KasinoCrazy

So far I only have 2 booked lol
Odyssey Nov 5th 2020 
Oasis Feb 14th 2021

So far I only have 2 booked lol
Odyssey Nov 5th 2020 
Oasis Feb 14th 2021

@SpeedNoodles this was our conversation last night:
Me:  So...You know Royal is coming out with a brand new ship called Odyssey.  We haven't sailed it yet.
Hubby:  Ok, did you already do something?
Me: Well, it's a 4 night and a ton of people are going.  I may have put something on hold.
Hubby:  Do I really have options here?
Me:  Not really.  Love you. ?

“I Dream of Genie” – Star Class - Harmony of the Seas – 03/10/19-03/17/19

Dreams…that is how many things begin; that is how this adventure began.  But with every dream that comes true, there is always a journey. 
Here is our journey, almost 3 years in the making.  Note: Pulling a @JLMoran here, it’s long winded lol.
Back in May 2016, I read with keen interest, a blog post by @Matt that Royal was rolling out a new suite class program.  The concept of Star Class intrigued me, but at the time, I knew that it was beyond our reach.  However, dreams have no limits, and one can look but not touch.  You all know that I am a shopaholic right? ?

As the program rolled out, I read reviews, followed blogs, looked on in wonder and envy as I watched the Genies do their thing on Allure in 2016 and later on Harmony in 2017.  This was pretty much me on those sailings...

In February 2017, I came across a blog by @WAAAYTOOO.  I believe it was her first time in Star Class and she had Reyno as her Genie.  After that, I knew, without a doubt that this was something that I needed to try.  The big question was how?
The answer is that I really don’t know how I would have this opportunity without the help of some dear friends along the way, right here in the message boards.  Somewhere between February 2017 and January 2018, I read a post by @tiny260 that really was the first glimmer of hope that Star Class could be a reality for us.  @tiny260 basically posted that he had recently booked a good deal in Star Class by scouring the calendar week by week.  There were only two problems with that idea:  I did not have much time to go through each sailing, week by week and ship by ship, and there are only several times in the year that I can sail due to work.  So, I set aside Tiny’s idea but made a point to remember his tip.
In January 2018, call it God’s will, or good things come to those who wait, or fate, @WAAAYTOOO started a thread in the “Rumours and News” section here about a special STAR savings discount of $1000.  I was also off work last year which meant I had all day to look.  So, taking @tiny260's tip I went about an all-day effort to find something that would fit our schedule.  Trouble was that my schedule was only flexible until September 2018 and I already had bookings for 2018 that I did not want to cancel.
This is the point in the journey where sometimes intercession occurs, and you cannot logically explain what follows.  During my search that day, I stumbled upon a sailing on Harmony (which I expected to be the highest price second to Symphony) for March 10, 2019.  This worked out perfectly since this would be our March break, I would be off work, and Harmony is my favourite ship.  For reasons that I cannot explain, this was also one of the lower priced sailings for a Star class cabin (compared to OA/AL/SY).  How did I know that?  Because up until this point, I had been tracking the prices on Star Class cabins and reading posts on the price that others were paying.  Another example of how it pays to do your research.  This low price, combined with the additional $1000 STAR discount, made it a no-brainer.  I put a hold on it even before I had a chance to run it by Hubby.
There are many that I have heard say, “Why would someone want to spend so much on a cabin?” or, “I would take more cruises over such an expensive one any day.”  Here are my thoughts on that.  We have taken enough cruises to know what we like.  We are cabin and balcony people.  We do spend time in our cabin, so to us, a nice cabin is important and worth it.  My work schedule limits us to certain times of the year that we can cruise.  Instead of taking our money and spreading it over a bunch of cruises (which we can’t do any way), we are putting it all into one.  It all works out the same.
Our original booking was for a Guarantee Star Class cabin.  The code on the booking was A2-GTY.  This was new to me and I did not even know such a category existed.  I ran it by @WAAAYTOOO and a few others and figured that we had nothing to lose as the bare minimum would be an A2 on Deck 10.  Hubby got home that evening and, after some persuasion and promises to curb the Lulu shopping, he suggested that if we were going to splurge on Star Class then we might as well go big and go to Deck 17, the “gated community” as some call it, and really live out that “WOW factor”.  Ever since our inaugural sailing on Oasis, Deck 17 was always a wish of ours.  I warned him that Star Class on Deck 17 could be quite a jump in price.  Still curious, we called late that evening and inquired about what it would cost to upgrade.  It was $100 extra (total).  Done.  No brainer.  Again, an anomaly that I cannot explain.
Since our original booking in January, I have re-priced our sold-out cabin 3 times for a total savings of almost $3000 less than what we originally booked for.  The cost was many hours of tracking, but it paid off.  We already had a great deal to begin with and it just got sweeter along the way.
As we get ready for this grand adventure into Star Class, I must take the time to thank @WAAAYTOOO, @Mindybrite, @tiny260, @CGTLH, and @constable145.  Your insight, advice, and blogs have been more valuable than you know.  Words cannot express my appreciation.  Finally, @Matt, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, thank you for creating this amazing community of people (enablers) who helped in making this a true possibility. 
I often say to my own girls, and my students, that we should never be afraid or give up in the pursuit of our dreams.  Dreams can come true, this being the perfect example. 
So, without further delay, come take this journey with us, I would want it no other way.

Thanks so much for the link to this thread (through facebook).  

@2BeezeYes. You can still get a price reduction. I have done this first hand.
Here are some examples:
A) We booked a star Loft on Harmony and there are only 2 per ship. We grabbed the last one. This was back in January 2018. I have since priced it down 3 times for a total of almost $3K less than what I originally paid.
B) Anthem GC we booked a JS. There are many in this category but JS sold out a long time ago. I have also priced this one down about $500 since it disappeared.
C) most recently, we booked the Villa suite on Harmony. There is only one. I recently just got another $200 off of it. Not much but still something.
How does this happen? I track prices on all the categories in the class that I book. For example, for the Star loft, I was tracking all the prices for JS and above. If there was a drop in one of those categories, I would call and assume there was a drop in mine even though mine was gone. There was every time. 
So the answer to your question is yes, you can re-price even if the category is gone.  It is not hopeless.  As long as it is all prior to final payment. But you have to make the effort to track it.

So funny you mentioned that!  That’s the ones my daughters picked!  I was wondering if anyone had done the race ?. Thank you!

For those of you that are cruising this month, Congrats and Smooth Sailing!
January 2019
4- KLA (Mariner of the Seas)
5 - FlowBro Ty (Majesty of the Seas)
5- Broons77 (Rhapsody of the Seas)
5- TCinME (Rhapsody of the Seas)
5- BeatArmy2010 (Jewel of the Seas)
6 - yaya luvs to cruz (Anthem of the Seas)
6- MaryCS62 (Anthem of the Seas)
6 - Deedeelynn (Anthem of the Seas)
9- BeatArmy2010 (Jewel of the Seas)
11 - SouthernYankee  (Mariner of the Seas)
12 - Ashlynne12 (Brilliance of the Seas)
12 - krwillia (Granduer of the Seas)
12- L454S (Vision of the Sea)
13 - tiny260 (Allure of the Seas)
13- Jolly Ogre (Allure of the Seas)
13 - jrmende63 (Jewel of the Seas)
13- Oliver (Liberty of the Seas)
13 - Casino Crazy (Oasis of the Seas)
14 - SouthernYankee (Mariner of the Seas)
18 - mworkman (Anthem of the Seas)
18 - kpersons09 (Anthem of the Seas)
19 - SouthernYankee (Symphony of the Seas)
19 - davelliott (Vision of the Seas)
20- lauraodonnell86 (Freedome of the Seas)
20- Irieman (Freedome of the Seas)
24 - JohnUK (Grandeur of the Seas)
25 - RBRSKI (Independence of the Seas)
26 - SouthernYankee (Symphony of the Seas)
26- Gabe (Symphony of the Seas)
26 - fbcmusicman (Rhapsody of the Seas)
26- Joy (Rhapsody of the Seas)
26- Tammylee63 (Rhapsody of the Seas)
27 - SPS (Freedom of the Seas)
27- BTE (Allure of the Seas)
31 - Rede411 (Briliance of the Seas)
31- KathyC (Brilliance of the Seas) RCPeriscopers Group Cruise! 40+
 

Just received our offer today for Jan 13, 2019 Oasis cruise.  We currently are in the deck 8 ATS.  The bids start at $400pp for Star Loft, $700pp for Panoramic, and $1200pp for the Royal Loft.  While the Royal Loft is VERY tempting, I'm sure the $1200pp ($2400 total) bid will not take it, as it can go up to $4700pp.  My husband says "lets stick to the ATS for our 1st cruise", I say "YOLO, BOOK IT".  (we are not asking the daughters at ages 14 & 24 for their opinion lol) Bank account says "?"

THANK YOU!!!  After thinking longer....you nailed our thoughts exactly!!!  Especially seeing the first booking of this cruise started out in a JS and within a week we were into the deck 8 ATS ? AND, as a family we have recently lost 175 lbs total and don't mind the walking....at...all!!!!  ?   We are cruise ready!!

THANK YOU!!!  After thinking longer....you nailed our thoughts exactly!!!  Especially seeing the first booking of this cruise started out in a JS and within a week we were into the deck 8 ATS ? AND, as a family we have recently lost 175 lbs total and don't mind the walking....at...all!!!!  ?   We are cruise ready!!

THANK YOU!!!  After thinking longer....you nailed our thoughts exactly!!!  Especially seeing the first booking of this cruise started out in a JS and within a week we were into the deck 8 ATS ? AND, as a family we have recently lost 175 lbs total and don't mind the walking....at...all!!!!  ?   We are cruise ready!!

THANK YOU!!!  After thinking longer....you nailed our thoughts exactly!!!  Especially seeing the first booking of this cruise started out in a JS and within a week we were into the deck 8 ATS ? AND, as a family we have recently lost 175 lbs total and don't mind the walking....at...all!!!!  ?   We are cruise ready!!

THANK YOU!!!  After thinking longer....you nailed our thoughts exactly!!!  Especially seeing the first booking of this cruise started out in a JS and within a week we were into the deck 8 ATS ? AND, as a family we have recently lost 175 lbs total and don't mind the walking....at...all!!!!  ?   We are cruise ready!!

Since this is your first Star Class experience, I recommend you stick with the ATS on Deck 8.  It's an experience everyone should have at least once.  The 2-level suites are very nice but there's something very special about the A1 suites.  If you were on deck 9 or 10 I would say maybe...those rooms are significantly smaller than the ones on 8 but you have the biggest one of all.
Since they are all Star Class, you wouldn't gain anything by upgrading except being on deck 17 (which definitely has it's advantages !) and the novelty of having 2 levels.  Personally, I don't see ANY reason to spend more money at this point.  The only downside to being in the ATS is the walking distance.  It is a LONG way back there but it's worth the walk for the experience.  Be sure and get breakfast delivered to your suite and eat out on the balcony.  It's incredible out there !
Once you've done the ATS once you can consider the loft suites.  They are extremely convenient but I think you will regret not doing the ATS if you give it up now.

Just received our offer today for Jan 13, 2019 Oasis cruise.  We currently are in the deck 8 ATS.  The bids start at $400pp for Star Loft, $700pp for Panoramic, and $1200pp for the Royal Loft.  While the Royal Loft is VERY tempting, I'm sure the $1200pp ($2400 total) bid will not take it, as it can go up to $4700pp.  My husband says "lets stick to the ATS for our 1st cruise", I say "YOLO, BOOK IT".  (we are not asking the daughters at ages 14 & 24 for their opinion lol) Bank account says "?"

Just received our offer today for Jan 13, 2019 Oasis cruise.  We currently are in the deck 8 ATS.  The bids start at $400pp for Star Loft, $700pp for Panoramic, and $1200pp for the Royal Loft.  While the Royal Loft is VERY tempting, I'm sure the $1200pp ($2400 total) bid will not take it, as it can go up to $4700pp.  My husband says "lets stick to the ATS for our 1st cruise", I say "YOLO, BOOK IT".  (we are not asking the daughters at ages 14 & 24 for their opinion lol) Bank account says "?"

Timeline on Oasis for 12/02/18
Questionnaire: 10/08
Genie email: 11/09
**Feels like we hit the lottery with Israel!

Ships shops and casino close in virtually all ports because a ship is subject to local laws while within the territorial waters of any given country. 
Some countries ban gambling while others require a gaming license, or the local casinos don't want the competition so it becomes unattractive for a ship to operate it's casino while in port.  In some ports there are exceptions in the evenings when land casinos have closed for the day and only then may a ship operate it's casino while in port.
To avoid having to pay local taxes and be subject to other retail laws the shops on board the ship will typically be closed while in port.  Shops will typically have open hours when the ship is in international water only.  
Entertainment isn't 'closed' in port, but in many cases entertainment is scheduled by the ship for when all guests would be on board.  Entertainment isn't typically subject to local laws in port, it just doesn't make sense to offer entertainment when guests won't be on board to enjoy it.  
Activities such as water slides, zip lines, flowriders, etc. will be open at certain times again reflecting that operating these activities when few guests are on board doesn't make sense so they tend to be open at specific times closer to when some guests are beginning to return to the ship such as mid-afternoon.
Cruise compasses from past guests will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of when the shops and casino may be open or closed.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=1071
 
 

Just like the drink package, the value of the photo package is what you make of it.

Start planning your next cruise

I do all sorts of searches on Amazon.  I'm always looking for new ways to search "cruise accessories" LOL  

We have a 9, and 11 year old.  Girls.  This past December was the first time we let them go around on their own on a ship.  And it was baby steps...like allowing them to head to the buffet and we meet them there, going back to the stateroom while we finish dinner etc.  I was hesitant but they wanted to try.  I have a good friend who has a 10 and 13 year old and they have been cruising for years and she has let her girls go around for at least 3 years now.  Her theory was how far can they go on a ship?
I am a big believer that you have to supervise your kids but also read their comfort level.  And then if you do let them go, go over safety rules with them first as you would in any public setting.  Hope that helps.  And welcome to the boards.

Well, I certainly dropped the ball on this one, didn't I ?  I guess cruise issues overwhelmed me and I never got around to finishing up this blog.  Oh well....I said in the beginning, "no promises".
I believe that the only meal options that we skipped were the Chef's Table and Izumi Hibachi.  Even if it was just for a snack, I think we hit everything else this trip.  Our best steak on board was, without a doubt, the filet on night 4 at Coastal Kitchen.  I had steak at Chops, Giovanni's, Samba and CK and the one in CK beat them all by a mile.  I went to Izumi (sushi side) twice but I'm sure Dan was there at least 4 times.  That's his favorite place to eat on the ship without a doubt.  Overall, I think the best overall meal we had was at Giovanni's.  Dan had ossobuco and I had the filet.  While the CK filet was better, the overall meal and service was probably best at Giovanni's.  The Chops and 150 CP were also wonderful meals.  The only truly disappointing meal we had was at Samba Grill.  I think we were just expecting too much.  All of the flair that made that restaurant somewhat special has long vanished. They no longer decorate the place and they do not have the carnivale show anymore.  The food was just - meh. 
For those of you who may not know, when you are in a specialty restaurant you can order individual menu items from any of the other specialty restaurants, if you want to do that.  For instance, when we were at 150 CP we both asked for the mushroom soup from Chops and for dessert we asked if we could please have a slide of Red Velvet Cake (just for you, Sweety !!!!) to share (there was no way we could both eat a dessert....we were STUFFED !). We also ordered the mushroom soup when we ate in the CK.  Obviously, you don't want to inconvenience your wait staff to an extreme but for an appetizer or dessert, it is easy to do.
We had breakfast delivered to our suite nearly every morning.  I think twice, during the week, we went on over to the CK so that we could change up our menu a bit but I will say, having breakfast in the suite is THE way to go for us.  Like Sabrina, we are lazy cruisers and we like to sleep in...so having food brought to you is ideal.  You don't have to worry about being up, dressed, ready to go out.  You just have to be able to answer the door !  We got WAAAY more use out of our balcony on this cruise than we had with any of our previous Star Class cruises.  By evening it is often so hot outside that you don't even WANT to eat out there but breakfast was really perfect.  The only evening meal we had delivered to our suite was on the last night, when they served lamb shank, which is Dan's very favorite MDR meal.  The sun was so bright out on the balcony that we ate inside for that one but it was perfect, because Charlie, our Genie, did such an incredible job of setting everything up for us.  He was such a gem.  I adored him.
Neither Dan nor I got off the ship the entire cruise.  We were on a western to LAB/FAL/COZ and we have been on that itinerary so many times we just don't even bother anymore.  If the ship had gone to Costa Maya we WOULD have gotten off.  We love that port, but alas, it did not.
We had only 2 minor issues - and trust me - these are truly first world problems.  The first one is a repeat of EVERY OTHER Star Class cruise we have been on.  I don't know WHY they cannot get this one together for the SC program.  AGAIN, our luggage was delayed in getting to our suite.  Dan tipped our porter $20 thinking that this would ENSURE that we got our luggage quickly.  Nope.  He was right with us as we left the SC staging area and went to check in and where he went from there....only God knows.  He only had our luggage on his cart so I can see no reason why he would have been diverted from going DIRECTLY to our suite, but...it was at least 2 hours before our luggage showed up and THEN, the luggage was just left outside the door !  I was somewhat furious about this.  You see the pictures of the Genie carrying your luggage up the stairs.  Not for us !  I think the stateroom attendants (we had 2 on this trip...first time to have 2) were a little embarrassed.  They helped us bring it inside but Dan had to schlep those heavy mother scratchers up the stairs and he was none to happy about that, either !  The second issue is a bit more esoteric.  For reasons that we never fully understood, these $0.00 charges kept appearing on our seapass account from Adaggio dining room.  I think this is one of the MDRs but was never sure.  ...and when I say chargeS, I mean, like 87 in 1 day ! Charlie explained that these were the probably for the drinks that were coming to our suite for the "mini bar".  I suspect that this is partially the explanation.  As I said, we had 87 of them on day 3 and another 40+ on day 5.  I think I consumed 3 Coke Zeros and Dan had maybe 5 Coronas from that area the entire week.  We probably used a couple of bottles of water.  They just kept bringing drinks and bringing drinks even though we never ordered them and were NOT consuming them.  Either they were putting all of the drinks for all of the suites on our bill or they were WAAAY padding the account.  My personal opinion is that there is some kind of scam going on and the "free" Star Class suites are the patsies. I think they are trying to justify the costs for SC guests by showing that they are consuming soooo much in the minibars.  I don't know the reason.  Dan didn't really care what the explanation was.  He insisted that every one of them be removed from our account.  They were all removed on day 3 and then more appeared on day 5.  I'm sure that Charlie went to speak to SOMEone, somewhere b/c Dan said that if another such entry appeared on our account he was going to have someone come and remove every drink from our suite.  Whatever Charlie did, it worked.  No more charges appeared. By the end of the cruise, I'll bet there were over 100 bottles of varying descriptions laid out in that area of the suite.  Juices, sodas, beers, water, flavored water.  You name it.  It became a joke after a few days.  They just kept bringing them and bringing them. Oh well.  Like I said, first world problem.  Let's just say we did not lack for anything to drink on this cruise !
All of the regular "genie services" were pretty much the same as we have experienced before.  We had seats reserved for Blue Planet, Aqua Theater Show, the Ice Skating Show and the Comedy Club.  We skipped Mama Mia ! because we have seen it multiple times before and I think it's the stupidest plot of all time. The music is ok but the storyline is so lame that I cannot get past that. Jim went with us to all of the shows and Charlie faithfully saved his seat right along with ours.  Charlie came to our suite on disembarkation and walked us all the way to the Suites Customs Line where we said goodbye.  I think Charlie was the best genie we have had to date.  I loved Reyno and Sebastian but Charlie was by far the most personable and thoughtful.
I have all of the Daily Compasses from the cruise and will scan them and post them.  I just haven't gotten around to doing that yet.  I did not take any more photographs.  I hate carrying anything around with me - even my phone.  So once I leave the suite, that's it.