Bradison

Wow, this turned ugly fast.  Why can't everyone just calm down and reflect on the seriousness of the matter.  Obviously, a troubled individual was in such a state of despair as to do the unthinkable.

I just can't imagine how an event that is supposed to bring joy and frivolity (a vacation) can be transformed into a tragedy for that person.  Incredibly sad.

On 1/19/2020 at 7:59 PM, bEwAbG said:

 

21.  You get the status match with the corresponding benefits but have to earn your own points on Celebrity, so you start with zero if it's your first trip. 

Thanks.  My question was clearly confusing but you confirmed my assumption

So, assuming DQ999 is in an IV cabin for 7 days.  Does she end up with 321 points after it is over or 21?

Thanks all.  Was leaning towards 7666 and this info confirms my choice.  Looks like a good deal on a NE cruise which is on our wish list.

Strongly considering an Aft JS corner balcony.  Has anybody experienced soot issues on deck 7?  Does being in the corner room alleviate this?

Thanks in advance

We like it for the bigger bathroom and the bigger closet. The one we had on Anthem also had a huge balcony (unfortunately it was the cruise with the worst weather we have ever taken).  Oh well.

It was a great cabin and we needed nothing more.

P.S. On Anthem we were able to eat dinner in the Coastal Kitchen every night which was a huge step up from the MD.

The fact that these folks have to question what perks they are going to receive and have to rely on an internet message board for info says a whole lot about the utter failure that is RCI communication.

It has been this way for a long time and the leadership of RCI allows it to continue.  There are so many things to love about RCI but this is a glaring weakness that is just inexcusable.

Billions and billions of dollars have been and will be spent on technology and infrastructure and yet one of the building blocks of business execution is continually ignored.

Changing policies and procedures are inevitable with any business of this size but how hard is it to communicate in a timely and consistent manner.  With computers and with multiple avenues for communicating it really isn't that hard.  It just isn't a priority.

Exiting the soap box.  Sorry I didn't add anything other than the noise of complaining.

Just to add some extra thoughts on this thread.  We have done the connecting rooms a few times and it has worked really well.  One of the side benefits is that the balcony dividers can be opened up making the balcony feel even bigger for each cabin.

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

Each change or cancel costs $100 per person.

Thanks Bob

It was my understanding that the NR deposit isn't really lost completely but that a portion of it can be used towards a future cruise.  How much of a hit do you take?

We had the same worry before our Anthem cruise 2 years ago.  Reviews were absolutely horrible and we were worried that it was going to be bad.  Despite the crappy weather out of NJ in March (who decided to cruise out of NJ in March anyway?) the ship and crew were great.

53 minutes ago, kriten19 said:

We are cruising on anthem of the sea. Has anyone done this and had the onboard activities like I fly and such sold out pretty much immediately. Were you able to sign up once on the ship? I plan to go to the help desk asap when we check in but curious if its even worth it. We were able to book off boat excursions but nothing on the ship (the surf board lessons are available but my son is too short).

Thank you

Kristen

The escape room activity is the only thing that was completely booked when we got on board.  iFly was booked up solid but we waited until the second to last day to inquire (only one of us was under the weight limit and she wasn't that interested).  We enjoyed just watching others do it.  Tip: Make sure you stick around to watch one of the RCI workers demonstrate the iFly.  Gives you a whole new perspective on what can be done compared to a novice.  

3 hours ago, steveru621 said:

Booking land tours thru a cruise line is insanely expensive.  Rent an SUV and drive to Denali.  A hotel and tour of Denali can easily be booked on your own.  You can stop and take pictures along the way, and not be rushed around AK.

 

There is a rest stop on the highway about an hour away from the park where you can actually see MT. Denali.  Inside the park, probably not.  Take the train on your own from Anchorage to Seward, beautiful trip.  Use the money you save to upgrade your cabin and eat at some specialty restaurants.

 

Don't get hung up on Glacier Bay or Hubbard glacier.  Traveling deep into Denali makes the whole trip worthwhile.

I think this great advice.  We loved the land tour as much as the cruise but everything was on the cruise line's schedule.  The tour description said we got two days in Denali but it was really like 22 hours, half of one day and half of the other.  Couldn't even do the full tour in the park.  We loved the train and I knew we would.  The hard part was doing the train into the Denali area and then finding a rental car.  That is why I bailed and went with the HAL land tour.  Next time I will rent an SUV in Anchorage and go at our own pace. 

I know you asked about RCI vs Princess for Alaska but you may appreciate our experience when we asked the same question.

We had really only experienced RCI ships to any degree but had read here that Glacier Bay was a deal breaker in Alaska so that meant looking at Princess or HAL.  On this trip we were going with my Dad (75+) and my sister (50+) and their spouses.  When our TA found out we were going with mature folks instead of the kids she pushed hard for HAL or Celebrity. With the Glacier Bay variable in play we chose HAL.

Glacier Bay was very nice but we missed RCI and their type of cruise greatly.  HAL was fine (we agreed the food was better) but it was a whole different vibe.  To this day I regret no booking with RCI.

Just food for thought.  

Is the seaweed issue seasonal or pretty much all year round?

On 5/20/2019 at 5:32 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

is it worth a call into RCL? I printed our luggage tags which list us as 'gold'. We are emerald. Initially I didn't think it mattered at all, but now I'm wondering if that has anything to do with how quickly they get to our cabin. Would you call?

Thank goodness they didn't say Pinnacle.  People would have assumed your were jerks that spend no money and live in Florida. 🙂 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

59 minutes ago, El Abuelo said:

We recently cruised on Harmony in a GS and didn’t have any of the issues folks mention here. No overcrowded lounge, no packed CK, no obnoxious kids running around the suite area, no little groups snickering and staring.  Nada. I feel deprived. It was so bad we couldn’t even tell apart the pins vs the suite guests - exception one family which was far too condescending and obnoxious to be pins.

 

Our suite stay was, in all aspects, a normal experience. Not perfect, but enjoyable. When reading threads like this I get the impression some people look for reasons to complain, or set their expectations too high. 

 

Just my $0.02

And there we have the reality of the situation.  In my opinion.

2 hours ago, hazence said:

That’s even more proof of my point. Looking at the low eligible “suite” count, and the use of the word “exclusive” in the marketing, there is little to warn those who don’t frequent this website...that overcrowding and suite guests being “excluded” from the suite lounge because of that overcrowding, is often a real possibility these days.

 

If this situation continues to undermine the Suite Experience for RCCL cruisers, it will undercut suite revenue for RCCL.

 

Those spending the money required for a suite have many options on other lines...because their status and exclusive amenities are bought, not earned..Whereas Loyalty customers, Pinnacles, have earned amenities not “bought” for that cruise.

 

Suite customers don’t need to stay “loyal.”  They can go wherever their money buys them the best experience.But Pinnacles  have to stay loyal to keep their “benefits” and status.  If they get reciprocal and go to another line...how long until that line is overcrowded as well? These loyalty programs are becoming a boondoggle.

 

 RCCL will then find a way to remedy the situation. I think this will happen sooner rather than later.

I didn't know that you could get free cruises to magically earn Pinnacle status.  Maybe that is because you can't.  Even using the bonus points and conversion calculations, a lot of $ were spent attaining that status.  Why is that so easily dismissed?  

Bottom line is that RCI has a feature/benefit and they have decided to offer it to a valued customer (high $ suite or long term loyal customer) in a way they have determined benefits them.  Not much different than how they have one or two flowriders on ship to attract any or all cruise passengers.  If I show up and the flowrider has a huge line do I run to cruise critic and complain that my paid for attraction was unfairly monopolized by the people that got there ahead of me?  No, it is what it is.  Does it matter that I am in a JS and the people in front of me are in a deck 3 inside stateroom and live within walking distance of the port? No.

I would really like to know how many times this precious piece of ship space has been so crowded that a eligible guest has been turned away and couldn't get their precious free drink.  If the place was overflowing with people was there an attempt to try again after dinner (assuming the visit was combined with a trip to CK) and again get rebuffed?  How big of an issue is this?

4 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

 

Costco sells a box of 6 Beringer White Zinfandel for $17.49...$2.915 per bottle ☺️.

Costco is, as the kids would say, lit

53 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Please don’t go away. Continue to share what you witnessed as a Suite Guest in the Suite Lounge. Some of us believe you. Some on here know your telling the truth but will continue to deny in defense of their status. If they had their way, it would be the P Lounge and I guarantee they wouldn’t welcome Suite Guests or Children. 

I've not seen anyone deny anything happened.  It is the broad generalizations and sense of entitlement that is being questioned 

Just now, Bradison said:

 

Have some cheese with your wine

Sorry should have looked for some white zin

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

Other than White Zinfandel,  my favorite wine is that only Pins give side eye to unruly children. 🤣

Have some cheese with your wine

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Never seen in person, but I have seen pictures of Genie towels saving seats in Schooner. 

I was joking but if I saw this or RCI changed the policy then I will be fine with it.  Life is too short to get bent over stuff like that.

What is the Pinnacle level of points?  Isn't it like 700 points?  I don't care which system is used to calculate those points, that is a lot of cruising (and a lot of $ in cruise fare).  Why is all of that money discounted when you are trying to justify who deserves to be in a particular space?

Royal has decided to include certain features and benefits to their ships to enhance the cruising experience and then has decided who they want to offer those F & B to.  They have decided that high $ suite passengers as well as the most loyal RCI cruisers (who have spent far more than the majority of suite goers) get to enjoy things like the SL and CK.  That makes business sense to them.

The justification that most Pinns are cheap and don't deserve these upgrades it extremely misguided and worse yet based on wild generalizations with no data to support.  Anecdotal evidence is worthless.  However, for the sake of argument, let's assume the generalizations are 100% accurate and that every single Pinn is exactly as generalized.  It doesn't matter because RCI has decided they deserve these upgrades due to the $ they have spent over the years.  If the argument was going the other way, RCI could say "your loyalty is appreciated but these Suite Passengers deserve these upgrades because we have determined that it is part of our Suite offering".

I just don't get the entitlement argument that one group deserves something more than another when the rules are what they are.  If my wife and I show up for our first trip to the lounge and it is crammed full of people, I will just surmise that we were too late and that the other deserving people beat us to the good seats.  It won't matter to me how they achieved their ability to be in the lounge.  But I will be sure to bring a note pad and ask everyone what kind of cabin they are in, how far from port they live, and just how much money they plan to spend on this cruise.....not.

I guess those that support the "the don't deserve it" position will be okay with Star Class demanding that they get the window seats in all restaurants and lounges.    

1 minute ago, tvo7 said:

Do we need to tip the guy who delivers room service meals if we are in a suite?  I know it is free for Suite guests.

I have found that the answer to "do I need to tip so and so" is always yes if you want good service.  I realize this is not true for all cultures so I assume you asking from an American's perspective.