RobInMN

I thought so, but I couldn't find any note in the RC topics indicating that a thread was moved. Anyway, there is a thread in the Carnival board. Title seem familiar. I wonder if maybe an RC one was merged into it. I don't think merged threads leave notes like moved threads do.

This story is still making the rounds? It first popped up at least 4 weeks ago. Here's one of the older dates for it: https://www.cruisehive.com/passengers-12k-cruise-cancelled-one-day-before-embarkation/134521 I swear there was a thread here, or maybe it was brought up in a thread like "How are things where you are", but I'm not finding it.

This is the flaw with the Radiance class, and I think RC realized it and I don't think they've done it since. But, every suite JS to the Royal suite is on Deck 10. The only exception being the 3 2BR GS's, which are on 7, 8, & 9. (Brilliance and Radiance have a 4th on 10). They are all under the pool deck or the WJ (or other restaurants). At the back end, there's 2 semi-circular areas that stick out even further. I suppose the suites on the back end, which still being under the WJ outdoor area, they don't have the overhang to deal with. We were kind of between semi-circular areas on Jewel for Arctic Circle. We knew this going in, and we accepted that for being in a JS. The only other option would have been to downgrade to a OV. This was booked under COVID double points, so as a 24-night B2B, we got 96 points 🙂 Straight from D to D+. As much as I've seen bad reviews about noise, that was never an issue for us. So, in the end, totally worth it.

This is the flaw with the Radiance class, and I think RC realized it and I don't think they've done it since. But, every suite JS to the Royal suite is on Deck 10. The only exception being the 3 2BR GS's, which are on 7, 8, & 9. (Brilliance and Radiance have a 4th on 10). They are all under the pool deck or the WJ (or other restaurants). At the back end, there's 2 semi-circular areas that stick out even further. I suppose the suites on the back end, which still being under the WJ outdoor area, they don't have the overhang to deal with. We were kind of between semi-circular areas on Jewel for Arctic Circle. We knew this going in, and we accepted that for being in a JS. The only other option would have been to downgrade to a OV. This was booked under COVID double points, so as a 24-night B2B, we got 96 points 🙂 Straight from D to D+. As much as I've seen bad reviews about noise, that was never an issue for us. So, in the end, totally worth it.

Yep/ Looks that way. I kind of get Spectrum, since it operates a bit differently for suites, but really, when they include only Icon and Utopia, that makes no sense. Either include all ships of those classes or none. This pick & choose just seems arbitrary and petty. But I believe that if they are calling it "Sky", it should have all Sky benefits.

I agree. I would have totally considered a Sky Jr on ships that have them now if they included WiFi, but at the premium I've seen, totally not worth it. I too was kind of excited when they first announced them, and disappointed when they took it way. They did. It depends on the ship. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-royal-suite-class The disclaimer: *** VOOM Surf + Stream package is not available for Sky Junior Suites sailing on Allure of the Seas®, Anthem of the Seas®, Harmony of the Seas®, Oasis of the Seas®, Odyssey of the Seas®, Ovation of the Seas®, Quantum of the Seas®, Symphony of the Seas® and Wonder of the Seas®. Sky Junior Suites sailing on Icon of the Seas®, Spectrum of the Seas® and Utopia of the Seas® have this benefit included. When originally announced, Spectrum was the only ship where it was included due to the differences in the way they run that ship from China for the Chinese market. Interesting that they've since added Icon and Utopia. Icon, ok, and I would suspect Star will be also, but why just Utopia in the Oasis class???

Agreed. There's been a number of popular locations that have or are looking at limiting ship size.

2 rules of food & beverage service: 1) Never piss off anyone who handles your food 2) Always make your bartender happy

That will vary by country, state, and possibly sports. Our local NFL team's stadium is U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings). Seats 66,655. A local news story on "how many bathrooms" says that Minnesota building code says for huge venues, 1 toilet for every 60 women and 1 toilet/urinal for every 120 men. The code further says 3:2 women's toilets to men's. As they use the stadium for more than football, they figure 50:50 men:women. By my calculations, that would be 555 women's, and 278 men's = 833 for minimum code. The stadium spokesperson said they probably exceeded code and was quoted as saying "almost 1,000 'fixtures' ". 🙂

You're not giving it enough credit. Wikipedia says 75,024. 🙂 (that's a difference of 24 spots on the largest stadiums list!) Surprisingly (to me), the largest stadium in the world is a Cricket stadium in India. Narendra Modi Stadium @ 132,000! Then a bogus North Korea ego project. Then comes "The Big House" where the Michigan Wolverines college (American) football plays. 107,601. Which, ignoring the NK stadium, was the largest until 2021, when Narendra Modi Stadium was completed. What's interesting (again, to me) is #3-10 are all American college football stadiums. #11 is the last over 100,000 people and it's another Cricket stadium. Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. Then comes the first football stadium. Camp Nou in Barcelona at 99,354. The largest NFL stadium doesn't show up until #29. MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home of 2 New York NFL teams @ 82,500. There are 14 college stadiums larger.

Another official video:

It appears to me that it is intentionally angled so that looking past the far end zone gives you a view of the downtown skyline instead of looking at the baseball stadium (behind the word 'Reserved'). While the end zone stands look like they would block that view from most seats, it's probably done specifically for TV drone/establishment shots. The same cannot be said for the slight rotation of the basketball/ice hockey arena just to the left, which is not nearly as noticeable in that picture, but clearer when you look at the Google Maps satellite. BTW, apologies to any Eagles fans on here, but it bothers me how almost symmetrical this stadium is. The corners are all different, but that upper end zone is just ugly how it's missing the angled section on the left. Anyway, there's the view of the downtown skyline

It's not just Tampa. There are many bridges around the world that will limit the ship height. Bridge of the Americas for the Panama Canal for instance.

It's not so much that they are closing to cruise ships, it's that they are imposing emission rules on the UNESCO fjords. Not sure if this is UNESCO or Norwegian parliament driven). Cruise ships that meet these standards are fine. I do not know if LNG qualifies or not, but until RC develops a new ship class (Project Discovery?) that potentially meets the new standards, they are out.

The way most captains have described it when they do give indications in the Q&A's is that it will likely be sized about Voyager/Freedom. But that bridge clearance to ports they want to service will dictate the height.

I did a similar tour with a Brasov & Bucharest extension with a different company. We only used Euros to tip the local guides. Even if the country itself didn't use Euros, the guides and bus drivers accepted it. We really don't purchase much of anything, and when we did, we used a CC that did not have any foreign currency fees if that was an option. There were a few places in Euro countries where we used Euros (like a street food vendor). We did not purchase anything with cash in the non-Euro countries. There were some tours where there was a restroom break with paid facilities, and our Cruise Manager (who was also with us on the extension) or our tour guide supplied the necessary coinage.

Not sure which is funnier, the announcement, or the artist's take on what a river cruise ship looks like 🤣Not going to make it under very many bridges 😁

While my experiences are more limited than others, I am of the frame of mind that limited hours for meals and "nothing to do" is just the nature of river cruising due to the size of the ships. I take this in stride. We love ocean cruising as well as river cruising. We don't do the same Caribbean islands over & over, we try to hit different places, Arctic Circle, Iceland, Panama Canal, Greek Islands, or even new Caribbean islands/ports we haven't been to before. For us, we look at the ship (ocean or river) as a floating hotel, with everything else as a additional on top of it. Yes, an ocean cruise is going to have a lot more entertainment, but river cruises don't typically have "sea days", or if they do, it takes the place of a port, like the Iron Gates on the Danube or the Rhine Gorge. If you take advantage of the excursions, there really isn't typically a lot of down time. At least not enough to feel "bored". Typically, you appreciate the fact that you have some time to sit and relax. And this is from someone that spends on-ship time on an ocean cruise going from trivia/game to trivia/game. That said, I would not give up on river cruising, try a different company. AmaWaterways is our favorite (not that we've really tried others), but there are plenty of options that many people love (note: Viking is not usually among them). Try this thread:

Our experience as 2 people in 2018 (not an issue at all) would not be comparable to a group of 15 today. I'd suggest looking at the roll calls of recent to soon Oasis sailings from Rome and see if this has come up or maybe even post a question asking them.

We did this from Rome in 2018. No issues boarding or anything like that. I imagine that most people on excursions were long gone before we could board. When we went out on our Barcelona excursion and came back, I don't recall even really noticing that for 2/3 of the ship it was turn-a-round day. I think it was about 1/3 Rome, 2/3 Barcelona. Rome people had Orange SeaPass cards. The only real issue at that time (and while better, might still be a minor issue?) was the app as you are doing the back half of one cruise and the front half of the next. The "Sail Away" party ends up being on your day 4 or something (when ever Barcelona is).

2018-09-25 15.02.34.mp4 Like this. I thought is was so fun the first time we ran across this I still think it's fun. I believe the official title is "Stowaway Piano Player"

I am. While I've never met him, every indication I've seen says that he is a very approachable, friendly person who loves to talk to people.

There are a few videos on youtube where he is interviewed and they discuss his logistics and finances.

Let us know what you decide.