Karter

1 hour ago, BND said:

I edited my post to say there is no wall near where the ship is actually docked (it's just past that), but you still have to try pretty hard to go over the edge.  

It was between the ship and the pier where he went off. 

This morning at around 11:00 A.M. there was an Oscar Oscar Oscar announcement while we were docked in Labadee. Do not have all the derails but it appears and older man possibly in a scooter went off the pier and a second man jumped in to help rescue him. The Labadee workers on jet skies responded very quickly and got both men out of the water. The older man was transported to the island behind a jetski then brought back to the ship. No idea of his status. The man who jumped in to rescue him is fine and continued on his way. The crew from the ship and workers from the island responded as team and worked great together to get the man out of the water and to the medical team on board.

Does anyone know what restaurants are included in the D+ BOGO deal on Wonder of the Seas?

Thanks

Does anybody know if now that the the new dining room menus are starting to roll out with the daily classic appetizers and entries removed did they also remove the classic appetizers from the Coastal Kitchen menu. The reason I ask is I almost always order escargot as an appetizer.

Thanks in advance for any insight into this subject.

2 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

We've booked gty a number of times and if we weren't thrilled with our cabin assignment looked for a better situated available one in the same category and asked to be moved.  Request was never denied.  With their experience Pinnacles should know to do this as well.

Except you cannot change categories once assigned you can only change cabins within the same category.  If there are multiple cabins available in the assigned category you can ask to be put back in the pool and take your chances again. In this case there were no open cabins in the obstructed view category.

3 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Hmm, if Royal were really taking the Pinnacle for granted and knew he’d be back regardless, surely that would incorporate that knowledge into the RoyalUp algorithm, too.  So, by your diabolical logic😉), the inexpensive RoyalUp upgrade would have gone to a some other guest with a higher future spending potential, leaving the pinnacle in the obstructed cabin.  Oh, but the pinnacle got a cheap upgrade, so that’s not true!  
Back to the old days…there are lots and lots of newbies, way more newbies than pins, so by luck if draw, way more newbies will get gty upgrades than pins.  Upgrade fairy was always rare.  
 
Number 1.  Your C&A status has no bearing in your gty assignment and you should not have expected a better cabin than your friends.  

The Pinnacle did not expect a better cabin was just curious how assignments were done. When you book a guarantee you must be willing to take the worst cabin available. You are just gambling on the cabin to save a few $. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. For me as long as I am on the ship I am happy.

After reading all the replies I think it is one of two things.

1. It is purely random and status has no effect on cabin selected.

2. They look at the Pinnacle's history of onboard spending which is usually $0 and takes advantage of all the OBC they can get (next cruise, stock holders, Ta, etc.) and group bookings to get  the best price. Plus they know he will be back irregardless of the cabin provided. That may not be the case with with a second time cruiser.

I know Royal's IT department is not the best in the world but they could easily have an algorithm to maximize onboard spending and encourage those guests likely to spend more on board to return by giving preferential treatment when it comes to cabin selection. In the past before Royalup I saw a lot of first time cruisers get upgraded.

For me I think it is number 2. 

BTW The cabin was upgraded with a small Royalup bid by the Pinnacle.

Here is the situation.

Three guarantee balcony cabins were booked at the same time as a group on Odyssey of the Seas.

Couple 1 Second cruse ever with Royal Caribbean

Couple 2 Platinum books a cruise every 3 to 4 years

Couple 3 Pinnacle books 15 to 20 cruises a year - currently has 18 cruises booked.

When the cabins were assigned couples 1 and 2 were assigned balconies on deck 11 near the center of the ship couple 3 the Pinnacle couple was assigned a 50% obstructed view cabin on deck 6.

Yes I know you are gambling when you book a guarantee and be willing to take whatever you get this is more about did Royal assume the the Pinnacle couple will always book with them and give them a lower end cabin.

Is it purely luck of the draw or does Royal have some kind of algorithm to give better cabins to new/infrequent cruisers to encourage them to book again.

BTW I think Royal treats Pinnacles extremely well with their loyalty program so this is not a complaint about the loyalty program it is about how cabins are assigned.

We are on Odyssey and the 5:00  AM change over has already started tonight.

We just walked from terminal 25 to terminal 18 and it took about 15 minutes. We left terminal 25 then cut through the garage then past terminal 19 then cut through parking lot 19 which is across the street from terminal 18. For the 2 us it was a very easy walk even with 3 suitcases.

17 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Free internet only happens on Quantum and Oasis class ships.

 

Grandeur is most assuredly not in that category.

When we were in a grand suit on Jewel we had free internet for the two of us a month ago.

On 5/28/2022 at 8:58 AM, deliver42 said:

It's already been established that is was pilot error, not the captain's. Very minor damage to the ship, and they are already working on the  dock.

When we were on Harmony a few weeks ago the question was asked when entering or leaving a port who is responsible for command of the ship. The answer was the caption is in command and the pilot is just there for guidance since they are very familiar with the port and any hazards.

The captain also said the only times they give up command of the ship to the pilot is in the Panama canal and Suez canal.

On 3/24/2022 at 9:35 AM, Seville2Cabo said:

I just think the issue is communication by Royal. If you are not on CC or FB, how do you really know you are supposed to do this.  Our first cruise my wife had no idea what I was talking about when I said let's do the drill on the app.  Maybe at check in they should make sure they tell people that it has to be done and how to do it.  

So by having them pick up their room keys at the muster station it also solves the above concern.

I just saw a report where Carnival is considering going back to the old muster process because way too many people are not completing the E-Muster before the ship can sail. On Carnival Vista they had 400 people that did not complete it so they shut down all beverage and food services to get passengers to comply.

I love the E-Muster process and have an idea that I think could solve the problem. Hand out the sea pass cards at the muster station after you get the 2 minute briefing. They know what cabins are associated with each muster station and it wouldn't take long to hand out the sea pass cards so the passengers can go to their cabins or bars. Plus the missing passengers would eventually be forced to go to the muster station if they wanted to get in their cabins.

Any thoughts on if you think this could work?

I just saw a report where Carnival is considering going back to the old muster process because way too many people are not completing the E-Muster before the ship can sail. On Carnival Vista they had 400 people that did not complete it so they shut down all beverage and food services to get passenger to comply.

I love the E-Muster process and have an idea that I think could solve the problem. Hand out the sea pass cards at the muster station after you get the 2 minute briefing. They know what cabins are associated with each muster station and it wouldn't take long to hand out the sea pass cards so the passengers can go to their cabins or bars. Plus the missing passengers would eventually be forced to go to the muster station if they wanted to get in their cabins.

Any thoughts on if you think this could work?

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

If you're looking at the free version, that data is a day old. Apex is near the coast of Cuba in the Florida Straights arriving back to FLL in the morning.

It was real time data.

Marine traffic shows it heading back towards Mexico.

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

@Karter, where will your destination be via Amtrak?

Plan is to take AMTRAK to Sacramento then fly to Orlando. I like trains and want to try the Coast Starlight.

Sorry

I should have said from the port of Seattle to the AMTRAK station.

Two weeks ago Odyssey 6 night cruise had it on day 5 and last week on Allure 6 night cruise they had it on day 5.

We are booked on the Ovation this July and I am trying to make plans for our departure. Does anyone know if it is reasonable to get off the ship and to the AMTRAK station for a train that leaves at 9:50 A.M with enough time to spare if we are late arriving? I do know it is 4 miles from the port.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

22 hours ago, Tolkmit said:

 

Most of the current protocols were set by the CDC, not Royal. The CDC rules are the same for all revenue cruises, whether it's individuals or charter companies paying the cruise lines.

We were on a charter on Oasis last November 2021 and because everyone was vaccinated no masks were required anywhere on the ship.

I booked the Odyssey of the Seas for a eastbound transatlantic cruise. Any recommendations on which side of the ship is best or tradeoffs we should know about? We usually do not like a lot of sun on our balcony so I booked the port side but never having done a transatlantic don't know if there was a preferred side.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Last week on Oasis they were putting them in the cabins.

We were on Mariner in December and Oasis last week. Here are the impacts from covid from our perspective. Now vs pre covid.

1. Check in times are longer due to the need to verify additional documentation multiple times.

2. Getting food served to you in the windjammer.and requiring masks while being served.

3. Washing hands / sanitizing before entering must places where food is served.

4. Reduction the the number of shows

5. Much smaller crowds with ships sailing at about half capacity.

6. Masks required in some of the ports - but not really enforced

7. Not much difference in the diamond lounge except when getting food you need to wear a mask.

8. Saw no sign of lift mask and sip or eat. When we sat down to eat we removed our masks.

9. Crew always were masks even outdoors.

10. No significant difference at the pools except much easier to find a chair.

11. Have to wear masks in the terminal and while boarding.

12. About 98% of the passengers complied with the mask requirements.

13. Elevators usually had a max of 6 people and typically 4 or less.

14. Most people just seemed happy to be back on board.

15. Back to back was a very long process due to sanitizing - almost 3 hours when before it 20 minutes.

16. Ports were sometimes changed at the last minute.

17. Prior to January the Windjammer was not open in the evenings.

I am sure there is more but none of the changes impacted our enjoyment of being on a cruise ship.  Currently we have 9 booked between now and May and have been on 8 since September so obviously the changes have not stopped us from cruising.

If you have any specific questions I will be happy to answer them.