rebeltech8

So, we have planned a cruise for 2023 on the Radiance of the Seas. This is our first time on a Royal Caribbean cruise.  
 

We wanted a balcony cabin  and saw that cabin 8604 seemed to have a different shaped balcony that is larger than most, so we grabbed it. I knew that it had an adjoining cabin, but didn’t think much of it at the time because we were (and still are) excited about our cruise.

I know that everyone’s experience is different, but have you ever stayed in a cabin that was adjoining another?  And if so, any problem with excessive noise or any other issues?

trying to figure out if I made a mistake or just my brain overthinking stuff. And if I should call and see about changing cabins.

thoughts?

Hello all,

My wife and I have sailed on Princess several times and always choose Any Time Dining in the MDR.  We liked the freedom it gave us go to dinner when it was convent for us.  We are sailing with RCI on the Radiance of the Seas this spring and signed up for My Time Dining .  It seem to be a little different from Princess,  since reservations are required.

is it possible to treat My Time Dining  like Any Time Dining?  You know, show up at the MDR, wait in a stand-by line (if necessary), and eat when it meets our schedule?

This allows us to “Vacation Our Way” and not be tied to a schedule.  I am sure others have done this and if so,  what was your experience and would you do it again?

appreciate your input

13 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Has anyone ever bought one of those small sunscreens that's shaped like a deodorant?  

I use this type all the time on my tattoos.  I want to make sure I am positive I have good coverage on those areas before heading out for the day. 

The only thing that worries me about these cards is if something occurs, my money is tied up much longer than if I had not used them. 
 

So, follow me and tell me what I am missing … last year our April Hawaii cruise was canceled. It took it took several months to get several thousand dollars refunded, but eventually we got it all back plus future cruise credits.  
 

if I had bought gift cards to pay for the trip, I still would have the cruise credits, but my cash would be tied up in gift cards for about 18 months (we rescheduled the Hawaii cruise for late next year). 
 

I get that there is a 10% bonus there, but for me, I would rather keep options open when thousands of dollars is in the balance.

I am not trolling here, but instead truly interested in what others think in instances like this.

what are your thoughts?

So, we have rescheduled our Hawaiian COVID Cruse, and starting to do some planning. 
 

think it is worth the suitcase or backpack space to take binoculars with us?  We used them on our Alaska cruise because … Alaska. But you guys who have done the Princess Hawaiian cruise… think it is worth it?

Thanks

Hi fellow refund-waiters,

I put in a dispute with my CC company about three weeks ago. The day after I made the request, a provisional refund was put in the account. On Monday, I called to get a status update and found out that the dispute was approved and the money was mine. Now I am short about $500 and still working on that, but disputing the charges and providing a bit of evidence does work. 

A second thing... I have been in IT for 28 years, most of it in risk and controls and Business Continuity. I work to make sure our business can function in case of a disaster. We make sure we have manual work-arounds and an effective communication program. In this case, if Princess is truly having this many problems this far into the disaster, it makes me doubt their preparedness for other disasters that they may face in the future. 
 

just one man’s opinion

I went ahead and put in a claim with my Credit Card provider this afternoon.  The deciding factor?  Fairness.  I was told it would probably be June before they would provide my refund... could not come up with one good reason to continue to provide Princess a no interest loan for the next 60 days.

Hi guys, a lot of info here about when we should expect refunds, and reading through it all I am no closer to knowing when to expect it, so I called Princess tonight to get the low down. 
 

When I spoke to them, I was told 60 days, but it begs the question 60 days from when?  We were supposed to leave on the Emerald for Hawaii next Tuesday. So i told the Rep that we had applied for the refund in mid-March like everyone else so asked if we should expect the refund in mid-May... nope...  it is 60 days from our cruise that should have left on April 14th.  
 

I expressly asked... so that would make it June 14th then right?  She said it could be sooner but yes, about then. 
 

That puts a different spin on things for me... going to have to see if there are other options out there.

1 hour ago, Once Upon A Time said:

Watch tomorrow for new Cancellation Policy.

 

 

We are booked on the Emerald out of L.A. in mid-April and am unsure if it is a good time for to go on this cruise given the current environment.  It is not so much the worry of getting sick, it’s more the possibility of the quarantine afterwards.

So for us, this would be welcome news.  However, this is the first time I have heard this news... can you share the information source. 
 

Thanks Once Upon A Time for your update.

edit - well, before I could hit enter Idahospud had my answer... thanks guys.

I too am diabetic (type 2) and am careful about those portion sizes. But, I can always fine a sugar free dessert to finish up the meal. 
 

favorites - key lime pie and the cheese plate. 

We are sailing on the Emerald out of LA on April 14th.  We received the same “late embarkation” email a couple of days ago.

now gotta find something to do for a couple of hours before heading to the port.

Totally agree with you Capriccio... this new sale as an add-on to an existing booking is the right thing to do for most people.  
 

the point of my post is to state that in most cases, a person is better off booking early and getting the cabin you want.  Then depend on fare drops to get a better deal on the overall value of the cruse.  As opposed to waiting for a sale to book the cruise you want to go on.

The ability to now add on features to your cruise reinforces the value of this process. 

We are booked for a cruise early this nest year and since we have not hit the payment date yet, I check the web site for lower costs on cabins regularly. This morning, I checked and the price of the cabin in the same category went up $780 pp.

This increase coincides with the launch of The Best Sale Ever.   A benefit for us since we have booked already.  However, a lesson to book early and ride the fare reductions down rather than wait for a later “deal”

Before the final payment, we regularly monitor the price of our booked cruise and our EZair reservations in order to take advantage of any price drops.  Anytime we have refared only one component it has not affected the other. 

Now, I have seen recent promotions that include  a discount on airfare through EZair and I suppose that that discount may go away if you refare the cruise portion.  But we have never booked a cruise under that type of promotion. 

it definitely pays to monitor your cruise costs. For our current booking we have refared each component several times over the past few months and have saved about $1500 total. 
 

Hope you have a great cruise. 

Hey everyone, 

This summer, we were on the Caribbean Princess for a Western Caribbean Cruise. This was post dry dock and we found two new areas to sit outside and relax. Both were near the aft and featured comfy chairs and couches.

We are planning a Hawaiian cruise on the Emerald Princess next spring and wondering if there are similar areas on this ship.  We enjoy sitting and visiting or reading on sea days, and we will have quite a few on this trip.  If these particular areas are not available, where on the Emerald are your favorite quiet places to hang out?

Thanks guys...

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2019/06/articles/drownings/passenger-drowns-on-caribbean-princess/

Early one morning when we were on the Caribbean Princess, we awoke to an announcement in the hallway.  It woke me up but I could not clearly hear what was being said.  Nothing further was said during the last days of the cruise (obviously)

Seems there was a drowning in the Neptune pool at about that same time. Sounds like a 30 year old man drank a bit too much and ended up in the pool after hours.  

This is was the only article I could find regarding the incident...  Sad.

We just got off the Caribbean Princess yesterday.  We went to the Western Caribbean and stayed in a balcony cabin on the Rivera deck in the aft area.

We had the round coffee table, barrel chair and desk chair inside the cabin.  There were two chairs and a side table on the Balcony.

This is the same configuration we had on the Grand to Alaska 2 years ago.

A little different but similar. We were offered an upsell from an interior to an ocean view, which we were not interested in because of the location.  I suggested that we would pay more for a balcony in the same area we were in.  

They found a balcony cabin cabin for us and we kept our free Medallion Net and free gratuities.  I guess it depends on who makes the phone call... Princess or the customer.

Normally I wipe my mouth on the railing to help build my immune system.  Guess I need to stop that 😋

We are in an aft Rivera cabin.

We upgraded to a balcony cabin on our next cruise on the Caribbean Princess.   Mom and Dad are across the hall.  We were thinking of having a pizza party on the balcony during sail away.

I was thinking we would use the two balcony chairs, our desk chair and Mom and Dad could BYO desk chair.  Too crowded for sail away?  I am sure someone has done it before.  Too squishy?

Hey guys,  I just happened to check the bridge cam a few minutes ago and it appears that the Caribbean Princess is heading for Ft. Lauderdale.

We have a few more weeks before we board, but I bet those on the mid May cruises will be relieved to see her on her way.

16 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

 

 But the extra sea days gives them time to do things on the ship.

Let’s see... 3 extra days on a cruise ship or flying to Seattle and dealing with the TSA? I would choose San Francisco every time.

We did this cruise 2 years ago and loved it.  

46 minutes ago, dearinger said:

Obviously this topic is near and dear to my heart (and job), so if you find all of this a bit much please ignore my ramblings. 

Dearinger,  I appreciate your input on this topic.  Tonight, I will start researching Google Beacon and Apple iBeacon.  I am in the information security field and am always looking for ways to keep our company and customer data secure.  

Anymore, if you use technology at all (cell phones, tablets, or even buy stuff on line) your data is out there never to be retrieved.    

Some things we we can do to keep our data safe.

- if you don’t have to use your real identity, don’t.  Go get a new email address with a fake name... how is anyone going to know if I am Fred Smith or George Brown and quite frankly, why do I care?

- Go pay for an email address for the emails that really count and only use it for personal communication you want to keep private like your financial info.  And make sure it allows encryption.

- use pass phrases instead of passwords.

- don’t use the same pass phrases on different websites. And don’t use your work password any place other than work.

- use a password application like LastPass to save your passwords so you don’t have to remember them all.

- if an app asks if it can use your microphone or camera think about if it is really necessary.  Why does a flash light application need the microphone?

- finally, Facebook and most other social media sites are not looking out for you.  Dropping Facebook was the most liberating thing I ever did.

- when a business asks for your phone number or email address, tell them you don’t have one.  They will still take your money.

those were the ones that hit my head...  just protect your self as much as possible on line because no one else will.

wow, this discussion has taken a strange turn. 😀

3 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Where exactly will all of these spam messages appear?  Most folks I know keep their phones in their cabin safe. 

With the Medallion, they are encouraging folks to install apps on their phones and mobile devices.  One of the applications even lets you gamble without going to the Casino.  Another allows you to order drinks directly from your phone and they will be delivered directly to your table. If you want to use these services, you keep your phone with you.

i think part of what they are trying to do is change the cruising culture to attract a younger clientele as well as collecting data whether you carry your phone or not.