HeWhoWaits

The only benefit to the Ben & Jerry's in my eyes was that they usually had Coffee, Coffee, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz which has all but disappeared from retail. One visit per cruise was it for me, and if no CCBBB, no purchase.

Doesn't seem to be any issue to me. GTY OV is still GTY OV.

And while you lose some of th advantages you perceive from connecting rooms, in most cases you will be able to have the balcony divider opened up providing access between the rooms in that way.

True. A real YMMV activity. My wife could play the slots for the 3-4 hours a night you mention but will never accumulate enough casino points to get anything free (not even drinks) because she plays the penny slots at the minimum bet each time. It's entertaining to her. As for me, ten to fifteen minutes at a slot machine is enough (win or lose) and it's time to move on to something I find interesting. I'm in the the "slots are boring" camp.

Reuben the Reindeer!

We'll be on Celebrity Reflection in February with a stop in Bimini. I'll try to remember to post my thoughts.

So it's okay to say "we may or may not have this available" or "sorry, you weren't quick enough to get the ONLY one." Got it. It may not be LEGALLY bait and switch (as defined by Cornell), but it's still deceptive advertising. I also disagree with the characterization of GGG as a "loss leader." A loss leader is a product or service sold at a price below cost to drive sales of more profitable goods or services. There is no "limited quantity" involved.

The owner of Jesse's assured me that it's NOT Rudolph.

Often enough to know that if I want the casino experience, I'll go to Vegas or Reno. Better odds AND much more variety. Nowhere near long enough to spend the amount of money required to get a cruise comp - there ARE other things to do onboard, after all.

Or D - thirty cruises at reasonable expense (that's an average of $3500 per cruise)

That 85% "average" payback includes the megajackpot payouts. The average payback for typical play onboard is closer to 60%.

Having ONE of something at the price that is advertised is classic bait and switch. It's a long-standing retail practice - "we don't have any more of the $299 televisions advertised, but here are a bunch of $499 and $699 and even more expensive sets you might enjoy." Advertise something to get us into the store/website (bait), then sell us something else (switch).

It's neither salmon nor crab, but in Sitka try to find Jesse's Uptown Dogs cart. They have reindeer dogs and sausages.

The fact that you "only" lost $2500 to get those comps means you were much more successful in the casino than the average for the amount you had to bet to get the comps.

This speaks volumes about the casino comps for cruises. If you bet enough money in the casinos to get comped cruises, you're likely paying much more overall for your trips than those of us who play very little in the casino (and even more vs. those who skip it altogether).

My response was to this statement: If the price NEVER shows up, the advertising is classic bait and switch. Nobody beat me to the price that never really existed.

There are fewer cabins that meet the third person capability, so they don't have the flexibility to use those as GTY cabins.

But you're saving almost $46K!

AKA Bait and Switch

Let the "I have to sail on the newest ships" and "the ship is the destination" crowds have them. I'll go on multiple trips in bigger staterooms on older ships for the same money (or less).

When we've sailed from San Juan, it's been typical for all announcements to be done in English followed by the Spanish translation. It's fun to listen to both and compare what's said - you'd be surprised how many trivial details nobody cares about but they're required to say are left out of the second version.

Part of the issue is that it's so close to sailing date. Not much inventory left. Look at the same itinerary for 2025 and it won't be nearly as high. Won't be $1800, but it certainly won't be $6900 either.

Royal Caribbean cannot protect individuals from themselves.

In the drinks options available on Celebrity, there is a "World Wine Tour" that says it is for the full sailing. However, when I go to reserve this it pulls up an option to select an "amount per guest." Does that mean that EACH tasting session is priced at the amount listed as "full sailing" or is it an opportunity to make a single reservation and bring others along (and pay per person)?

That bottle might land in the front seat of Michael Bayley's car, so that scenario has a better chance of eliciting a response.