beardedladies

58 minutes ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

 

If so, this would be a real shock to me as at one point Royal were talking about increasing Southampton capacity, never mind reducing it!

 

It sadly doesn't surprise me. Royal promises a lot, but so often fails to deliver. If they think that I'm going to be paying out the undoubtably extortionate price they'll try charging for what will be a 17 year old ship doing the same old itineraties we always have then they are going to be disappointed.

Looking forward to the next it's coming to Southampton first, oh no it's not saga 🙂

Sounds more like the Limited Dining Package to me!

It should have been emailed to you - and when we did one on our last cruise we got it later that day. Check your spam folder just in case it's been filtered in there. Otherwise contacting their support is your only option I'm afraid.

Phew! Am getting on tomorrow so was a bit worried!

Currently waiting with baited breath.... either the ship has sunk so new new updates, or the bar proved more interesting 🙂

We've cruised several times during eurovision and as we do like to watch it have had similar concerns!

On european cruises one of the european channels on the in-cabin TV often has it on - you may have to put up with non-English voice over but otherwise it's pretty much the full Eurovision experience. We watched this year's broadcast this way.

Otherwise the only other way to watch it is to stream - there's usually a youtube stream or similar, but as others have alluded to even with the better internet package this can be VERY hit and miss, especially with the more northerly trips.

Whem I saw that I could book a suite on Royal Caribbean's Anthem for less than the price of an inside cabin on Celebrity Apex (October Canaries trips for both - and the Anthem one was a day longer as wel) my decision on who to cruise with in 2024 was pretty much made. Apex looks to be a lovely ship, but it's not worth that price.

2 hours ago, little britain said:

But you have the luxury of being able to pick any ship you want and boarding in multiple ports nationally and being able to fly to any international port. For those in the Uk who won’t/ can’t fly their one and only option is Anthem. Again. 

Almost.... currently planning on Jewel from Amsterdam and to avoid flying we'll take the overnight ferry 🙂

But the point is very valid - we're rather tired of Anthem too, so much so that we've booked our first MSC cruise ever!

I think the key thing is "at the moment" in little britain's response - I very much expect Royal to add in extra sailings before then as things get finalised. So if being on the first trip is important to you, expect that to change. This may of course be different to what Royal annoints as the "true inaugural" - I've seen that happen before with "pre-inaugural" cruises added in.

Short answer - no official inaugural as yet, and expect the first cruise date to change to avoid disappointment.

12 minutes ago, slyster said:

How likely is it to get a dining reservation in CK? 

Depends on the ship. Just did 12 nights on Anthem and even with 69 pinaccles on board our JS got us access any night we wanted it (which was around 9 nights). Some flexibility on time may be required.

Your experience is likely to be different on an Oasis class - smaller CK and more guests.

Well that was an anti-climax with The Pearl 😞

15 minutes ago, little britain said:

Look out for your exclusive Crown & Anchor Society early booking email as soon as reservations open on ‌Monday, October 24‌. 👀

Just need my points to register from my last cruise in time so I can apply the slightly better pinnacle balcony discount 🙂 

Looks like the main reveal site is now live: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/icon-of-the-seas/site/

Lots to digest in there. They are really pushing the "from 2024" thing though.

Oh and booking opens on 25th October!

The one thing that really intrigues me is "The Pearl" - this is the sphere-like object and it appears to be sitting over several floors in the promenade. I do wonder what it will actually do.... some sort of entertainment experience?

But in other news.... separate coastal kitchen and suite lounge?

27 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

Deck 17 image shared by Kayle Kayser

 

 

It's an unfortunate sign of the times that I glanced at the image and immediately wondered why they had a large COVID 19 area 🙂

 

2 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

 

There are crew and passenger stairways in these areas.

 

Good to see they've learnt from that particular mistake with Quantum class and the loft suites / concierge lounge!

And what's the betting on those cabins/suites not actually having easy access to that area? I wouldn't be surprised if you'd need to walk a third of the way back up the ship to go down stairs and then back to the aft again 😄

I am surprised they've teased with this - as an area it looks awful. I could have bought into a quiet infinity pool to relax and enjoy the aft view, but with the kids play area in the mix it's not anywhere I'd want to relax. And the view just won't be of interest to the kids. Plus the whole space looks oddly crowded even without people.

And if those are suites to either side, enjoy the screaming and splashing noises all day!

Just back from a trip on Anthem and our cruise director Joff when asked about Icon said it wasn't doing any trips in the UK and was heading straight out to the US. With the rather tight timing I am starting to think fee paying passenger trips from the UK are going to be unlikely (except maybe for the TA). Perhaps it'll just be a trade event trip or two.

1 minute ago, Garden_Girl said:

Does the £43 include gratuities?

Interesting question because I suspect it differs depending where you're cruising from. From the UK then yes as it usually is. But the US, probably not. The international nature of the deal means it will probably morph to adapt the local norms.

Useful to know you can ask them to apply the certificate in this way - we're turning pinnacle next month and I was planning to use the certificate for a cruise in May next year but was getting nervous about how long it would take to show up!

Presumably as soon as your C&A account shows your pinnacle then you can do this? No real rush, but wondering if there's a length of time to wait for?

The Emerald bit refers to your C&A status, the choice bit is referring to the casino loyalty program: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/cruise-casinos/rewards

Yes, you can go along as soon as you board usually.