PartyAllDaTyme

The issue is one of a competitively priced cruise not being able to deliver

the expected product, for some reason. The solution is simple. The cruise

line companies need to sustain an insurance company that provides damages

should any covered circumstance occurs for any reason. Allow the purchase

of what the insured wishes is adequate insurance to satisfy such an encumbrance. Since missed ports...etc. are fairly rare occurrences, insurance

is practical and allows for recompense in measure to the importance of the

loss. Just purchase a satisfactory amount. Makes sense to me after being

a major frequent user of the hospitality industry.

 

One persons' loss can be another's gain. We like sea days, so missing a port

is usually OK for us. Others don't agree, the should have insurance to reimburse them their value loss.

Someone's ultimately going to pay for the cost of the insurance. Guess who that will be. I work for a travel insurance company. I can tell you that cancellation coverage for any reason is expensive. Even if you defined a set of covered reasons for cancellation, the insurance provider will be getting some of the money-- better for the cruise line to absorb the occasional loss than pay a premium and helping generate more profits for an insurance company. The fact that they don't simply factor in the cost of the occasional loss due to itinerary changes resulting from weather, mechanical problems, political unrest, and the like, indicates that their business model is such that they'll lose more in reimbursing people for these losses than they'll gain in goodwill.

Their solution is to do what they do-- put language in the cruise contract that indemnifies them if there is a change in itinerary. From the contract--

You are being ridiculous. The contract quite clearly states that they can only take your kidneys in order to recoup their costs if you exceed the drinks package limit. Be educated, people!

This post just caused me to snort Coke out of my nose-- I demand compensation from Cruise Critic.:rolleyes::eek::D

Not only are the not common but its rare on this board to see the word upsell, we usually refer to upgrade. I know when someone says that they usually frequent another line.

To my mind, an upSELL is if the cruise line contacts you and asks if you would like to change to a higher class cabin for an additional amount. An upGRADE is if they change you to a higher class cabin than you booked for no additional cost-- AKA "a visit from the Upgrade Fairy".

You can also upgrade yourself to a higher class cabin, paying the same amount, less (if before final payment), or more. Since no one is contacting you to sell you something, it's not really proper to refer to that as an upsell.

It's also not correct to refer to a higher class of cabin one receives than one was expecting as a result of a GTY booking as an upgrade-- just luck of the draw.

Like Lois, I only have one cruise booked and have only had two booked at the most at any one time. That's what happens when you can only cruise once a year:(. But the plans are when we retire to sail about 9 weeks a year and I like to book early, so I'd guess that we'll tend to have around six pending at any one time:).

The balconies are staggered, so anyone on decks above you will be able to see you if you're at the rail. Don't let that stop you-- the aft cabins and oversize balconies on M-class ships are wonderful! Deck 9, not so much, especially on the port (smoking) side because of the Oceanview Bar on deck 10, but decks 7 and 8, definitely. You will see the FV corners, but it never bothered me, FWIW.

Last cruise, we faxed in the transfer to Celebrity with a few days to spare. About two weeks later, my TA asked why she never saw the booking. X dropped the ball, but they still honored the transfer after the deadline when we refaxed it. My understanding is that they located the original fax, though.

Yes, there will be more motion and the dreaded "walking" the length of the ship, but to me the view and balcony space is worth it.

DW looks at this as a plus-- says the walking will do us good. She seldom uses elevators. She'll purposely park on the far side of the parking lot at a mall. I told her once, "Well, we're young and healthy, we can walk. Well, we're healthy, we can walk. Oh, hell, let's just walk.":rolleyes::D;)

Good luck with getting a free upgrade. I've been on 16 Royal Caribbean Cruises and never been given a free upgrade.

 

I've heard so many great things about aft balcony cabins that I'd stick with that. I'm hoping to book my first aft cabin in the very near future.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

I like the aft cabins, but would like to sample a suite if I can do it for no more money:o. We received free upgrades on our first two cruises (not with RCI) and thought that was the norm. It was our third cruise that we turned one down. If we get lucky, we get lucky.

We haven't done AQ, so never been in Blu.

We mix it up. It's a cruise tradition for us to head to the buffet as soon as we get on the ship. Room service at least once for breakfast and dinner, more if we have a larger balcony. If we have a special occasion, the Normandie (the specialty restaurant on Summit) for dinner. Always in the MDR for formal nights. Breakfast one day in the MDR, otherwise go to the buffet (waffles!:)) and either eat there or load up a couple of plates and bring them back to the cabin/balcony. Lunch in port on port days, either buffet or grill if on the ship.

Normandie has a special the first night on board, so you might want to take advantage that night if you want to try it.

Yes!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I think our course of action will be to indicate we'll accept an upgrade, but starboard side only.

I gathered from your original post that a bigger balcony wasn't all that important to her. If a Jr suite is close in price I would take it for the points and if the upgrade fairy was to visit you in a Jr Suite you would still get double points but better yet you would get a gold card.

Well, now this RCI newbie is going to have to look into the benefits of getting a gold card. I'm assuming it's the color of the Seapass (or whatever RCI calls it) card that gives you extra perks because you're in a suite?

I'm not willing to pay extra for the JS but it's nice to know we'd get double points if we did get a free upgrade, even though it wouldn't make a difference for us for a long, long, time, if ever.

This is all conjecture - 'what who you do if' the 'upgrade fair visited. I hope you have booked the cabin you want -- NOT hoping for an upgrade.

Not so much "what do we do if we are offered an upgrade" but "should we request No Upgrades". We did book what we want and will be happy if that's where we stay, but wanted input as to whether we would be pleased or disappointed if we said we'd accept an upgrade and got one.

I wouldn't trade in a large aft balcony for a JS on a transatlantic in case I was allocated a JS on the shady side of the ship.

 

We have a corner aft on Serenade for a cruise in May and will be putting no upgrade because we chose the cabin specifically and love the aft.

 

Edited to say I just noticed it's your first RC cruise in which case your chances of an upgrade are slim to none I'm afraid.

With X, you can make specific conditions on an upgrade, such as "Starboard side only." I wouldn't want to be port side eastbound.

So our chances for an upgrade are less if it's our first cruise? That's too bad. X has a reputation for giving new cruisers an upgrade as a means of encouraging repeat business.

I wouldn't book a room for what you think you might get but what you will get. If the prices were close I would go for the suite for the double points.

 

Shak

We'll be Diamond by sailing with Celebrity long before we'd get to that level (or even Emerald) by sailing with RCI, and I doubt we'd ever make it to Diamond Plus, so points aren't a factor for us. Besides, I think the points are based on what you booked, not what they might upgrade you to. I'm only looking at it from the standpoint if they offered a free upgrade as we once almost got from Celebrity, as I noted above.

Junior Suite. No questions asked. I'd rather have a JS than an aft balcony, not to mention the potential motion from an aft on a TA.

The motion is a concern, thanks for the input.

Thanks, everybody, for your comments!

What is more important for you; the balcony or the interior space? I'd keep the aft balcony personally (what ship?). Some report occasional soot (though on a TA the ship should be moving fast enough that this isn't an issue) and vibration issues. What's the cost difference between the two? This is very subjective...

It is Vision of the Seas. I didn't realize there were variations in the class. I'm not looking to pay more for a JS; we'd be happy with the aft cabin. We've mostly sailed on Celebrity, and the M-class ships have an oversize aft balcony that we once turned down an upgrade to a suite-- had the reservation marked "No Upgrades", they upgraded us anyway, caught it before they could give away "our" room.

Here's the situation-- we booked our first Royal Caribbean cruise, a transatlantic, and have 7654, an aft D1 with an oversize balcony. Since we have many sea days, I figure we'll get much enjoyment from it, watching the wake trail behind. But DW says she'd be happy with a standard balcony, and I'm wondering if we shouldn't accept an upgrade to a junior suite for the extra room, if offered. Since we're first-timers with RCI and since the D1's would appear to be in demand, I'm thinking we might be prime candidates for the Upgrade Fairy. Another consideration might be if we'd get a port side cabin-- north side eastbound, so not as much sun, might get a bit chilly in April, might not be worth the risk.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated!

Perhaps it's because it's so far out that you can't purchase it yet.

This would be my assumption. You can't always book shore excursions right away, either. When I asked about that problem, I was told "The inventory is not yet available." Whatever that means. I think they treat things like excursions and beverage packages as commodities, and they have to be loaded into the system.

You might want to avoid the aft cabins on Millinium class ships as they are directly below one of the smoking areas and you can occasionally smell smoke on them. Also the aft AQ cabins on deck 11 are directly above this area.

Just on Deck 9 and 11, and maybe just the port side. Otherwise, the aft cabins on M-class are some of the best cabins on the ship. We've had an aft on Deck 7 twice now, never a problem with smoke blowing down.

Good news! No smoking on balconies is not just on Celebrity. Princess, Royal Caribbean, MSC and ALL luxury cruise lines also have a policy of smoke free balconies. So, if a non-smoker gets a balcony on Holland America or NCL, don't bitch if you smell smoke. Too easy.

Also Costa, if you can get past that little mishap they had. Interesting how the major lines are finally following X's example. X has our loyalty because they were there for us when no one else was. They didn't have sail dates that would work for us in 2015, so we were forced to go with RCI, but that's the only reason. I did notice X used to have a "No Smoking" logo on the SeaPass cards, but that wasn't present on our last cruise.:(

OP, I've never experienced a problem on Celebrity, and from what I gather problems are rare. If you do experience a problem, my advice would be to report it to Guest Services without confronting them. No sense risking riling someone who might then be hell-bent on retaliation. Don't bother reporting it to your steward-- they're dependent on tips from the smoker's cabin, too, and it puts them in a bad situation if they were to be asked to confront them. X can't really do much unless they catch them in the act or with smoking materials, but you might also get the staff that isn't enthusiastic about addressing the problem. If the problem persists, time for the camera. I recall threads where photographic proof was enough for Security to take action, and I've never heard of someone who was taken to task for violating someone else's privacy. It would be a last resort, but I'm not about to let someone interfere with my vacation by ignoring the rules at my (actually DW, serious allergy to smoking) expense.

On our last cruise, we asked the steward to clear out the mini-fridge so we could use it for our sodas and water, but it took him until the next day. Never saw where he put it. DW in the cabin across the hall had a different steward, who refused to do it. Concierge class versus inside cabin, maybe?

The mini-fridge only keeps them cool, not cold. I'm thinking of bringing on a portable cooler and just having the steward replenish the ice. He can then lock the fridge.

FWIW, we just booked our first cruise on RCI yesterday, a D1 balcony. Before the smoking policy changed, we would never have even considered RCI.

We've sailed aft cabins in the Caribbean, and have an aft booked for our upcoming transatlantic. DW tends towards motion sickness while flying, has used the patch for cruises but usually removes them a couple of days in and has never had a problem, even in somewhat rough seas.

But there's rough Caribbean seas and rough ocean seas. I've searched some on the topic of how bad it might get in an aft cabin, but not really found much suggesting we shouldn't do it. It's a D1 on Vision class of RCI, and I understand the balconies are oversize, which we enjoy.

Anyone have any problems?

How about Friends of Michael, for people addicted to Celebrity Cruises?:rolleyes:

Oh, wait. That would be the whole darned cruise!:)

That's good news. When we were on millennium our steward said it was not allowed. How do I arrAnge it? Have you done it in concierge?

I have done it in Concierge, and if memory serves, in Verandah class as well. It would not be available the first night if they have not yet had muster drill, but the only other reason I can think of if it would be related to a Noro outbreak. Even then, I'd think it would be safer than the buffet, so I can't fathom what the objection would actually be.

You can do it in any class. You request a menu from your steward or go get one from the MDR. BUT the food will be delivered all at once, so it is not a very pleasant experience, the food is not hot, and there is no place to put the giant tray, plate covers, etc. I thought it was a very dissatisfactory experience (NOT Celebrity's fault) and would not repeat it.

As I recall, for dinner, our steward presented our dinner in a "dress uniform"-- certainly was more classy than his usual garb. All platters were brought into the room and we were served appetizers on the balcony-- table was a little small, but we managed. Appetizers were served, and we were asked to go back to the cabin to get the other courses when we were done, which was fine. The food cooled a little, but it was very romantic and worth the effort.

If you can sail in an aft cabin on an M-class ship, there's a lot more room. DW and I hosted DW and BF for a couple of room service dinners and there was plenty of room, including a full-sized table. A little crowded, but we managed nicely.

Stewards are supposedly normally the ones who provide room service, but because it may be another crewmember it's advisable to have a tip ready for them, since you may not see that crewmember again. I've had a cruise when it was always the steward, and a cruise when it was never the steward-- luck of the draw, I suspect.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Yes you can, or at least you can with Concierge class. I believe it's available with all other cabin classes, as well.