Anton

11 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I’m confused. In the app (not the website)where do you swipe right? From which screen?

 

I tapped the square that shows my pinnacle points on the app screen where you see your next sailing.  It then went to another screen where you should see a Loyalty Match tab.  That is where I found it.

50 minutes ago, happythoughts said:

Room service once a day?  Is that morning or evening?

The cabin attendant is supposed to ask you on boarding day which time you prefer.  I've found that they are not consistent in doing this and like to default to only morning service so they can have less to do at night.  Junior Suites and higher still get service twice a day.

Indy has been using terminal G which is next to the Carnival terminals.  My agent went from the Carnival Celebration to the Indy two weeks ago and walked it.  They did have to detour around some stuff and she said they walked around 100 yards.

14 minutes ago, orville99 said:

It is in their best financial interest to position the choice to wander in a way that keeps the revenue stream in the family. 

Exactly.  In the interview Jason Liberty gave to one travel news outlet,  he stated he doesn't want a regular Royal customer straying into the arms of the competition as their vacation conditions change.  He said that loyalty is one way to ensure that those people stay within the corporate umbrella.

17 minutes ago, Rotnam said:

 

Just for my clarity, if we only had 1 room, me and my wife, we would have 7/7 points instead of 14 ? or both 14 ?

 

For my kids, I assume the points just get lost ?

 

Basically if I had 4 rooms, I would still be getting only 14 points, even if I paid 4x time right ?

 

 

 

The point system is based on several factors.  For a non-suite cabin each cabin occupant gets 1 point per day.  For a suite they get 2 points per day.  Those two instances are if you have two ore more people in the cabin.  But then if you are sailing solo in a cabin that normally holds two or more guests you would get 2 points per day.  If it's a suite then the solo guest would get 3 points per day.  Example:  You and your wife in a balcony cabin for a 14 night cruise each get 14 points.  You, booked as a solo guest in a balcony cabin, would get 28 points for that 14 night cruise.  You and your wife in a Junior Suite would each get 28 points on that 14 night cruise.  You, booked as a solo guest in a Junior Suite for 14 nights would get 42 points. 

The kids points are not lost.  They get their points too.  Here is the Crown & Anchor Society benefits list.  Note the extensive footnotes explaining everything.  It's quite tedious to read through. 

Scroll down towards the bottom.  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

He was posting tweets as late as Friday touting Royal entertainment.  

Royal has been handing our leftover covid vaccinated guest wristbands as trivia prizes on some ships lately.

It's really sad that a cruise line that trumpets their high tech ships and onboard entertainment - the WOW factor (are we still doing that?) - has a shoreside operation where mediocrity is the goal.  If someone is sneaking around 1050 Caribbean Way at night stealing toner cartridges from another department's printer so they can print their own reports, it wouldn't surprise me.  (Yes, I worked for a corporation where we had to steal office supplies from each other to get by.  We had a very Jason-esque CEO).

16 minutes ago, seaandsea said:

I have seen many posts from pinnacle members stating they received a letter from Royal letting them know if they will have access to Coastal Kitchen. I sail in three days and have heard nothing. I even tried e-mailing the loyalty ambassador, twice, but no response. Anyone know what if anything I should hear, or do I need to wait to get onboard? Either way is fine, I am just curious. 

The email saying that you either have or don’t have suite lounge and CK access should arrive tomorrow or the day before you board.  But then I got one email saying I didn’t make the cut and when I got to the cabin I had a card saying I did get access.

King Ranch Casserole...they need to put that on the menu for the Texas cruises, at least in the Windjammer.

2 hours ago, robmtx said:

 

You'll also see things like Texas edition pickup trucks

The Ford F Series King Ranch model for instance.  If anyone doesn't know about the King Ranch, it's a prime example of "everything is bigger in Texas". 

7 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Tried that. Tried every RCL number and none of them worked (actually if you go out to RCL's website and click on the Contact Us button, there are no phone numbers listed anywhere.

Yep.  No phone numbers or email addresses.  Just links to FAQs. 

It’s quite common now for main seating to be at 5pm.  It’s been what we’ve experienced for the past several cruises even though it’s shown as 5:30 elsewhere.  They want to get people in and out earlier so they can clear tables for the My Time Dining crowd.

They definitely want the public relations aspect of the Texas flag since Galveston is by far a drive-to port for guests.  Remember that they also handed out cowboy hats for the president’s cruise from Galveston last year.  As I recall the Texas flag is not only the state flag but also is the flag of the original Republic Of Texas so it’s got that historic importance.  

They removed the #9 option a few weeks ago.  All calls now get the automated message before proceeding. 

The website is working again and I noticed the asterisk by the 45% off image at the top of my planner.  It is only valid for bookings made today, May 6.  So I don't know if that means new cruise bookings, or planner "bookings".

I was able to access my cruise planner earlier this morning and for 10 different cruises the only packages I saw with 45% off were the Evian bottled water.  All the other packages were the usual discounts.   

20 hours ago, PMHNPCruiser said:

Are we able to drop our carry on bags in our room when we board?

Cabins are open for guests to access around 1pm or shortly after.  Guests are not allowed to access the cabin area prior to that, even if you just want to drop off carry on luggage and get seapass cards.  You use your setsail pass or just your cabin number for purchases prior to the cabin availability.  

The list of cruise lines that have self-serve laundry is not very extensive.  Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Disney, and Oceania are the ones that spring to mind.  NCL doesn't (they used to but removed it many years ago).  None of the Royal Caribbean Group brands have it.  I don't recall Royal ever having it, but they may have on their original ships.  Royal did install machines on the world cruise aboard Serenade, but only because it's a unique cruise.  They will be removed once the voyage ends.  I don't think laundry service is a huge profit center for Royal Caribbean.  They just don't want to deal with the maintenance, stocking supplies, etc.  It is what it is. 

Luggage tags and cruise documents are not issued until 30 days before departure date.

20 minutes ago, looking4info said:

She  has done on line checked in. Guess my question wasn't clear. Asking about check in at pier. Will she need to print documents or are there other methods? Hope this clears up my question. Thanks.

The app works for me but I always use a printed setsail pass from the website.  I find that it is quicker to show the printed pass to the check-in agent rather than fumbling around with my phone. 

Currently aboard Caribbean Princess.  I have the Plus Package and in the app under my profile I have ‘onboard packages’ and in it there is a counter for drinks and desserts.  It resets at 6am and only counts the alcohol drinks.  

Flags of convenience and open registry are the search terms to use.   Bahamas is one of the open registry countries.  So is Vanuatu.  We can safely assume that the ships registered in Vanuatu never visit there.  It’s apparently quite a good business.  I just learned that the Liberian registry is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia and has a contract with the Liberian government to split the registry fees between the government and the owners of the registry corporation.  

I'd say the average onboard price for the deluxe drink package is $100 per day before the 18% gratuity is added.   Some ships are a little lower ($90) but then the newest ships are going for $115 per day, perhaps higher for onboard pricing.  The usual sale to buy it prior to the cruise seems to top out at 30% off the onboard price, or the more common "buy one get one for half off" which is also hyped on boarding day but that is based on the higher onboard pricing.  Today my cruise planner shows an onboard price on the Mariner Of The Seas of $105 per day, but with the current 30% sale it is $72.99 per day.  Again that's all without the 18% tip tacked on.   

Bottom line from all the above is if you want the drink package buy it before the cruise.  Just like the internet it is always cheaper than buying it once aboard the ship.   Or, for drinks you could gamble up to 2500 points and get Prime casino level and then get free drinks when the casino is open, only at the casino bar.