TexasRon

No.  Not worth 50% more.  I just have no need to go in the newest ships in any fleet, so bargain cruises on Royal can still be found and are our preference.

Royal is not a huge step up from Carnival.  It is a mass market cruise line.  I like Royal better than Carnival but we have had great cruises on both.

I was on pre-Starlink.  Deck 8 port side forward cabin (owner’s suite).  I was able to work every day with no problems. I’ll keep cabin location in mind if I book on that ship again.

We met a guy on a cruise who was a truck driver.  We were on a Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan.  He never left the ship.  He just enjoyed the ship being empty most days on a port-intensive trip.  I think the number of ports was what drew him to that itinerary.

We skip Nassau for the most part.  It is a nice day with an emptier ship.  
 

Cruise your way.  Even if someone here gives you a hard time!  It is your $$$ and your vacation.

9 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Get your point but in todays world, can anything be kept quiet?

Quiet is relative…yes, most things will be discovered fairly quickly.  Things an organization thinks are good are normally widely announced.

If Celebrity thought their valued customer was going to get enhanced service with this change they would tell the world.  When a company does stuff in the dark, the intent is obvious…keep it quiet and hope less people notice.

It is a rare instance where a “team” provides better service than a dedicated person.  It is the way things are going as businesses cut costs but it doesn’t make it good.  Think about the places who have gone to service by chat or email only…

I am in a service industry.  We provide a service to our customers.  While it is not the same as being a butler, it is a job where we are there to keep people happy.  I don’t look down on anyone; a butler is just doing a job.  I appreciate them when we have one, don’t ask for anything too ridiculous, and tip them well beyond what most do from what people report (our experiences are at Sandals).  The same goes for the Concierge when we have the Royal Suite on a smaller Royal ship.

Celebrity is on our future but not sure at what level of service.  

The blind loyalty teams at most lines amaze me.  I am reading this thread because we are considering a Celebrity cruise at some point and these threads about cuts amuse me with the loyalists that go with each brand defending the indefensible—if you paid for it, you should get it.  Even if you don’t need it or use it, it should be as advertised.  
 
There was a shortage of employees, we understood.  Now they are cutting employees they told us would be part of the package.  I’m mostly an outside with one cruise a year, but we will see what happens in the future.

There was a bit of kerfuffle involving involving one of the media companies in our area and an anchor regarding their “official” social media accounts.  The end result is they had to use company-owned accounts and those were taken back by the company when the employee left.

They can, and do, still share things on their own accounts but it is often not even their main personal account.

The bottom line is that you can be judged on everything you post online.  Seems like people would learn that more quickly than they have…just don’t post stuff that will get you in trouble.

Many weather events are unpredictable even by the best meteorologists.  You are trying to predict every event and it just isn’t possible.  Sure, they are easy to pick on…but all of the course work they do never leads to them being perfect.
 

The best ones provide valid forecasts without hysteria.  Everything is not the end of the world.

What happened in Port Canaveral is a possibility in storms.  How many times have you seen it happen?

The need a Chief Meteorologist but I doubt that having one would have changed a thing.

11 minutes ago, stobe1 said:

Looking at the Port of Miami webcam now. All inbound ships into POM are still at the anchorage area. Its going to be a long day there for sure. Everyone will need to pack a little extra patience today.

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/boat-accident/?fbclid=IwAR0PcVal_ixRmsthUoHxsY0f3pk62s4Ae_xZb1xzjJOWERJfNZW5dGWxiIo

https://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/?fbclid=IwAR2Te9hx-c8bQNHByVhfrW1c1qhT_wmXooyBefEAK4_znWKI806DbRohqXs

Things add up.  Little things matter.  Too many little things or big things and people start thinking of other places to spend their money.

Everyone has their own point of no return…or a pause for a while.

I like half and half but I mostly drink my coffee black, cooled off with a couple of ice cubes (large cup), at home.  The ice maker is noisy dropping ice in a metal cup and could wake my wife up if I am up early, so I will use the dairy product to cool the coffee.  For my taste, half and half is exponentially better than 1%.

Grandeur is one of three Royal ships and two Carnival ships we have sailed on so far.  It is easily our favorite because of the crew, the intimate size of the ship and the ease of getting around the ship.  The crew was awesome and the whole cruise was wonderful.

My wife was skeptical after I told her about the ship.  Her skepticism was easily overcome by the experience. 
 

We will sail on her again if possible…

Thank you for your report!!!

1 hour ago, flyswatter15 said:

I am a meteorologist who is not on TV that works for a large corporation.

Our daughter did the TV thing and then moved to a corporate gig.  She did work at 3 TV stations before making the switch.  I don't think she'd go back...

24 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Biker uses the resurrection meme on any thread with a new post more than a year since last post.

Yes, Biker does.  Biker also talks about himself in the third person on a regular basis.  
 

That does not keep Ron from wondering which type of thread revival is better.  Ron considers resurrections and new birth threads on the same subject to be similar in some ways and different in others.

Chair Hogs

MDR Dress Code

Tipping Talk

Three topics with lots of threads!

There are always chairs available and I am not going to the pool, so the hogs make little difference to me but I can understand annoyance at them getting away with it by putting a towel on a chair and showing up six hours later.

16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Is a resurrection better than a zillion threads asking the same question or talking about tipping?  Asking for a friend…

On our cruise on Independence recently, we were in a suite.  We called room service and had items off the menu on the app for breakfast.  We are two of our four breakfasts on our balcony; the other two, we had breakfast at Chops.  No extra charges for room service unless you want a drink.  Since we were on deck 10 near the stairs, I just ran up to the bar on the Foodjammer and got Bloody Mary’s using the drink plan. You cannot use they for room service.

Also worked to get the discount on our daily bottle of champagne for our hot tub “Happy Hour”…you have to work the system a bit and get it from a bar.  The Concierge helped make that happen after the first time.

9 hours ago, ShazM said:

Reminds me of a Pinnacle on Explorer a few years ago, he was European. Sitting in the suite seats at the pool in his Speedo's and t-shirt with his nametag on it. The only problem I had with him was when myself and the husband unhooked the rope to go in he wanted to see our sea passes and kept saying "Suites and Pinnacles only" so I pulled out my seapass and showed him it was gold and then he shut up. Pain in the butt.🙄

Not a chance that I would have shown him my card unless he produced his ship employee badge.  The little Pinnacle badge grants no powers of policing.  I would not allow myself or my family to be intimidated by someone overly impressed with himself.  I understand not causing a conflict, of course, so I am not saying that you were wrong.

There are people like that in every walk of life…it  doesn’t reflect on all Pinnacles.  Just him.

I don’t lose 10% of my deposit before “final payment” on any other vacation with the exception of the few times that I book non-refundable room for a lower price (very rarely happens). 
 

I enjoy suites and their perks but I will be very judicious about anything with a potential loss of 10% over $500.  This may have an impact on our choices but we are only able to cruise 1-2 times per year as we finish our working years.  No huge deal for Royal to potentially lose a couple of bookings but they might add up over the larger numbers of potential cruisers.

I have no issues with Pinnacles.  I was a little frustrated when I had the Royal Suite on Mariner and could not find a seat in the Suite or Concierge Lounge.  Grecia resolved the issue and it was fine.  We actually rarely go to the lounge.  I just don’t get wearing a badge. Maybe I will different when I become…wait…not even a probability at this point…

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

And that is why you paid  the $200...short sailings only had a $1000 deposit per person, even in a suite

I was not the one who said that it could not be only $200. 

15 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Was it a JS or full suite. I’ve never been able to get a reduced deposit on a suite at NC. I never really cared anyway. Pay me now or pay me later…

Full suites on Independence and Mariner but they were/will be short 4 day cruises.

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They shouldn't have

Well, they have done it three times exactly the same way so far over the past two years.  I have booked five cruises in that time frame.

The other two cruises were casino comp upgrades which required full payments.

7 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Lowered deposits never applied to full suites

I just did the NextCruise $200 deposit on a suite.

18 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I hope that isn't a backhanded way to say I was. 

 

I don't have a publicly stated opinion about meteorologists one way or the other.  I just have an opinion about RCCL having a "Corporate Meteorologist".  Obviously, I don't think they need one, at least not a celebrity one.    

Not at all.  

Cruise Critic says that they use weather assessment companies…I googled it an ended up back here…

LOL

8 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Pretty sure Royal ships have onboard weather radar and staff that are familiar with operating it. 

 

That being said, some teams/captains make poor decisions on occasion 

I am sure they do.  I know lots of people like to disparage meteorologists (and I note that you didn’t) but there is truly a heck of a lot more that goes into making the best  possible forecast than just some staff, WeatherBug, and weather radar.

They are 100% getting info from somewhere that has staff meteorologists working specifically on their needs.  They might have been doing that all along as well as having a “face” in a position to handle giving weather updates and recommendations.