twangster

The non smoking section on Freedom

 
 

The non smoking section on Freedom

 
 

The smoke free section of the Icon casino worked well. 
The new smoke free casino areas on Oasis class work well. 
Rumors are some earlier classes may get smoke free casino areas in upcoming dry docks.  Larger ships like Freedom class have the real estate for this.   It’s not clear if smaller ships will ever go this way.  

You really should try Celebrity.  At least once. 
Then once rid of freeloaders, SilverSea.  At least once.  

7,231 on board this week.  It was offered at Top Tier it’s the highest number of kids to date.  
Doesn’t feel crowded.  

For Icon specifically it was at the top of the stage right lower theater seating section.  I was seated center theater in the second section when I took this.

@Matt is live on YT from Utopia right now!
 

Royal will always put profit first.  The new to cruise market is hot right now and as any business should, they are maximizing profit.
The great thing about cruise ships is that they can be deployed to satisfy current market demands.  If the new to cruise market drops off in a few years then cruise lines can adapt to whatever market is hot at that time.  They can move ships to a different region or put them on different cruise lengths if that will maximize profit in that moment.
Make no mistake, Royal is a business with shareholders and they have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize their investors returns.  It would be foolish for them to put a ship into a market that will make less money just so some return customers are happier.  

@Matt is live on YT from Utopia right now!
 

My Icon hand pay was cash out vouchers.  
I received multiple in different amounts that added up to my payout.  I went to the cashier to cash them out.  
The decimal amount was handed to me in coins.  
They were very clear my original cash amount in the machine was not included.   “You still have cash in the machine”.  
Once they reset the machine I hit the cash out button to get yet another voucher that I included for the cashier.  

The trick is finding a machine that is paying out, or not losing as much as other machines.  🤣
Sometimes you put in a $20 and you can go for an hour.  Sometimes you put in $20 and you go five spins.  
Earning points on the play through money beats earning the same points by feeding more bills in.  If I feel the money falling away quickly I move to another machine.  In theory they operate with similar statistics but if I'm not feeling it I waste no time trying another machine. 
When I decided to go for Prime I got lucky on that first cruise.  I put $300 in and pretty quickly hit a $900 win.  Logic said to take the money and run but I wanted Prime so I played that $1,200 plus a few hundred more all the way to a 1,200 level instant reward and halfway to Prime.
I chose to finish my Prime run on another cruise so I could get a second instant reward free cruise. 
Higher bets have the potential to yield higher wins but your money goes much quicker.  If you time it right and get lucky a higher bet for a few spins can really pay off but it can also eat your money very quickly so always be aware of the rate that your money is going down.
Last night on one machine when ever I increased my bet I wasn't hitting.  I went with minimum bets on a machine with feature free games and while it took hours of play time, I made 500 points with just over $200 invested.  It kept hitting the feature free games and while the payout wasn't massive on the small bets, over hours it amounted to a lot of play through money.  It was a lot of fun on a great run over 4 hours but I only seemed to hit with a small bet.  

My Icon hand pay was cash out vouchers.  
I received multiple in different amounts that added up to my payout.  I went to the cashier to cash them out.  
The decimal amount was handed to me in coins.  
They were very clear my original cash amount in the machine was not included.   “You still have cash in the machine”.  
Once they reset the machine I hit the cash out button to get yet another voucher that I included for the cashier.  

In conclusion, this tour was “mid” as I said before. For those who don’t speak Gen Z, it was just ok. If you have never gone to this area, this tour is packed with a lot, and you get your money’s worth. I chose it because the freeloaders have never been here. For myself, I would rather have spent my time just in Nice if I was not here with the kids. 
Some pics that Hubby took along the way:
 

From here, we headed to the Monte Carlo casino. On the way there, our guide informed everyone that they (the tour guides) have no clue why Royal tells everyone there is a dress code at this casino, because there is not. This part of the tour is where I have my second complaint. They dropped us off at the Casino and left us here for an hour. If you don’t gamble (it costs 19€ pp if you want to go in and gamble), you are basically in the lobby for an hour. Most of the group did not wander into the gambling area. There were many families with kids under 18. They could have made this part of the tour 15mins. The lobby is not that big, and you definitely don’t need an hour here. They could have started the tour later, gone to Nice when things were open, and cut the time at the Casino.
 

By the time we got to Monaco, it was past noon. They showed us the cathedral and you had the option to go in later during free time. Then the group walked to the palace to see the changing of the guard at 12:55pm. It was uncomfortable and hot by this point. After this we got free time until 1:45pm. We grabbed lunch (pizza) and wandered to take some pics. 
 

After Nice, we hopped back on the bus to Eze. The village was still charming, and the kids loved it here, but it got really hot and uncomfortable here. And I don’t remember this place being as crowded and chaotic back in 2005 as it was today. They gave us about an hour here to wander as well. 
 

The casino on the ships based in New Zealand and Australia are also smoke free.

Bing was always an excellent Suite Lounge concierge going back many years.  I'm happy to see her progress into the Genie program.
We discussed being a Genie in May on Jewel when she announced her transition.
While I selfishly wish she was on Utopia for my star class booking this fall, I'm glad she has found a place in the Genie universe that she likes.
The wonderful thing about Royal Caribbean crew as a guest speaking, is you meet so many wonderful people over the years.  Some crew stand out more than others for one reason or another.  This includes Bing.  From what I have observed, Bing is well placed in her Genie role.  

The suite concierge can... well you don't need me to explain these things.
Sorry breakfast was late.  
After a recent port intensive early arrival European cruise myself I get it.  Breakfast is a challenge.  Add some teenagers to the equation and lookout.  

Early Voyager class launched with Portofino on deck 11 . 
There was a two story nightclub on deck 3 and 4 which later became more cabins on deck 3 and differing specialty restaurants on deck 4.  In the case of AD that's where they added Chops.  
For some Jade was the new deck 11 venue on later ships in class.
For a while Chops was limited to Radiance class plus Mariner and Navigator.
The transition away from Portofino to Chops was gradual as ships updated over the years.  No amplification program back then, each ship received updates more on the whims of the day.
 

Barcelona has been like this for many years.  I seem to recall a beverage store in the Malaga terminal as well although I can't recall if there was just wine there.

The trick is finding a machine that is paying out, or not losing as much as other machines.  🤣
Sometimes you put in a $20 and you can go for an hour.  Sometimes you put in $20 and you go five spins.  
Earning points on the play through money beats earning the same points by feeding more bills in.  If I feel the money falling away quickly I move to another machine.  In theory they operate with similar statistics but if I'm not feeling it I waste no time trying another machine. 
When I decided to go for Prime I got lucky on that first cruise.  I put $300 in and pretty quickly hit a $900 win.  Logic said to take the money and run but I wanted Prime so I played that $1,200 plus a few hundred more all the way to a 1,200 level instant reward and halfway to Prime.
I chose to finish my Prime run on another cruise so I could get a second instant reward free cruise. 
Higher bets have the potential to yield higher wins but your money goes much quicker.  If you time it right and get lucky a higher bet for a few spins can really pay off but it can also eat your money very quickly so always be aware of the rate that your money is going down.
Last night on one machine when ever I increased my bet I wasn't hitting.  I went with minimum bets on a machine with feature free games and while it took hours of play time, I made 500 points with just over $200 invested.  It kept hitting the feature free games and while the payout wasn't massive on the small bets, over hours it amounted to a lot of play through money.  It was a lot of fun on a great run over 4 hours but I only seemed to hit with a small bet.  

She has some media cruises and the naming ceremony before she enters service.

Royal will always put profit first.  The new to cruise market is hot right now and as any business should, they are maximizing profit.
The great thing about cruise ships is that they can be deployed to satisfy current market demands.  If the new to cruise market drops off in a few years then cruise lines can adapt to whatever market is hot at that time.  They can move ships to a different region or put them on different cruise lengths if that will maximize profit in that moment.
Make no mistake, Royal is a business with shareholders and they have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize their investors returns.  It would be foolish for them to put a ship into a market that will make less money just so some return customers are happier.  

The trick is finding a machine that is paying out, or not losing as much as other machines.  🤣
Sometimes you put in a $20 and you can go for an hour.  Sometimes you put in $20 and you go five spins.  
Earning points on the play through money beats earning the same points by feeding more bills in.  If I feel the money falling away quickly I move to another machine.  In theory they operate with similar statistics but if I'm not feeling it I waste no time trying another machine. 
When I decided to go for Prime I got lucky on that first cruise.  I put $300 in and pretty quickly hit a $900 win.  Logic said to take the money and run but I wanted Prime so I played that $1,200 plus a few hundred more all the way to a 1,200 level instant reward and halfway to Prime.
I chose to finish my Prime run on another cruise so I could get a second instant reward free cruise. 
Higher bets have the potential to yield higher wins but your money goes much quicker.  If you time it right and get lucky a higher bet for a few spins can really pay off but it can also eat your money very quickly so always be aware of the rate that your money is going down.
Last night on one machine when ever I increased my bet I wasn't hitting.  I went with minimum bets on a machine with feature free games and while it took hours of play time, I made 500 points with just over $200 invested.  It kept hitting the feature free games and while the payout wasn't massive on the small bets, over hours it amounted to a lot of play through money.  It was a lot of fun on a great run over 4 hours but I only seemed to hit with a small bet.