95south

From how Haiti is going, I don't see RCI returning to normal port stops at Labadee in the near future. By near future, I would say the next 6 months. I said a decade ago, RCI should have divested in Labedee and put their efforts elsewhere. Haiti has been unstable since the 90s.

6 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

"Quantum and Ovation to feel small, crowded and lacking in things to do. " I completely agree. My least favorite is the Quantum class (I know a lot of people will be like WHAT??) The esplanade is a horrible design and was made for creating traffic jams during shows and dinner. The entire ship feels very cramped except when you're in the aft where it opens up. A big ship on the outside, but inside feels like a shoebox.  

Maybe you think the Grandeur is the best ship in the fleet...for some reason, maybe you enjoy the new ultra mega Icon class, or you enjoy the older Radiance class!

I can tell you mine is the (drum roll please) Freedom class! Not too small yet not a mega ship, actually the Freedom of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in the world when it was launched, but now it seems like a medium-sized ship LOL!! What's your favorite? Why is it your favorite? 

Keep an eye out for the 35% off offers. If one comes around, get it. Welcome to the worst economy ever! 

Just now, mjkacmom said:

You seriously think that a grandmother would let her 3 year old grandchild have the run of the ship?!

The way it was worded, YES sure seems that way. 

22 minutes ago, KelJ said:

 

What?  Since when?

Since the last time I booked a future cruise on the ship. I got 50% off the per person down payment for using the RCL CC. 

Since 2021 they really cut back hard on "sales". No more BOGO deals. Right now, they're running 30% off per person. 

The price of the drink packages now are nothing more than eye watering. The prices have almost doubled since 2019 along with having to basically purchase 2 drink packages for a stateroom with 2 adults. $100 usd a day and with added gratuity of 18% So $118.00 a day or $236.00 a day for x2 adults for the unlimited? Worth is? I guess if you plan on drinking constantly and not stopping, then yes. But for 90% it's nowhere near worth it. 

Not recommended. Get in a day ahead of time. 

How about keeping an eye on your 3 YEAR OLD grandson on a ship full of strangers? Maybe hold his hand, so he doesn't run away? I would not advise any parent or grandparent to let their children have free run of any cruise ship. 

The card over all sucks. But, I use it when I want to rebook while onboard. Use the RCL CC and you can get some good perks like discounts on booking, room credits, and putting down 50% less of a down payment per person. Other than that, put it in a dark drawer and don't use it. 

25 years ago unheard of, today seems anything goes. So sure shorts it is. 

Scale of economics. It's not economical to scale down in the cruise industry. Smaller ships mean smaller profit and thanks to 2021 cruise lines have scrapped a lot of smaller ships. Carnival I think lead the pack in that. One day we will see the Oasis class ships as a "smaller ship". I agree, I'm no fan of mega cruise ships, but oddly enough I looked at the Freedom class ships as a "mega ship", when it came out, and now I look at them as just a large ship. 

5 hours ago, poncho1973 said:

 

The overwhelming majority here know about Sovereign & Monarch.  This isn't a secret.

 

In fact, that's where Empress came back from.  Majesty was on her way to Pullmantur when the Cuba blitz started and they stopped it.  They gave her the revamp they insisted she wasn't getting and kept her in the RC fleet instead.  I can't imagine anyone thinking they are headed to the scrap yard for many more years.

Oh, I didn't see the part of my post where I said that was a secret.

It's not a problem. They really don't care about that only liquor.

" booked a boardwalk balcony cabin on Allure "....Ahhh yeah, that's what you're going to get up until around 11 or so.

Lobster is more like an XL shrimp LOL!!! Pro tip, lobster night go get your lobster and then head to the Windjammer. On lobster night in the MDR they have colossal shrimp which is frankly better than the lobster in the MDR.

It's OK, but the worst part is when they paddle out in mass to try and sell you stuff. I'm not paying to be

harassed by locals to buy stuff. I wouldn't do that tour again. It's also kind of boring. No good sights to see.

The best one I found was Bermuda. Great tour, see a lot of sights.

It's included, but fun fact, a built in 18% gratuity is added to the drink!! Drink package people don't have to worry but just think about that if you're paying per drink...

As soon as you get on the ship, head to the MDR and they will take care of it. DON'T WAIT! Don't go eat lunch or walk around go to the MDR first thing and almost always they can accommodate you.

What's really disappointing is that they charge for JR's. When they first started charging for that it was like $3.99 a person.

Now they charge MORE than you would pay for JR's on land!! Carnival has Guy's Burgers as a walk up and RCI needs to turn JR's into the same thing. I've said for years JR's needs to be turned into an INCLUDED walk up and stop wasting valuable space as a sit down on the ship.

LOL, RCI is very creative at weaseling into your wallet.

Private port security and not TSA thank god!

If you watch RCI tv enough you will be singing "wash your hand" for months after your cruise.

Frankly, to me it's not worth the price. YouTube has some really great behind the scenes of most ships and the brunch from what I've heard is very unremarkable.