Solarium for suite guests only?

[John&LaLa]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Looks like JS has access as well.

 

BTW, how come Ovation is using gold and silver cards

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[Clarea]

Looks like JS has access as well.

 

BTW, how come Ovation is using gold and silver cards

 

Sounds like they did not implement the new Royal Suite Class on Ovation.

[Biker19]

The Solarium is

available to Diamond members and up, and suites. This is only for the

Asian sailings . Again, this in only temporary in the Asian market.

So every time she re-positions to Australia they rip off the signs in the pic above and change the rules?

[Tatka]

Majestic Princess is created for Asian market, but it removed Sanctuary (paid zone) and made whole solarium including former Sanctuary on earlier ships available for everybody for free.

Why is Royal doing completely opposite?

[Jenjer]

Majestic Princess is created for Asian market, but it removed Sanctuary (paid zone) and made whole solarium including former Sanctuary on earlier ships available for everybody for free.

Why is Royal doing completely opposite?

 

 

Because of NCL Haven area on the Joy.

[funtimex2]

I think that the Solarium should be open to anyone who pays as an adult passenger..... Just my opinion.

[Sascol]

The Solarium is a GIANT area. No way they would reserve an area that can fit 10x the number of all possible suite guests that would be using it at any one time for suite guests only. RUMOR.

[duriankia]

Hopefully "sailings out of Asia" means "sailings from the China" as what previous similar policies have seemed to be.

[leaveitallbehind]

Majestic Princess is created for Asian market, but it removed Sanctuary (paid zone) and made whole solarium including former Sanctuary on earlier ships available for everybody for free.

Why is Royal doing completely opposite?

 

Because of NCL Haven area on the Joy.

 

I truly miss the days when RCI did their own thing - which IMO is how they grew and made them the leader in the industry. Not any more.....

[CAT GIRL]

The Solarium is a GIANT area. No way they would reserve an area that can fit 10x the number of all possible suite guests that would be using it at any one time for suite guests only. RUMOR.

 

Again, this is only for the Ovation during the Asian sailings. I live chatted with one of the concierges

yesterday, the HD posted it on his Facebook page, and the photo a few posts back is of Federico the

Guest Service Manager on the Ovation by the entrance to the Solarium. So it is not a rumor.

 

The concierge told me not only suite guests but also for Diamond members and up. The concierges know who are supposed to be in there and they have to go through and ask people to see their card. If it's blue they are not allowed in there. When we boarded we were first given a white card (we are Pinnacle) and then the concierge switched it to a gold card. She said the crew wouldn't know what a white card was.

These sailings are mainly charters anyway so not many non Asian people do these sailings. There were only 8 non Asian people on my sailing, everyone else was part of the charters.

We were treated like rock stars on that trip.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Again, this is only for the Ovation during the Asian sailings. I live chatted with one of the concierges

yesterday, the HD posted it on his Facebook page, and the photo a few posts back is of Federico the

Guest Service Manager on the Ovation by the entrance to the Solarium. So it is not a rumor.

 

The concierge told me not only suite guests but also for Diamond members and up. The concierges know who are supposed to be in there and they have to go through and ask people to see their card. If it's blue they are not allowed in there. When we boarded we were first given a white card (we are Pinnacle) and then the concierge switched it to a gold card. She said the crew wouldn't know what a white card was.

These sailings are mainly charters anyway so not many non Asian people do these sailings. There were only 8 non Asian people on my sailing, everyone else was part of the charters.

We were treated like rock stars on that trip.

 

Anita - We're on Ovation next year RT Singapore and Singapore - Tianjin. Curious how it will be on those cruises.

[Spurschick]

I take it no Star class then? Would be interested to see if D, D+ and pinnacle also get access. If no blue cards allowed they'd have to inspect every card

Edited July 19, 2017 by Spurschick

[CAT GIRL]

Anita - We're on Ovation next year RT Singapore and Singapore - Tianjin. Curious how it will be on those cruises.

 

That is such a great itinerary. We did one similar to that on our first Asian cruise. There were more international

guests on that itinerary. Quite a few people from Scotland actually. I can't speak to the Solarium for that sailing

but generally speaking you won't have any issues getting a pool chair at all. We would be out in peak sun and no

one was laying out. It was the weirdest thing I ever saw. That was on the Mariner. They had changed all the shopping

to high end jewelry and liquor. Casino going strong all day long... very serious players, no joking around, they were

there for business.

After the Ovation cruise, we took the train from Beijing to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors and then flew back to Beijing. We did The Forbidden City and the Great Wall before the cruise. It was an action packed week so the cruise was a nice break in between our site seeing.

We got the 10 year Visa and I'm glad we did because we are already talking about going back just to be on the

Ovation with their great staff and concierge team.

[CAT GIRL]

I take it no Star class then? Would be interested to see if D, D+ and pinnacle also get access. If no blue cards allowed they'd have to inspect every card

 

Yes, D, D+ and Pinnacle are allowed in there. Believe me, they know who the Crown and Anchor members

are because they don't get any of them over there. Most of the cruisers are first time cruisers on a charter.

They organize all the tours for them and they move in groups. There were no English speaking excursions

offered on my sailing because they didn't have the minimum number of English speaking people.

If you are on one of these Immersion cruises the Hotel Director and/or the Guest Service Manager will probably

seek you out. In my case, the GSM met us at the top of the stairs before we even boarded the ship to welcome us. The crew will do a double take as you walk by because you will stand out from the other passengers.

They are happy to speak English as they are trying to do their job as best they can with a majority of passengers speaking only Mandarin.

The crew is your normal crew that you would see in the Caribbean.... they don't have a Chinese crew on

board. I asked the waiter how they take orders, etc and he said the passengers just point at the pictures on the menu and they figure it out that way. They make it work. It's all very interesting and part of what made it a neat experience

for us.

[CAT GIRL]

I take it no Star class then? Would be interested to see if D, D+ and pinnacle also get access. If no blue cards allowed they'd have to inspect every card

 

The upper suites are being booked up by the people heading up the charters. It's usually the same

people week after week. They aren't doing the purple cards.... just gold. The charters are big business for Royal.

[Biker19]

The crew is your normal crew that you would see in the Caribbean.... they don't have a Chinese crew on board. I asked the waiter how they take orders, etc and he said the passengers just point at the pictures on the menu and they figure it out that way. They make it work.

So, then, how do they beg for good survey scores?

[suzyluvs2cruise]

That is such a great itinerary. We did one similar to that on our first Asian cruise. There were more international

guests on that itinerary. Quite a few people from Scotland actually. I can't speak to the Solarium for that sailing

but generally speaking you won't have any issues getting a pool chair at all. We would be out in peak sun and no

one was laying out. It was the weirdest thing I ever saw. That was on the Mariner. They had changed all the shopping

to high end jewelry and liquor. Casino going strong all day long... very serious players, no joking around, they were

there for business.

After the Ovation cruise, we took the train from Beijing to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors and then flew back to Beijing. We did The Forbidden City and the Great Wall before the cruise. It was an action packed week so the cruise was a nice break in between our site seeing.

We got the 10 year Visa and I'm glad we did because we are already talking about going back just to be on the

Ovation with their great staff and concierge team.

 

Come join us next year. It's all new to us except for Hong Kong. We were there in 1969 on an R&R trip so I know it will be quite different. We have a fairly active Roll Call for the 4/14 sailing. Post cruise we're heading to Beijing for 4 days. Looking forward to a new, exciting adventure.

[wolfegizmo]

Anita - We're on Ovation next year RT Singapore and Singapore - Tianjin. Curious how it will be on those cruises.

 

 

 

We were on the reverse - Tianjin to Singapore.

It was a fabulous cruise. There were only about 10 Asian passengers.

Most were Australian and British. English was the only language spoken!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Cruiselover800]

unfortunately this is becoming true on some Royal Caribbean ships. RC has started to announce this on their own website.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-activities/solarium

Hopefully they will change their mind. To reserve this area of the ship for a fraction of the vacationers is not good.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Interesting!:confused:

[JBC11]

I think this is a great idea

John

[IzznOll17]

What next?

 

Dedicated life boats?

 

I have never got this status chasing and looking down at fellow cruisers!

I'll be glad when they remove the various lounges - and yes I'm fully entitled to enter them - in my experience some of the best passengers you can meet are the first timers who walk around ships in awe. We've all been there, and it's a truly magical time in our cruising history!

 

Bon Voyage

[vacationlover_mn]

:(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Havingfun2010]

PANIC PANIC PANIC!!!!! Access to the Solarium only available to those that pay $3,900.00 for a balcony cabin. What??????? That's not a suite, it's a everyday balcony. Got your attention?????

 

Asian cruises are completely different than the rest of the world. Asia has a class system. Rich people, are Bosses, and Leaders. Everyone else is common people. When a rich person buys something, they want to be pampered. If they are not pampered, than they won't buy. China is a country with "cheap" living costs that are controlled by the government in many ways. Still a free market, but with controls. Dinner out might only cost $15.00. A drink is maybe $2-$3. So Rich people need to spend money. What better way than to go on a cruise, and have a private, gold area, and be pampered, with private pool, lounge, food, sun deck and even a private store. What, seriously?

 

99.9% of the people reading this, will never, and I mean never to China. But if you did go to China, you will find, as previously posted, a different kind of cruise. If you want to pay $3,900 for a balcony, than you too can rub shoulders with the upper class of China. If not, than you get one of the other two pools, but wait, China sailings are usually cold outside. So use the other pool, if you desire or pay the price for Gold.

 

The gold section on the ship, (Spectrum of the Seas) is just not a swimming pool. It's a whole section. The section includes Gold Rooms with a premium price. Balcony, JS, GS and above. Sorry, no inside cabins. This is to market to those with money. It makes sense to do this. So if you are that 0.01% of passengers from the USA that takes this cruise, the change to the Solarium, is just one of many changes on the ship you will find. Oh my gosh, did I say that they serve Chinese Food, and actually making two upcharge restaurants Asian themed? 95% of passengers are Chinese and RCCL wants to cater the them? Strange, isn't it?

 

Stop the panic. The rumors exist, in China only.

 

By the way, the best cruise I ever had was on Quantum, and my next one is on Spectrum on the final leg going to Shanghai. Can't wait. I'm Diamond, and I know I will be treated like a King on the ship, because I'm part of the 5% none Chinese, and the 0.01% from the USA.

 

So to change the subject, WHAT!!!!! no Diamond lounge!!!!!!

[Cruiselover800]

no panic here, but in calling RC they varified that the solarium on these two ships are dedicated to junior suites and diamond member. They even put it on their website and says nothing about Asian cruises only. When I get on this ship, and im already booked, I will let you know. :cool::cool::cool:Enjoy your King treatment.