Joebucks

Bring your own chips or buy them at a port

After just coming back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and only having access to Windjammer burgers, I can unequivocally say you're in much better hands with Guy's.

There is a very common misconception about travel insurance that it moves the sun and the moon, and squashes your every inconvenience. I never travel without my credit card, that includes many travel insurances, 0% foreign exchange fees, reward points, and a sizable credit limit.

I have only cruised with Carnival in the past. I always meant to try other lines sooner. With large itinerary choices, lower prices (special offers), and the enjoyment we had in the past, it kept working out to stick to Carnival. For this cruise, we decided it was time to try something different. So we did a 5-day out of Galveston on the Voyager of the Seas. I refuse to do the 2000-passenger ships anymore, when possible. Having done previous 4 and 5-day cruises, I fully understood it is not the ship with all of the bells and whistles. Let me first say I had a great time. It is a good product. It is more similar to Carnival than it is different. I plan to sail with Royal again, preferably on Oasis or larger. I always try to consider both sides and remove as much bias as I can. However, I must say that from what I have experienced, Royal Caribbean is overrated. Royal fans often pretend that it was a brand created by the gods. Honestly, I could not recall many areas where it felt superior to Carnival. Let alone the additional price it commanded. Food I can't stand people complaining about the food and how everything is inedible. It happens on most lines. There is plenty of complementary food available, and I always find options that are fine. Overall, I'd say the MDR and buffet were similar between the two brands. We ended up doing more buffet than ever before because we chose anytime dining. I really missed the quick meals you get on Carnival's lido, such as the Burgers and Tacos. The burger I had in the Windjammer was dry and lacked the options and sauces. The breakfast MDR menu on Royal was about as basic as you could get for breakfast. Carnival's Sea Day brunch handily trumps it. I'd say the Carnival pizza was slightly better. Carnival's Deli also stomped the promenade "deli" options. People have been whining and crying that there aren't enough food options on Carnival outside of peak hours. Somehow, that was worse here. Maybe the specialty dining is better on Royal? I did not experience those, so I cannot comment. The room This was an older ship. However, it still felt like an experience I had over 5 years ago. Two outlets in the room, no usb, small TV, older looking all around. We got a balcony room. The balcony was standard. This room was noticeably smaller than the Carnival rooms I've had as of late. We also had 3 people and had to use the upper pullout bed, which is not my favorite. Carnival's couches were big enough to flip into another bed. This couch was not. Bathrooms were about the same. The glass door was nicer than the usual shower curtain. There was a bit less closet space for clothes. Entertainment This is the area I was probably most excited about on Royal, as I have heard much bragging of their world-renowned performances. Maybe I missed something, but this was not my experience. I think one huge advantage here was the ice skating rink. That show was pretty cool and was also another nice theater when needed. The stage shows I watched were mostly average. There was only 1 comedian who did 3 shows throughout the 5 days. He was great. However, being a big fan of comedy, I prefer Carnival's higher frequency of comedians. A 5-day usually has at least 2 comedians, doing equal or more shows each. Bars I'd say overall, the experience was about equal. However, Royal did not have an experience that matched Alchemy for me. Schooner was the closest (and I really liked Schooner a lot). The Pig and Whistle was also a cool bar experience that spilled into the promenade. I think the Tavern was supposed to be the sports bar. It was a nice venue, but did not seem to me to have that sports bar energy that Carnival has. Other Venues I really did enjoy the open promenade as a whole. Having most of the stuff centrally located or close was nice. I might consider that as an advantage as Carnival often has things all over the place. If you are a kid, I'd say the Flowrider and Rock climbing are advantages. I did not use those. While the Solarium is not my #1 preference, I could definitely understand why it has such value. Not everyone wants to be in the sun, especially at all times. We never really had issues finding seating anywhere on the main deck. In some of the smaller venues were tougher to find seats at night, which is fairly common. Again, let me restate: I had a great time. More things were similar than they were different. I also understand a lot of my wishes would be solved in an Oasis class. However, when I do shorter cruises, that is not always a viable option. Nor do I expect it to become my first choice to get some of the things I already enjoy at double the price. Honestly, I believe there are a few reasons why people talk so highly about Royal, and I have my theories: - Their marketing team is good. They have the best loyalty program, and people LOVE boasting about and consuming their free stuff. The diamond drink vouchers are an outstanding perk. On the topic of marketing, some people have negative perceptions about Carnival, without experiencing it. - The crowd seemed a bit better than I would normally find on a 5-day cruise. I'm not sure if that was due to it being Galveston (first time) or Royal. Other than this, honestly, I could not find many times where I was like "wow this is better than Carnival." Which should be happening at a higher price point. You may now commence attack on me

I'll admit I'm not as familiar with Medicare. However, I do know it is not all-encompassing. Some people buy supplemental coverage for this reason. If someone has a concern that they are prone to illness or injury, or that their healthcare needs could surpass their means, that is not limited to big scary cruise ship. At least some of those needs could potentially overlap elsewhere. One of many reasons why I advocate for know what you're buying, know what you need, know what you have. Too many people have zero clue as to any of these things. They are often sold by fear by the TA, travel provider, or someone else else, and that is all they need.

It's crazy how many people will thank the lord that their (insert insurance) will cover them $500-$2000 unexpected costs, but will drop $5,000 over a decade on premiums (not even considering interest) without a second thought because that's what we do. It's often followed by "I can't afford that sudden cost! I live paycheck to paycheck!" If only there were ways to manage big picture money better.... Many years ago, I realized that buying expensive health insurance for "peace of mind" was a colossal waste of my money. Then the few times I actually needed it, I still had to pay out of pocket. Instead of listening to scenarios of "what if I'm the <1% of catastrophes, therefore I need to pay more for fear coverage" I decided to take a different route. Take all of that extra money, and put it into an HSA instead. That nest egg will be helpful for any health scenario my entire life. Not just one-off fear scenarios where I pay a fee to get access to it. Now, if I bring up that example of a decent HSA balance, it is shrugged off as I am privileged, and others can't do it. Instead, we find comfort in victim protection and paying for band-aids we don't truly need.

If this is your scenario, then it is what it is. However, I hope no one is taking the blanket advice that they probably don't have it.

I would also say that many restaurants I go to are also not the same quality of what they used to be. All for a much higher price.

Some companies have it. Often limited in scope. For GeoBlue, you are supposed to "request" DirectPay within 48 hours of your appointment. Most of the situations people talk about here, are more of an emergency care. By and large, people have this crazy expectation that travel insurance can do all of these amazing things. Even my US-based health insurance takes time to process claims. Do people honestly think they just call them and say "Hey, I was sick Antigua" and they just pay them right the hospital right then and there? GeoBlue's policy requires time to do as much of this work beforehand. Even then, it probably doesn't work everywhere.

When you buy a cruise, you are getting the cruise. If you don't go on the cruise, yes I would fully expect a refund per the terms you agreed to. Cruise companies might as well shut down now if they are going to held legally liable if anyone of their "advertised amenities" goes down for whatever reason. What's more dangerous than anything else, is the increasing entitlement of "I am the center of the universe. Everything must conform to my maximum satisfaction."

One thing most people don't realize is almost any medical coverage outside of the US is going to require you pay in full. Even travel insurance (in most cases) isn't going to have everything settled for when you want to leave a foreign hospital.

I remember the first time I had to take a tender, and didn't have FTTF. This place scared me that my day would be lost. We rushed to the tender line to hopefully get an ideal spot, we were one of the first people there. "The beards" aren't the ones in charge of this. There are likely corporate data analysts in charge of this. Likely viewing different data sets, trends, etc. When something constantly sells out quickly, you have clearly underpriced it. You jack up the price until you find that equilibrium. Who's to say that selling out in advance is the best method? What if it costs $700 in advance to "secure your spot" and there are still some left for $400 when you get there? Some people might buy that on the spot.

Insurance is a lifelong waste to the average person. Most of us already buy (and many overpay for) auto, home, and health. You go on the internet and everyone talks about how important it is to buy pet, life, travel, etc. If people truly understood how much they spent vs how much they claimed, they would be sick. Then you see someone who swears by their insurance because it "saved them $500." Yet they spent many times that. Sometimes, you are even lucky to get anything at all after all of the hoops and exclusions. Most people are much better off taking all of this money and putting it into savings. Insurance should be for catastrophic loss, not minor inconvenience. With that said, it's not always a terrible purchase. If you are traveling months per year, and/or are in poor health, an annual policy may be worth considering. If you are young and healthy, you probably don't need that $150 policy to cruise to the Bahamas because someone on the internet scared you into it. Always know what you already have, what you need, and what you are buying. Some plans may not cover your pre-existing conditions, may be secondary (and largely worthless). There's no one-sized-fits-all approach. It's not a magical plan that fixes your every inconvenience. Medical costs are a bigger concern than CFAR or bag insurance. However, like in my case, my employer medical insurance covers overseas care. That might be a good thing to know. Instead of paying for high premiums in my normal insurance, and buying travel insurance, I have a healthy HSA savings and HDHP that would not bankrupt me in any medical scenario. Medical evac can have varying importance too, depending on your health, risk of trip, etc. Some annual med evac plans exist. Some credit cards include the coverage. If you're going to travel a lot, it might be wise to look into a CC that includes these benefits.

As with anything in life, there are always going to be varying context. Also, in usual internet fashion, taking an extreme example like .001% of cruisers who booked an "Antarctica" cruise and could not go there. Now we need sweeping reform (with zero consequences) for something that honestly doesn't need such attention. When will we learn to stay out of such things. As to what is "frivolous" and what is "valid," who draws that line? What about a picture of bacon on the website, and there was no bacon on the ship? What about an advertised theater show didn't play because someone got injured? What about the port "I booked this cruise for" and the ship couldn't make it? What about a medical injury that threw off some other plans? As we see daily with these forums, there is a lot to complain about. It is impossible to make sure everything goes on without a hitch. Credit card companies are not there to ensure your total satisfaction. They ensure that sellers are acting in good faith with that they are offering. That does not mean if one of 100 variables is unfavorable, that the trip should be free for you, decided by the CC.

It's a loaded topic. I used to work in the "back office" of a large retailer. We would get people all of the time that would dispute charges because they felt entitled to a full refund at any inconvenience. The bank would ask us for proof the customer got what they bought and/or our written policies. The policies of a Fortune 100 company weren't illegal, no matter how many people on the internet you could get to shake their fist at them. I spoke on the phone to quite a few bank agents that laughed at various disputes. I've also personally noticed that sometimes the bank might just side with the customer on small charges because it's not worth the battle. To think credit card companies are refunding entire cruises because an unforeseen act wouldn't allow them to reach a certain port or whatnot is crazy. You still went on a cruise, slept in a room, used the services, ate the food, used the amenities. That's not to say there aren't instances where it works. Perhaps not getting your river cruise, and getting a bus tour may do it. Who knows. That doesn't mean a lot of busybodies who never had such a thing happen to them, need the entire book rewritten.

What part of that needs a source?

A dispute is for paying for a cruise and not getting a cruise. Good luck getting your cruise refunded because your port schedule had to be changed. Like do you honestly expect a full refund? This whole thread has a lot of nonsense in it. While I understand wanting balance, understand, there are pros and cons to EVERYTHING. The cruise companies were already on thin ice. What happens when another pandemic or whatnot hits? Do they bankrupt themselves because of the inconveniences of spoiled cruisers? Do you think IF these kinds of changes were implemented, it would carry no negative side effects? Are you all really that taken advantage of? I mean honestly, how many of all of your cruising days were that messed up? More often than not, they also provide a credit or whatnot, when they don't have to. In my last 10 cruises, there was one time I didn't go to a port. Clearly the water was bad. They gave us all an OBC. What else do you want? I see no evidence of things being changed all willy nilly, that is ruining my vacation. Just because the Antarctica story came out, now people need something to get outraged at.

I worked in electronics for a while. Some people absolutely lost their mind when they heard on the news TVs had some tracking features to make recommendations based on what you watch. Good luck telling them their cell phone, Facebook, email, etc all do 10x more than that.

There will always be complainers, no matter what. Royal has already shown that the demand for all of their Oasis and Icon classes is strong. They command premiums, and they sail just fine to the available ports. It almost has paved the way for Carnival to build just as many large ships without much repercussion. The only reason Royal would return to "smaller" ships is not because the complainers won, but because they are looking to maximize other ports the best they can.

There are more problems than that. Otherwise, the seas would be loaded with older ships. Even though an older ship may be paid off, you can't ignore the fact that a newer ship might still get 2-5x higher fare multiples. This is why companies take on debt, because they believe the ROI will be worth it. As you hint on with your engine comparison, ships need dry docks, upgrades, maintenance, etc. Is it worth putting hundreds of millions into old ships (suddenly, the paid off theory really no longer applies) or is it better off to put that money towards something that will attract more interest and upsells onboard?

Are we still on this? We are past the days of asking if the price and benefits are worth it to you as the consumer. Now it's important for "purposes" to reverse-engineer scenarios that don't apply to you to see if it meets an "equation of equity." This absolutely sounds on-par with 2024 internet advice.

Wasn't Royal dedicating a new Icon class to short private island cruises? Seems like a good way to grow the business. Capture higher priced fares for people who can only sail 4 days, at ports where they capture even more revenue. I don't know that I see the business case yet to put these in Galveston, New Orleans, or Long Beach. LB would need to redo it's fuel infrastructure. Good luck with that. It also seems like Royal is ordering far more large ships than Carnival.

Another day, another unfortunately occurrence that is sensationalized because the word cruise can be found in this story. This can and does happen in any US city. However, it won't make the same headlines as big scary boat! No one told me this could happen!

I don't want to contribute to another tip thread. However, there is no difference in tipping the staff between fixed, YTD, or eating in the buffet. All of the food staff is included in the gratuity. If you think someone went above and beyond, by all means, give them more.

If I drink 3 glasses of water before I go to bed, a hangover is significantly reduced for me.