franl24fan

I was on one last year. Yes you do get freebies, everything has C&A logo on it. Nicest one was a silver picture frame. There was a free excursion for Diamond and above, but you had to select one and call C&A as soon as it was announced. It was supposed to be in order of tier, but since several of us lowly Diamonds heard about it on cc, we got an excursion and some higher levels missed out. that was rather humorous :-).

Yes there is rather unique atmosphere, with so many upper tier members you do run into some obnoxious divas.

I only did it because that was the itinerary and date I had wanted, certainly wouldn't pay more or do it again otherwise.

I was told the first one was at 210 points, which I made during my last cruise and received the block in my cabin. If I had known about the 140 I would have requested one. One thing I will be looking out for is that when I am due for my next one I sure hope I am driving to the port. The one I got actually weighed on my scale at just shy of 4 pounds, had to rearrange my suitcases to stay below airline limits :-).

I was on the May repo with Critterchick and posted my review where I gave almost all 5 stars, and my 9 friends who were on the ship with me would have rated it the same. I read the negative review and had the same reaction, were we on the same ship. Same thing happens on trip advisor reviews. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, people come into a cruise with different expectations, so I just consider the majority of reviews. Also it is human nature that more people post negative reviews than people post positive reviews, if you have a great experience you just assume there is no need to post it. I've started being more proactive in posting positive experiences and notifying hotels or other hospitality places of staff that went above & beyond. Takes only a few minutes and can make a world of difference to that overworked front desk clerk or shuttle bus driver.

I had a Central Park View Cabin on the Allure, above the Coach shop. Tree outside my window was neat. Cabin was slightly larger than usual interior. Loved the big bay window with cushioned seat, great for people watching. In the daytime I left the sheers pulled closed, lots of light & enough privacy, at night pulled the heavy shade closed. View into Central park at night was so pretty with the little lights on the trees. No problem with noise. I was at the far end of the hall, so it was a little bit of hike to dining room, but worth it. If the price was right I would do it again. My friends have had balcony over both central park and boardwalk and would not do either one again, no privacy and lots of noise.

I can confirm that you receive double points regardless of what you pay. After the change last fall I completed 2 cruises booked before solo pricing doubling and received my double points with no problems. I just came off the 13 day Rhapsody repo and my double points posted within a week. As far as I can tell the computer just looks at number of passengers booked.

I was able to use various discounts during the 50% promo on existing booked cruises. My OBC from next cruise certificates were reduced slightly, but the price changes were significant. I really got a deal with a new booking on an Alaska cruise tour, the rate was actually less than when I calculated the per person rate times 1.5. I transferred a next cruise certificate from another booking to the Alaska cruise tour, lost $35 OBC but saved almost $1500. I was told I would receive points on both tour & cruise days.

There is seldom any logic to how prices are calculated, same as the airlines :-).

Really enjoyed the video and have bookmarked to watch again.

I took advantage of the 50% promo to finally be able to afford a cruise tour, as a solo it has always been very very expensive. Doing the 5 day pre cruise from Fairbanks. Sure hope we have your luck and are able to see Mt McKinley.

Speaking for myself there was little logic to how the discount was applied to my existing cruises, which were originally booked with solo pricing of 200%. In one case I got a better deal with a military discount. On another, a higher per person rate was used before taking the 50% discount, but still saved a few hundred dollars. In both cases my OBC was reduced a little (I had used next cruise certificates when booked).

But I thought about what type of cruise would usually be the most expensive for a solo and decided the one I've wanted to do for years but was too expensive was an Alaska cruise tour. I did a mock booking on line and indeed the pricing was calculated as 150%, so I called my TA and told him to transfer my current next cruise certificate for the Quantum (which I had decided to cancel for various reasons) to an Alaska Cruise Tour for May 31 2015. He put me on hold while he spoke with RCI and then came back with an even better rate, said it was because the NCC used a price lower than the current. So I ended up saving over $1400, which made the cruisetour still expensive but now within my budget. My OBC was reduced from $150 to $113. I am very excited to finally see the "other Alaska".

I told a friend of mine about the promotion and recommended pricing out the most expensive cruise you've never been able to take and see if the deal makes it now possible. Maybe the Allure or Oasis. Or go in the opposite direction and pick a cruise that is always reasonable and the promotion will make it a great deal or allow an upgrade in cabin. I would say for any one who cruises RCI, either often or seldom, passing up this deal would be foolish. Since it applies to 2015 or 2016 cruises, there is plenty of time before final payment to be sure you can afford the cruise :-). For me, it will make it pretty easy to pass up some unnecessary shopping and put the money into my Alaska fund.

The one downside I found of booking with Choice Air was that they were notified of any flight changes etc. Although I tried to change the notification on the airline site, it always went back to Choice Air. I was flying out ahead of a hurricane so I just made sure to go directly to the airline site every few hours to check on the status rather than rely on Choice Air to notify me (to be fair, I'm sure they were swamped with calls due to the hurricane). The huge savings was more than worth a little inconvenience. I find this situation similar to booking thru a TA, they get notified not me and I have to call the TA for any info.

I agree with other posters. Sailing northbound out of Seattle is usually rough for the first night and most of next day, same thing coming back. I've been on 2 ships that actually closed the outside decks due to high seas. I found it better to be safe & take meds. There were many folks that read Inside Passage and took that to mean "smooth as glass" and all I can say in my experience that is not the usual. I felt sorry for the crew, despite all of the sick bags put out all over the ship, folks often did not make it to one.

I watched the interview with Adam about the Quantum going over to China and one thing that was crystal clear was that any ship in the Asian market will cater to the huge demand for shopping, which explains why shops were added. One thing that I would not like, and therefore would not book on an Asian ship, is that he said the entertainment would be in Chinese (not sure which dialect). The dining experience will also be more Asian foods than the usual cruise ship, which explains why they have introduced that Dynamic Dining concept, which had a lot of Asian entrees. I know that for some folks these differences would be interesting and fun, and as long as you know what to expect it will be fine. I'd hate to be the uninformed cruiser who went to the show and couldn't understand a song :-).

After listening to Adam and reading other info that has come out, I feel as if the initial sailings out of NJ for the Quantum will be used by Royal to test and perfect their new dynamic dining (which now makes sense considering the Asian focus he mentioned) and iron out any other issues. Will we have Chinese speaking comedians and singers??? I guess I should just go onboard and expect to be treated as a human guinea pig experiment :-).

I will probably keep my reservation because I made it when the first bookings came open, which means before the ridiculous double pricing for solos and the subsequent sky high rates. To book the ship now would cost me almost 3 times what I paid. And since both the Quantum & Anthem will not be easily accessible from Florida (relatively speaking NJ vs China), I guess it will be nice to see the new ship and then go back to the ones I really like, the smaller ships such as Rhapsody.

I've seen some folks responding on here about a balcony cabin, not an inside with a view.

I had a CV category , central park view, on the Allure, above the coach shop and it's been my favorite cabin. Room was slightly larger, there was a large bay window with seating, and a tree outside to the right. The only time I heard noise was when a drunk stood directly under my window and was yelling up to someone on a balcony, what an idiot. You do have to be aware of closing the dark out drape at night (the cabin steward does it when they make up the room), but during the day the sheer curtain is enough & still lets in the light. Only disadvantage was that I was at the far end of central park so it was a little bit of a hike to other parts of the ship but not a really big deal.

Problem with the TA web site listed is that it shows the 0% for studio cabins for RCL ships that have them. I know for some folks that is a good option, but many of those cabins IMHO are in less than desirable locations on the ships. If you truly are flexible and can deal with noise, then I say this is a great option. Unfortunately I am a cranky senior lady that wants to be able to sleep and these cabins don't work for me.

As someone else said, that site does serve as a guide but it is often outdated. What I have had to look at with the new RCL pricing is the per person rate and decide if double that comes out to a reasonable per day rate. Wish more cruise lines would do as Carnival does and make it easy to find solo specials. Maybe the other lines don't have those specials "-).

I have always used this lot (it will be a little harder to get to once the 595 fly over is done but I'll still find them). It was a little funny, when I got back from the Allure last November, they weren't sure where my car was parked (I had used valet when I dropped it off), the note they had said it was in one spot but it wasn't. The shuttle driver used my spare keys to hit the panic alarm as he drove down the rows until my car answered. I thought it was funny. When I got to the cashier, she apologized for the confusion and took a day off my charges. Great customer service.

It took me several weeks of emails to finally get my M Life Platinum based on my RCL Diamond Plus.

I'll call that number that was given on here and see if I can get on a list for my cruise on 5/3, I have an interior, have not used any C & A discounts and their coupon book is really worthless for me, so if I can get a free restaurant voucher that would be nice. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

I travel solo most of the time, although sometimes I meet up on the cruise ship with a group of friends from another part of the country. I live alone so I am not used to having to suit my schedule to someone else's :). I am cutting back on RCL cruises since the pricing went to 200% on almost all sailings, rarely had to pay that in the past. Shifting over to land tours and river cruises.

As others mentioned, join your sailing's cc forum, I've met wonderful people that made my cruise special and often saved me a lot of money.

The main advice is to be outgoing, to start up conversations (and don't be discouraged if some folks don't respond, they might be a grump). If on my own I sign up for what RCL calls My Time, not a specific time each night, although I make reservations for the same time each night, I can change tables. Sometimes the folks I meet the first night are great and we end up at the same table each night, other times we don't hit it off so I ask for a different table. I always ask the hostess for a large table with no kids.

On shore excursions I find it pretty easy to strike up conversations, sometimes that results in new friends I see around the ship. You may or may not meet folks you'll stay in touch with, although everyone says they will, but I have and it is fun to meet up again.

For us senior solo ladies, as long as my health allows I'd rather be traveling than vegetating in front of the tv and looking forward to bingo night at church :-).

Last year I asked 2 airlines about the no fee for veterans and was told the baggage fee was only waived for active duty & their accompanying family on orders. Suggest you go to the website for the airline you are flying and see what it says. They would sure lose a lot of money if all veterans were eligible. IMHO they only waived it for active duty after they were shamed into it by negative media reports.

In a month I will be on the Rhapsody of the Seas, 13 days. Leaves from Honolulu, 6 days in the islands, 5 days at sea, Victoria for a day and then in to Vancouver. I did the 10 day version of this back in 2009, the extra days on this includes an extra island (kaui) and an overnight in Maui. Even with that length of time in the islands I fly into Honolulu a few days ahead of time, stay in Vancouver for a few days. The itinerary is pretty hectic, only in most of the ports from 8A to 5PM. This trip I will be able to see the things I missed the last time.

Personally I don't like the cruises that sail from the west coast, 5 days at sea, 5 days in the islands, 5 days at sea. But only you can know if you prefer that many sea days.

Rather than do a 14 hour flight day from Orlando to Honolulu, I stop off in Seattle for the night, then go on to Hawaii the next day, cost with hotel is still less than "direct" flight.

I like this site for checking on the Carnival solo specials since it is arranged by departure port.

http://www.carnival.com/Content/single-occupancy.aspx?icid=CC_singcd_1942

I booked a last minute cruise in late February on the Sensation due to no surcharge, my usual RCL choice would not waive the 200% solo surcharge even on a last minute cruise, and was able to get an oceanview for half the price of an RCL interior. I was very pleasantly surprised at how great the cabin was, the food and the service, so I would definitely do another Carnival cruise. RCL is making it very hard for solos to find a good deal and it seems Carnival is more than happy to encourage us to try them.

I have always been loyal to royal, gave them the benefit of the doubt. But in the past year one announcement after another has me automatically assuming there is a "hidden" agenda, and that agenda it not favorable to me but rather to RCL

This really came clear to me when they made the big announcement last October about solos now getting double points, yoohoo, happy dance. Then about 6 weeks later solos noticed that cruises were almost always pricing out at 200%, even last minute short cruises. No big announcement about that change. Email to Adam and call from his office told me "oh well, that is the way it will be, except for a very few cruises that we can't fill".

Changes to next cruise certificate program, not good for me.

Big email about the podcast to hear Adam talk about the Quantum, tuned in, saw only young cruisers on the panel, no one included that wanted to keep traditional dining --- oh that's right I can make a reservation 7 months out for one of 4 dining rooms for the same time every night, that should make me happy. Quantum, big hoopla about dynamic dining, still not sure how that will be better for me, but I doubt it will be.

So put me down as cynical, this new program will only benefit me by accident, not by RCL intending to help me. And I still pay 200%.

I can see some advantages to the 4 different dining rooms, although it will make it harder for groups to agree on where to eat. What I do not like is the necessity to make reservations months before the cruise, to decide 5 months ahead of time that I will eat comfort food on day 2, fusion on day 3 etc. Yes I know the official version is that you can walk up when you are ready to eat, but has anyone tried that even on the Oasis for My Time, or tried to make a reservation for My Time while on the ship?? Good luck getting a table in a reasonable time. So I would then have to go to one of the snack bars or maybe the WJ (which will also be jammed with all the others who couldn't get in to a dining room). Not a relaxing way to dine in a nice setting, going from one dining area to another until I found an open table.

Mr Goldstein and RCL made it very clear today in the Google podcast that the direction of RCL is to market to younger cruisers with smart phones they can use to make reservations. Did anyone else notice the age of the guest panelists in today's online forum??

As with other recent RCL changes, I am getting the message loud and clear that traditional cruises are going away, and that strategy may be successful for the cruise lines, all I can do is decide where to spend my travel dollars. Having a cruise experience (that I pay double for as a solo) that is just like going to Chilis or McDonalds and staying at a mid range hotel is not why I cruise. Call me a dinosaur, and I guess since I don't live on a smartphone I guess RCL would classify me as that. Fortunately there are still travel options for us dinosaurs, which is interesting that the cruise lines are choosing to drop us off their marketing plans just as the baby boomers reach retirement and start to travel. Guess they will fill all those new huge ships with folks in their 30s, didn't realize there were so many of them with lots of vacation time and lots of money to spend , or maybe their dinosaur parents are going to pay for their cruises :-).

I am currently booked on the Quantum, but in the next few months I will decide whether to cancel and take my travel dollars elsewhere. Unfortunately I have a few next cruise certificates I need to use, after that RCL cruises will be an exception, not the normal as they have been.

IMHO dynamic dining is being aimed at the younger, fewer cruises taken group, as RCL is doing with so many of their changes. The marketing folks, as Goldstein himself just said, feel that market segment perceives cruising as too regimented, too stuffy, not their thing. It also assumes that these cruisers will be constantly online while on the ship (at a nice fee), so having apps they can use to make reservations is good for them.

So this change does away with formal nights, which even some older folks will like, but also with the "dining experience" that us older traditionalists preferred, a set time to dine, dress up in something other than shorts & flip flops, sit down at a nicely set table and have waiters bring food in a sequence. Meet new people. Or if that was too rigid, move over to My Time and meet different people each night, or dine alone.

For the Quantum, in order to be sure and have a table available (as has been shown on the Oasis class My Time) you need advance reservations. Yes you can just walk up, or use the smart phone app, but you will probably have a long wait. So I now have to decide on which of the "complimentary" restaurants I want to reserve, and yes Goldstein said there would still be the classic standard choices on the menu so groups of friends can probably find something to eat (I'm known for making my own meals from the menu options).

I have a reservation for the Quantum, and I hate to cancel it because it was made before the ridiculous double pricing for solos, but I am thinking this style of dining will reduce my cruise experience. Add to that the need to prebook the shows, and it seems I will either have to lock dining and entertainment in way ahead of time, or be stressed wondering if I will be able to get into a dining room or show as a walk up. If I can't then what am I paying for???

I have a 20 inch spinner I take on board with me, allows me to have my meds and a change of clothes with me in case my checked luggage is delayed. Use a large packpack as my travel purse, it carries my travel docs, magazines and snacks. I check in a 28 inch lightweight, but I don't cram it full, even for a 3 week TA I only had 38 pounds. I have consumables in it that get used up and that weight is replaced with souvenirs. (If I'm traveling in the US I bring along a one price post office box and ship souvenirs and tourist info back home, usually easy to find a post office in US). I do some laundry in my cabin, only minor stuff. My slacks are sent to be pressed only once during the cruise.

I love my small spinner, but it can get away from me, it really ought to come with a brake. In London I was coming thru a door, let go of it to pull out my passport and it took off across the terminal and hit this gent in the back of his legs, I apologized greatly. Wouldn't dare have a 28 inch spinner, I might seriously injure someone.

I started ordering room service on my last few cruises, not every morning but a few times. The waiters who deliver the trays are always so nice and pleasant, I have no problem tipping them a few dollars. They are not part of the tips pool. Check with your cabin steward, but last time I asked he said not to put the dirty dishes out in the hallway, it is a safety hazard, just leave them on the coffee table or desk. If I do a few room services I give the cabin steward a few dollars extra for his extra work, that is just my opinion.

I'm confused. I think you are asking about ship to Vancouver airport, not Honolulu?? In Honolulu I use Roberts for transfers ($15 airport to Waikiki, less going back) . In Vancouver you can easily get on the Skytrain near the cruise terminal out to the airport.