miles4us2go

I have fun with the "Drink of the Day" to try new things sometimes, and I have wine with dinner, most nights. I had a pineapple-chipotle martini as the 'drink of the day' once and it was a favorite! I bought the pineapple-chipotle syrup when I got home so I could make it for a party. I don't get the alcohol drink package (I just don't drink enough to justify the cost), but I'm going to try the refreshment package on my next cruise. I like gourmet coffees and I'd go for some fruity 'virgin' drinks and maybe a soda with a burger or pizza.

I've been looking at hotels to stay at for a few days prior to cruising next year. I liked the look of the Catalina Hotel and Beach club https://catalinahotel.com/ , but I haven't stayed there. More of a funky, boutique hotel. There is a "Members Rate" when you book on their website, as opposed to through a booking site.

I just got a text from TA, "It's done" So, I guess she was successful. What path would you recommend to get a new TA? I remember following Jason Poole on Periscopers, and saw so much positive feed back about him, but I did a search and didn't find a link for him. Maybe is isn't doing it anymore.

Gotcha.

Yes. I knew that, but ya gotta start somewhere.

So TA says that RCCL still says that to get the reduction, it has to change to a NRD. From TA: "RCCL still saying it has to be changed to non refundable. Still working on it." I can book it online as a refundable deposit booking for the reduced price... so why the push-back from RCCL?

Yay! Thanks... I contacted my TA. She said RCCL told her that the reduced price was for NRD, so I sent her the screenshots showing her that the reduced price was not for NRD. She is calling back now. Why is it that you (or your TA) can get differing answers from different RCCL reps??? The reduced price on the itemized list says it's a CAS offer. I asked my TA what that means and she said it means it's a cash offer. I should hear back from her today. Thanks for your answers. ( @FionaMG too. )

HI, So, I have a cruise booked and I see that it's offered for a lower price this weekend. I have already purchased the drink/internet for the cruise, because it was 30% off this weekend. If I rebook the cruise to get the lower price, does that mean that my drink and internet will have to be refunded and rebooked? I don't want to lose the sale price for the drink/internet. Thanks.

What concerns me about bidding on "Royal Up" is that it's not just the bid. If you are offered and accept, don't your gratuities and taxes also increase? So you're paying your bid, plus increased taxes and gratuities.

Packing cubes! Yes! Love them. Another tip I have is colors... pack a color scheme, so that you can mix and match into several outfits. I use a website https://coolors.co/ (if that link doesn't work, it's coolors dot co) It works best on a computer, not cell or tablet, although the creator has been working on apps for phones, so maybe that works now. Anyway, if you have a favorite piece, say a patterned scarf, you can either play with the color generator or take a pick of the scarf and select colors from it. You'll end up with a palette. Bring items from that palette to coordinate. It makes for easy clothing choices. Here is a favorite palette of mine from the site: Happy traveling... and packing. ~Debbie

viator.com has been go to use. When I've booked with them, they offered cancellation within 24 hours before. I was in Hawaii last month and had to cancel one excursion and did so without a problem. In 2019 I had to cancel one and it went through, as well. On one of my other Hawaii excursions, I had to change the names of who would be on the excursion and, again, all was handled well, through both Viator and the 3rd party. Enjoy your trip!

My TA rebooked today with the refundable deposit. It's just smart while navigating these waters with the virus restrictions and changes. Here's what she said: "Sorry about that. I had to argue and explain I specifically asked the refundable question and was told no. I took it to the Resolution Department, the booking had to be canceled and rebooked in order for them to change to a Refundable deposit. The good news is, it's done, same cabin."

I did... you're right! There's a great option for Jan 2022... Although I probably have a friend who would travel with me. I told her about it today. ? We'll see...

My first cruise was out of SoCal. I just haven't found another one that I'm interested in. I don't feel SoCal cruises have much choice on ports... and I really like Mexico (been there probably 10 times). I like cruising out of Galveston. I fly Southwest Airlines (I'm always amassing points on my Southwest credit card - I have one daughter in CA and another in OR). Galveston is easy to get to from LV and I like the town/island. This cruise all started because my friend just moved to Florida, and I've never been to FL, so I wanted to visit her and see some of Florida... so, I thought since I will be a couple of hours drive out of Miami when I visit her, it made it an easy opportunity to: 1) Return to cruising, 2) Experience the Eastern Caribbean, and 3) A short sailing, so I could try doing a solo-cruise... then, after mentioning it to my friend, she said, "I'll go with you!!!" So, no solo this time, but I would consider it. I don't know how much I'm status chasing. I'd like to get to Platinum because I can with this trip. We'll see beyond that. Probably not much 'status chasing' until I'm retired!

You're so sweet to do all of that calculating for me. ? Can't wait to get cruising again. With the double points it will get me to platinum status. (You remember back when you were building your status, right? ?) ...now, I only hope that the virus protocols will be less severe in 13 months. I can hope, can't I? ?

My travelmate is a FL resident, but just moved to FL last month. I'm in Nevada and so is my travel agent. I should mention to her that a FL resident might have a discount related to that, huh? Also, I noticed that your screenshot says "Balcony Suite". I have booked an Aft Ocean Balcony, so your C&A status maybe gives you that option. I didn't see that option. Only Balcony or Suite. I can't find the category you have on the screenshot. And maybe you did a "We Pick" for the stateroom. Learning lots. ?

Yes, I'm in the US. Thank you for finding this! The only difference I see is that I booked last week during the sale, so maybe the non-refundable deposit is because of the sale. My discounts are: $75 Dollars Off NRD $572 Off for BOGO60 NRD $50 Kicker NRD It made the cruise $871... but your screenshot says $820... I should probably have her look into it. Thanks, again.

It's the September 26, 2022, Freedom of the Seas out of Miami to Bahamas, Aft balcony. My travel agent reserved the cabin online and told me that she didn't see a refundable deposit available and that she would call the next day to see how to book it as refundable. She notified me the next day that RCCL said that refundable was not an option.

I just booked a cruise for September 2022 and since "Cruise with Confidence" wasn't in affect for that sailing (as it ends April 2022), I thought I'd book as a refundable deposit cruise (through my travel agent), but when she booked the cruise, she said the RCCL did not offer the cruise as a refundable deposit. I asked her if she'd seen this before (being 13 months before departure), but she said, not before Covid. I still booked, and risked the deposit $. Of course, best scenario is... we get to go on the cruise!!! ~Debbie Liberty of the Seas, Western Caribbean, January, 19, 2020 Radiance of the Seas, Alaska (Seward-Vancouver), June 9, 2019 Carnival Valor, Western Caribbean, May 15, 2017 Monarch of the Seas, Baja Mexico, July 23, 2007

I know you can get a latte or a cappuccino in the MDR, but how about at Windjammer?