M_BA

On 9/16/2022 at 8:27 AM, skywalkr2 said:

 

Carnival would open itself up to many US legal issues if they tried that.

Carnival ships are not US flagged. They have autonomy in choosing what to enforce. 

You can get a drink package on both Carnival or Royal Caribbean for just one of two adult guests in the same room. The caveat is you will need a letter, from ones MD, DO, internist, etc., stating why one adult is unable to consume alcohol due to a medical condition. This letter will become part of the person's permanent profile and only needs to be submitted once. This person will have to purchase the Bubbles package.

Have done this for my SO many times over the years. You will have to call customer service to get it processed correctly, can't be purchased this way online.

"Surprise! Royal Caribbean Cruises just changed its name, without telling anyone" https://thepointsguy.com/news/royal-caribbean-cruises-name-change/amp/

One issue I'd pondered is how the ten of thousands of crew members still stuck in limbo, and not being paid, will react to signing a new contract anytime in the future.

Obviously the CDC is the biggest issue for US ports, but the crew issues will be worldwide. Cruise lines rely heavily on low wage earners for 90%+ their operations. If you can't staff a ship, then the ship disembarking is a moot point.

Thoughts?

It will be an evolving process over the next two years. The cruise lines need enough cash/credit just to stay afloat. European cruise lines have always bought up smaller ships to retrofit, as many ports in the Mediterranean have limited docking capacity. These same cruise lines on our side of the pond still need smaller ships, too, for European cruising. That's why you see ships like Rhapsody of the Seas continually being refreshed or upgraded.

Scrapping a ship is almost always a last ditch resort, as all major cruise lines maintain good seaworthiness. The monetary loss would only help with tax offsets in the flagged country. Another consideration is that the the primary scrap locations are India and Bangladesh. They may become overwhelmed and simply not have the capacity to strip so many commercial and cruise ships.

Only time will tell...

Good article, nice to hear the perspective of an isolated crew member. Glad to hear the ship isn't rampant with infection of the crew.

Something to peruse while stuck at home:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/online-cruise-compass

Note: When you click on the link/button 'View Today's Cruise Compass', it takes you the the RCI Facebook page.

It just depends on the connectivity of the ship at the time. At the least, you'll be able to get audio, but video may be choppy or unavailable due to long latency times. 

The 'stream' is a bit misleading. wannalottadough did a great job showing the speeds for both. On Liberty earlier this month, I was able to a listen to an OU football game, but not stream it with the 'streaming' package. The same was true trying to stream Hulu and Netflix. Streaming music was no issue. 

As a side note, you can download limited series and movies on Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime to watch offline. It's slow on the ship, but it does work. 

It is not allowed, only bottled water.

I've seen sugar-free, but only the original flavor for both versions. If you like the flavored ones, bring some on-board (up to 12 allowed).

4 hours ago, Retired LEO said:

1 card 1 drink. 10 cards 10 drinks. Bring as many cards as you want. 

& get a serving tray to carry all ten. 😀

I'm currently on Liberty. Bought ours for $45/PP & added surf/stream for $11/PP. This was thru RCL website. 

Onboard, it is $57 & $17.99 respectively. 

Hello,

I searched "OB3" and didn't find a current list of ships with this Internet service. Does anyone have a list of the current ships with OB3?

On a side note, any insight to future Internet upgrades of non OB3 ships to these satellites?

On 10/30/2018 at 11:40 AM, dude_hdt said:

Was there last week...Oct 25th.  Lots of "Public Bus" passing thru port area.  They are more like big vans instead of traditional city buses in the U.S. with sign on window.  Still $2.50 US per person each way.  Just tell driver where you want to go and you'll be notified when you arrive.  Very friendly drivers.

Thank you for the timely information. We'll be in Cayman Islands next week on RCL Liberty of the Seas and plan to spend the day at Calico Jacks.

Kids sail free is a frequent offer. However, the cruise rates often increase to offset the 'offer'.

Another poster in the past week referred to this offer starting again on November 1st, but I don't know this to factual or not.

Thank you for the menus! We'll probably do Sabor again for lunch when they offer a discounted rate. The menus are similar for each, so half off dinner makes sense for a nice lunch. 

I wonder why they don't do the guacamole table side anymore?

Getting to know the bartenders goes a long ways, along with small additional tipping. I bring $50-60 in one dollar bills and hand one folded under my SeaPass card with each drink order. The result is a rarely have to sign a receipt, and have never been up-charged for more expensive drinks.

Most bartenders are very personable and will talk with you when they aren't slammed with orders. 

Thank you for the update. We did Sabor for lunch one day for $15/pp in 2016 on Liberty. The three of us shared 3 entrees, and they brought out every appetizer. We also had all five desserts brought out. I didn't try the tableside guacamole. I had two margaritas, they were good and spicy.

Did you take a picture of the new menu by chance?

Looking forward to your report updates. We'll be boarding Liberty when you return the following Sunday. I enjoyed Liberty back in 2016.

How many have you read these in their entirety? It basically indemnifies RCL from almost all liability and established jurisdiction if a passenger were to take legal action.

For our Nov 4th, 2018 cruise, we had four to read and sign electronically:

Cruise Ticket Contract

Flow Rider

Ice Skating

Rock Climbing Wall

Just remember that the ships have limited wheelchairs, so you are not guaranteed one. I would suggest renting one locally to take with you onto the cruise ship. Hope he's healing!

Expectations run the gambit. To each their own. 

You can always order a Chop's filet in the MDR. I've done this several times. Price was $16.95 and the filet has always been delicious - medium with fresh horseradish.

TO BUY NOW OR NOT TO BUY? That is the question!

 

 

Rates for one device are on sale now for our cruise at $12.99 per day. Should I buy now or wait until closer to my cruise next year?

Also check the beverage/Internet combos. We were able to get surf/stream for $11.00/day add-on with our two beverage packages.

As Bob mentioned, you can always cancel and re-purchase for any price drops you may encounter.