jakeil7

Yeah. See post #34 in this thread (later corrected to Quantum from Oasis class)

That’s funny. FYI, here in the States there was a general goods stores (clothing, home goods, etc) that would have specials on products that would throw on a cart and push to the front of the store. The cart had a pole with a blue light mounted on top - thus “blue light special”. As I recall (I was very young at its heyday), it was the junk that they could not sell any other way. thanks for the trip down memory lane and for serving your community

So I translated that to 2023 dollars which is a bit over $4k. I am assuming that was the cabin rate and not the per person rate. That probably could cover as JS on a large ship these days or, if you search hard enough, a full suite (I managed this last year for a suite on NCL’s Getaway). The full suite level is where you can still get that level of service you are looking for with the hotel in a hotel concept. Let’s face it - when a normal inside room might be 1/3rd of that cost, you have to give something up. My analysis might be totally messed up as well. As for the ports - no solution there except cruising with one of the next tier up brands (Celebrity, HAL, Princess, etc). Royal is focused on keeping its passengers under their control for as much time as they can. Not something I have an issue with, but I can see others who do

Can I ask what may be considered a rude question? What did you pay for that trip?

Just think about when these ships came out, a “small” ship was something like Empress of the Seas which was under 50k GT. Now we might consider the Voyager and Freedom class “small”. I suppose it is all relative in the end.

Keep in mind they may move their smaller ship operations to other brands such as Celebrity. There seems to be a push to get independent older folks onto those kinds of brands so they can focus on family groups and big spenders. While I don’t like this strategy (although i am a big ship guy myself) it makes sense from their point of view. As for the ports, I think they are at the mercy of the cruise lines, not the other way around.

I am sitting here with some serious jealousy now 😜

Out of curiosity @John&LaLa how much do you typically pack for a cruise? Carry on + 1 checked? +2 checked? Whatever you can get into the trunk? 😜

Eh, just fly Allegiant. They’ll let you strap the kids onto the wings for a small fee 😝

@John&LaLa I think 500 miles might be a little wide of a net to draw, but as others have pointed out here it kind of depends how far you are from your airport and if it is decent so it might not be bad. I also did the same analysis on NYC - 85M but I would not want to drive that far in the NE. Also, love your meme - drove from Miami last year for a PC cruise. It is dead on. 🤣

Because it isn’t a “premium” departure location due to the airport location and nearby population the itineraries are much more typical than they are creative. Miami and FLL provide the biggest variety in FL; the NYC ports also do well because of population - airport location not as great though

Because PC is further up the coast and harder to get to from an airport, the iteneries are less varied than those departing from Miami and Port Everglades.

While I agree that Miami can get crowded, I’ve never had major issues there and the terminals themselves are quite nice IMHO. But that is minor - where PC loses out is the distance between the airport and the terminal. While the hotels in PC and coca beach are nice, they get to be just as expensive. The one thing about Miami is that I don’t HAVE to stay near the port which gives me more options. Also - on the subject of airports: MIA >>> MCO. I hate flying into Orlando. It pushes my buttons and turns me into a boomer 😝

The sale is a lie.

The would be only Oasis and Icon class ships. So Oasis, Harmony, Symphony, Wonder, Allure, and Icon. If I missed in, someone will correct me 😛 That said, it’s not like you are cantilevered out over the water - usually the promenade is directly below you. Also, the barriers on balconies are VERY high. So there is that to consider. Noise and heat are issues for inside balconies

I’ve stayed in those pre pandemic. They are great but unless you get the one on the far end, the water is a little hard to access. There is a path that goes up the hill behind the cabanas. It starts at the beach and ends in a pool ladder that provides access

The concierge will let you know. However, basically there’s is a shuttle to the beach that leaves right from the end of the pier. Had a cliff side cabana last time. Amazing. as for coco cay, it is an overpriced amusement park. If that is what you like, you will choose that. I like the more rustic feel of Labadee. Although the staff issues there are problematic

This is the advantage of cruising. There are options for everyone. And that is coming from a person who stays away from the buffet these days.

Yes, it changes. It is generally between MDR and specialty restaurant quality, but as mentioned constantly here food is subjective

I got mine at the 7 day mark so there is that to consider

I’m just going to point out that the staffing fail may have also been due to the rescheduling of this cruise. It was supposed to be in the Baltic but, for obvious reasons, was moved to the Caribbean. Difference in the number of expected kids obviously. To those being difficult, this was the most reasonable post I could imagine from someone stuck in that situation. The clubs are not a babysitting service but a place for kids to get away and socialize with…um, their own kind? 😝🤦‍♂️ Let’s give this parent a break for everything but wanting a kids club manager to deal with their fury. They are not equipped to do so.

To answer the OPs question directly: you don’t NEED a lanyard. There are a few people that find it convenient though.

Auditing the machine probably. May be a common practice to ensure she didn’t somehow cheat and that the machine isn’t broken

Oof, that is slow for premium.

I hope they don’t juice it up and turn it into another Coco Cay. I like the more subtle, integrated with the surroundings feel