Vibe

5 hours ago, AC Stew said:

If a "Discovery Class" ship is added, I would hope that it would live up to its title. That is ... a ship small enough to "discover" new ports without disgorging thousands of passengers into smaller, less-traveled destinations. 

 

More intimate travel adventures with RCI would be welcomed by a great many of us. IMHO, the absence of floating theme park/carnival rides would not necessarily discourage families. I know a heckuva lot of people who would love to introduce their kids to new cultures, archaeological sites, and nature conservancies. Maybe a nice beach experience without 5000 of your new best friends? I for one, would welcome a diversity of passengers on a "discovery" sailing. Kids included. 

 

And if this proposed ship class simply means a replacement for Radiance or Vision Class, then I'll be satisfied with that. The floating behemoths are not for us! (No offense to those who like them.)

 

In any event, all the speculation is entertaining, but speculation is all it is.

Celebrity would be a good option, your Crown and Anchor status would be matched with their Captain’s Club.

1 hour ago, RobInMN said:

Correct, nothing official, and certainly no actual details has been published, but Michael Bayley has commented at least twice, and numerous captains have commented about a new smaller class ship in the design phase. Bayley has said they hope to make an official announcement sometime this year.

Your comment was that RCI will only do big ships, and leave the smaller ships to Celebrity. This seems to run counter to what insiders are saying.

Again.   That is my opinion, not saying anyone is lying.

 I feel that Celebrity should continue have smaller intimate ships geared towards cruisers that want a nice ship with sophisticated experiences with better food. I also feel that Royal Caribbean should have large ships geared towards families and younger adults that want action, adventure, high energy experiences. The two cruise lines sho their own identity and be marketed that way.  This is my opinion, everyone doesn’t have to agree.

19 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

So... everyone's been lying?

There hasn’t been any official decision, confirmation or announcements for new smaller ships. Only speculation.  
 

No one is lying.

We are discussing opinions and rumors.

I think that new Royal Caribbean ships are going to be large and be geared towards families and active younger adults looking for a a wow factor that includes many activities and has many different options for things to do.

The smaller new ships are probably going to Celebrity and are going to be geared to the cruiser that want a quieter more sophisticated experience, 

Has anyone also experienced that when you call 800-526-9723 for the Crown and Anchor department; it doesn’t do directly to them. You have to go through an automated voice response system.

Just now, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Topping up the wages of staff via a graturite, for a multi billion USD company is surely supporting the company in paying a crap wage to their employees....🤔🤷 In effect your suporting royals business model of paying low wages and not a fair wage to start with. 

I agree, but it’s not going to change in the US market. Removing tip’s punishes the crew member not the company.

8 hours ago, DennysDad said:

They agree to this arrangement. We don't. I was not there promising this to people who signed a work contract. That is there problem, not mine.

The people who sign the work contracts are from a poor part of the world and have to agree to what the cruise line dictates or be unemployed. 
 

I do not agree with the cruise lines method of tip distribution and how they pay the back of the house workers, but it is what it is. It’s just not worth obsessing about it.
 

All of us here are able to afford a cruise vacation, that is a luxury in life. Holding back a few dollars a day and taking away money from someone that is not as fortunate as we are is just awful and mean. 😢  

The total amount of gratuities collected for each cruise gets divided up and distributed to each crew member who is part of this program.
 

When people remove their gratuities, it reduces the total amount collected which results in a lesser amount for each crew member,

It is true they still get paid their agreed upon compensation, but a little less for each person who removes their gratuities.

Just now, time4u2go said:

They get paid their agreed-upon compensation whether or not people pay the automatic gratuity.

For each person that does not pay it reduces the amount they get paid from their share of the total gratuities collected.

The cruise line crew that work behind the scenes and those who work in positions that have directly contact with guests agree to their compensation based on the automatic gratuities that the guests pay.

When you pay the automatic gratuities you contribute to that salary plan that is acceptable to the crew when signing their employment contract.

I personally don’t like that method, I agree that it is a scam, however I pay the automatic gratuities because I feel that I contributed to every crew members agreed compensation and don’t want to disrupt it.

If a crew member goes over and above, I discreetly give them cash as a thank you.

The crew members are from areas of the world that does not have many opportunities, they work hard and are away from their families. We are so blessed that we can afford to cruise and have the time to cruise. The $18 per person per day is not going to break any of us. Most of us spend that amount of money on things that are not necessary. Why are some obsessing over this?
 

Keep this in mind:

• Part of the cruise fare is taxes and fees. We have no idea of the breakdown of where that money goes.
• The cruise line adds the gratuities on as a separate charge so that initial total cost seems lower, the same way hotels have resort fees, both practices are not ideal, but it is what it is.

When booking the cruise, I consider the cruise fare, taxes, fees and the gratuities all together as the total cost.

I want to enjoy my cruise, pay the automatic gratuities to feel confident that I did not screw any crew member to their agreed compensation/salary plan. I do not want to obsess over what crew members get paid, it is not my business, it is between them and the cruise line , the same way it is everywhere else.

10 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Sorry, off topic but…Was it you that talked about paint colors and a specific shade of gray that was color of the year or something to that effect?  DW is talking about re painting some rooms & a gray is in the conversation.  I cannot find that page in here for the life of me!

The trending color is Agreeable Gray from Sherwin Williams. 

25 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

How are we going to upgrade the grid to supply enough electricity to charge all these future cars? How do you generate the electricity? No one wants a nuclear plant in their back yard. How do you mine the minerals needed to build the batteries without greatly affecting the environment? I can fill my gas tank in five minutes. Are they going to come up with batteries that don't need a 45 minute rest stop? What do you do when a 10 minutes trip on the Cross Bronx Expressway turns into 50 minutes and you run out of charge?

The electric cars are very heavy because of the batteries, I wonder if parking garages will be able to handle the additional weight once the majority of the cars parked in them become electric.

Another issue is the hazard that they impose if they catch on fire, it takes awhile to extinguish those fires.

57 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Wednesday was the anniversary of my official diagnosis. Time sure does fly!  Physically things have changed a lot.  I am not going list those changes.  I think the one thing that has changed for the better is my love of life and those around me!  I give thanks for each new day!  So much love shown to me and my family.  An example of how we have been blessed, remember me telling about our new neighbor, on her own, came over and shoveled the snow off our driveway?  Well, yesterday she surprised us with a great homemade strawberry pie!  We are still having people bringing us meals each week to help ease the burden off Sharon and to bring a smile to our face.  And what I love the most is so often I still hear someone add their name to the long list from around the world of those that are thinking and praying for us.  So special!

Blessings to you and your family. 🙏 Enjoying the simple things in life like gardening and appreciating each day surrounded by love ❤️ is the best medicine anyone could ever hope for. 

3 hours ago, barbeyg said:

I’ve been seeing reports on social media that this is happening.  Just happened to me, and when I tried to reset, my app would lock up when I entered the new password. 

In case this happens to anyone else, I found that going into the site via browser instead of app worked best.  I was able to change password and the website didn’t lock up, like my app.  I was then able to log into the app. 
 

My Celebrity account had same issue.  Same resolution worked best. 🙂
 

Gotta love RCI IT. 🙄

 

Same experience for me too

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Too many unknowns right now, we're fearing an attack from Iran, and no cease fire as yet.....

Even though I do not post often, you are always in my thoughts.

I hope that there will soon be peace for you, your family, friends and all of Israel.🙏☮️

20 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

Today we traveled to Canton Ohio, and ended up at the convention center. 
 

We have waited for years to see  Jeff Dunham. He was either too far away or we had other commitments. 
 

His show is not for one who is easily bothered by “HUMOR”, which I might say can be very very intense. It would not be on the Popes must see list for good Catholic girls. 
 

Any way. We laughed for hours. 
Also if your reservation was in the first class section       (Prime) for lack of a better word- -  you got a gift bag. 
 

 

 

 

Be safe. 

We saw Jeff Dunham as a headliner entertainer on a Princess cruise about 20 years ago. Been a fan ever since.

19 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I haven't been on Oasis yet... That is one I'd like to try.  I hope they don't kill Samba grill when she goes in to dry dock... 🤞

The Oasis has never had the Samba Grill like the Allure.

27 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

@firefly333

 

I second that 👍

I third that👍🏼

Looks close to the Agreeable Gray that Helen used, which is the trending color now. As you continue to update your condo that color will fit in well.

@dani negreanu

Happy Birthday 🎂

My wish is for peace and happiness for you, your family and friends.

iOS updated also. 1.52.0

You enjoyed the last day at Labadee for a while.

Your photos are excellent.

Have a great week. Thanks for sharing your vacation.

I don’t have any experience with the Royal Caribbean kids club or Galveston cruises.

I just want to say that you are an awesome parent for raising your child in a positive and supportive home.

Have a great cruise and make many happy memories.

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

I hope not too much.  Have never sailed on Allure, and since it is still...for now...home ported at local port for us, I have booked a quickie 4 night.  Would never usually do short cruise, but I wanted to see Allure at least once and definitely want to see Momma Mia.  🙂 

 

 

I disembarked the Allure this morning. The ship was clean and in decent shape considering it will go to dry dock soon. Mamma Mia and the rest of the entertainment was excellent!  The crew was very friendly.

I see no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy your future cruise on her.😊

58 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Are you going to see Mamma Mia? I'll be interested to know if the short cruises the ship is doing is enough time to get everything in that you want to.

 

Have a great time!

I am also on the Allure for the next 4 days.

Reservations for Mamma Mia tonight, OceanAria tomorrow, Blue Planet Wednesday, Blades and Comedy Thursday.

Will do standby to see Mamma Mia again tomorrow afternoon. Will also see OceanAria another time too.