danv3

Four ships in port today could be part of the issue. Explorer seems to have arrived at 6:37 this morning.

I would be very surprised if the dress code is anything other than suggested. Unless you're wearing a bathing suit or forgot your shoes, you will not be turned away at the door.

We have been cruising for approximately 7 years, always on Royal Caribbean, always in at least a Jr. Suite. Before that we vacationed mostly at Disney world. I have recently been craving a change of pace so I have been researching another trip to Disney world (old time sake). I have been perusing the Dis forums and what do I find? Whining, complaining, crying and wringing of hands.......just like this forum. It is very entertaining to read that people staying at value resorts or inside cabins find the vacation experience "not luxurious enough". If you want rock bottom prices, expect a rock bottom vacation experience.

As someone who spends a lot of time on Disney message boards, I can say that the negative tone of many of those boards is similar to what you see here. Disney is heavily focused on first time guests with little regard to repeat visitors. Their primary strategies are raising prices and removing the "little things" that used to set Disney apart. It doesn't seem to me that RCL has gotten quite so short-term profit focused as Disney yet, but some of their changes (Dynamic Dining) remind me a lot of Disney's MyMagic+ nonsense.

I've always had trouble believing the "no cartridges outside the US" theory. RCI isn't exactly sailing out of third world countries. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to get the supplies in major European and Asian ports.

I wonder whether the machines don't actually drive the revenue they were expected to provide. For me, I'm only getting a drink package if coke freestyle machines are available, but perhaps I'm in the minority.

Count me as another vote for a Radiance+ class after the ships currently on order are built.

"Worth it" is definitely in the eye of the beholder, but as for me the presence or lack of Coke Freestyle machines makes a big difference in whether I get the soda package. I have to think they increase sales enough to justify expanding their presence across the fleet.

We are pleased to inform you that Dynamic Dining will not be added to the Oasis of the Seas prior to your cruise vacation. At this time, Royal Caribbean International has not released any plans to add Dynamic Dining to the Oasis class ships.

So basically no one at RCI has any idea what's going on right now? LOL. Epic marketing fail.

The chilled soups are the best part of the MDR menus. I'd hate to see them go away.

This is surprising to me for many reasons:

I'm surprised they'd expand DD to a pre-Quantum ship without at least some experience as to how DD performs on Quantum.

I'm surprised they think the renovations to the MDR can be done in just two weeks.

I'm surprised they'd install DD but not start it for five months. That doesn't make any sense.

Thanks everybody for the comments. I think we're going to roll the dice. We'll be prepared with some motion sickness meds and hope for the best!

We'll be in Cozumel for the first time in April, and I'd really like to visit the ruins at Tulum. I'm not concerned about the amount of time spent traveling (that's worth it in my opinion) but I a worried about the rough trip on the ferry. If it's as bad as I've heard, I'm worried that a bad experience on the ferry could really ruin the whole day. I'm not particularly prone to motion sickness, but my wife is.

So tell me the truth...how bad is it???

Is a behind the scenes tour available on all Royal Caribbean cruises/ships? It's something I've always been interested in doing.

Prices on two cruises I'm monitoring dropped 20% today (off of their post BOGOHO peak). :D

And price is back up on one of them. :mad:

Prices on two cruises I'm monitoring dropped 20% today (off of their post BOGOHO peak). :D

Wasn't he just on Radiance?

Yeah...I was on the last cruise of his Radiance rotation (ended 7/11) and he was anticipating a 10-week break, so him moving to Independence must have been an unexpected development.

Amy Fickert had Zumba classes on Radiance a couple of weeks ago.

My wife went to a scrapbooking session on our recent cruise and was the only guest. The crew member hosting it have her two kits for free!

RCI prices for the cruises I'm looking at are outliers compared to other lines. RCI is approaching a Disney-like premium at the moment. I have to think another sale is coming.

Always wear boat shoes or should I call them "ship" shoes.

This is what I usually wear on casual nights in the MDR. I personally would never wear sandals or crocs to dinner (actually, I would never own crocs).

Today (July 11) was Captain Goran's last day of this rotation on Radiance. His colleague was taking over as of today's northbound cruise.

If they sue, they're probably looking for a settlement, which they probably get. There are a lot of nuciance law suits filed hoping the company sued will pay off rather than going through the cost and time of a trial.

This. She doesn't need to win in court. In fact they'll probably never even be in a courtroom. She'll file, there will be some discovery, and then there will be a privately mediated settlement.