EDiamond22

We just got off Oasis in December and we actually received notifications for almost all the messages we sent between each other. (did not have the Internet package)

Last summer we were on enchantment and weren't getting any notifications at all, So hit or miss

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Very likely this.

figured that aswell, thanks

Flash sale 60 percent off second guest     Of the Seas

5 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

I would definitely not be happy to have to trade an unmasked cruise for one that has unvaccinated adults, I have to now mask, and wear that awful wristband (the silicon rubbery ones are fine, they can come off when showering, sleeping, etc.).  I hope guest services gave you incorrect info.  And if they didn’t, I wont be canceling but I will be complaining.

imagine the brutal tan line wearing that plastic wristband 24/7 for a week lol yikes

43 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

She just left on her way to Cadiz. 

 

Biker, who finds reviewing older threads interesting. 

Do you know, general maintenance & touch ups? or are things actually getting added/changed? 
Im scheduled on her next summer when she's doing the Bermuda routes from Baltimore  

Last year pre covid when I used one I had to send an email too sharedservicesgiftcertificateredemption@rccl.com with my reservation number, and then she replied asking for a picture of the GC, it was a digital one so I just attached it. They were pretty responsive too the emails and it was a real person, just took about a month for the GC amount to be reflected in my booking but all worked out. Not sure if this is still the way they do it but some info if it helps

Most of my party typically likes to stay with what is include so tend to go MDR every night, I often order the chops filet off the MDR menu for the extra 16.95. Love that they have that option.   

Coming from someone who enjoys formal attire and semi formal attire even when not required; I would love to hear the opinion of someone who is seriously offended but what someone else choses to wear to dinner? Why even bother bringing negativity into your own vacation because the person 4 tables over has a hat on? Does that really affect your dining experience in any way?

watched a youtube video made by two of the guest on that cruise, they sailed with less than 40 passengers. a step in the right direction but not quite what we are used to on royal lol ill link the video for anyone interested. 
 

It really does not making business sense for royal to pitch this way, keeping their prices seemingly super low on their web site then hooking you with the extras in your cruise planner or on board is much more profitable. 

will you get the double points if the cruise is already booked? I am 87 away from diamond plus, don't believe ill make it their, hoping to get at least 2 in this year. only 40 more years until i retire and do this full time lol

i was booked on Allure Jan 17th of 2021 and found out 2 weeks ago it was cancelled bc it was being chartered that week. That's wild the amount of money companies spend to charter then, i might have to toss the idea around my job with upper management 😄 

P.S 
still taking request if anyone is looking for any specific information! 
tonight will be formal night i will let you know how many dress up since i know all of you love to know 😉 

Not much else on day one, pretty quick and painless muster drill, great dinner in the MDR (i did prime rib, cooked to perfection) then an adult comedy show by David Naster. He was pretty funny even though the crowd really didn't seem to appreciate his humor as much as we did, to each their own i guess! 
You guys can let me know if you want to see the daily cruise compass or not, i'm not sure how common this 8 night sailing to the ABC islands is so it might not be of too much use to many.
Day two early morning:
So i enjoy my coffee in the morning while the woman gets a little extra sleep, and typically i just drink black coffee the specialty ones are nice in the morning, i did not know that on this ship with your UBP the startbucks is included and that's where you get those. i'm used to getting the specialty coffee at the cafe prom. and the starbucks being an upcharge but it isn't like that on this boat/sailing. 
meet and mingle was at 9:15 in the imperial lounge, it was a decent turn out and well hosted but i will say it was the worst prizes i've ever seen at this event. (highlighter&pen, water bottle, hat, bingo shirt and grand prize a backpack) i'll never be the one to complain about free items but like i said i've seen better. Right after we did a slot pull with the CC people, if i remember the guys name who organized it i would shout him out but i don't 😞 he did a great job though we had a good turn out and started with $380 in the machine, not to shabby. We got warm for a little early and ran it up too 460 but wasn't enough to cash out and run so unfortunately hit a cold streak and ran it to the ground. But it was a good time and we got a good 45 min of entertainment value out of it! (really all you can expect when hitting any casino lol)

Mens windjammer bathroom with a view i thought was cool 

We stayed in hollywood Fl in an air BNB, ever since our first air BNB stay like 2 years ago we swore off hotels. this is such a better way to travel, cheaper plus all the luxury of staying in a home vs a hotel like having a kitchen, outside area, really what ever you enjoy you can find a place on air BNB with everything you love. ill keep this thread more cruise oriented unless people would like to know more about the air bnb i have tons of pictures and reviews and such just ask! 😄 
Embarkation:
so as i mentioned before we were traveling in a group of 18, about 11 of us had the same travel to the port and the rest met up once on board. I have to say this was the smoothest and quickest embarkation i've ever experienced. We ignored our "boarding time" and headed to the port around 1030, by time we all got there and the 2 with a car parked and shuttled back over it was closer to 11 before heading into the terminal. after this point we never stopped moving, plenty of security scanners so no lines, plenty of check in people (we all prechecked other than the picture) this took about 30 seconds there was tons of royal employees with ipads that scan your set sail, snap a pic and you are moving again.. like i said no lines here either; got that done and it was straight on the boat. no more than 15 min from approaching the security line to ordering a drink at the pool bar 😄  

i did mention my royal up win so here is a pic of the promenade view room, not to shabby for $100 extra from them picking an inside room.. (keep in mind when originally booking it would have cost more than that 100 just to pick my own cabin so I call that a win)
 

On board drink price for those that were wondering.

alright lets back track a little we had a long layover in LGA, me and the girl had lunch at rossie's it was like a pizza kitchen/bar style, got a pep pizza, a beer and a soda. Yes airport food isn't the cheapest but it was amazing! could have easily split it atleast between 3 people. The pizza was $22, my laganitas (craft beer) was 9 and the girls soda was 4. Not bad for the quality IMO!

11 hours ago, freetalkfreelaugh said:

We will be leaving on the 29 Feb sailing. Do they offer drink packages on board for a reduced price once you sail? 

transferring pictures to the computer now, have one of the drink package but i will say it was defiantly cheaper pre booking it than booking on board 

For those who stuck around from my very premature start to this review/thread thank you and welcome to anyone who decides to jump on.
It is time! i work overnights so am at work currently but will be out at 7:30 run home grab the Mostly packed bags (oops) and the woman and catch our ride to the airport. First flight departs here in upstate NY at 10:45 and unfortunately a long layover in NYC will make for a long day of travel but let me tell you the ends justify the means in this case! even though its been surprisingly warm for this time of year here 30s and 40s in still not my cup of tea..forecast shows 80s everywhere we are going and that's just perfect in my book. 
We gained a few more late bookers bringing the party total up to 18 😮 we do typically get a good size group I think this is the biggest yet, and a collection of family and friends it’s going to be a good time!
So I know I shared in another thread about my first ever attempt at RoyalUp bid, but don't think I brought it up here so first off I originally booked a guarantee inside for the first time and started to regret it once I got my assignment, I ended up deck 2 all the way to the front with a connecting cabin to someone that was not in my party.. yes I was naïve and didn’t even realize that was a possibility, so when I got the royalup offer I threw a min. bid on the promenade view cabin and ocean view cabin. Keep in mind it really would not have hindered my vacation in anyway so I put the offer in and sure enough while settling up bills a few days before leaving I noticed a pending charge from royal and peeked back at my RCI app and noticed my stateroom was now deck 7 promenade view, not to shabby for a virgin royal upper with a min bid!

Well although I did start this post early in the morning while at work I ended up getting busy and am just finishing it up now, so now playing a little catch up, first flight just a quickie 45 min heavy turbulence on a puddle jumper but hey sometimes that’s the risks you take with choosing flying as your mode of transportation. Had lunch at a nice pizza place/bar in LGA


wow boy did time and lack of wifi get away from me. we are now on the boat and actually sailing, I am going to post a bunch of pics at some point here tonight. I have to transfer my photos from my phone to my surface, hopefully that all goes well and I get some good pictures up for you guys tonight! Thank you all for sticking with me, first review but we will work out the kinks ! 😉 

Just wanted to come back and update my situation if anyone was following from earlier looks like this got super long or even might have been merged but here's a quick update;
Booked a guarantee inside for the first time, there was big price differences in the room category and this being an 8 night right after the holidays i was watching my spending. 
after i found out what room we were assigned i wasn't thrilled, ended up in a connecting room(not with ppl we know), deck two all the way at the front.
got the royal up email 45 days out and had the option to bid on, promenade view, ocean view, or balcony. now the mins for promenade view and ocean view rooms were only $50pp. and the balcony min i believe was $100pp.
Now im someone who is going to make the most out of my vacation and really wouldn't mind if we ended up in our original room, we are going with a bunch of people and wont be spending much time at all in the room.
i threw the minimum bid on all 3 fully not expecting to get any of them. (i track my prices and prices of other rooms on the sailings so i know at those mins i would be getting a killer deal if any were excepted.)
so now as of today we are 8 days from sailing and while making all my bill payments so i have no worries while we are gone i see and hold on my booking credit card from royal for $100. so i swing over to my email and i haven't gotten an official royalup email I did get an email with all new set sail documents with the new room number, deck 7 promenade view room! 

this was my first time doing a RoyalUp bid and while i know i probably got lucky getting the upgrade only bidding the min i wanted to come and say its not unheard of !

59 is a decent price, i grabbed ours at 55 while others in the group caught a 48 that never came back (sailing in 2 weeks). as others said watch the price and book it at the price you think you can get the value from. just keep in mind if you see a better price you can cancel and re-book it but it usually takes about 10 days to get the refund from the first one so i would put it on a CC if you cant have both those payments withdrawn at the same time ! hope they have a wonderful time on their honeymoon sailing 😄 

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

When you experience issues with customer service on a cruise ship, and elect to drop that particular ship, you should consider the crewing schedules.

 

The standards on a ship are predominantly set by the Master and Senior Officers/Department Heads. Customer service issues, poor crew, etc are often driven by the leadership team's management style. While the Masters work shift patterns they also rotate around the fleet every few years, at least in the companies I worked for.

 

My longest assignment to a particular ship as Captain was 7 years, with next longest being 5 years. So over time the standards on any particular ship should change.

how much influence would a captain have over the day to day service employees?

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

thanks!  Did it!  I am still in my original suite

awesome glad to help

43 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

We have an iPhone and do not see what you are referring  to.  After the bar code I do not see any numbers.  Below the bar code a DX

if you have an Iphone then just open the RCI app and click "view set sail pass" there will be a black box in the corner that says "add to apple wallet" once you click this it will bring you over to your apple wallet and it will display the barcode with the numbers reading below it. the last 4 #s are the room number. that's the easier way since you have an iphone