doppelganger2621

I mean then let’s all donate the money we were going to spend on our cruises to a local shelter if that’s the case if since we’re going to just subjectively tell others what is or is not worth the money that they earned and now want to spend.

The difference between a package costing $1200 and a package costing $800 is roughly two drinks per day per person. If you’re a person who drinks, on average, 5 drinks per day (and that doesn’t even included specialty beverages, bottled water, etc), then it’s essentially worth it because you’re going to spend that money anyway. If you’re someone who drinks 4 per day, then no it’s not going to be worth it, but in the end, who cares? You’re saving money by not getting the beverage package. Again, I tend to think the people most upset are the folks who remember grabbing the package at $40-50 who aren’t getting way more than their money’s worth. And like everyone has basically admitted on this thread—Royal isn’t pricing this so cruisers can get their money’s worth. It’s not about being a sucker, it’s that they are banking on people not being smart consumers

Thank you!

Yep! Needs to be PCR or antigen within two days of boarding and either the red or turquoise work for that

To follow up on previous poster—Royal considers the NAAT to be a “PCR test” for vaccinated guests

Good to know—I just didn’t want there to be some snafu where Royal is expecting us to have the PCR test done for her in advance of boarding, as right now we’re following vaccinated testing protocols for all of us and getting the NAAT two days before cruising.

So I've gone through the check-in process for my sailing in a few weeks, including uploading all of our vaccination records. My wife, myself, and my son all received boosters by the time we checked-in, my youngest daughter is fully vaccinated, but had not yet received her booster at the time I uploaded her records. On the Royal App, it verifies that her record is validated and includes her vaccination manufacturer as well as her date of last dose (which was back in November). However, looking on the invoice from Royal I received today, next to me, my wife, and my son, under Special Services it says "Vaccinated - Yes" Under my daugther it says "Vaccinated - No" Has anyone else encountered this before I call Royal? I'm wondering if maybe it just says No for her because she hadn't received her booster at the time? She's also only 7 whereas my son is 12, so she's not necessarily "required" to be fully vaccinated. It just seems like an odd terminology to use on the invoice.

What’s funny is if you do this exact same thing, but actually choose an Ocean Balcony, it’s way more expensive for the family of four vs two ($2582 vs $1398)

Maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't find the Kids Sail Free promo to actually be any good. My sailing next month on Allure is $2,000 more now under the KSF promotion than it was when we booked back in October. I just did a mock sailing for July, and for two adults the cabin price was $1,726, for two adults plus two kids, it's $3,114. Really, they just sail "free" in the sense that three adults in a room are more expensive than two adults and a child in a room, but it's not like mom and dad had a cruise planned by themselves and then get to bring two kids on for free. Like any other RCI promotion, it's basically just some sneaky calculus I'd say the more likely reason for the increase in kids sailing is because school is out now and more families go on vacation during the summer than the school year. I agree that RCI should limit capacity until they have the situation under better control, but families are definitely paying to take their kids on cruises even under KSF

I mean, there are people here that will spend more than a balcony cabin for a cabana at CocoCay for a day. Hell, for my sailing, the Coco Beach Club (Cabana + Day Pass) literally costs more than my cruise fare. But guess what? It's sold out for my cruise. The overwater cabana and day pass costs more than my cruise + DBP combined. Completely sold out.

I literally only got mine about two months ago to take advantage of the $100 OBC that I got with signup. I put our final payment and then the DBP on it which got me very close to another 5k points. I used it the last month for a few more purchases to get me to the 5k, so basically I got $150 “free” for our upcoming cruise. So in the end, I got Voom for me and my wife at no additional cost I actually prefer using my Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa for most everyday expenses—we fly exclusively southwest and I haven’t paid for flights in over 5 years. But I agree that on the whole—it’s not a great travel card unless you cruise a LOT

US gratuity is added at checkout. The price displayed on the cruise planner front page does not include the 18%

On the bright side, won’t have to hear the words “we’re low on toilet paper” for a while lol

Honestly this is a good point and I didn’t think of it, and I’m a RC cardholder lol. My statement just closed and I was like $60 away from a redeemable OBC through the credit card so I went to the store and bought a bunch of toilet paper and paper towels, shoulda just bought OBC lol

Right? Since basically everything goes on the Seapass anyway, I don’t really get it from a convenience or economic standpoint. I’d also like to have the peace of mind to dispute charges directly to my credit card company should the need arise. After you buy the OBC you basically have no real recourse if there’s any issues.

We plan to go to Palancar

When I was growing up we always went to Myrtle but my family I have now—we’re just beach bums than don’t really need all the hustle and bustle of Myrtle. Ocean Isle is perfect—obviously similar to Myrtle in climate and everything, but great, quiet beach. Much less crowded. Everything you need is a five minute drive over the bridge and don’t have to spend your evening waiting in traffic or lines. We usually do one night “out” and go to Wilmington instead. I always say Ocean Isle is for “reformed” Myrtle Beach goers haha

We love Ocean Isle Beach—been going there for a while now. Any of those Brunswick Co beaches are great (Ocean Isle, Sunset, Holden, etc)—though I think Southport is Brunswick too

100%. I’m a craft beer drinker and a 16 oz can of beer costs me $12.50 at a hockey game. Many beers I like can run me upwards of $1/oz and that’s retail pricing. I don’t even blink at paying $22 for a four pack of beer anymore. On vacation, the only way to drink cheap is to literally go to a condo or something and buy your own beer from the grocery store. That’s typically what we do every year. But about every five years we “splurge” and go on a cruise, so perhaps my view is a little different in that I already view the cruise as a bit of a “luxury” vacation from what we typically do. I mean, our other vacations we clean our own place, make our own food, and, well, basically don’t get waited on hand and foot. And god, compared to a place like Disney World, a cruise is a freaking bargain. I would estimate even with the DBP, I’m paying about 60% of what I paid to go to Disney for a week 5 years ago. Is a Royal cruise more expensive than renting a condo for a week in NC? Absolutely. But it still tends to be a pretty good bargain considering what you get for the money. I would estimate for what we paid in fare, which includes our food for the week since we don’t specialty dine, I’m about even for what a week in NC costs us since we 1) stop halfway and spend the night, 2) drive there and gas is expensive. My flights to Florida were free because I used airline points. The DBP is certainly an aspect that pushes it to be more expensive than the condo but all in all, I’m paying $850 more for a vacation where 1) I do no dishes 2) prepare no meals 3) don’t drive 9 hours and 4) have someone pick up after me. And that’s before adding that the Caribbean tends to be a much nice place than North Carolina lol

Thanks for your review! I’m on Allure next month, so it was nice to see such a positive recent review.

Linen pants are the bomb. I have a pair of linen pants that are awesome. In fact I should buy another pair before my cruise next month

I’m on vacation in the Caribbean, I’ll wear nice shorts to dinner, but I’m wearing shorts lol I do make an effort to wear a collared shirt

I don’t really understand the consternation about the price. We all have a number that we’re fine with spending on drinks during a cruise. At the most basic level, if the DBP is above that number, don’t buy it, if it’s below, buy it. It seems like the primary issue is that people are peeved that the cost of the package means they can’t get “more than their money’s worth” as they previously did. If that’s the case—then that pretty much answers why RC raised the prices. They aren’t pricing this to lose money. Just be a smart consumer—determine what you believe is what you will drink over the course of your cruise, price it out, add in what you believe the “convenience” is worth of having the package and then buy it—or don’t. I bought it at the price where I knew I wasn’t going to be fleeced at the price, because I know our drinking habits. As long as we’re roughly in the ballpark, I’m fine with that because I price the “convenience” pretty high.

Duplicate.

It’s pre-gratuity, correct.