Engineroom Snipe

You are being very generous and kind with this comment as we get back on topic (which I am guilty of driving off into a tangent with my drag racer remark).

I am going to end the discussion as quickly as I can regarding all of the brief comments: Drag racers are not the only ones leaving skid marks on this thread. 🤣

Sounds like the name of a new detergent: D+P Laundry Detergent, take you dirty clothes to another level of clean. 😁

The old adage, "If you've got it, flaunt it." This expression originates in the 1967 movie The Producers, written and directed by Mel Brooks. The phrase was shouted out the window by Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel): "That's it, baby, when you've got it, flaunt it! Flaunt it!" "That's Entertainment" (1974).

In general, my travel agent's group rates (where I get to pick my cabin for no extra cost) have been lower than the best Royal pricing including any discounts at any time from announcement to cruise. I only used military discounts when they were available in 2022 for one cruise in 2022 and two cruises in 2023 that I booked in 2022. This occurred when the cruise lines were trying to fill rooms during their recovery from shut-down.

The two times I used the military discount in the past, my booking went to non-refundable. I am not saying that you are not correct. Your experience obviously was different from mine. This change was emphasized by my travel agent when we went for the discount. That is why remember it so well.

I agree with all of the posters. Military, Senior, Police, and "State" discounts are normally only offered when bookings are not meeting expectations. In most cases, they come with "non-refundable" deposit clauses. They also allow a price to go lower without having previous bookings requesting a price adjustment if they occur before final payments.

It is the little things around the edges, as you mention that I miss. Does it ruin my cruise or cause me to want to stop cruising? No. It was these little items that I used to look forward to that have disappeared. There used to be multiple carving stations at the Windjammer and now I have to search to find the one if it is there at all.

In so many words, you must compare how many nights and sea days you have during your cruise. Compare them to just buying them out right without any package. You arrive on your embarkation day to make reservations without your discount and find only four nights of special dining package are available at the times of your choice. It might be cheaper to do that then settle for seven nights and say three sea days at times that are not convenient for you. The unlimited dining plan can be like an unlimited drinking plan where you indulge more and at times that you do not want but feel that you must "get your monies' worth." It may be better to pay full price for a meal that you want when you want it than settle for a meal at a specialty restaurant that happens to be available just to get your "monies' worth." I have constantly weighed the unlimited dining plan against the cost but have been disappointed that reservations cannot be made until onboard which can severely limit my choices. Nothing "unlimited" about their unlimited dining plan. LOTS of limitations placed on trying to use it.

European shot (1 fluid ounce), American shot (1 1/2 fluid ounce), American 'double shot' (2 ounces), from my observations, they are using European shot measuring devices (a jigger has two ends for measurement, one ounce and one and one-half ounce, I see the small one being used onboard ship). When I see them using a pourer, it takes a full four second count for 1.5 ounces. I have never seen a four second pour onboard. Four seconds is an eternity when you are a proficient bartender which is why Royal hires them in the first place. I do not think they intentionally pour "weak drinks", I think this is the way they are instructed to pour them. I have cut back my drinking for many years for health reasons but I still am quite observant when they make a drink for my wife. I find my favorite bartender and make sure they get "appreciation" when I see them make a proper drink.

I tend to agree with your supposition with what I can see concerning prices at multiple websites. Many more fall cabins available this year than last as prices have been kept elevated after banner seasons last fall and this winter. I did three cruises in 2023 booked in 2022 at very low prices. Doing two this year after booking them last year at half of their current listed prices on Royal's website last year. I am avoiding "add-ons" concerning dining, excursion, drinking, etc. as those prices have more than doubled (in some cases, asking 250% more). I got some very good deals through a TA at half the prices for two cruises next year. Even if frequent cruises just do one cruise less per year or try another line, that can lead to significant stagnation. If I cannot get a cruise for what I think is a good price-point, I will just hold onto the cash or try something else. I like Royal, understand supply and demand, and I think demand is leveling off starting October of this year where prices will not be constantly raised without resistance.

OMG, you had to mention the "T" word. 🫢😮🤣

@TeeRick You might want to try and wait for specials which occur before and after Thanksgiving since you are one year away. At worst, I believe you will still get a 15% discount and at best you might do better. I have been offered the UDP 40% off with gratuities included on the Odyssey sailing this November for $270 per person for a seven day cruise non-holiday. Please read all of the fine print. Unlimited is not truly unlimited. There are many add-on surcharges for different venues and a-la-carte pricing allowance is limited to one per day. Lunches in specialty venues are normally available on sea days only. Choice reservation times fill up quickly. You might not get the times of your choice if you like to be spontaneous and do same day or even next day reservations. Normally Izumi Hibachi/Teppanyaki reservations are completely filled by mid afternoon on boarding day. These reservations must be made at that particular restaurant unlike the rest where you can reserve multiple restaurants at one specialty restaurant. Important clause: "Subject to availability." What's Included Specialty dining for dinner every night of your sailing and lunch on sea days. For venues with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $20 food credit — with the exception of Izumi in the Park, where you’ll receive a $10 food credit. Credits can only be used once a day. For ships with Izumi Sushi, you’ll have a choice of a prix fixe menu, or a $39.99 food credit for the a la carte menu. For ships with the following venues, these are included with an additional surcharge: Izumi Hibachi/Teppanyaki — $15 surcharge. Chef's Table — $49.99 surcharge. Empire Supper Club — $130 surcharge. Wonderland by DaDong — $24.99 surcharge. These will be charged once onboard. For applicable sailings, Holiday Celebration Dinners are included with a surcharge. These will be charged once onboard.

Interesting discussion without hyperbole. So many data points to analyze and make calculations upon with no crystal ball to look into the future. Royal is still afloat in the sea and I will not complain about it. I am not blindly loyal to Royal but I enjoy cruising with them when I do. Thank you to all who buy their stock. I hope you get reasonable returns.

Only one other ship in port. I was on the Vision and I remembered looking on a port website ahead of time and figured our total capacity with the other ship was about 9000 passengers max. I believe it was the Allure of the Seas because of all of the slides. All of the Coco Cay prices were much lower, less than half, for almost anything so I guess demand was not high. This made sense because we were on Coco Cay the week AFTER Easter week when most students would be back in school. Cannot argue about the chairs and umbrellas blocking the view if you are not in the front rows. We spent time in the regular heated pool which had a nice view OVER the umbrellas.

On Hideaway Bay on April 9 this month. We were one of two ships there and we were off-boarded second. Looked over the side until we saw passengers moving off the ship and then hit the gangway at about around 8:30am. We were seated by 9:05am and at the the time, had the pick of the entire place. Did not fill up until around 10:30am. We stayed until 4pm for a 4:30pm all aboard time. The highlight was the heated pool since the day started windy and cool. By lunch it was very nice but not many people in the protected ocean area. The DJ seemed to study his crowd and had music that was lively but not too loud. You could have a conversation in the pool area. The large inflatable beach balls seem to really entertain the pool crowd but you could find a quiet place in the pool away from the action easily. Waiting lines for food and drinks were minimal all day. The food selection was somewhat bare minimum. The coconut shrimp was the exception, freshly fried and larger than I expected served with very fresh French Fries. Nothing seemed pre-cooked as they were almost too hot to eat right away. Five of them would fill a normal person who was not extremely hungry. The shrimp dip had pineapple in it which complimented the coconut shrimp flavor. I only paid $19 per person and except for the heated pool, I could do without it. For us it will be dependent on the time of year we go. If you are going during the warmer months, I would stick to the no charge areas and have a better food selection. Just my humble OPINION.

The latest financial report states that they have had 107% occupancy averages. I have watched cruises at near maximum life boat capacity over the first quarter. I cannot find information about how many three and four passengers per cabin on a specific cruise. A ship can be near total life boat capacity with many empty rooms. Example: Vision of the Seas 1018 staterooms 2,443 maximum passenger capacity 2,036 double capacity, 100% occumpancy Their are 407 more passenger spaces available to maximum capacity. If 1/4 of the staterooms have four people in a cabin: (Mom, Dad, and two young children) About 254 staterooms and 1016 passengers. If 1/4 of the staterooms have three people in a cabin: (Friends and Family trying to split costs). About 254 staterooms with 762 passengers. If the rest of the staterooms are double occupancy, Only about 332 cabins are needed to obtain maximum ship capacity. There are 178 empty staterooms because the ship cannot exceed maximum passenger capacity. Before any one attacks me for my suppositions because the "Vision of the Seas" does not attract families like say, an Oasis class, think again. It sails out of Baltimore on a 9 day cruise this August with a "Kids Sail Free" tag. Its price is significantly lower than Oasis class during the same time period from Bayonne. Families can drive to Baltimore from a very large geographic area and avoid flight costs, security hassles, and baggage costs. So a ship can easily sail at maximum capacity and have a significant amount of cabins empty.

On all of the deck plans available for the Vision of the Seas, it is listed as "Park Cafe."

I stand corrected, the Solarium Cafe on the port side aft, deck 9, of the Vision. "Girlfriend"? 🤔

He was trying to "delete" the experience. 😁

@alfaeric, This post is in reference, tongue-in-cheek (and maybe biting it!) to an earlier post where I would I bet my house on this being impossible Thanks, just when I thought this thread would disappear. On the advice of the shadiest lawyer I could find, who just happens to list on his resume that he worked in Casino Bankruptcies in Atlantic City, NJ, in the early 1990s with some famous clients: I have used my house as collateral against a loan. My house is only valued at $500,000 but I believe that they do not have any appreciation for the unique value my name brings to the property and will value it at about 10, maybe 20 times what they say it is worth. There could be about $100,000 equity left (of $10,000,000) but after the lawyers, taxmen, and real estate people get finished chewing on the carcass, I believe that the posters who have challenged me will get at least $17.00 each to buy you one drink with gratuities included on your next cruise. You may now dance on my grave. I am going to be so happy I was wrong and have to eat crow. I still have a great vacation home in the Cayman Islands. 🤣

Madagascar Penguins, "You did not see anything."

That is so ironic as I really enjoyed the huge salad offerings in the Windjammer before the shut-down. To each their own. "Have it your way..., have it your way." (Jingle from Burger King, 1974) which seems very appropriate for this thread. Everyone has their favorites and not so much favorites. 😉

Everyone has an opinion on food and I can agree that there were some meals on my 2023 cruises I could have done without. There has been improvement. My recent Vision of the Seas in April had a very good beef tenderloin on the first sea day. My wife is a baker/cook and she said the Tiramisu on the third night was VERY good. This was unusual for her to make such a compliment as she is not a huge fan of Royal desserts. On the last sea day at MDR Lunch, we both had a very good salmon, nice proportion, texture, cooked well and not dried out. One of the highlights of the week and it was at lunch! I have been one of many to complain when the meals were lacking but I have been noticing a definite improvement. Still seems a bit of hit or miss. I did have a disappointing NY Strip steak twice in the same cruise. The cocktail shrimp, I just stopped ordering it. They were very small, a bit dry, and served with a water-downed "cocktail" sauce which seemed like ketchup and some hot sauce. It was very runny and had no horseradish kick in it at all. Breakfast was more than adequate and we skipped many lunches just because we were not that hungry. I did have the best sandwich yet from Park Cafe in the Solarium on the first day. Jelo shaved the roast beef into fine strips and slathered the roll with the perfect amount of horseradish. No tug with an excellent chew and flavor. I made sure to mention it in my cruise feedback. For such a young crew member, he made an impression on me the whole week whenever I checked the Cafe for a mid afternoon snack instead of lunch. Escargot was fabulous every time we were able to order it. Definitely not our worst cruise food compared to other times. MDR service was great. We gave 10s for service but an 8 for food as some of the meat quality just was not there the week we went. Food is SO subjective.

@firefly333 Starting to see definite price weakness this September out of Bayonne. September 8, 7 day cruise is going for half the price of its all time high since it was listed after discounts. Was as high as $1,200 per person including tax and is now about $670 (interior, I was able to select the room and it was a virtual balcony on the 8th deck forward) today. Not as low as the first year post Covid but not able to sustain the 250% increases I have seen over the past 14 months. Long term cruisers are still booking immediately but they are not filling in the last 30% of cabins in the shoulder season. RCI did not have any shoulder seasons in 2023 and looks strong until the end of summer this year. The Fall is starting to look more traditional with reduced prices. I think this will definitely affect stock growth as opposed to the recent gains.