TexasRon

If you are assigning times, hold people to them. People will do what you let them do. Tell them you are going to use arrival times and that they will be enforced. Or abandon them… Covid spacing is not really a thing any more. You can mask and avoid crowds the best you can if you want, but spacing is only enforced in a very few locations overall.

I checked prices today. The only one that was down was a longer Grandeur cruise in late 2023. It was $66.99; was $83.99 when I bought it original. Used those savings to help pay for the upgrade to UDP on a couple of other short cruises. Book it early and check prices fairly often…

You could also prepay the gratuities and cash tip those who you want to tip. That way you could close out your cash account before it is a zoo at the desk and also leave with a $0 bill when you leave the ship. I forgot to prepay on our last cruise. It cost the same, of course, but I like it better when those charges are already gone before we sail.

You can do a cash account and pay it before you leave. They have daily limits. You could also likely put stuff on your card and then pay it down with cash before you leave. That would essentially be tipping out in cash. …and no controversy about how you are handling the tips!

Grandeur is stopping there in November 2023.

Yes.

You will see a wide mix of dress on most nights and formal nights are a bit dressier overall because some people like to dress up and also a lot want good pictures. I never saw a sign of anyone caring what anyone else wore on our 8/1-8/5 Grandeur cruise. The only cruise it seemed to actually matter on was one we took back in the late 80’s or so. Since then, dress standards have relaxed a lot. Dress is, of course, a topic all by itself…but you’ll be fine in nice shorts and a polo shirt. Have a great cruise! We relay enjoyed it!

I toss crap everywhere. The steward can do their best to work around the pigpen.

Wifi is important to me and I hate when it is bad. My job allows me massive flexibility to be where ever I want to be as long as the job gets done with no set hours. My wife has a certain number of hours per year she can take off. I like my situation much better. This does mean working on trips but only for a few hours and usually while my wife sleeps in a bit. Wifi being solid (does not have to be spectacular) is important. I don’t mind paying for internet; I just want to get a product that is worth the charge. My home internet is wonky (we live in a rural area) and I contest charges with them when service is bad.

CATS was a good show when I saw it years ago—1984 or so—but not nearly as interested in seeing it ever again. I like some of the songs and enjoyed some of the actors. I would not take the time to see it on a ship. So many other things to do! Of course, not saying anyone else should not see it. Up to them!

Unless service is ridiculously bad, we do the auto-grats. We also prepay them so that cost is gone when we arrive onboard. We tip others. If we can’t tip properly based on our standards—not anyone else’s—we don’t go. Our son learned that lesson when he worked in a restaurant. He was young and tipped poorly prior to that. I am not going to judge anyone…you do you. Those that refuse to tip in a tipping culture are likely not people I want to be around or know are around me. Stop tipping when you actually change the culture, not when it hurts the people who serve you. Okay, maybe I do judge a little. I am not going to stand by guest services and jeer those who remove tips.

The letter seems fairly clear. Some are adding issues not addressed in the letter, or mentioned by the OP as being asked about. If that is the set of facts of this issue, they should pay what he has receipts and can prove were expenses. That is what they stated they would do. All the rest is just noise. We have as much sea lawyering going on around here as I saw in the Marine Corps. I guess that includes me!

Yeah, I have thought about finding a good one of those to help with stuff I book. If they can do it for me and make a buck while taking good care of me, why not? We do a couple of cruises a year so we aren’t high value…we are some value…

We are going on our first cruise out of Galveston in August. If my wife had more time off and we had less plans, we would probably do this one. Galveston is the perfect port as it is an hour so away…it is the worst port in terms of places I would like to go on a cruise. It would be fine for one off cruise, like this one, or a late addition to the schedule. Otherwise, we like to go to other ports. I hope everyone who goes has a fantastic time!

I only want to go on these type of cruises to flaunt my superiority. Wait…I think my C&A level is…Coal

Grecia and her husband were highlights of our cruise..excellent service and attention to detail.

Having an all adult cruise line is not harming any yutes or their parents…there are lots of other opportunities for them to cruise. Don’t like it? Sail with someone else. It sounds appealing to us as something to try. We may or may not like it more than other lines.

In my opinion, it is a good ad—it gets the point across with humor. You know what they are advertising. Many commercials miss that mark. There is a market for what they are selling.

We are going on a smaller ship next time…Grandeur. My wife keeps calling it “Grandma of the Seas”…

Glad you are enjoying the perks. One of these days we will go on one of the larger ships and try those out! For us, the drink package would not be necessary with all day beer and wine plus the CL. Throw in the casino drinks (of course, we pay a price for them but we would anyway!) and that about covers it. Enjoy this cruise…and the next ones down the line!

Good luck with your bids! on Indy, our top suite perks were: —Concierge service —Concierge Lounge —Priority boarding —Priority debarkation with Concierge taking a group of us off and all the way to the customs area They have a suite area near the pool, we did not use it. We sat in the dedicated area during a show but there were lots of other seats available. That may have been handier at night. This was our second trip in a Suite (the first was on Mariner) and the Concierge (Grecia) made a world of difference over the first one. She mentioned that she might leave the ship in late June but who knows with the extensions of crew and all…

I would do the two cabins if it fits the budget. We had two cabins when we took the kids; I cannot imagine how tight it would have been on one.

Our experience on Indy was much better and we made sure to say what went well (and not as well) on the survey. If I had your experience, I would document it on the survey and probably email, or contact social media, Royal management about your cruise.

Not a high level C&A, so just getting points and lower bennies for now. We chose a B2B 3/4 because the port works for us, it fits a Friday-Friday timeframe due to an event on Saturday (10 mile beach run for my wife), and we enjoy the ship. We’ll stay on the ship at least for one of the stops in Nassau. So, no real benefit for us except that we get to cruise for a week and keep our other plans!

Thanks for the specifics on the ship. Helps set expectations for our coming trip when we read various reviews and compare information. Maybe it is time for some of us to not cruise or skip certain ships, but my plan is to cruise with modified expectations…and a long memory of how they were or were not met…and then decide how to move forward. I am not so invested in being a certain level that switching lines, should one of a similar type perform markedly better during this challenging time, is not a good option. We like short cruise right now and Galveston is close, so it would be sad if the ship is not a good experience overall. I’m okay with some turmoil in service but not a failure.