Pinnacle travelling pattern (popular dates/itineraries) + Coastal Kitchen Q

[John&LaLa]

11 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Price is what fills those and people who are retired or who can take long periods of time for a cruise with a lack luster itinerary.  They don't need loyal C&A members to take them, C&A member take then because they are generally cheap and don't mind lots of sea days.  Most new cruisers are all about the most ports per cruise.  

 

Word of mouth does a lot to sell those trips.  The ones I've been have had a higher than average number of C&A members.  

 

[twangster]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Word of mouth does a lot to sell those trips.  The ones I've been have had a higher than average number of C&A members.  

 

 

Like moths to a flame...  pretty much describes me too, so no judgement.  Cheap, a bunch of C&A points and free nightly booze.  Sign me up!

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Like moths to a flame...  pretty much describes me too, so no judgement.  Cheap, a bunch of C&A points and free nightly booze.  Sign me up!

 

You should have been on the Mariner repo.  Epic.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Royal would probably be better off financially repositioning ships without passengers.

They are doing that lately - a number of ships either just before or after a drydock had a non-revenue re-positioning.

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

They are doing that lately - a number of ships either just before or after a drydock had a non-revenue re-positioning.

 

I was told they do that because dry dock space is very expensive per day and with ~2 weeks at sea it's cheaper to work on certain aspects of the interior refresh on the voyage across.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

I was told they do that because dry dock space is very expensive per day and with ~2 weeks at sea it's cheaper to work on certain aspects of the interior refresh on the voyage across.

Probably not as much pressure when they use the one in Freeport as RCCL owns 1/2 that one.

[Artful]

10 hours ago, cruisinghawg said:

Ah I see now, thanks for clearing that point up. By the way I have always known that pinnacles had this perk but is it not written down so that all suite folks would know this?

I am sailing next week on Allure in an OS for the first time, and I definitely was not aware that the SL and CK were not exclusive to suite guests as advertised.  I am hoping there are no problems.

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Probably not as much pressure when they use the one in Freeport as RCCL owns 1/2 that one.

 

For sure.  For Oasis class the ship yards know they have Royal in the bag.  Not many ship yards can dry dock them.

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, Artful said:

I am sailing next week on Allure in an OS for the first time, and I definitely was not aware that the SL and CK were not exclusive to suite guests as advertised.  I am hoping there are no problems.

 

Have you been contacted by email yet?  When they do reply and request CK reservations for the week.  Lesson learned the hard way.

[Andy C]

19 minutes ago, Artful said:

I am sailing next week on Allure in an OS for the first time, and I definitely was not aware that the SL and CK were not exclusive to suite guests as advertised.  I am hoping there are no problems.

 

I am glad you are learning from our experiences - that is my goal.  To let as many people as possible know about this issue so they can make informed decisions and take appropriate steps.  

 

The bottom line despite all the noise is this - the suite experience on Royal is not exclusive and is being diluted by the large amount of pinnacles. 

[Big_G]

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 We didn't tip prior to getting in the door. 🤔

 

We tipped at the end of the first week.

 

We found a letter inviting us to CK to make reservations in our cabin when we boarded 

 

Nobody on CC will ever accuse you of not having stamina. Good job standing your ground.

[Artful]

30 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Have you been contacted by email yet?  When they do reply and request CK reservations for the week.  Lesson learned the hard way.

 

I have not been contacted yet, but I will learn from your lesson.  I have all my preferred times written and ready to send in an email.  Thanks for the warning.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Artful

[Kokomo91165]

Folks. Not to worry.  On OA class, the average Caribbean sailing can have 20-30 PC members max.  Yes, there are weeks where there may be more or less - usually that is dictated by price.  CK is never overwhelmed and neither is the SL.

 

Enjoy your cruise. And my best advice - just enjoy your cruises.  Don’t book JS cabins 100x just to make Pinnacle.  Treat yourself to a grand suite and enjoy the same benefits as pinnacle.  We made pinnacle by exclusively cruising in suites... and still do to this day.  Quality over quantity. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by Kokomo91165

[cindivan]

This is a very interesting thread. We book suites probably a little less than half of the time we cruise.   Mainly based on if those with whom we are traveling are also in suites so we can take advantage of suite benefits with our friends. 

 

We we will be empty nesters next year and one of the trips we were considering was a TA with our “extra time.”   We will be d+ after our December cruise, but will probably never make pinnacle. Just too many other interesting options that RC doesn’t do, but I digress.  

 

Bottom line,  this thread makes gives me a lot of insight into not booking a suite on a RC TA.   Right or wrong pinnacles get suite benefits, doesn’t really matter and I have no impact.  But appreciate all the information and will certainly impact our cruise line of choice for our first TA. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by cindivan

[alexkrn46]

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Pretty sure Royal knows the answer to that better than any of us.

I agree that is why they were issuing FCC without asking during the Presidents Cruise, they know for that cruise they left their best paying customers down and why I am booking a cheap room on the anniversary cruise.

[alfaeric]

Funny that the Pinnacles are the only ones getting a bad wrap at CK. There are plenty of brats that really ruin evenings for us, and none of their parents do a darned thing. (Nor are they wearing pinnacle pins). 

 

We are not P yet, but look forward to it, in spite of the gloom and doom here.  Lol. 

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Funny that the Pinnacles are the only ones getting a bad wrap at CK. There are plenty of brats that really ruin evenings for us, and none of their parents do a darned thing. (Nor are they wearing pinnacle pins). 

 

We are not P yet, but look forward to it, in spite of the gloom and doom here.  Lol. 

 

No question.  Guy next to me in CK used a tablet to play barney videos to keep his toddler entertained while he ate breakfast.  Tablet was full volume.  However he paid for a suite so it's up to the crew to correct him, not me (I'm not a Pinnacle yet).

 

I thought Pinnacle would like my idea of converting DL into a PL on non-CK skips so they could enjoy a lounge absent of poorly behaving suite guests.  

[John&LaLa]

35 minutes ago, Big_G said:

 

Nobody on CC will ever accuse you of not having stamina. Good job standing your ground.

 

It killed my battery. 😱

 

I was watching the Missouri Arkansas game. 🏈

 

Pleased with outcome.  

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

They are doing that lately - a number of ships either just before or after a drydock had a non-revenue re-positioning.

 

But that's just once every 5 years. 😉

[John&LaLa]

35 minutes ago, Kokomo91165 said:

Folks. Not to worry.  On OA class, the average Caribbean sailing can have 20-30 PC members max.  Yes, there are weeks where there may be more or less - usually that is dictated by price.  CK is never overwhelmed and neither is the SL.

 

Enjoy your cruise. And my best advice - just enjoy your cruises.  Don’t book JS cabins 100x just to make Pinnacle.  Treat yourself to a grand suite and enjoy the same benefits as pinnacle.  We made pinnacle by exclusively cruising in suites... and still do to this day.  Quality over quantity. 

 

We had between 40 - 60 Sept - Dec 2017.

 

Summer has way less, but I think you'll find a lot more suite passengers so it could be just as crowded if not more.

 

We sailed in Late June this year. Unbelievable amount of children.

[John&LaLa]

36 minutes ago, cindivan said:

This is a very interesting thread. We book suites probably a little less than half of the time we cruise.   Mainly based on if those with whom we are traveling are also in suites so we can take advantage of suite benefits with our friends. 

 

We we will be empty nesters next year and one of the trips we were considering was a TA with our “extra time.”   We will be d+ after our December cruise, but will probably never make pinnacle. Just too many other interesting options that RC doesn’t do, but I digress.  

 

Bottom line,  this thread makes gives me a lot of insight into not booking a suite on a RC TA.   Right or wrong pinnacles get suite benefits, doesn’t really matter and I have no impact.  But appreciate all the information and will certainly impact our cruise line of choice for our first TA. 

 

Never done a TA on an Oasis or Quantum ship.  You probably wont feel as short changed on the smaller ships.  D+ are treated quite well.  No CK to fight over, large overflow lounges, plenty of room for Chops breakfast.

 

Dont believe all the horror stories from a handful of bitter people.  #fakenews

Edited November 24, 2018 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

26 minutes ago, alexkrn46 said:

I agree that is why they were issuing FCC without asking during the Presidents Cruise, they know for that cruise they left their best paying customers down and why I am booking a cheap room on the anniversary cruise.

 

From what I've gathered there are a lot of suite guests who got nothing.  That whole rumor just faded away with no real confirmation.  

 

Did you get one?

[alexkrn46]

9 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

From what I've gathered there are a lot of suite guests who got nothing.  That whole rumor just faded away with no real confirmation.  

 

Did you get one?

Yes, never complained just avoided the CK and suite lounge after  the pinnacle take over  we sail in suites and enjoy the amenities but not worth the hassle. last sea day we were handed a fcc.We are working so vacation time is precious to us.

 

 

[John&LaLa]

22 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

No question.  Guy next to me in CK used a tablet to play barney videos to keep his toddler entertained while he ate breakfast.  Tablet was full volume.  However he paid for a suite so it's up to the crew to correct him, not me (I'm not a Pinnacle yet).

 

I thought Pinnacle would like my idea of converting DL into a PL on non-CK skips so they could enjoy a lounge absent of poorly behaving suite guests.  

 

I'm fine with that.  I'm also fine with three drinks in another location.   The thing I would miss is lunch in CK and the espresso machine

[John&LaLa]

7 minutes ago, alexkrn46 said:

Yes, never complained just avoided the CK and suite lounge after  the pinnacle take over  we sail in suites and enjoy the amenities but not worth the hassle. last sea day we were handed a fcc.We are working so vacation time is precious to us.

 

 

 

Star Class?  Those I spoke with were Sky.

 

Dazzles was available to you, it's quite nice

Edited November 24, 2018 by John&LaLa