panjabi

Yes, these board are very helpful, no doubt!

 

However, I believe that OP was wondering if someone arguing with your opinion had caused you to change your opinion.

 

I think that the point was to prove that arguing with someone is pointless, and won't help either of you, so should be avoided. I think they were looking for an example of a time when that person arguing with you changed your opinion. Unless, off course, all of your examples were actually results from arguments. I just didn't get that from your reply.

Dear Mrs.Deee,

Thanks for the clarification. No, none of these were from arguments. I never get into arguments online or offline. Perhaps the reason for my low post count :D:D

I must say though that I learn a LOT from everyone over here. Even the argument flame threads have crucial nuggets of information that, as a READER, I learn a lot from

Tons of super smart and helpful people on this board. Y'all have made my cruising experience a LOT better with all the inside information and tips

THANK YOU!!

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

if so, what was it?

 

just curious if everyone is so entrenched in their ways because all the bickering about things seems to prove no one ever changes their mind, so why bother even arguing? (insert shrug emoticon here)

 

peace ....love..harmony

Dear LuckyInPA,

I guess I must be the outlier, as I have learned a lot from these boards and thus MODIFIED my behavior. While that is not strictly "changing", as per your thread header, it comes close.

Some examples are:

1. Coming to the check-in earlier than what your Set Sail pass says. Being there by 10:30 AM

2. Contacting the Concierge months in advance to book a Cabana (in the pre Star Class days)

3. Hanging out in the Trellis bar instead of the other bars on the Oasis Class

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

Thanks Panjabi.

 

Wouldn't that leave 4 Star suites on Harmony and 5 on Oasis and Allure? Still probably 2 Genies.

Dear OurUsualBeach,

Yes, you are correct. My mistake. There will be 5 Star class suites on Oasis and Allure: 1 Royal Loft Suite, 1 Owner's Panoramic Suite, I Grand Panoramic Suite and 2 Star Loft Suites. For the Harmony, the 2 Panoramic are replaced by one Villa Suite. So the Harmony has 4 Star Class Suites

It comes to mind that the Aquatheatre Suites may have been dropped solely due to the distance. It may not have been efficient having the Genies run to the ends of the ship in two parallel directions. Possibly, a lot of the Genie time was lost in just covering that ground back and forth

I notice that all the Genie Suites are now well contained within the 17th floor restricted area, outside of the Villa on the Harmony

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

It not just the Skyloft suite that is no longer Star class it is also all the 2 bedroom Aquatheatre suites as well.

 

Only 2 Star class suites on Harmony. The Royal Loft and

The 4 bedroom suite.

 

3 Star class suites on Allure and Oasis. Royal Loft, Grand Loft and Owners Loft.

 

Looks like it's down to 1 genie per ship.

Dear OurUsualBeach,

That is not fully correct. The existing Sky Loft suites in the Oasis Class have been RE-NAMED to Star Loft Suites and are STILL in the STAR class

However all the Aquatheatre suites are gone, as per the FAQ

So, with 6 Suites in total on the Oasis Class, that seems like 2 Genies per ship

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

Good morning Panjabi,

 

 

The weather wasn't too bad. Going north of Florida, the weather started to get cold and windy, but still enjoyable. The last night was too cold to really enjoy the outside decks. The sailing conditions were also OK. There were some swells but overall movement on the ship was not that bad, and we also had cabins at the front of the ship. You could definitely tell the ship was moving but nothing overly dramatic. I used my weather channel app with the internet to get an idea of weather. Hope that helps:)

Dear Matrix,

Many thanks for that update! Greatly appreciated!

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

Hey all,

 

<snip>

Debarkation:

We chose to the express self-carry check out and it was a breeze. We were out of our room at 7:15 and went through customs by 7:30. For us, it was just easier to get out before the rush.

 

.

Dear Matrix,

Good Morning. How was the weather/wind/seas during your last day at sea and when you got in yesterday? I have a large family group that sailed out yesterday on the AOTS for a 50th wedding anniversary. It was cold and blustery in NYC when they left yesterday and they were worried about the sailing conditions

In fact, that makes me wonder, how does one check sailing conditions/weather

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

I understood that 180 would have been from good to bad and 360 from good to bad and back to good;p:hearteyes:;p

Dear All,

I too understood 360 degrees being a return to NORMAL. Food was good. Then we had a 180 degree change to BAD. Now we have had a further 180 degree change to GOOD

So, the math nerd in me says the OP was 100% correct

:) :)

Good news to hear!

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

Just be aware that if you have your cell phone on, and you receive voice calls, you may be charged even if you don't answer or the calls go to voice mail. Minimum charge is $2.49 per call.

 

So if you want texts, but do not want to receive calls, set your phone to send all calls to voice mail immemdiately. You can contact your carrier if you don't know how to do this.

Dear Bob,

Good Morning. It is VERY rare for a US based plan to have a charge for an unanswered call, if it goes to Voicemail. The charge instead happens when you CHECK voicemail. We have had T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T on cruise ships over the years and never been charged for a missed call that went to voicemail.

Having said that, what you have said is good advice, in case there is still a US operator (or Billing Plan) that charges for this. Thank you for bringing this up!

So, Sainter (the OP), as per Bob's suggestion, do call your US Based Mobile Carrier and ensure that there is no charge if someone leaves a voicemail as long as you do not check it. If, for some reason, your carrier or your plan DO charge it, then you can have them disable voicemail for the duration of your cruise

Warm Regards and Happy Sailings to all yall,

Panjabi

My family has asked if there is a number that they can contact us on the ship in case of an emergency at home. Anyone have that? I have looked in our paperwork and also tried to find on the RC website - maybe I am searching with wrong terminology.

I would think that this might also be good to have with us on excursions.....

Thanks!

Dear Sainter,

If you have a US based cell phone plan, it will be cheaper for you to put it in NON roaming mode and receive TEXTS/SMS from your relatives.

Depending on your carrier, the INCOMING texts are either free or cost less than $1. On top of it, they are immediate.

Also check with your phone carrier. Many of them offer cheap calling plans that work on Cruise Ships. Sometimes less than $1/minute as opposed to the $7.95/minute that Ship to Shore costs

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

<snip>

 

You can always throw one pair of pants in the suitcase for him to wear if someone decides to turn your group away, but I doubt anyone is going to question a 6 yr old.

Worlds will collide (Seinfeld reference :) ), if ANYONE from the staff turns away your 6 year old child for wearing "nice" shorts

While I am a strong proponent of still dressing up during the non formal days (atleast dressy casual as my ex boss used to call it ), I have seen things in the MDR that cannot be unseen

I've not seen this one on the menu? :D

It is one of "those not-on-menu but always available items"

:):)

I was wondering if there are any clothing shops onboard if one forgot to bring a bathing suit or swim trunks?

As others have said, you can find expensive swim suits

Please do keep in mind that they do NOT stock thong style swimsuits, for either men or women. For those, you have to go to the shops on the port.

I tried to register an expensive new camera with CBP many years ago before a trip to Mexico. He laughed and said that it wasn't necessary, "Mexico is not known for their fine photo and electronics market".

 

Slightly chastened, I haven't bothered since. :)

While the CBP officer was a little tongue in cheek, the fact is that the USA is now the world's cheapest Electronics marketplace

In buyer surveys USA always rates cheaper than Hong Kong, Dubai, Panama Duty Free Zone and Singapore for most pf the electronics and camera buys.

There are always some exceptions (some cameras are only released in Japan or are released a year earlier), but the CBP goes after the "rule" and not the "exception"

The "rule" is that jewelry and Swiss watches are cheaper in many locations abroad, including the Caribbean

So, that is what they focus on. So, if you are carrying jewelry and fine Swiss watches that look new, I would register them

I know that one of the posters had issues with his camera equipment that he brought in from Japan. I am very sorry for him, but it must have been very high end stuff, costing tens of thousands of dollars. It would be professional gear (like for professional TV camerapeople) than what even the most avid photographer would carry on his/her vacation

Regards,

Panjabi

I don't get people who say "Hey, you think you are smarter than some big company? Keep your ideas to yourself."

 

As if every good idea has already been implemented. If you have a different viewpoints and ideas on why the proposed idea can't work, great! Let's hear the debate. But the argument that you can't be smarter than some company is weak, 1 step above giving up and being reduced to name calling cause you have no argument at all.

 

<snip>

 

I would / could do a 10 or 11 day Oasis cruise.

Most everyone I know can take more than 5 vacation days at once with a little planning.

 

<snip>

Dear Thirsty Cruiser,

Thanks for your kind words. I think the challenge that many readers of this thread are having is that they think I am claiming that this proposal fits ALL demographic buckets

The US and Canada alone constitute a market of 370 million people. Inside that sample group are various DIFFERENT demographic markets/buckets. Any ONE of those larger buckets can help fill up an Oasis class ship on a given week. Combine a few of those buckets and you can get an Oasis class ship filled all year long.

Now, this formula obviously is working for weekly cruises. However, my suggestion is that, with a few tweaks, it could work for 10, 11 and 14 day cruises out of Florida

The other thing a lot of posters are saying is that RCCL has smart people who have already considered this and rejected it. Maybe.... maybe not.

Sometimes, even the smartest people get stuck in group think. A LOT of examples have been given of SMALLER ships doing longer runs and not getting families on it

However my thesis addresses this EXPLICITLY. This is a causality argument. Families with kids prefer ships that are kid friendly. It is a LOT easier to go on a cruise if your kids are excited about it. And what do kids like? Slides, water features etc.

So, when you have an Oasis class ship that is very kid friendly, you have a better chance of having super happy kids who look forward to a 10 day cruise.

The example of the success of Liberty in Galveston, replacing a smaller class ship and yet having HIGHER occupancy shows how deep the impact of the water slides in the Liberty was felt in the family market

As a personal example (and yes, one example does NOT constitute a trend), my kids were bored silly on a Celebrity sailing, even though my wife and I loved it. In fact they did not want to cruise again. But, once we started sailing Oasis class ship they fell in love with cruising

Regards,

Panjabi

Dear Panjabi,

 

I chuckle every time you use the word "thesis".

 

Regards,

 

Yorkvillain

Dear York Villain,

The usage of that term allows me to finally feel that I got my Ph.D ... and that too from a single Internet posting

:) :) :)

To be a complete English nerd, in fairness one of the definitions of "thesis" is a "statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved."

However, I will be happy if Harvard was so impressed by that one post that it mailed me a gold embossed Doctorate diploma

Warm Regards,

Panjabi

A suggestion to a cruise line riddled with hyperbole and posted to a public cruise forum will achieve nothing I'm afraid.

 

It's possible but extremely unlikely that your idea is novel in the sense RCL hasn't considered this already when determining where their ships are currently deployed. Given the capital upon which they must make a return you can be sure they think very hard about what itineraries to offer. We also see that they engage is price optimisation activities and this parallel shows they're serious about making money for their shareholders.

 

If you believe your idea is special then rewrite your letter properly and then send it to the cruise line.

Dear Mr. Yellow Duck,

Thanks for your comments. I do not believe there is any hyperbole in my thesis. I do not ever quote numbers of pax that would do this nor do I guarantee any revenue numbers etc.

I put forward a thesis, describing a specific demographic bucket (i.e. Inlanders with kids who would do a longer cruise vacation) and ask RCCL to research it

About the only thing "hyperbolic" in this entire thesis was my VERY tongue in cheek closing remark where I said that this was the "RCCL, this is the single MOST GENIUS idea EVER!! " :) :)

That was more directed at ME for even proposing such an idea. It is self deprecating

I immediately followed that sentence by, "Please do study this carefully. Do some market research. Do some test cruises. See how well it takes off with the public."

So, the thesis starts AND ends with a request for RCCL to consider the idea AND research it. NOT act on it without doing anything and take my word on it

In regards to your second point about sending it to RCCL, yeah I will work on that. However, conversely, to send something to a corporation, I will actually have to make a much more detailed presentation along with any comparable and relevant figures I can find in the public sphere (as many metrics are not released to the public)

So, the goal of posting on CC was to also invite feedback from fellow CC'ers like yourself to see what holes they could poke in my thesis

I think I have gotten some GREAT feedback, both positive AND negative.

This is the power of the Internet

Regards

Panjabi

True and the Internet is littered with armchair CEOs who think they know better than the billion dollar company's market analysis. Nobody's perfect but I think we all know who has a greater probability of being right.

 

Remember when Oasis class was announced? the CC masses were convinced RC was run by morons and would be bankrupt within 10 years because nobody would EVER want to sail on these ugly giant floating shopping malls. :cool:

Dear BamaGuy,

I agree with you totallly. That is why the first sentence in my post is

"Dear RCCL,

If you read these boards, may I make a suggestion? You can then do your own market research and validate (or disprove) my thesis"

I certainly would not ever ask anyone to do something without first researching it. I am simply proposing an idea. They can research it and if they don't agree then that is that

Never did I suggest they jump in head first

Regards,

Panjabi

I would love longer cruises on Oasis class!! Maybe one day.

 

<snip>

 

Good luck with your quest Punjabi! I am rooting for you!!!

 

PS - I think we all have too much time on our hands, if we are all on here reading and responding to posts. Just sayin'!!! Hello pot, my name is kettle.

Dear KiwiGal,

Thanks for your kind words. Hopefully one day we shall all sail on this longer cruise and I will find out why the delightfully named KiwiGirl lives in Canada

:)

Regards,

Panjabi

your reference to the way things are done at your fortune 100 work place sounds great but just how many people who cruise on RCI work in such a workplace?

 

Certainly not anybody I know. Most people I know have a hard enough time getting 1 week off, let alone 2 at once.

 

Bill

Dear Bill,

You are correct. There is no one size fits all situation. However, we can have large buckets of various types of demographics

I am suggesting that there is a large enough bucket with the demographics I am suggesting i.e. people with kids who would like to take an Oasis class ship in the US for 10, 11 or even 14 day cruises

As I mentioned before, a 10 day cruise is just 6 vacation days

Regards,

Panjabi

Thanks for posting, Panjabi. I'm a new cruiser so can't comment on much. However after returning from my returning cruise, I agree with you that I also felt like I didn't get into full vacation mode/mood until after the first couple of days (we also had to fly in the day before). With 2 young kids, I did expect the travel to be a bit more difficult. Your proposal to extend the # of cruise days might have helped me feel like I actually vacationed the "7" days.

Dear GQBoy,

I agree with you completely. Hence the long thesis. I address the problem of getting into VacayMode in great detail. Especially when you have kids.

Who knows, one day this may happen with the Oasis class ships from the US, and you and I and a few others on this thread will be on that ship

If the naysayers are right then it will just be your family and my family and 5000 Golden Age Citizens :)

If you and I are right, then it will be a typical healthy mix of all demographics

Regards,

Panjabi

Ah, got it. RCI should risk redeploying a multi-million dollar asset on your hypothesis over their market researchers. And if the throngs don't come to pass, will you help pay the fare increases for everyone else when RCI has to redeploy and reschedule the ship again? Have a nice day.

Dear ChengKP,

The first sentence in my post is

"Dear RCCL,

If you read these boards, may I make a suggestion? You can then do your own market research and validate (or disprove) my thesis"

I certainly would not ever ask anyone to do something without first researching it. I am simply proposing an idea. They can research it and if they don't agree then that is that

Never did I suggest they jump in head first

Regards,

Panjabi

You vs a cruise line with all their data? Please, lets mive on and shut this thread down. I am moving onto more intelligent threads

Dear FireStation,

Thanks for visiting.

Regards,

Panjabi

T

 

<snip>

 

Do you really think the cruise lines are so stupid as to miss a large potential market? They do market research, you know. What has been shown over and over again, over the past decade or more, is that the demographic changes dramatically when you increase above a 7 day cruise.

 

<snip>

If your supposed market was there, why haven't all these "inland" cruisers and families been booking the existing longer cruises.

I am sure the Data Analyists and data analytics RCL has supports their approach vs. a one-off idea floated above.

Dear ChengKP and FireStation,

So, I explain this in my original thesis. What are talking about is Causality over here. The fact that longer cruises on the smaller ships tend towards an older demographic is in fact DEPENDENT on the fact that they are small ships NOT geared towards kids

That is why I focused my thesis on the Oasis class (primarily) and Quantum class ships. These ships attract families. They have things kids like. Let me even give you an example of Liberty at Galveston. It is doing phenomenally well (as per the last update from RCCL) and BETTER than the smaller Voyager class ship it replaced. Now, what exactly changed with Liberty? Slides and Water rides. So it attracted a NEW demographic

Why do you think HOTS added those slides? They KNOW it brings in a NEW demographic. Now little kids are EXCITED about going on a cruise

So, they have NEVER tried an Oasis class ship in the US (key here is.. in the US) with a longer than 7 day cruise (outside of the weird 8 day one you get, when someone charters a ship for 6 days)

So, how would we know what the response will be

Also, in regards to the Data Analytics department, let us not get carried too far. These guys/gals are not soothsayers. America is littered with bankrupt and defunct companies (like PanAm) who had the world's "smartest data analytics people"

Regards,

Panjabi

The OP talks of families. Do you take children out of school for 2 weeks? Would most children really enjoy a 2 week cruise? I have been talking to others of taking my grandchildren on a cruise, and many people even tell me 7 days might be too long for some children.

 

If the cruise lines would even consider the OP's suggestions, I bet you they would do it in the fall when they are not targeting families with children.

 

I also agree with the posters who say the OP has too much time on his hands. ;)

Dear DD,

In my proposal, I talk of 10 day, 11 day AND 14 day cruises. For a 10 day cruise, you only miss 6 school days, or 7 if you are flying in the day before. So, in my follow up posts, I mention that during Spring Break, Fall Break, Christmas Break, Thanksgiving Break you get a week off anyways from school. So you would just need to miss TWO school days to go on a 10 day cruise

Obviously, in summer this is a moot point. Also, for those that get 2 week or longer winter breaks, this is a moot point too

In regards to "too much time on my hands", I wish I did :) This issue just inspired me to write. Normally I am just a lurker with barely 20+ posts in my history

Regards,

Panjabi

Unlike your first reply, I won't dismiss this entirely. But this statement tells me you have to practice your cruising skills.

 

My first reaction to the topic was, We will see what Oasis 4 and 5 bring. Aren't there a couple of longer cruises on the Quantum class?

Dear BillOh,

Thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately, as even Ocean Boy points out in another response, for some kind of people (like me), rebooting to VacayMode is a bit tough. It takes me a day or two to wind down and stop thinking.

The other thing that I addressed in my first post, on the first day there are a LOT of logistics (especially when traveling with kids), which kinda prevent you from being in full VacayMode

Regards,

Panjabi