publicpersona

I can’t say for certain, but pretty sure the marine preserve description is new. It wasn’t a pristine island and reef prior to Ocean Cay; it was a junk yard.

OP’s experience is not necessarily due to recent airline issues. A similar issue happen with me last year. I talked directly to American who said because they changed the flight times, they’d be happy to book me on a different flight at no cost .. but .. wait .. I went through Air2Sea. So they couldn’t help me. Then the days ticked away waiting for Air2Sea to fix it. After a couple weeks of Air2Sea being unable to do anything in real time (take a phone call, look at the schedule, change a flight, etc.), I gave up and cancelled the Air2Sea arrangement, for which they charged me $400. Then I booked my two $150 flights myself in seconds.

[deleted]

A2S is worth checking for special consolidator fares, particularly international flights. If significant, go with A2S. Other than that, you are better off booking directly to maintain control of your booking. It is far easier to make changes directly on the airline’s website than to have to call and do this through a third party. Also, inside final payment, A2S will charge a $$$ penalty for cancellations/changes even if the airline would not charge a penalty. ”Assured arrival” is misleading marketing. Like any travel agency, they will work with you to rebook missed/cancelled flights. That’s all. If you’ve been led to believe otherwise, consult A2S’s terms and conditions.

Most of our cruises in recent years have tended towards Celebrity rather than Royal, but I've never known the "bag o' laundry" benefit to be confined to any subset of items compared to the standard laundry list that is hanging in the closet. Shirts and shorts get the scratchy tags applied so they can irritate you for the rest of the cruise. I strongly suspect items such as underwear, socks, etc. are all put into a mesh bag and washed together. Unrelated to bag o' laundry, I once sent a suit for dry cleaning. I didn't notice it until we got home, but it had obviously been through boil and bake, and thus ruined.

Just curious .. under what conditions would the captain not allow it? Rough seas causing the doors to swing open and closed perhaps?

I doubt that. I use CSR for almost all travel as well, but I've gotten the Royal (and Celebrity) offers at Amex. It is possible for Amex to have that info via Royal, but that would be an unusual data sharing arrangement. There are some that advise adding as many Amex offers to your card as possible in order to generate replacement offers quickly (up to the limit of 100), but that sounds like too much work to me.

Not understanding what you are saying. I wasn't talking about present day, and I don't see that happening soon either. I was just responding to the assertion that Radiance class would have been able to call on Cuba. I don't think that was the case.

I don't know, but I think if that were the case, Royal wouldn't have put Empress back into Royal service. Given all the struggles they had with its reintroduction into their fleet, it seems like they would have avoided that if there was an alternative.

I used this type of offer last time around (as well as similar offer on Player 2's card), and I do see this offer available to me now. As I said above, the language sounds more restrictive than what I remembered, but not sure. Offer valid on cruise bookings made online at https://www.royalcaribbean.com, by calling 1-866-562-7625 or booked through your Travel Professional. Reservations must be booked on US website only. Valid only on purchases made in US dollars. Excludes onboard purchases, e-gift card and physical gift card purchases made online, transfers/transportation to the ship, MGM Resort International Joint Vacation and Royal Wedding Packages. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, TUI Cruises and Silversea brands.

Although you are likely correct, I note that this terms and conditions are more specific this time around and seem to apply to only bookings. I don't recall that language there last time (I've done two of these before). Amex may get Level III transaction data which could allow them to distinguish the type of purchase even if the merchant is the same.

Perhaps they could use a computer to take "reservations" so that only those that can be accommodated at that time will have a reservation.

I wouldn't buy the stock unless you thought it was an investment that fit your needs, and you think that at the time you will want to sell it, there will have been good return (including dividends). That said, I own more than 100 shares and paid $6 / share for at least 100 of them. So I like to think about my ROI of $100 each cruise from a $600 investment.

I have been denied the credit a few times because it wasn't combinable with the rate. However, the current rules seem to list fewer restrictions. Shareholder Benefit | RCCL Investors (rclinvestor.com)

The guest invoice is the only semi-reliable accounting of your cruise cost. The "pricing details" on the website can have numbers that just make no sense (see below and note it doesn't add up). My cruise cost has changed four times over the last couple months and never once did I get any notice or guest invoice sent without calling and asking for one.

... since 1994.

We tried Oasis class once. We felt that they had finally succeeded in making you feel like you were not at sea at all! Which basically meant you were in a resort with tiny rooms. I must confess that our experience was most negatively impact by our choice of a "neighborhood balcony". You know, where you cannot see the ocean, but you can see Johnny Rockets, as well as your neighbors across the alley drying their clothes, or worse, riding the hobby horse with the curtains open.

There was a discussion yesterday about this.

Due to shenanigans going on with FCC handling, my final payment amount for a Sep 2022 cruise changed four times in the last two months, ultimately increasing by about $500. At no time did they send me any notification or updated invoice. Details on the website showed numbers that didn't add up correctly. I will say that once I reached a human being, getting an updated invoice was easy.

All other things being equal, I choose a non-connecting, non-Pullman room if it all possible. My logic is that such rooms have had typically more passenger wear and tear on them as they appeal to families and groups rather than couples.

Good suggestion, but already have paid for prepaids. I noticed in the terms and conditions, it specifically says "one or more transactions on cruise reservations" and says it does not apply to onboard purchases. I don't recall whether the previous Amex offer was that specific (I've done the $125 off $500 and $350 off $1500 before). Would certainly have felt better to have used for final payment, but perhaps there is still a way.

I thought about that but I already had nearly $1000 OBC (much of it non-refundable) that I haven't used up yet. Is purchased OBC always coded as OBR? Another strategy I was thinking about was cancelling some shore excursions booked with OBC and then rebook using Amex.

Now I am sad. Just yesterday, I paid just over $500 final payment for a September cruise. Wasn't due quite yet .. just wanted to take care of it.