Hoopster95

This is my go-to cocktail as well! Too bad they don't have the shaved coconut like most Boleros on other ships (I say "most" because Oasis and Odyssey did not have the shaved coconut in Boleros either which is b.s. considering it's one of their signature drinks). If you enjoy the coconut syrup and wish to try something new/different, head up to the Schooner Bar and order a rum old fashioned sometime Congrats!! Bon voyage Steel City 🙂

I wish to add, if you do end up deciding to do something on both days, in Trinidad look at Maracas Beach for an easy/calm day for 4-5 hours away from the city... great beach, and you can try local Shark Bake for lunch. And then perhaps opt for some island touring in Tobago. This way you get to do something in both ports. Either way, you'll have a great beach to choose from on either island

Sailed on Rhapsody last March b2b2b... twice in Tobago, 3 visits to Trinidad. Trinidad is not a pretty city where you would want to walk around in on your own around the port... do some homework (google is your friend) on this. If you do anything it should definitely be on an excursion, RCI or private. I did both on the first two visits, then stayed on the ship the third (first time ever not getting off the ship). Trinidad to me is like what most here on CC say about Nassau (sea day). Tobago is another story. Lots and lots of private tour guides wanting your business at the port gate. Lots to see (island tour), Argyle waterfall is a great little hike/walk and swim/climb. Buccoo Reef snorkelling and Pigeon Point Beach are highlights, however all tourists go there. I thought Buccoo Reef was over-stated... snorkelling was underwhelming, but the beach is gorgeous (but far from port 50min). knowing both options I really enjoyed the island tour... driving, scenery, lunch at a beach, photo ops, hike/swim waterfall.... great day! Bottom line... if you need that "rest" day on the ship, stay on board in Trinidad

Royal ships typically dock at Crown Bay. I doubt you'll be walking to the SkyRide. I was just there 2 weeks ago. Very well run taxi/tour services at the port gate herding people into different open air vehicles going to the various different beaches. Also available are combo island tours with beach time that you should look in to. They will arrange to pick up at specific time if you wish. Emerald Bay two loungers + umbrella = $25 We opted to walk back to the ship for a bit of exercise. The walk was not difficult and no more than 25 minutes to the gangway. A $6pp each way shared "taxi" (open air bus) would be 3-4 minutes tops.

Perfectly said. If cruisers want the "yesteryear" cruise experience, it definitely exists... All they need to do is book Oceania, SilverSea, etc. Those prices are adjusted for inflation to today's true prices. I just sailed on Silhouette Jan 2-11... 1st time on Celebrity since 2012. MDR was a bit better, but not a whole lot better than Royal unfortunately. The Ocean Cafe (aka Windjammer) was fantastic! Should've had dinner there every night. Specialty venues QSine and Tuscan were both a noticeable step above Royal's specialty. There were other positives besides food,.. surprise surprise the entertainment and game shows/trivia were way better than expected, easily equal to Royal (ie. Voyager Class and below with headliner and Production shows). I enjoyed the change of perspective... classier environment, more mature/learned demographic, there was no slamming of doors, screaming/yelling in adjacent cabins, and running in the hallways at all hours day and night.

Regardless of all of our previous million+ cruises, wealth of experience, and personal/recent experiences on other sailings, we all need to remember:: "Royal Caribbean reserves the right to modify the Crown & Anchor® Society, Club Royale®, and MyCruise® Rewards programs along with their terms and conditions, at any time and without notice. ©2023 Royal Caribbean Ltd. Ships Registry: The Bahamas." To me, and knowing RCI over the last decade, this to me means "If we can make more money from cruisers by changing or reducing something (C&A), even if temporarily (so that we don't piss too many people off), we will" We also all need to remember that each ship makes decisions independently... a "rule" or "benefit" applied/change/removed on one ship may not have occurred on another ship docked next door. So the OP's experience on Explorer may have been different on Adventure for example. RCI = "Really Consistently Inconsistent"

Who remembers Project Genesis? How about project Sunshine, and Project Eagle? And for how long before the actual official announcement were any rumours. and how long after after the official announcement were they actually built and in service? For me, Discovery does not exist. I suspect there will be 4-5 more Icon Class ships built until approximately 2030 before we have confirmation of anything else.. I know.... And this has nothing to do with the point I was making anyways This is exactly the point I was making.

The focus on this thread has been RCI, not RCG.

I sailed 33 days in Nov/Dec, 4 diff ships, 4 different "Captain's Corners"..... all 4 Captains mentioned that they heard of, but know nothing about Project Discovery other than what Pinnacles tell them and other rumours. I also asked them about asset depreciation and if ships like Voyager (24 years old and Oasis 15 years old already) have a fixed date where they are deemed to be "paid off" in Royal's accounting books, and two of the captains said there is in fact a date but they couldn't remember them. I feel Royal will not at all replace the smaller sized Vision or Radiance classes ever again. I also met a ton of families (30'ish year old mom & dad in the pool with kids) as each sailing was heavy with kids (other than Grandeur)..And surprisingly at least half the ships were first time cruisers (not in the C&A Top Tier numbers) For the record, my cruises in 2023 were on Symphony, Harmony, Rhapsody, Jewel, Grandeur, Independence, Oasis and Odyssey... by a very VERY big margin, the best cruises were on Rhapsody and Grandeur, Jewel was 3rd... all three with great ports of call, the most amazing accessible and fun staff, excellent Crown lounges, not crowded public spaces, excellent Windjammers and great fellow cruisers whom I got to know as I saw them most everyday. The least pleasant cruises were on all three Oasis Class ships (super crowded everywhere, connect with one person on day 1 you wont ever see them again the entire 7 days, boring itineraries, terrible Windjammer, kids stomping everywhere above my cabin, slamming doors, good luck getting into a hot tub with 20 kids in it with floatation devices swimming back and forth, 3 sailings in a row). Just my 2 cents.

If anyone wishes to see what "smaller" ships need to charge their customers in order to make the same profit margins as what Royal is making (let's perhaps call it a cruise industry average), take a look at what Oceania, Azamara and SilverSea charge. Are you willing to pay that? If you want Royal to build a small ship, that is what you will have to pay. I am 100% certain no one on this forum wants that. And the funny thing is with some current pricing on Utopia and Icon, today I can sail on a much superior luxury line with the best of everything on it much cheaper when you include internet, dining, beverages, etc. The only reason why Royal still has their smaller ships is because they are fully paid for and any revenue produced on them is profit. Royal is 100% only about profit and the bottom line. The second the smaller ships do not make money, they are gone. They will keep small ships until they make no sense to keep (ie. like an old car with 250,000 miles that has been paid off for years, you keep putting gas in it and changing the oil but when the engine blows up you do not replace the engine, you simply scrap it and buy a new car). The technical issues of extra drydocks amongst many other factors just complicate their life span. Like many have said in previous posts/pages, Royal's target market is definitely the young family (mom & dad in the 30s and 40s with a couple of kids), and they want those kids to build up C&A points so when they are 25-35 years of age in the year 2040, they will not look at any other cruise line .... they will pay $20,000 for an inside cabin on the "Gargantuan of the Seas" because they are hooked on Royal Caribbean, going to 6 private fake islands and paying $5000 for a Cabana for 6 hours. That is exactly what has happened with families who's kids sailed in the year 2000 on Voyager.... today they are adults with kids bringing their families on Royal, not another cruise line, because of the C&A program. Royal's target market is not the mature cruiser wanting to travel the world, and definitely not the miserly cruiser who doesn't spend a dime on board.

Per Capt Artem (I think that’s his name… never met him and he’s new on board this week) on Grandeur, he just announced that Royal is putting “some money” into keeping the remaining Vision Class ships for a few more years … “3-4 years”. No clue as to where he received this info and his ability to confidently mention it during the Top Tier event. He also mentioned Grandeur is in dry dock in March. Thought I’d pass this along to those of you who like the smaller ships, hoping that they don’t get sold or scrapped anytime soon.

Nope. To me looked like at least 20' of clearance if not more. Quantum ships coming to Vancouver since 2019. If they can get under the Lion's Gate Bridge, should be zero issue under the BoA. The very 1st passage ever by a Q Class ship under the Lion's Gate (credit @twangster) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661933-ovation-may-13-24-live-in-alaska-wlots-of-photos/page/3/#comment-57464446 2nd passage under departing the port of Vancouver https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661933-ovation-may-13-24-live-in-alaska-wlots-of-photos/page/5/#comment-57469617

ALL of Amsterdam hotels are very expensive. I believe it was around $600 CAD per night. This was at the low end of the "5 star hotel" range. The location is the 100% advantage. As an fyi, arrival morning at Schiphol took the fast train (6 euro) direct to Centraal, and rolled our luggage over the small bridge (over canal) and across the street 5 minutes to the hotel (no taxi or expensive airport transfers). On embarkation morning, wheeled our luggage back to the front on Centraal (4 min walk) where the trams are located.... hopped on the #26 for 3.40 euro, one stop away lets you off directly in front of the cruise terminal, wheeled our luggage across the street and down the ramp. I am not at all exaggerating from hotel lobby to checking in for the cruise approx 1/2 hour. Debarkation morning there was a railway strike.... line-up of about 100 cruisers with zero taxis available, I heard later took about 2 hours to get a taxi.... instead of standing stupidly in line for 2 hours, I got on the tram (another 3.40 euro) back to Centraal where there were about 20 taxis waiting there and got one in 10 seconds, made my flight with ample time to spare. Do a mock booking for 3 people in October for example. I just tried it and you can see prices.

Jimbo, after much research, I stayed 2 nights pre-cruise just this past May (May 22-24) at the NH Barbazon. Fits all of your criteria.

Please include my full quote "(depending on how far to sailing date, amongst other criteria)."

Correct. So in your example, and don't quote me on the exact numbers, let's say 50 GTY cabins are booked at the reduced price, RCI's algorithm will see this and determine that all of a sudden they're not a lot of cabins available (depending on how far to sailing date, amongst other criteria)... the algorithm will remove the GTY option leaving only the more expensive pick your own option.

Quantum Class - you can see the ocean almost everywhere Oasis Class - you can see the ocean almost nowhere

Sometimes.... sometimes they're less money as RC's algorithm dictates the price. For example if only one interior left, it'll be a silly high price and be listed as "only one left!!!". and then there'll be 50 promenades at cheaper pricing. Happens with OVs and balconys as well. When you book an interior GTY, you can get any interior.... of higher. You get whatever you get, including the worst possible cabin in the worst location. You just never know.

Royal's public website is garbage for mock bookings. I don't have access to any travel agent booking engines, however the two third party websites I use are extremely user friendly and anyone can easily see all cabins available with an interactive display of each deck. One of those sites rhymes with Tea Planner, the other with Brew On. For your sailing there are 50 Promenade view interior cabins available as well, so you may get those cabins as well. Also what hasn't been mentioned is that with the "RoyalUp" program, I assume several interior cabins will come available closer to sail date that you will not see now, These cruisers may win upgrade bids, and thus you may get assigned their cabin very close to sailing date. I'm pretty sure this happened to me a few years ago.... following a ship I booked a GTY balcony and checked daily to watch the cabin inventory. The cabin I received was no way ever available on the list I was watching online leading up to my assignment.

I posted the following in previous various threads ..... I did a whale watching tour out of Campbell River (Vancouver Island) and we sailed much of the channel (Georgia Strait) that the cruise ships go through as we followed a pod of Orcas. There's a specific part of the voyage that enters and goes through the Seymour Narrows... super dangerous swirling currents and there's also aerial electrical lines spanning the passage. At the time, looking up at the wires I couldn't even believe that a Radiance Class ship can get under those wires. This was also the reason that Capt. Hendrik (at the time Capt. of Ovation in 2019 the very 1st time she did Alaska) answered that Q Class can't do the BC inside passage during Captain's Corner when asked https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661933-ovation-may-13-24-live-in-alaska-wlots-of-photos/page/22/#comment-57534562 Note as we get closer to the shortest span between the islands you can see the towers on one side in the first photo. Below we are at about 3/4 way across the channel As we get closer and go under, the photos aren't the greatest however you can see the visibility marker balls attached to the wires. They're not that high in my opinion, But I guess they're high enough for the cruise ships (Radiance and smaller?) to get under.

Yes!!! That’s right! Welfare is likely better income than Royal, and you don’t have to work 304 days straight at 12 hours per day.

Because I’ve asked. Sometimes It’s pooled and Shared. This is first hand face to face employee information, not something”I heard”

No worries. 👍

+1. Also I think the chances of Getting higher than a JS are zero with a guarantee booking. RCL is 100% revenue driven, and RoyalUp is built for exactly that. Before they give a free GS to a guarantee they’ll obviously accept a RoyalUp bid for more $$&