Hoopster95

I know a very successful TA. She has been telling me since last August that demand was down and getting lower. Regarding cruising/RC I have recently booked Brilliance AT LESS than any price available from day 1 deployed to final payment date. Other cruise lines like NCL have give away pricing on several ships and itineraries. I am looking at Barcelona flights Toronto-Barcelona in May $475 Canadian one-way. There are a ton of deals out there for next year as it seems every airline and every tour company (Gate1, Trafalgar, etc) have great sales right now and into 2025. And we'll all see how the recession affects travel by end of 2024.

In my zero facts, highly biased (because I'm on the Athens sailing as well and I'm being positive!!), but humble opinion.... I think Princess and Virgin has spoken to what Royal might do. It's all about the $$$$, and Royal out of all the cruise lines are so focused on the bottom line. Money will rule their decision 100% in my imo. I checked all segments from Brisbane, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore... lot's of cabins available, Serenade is definitely not even close to capacity. Europe starting with the Athens-Istanbul segment is very full. And looking further into the other Europe itineraries pretty much sold out. This was also suggested with Princess and Virgin, whereby their ships were not at capacity in Asia, but very much in capacity in Europe. Which cruises are easiest to cancel? The full Europe sailings or the emptier Asia sailings? So to me it makes sense getting the ship to Europe on time, and hopefully that means Athens. I foresee Royal going south around Oz just like Virgin and Princess.... less fuel, shorter distance, less time to travel, less cancellations, less refunds to cruisers, just way easier to manage vs. going all the way to Dubai and then screwing up the first few Europe sailings. This is Virgin's new sailing route vs. heading north from Sydney

I've done Chaccoben... it's an underwhelming. Kohunlich & Dzibanche are so much better. I feel that Chichen Itza is a horrid waste of so much time from Cozumel.

Kohunlich & Dzibanche Ruins... totally awesome! A very long full day from the ship, long bus ride to and from, however an amazing day. https://www.thenativechoice.com/tours/kohunlich-dzibanche-tour Cozumel snorkelling is great at Chankanaab National Park... really short taxi from the peir, plus has tons of other things to do (zip line, beach time, dolphins, etc.... great for the kids)

Older ships are 100% profitable... they have zero debt. I asked Capt Mathias about this last year on Rhapsody. I also asked this question on 3 separate Capt Corners a few months ago (during "Discovery Project" discussion) with regard to capital cost depreciation of the newer ships vs. older ships which have already been fully depreciated. The older ships are "paid off". Their problem is their life span and cost of operating... like an old car with 250,000 miles, if the engine blows up, do you replace a $5000 engine into a car that's worth only $1000? Same with a older ship. At some point keeping that ship healthy, running and especially modernized & up to current clientele standards won't make sense. For now, keep changing the oil and cross fingers (& toes)

"Trundle bed". The couch pulls out into a two bed set up.... one higher than the other There are a ton of photos on line. Simply google trundle bed Royal Caribbean

You may find you will not want to go back to bigger ships 😉👍

Jewel 2004, Grandeur 1996. Jewel is a gorgeous ship

I wish to say safe travels to everyone getting off in LA, and thank you again for this ongoing review. Whomever is staying aboard, and those embarking in LA, please keep us informed about the Suez/Red Sea issue. Feb 16 is only a week away and I for one will be eagerly awaiting any update on this thread. Princess a few days ago, and now Virgin just yesterday, have cancelled everything north of Sydney (Via Singapore, India, Dubai)... they have both opted to sail the more direct & shorter route to get around Africa via Melbourne, Perth, Mauritius, Cape Town and around into the Med..

"That's only true if you bought a full plan on board" Yes.... my brain did not go here. You're absolutely right

If you have one plan, and wife signs in to that one plan, you will be kicked off. You will no longer have a free day with a full cruise plan... instead of the "free" day, you will be reimbursed up front when you first choose your plan.

You'll find this on the Crown&Anchor list of benefits. Once you reach Diamond, these are the benefits Royal currently offers to you: "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" https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf Also take specific note of #14: "14_ ...... Royal Caribbean may limit or remove access to the Crown Lounge as needed to accommodate special sailings including, but not limited to: Charters, Crossings, Repositionings, Inaugurals, Trade Events, and President’s Cruises."

If anyone needs a recommendation for a fun day in Cabo .... Cactus Tours. Super fun Can Am vehicles, ATVs, horseback and especially camel rides! Best of all directly on the beach, 1/2 hour from the port transportation incl..

There are hundreds of youtube videos of all oasis Class ships, for various decks of these Boardwalk cabins. And they very clearly show your views from the balcony. Here's one I found in 10 seconds

And here's 11727 & 11729 on Symphony (just last January)

Here's 10329 on Harmony. It is very clear that you cannot easily enjoy the Aqua show from this final balcony (imagine even the 2nd or 3rd balcony back), and the slide is very much in your way. Also note the solid divider (rock wall) that you cannot see through. Also note that unless you are standing at the railing, you cannot see the show... you cannot sit in your chair to view the show at all

Great photos! I was looking forward to seeing what some of the tours were. Happy to hear you enjoyed the day This is too bad. Costa Rica is fantastic. Like Peru, if I were to do a review/blog of my travels through Costa Rica with photos and video, I'd bet I'd sell a few land tours to many here reading through this thread. If anyone ever is ever looking for something different then Mexico/Caribbean all-inclusives, very very seriously consider Costa Rica... and not just sitting at a resort. Book a land tour (Arenal, Monteverde, Cano Negro, Guanacaste)... amazing/beautiful site seeing.

You will be able to see every single show that you want at the exact time you want, and you'll be able to go twice if you like. I did exactly this twice this past year (Harmony & Oasis). The shows are never ever "sold out". Are you sailing solo whereby you need only one seat? (emphasis on the "I" in your post twice)

Princess just cancelled everything SouthEast Asia incl. Singapore to Dubai. They are now rerouting to Melbourne, then Perth, then directly across the Indian Ocean directly to Mauritius. You never know until there’s an official announcement

Really glad to hear they were great for you. I am hopeful that they toured Cusco and the Sacred Valley as much as possible. Jimbo/anyone, if you have a minute google photos of Sascayhuaman, Puka Pakara, Pisac. Sacred valley google Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras And the food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, the restaurants are all outstanding in Peru. They'll probably not want to eat anything on the ship anymore.😉

A "bit"??? Twangster you are the best ever on this forum 👍 (You should post one of your time lapse videos and/or a couple of photos 😉)

1) Vision & Radiance tied for 1st 3) Close 3rd Quantum (as much, if not more "glass" and viewing area than both Vision & Radiance, SeaPlax, Two70, MusicHall as massive winners) 4) Freedom 5) Voyager (ruined by adding so many more cabins therefore making them way too crowded) 6) Oasis (where do you see the ocean? What ports/countries do you get to visit?) If Oasis just sat on port for 7 days I suspect many people wouldn't even notice. This ship class is equal to an all inclusive resort... stay on board within the walls of the resort. That's perfectly great of that's what you want. And obviously millions of people really prefer this over actually travelling the world and seeing different places. It's totally great for an obvious huge majority, but not for me

Thanks to both of you for the above.... I'm an idiot! I should've been able to see this. I'm almost thinking my conformation bias to believe that everything will be ok for the Athens 11 day got in the way of actually comprehending the info I was looking at. Looking into this further, I agree.... If they do decide to go around Africa then the 11 day Athens to Istanbul has to be cancelled/changed/whathaveyou as well..... that just sucks 🤬

Great memories eel 😛 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661933-ovation-may-13-24-live-in-alaska-wlots-of-photos/page/13/#comment-57495996 Lol!!! Good times The way I look at most things in life these days .... K.I.S.S. So regard to the Suez and Red Sea, let's all pray that over the next couple of months there's some kind of agreement made whereby passage can be made safe. If not: Most all current reports say that the tankers require about 10 extra days to re-route from the red sea around Africa. The Dubai to Athens mini-segment is 18 days... well within reach to sail around Africa in the required 10 days (I think?) with very few (if any) port stops (fuel? supplies?) Dubai is the end of a 1/4 segment and therefore the start of the next segment, and thus there'll likely be more than usual disembarking at this port anyways. The cruisers getting on for the next 1/4 segment could possibly be delayed to instead embark in Athens, but at least they'd get most of that segment accomplished as long as Serenade gets to Athens in time. Whatever UWC passengers stay on Serenade, RCI could perhaps (doubt it) refund 100% of this 18 day segment making it more palatable to the full UWC passengers to stay on board all those seas days to get around Africa to Athens The above would minimize disembarking all passengers in Dubai and starting fresh with an empty ship with new itineraries and no tickets sold. It also minimizes lost revenue by having all the UWC cruisers already on board once in Athens. It also allows Serenade to continue the rest of it's Med/Europe 1/4 segment within cancelling out port charges, excursions, contracts to re-supply, refunding cruisers, etc etc etc etc I think with regard to K.I.S.S., I think the absolute best thing to happen financially for Royal (which as we all know is #1, #2, #3 .... #100 criteria for the bean counters in Miami) is for Serenade to get to Athens. So to this end, I'm just thinking what the best possible way to get there with the least amount of financial strain (again, I'm trying to think like those making the decisions in Miami) And I'm betting we won't hear what the final answer is until late April/early May at the earliest. BTW I have a vested interest as I'm booked on that 11 day Athens to Istanbul! 😦