NateUpNorth

Viewed as a single transaction........ yeah, who cares, could be a million reasons why he wants to sell. However............ he's a smart guy..... maybe he sees trouble OVERALL on the horizon.... even if RCL is a strong company Rising tide raises all boats..... and when it goes out.......

Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've said.......... the OP was worried about the teenagers. I'd put the RCL Flowriders, Abyss, Slides, Teen Club, Zip Lines, Sports Court, Mini Golf (granted it's a limited course) etc etc up against what other lines offer in this regard. (provided a ship with these options was available) I would, however concede the NCL go karts seem like they could flag some teen interest!!!

Young teenagers? RCL 100%. If there's an Oasis class for those itineraries at that point don't even think twice. If I had to pick a cruise line that attempted to be all things to both younger families, and *ahem* those in a different age category...... it'd be RCL.

Some of the people around here...... sheesh Two scenario's A) kid checked a bag, panicked, got vague and less than helpful answers from Air Canada staff, tried for answers a couple times and then Air Canada pulled the pin on the nuclear option and kicked her off the flight B) airport staff thoroughly provided clear and concise information over the Pearson loudspeakers that could be understood, then provided full and detailed information a second time when checking the bag, then when the kid panicked on the plane the flight staff also provided full and patient explanations before they resorted to removing her from the flight I know which one I'm going with. *never flown Air Canada, nor had any interaction with them lest anyone think it's sour grapes on my part :OL https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/air-canada-flight-vomit https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cta-fine-air-canada-1.7067154 https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know

I can't remember 100% if we pre-purchased on Harmony, however Seapass card was definitely what was swiped to pay. I do however remember that a decent amount of games were out of order and some charged the card and the games didn't actually let you play, so perhaps wait and check the arcade out when you board................ Guest services also said they would reverse charges for non-played games.... and to be fair they did for a couple charges. (not all the ones we indicated mind you)

Just responded to you over in the Bonaire forum.... LOL We did Playa Piscado with Curacao Dreams. Granted it's not a "boat tour". It's a van, drive to the "fishing pier", you swim in and get surrounded by turtles. After this you go to a small beach for a few hours then back to port. Great excursion, and the drive to Playa Piscado is a guided tour of the Island and its history.

Adding to the "Playa Piscado" vote. Turtles everywhere. We've also done Bonaire..... favorite snorkel spot ever.... however did not see a single turtle.

Woodwind Catamaran and exactly what you've just described. Short walk from the pier.

I like that it`s an employee, on the rare occasion the machines are open and working.

We also travel in September, perhaps we'll be with you in line? 😆

Was the Fast Track simple and easy to use? Is the premise that you check bags and get tix at the airline counter then through the Fast Track line with the pre-purchased QR code to get to security checks quicker? Will be flying out of FCO later this year and any slight advantage helps....... 🙂

And yet every single seasoned cruiser (seemed like every single one anyone) jumped ALL OVER booking the $15(?) drinks package a while back....... should they also have not booked that?... cause they ended up getting it....... 🤔

Biggest gripes consistently in the RCL threads: 1) pricing 2) kids 3) food I'm not sure the school year is a giant factor for many families booking vacations. (yes, there are exceptions where families get "punished" for taking kids out, or simply cannot, but it seems more than offset by those that can)

A) people are paying it B) they need to pay for the ship somehow C) also, you are correct Many people seem unwilling to accept that all 3 can be true at the same time.

Surely you jest?

Reading the letter I thought "how bad could it really be?" Seeing those photos - sheesh - nobody would pay what they ask for those accommodations/amenities if they saw those in advance

I'm glad to hear that. As with all things food and beverage I'm sure there's a healthy dose of variety in people's experiences with these.

I wonder if perhaps some of the lower grades for the MDR on surveys are resulting in corporate head office exhibiting some willful blindness and insisting it must be staffing, not food quality. (even IIRC that the two are separate questions on the survey) Obviously then they lean on staff to make up that discrepancy, which results in staff thinking they MUST have 10's to keep their jobs.......... People management by excel spreadsheet....... what could possibly go wrong?

I suspect, and know I will be told I'm incorrect fairly quickly by some, that the shakes at Surreal Creamery and similar businesses will bear no resemblance to the ones offered by RCL on a cruise ship. I would bet one is made with "real" ice cream and high quality ingredients, the other is likely made with "frozen dessert." Not that I'd pay $18 for either, just an hypothesis.

We had the same configuration on Harmony. Pullman beds 100% better on all levels for a 4 person room IMO.

100% this. Keep a soda freestyle machine and even a soft serve "fozen dessert" machine available in there too. Now I think about it some of the MDR dessert options could be single serve available too if they had 1 employee there to facilitate pulling a slice of cheesecake or apple pie outta the cooler. Small warming station to do some decent sadwiches. It could be done easily, as mentioned other lines have figured it out, but you'll never get the idea past the cost cutters.

Buffalo airport now closed to international flights. I wouldn't doubt domestic flights are being considered too. If anyone was headed to cruise ports through Buffalo in the next couple days you may want to examine your options........... I think Ambassador bridge in Detroit might be the next closest crossing?

2023-11-22 Heads up.......... all 4 Southern Ontario land borders / bridges closed. Explosion investigation. I expect this won't be over quickly and traffic on the QEW will be an absolute mess. HWY 405 closed, QEW closing at some point before the Peace Bridge

Certainty, planning and purchasing before sailing are all great ways to attempt to drive more dining package sales pre-sailing. Also as @firefly333 mentioned, possibly also a way of reducing financial exposure to the BOGO D+ crowd.

"Too big to fail!" ummm....... err........ nevermind 😬