DarthGrady

On 5/19/2021 at 3:30 PM, xpcdoojk said:

Photoshop should do the trick. 😉

Beat me to it.

On 4/28/2021 at 7:38 AM, Bobal said:

 

I highly doubt he will respond since he didn't do so to any of the people who asked questions of him when he first posted about the ban.

 

I haven't followed the Celebrity boards for some time now but must admit the discussion here piqued my interest so I read his post and subsequent responses. I remember finding his updates interesting - as are yours and other such updates.

 

He was one of their highest points cruisers (and liked to let it be known) and Celebrity always made a big deal of feting their top cruisers. Thus, I agree with others on his thread that there was more to this than he is admitting and he clearly overstepped some boundaries. I find it hard to believe he wasn't given some sort of warning before such a draconian measure.

 

I therefore wouldn't worry about a ban for yourself, you simply provide information which has been supplied by other cruisers and not - as seems to be the case with him - pestering staff for information about their whereabouts.

I've heard of a few high-level past guests getting bans over the years, it was rarely due to just one issue. Some (but certainly not all, or even most) high-level past guests have been known to push the boundaries thinking their status allows it. Most, if not all cruise lines keep files on guests and document conduct issues. My opinion is that may have just been the straw that broke the camel's back. 

Overcrowding in the DL/CL used to be a bigger issue for me since I enjoyed going there for the nightly drinks. Now I just bite the bullet, buy the beverage package, and get drinks wherever. So RCI can cram in as many as they like as far as I'm concerned. 🤣🤣🤣

On 4/28/2021 at 12:52 PM, sandebeach said:

I really like the Deck 11 Diamond Lounge on Allure, much nicer than the Deck 4 location on Symphony. 

Agreed, that setup is probably the nicest DL Royal has to offer. It really is too bad they've replaced it with Wonderland on the newer sisters of the class. 

6 hours ago, Hunter69 said:

RCL, in 2022. Double C&A points..

Done 22 cruises with Carnival, 7 days short of Diamond. Will go to 25th Cruise to take advantage of Milestone.

Diamond here in Australia is just nearly over 70's of age. Being under 50, not My cup of tea.

Love the look of RCL Diamond (75 days). 4 free drinks every day... Save $$.

Just FYI, I believe all RCL ships now have a dedicated Diamond Lounge for Diamond (and above) cruisers. In the lounge there is a 3-ish hour cocktail party each night with unlimited drinks. The 4 daily vouchers loaded onto your card are good for other bars in case you don't want to go to the lounge. 

My earliest cruise booking is with RCI in November, and I'm not getting my hopes up too high about that yet. Aside from Carnival I also cruise with them, NCL, MSC and Celebrity. Any of them would be preferable to another year of no cruising. 

I bought in at under $9, so anything above that is good news for me. 

On 4/22/2021 at 8:56 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

From what I've been reading, the Carnival status perks are nicer than MSC's, do you agree?  For example, MSC matched my Carnival Platinum status with MSC Gold.  Platinum on Carnival gets me the early boarding and tenders, but I don't get that with MSC Gold, right?

I'd put MSC's Black/Diamond in line with Carnival's Platinum, so yeah I would say Carnival has the edge in the past guest perks department. Not sure if MSC Gold gets priority embarkation.

I've only got one left this year, Brilliance over Thanksgiving. Two more in the works for early '22. 

I wish them the best of luck. Although it's likely just political wheel-spinning, I'm glad DeSantis is taking them to task. It's time for a hard restart date for those of us comfortable with the risk.

To quote the great Frank Drebin: "You take a risk getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan"

5 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

If you are referring to MSC matching Carnival Diamond to MSC Black, they no longer do that - they dropped it down a level. Also if you don't complete a MSC cruise with 3 years of your last cruise, they toss yo from the program and you have to start from scratch.

I heard they downgraded the level matching which is unfortunate, but I get that they have to watch the numbers. I submitted my Diamond Plus from Royal Caribbean when they first started it a few years ago and got the Black/Diamond level. The perks were nice, but certainly wouldn't be a big factor.

On 4/15/2021 at 10:43 AM, IntrepidFromDC said:

This major cruise line just announced plans to restart with more than half its fleet (thepointsguy.com)

 

I have cruised 17 times, all Carnival.  Never thought I'd even consider cruising another line because I've been overall soooooo happy with Carnival and because of the Platinum perks I wouldn't get elsewhere.

 

Now, not only have I secured the status-match at MSC, but they are expanding cruising to 10 ships!

I cruised on MSC Seaside a couple of years ago (in an "Aurea experience" balcony cabin) and really enjoyed it. I got their highest loyalty level via status match, and enjoyed getting the perks on my first cruise with them. The ship itself was very nice, I liked how the bars and restaurants had outdoor areas on the wrap-around promenade. You could tell they still hadn't quite figured out American preferences (nachos with ranch dip, odd drink package tiers) but overall it was a great time. If you can get a sailing booked with them, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

On 4/7/2021 at 8:55 AM, Nado44 said:

What is life like for those of you who are avid RCL cruisers here in the Tampa Bay area?

 

We are recent Diamond Plus transplants from the US Northeast. Looking to learn from the experiences of other local residents.

Since the Radiance Class ships are my favorite among the RCI fleet, I frequently cruise from Tampa. Royal usually has one home-ported there since they are just the right size to fit under the Skyway. I live about an hour and a half away, so the drive is very easy. I also have been using Park Connect with great success. The spaces they offer are in the same garage as the "official" cruise parking at less than half the price (as of my last Tampa cruise anyway). Be sure not to miss the ship passing under the Skyway as you leave Tampa Bay, it is a neat thing to see. 

4 hours ago, dan4182 said:

 

The most onerous requirement is that the gangways going from the dock to the ship must not be used for 12 hours between disembarking passengers from the previous cruise and embarking new passengers for the next cruise. This might not be a problem for the bigger ports but would be one for the smaller ports.

The requirement that the companies have a signed agreement with a medical facility to accept as many Covid patients as the ship may have is too open ended for most hospitals to want to agree to in advance.

 

I hadn't heard that one, but they could always go back to the old ways of just letting passengers board from ground level like at a port-of-call. It would be a bit of a pain since the check-in areas are upstairs at most terminals, but better than a 12 hour debark/embark delay. 

On 7/21/2020 at 2:38 PM, julesbeara said:

If Royal Requires A Covid-19 Vaccine Before Cruising Will You Get It???

Add me to the yes category, just got the J & J shot last weekend. Ready to go when you are, Royal Caribbean (or CCL, or MSC, or NCL, or whomever I can book with first 😆). 

So sad to see all of the old ships being killed off. Obviously it was going to happen someday, but I had really hoped to get another cruise or two in on a Sovereign Class or Empress before then. Soon all we'll have left are the mega-ships, and that will be just awful. At least the Radiance Class and a few of the Vision Class ships will (hopefully!) be around for a while longer. 

I took one many years ago on the Imagination and really enjoyed it. Not something I would do all the time, but seeing the crew areas was interesting. 

I haven't been on the boards much of late, so I just found out about Fantasy and Inspiration. I always knew the day would come when the Fantasy Class ships would start to leave the fleet, I just kept hoping it wouldn't happen soon. They are by far my favorite class, and Inspiration is my most-cruised CCL ship. She will be missed! 

This whole thing just keeps getting worse and worse. Pretty soon I'll have to start taking cruises on ships built in this century, and that makes me very sad. 😭

The roll-eyes emoji doesn't do my feelings on this any justice, but here's one anyway 🙄. Yet another example of the cruise lines charging to use a facility that was (for ages) included in the fare. Some of us (cheapskates) need that half hour in the sauna to sweat out the beers from the previous night, but refuse to pay for it on principle. 🤣

I was on Splendor a couple of years ago, so my info isn't the most current, but she did not have zip-lining or rock wall type stuff at that time. She does have a buffet, it is on the Lido deck and is open for all meals. I would also highly recommend Guy's Burger Joint (if she has one now), very good hamburgers/fries. 

Drink prices are typical bar prices, so prices vary from around 6 or 7 dollars for a beer up to 15 or so for some mixed drinks. The Cheers beverage package might be a good option if you'll have more than 5 or 6 a day. 

I can't really help with the entertainment since I don't go to the shows anymore, but they will have some. 

 A few other tips:

-The sea-day brunch in the main dining room is usually very good. 

-The adult-only Serenity area up on the sun deck is a nice quiet place to escape the loud atmosphere of the main pool.     

Luggage tags on the 12/6 Liberty cruise.  

I'm glad she's doing well, Sensation was my first CCL ship back in '99, hard to believe that was 20 years ago. I'll be back on her in May, and I'm really looking forward to it! 

I cant speak for the Fantasy in particular since she is the only sister of the class I haven't yet cruised on. I can say that the Fantasy Class ships are my favorite, the vast majority of my CCL cruises have been on them and they do indeed feel like home. They remind me of the "good old days" of cruising before the ships were loaded down with all the silly gimmicks.  

46 minutes ago, Empehi said:

Considering an Empress Fall cruise. Being the oldest ship in RCLs fleet, a few questions:

 

1. How are the stabilizers? Does the ship rock & roll. Never had trouble on the big newer ships but you never know on an older ship.

2. Outside cabins. Are there any cabins that is a little bigger because of placement on the ship? Also, I assume lower would be better.

3. Diamond Club .... Is there a DC and if not what accommodations are made?

 

Thanks ....

 

E

 

 

I had an OV room on Empress, it may have been a few extra square feet at most, but not like the newer classes where the OV's are noticeably bigger. Very similar to the old Sovereign class rooms.

Pics in my review here: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=577307

I'm just hoping that Playmakers isn't set to replace the pub on the promenade. The pub is my favorite place to drink on the Freedom class and Brilliance.