ATCMickey

Thank you Rachel! That's just the info I needed!

I completed a currency exchange at my local bank (dollars to euros) in advance of our trip. In spite of having requested small bills, they supplied $100 bills. I know how vendors in the US view customers who present large bills and would assume small mom-n-pop shops in europe might view $100 euro bills the same. My bank suggested looking for a local bank or casino in Barcelona (our point of departure) to break them. Rather than spending our limited time in Barcelona searching for a bank or casino, does anyone have any successful experience with getting the ship's onboard casino to break them? Kind regards

I too am on the March 15 Regal sailing. I did not purchase travel insurance and should something have happened to my health that would not allow me to sail, I was prepared to take the financial hit. While I believe that Princess has little to no control over the Corona Virus situation, I do believe that they have control over the cleanliness of their ships and the potential for this to exacerbate any viral outbreak should it occur. This inspection appears to have just occurred on February 5, 2020:

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/02/articles/disease/regal-princess-flunks-usph-sanitation-inspection/

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/cruise-ship-failed-its-health-inspection-with-44-violations.html

The Corona Virus situation, coupled with the contents of this report, do lead me to believe that Princess should afford some options for folks booked on the Regal to sail at a later date, on a ship with a better health report. I should not need travel insurance to protect me against this.

13 minutes ago, timf2001 said:

 

They haven't promised anything other than being able to book early.  I'm not expecting any extra bonuses but would gladly accept them.  Hopefully they release the schedule for the full year as I'm not looking to sail until late 2020 or early 2021.

I'm sure hoping for more than early booking.  Personally, not chomping at the bit for an inaugural cruise and can't imagine anything available on Feb 4 will not still be available on Feb 14 (also not trying to get the presidential suite).  Hoping letting them hold my $500 for the past year wasn't short-sighted on my part 😞

Does anyone have any insight into what being a "Pre-Sale Deposit Holder" might get someone?  We put a deposit down quite some time ago.  Wondering whether the February 5th booking window mentioned by VV will bring us any perks such as free/discounted room upgrades, or whether it's solely just a chance, to have a first chance, at booking itineraries/categories at the same price everyone else will get on February 14th?

From VV email: "Pre-Sale Deposit Holders will be able to book passage aboard our Scarlet Lady starting February 5th, 2019. We will be open for business for all sailors beginning February 14th, 2019."

Thanks all for the replies. That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for and it's very much appreciated.

To address a couple questions:

-the Flowrider was down the entire time (both times)...basically down the entire 7 days and no repair was ever done that caused it to resume function

-I didn't go to Guest Services to complain because that's generally not my nature. It's got to be really bad for me to consider that and this is something that while might have really irritated me, it didn't make me really mad...that's why I was asking for perspective. My decision is NOT about whether to ask for Royal to compensate me, it's about whether Royal is serious enough about their maintenance that I can trust these things will be available when I cruise, or whether they're unreliable enough that we should quit considering the Flowrider as a factor in deciding who to cruise with

-we've also gone to landed Flowrider locations. We've also done the private session thing on the ship too. We like cruising. Having a Flowrider available as part of the cruise is a very good deal compared to the price of the landed locations. There have been other cruise lines that we have been interested in but the thing that has swayed us back to Royal has been the Flowrider availability as part of the cruise. It's kind of a 2 birds-1 stone thing...get to cruise and get to Flowride for one price

-I haven't, by any means, paid $10,000 just to use a Flowrider...that's preposterous on its face. But I did choose to give Royal $10,000 for 2 of their cruises rather than give it to Princess or Viking or NCL; and the reason that tipped the scales was the Flowrider. Even though landed locations can be really expensive, they're not $10,000 worth of expensive; but they also don't give me a room, food, entertainment, and transportation like a cruise does

-several people have brought up weather as a comparative example. Respectfully, that's why I cited I don't believe the Royal can control the weather and would never fault them for a missed port or itinerary change due to weather...what I do believe Royal can control is their maintenance practices and service-ability of the equipment on their ships. Several years ago we sailed on Allure. One of their azipods had failed and we missed a port because the ship could not maintain sufficient speed to make the port. I put this in the same category as the Flowrider. I wouldn't fault Royal because weather caused a missed port, but if you're failing to maintain your vessel and I miss a port, another story

-to my pilot fried...I've been an Air Traffic Controller for over 30 years and I'm sure we've talked more than once. We too have equipment that breaks. I also know the lack of sympathy and that we get from flight crews even though we do the best we can to keep them informed. At some point it's not about explanations, it's about results. I'll refrain from any analogies since this is about my vacation and I already spend enough of my life at work

Thanks again to all for your perspective. I think what I take from this is that what I really need to do is to not consider the Flowrider as a factor in deciding Royal vs another line. Assume that the thing will be broken and decide. That might mean we still sail with Royal, but it might also mean that we try new things.

Thanks again everyone,

ATCMickey

Trying to decide how much to let something bother me and would really appreciate some perspective...

To lay the background, let me say that my kids and I are AVID Flowrider fans. It really is the reason that's kept us coming back to Royal for multiple cruises. We've talked about switching to other lines to try something new, but every time we discuss it with the kids the question always comes up...does the ship have a Flowrider? Sometimes it's hard to find something that EVERYONE really likes to do together on a cruise; but this is it.

In 2015 we sailed on Oasis as a family. We boarded the ship only to find the starboard Flowrider was broken and not running. We were told all week that "they're working on it", but the pump failure was never repaired and we went the whole week without it ever coming back online. Now Oasis has 2 Flowriders so it wasn't like we were without the ability to do it, but Oasis' 6000 passengers put a real demand on a single Flowrider and the lines for that one Flowrider were so unbearably long that we just quit doing it. At the time we told ourselves that Oasis was getting to be an older ship and that these kinds of things were probably getting more likely to happen.

Last week we sailed on Harmony. We picked that ship primarily for 2 reasons; it has a Flowrider, and that fact that it's new meant that there should be no problem with both Flowriders being usable. We were wrong. While the starboard side Flowrider was working at sail-away, by the next morning it was broken. Claim was a pump failure. We heard all week that "they're working on it", but it never came back. Once again the lines for the other Flowrider were so long that we just gave up on using it.

Now here's where I'd appreciate your perspectives. I get that Royal can't control things like the weather and that sometimes there are things like that that are beyond their control that cause things like inability to tender or altered itineraries...I can accept that. But the attitude last week was much like that offered for things like weather..."sorry, there's nothing we can do about it". Now I get that there probably is nothing that the guy working the Flowrider can probably do about it, but things like maintenance and repair ARE something that Royal can control. After all, this ship is only a year old and Royal is unable to get it back online for the entire cruise.

I've now spent a great deal of money, on 2 cruises for the express intent of spending time with my kids doing something we really love; the Flowrider. And both times Royal's response has been "oh well, there's nothing we can do about it".

Should there be something they can do about it? Please give me your perspective. This is really bothering me that I've now spent over $10,000, on 2 different cruises, where the one things we really went to do was never available because of something that I think Royal CAN control. Am I making too much of it?

ATCMickey

Good to know, thanks.

Any insight into the logic of not allowing them to be done online anymore?

On HOTS in May 2018. Just did online check-in and could not find option for signing activity waivers in advance. Have done 8 prior Oasis class sailings and the option to sign has always been there. Called RCI and was told that due to website upgrades that the option to sign waivers in advance is no longer available. Was told that they all had to be singed now on-board at each activity's location.

Anyone, since the website upgrade, had any success with signing these waivers in advance?

Thanks,

ATCMickey

Oasis just passed outbound through the inlet to a massive fireworks display. Guessing they were waiting for dark but don't know the reason for the fireworks.

ATCMickey

Might be impacted by Obamacare .

Oh yeah, that's gotta be it :confused:

Thanks so much for your responses :)

To anyone with experience...

If we take a Mediterranean cruise sailing out of either Spain or Italy, what language do you find most often spoken by the crew (cabin attendant, dining room staff, guest services) when interacting with passengers? English is my primary language and I'm trying to gauge whether that might be any kind of a barrier on a Med cruise. Also, on excursions, are the languages spoken by the guides English or are they the local language? I know Royal Caribbean is an American company, but I wouldn't want to presume that that means English will be the primary language spoken by the crew, or local guides, on a European itinerary.

Any insight would be most appreciated,

ATCMickey

PS...I'd be remiss not to mention one more thing...

As the father of a daughter who was about the same age when she first started FlowRiding, do not underestimate the power of the water and it's ability to peal a 2 piece swimsuit right off. I would highly recommend a 1 piece swimsuit or, at an absolute minimum wearing a rash-guard shirt over any 2 piece (and that only saves the top). No reason to tarnish a really fun experience with the embarrassment of finding out the hard way what 20,000 gallons per minute flow can do.

ATCMickey

Thanks, atcmickey. Do you know, if I book and pay now, will I have to pay a charge to change the time onboard?

I'm sorry I can't say for certain, but I don't see why. We've changed other excursions before and never paid a re-booking or change fee. But, it wouldn't hurt to call to confirm before committing yourself.

All of the sports deck staff do a really great job coaching FlowRider newbies. Also, you'll hear everyone in line trading tips back and forth. Everyone helps each other.

The lines will never be shorter than the first couple days. After that, everyone else decides to give it a try. If your kids are really ambitious, have them bring their swimsuits on board in your carry-on. The FlowRiders start up about 12:30-1pm. Most everyone else's swimsuits will be in their checked bags which may not be delivered for some time. If they get there right as it opens, they very well may have almost the whole FlowRider to themselves without a divider. It's a great opportunity to get a ton of practice really quick. As the week goes on, they'll really appreciate how nice it was to have used the FlowRider without a divider (the divider makes the usable surface much smaller to accommodate more riders...also harder to surf with divider).

Hope you have a great time!

What would you do?

Wouldn't sacrifice the main dining room, but might delay slightly on CoCo...but not too long :-)

You might check at the Sports Desk up by the FlowRiders as soon as you get on (or as soon as they open). We've done, and repeatedly seen, lots of later night lessons (i.e. 8-9pm). They may have some cancellations or be able to do something to accommodate your kids if they can fit you in. Can't hurt to ask and they've been incredibly helpful when we've worked with them to fit something in.

ATCMickey

Definitely do the lessons. It helped both my kids immensely.

I would also highly recommend reserving a lesson slot as soon as possible after the cruise begins (i.e. day 1 or no later than day 2). The regular (non-lesson) lines, during the week, can get long and usually your turn is done after you "wipe out". If they can get ahead of the learning curve early in the cruise by completing a lesson, their turns during the non-lesson open sessions will last longer and they will progress much faster. Definitely start with the body-boards first and when they get comfortable they can try the stand up. They'll get comfortable on the body boards much quicker than the stand up. It's all about building on success early on and not getting frustrated...the body boards will do that for them.

Encourage them to be patient. It takes lots of tries and lots wipe-outs to get comfortable, but it's worth every wipe-out when things finally start to click. We won't go on a cruise now without a FlowRider and one of my kids is beginning to board competitively...but it all started for them with an early lesson and lots of cruises.

ATCMickey

Yes...late 40's

But with the caveat of no swimwear. Like to pack light and when on vacation, be on vacation...to me that means a week of nice shorts and a nice t-shirt.

Gold, Platinum, and Emerald benefits are really not much to speak of and the status levels that get you noticeably recognized don't start until Diamond (80 nights). The reality is that the vast majority of the people sailing with you won't have any more recognition than you do on your first cruise. I don't say this as a criticism, just a reality. Not a big deal.

No need to worry about being a first time cruiser with RCI...you'll be in basically the same boat as 75% of your fellow cruisers (so to speak) :)

ATCMickey

Hands down one of the best reviews I've read on CC...many thanks!

Just tell them you fell asleep on the bar stool in Cozumel...they let people off the cruise all the time for that ;)

Anyone know if there is a waiting list, for Nellie's cabanas, that gets created after boarding?

We did Enchantment last year and went straight to guest services after boarding. They were creating a wait-list for cabanas on coco key and by sailing time awarded cabanas based on the list. Didn't know if they do something similar for Nellie's cabanas on Labadee. My cruise planner shows some Nellies cabanas available, but when I go to book it I get them message "no offerings found". The other offerings state to "check on board". We are NOT in a suite, but are interested in a cabana. Just wondering if anyone's ever seen a wait-list created on boarding and, if so, where to go or who to see to get on one.

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone might have,

ATCMickey

Mil76,

You're the best! Thanks so much for the clarification and the heads up on Cascada...now if there was just some hotel in CO willing to pony-up for a Flowrider, I'd be happy to keep them in business :-)

ATCMickey

Just spent Memorial Day weekend at Cascada, and their Flowrider definitely is a double. As you are already finding out, the staff at Cascada is pretty clueless.

MIL76...if I could impose upon you to answer a question...

I very much appreciated your info that Hotel Cascada had a flowrider. We too are from Denver and are planning to check it out. Could you confirm that their Flowrider is, in fact, a double? I spoke with a couple of their representatives and they insist it's a single. My son and I would like to head down to work on Flowboarding and are hesitant to do it if it's only a single...but if it's a double, we're definitely interested.

Any insight you could provide would be most appreciated!

ATCMickey

I've seen more than a few posts, in this forum, detailing passengers being asked to disembark because the line did not want to risk letting the person sail with health problems that arose. I'd want to be in really good health before I committed to a year's worth of consecutive bookings. At least the retirement home won't leave me on the pier watching my house sail away :-)

ATCMickey