jaullram

Congratulations! I have always wanted to book a Star class and with the "free" cruise through casino royale the price isn't terrible but my only issue is, I have NO idea what I would use the Genie for!! As it is, we never even bother our concierge in our sky class suites so I haven't been willing to pull the trigger. Would love to hear how it goes and how you liked the room!

UPDATE - No kids. It will be 2 couples going. I appreciate everyone's thoughts - we are having such a hard time committing to one!!

We are seasoned Royal cruisers but have 3 options and are having trouble deciding on our summer/fall 2019 cruise! We have been to all of these ports before and each of our options are i a 2 bedroom balcony suite. We do NOT need to fly to any of these ports. All are within 3 - 5 hours drive. Option 1 - Serenade of the Seas, August 2019 - 7 night Bermuda. It is 3 full days in Bermuda and we love that island! We have never been on that ship. Option 2 - Adventure of the Seas, September or October 2019 - 8 night Bermuda, Nassau and Cococay. It is 1 day in each port. We have never been on that ship. Option 3 - Grandeur of the Seas, September 2019 - 9 night Bermuda, Nassau and Cococay. It is 1 1/2 days in Bermuda and 1 day in other ports. We have been on this ship and love her. As far as the suite goes, we LOVED Grandeur 2 bedroom aft suite and it looks by far, the nicest of the 3. The Serenade looks like the smallest balcony and room overall (which we use a lot). Would love others opinions of our options. As far as price, Serenade is the most expensive, followed by Grandeur and then Adventure. HELP!!!

WAAAYTOOO....too bad we are already going in March and can't swing February too. We are worried about snow in CT and have a house sitter so don't like to cruise until mid-March. Crazy deal though!!

Yes, that is what I was referring to. I know from experience it adds a bit. I am surprised it is still less expensive...it usually nets out when I compare the two lines. I haven't been on that particular NCL ship so I can't comment specifically but look at the deck plans as I find there are very few (small) pools on NCL which was a big downside for us. I look forward to hearing what you choose!

I just did a mock booking and a balcony is even cheaper with my Emerald discount than the Oceanview or Interior cabin!!!

Also beware on NCL that "Free at Sea" still will add several hundreds of dollars to your cruise fare if you choose drink package and specialty dining. It may still come out even because you have to get the drink package on Royal but I just wanted to point it out.

I will be interested to see what they do. Both Anthem and Adventure sell out in the summer so I can't imagine a small ship is an option. Maybe 2 medium sized ones? I wouldn't mind a Freedom Class ship for a bit before (hopefully) the new Quantum ship comes to NJ!

I forgot to mention, that price includes trip insurance too! I also just called for our March Anthem cruise to see how much it is to do a balcony for us and it was only $700 or $1100 gor a junior suite (total). I am not complaining about one free cruise a year. I know a lot of the other perks are gone but I haven't been sailing Royal long enough (only steadily since last year - we used to hop around to different cruise lines) to really know what I had been missing. I did miss being able to combine casino vouchers with casino rates but so far, these prices seem even better than what I was getting before. I hope they don't go and do something stupid by increasing the Prime qualifying points in the future!

It is the 1 bedroom - A3 (Deck 11). We wanted the 2 bedroom to bring some friends with us but they have been sold out for ages!

I know, right! I couldn't believe it! I was fine with my old casino discount paying $3,600 for ATS but am even happier with the final price - more money for gambling!!

Good news! Someone worked on my issue and they repriced my Aquatheater suite for $2,088 total for 2 of us!! Yippee! Finally something went right calling the casino number!

We love Anthem. Definitely different than other classes but so beautiful! Do Northstar while in a port as the views are amazing!

He was awesome and made a point to meet as many people as he could. He also wrote an amazing book about his entire experience.

Joe - I was just on Grandeur and the CD is Big Bob (Leininger)

I had heard from others that all of the letters have been sent out notifying guests of their casino program tier. I never receive emails from casino but am Prime according to the casino hosts on our last cruise so I figured I would call to book my "free" cruise. According to the representatives I spoke with, the system wasn't showing me as eligible for a free cruise even though as Prime I get one. They are trying to sort it out for me before Monday since that is my final payment date!! I did find out some interesting information that many folks may already know but that I didn't. My husband and I are each Prime so we can either combine our two "free" cruises to get an upgraded cabin or we can get 2 free separate cruises. The 2 free separate cruises cannot be on the same ship (in hopes you can get a free room for a friend). Pricing wise, it was a better deal to do two separate cruises. If Royal can get their system straightened out before Monday, we will save $1,300 off of our Aquatheater suite (total cost = $2,100) on Allure and another $1,000 off of our junior suite on Anthem (total cost = $1,000). So, if you are Prime and can cruise at least twice a year, it seems like putting one free cruise certificate on each vacation is the way to go. If you are notified that you are Prime or higher, the free cruise must be booked and taken by March 31, 2019. After that date, the new eligibility period starts.

Just got an email from Frances! So excited to order regular dining room menu for room service! We have a 2 bedroom suite and looking forward to dinner on the balcony. He also said that breakfast is in Chops for suite guests!

Thank you for the great review! We are leaving in 12 days and have a suite for the first time in a couple of years. Love to hear that Frances is a good concierge. How was the concierge lounge - did they have snacks all day and apps around dinner time?

I have looked into it further and apparently Carnival Pride pays extra to have their casino open and Royal does not out of Baltimore. Weird that we were comped a Junior Suite on Grandeur if we can't gamble 2 out of the 5 nights plus only after 9 pm when we are in Bermuda. Oh well...live and learn not to cruise on Grandeur for gambling!

I am hoping for some information. I heard that Grandeur's casino doesn't open on the first night when leaving Baltimore and closes the last day at 4. I have been on a cruise out of Baltimore on another line and their casino was open. Is this true? If so, my husband is NOT going to be happy. Any information would be appreciated!

Emailed Casino 1 1/2 weeks ago and still nothing from them except they are looking into my complaint.

Thanks everyone!

I can't wait - we have never been on Allure so looking forward to it!

Was on vacation so I missed your reply WAAAYTOOO. Thank you for the information - it seems it is harder to find out information on the older ships because people aren't posting on facebook or here about certain suites or rooms. Very excited to sail on a smaller ship for the first time. Just got off Anthem and next we do Grandeur followed by Allure in September!

That is what I originally thought but then reading the "lawyer language" in the link posted above I got confused! I believe you are correct though! I would be interested in hearing whether they give you a good discount or not! I saw you said you were on Allure recently - how is the casino on that ship?