Jill

I absolutely took advantage of double points promo. 2 cruises were cancelled during Covid and we moved them to other dates. Booked 2 more and ended up going from baby Diamond (83 points) to Diamond Plus (187 points) with 4 cruises. Now that we’re here, no more point chasing. We don’t sail enough to make pinnacle in this lifetime 

I haven’t been off the ship in Nassau since 2011. Actually have only been back once since then in 2019. I choose itineraries without Nassau. That being said, I will be back come October on Allure when she debuts  her 3/4 nighters. I don’t plan on getting off in Nassau. If the new beach club was ready I’d try for that but I don’t it will be. 

11 hours ago, Bakerette said:

@FionaMG, deleting the last digit in my C&A number & saving it & then retyping the last digit didn’t work so then I deleted my my entire C&A number & then retyped the entire number & saved it did work. I no longer see that error.

This worked for me. Also was fixed when I went into the app

Personally I’d choose April but I’m a Floridian so I get cold easily. We’ve cruised a few times in March and I remember being cold on the pool deck and ocean water chilly. 

Likely due to the cold front that came through Florida Thursday and Friday. It’s been very windy and cold in Florida this weekend 

They aren’t as good as they used to be. We don’t even go anymore. 
 

The best ones were on the helipad as you left a port. 

Well I reported last night mine was showing in the app but not online. Today neither is showing. I’m D+

Icon is her own class. The Icon Class

The farther out you book, the better the price. More availability = lower prices

It’s fun to have multiple booked. Nothing more depressing than showing 0 cruises upcoming.
 

I would think if any oasis class goes to China it would be Wonder. That’s what she was built for. Also why I’ve got my second cruise on Wonder booked. Catch her while you can! 

The fewer number of suites also is a minus for US sailings. We obviously like our suites. 

2 hours ago, Midwest Cruiser said:

Yeah that is what I was thinking too. I know Matt has mentioned it right when it was announced but was thinking there would be spy picks floating out there per usual and i haven't seen any.

I love the Big ships for all of the Features. after these next two we have booked we will be going to Mariner, Indy, or Freedom and doing the suite route to get up to Diamond cheaper with the Suites on those. Suite on those with 2X points is the same as a balcony on Oasis or Quantum class. We will hit diamond on our 3rd cruise.

There are “spy” pics out there. There’s a Utopia Facebook group. 

So funny story: we just did a 12 night Holy Land on Odyssey. We cruised with my husband’s step brother and wife. 
 

Wife had been complaining she was gaining too much weight drinking lower % wines so EVERY night her husband would ask the waiter to bring the highest % alcohol wine they had. Only took 3 glasses for her most nights. 
 

We also got very lucky that our favorite pool deck server was also our server at dinner. We drank very well on that cruise. 

Well I certainly could see bringing back the “Midnight Buffet” as a specialty dining option. Pay for the buffet and that way they can better gauge how much food to prepare. It could be done for no additional charge but advanced reservations would be required. 
 

We participated in a few back in the day. I remember the ice carving demos on the pool deck of Song of America and Monarch

It’s showing mine in the app but not on the website 

5 hours ago, letscruise said:

Sounds like you and a few other posters have been on multiple cruises previously and have "been there done that", so deciding not to eat at a specialty restaurant or do an excursion doesn't really have quite the impact as it would to a newer cruiser who decides to not do anything beyond what's already paid for (I would say they would be really be missing out!).  I'm not being discouraging and I think its a great idea to be able to divert that money into a future cruise or other expenses, I'm only saying it's easier to cut the cord when you've already experienced something or done it enough times to decide you won't miss it.  I don't think those who take a cruise as their annual vacation are all that interested in stripping out the extras like excursions, specialty dining, and a drink package.  Like others, I'd enjoy hearing how your next, trimmed back cruise goes--my bet is you will have an awesome time!  

What I'm currently debating cutting out on our Wonder cruise is the casita I was able to book, but it's on a port day and I would only get use out of it in the morning hours.  Not sure what to do, because in the spirit of this thread, it's an extra $200 that I've spent that I could easily get back, but since I've never rented one before, it would be a new experience that I'm sure I would like.  Decisions, decisions!  

If you’re renting it for shade, there should be plenty of chairs available on the upper pool deck near where the big Royal crown and anchor are. We sat there many days as it’s partially shaded. 

Do I book this onboard only or will it calculate it correctly through the planner? I’m assuming onboard only. If that’s the case, do they jack the price up? Why does my gut feel this isn’t really a deal?
 

We stayed in this cabin on Mariner and loved the balcony. The cabin itself was smaller as it was on the end but for a little 3 nighter to Nassau, CocoCay, it was fine. 

We did feel quite a bit shimmying/vibration when docking

Thanks to this post I’m now looking at the October date to book. Waiting for our group to chime in that we’re all a go! I’ll let you know what my planner generates 

No email but I should be 33. 

The free version only goes up and down. The paid version goes over the side of the ship. Both were available to book on the app back in October 

4 hours ago, KevinJ said:

I've been dithering about getting an annual policy. I've always purchased insurance as a book the cruise. This year it got away from me as I've already purchased reinsurance for each of my 5 2023 cruises ant my two 2024 cruises. So at this point I may look at starting an annual policy in 2024. One of my issues is that I tend to "think" about doing something for quite awhile before actually doing it, some times years!

 

You can cancel those insurance policies you bought through the cruise if you haven’t made final payment. 

We use Allianz. Last year we had 5 major trips and Allianz covered anything more than 100 miles from home. We could customize what we wanted. We increased cancellation coverage since 3 of the trips were bucket list. For a little over $1k we had annual coverage. Royal wanted $1200 for one Alaska cruise. It was a no brainer

I’d rather they just load my drinks to my sea pass right off the bat. When they’re gone, they’re gone. 
 

The only downside I see is if you’ve used all your vouchers on the last night, you won’t get new ones at 12:01am. This is another cost saving measure for Royal in my opinion. 
 

We actually really enjoyed sitting in the rocking chairs with floor to ceiling windows in Mason Jar Bar.