doubled on both cruises and if by chance it does go down, which I seriously doubt, we can take advantage of it if it does.

Anyone ever tried using an old gold key card from a previous cruise to enhance current sailing?

 

I brought my old gold key on my last cruise to goto the Gold key area for the deck chairs on the FOS. We were the only ones there and it was so windy we decided that once was enough.

 

On the other hand i never thought to try other places like Labadee like the cabana area. Any one else try and have any luck.

 

If you are reading this and decide to flame me, that is your choice. I will love you as a fellow cruiser just the same.

 

There are to many land lovers who never reach there full vacation potential by not enjoying one of todays most fascinating and relaxing experiences, Cruise ships. Hope I can get some past experience form you all.

Thanks,

Leo

We haven't met, but I think I've heard about you. Are you the cruiser that carried the blue handicap placard (used for automobiles) and used it to get priority tender to get back on the ship?

I'm not quite sure why some think a sale price is due on something that they already booked! True, saving money is always fun but for me, if the fares did not go down on something I have already booked, it means I was able to grab a great rate at the time of booking!

For example... my two bookings during the original BOGOHO, I purchased these over a year ago at prices so low that there has not been any prices drops in any promotional sale in the last year! I doubt that there will never be either. Now my last booking was on the BOGO50 promotion. That cruise dropped $8. But I'd lose OBC and 50% off the 2nd Preimum Bev Pkg. But I'm not disappointed as I really was excited to book all three of these cruises at what I deemed a great price to start with.

There is still some pretty good pricing going on certain cruises! Wished I could book them all. :D

It is a drive to Florence and I'd be ready to get off as soon as the door opens!

Perhaps the Liberty will eventually. Perhaps it price. 7 days vs 11 days. Carnival's fares are much cheaper the RCL, so it could be a cost thing. It'd be nice to see two different ships sail out of Galveston, each offering different ports.

You can't claim VAT back on anything consumed or services rended within the EU only on goods being exported. These same goods are then subject to any applicable import taxes on arrival in the states!

In that vain, make sure that you request a validated VAT tax form from the seller of any goods that is being exported as customs will not supply any necessary forms. If I recall correctly, the item had to have a value of over 200 euros.

I have not followed RCCL cruises that closely until the last two weeks, but right now an online site has the June 19th sailing of Radiance OTS priced at $454pp ($355pp military) ;)

 

I would be willing to bet it was never priced that low before final payment. :cool:

 

I have taken advantage of late pricing deals for almost all of my cruises. Fares that the vast majority of people absolutely refuse to believe possible, including a 23 night transpacific last fall for only $799pp. :eek:

 

I agree completely that timing is everything when booking a cruise. Later CAN be (but obviously isn't always) significantly less expensive.

So it's not the RCL online website, correct? Because the rates that's being discussed. The RCL published fares. The lowest published fare from RCL this cruise & for a guaranteed Q cabin (interior) is $786/pp.

We cruised on the Oasis in Feb. 2015 in two D2 ocean view balcony cabins. I originally booked online through RCI, then transferred the reservation to a TA through a program that gave us a 5% rebate (of the basic cruise fare) on our credit card.

 

I don't know what the fare was when the sail date was first released. However, we experienced TWO price drops after booking, plus somehow received $100 OBC/cabin with the second drop. The following prices include all taxes, port fees & prepaid gratuities. I believe that all of them were booked under BOGOHO. The drop dates are when I noticed the lower price and called the TA.

 

I first booked this cruise on 8/24/2014 at $3,517/cabin

 

On 9/18/2014, the price dropped to $3,377 ($140 less/cabin)

 

On 10/23/14, the price dropped again to $3,262 ($255 less than original price, $115 less than 9/18 price) PLUS, we got $100/cabin OBC. (I don't know what the special offer was, but the TA informed us of it.)

 

This may be a rarity, but I continue to check prices on future cruises almost every day, figuring I might get lucky again.

It's not really a rarity and you should continue to monitor the fares daily. Having said this, it also appears that you purchased the cruise at a peak price. I'm happy the fare came back down for you and you were able to save some monies.

Enjoy your cruise!

Well, your experience must NOT be 100% accurate.

 

Our total cruise cost when booked last October for our Category D1 Cabin was $9,867.64.

Today the same Category D1 cabin is $8,225.27

 

So, if I waited and purchased today, which is 3 weeks prior to sailing, I would have saved $1,642.37 on this cruise.

I think you might have misunderstood my post or perhaps I did not explain it properly. What I'm attemting to say is that after final payment is due, prices do and will drop, but it is my experience that these drops do not drop below the lowest fare that was offered at any time. I have thoroughly followed four cruise fares from inception or relase date to the sail date. Not one of the four cruises had the after final due fares ever drop below the lowest fare that was ever offered for the cruise.

While the example you've posted shows a significant drop, it shows only a drop from your booking fare, $9867.64, the cruise fare most likely was offered at a lower price at one point, prior to you booking. The price of $8225.27 today is most likely higher than and/or the same price as the lowest cruise fare that was ever offered for this cruise. I'm not doubting that prices drop, they just don't drop below the lowest cruise fare that's been offered. At least this is my experience.

There are a few sites that monitor cruise fares. The one I use also will line item the privces/dates and uses a trendline graph as well. Unfortunately, it only begins the monitoring process when you command it to do so. In otherwords, it won't tell you previous fare history. Just when you begin the process.

Yes. I received credit on a premium drink pkg, for two people, for 3 days. It occurred when the ship could not sail for 3 of the 7 days and because it was in Texas waters, premium alcohol could not be served. So, I forwarded my complaint to guest relations and they took care of the credit.

OMG! Our bars/restaurants (most of them, anyway) charge about $3.50 for a bottled beer, and about $5.50 for a cocktail.....it's one thing to pay those prices at a sporting event, where you're there for a couple hours....it's entirely a different kettle of fish if you have to pay prices like that for a week!

That's pretty cheap, although I'm sure our local bar is comparable. But going out for dinner, even Chilis a margarita is over $10 / drink.

Yes, way beyond final due date. We sail in 3 weeks and the prices started to drop a week or so ago.

It's my experience, that they NEVER drop below the lowest fare that has been offered for the cruise since the sail date was released. The timing of booking a cruise is everything.

Waiting is a gamble but sometimes it could pay off. My family of 3 is sailing on the Anthem in 3 weeks on a 14 night Mediterranean cruise. We have a D1 cabin that we booked in October of last year. The total cruise price for the D1 cabin today is almost $1,200 less that what it was when we booked back in October. Unfortunately, we are paid in full and can't take advantage of the lower price. I did try calling our TA to see if we could get a deal on an upgrade to a JS but the suites prices haven't really dropped much so not worth it for us.

Did it drop AFTER final due date?

Me & my DW's next cruise is on the Indy, October 25th, 2015. We were able to get a JS for $1055 (each). Since then the rates have went up as follows...as of today, we were able book this cruise at the lowest priced point since the saildate was released. A 30-30-30 would still not drop the rates to the cruise fare we have secured.

Fare..........Price change dates

$ 1,149 2014‑02‑13 2014‑02‑14

$ 1,179 2014‑02‑14 2014‑02‑15

$ 1,199 2014‑02‑15 2014‑03‑12

$ 1,279 2014‑03‑12 2014‑04‑17

$ 1,407 2014‑04‑17 2014‑04‑19

$ 1,382 2014‑04‑19 2014‑04‑19

$ 1,407 2014‑04‑19 2014‑05‑01

$ 1,055 2014‑05‑01 2014‑05‑08 <------ Booked at this rate

$ 1,213 2014‑05‑08 2014‑05‑22

$ 1,363 2014‑05‑23 2014‑06‑14

$ 1,608 2014‑06‑14 2014‑07‑16

$ 2,144 2014‑07‑16 2014‑07‑25

$ 2,394 2014‑07‑25 2014‑07‑29

$ 1,843 2014‑07‑29 2014‑08‑01

$ 1,795 2014‑08‑01 2014‑09‑16

$ 2,394 2014‑09‑16 2014‑09‑16

$ 1,795 2014‑09‑16 2014‑09‑25

$ 2,394 2014‑09‑25 2014‑09‑25

$ 1,795 2014‑09‑25 2014‑11‑01

$ 2,394 2014‑11‑02 2014‑11‑17

$ 1,795 2014‑11‑17 2015‑01‑20

$ 1,945 2015‑01‑20 2015‑01‑29

$ 1,949 2015‑01‑29 2015‑02‑04

$ 2,046 2015‑02‑04 2015‑02‑21

$ 2,028 2015‑02‑21 2015‑02‑24

$ 2,046 2015‑02‑24 2015‑04‑09

$ 2,144 2015‑04‑09 2015‑05‑01

$ 2,069 2015‑05‑01 2015‑05‑30

On the other hand... we also have a cruise on the Adventure, 10-1-16 that we booked a JS for $1215 (each) during the BOGHO50 sale. We recv'd $100 OBC plus 50% off the 2nd premium bev pkge which combined is about $325.

Fares.........Price change dates

$ 1,215 2015‑03‑11 2015‑05‑01 <----- Booked at this rate

$ 1,140 2015‑05‑01 2015‑05‑29

So...if the cruise fare remains the same, a 30-30-30 would drop the rate to $850.50 ea for a savings of $729. But I would lose the 50% off on the 2nd purchase of the premium bev pkg $225 plus the $100 OBC. But we would still come out ahead by $404.

I'm one that truly believes booking waaaaay in advance has it's advantages.

This will be interesting. I have two cruises (JS) I booked over a year ago. To meet the booked rates for these cruises, RCL would need a 50 -50 to meet those rates due to the large increases & current rates, but I have another JS booked on a cruise in 17 months that hasn't had a rate increase yet. I'm thinking that one will either jump signicantly on/before June 1st or we're going to get a helluva good price for a 7 day JS.

I'll be closely watching.

A 30-30-30 leaves out 10% somewhere!

No sense of humour here today? Just the critics showed up.

 

I liked the list.

I think it has more to do with mocking the complainers. There are some 'critics' that show up on this board, but most are whiners, snivelers, and complainers! :) It's all good though as this forum serves it's purpose.