Starry Eyes

OK, so it has been over four years since your last cruise. As I recall, you recently wrote that you would not cruise again on any cruise line at any price. If you stick to that, shareholder OBC is worthless to you. For those of us that regularly receive and use that shareholder OBC, it is a very nice perk…it is not fool’s gold. I did not buy the stock to just to get the OBC nor did I assert that others did/should.

Well, of course for a person who no longer cruises shareholder’s credit would be fool’s gold. For those of us who still cruise regularly with RCI, the shareholder OBC is nice. As this is a cruise forum rather than a stock forum, most of us still cruise.

We received apple sauce and sour cream.

Our waiter might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer😉, but he is making the effort.

I love brisket, too. When we ordered it last night on Wonder, the waiter asked if I wanted it medium rare or medium well? I said I was surprised there was a choice; I presumed it would be braised until quite tender. Rest assured, no rare brisket came to our table.😀

There are a lot of obstructed balconies on that class of ship. Some obstructed balconies have better views than others. There are threads about obstructed cabins if one wants to select specific ones. All offer that private space, ocean air, and at least some view of the ocean when one is standing. Several people have advised you to avoid them, and that is certainly reasonable advice. I’ll just point out that on some cruises there can be a substantial price difference between an unobstructed balcony and an obstructed balcony (or a guaranteed balcony booking which might result in an obstructed balcony assignment). For some people, the budget says an obstructed balcony is the appropriate choice. Or they might want to direct more of their budget toward other expenses (excursions, drinks, dining, shopping, whatever). If you or someone else reading this thread feels this way, rest assured with the right attitude one can have a wonderful cruise in any cabin, including an obstructed one.

You can check your status using this webpage: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade Recently I have been receiving the rejection email the evening before sailing. So, look for it (including junk mail) tomorrow evening if your bid is not accepted. They seem to have changed the system since last year when there were late rejections and even the rare late acceptance.

Yes, we are having fun and hope you are as well. Oasis class rarely feels crowded to us. I really enjoy the decorations.

I hope your dogs recover and you can go on long awaited cruise. DH and I are on Wonder this week. If you just cannot go, one of us would be interested in staying on next week, even short notice. If one of your names stays on the reservation, the other name can change.

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I hope your dog is better. If not, which ship and how many passengers on the booking? Is it a casino booking or a normal booking?

So, you have two choices. You can do the logical thing: do not pay until final payment. Or you can pay $300 over the first month or two, then signing up for autopay.

If you really don’t like your stateroom, perhaps you ought to bid more than $110pp for an upgrade to a JS. A lot of people have the opportunity to bid in those JS cabins on a large ship like Spectrum

We have this one. We use the usb and sometimes use the nightlight function. We do not tend to carry 220v items, so we generally keep the plugs covered and unused. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC5DVWVQ/ref=emc_b_5_mob_t

Many people choose to park at Port of Miami because they feel their vehicle will be safer than many other Miami lots. Select your Miami parking location with care. Saving money is nice, but having an intact vehicle at the end of the cruise is more important.

If the upgrade is only worth $140 (x2) to you, then that’s what you should bid. If you bud you have a chance. Remember though, there are a lot of other people in balcony cabins on your ship who will be eligible to bid on GS; some of them will probably bid more. There are also people in JS who are also eligible to bid on JS; their bids could beat yours, too. Decide how much the GS is worth to you and you can afford.

If you were able to select a cabin in a location you like plus get a larger balcony for only $44 more than your balcony gty price, you made good decision. It has nothing to do with being a chicken. An additional benefit to paying for that upgrade: you should get new RoyalUp offers in a few days that may include different options and new minimum bids.

Sometimes what I consider an upgrade/downgrade might not match what you consider an upgrade/downgrade or what PlusGrade has programmed their computer to say is an upgrade/downgrade. Let’s imagine a family of four booked an inside cabin and placed RoyalUp bid for a balcony. Two weeks later an Ultra spacious Oceanview cabin becomes available at a decent price. It does not have a balcony but it has a lot more interior space for their family of four. They may feel that cabin is better for them than a regular balcony; winning a balcony bid would “feel” like a downgrade to that particular family because they value space. PlusGrade lists balconies above all OV cabins, even ultra spacious (and plenty of families would agree…just not my example family because tastes vary). BTW, the change in cabins should cancel the old bids and give the above family a new set of bidding options with new minimums but it takes a couple days. In the meantime I’d still cancel my old bids if I were in their shoes to avoid any inadvertent, unwanted upgrades.

When my gty assignments have been minimal upgrades (booked a gty balcony on Mariner and assigned 4B balcony for example rather than 4D), my bids have been cancelled. Sometimes my assignment caused my bids to be cancelled even I was assigned a standard cabin. Nevertheless if I upgraded myself or if I received a free upgrade to a cabin I liked, I would take the initiative to immediately cancel any unwanted bids myself.

Nearly everyone gets a JS. Do not get your hopes up for a free upgrade to a full suite; those are truly rare now. After all, the company can make money selling those upgrades on RoyalUp

These are not just social media reports. It has been published in both the US and Australian press, including quotes from at least one of the impacted individuals. Royal Caribbean issued a response to the press. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2023/11/30/royal-caribbean-passengers-denied-boarding/71749345007/

For cruises the rescheduling offer may be further out, but that does not mean it cannot be done. Some of us are quite flexible. For example, DH and I are retired and are scheduled to cruise Sunday on Wonder. We drive 90 miles from home to port. If perchance Royal Caribbean texted (or sent an app notification) on Saturday or even Sunday morning that there was an overbooking situation and they would compensate volunteers, we would probably text back that, yes, we would be willing to consider rescheduling for the right compensation…even last minute.

I agree that waving goodbye to fully satisfied volunteers is not a terrible sin. I think they should seek volunteers whether due to overbooking or cabins taken out of commission for some reason. Granted, the earlier the company knows about the problem, the easier it is to seek volunteers in an orderly fashion. Nevertheless with modern communications a text request for potential volunteers could go to appropriate passengers’ cell phones even the morning of the cruise with replies generating a quick working list for negotiations. Some of us wake up in our own beds on boarding day and could easily consider an attractive offer. It is better PR to have a happy flexible retiree or remote worker than an unhappy involuntarily bumped passenger with an inflexible schedule.

What hotels do not overbook? It is so pervasive, how do you find a hotel that does not overbook?

No we don’t excuse it. I clearly said it was wrong for all segments of the hospitality industry. I merely pointed out that cruiselines are not the biggest offenders. The others can destroy trips too. A hotel example: I made a six day reservation at a major brand hotel for a conference well in advance. When I arrived, I was told they were overbooked as was every hotel nearby. They canceled all six nights of my only reservation, arranged one night at their affiliate 15 miles away and were not concerned about that I had no place to stay the other five nights. That was my last stay with that brand.