ColoradoGurl

Not unless you want to drink soda all day and night.

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Wow that IS cheap! Last minute airfare from Denver on SW is about $850 per person though, which actually makes that cruise more expensive than the one I’m taking from San Juan this summer. That’s the only downside to last minute cruises.

OP don’t feel bad about the price drop, most cruises drop at the last minute because everyone who is currently booked is already locked in to their price, and that is factored into the new pricing.

If you’d waited until the last minute, you might not have gotten the room you wanted, and the airfare cost would have eliminated any savings.

Come to think of it, the airfare prices are probably also factored into that price. RC knows most Puerto Rican’s are still struggling after the hurricane, which means they’re relying on people to fly in from other places to fill the ship, and the airfare to get there this late in the game is so high that they have to drop the cruise fare to make it worth it.

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"Scare tactics" in wording from cruieline

 

 

 

With the tips going up I am sure as in past rises many will opt out or threaten to opt out in favor of cash tips, the small amount of increase is nothing but on principal many like the op may not want to pay extra they need not have paid so I believe RCI wants to secure as much pre paid asap.

 

 

 

Things die down after a while and cruisers accept the grat increase but as shown on cc in the past many will opt out in protest of the rise and cruiselines know this so they dangle a carrot!

 

 

 

How will the tips get distributed now? with the pre payers paying $1 a day less than all those who pay daily or missed the presumed deadline! I really dont think the cruiseline will cover the many thousands in grat shortfall for these cruises.

 

 

 

Just my opinion and I am frequantly wrong :)

I wouldn’t be surprised, people do make a big fuss over $1 sometimes. The “pre-pay” option doesn’t really give Royal your money ahead of time though, they just add it to your bill, and it gets paid at final payment date, which means they’ll get it 90 days sooner, but that’s not really a big deal.

I don’t blame people for not wanting to pay more money when the option to pay less was there. But if it’s that big of a deal, why wait until the very last day? They sent that email to us a week ago. Procrastinators can’t be choosers and what not.

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January

 

 

 

January

 

 

 

January

January

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January

Yikes, thanks. I don’t know what I was thinking. They both start with J (and my cruise leaves in June, I think that’s where my head was at). I changed the ones I could, was too late for the other.

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Here's what it says on the TA's FAQ- it sure sounds like you can pay them anytime before you board. That said I still don't really trust that to be true

 

 

 

4. If my clients booked prior to the announcement of the gratuity increase, but did not optto prepay gratuities, do the new guidelines apply to my clients?Pre-existing bookings confirmed prior to January 2nd, 2018 will not be subject to the increasedguidelines as long as gratuities are paid in advance of sailing. Should guests opt not to pay gratuitiesuntil onboard, they will be subject to the newly suggested gratuity amounts.

Hmmmm... well since your travel agent put that in writing, people will have an easy time making the argument that the agent needs to pay the difference if the lower dollar amount doesn’t populate in the system, but I wouldn’t trust being able to make that argument to Royal Caribbean.

If anyone is really that worried about the $1, I would add it before January 2nd. What’s the point in waiting and then hoping that Royal’s wording means you are grandfathered at the lower rate? I agree with you, I wouldn’t trust Royal on this one and I wouldn’t want to waste the time on the phone trying to make that argument.

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Can you paste the contents of your email, please?

 

_______________________

Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights

Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights

Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights

Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked)

Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked)

Here’s the email (pasted below). I see where it says “...we’d like to extend the opportunity to prepay before you sail at the current rate...” but I don’t believe they mean to say that you will be grandfathered at the lower rate.

The fact that they state the daily charges and also state that they go up on Jan 2nd, to me, means they are inviting you to prepay before you board, but warning you that the amount will increase on Jan 2nd. I could be wrong but that’s how I read it.

ROYAL’s EMAIL:

We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean vacation!

As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of January 2, 2018, Royal Caribbean will be increasing the automatic daily gratuity charge from $13.50 to $14.50 per guest, per day for regular staterooms and from $16.50 to $17.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams.

We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate.

Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, spa services, room service and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt.

To pre-pay your gratuities, please log onto http://www.RoyalCaribbean.com, contact your travel agent, or call 1-866-562-7625. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard.

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

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Thats how I read it,as long as you prepay online before you sail you will be grandfathered and new bookings will show the new cost online.

 

 

 

By the way just been on the phone to them here in Australia so they will be open early 2nd Jan.

My email did not read that way. It says you can add them before you sail (meaning, instead of waiting until you board and having them add them each day), but on June 2nd, the price will increase.

You can add them before June 2nd and pay the lower rate all at once, you can add them on June 2nd or later and pay the higher rate all at once, or you can wait til you board and pay the higher rate a day at a time.

I called and added mine on the phone because they asked me about it when I called for a price drop. I wouldn’t worry about it if you miss it; it’s just $1 more a day per person.

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For those suggesting we book now - how do we know which sailings will fall under the Kids Stay Free promotion? Should we assume any Nov/Dec 2019 sailings on older ships like Oasis or Allure will be inlcuded?

It’s in the “terms and conditions.” Symphony of the Seas is excluded, and all sailings between May 15th and September 1st are excluded. Other than that, kids sail free.

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I personally like promenades better than balconies.

A) I never use the balcony because I think they’re too windy and cold

B) They make the room too humid which makes it hard to get ready after showering (hair won’t dry, skin always feels wet, clothes always feel damp) and balcony rooms always have more rust in the bathrooms because of the humidity that the promenades don’t have

C) We spend very little time in our room, so it doesn’t make sense to spend $1,000 more dollars on a room that functions the same as the promenade.

I think they’ll be perfectly happy in the promenades. A balcony isn’t a “must” for everyone. Plus there’s the added benefit of people watching from the promenades that can be a lot more entertaining than staring at the water (for some).

And for future reference, if you’re doing a Freedom class ship & booking a promenade room, check for 6305 first. It’s the “Ben & Jerry” room, and you get extra perks like 1 free ice cream per day and access to some suite benefits without the cost of the suite.

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They recently added reduced deposits for onboard booking, but only for non-refundable deposit fares.

Oh ok, well I still won’t be booking onboard then because I refuse to book a non-refundable fare.

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I like cruising because it’s an easy way to see lots of places in a short period of time.

It’s easier and cheaper to island hop on a cruise ship than to book multiple airfares and hotels at each place.

I go on lots of land vacations; more than I go on cruises, but those trips are always shorter 3-4 day trips to different cities around the US (besides all the travel I do for work).

I also travel on land vacations to the Caribbean, but have found that I get bored going to the same beach and being on the same island every day for multiple days in a row, so it makes more sense to me to visit the Caribbean on a cruise ship instead, so I have veered more towards cruises for Caribbean and beach vacations.

I also do integrate a small land vacation before the cruise, where I’ll stay 2 days ahead and go do something in the embarkation port. For example this summer we’re going to San Juan for a cruise, but stopping in Orlando for a day or two to go to amusement parks and then heading to San Juan to do the biobay before the cruise. Mostly I’m doing that just because it’s on the way and it costs the same airfare wise to stop there.

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It was my understanding that there is no longer a reduced deposit for onboard bookings. Did they change that back? $100 down payment sounds like the old deposit amounts are back.

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We did this tour 3 years ago.We chose Poinciana Tours and was very pleased with our day.

 

We were off the ship as soon as we could get off (8:30)and found them waiting for us . As we were the only couple going we left immediately which was nice and arrived at the hike before the cruise ship excursions got there. (we actually made good timing and was headed back down and passed hikers headed up and ones that turned around because it was harder than they thought!) We were back to the ship between 2 and 3 leaving us a little while to look at the shops in the port area.

Sounds great, thanks! I’m gonna try it and go with a private tour operator. Worst case scenario is we are too slow and have to turn around before we make it to the top. Actually worst case is we miss the ship, but St Kitts is our last port and it’s not too far of a flight back to San Juan. I’ve been reading a lot of trip advisor reviews though and I have yet to read one from anyone saying they didn’t make it back.

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I’m wondering the same about the Dominican Republic. Why don’t they go there? My best guess is because they have their private island just around the corner in Haiti (Labadee), but that’s not really a great reason.

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$144.00 savings on a balcony stateroom.

 

We’re calling in the a.m....144 bucks is 144 bucks!

I wouldn’t wait, you could wake up tomorrow and the price will have gone up. Never wait.

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I actually did save money with this “sale.” $300 cheaper than the release date price, which hasn’t happened for me in over 3 years.

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Yeah I would say so. Making an 8:30 flight is unlikely. The good thing is that when airlines change your flight by 2+ hours, they’ll let you change the flight for free, which means you can move to a later (and probably more expensive flight than the one you paid for), for free. Call them and make the change before everyone else does and there are no seats left.

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I wonder if Star Class guests get free Ben & Jerry's.

That would be a good benefit to add if it’s not already. Everyone loves free ice cream.

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Aruba Trikes tour. I believe they also have a sunset tour for people on the island longer.

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Another transfer question: Can I transfer a Non- refundable Booking to another date (same ship, same itinerary)?

Not for free.

Also, Kingwillie24, if you want specialty dining and OBC, check Costco.

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It’s no good for summer sailings, or for the Symphony, just FYI for others who might be interested.

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It doesn’t sound like a good idea to take a cruise with him period. I would either take a trip to a small All-Inclusive or maybe try a horse ranch. There are several in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

Look up “Majestic Dude Ranch” in Colorado. Much quieter, slower paced, and less crowded for a person who won’t do well around lots of people. Similarly priced, possibly a little more, but a great experience.

EDITED: Just reviewed my info on that particular ranch and I was mistaken about cost. It is WAY more pricey than a cruise, sorry. But I still recommend it as a great vacation option if you can afford it. There are similar places around here that are cheaper, but the one I recommended is much better.

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I found a flight from SJU all the way to Los Angeles/Burbank on Southwest for $160, which made for an easy decision to book the cruise.

That’s a great deal!

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If you’re in the Ben and Jerry sweet you get 1 free ice cream a day. That’s the only way it’s included that I know of.

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Thanks! I just saved $300, awesome! I made sure they kept my deposit refundable and made them send me the invoice before I hung up the phone, just to be sure they didn’t accidentally switch me over to non-refundable. Super easy, took exactly 10 minutes.

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