Starry Eyes

That would not end tipping discussions. People would discuss tipping above what was included in the fare. People would discuss whether service suffered once crew knew tips were not at risk. People would discuss whether the money really goes to crew… or the crew members they want their money to go to. People would discuss this new policy compared to other cruiselines and the old way. If you don’t want to read tipping threads, you’ll have to stop yourself from reading tipping threads

I hate to say this, but a lot of other people with dining packages will probably have boarded before your 2 pm time, snatching up many of the reservations. Book as soon as you board. Do not be too surprised if you need to be very flexible when booking at 2pm.

Do not feed trolls

Such a road closure (and any lane closures/traffic slowdowns caused by the utility vehicles) might have also impacted Uber/Lyft vehicles summoned to port by disembarking passengers. Again that’s not RCI’s fault.

That was my thought, too. The OP’s complaints really were not about disembarkation (ie, actually leaving the ship). The OP’s complaints are about the limited ground transportation options at the Galveston terminal. I remember confronting that issue years ago when planning cruises from Galveston. We prebooked shuttles or cruiseline transfers.

They will be fully utilizing the dining rooms. On the app some details (such as dining times) for your cruise are not necessarily accurate until closer to your sailing date. You use the app to see the current sailing of Harmony by using the “browse our ships” function; that will show you current, accurate dining room hours. From my observation, many people with MTD will line up before MTD opening and wait for a table….I have seen very long lines then.

Remember you are allowed to bring two bottles of wine in your carry on bags at embarkation. That might influence your calculations a bit. I’m not an expert but I think whether VAT applies during the entire cruise or only while in EU ports depends on itinerary (whether there is a non-EUport, for example). So you may need to include more details about your cruise.

Book it and invite that grandchild.😀

I’d also suspect variation by region.

I know you booked recently. Have you completed your check-in to get a boarding time and set sail pass? If so, use the “barcode trick” to see if your future cabin number is already coded. Sometimes knowing my gty assignment influences my RoyalUp bid (amount of bid or if I like the assignment not to bid on certain upgrades)

The OP is quoting fares in AUD. 8000 AUD is currently 5377 USD. That’s still asking a lot for a studio, but there’s no reason a solo should fixate on the fare of those few studio cabins. Sometimes it just makes sense to pay the supplement.

Annoying or not, it is probably the usual driver if pricing: supply and demand. If I have the numbers right for Jewel, there are 238 regular inside cabins and 3 single inside cabins. Thus the supply of regular inside cabins is often plentiful while the supply of singles is always minimal.

For unassigned gty bookings, once you check in for your cruise (45 days out) and get your set sail pass, you can decide the barcode to see if there is a hidden cabin number. For iPhone users, just add the set sail pass to your apple wallet. Once in your wallet, look at the characters below the barcode to the right of the dash (-). If they’re digits there (for example 11620) that is your future cabin assignment (though Royal has the right to change it, they rarely do). If it says GTY your cabin has not not been assigned; you can check back later, especially if you see a muster station location appear on your app. If you are an android user, you might try a bar code reading app. I checked in at 45 days this week and my future cabin number for my Odyssey cruise was in the bar code. I think we will like it.

Sure, that hypothetical stand-by price would be dynamic. It would drop if a top bid in cancelled and the computer calculated the standby price with the next highest bid combination. Similarly, it might rise if a higher bid was posted or when someone increased their bid. That the situation can often change with a simple click would explain why PlusGrade removes the cancel/modify button from some bids it seems to be seriously considering; a simple click is no longer an option.

Very few still available? I’d say there were very few available when booking opened, as there only 3 studio cabins on Jewel, IIRC. They can sell them as solo studios or as solo inside gty’s. The high quote suggests the cabins may already be allocated, as anyone receiving that quote is apt to pay a single supplement to book a regular inside cabin. Or book a double with a no-show.

In that fun loving, speculative spirit, I’d extend your hypothesis about a standby-by price: it might be a sum. The stand-by price might include the whole cascade of bids that be fulfilled if an upper level cabin went into the RoyalUp system. If the vacant suite is an OS, the bid from a person in a GS may not look impressive in isolation, but there is a nice bid for a GS from a JS dweller, and a nice bid for the JS from a balcony dweller, etc. If the OS goes to RoyalUp, the whole cascade of winning bids is collected, so that would be my interpretation of the stand-by price.

Rather than holding back a suite, I think it is more likely that RoyalUp allows them to maintain higher suite prices even as the cruise date approaches. They can sell the suite at full price if there is a motivated last minute buyer (the full suite price is generally substantially more than the sum of the RoyalUp bids). If the suite does not sell or very high bids are submitted, the suite goes to RoyalUp, with a potentially cascade of winning bidders until an inside cabin is vacant or allocated to an inside gty booking.

It is a long walk to the cabin and some people complain about noise in their cabins. You do need to close your drapes for privacy, though I presume you manage to do that at home. So if you are noise sensitive or dislike the idea of the long hallway or closing drapes, then reconsider. I have enjoyed watching the show from my balcony, watching the people on the zip line overhead, and the people on the boardwalk. Even with the water slide, you can still enjoy the ships wake. It is a cabin type unique to this ship class and will make the cruise memorable…even the people who did not love their BW balconies remember them😉. Sometimes one gets good deals on these balconies, too. I have been in BW balconies multiple times and I’d happily book again. The end ones are my favorites.

Do check the bev package price today. If it is a better sale price today and you have been undecided, I’d suggest you go ahead and buy it on sale today before the price goes back up. Then decide at leisure, as you can cancel any time (though it might take a few weeks for the credit to go back to your credit card). Of course, use your common sense and don’t do it if it will mess with your budget or credit card balances etc. Ship wifi is faster than in 2014. If you want to be in contact with kids and caregivers, you will find it is cheaper to buy wifi pre-cruise; look at the prices and decide if it is worth it to you. You could share a single device package: you log off and spouse can then log on with same password. Prices are higher if you wait and buy it on the ship. If you were happy with WJ and MDR on smaller ships, you will probably be happy with free options on Harmony. The specialty restaurants are nice, though, so take a look; only you can decide if you want to splurge. You will be amazed at the change in CoCo cay. You do not have to spend any money to have a nice day there. You can find you tube videos about the island including all free days there. And there is now a dock so no more tendering to CoCoCay…remember that?

I’ve had that happen in the past, though lately prices on my cruises seem to be climbing instead. After final payment I *try* not to pay attention to the price of my cabin, instead looking at the prices of better cabins for upgrade opportunities.

Do you mean it was after your final payment date? Some people make their final payment before the due date; they can still get price drops (money back to credit card or other payment method) until the actual final payment date.

As you were pleased that your slightly larger balcony had not cost extra, you must have known some balconies are priced higher than others. And you knew you were booking a nicer balcony. In the future you’ll know it is easier if you write down your exact cabin category and the price before port and taxes and any other additions. If you want to keep your exact cabin when you do a price check you must look for your exact category. If you are willing to change cabin location, you can look at other prices, too.

One of them would not absolutely “have to leave the cabin” if they booked an inside. They could change in the bathroom. Or they could bring magnetic ceiling hooks to hang a privacy drape. That said, people who book inside cabins often say they are only in the cabin to sleep and shower; being out and about is a joy.

It would be crazy if they did not break similar cabins into subcategories and price each subcategory differently by perceived value.

Another option is to join the roll call for your cruise and mention this. You might put together your own table.