Pima1988

For my cruise the Chops + 1 is 65. The 3 night is 69. Again, this brings me back to my retailing and how we all would laugh at the marketing dept as we were setting the signs. We all swore they were drunk when they did the sale and wanted to F with people. Hey, let's see who falls for this 1! They will see Chops at 42.99, Giovanni's at 34.99, so when they see Chops +1 at 64, it seems like a steal. Hoping they hit that button without looking further down for the specialty 3 night package. Got to give it to them, because you know they would not offer this unless passengers were paying for it. It is kind of like the Key. I get the Key for certain ships, but when you are looking at the smaller ships with a 4 night sailing I don't see the benefit, especially if you are a passenger that unplugs. I am not doing the key, even at 19.99. I got Voom Surf and Stream for 11.99. I am on Adventure. I purchased the 3 night dining package, my TA threw in another specialty dinner, and we purchased Chef's table using OBC. Lunch at Chops would be the only plus. I am also a freak when it comes to sailing. We prefer to embark @ noon, by that time the big crowd push is gone.

I haven't seen a $39 price point in the last 18 months. I want to say when we sailed Anthem Sept/Oct 2017 we got it at that price. However, that was also before RCL upped their drink costs.

Off topic, but if you live in an area that has a Harris Teeters grocery store, here is another way to save money. Harris Teeters offers Fuel Points. For every 100 dollars you spend, you get 10 cents off at BP or Amoco. Here is the catch. If you purchase gift cards, such as Visa, than you get 20 cents for every 100. I purchase using my 0% point earning credit card the Visa gift card, I than use that card to buy my groceries. Hard to follow I know. So here's how the numbers work. I go in and buy 200 for the Visa gift card, because that is double points, I now have 40 cents off. (Credit Card is also getting points since that is how I pay for the gift card) I now go and buy 200 in groceries, which means 20 cents more per gallon. I now am getting 60 cents off per gallon while at the same time getting CC points. My husband drives a RAM pick up truck, large tank, crappy gas mileage. He fills his tank every other week. We have not paid more than 1.50 per gallon in the last 6 months for both of our cars. Just saying that when you think about marketing in any aspect it is everywhere. I am sure sooner than later Harris Teeter will catch on that customers are doing what I am doing and put a halt to that, but until they do, I am going to use the system they created.

Thrill is the water park. Chill cabanas are located by the jet skis on the beach. Oasis is the new pool. If you are looking for a beach than you want Chill. If you look at pics/videos of the Perfect Day, basically when you get off at the end of the pier, Thrill is to the right. Oasis is straight ahead. Chill is to the left. Oasis pools are free. You can also see the location of the Chill Island Cabanas regarding the proximity to the jet skis.

I agree. What is interesting is that you would think the airlines and hotels now with kayak, expedia, priceline, etc. would just go to this is the price, end of subject. The only reason I would get my ticket with a certain airline over another is if I have enough points for upgrading. The same can be said for the automobile industry. My husband knows I refuse to go car shopping with him. I do the 1st round of just looking and test driving. We go home and decide which car, color and upgrades. He calls USAA car service and get's their guaranteed pricing (we pay nothing for that service). He returns and inevitably the salesperson starts their price haggling. He stops them and says beat this or I will go back home and purchase it through USAA. They will take it off your lot, and no guarantee you will get the commission. Immediately they say I have to ask the mgr., 5 mins later we are told fine. I always wonder with this day and age of the internet who do these companies really think they are fooling? Heck, even now we probably switch out our credits cards, except for USAA and AMEX every 2 yrs. We get 0% interest with bonus points for 18 months. Once they jump us up, we close that account and start again. See above regarding us buying a car. We will put down on our credit card what KBB tells us our car is worth that we will get rid of. Get our points for the deposit. sell the car and pay off the credit card within 30 days. I now have points to use to travel and paid 0% int. I am also a woman that pays anything and everything on my credit card (I just keep a tally so we pay in full every month). You'd be amazed when you start paying your car, cable, cell phone, electricity, groceries, college books, etc how fast you accumulate those points. We flew our family of 5 to Italy and back 1st class for $1K using just AMEX points we accrued within a yr. Our DD is getting married in Oct. everything for her wedding will be on 1 credit card, even though we have the money in the bank to write a check.

Mainly most sales will run Weds- Sunday. Actually, the sales are suppose to run Thurs-Sun., as advertised, but they always set up on Weds., thus you get the price on Weds. This has been going on for decades. The only people that usually shop on a Mon or Tues are people that need it that day. Them and the very savvy customer that wants to shop with no crowds to guarantee that their size/product is not sold out. They will than pop back in on the sale dates and get their price adjustment. I have worked in mgmt. for multiple national retailers from Macys to fine men's clothing, they all operate the same. When I worked at Macy's we always joked about how every week there was a Super Saturday with the lowest prices of the season. Sure, there was maybe a few items that were the lowest price it had been in the season, but it was maybe 1% of the items on sale. They also make you think it is only Sat., however, reality is except for that 1% of the items, the rest of the sale was running from Friday through Sunday. Same is true for stores like Michaels, or J Crew, etc. Hence, my remarks regarding RCL is doing nothing different than any retailer. They just change it up to grab the attention of specific clients. If you are sailing alone you don't want the BOGO refreshment package, you want the price point package, which will show up the following week or two. I don't sail with kids so that sail means nothing to me.

Reality is you will find that on other cruise lines too, just like you will find it with most retailers. I am a manager with a national retailer. One week the sale will be BOGO, and the next week it will be a price point. The following week it will be specials for certain suits. Overall though in the end unless you show up at the store on a Monday or Tuesday, you will be able to get it at the same price regardless of the sale.

@fuce4609 Which cabana are you looking at? Chill, Oasis or Thrill? The prices really vary depending on which part of island you are looking at. We have one for our July on Chill and we got it for 449 last fall. Since the time we purchased it I have seen it go as high as 1099 one week and the following week it was down to 649, with the week after that at 749. You just have to watch the prices. For Thrill I have never seen it go below 800. Oasis usually hung in the 600 range.

We did an adult cousins cruise on Anthem, a group of 10. 4 people in the party never sailed on RCL. They kept asking what is this show...we just kept saying, just go with the flow and you will have fun, nobody told them anything about the show. 1 cousin who never saw this before could not stop laughing throughout the entire show. He went on Anthem again 6 months later with his wife's family that never sailed Royal. He did the same thing, would not tell them what it was about, only to go with the flow. They laughed just as much. One thing I would say is that show usually ends up standing room only, so make sure you get there early enough if you are traveling as a group so you can seats together.

@Mathew Jones Many of repeat RCL cruisers know they will ask for a thong item. You know repeat cruisers because they wear flip flops and hand them. YES, flip flops count because it is considered a thong. I dress appropriately for that show. I wear a strapless bra and, flip flops. We have won on those 2 because we were the fastest and I never showed anything. I agree Quest is not for the faint of heart. The 1st time we attended one woman took off her top to take her bra off. She never put it back on for the rest of the show. Most people that have attended the Quest keep what happens quiet just to see the shock value on the faces of 1st time Quest guests. I have never heard them ask for pasties. I also thought that guests must be 18 or older.

@BrewerJoe That does not show up on mine, however, it allows you to buy full day and zipline.

Ogalthorpe is correct, it is the outside pool by Johnny Rockets. Sorry for the confusion.

I wear a cocktail dress and my husband wears a suit. We don't do the pics. The thing we love about that night, is we make it special. We have a system. We do take a balcony cabin. We hit the WJ and make a nosh plate for us. He also gets his Bulleit Bourbon and diet coke. He gets ready 1st. I sip my glass of wine and eat some tidbits. When he is done, he goes out on the balcony. I close the curtains so he can't see me. When I am ready, I open up the curtains like he is picking me up for a date. It just makes that night special. We are married for 31 yrs and together for 36. We have done Anthem. We will be on Adventure in less than 9 weeks for the 1st time. They are really 2 different ships, and itineraries. Anthem is 5 nights, and Bermuda only, at least it was for our sailing. Adventure is 8 and includes Bahama and Coco Cay. Anthem dining options are sooo much better. Adventure is smaller and has a promenade. Anthem has I Fly, more balconies with removable wall, Adventure does not. To me if I had kids traveling with me at their age, I would choose Anthem. Anthem's solarium is amazing. They also have what my family calls the washing machine. Hard to explain, but think hot tub at high speed lazy river. You just keep spinning. Anthem has I Fly at no cost. Anthem has the bumper cars... 2 boys at that age will have fun. NorthStar is unique, but it is not something I would call a make or break. You go up, hang out, look around and back down. Anthem has better shows. It also has the kummelwreck. We opted Adventure this yr because it is only my husband and his siblings...no kids. We like the idea of us playing miniature golf as 50+ yr olds. No offense to RCL, but I hated The Gift on Adventure. Their acrobatic show was cancelled because the ship was rocking due to hurricanes. Hence, the only big show was We Will Rock You, which was good. Anthem in our case/price/itinerary was not competitive. My angst is their limited restaurants on Adventure. If you go on Anthem, make sure you do the relatively known things. 1. Go to the Solarium. There is a door on the right side when you enter starboard (right). If you hit the button it will lead you out to a Peekaboo bridge. 2. I can't recall which deck, but I want to say it is WJ, there is a spot cut out, laid in glass that looks all the way down to deck 4/5 (?) 3. Make sure you are on the pool deck when you sail out. You go under the Verrazano and due to the height of the ship, you will only clear it by 50 feet or less...Adventure does this too, but it is not as tall as Anthem. Hope that helps

Just realize it is not a full lobster. It is lobster tails. The tails are not NE, but I believe Pacific. Many posters have stated they will bring you as many as you want. FWIW on FB there is an Adventure of the Seas page. There are also sail date pages...it is a closed group, so you must ask to be invited. I am sailing on Adventure in July. I have seen a ton of pics showing lobster night. As stated by melski94 it is the 2nd formal night. I never order them because that is also the night they usually will do something like Osso Bucco or lamb shanks. Lamb in my area is much more expensive. I can get Maine lobster tails at my local grocery store fish dept for 3.99 a tail, lamb shank runs 9 bucks.

My 1st cruise was May 92 on P &O (Med) out of Venice. Sooo much has changed. I recall the midnight buffets. Drinks were included, alcohol or non-alcohol. People dressed up for formal night. On the pool deck they had a buffet set up all day long for our sea days....just tidbits and desserts that they changed out during the day...breakfast/lunch/dinner.. No specialty restaurants. Excursions at any port was very limited. Def. no lifeguard at any pool, nor slides, etc. The funny thing is I remembered they did their version of Love and Marriage, and Quest.

Looking at old compasses and talking to recent cruisers on Adventure. WJ does lunch until 2:15/2:30 They shut down and reopen again at 3 until 4, for what they call afternoon tea. Think light food fare. Hot food stations will not be open. They than reopen @5:30. This will be my 1st time on Adventure (July sailing), but what people are saying it reminds me of how Anthem does it too. You could go in at that time and they had a spread of deli meats, breads, and their famous cup assortments.. IE dessert in a cup., veggies in a cup, pasta in a cup, seafood in a cup, etc. My hubby and I love this bc we are not fans of their pizza (nobody flame me). It also works for us since by 3-3:30 we are done hanging at the pool. We get a light nosh, make a plate back to the room and put in the mini-cooler to nibble on late at night Than we change and go to Schooners for whatever trivia is playing, which is usually @ 5 For me, the food issue is something that is part logistics if you don't want to be stuck eating their pizza or pre-made sandwiches. We do traditional late dining. We love doing this for multiple reasons. 1. See above. It also allows us to see either the early comedian or part of the early movie at the pool (7 pm). 2. We do balcony cabins, so we get to see the sunset. 3. We may decide to hit the WJ when it opens for dinner prior to going back to our room and get another little nosh ---we leave those dishes out so the cabin steward will clean up when they do turn down service. 4. We find late traditional seating much better service than MTD at 6:30. To us, the dining room is less crowded and the waitstaff is more attentive. They know that things like Quest, Love and Marriage, 70's night, late night comedian, etc start at 10, so they will have you done by 9:30 and it is nicely paced. Lastly, I would add one last tip. You can order continental breakfast for your cabin for free. My hubby and I are early risers. We will go to the gym or walk the track and be back in our cabin by 7:30---yes, we don't go to bed until midnight, but that is the beauty of a cruise, you can nap on the pool deck during the day ? Again, because we do balcony, we order the continental breakfast and hit WJ for any hot items, like an omelet, hash browns, sausage and grits, etc. on our way back to our cabin. We love this because we don't have to search for a table in the WJ, plus we get to watch us pulling into port. On top of those reasons, we can leisurely get ready for the day...take a few bites, than, pick out your clothes for the day, take a few more bites, as you read over the Compass. Take your shower, get dressed, and than drink the last bit of your coffee before you leave your cabin. Obviously, our cabin steward has to do more work because they are clearing plates 2x a day, but this is also why we tip them extra 2x. 1/2 on the 1st day, and 1/2 the last night. Off topic, but I have always wondered if by doing this is that the reason we had towels animals every night, and extra towels in our room. Only saying that bc many posters have complained that they didn't get towel animals every night. Our 1st cruise on RCCL was outside view, so I know that the upgrade to balcony had no impact. I am not a cruise snob, but I agree with others once you go to a balcony it is really hard to go back.

@coneyraven I would also think that Lady G has way fewer balconies than most of Royal's fleet. I pass her all the time when traveling up to NJ, and when you look at her you can see it looks like there are only 2 decks that have balconies.

When we were on Anthem we had a table for 10 (rectangular), I could see them easily adding another 2 top. The reason I know this is because one a.m. we went for breakfast and sat at a 4 top with an 8 top right next to it. The thing was, those 2 tables would later that night be our 10 top. Most of the 8 tops that we saw were the round tables.

Until they add more things to the island, the capacity will remain at 10K, so nope you will not see Harmony, Symphony and Oasis docked at the same time.

I have seen that documentary. It really is amazing on how they flip a ship.

Are you saying you don't want to do your laundry in Anchorage. but later on for your cruise? I lived in AK for several yrs. and we did a lot of camping. If you don't want to do it in Anchorage prior to sailing, I would do it in Juneau. OBTW, I don't know when you are sailing, but you need to make reservations for Simon and Seaforts as soon as possible. You will NOT be disappointed. Sooner you make the reservations, the easier it will be to get a table overlooking the inlet. It is pricey, but waayyyy worth it. Try their prime rib, and their crab and artichoke dip. https://simonandseaforts.com/menu.php The minute you taste a bite of the prime rib you will be in heaven. It has been yrs since I lived in Anchorage, but the Hilton had an amazing bar and restaurant at the top of the hotel that looked at FT Rich's mtn. They have a star on the mtn. The Hilton is on the opposite end of Simon and Seaforts. Captain Cooke Hotel is between the two. It would be about a 10--15 min leisurely walk from the Hilton to the restaurant. There is a mall on 5th Ave. It includes stores from JCPenneys to Nordstrom. It is a quick walk from either of these hotels. Look for the whale graffiti on one of the buildings. There is also an amazing church on that street. If you are there for 4 days, I would do the following: 1. Go to Mirror Lake. It is right outside of Eagle River @ 30 min car ride. It has wonderful hiking trails, waterfalls, etc. Plus the lake reflection looks like a mirror when it comes to the trees shadowing. 2. White water rafting in Eagle River. Again it is @ 30 min car ride. It is an easy rafting trip, but 10 will get you 20 it will be cheaper than any RCCL rafting trip. 3. Portage Glacier. I am not trying to make a political statement, but if anybody wants to see climate change, Portage is the place to go. It is about 30 mins out of Anchorage. 4. I do not know if they still have this, but right outside the back gate of Elmendorf AFB (close to Hilton Hotel) they had a salmon farm. I hope this gives you some insight to Anchorage that is close to the port

I recall reading about 9 mos ago that RCCL was considering doing a Coco Cay Island for their Australian cruises. The only reason that it stuck in my mind is we had just come back from Australia (land vacation) a few weeks earlier and I saw Ovation (?) in port at the Quay while we were there that week.

@JoeFan Every sailing and every ship has different price points. I was using my cruise as an example. Before they ceased the 1/2 day, full day was $73.99 just a few weeks ago. Now it has dropped to 46.99 for a full day. A $27 pp savings. Thus, prior it would be @150 for 2, and now for 3 it would be 141, and for 4 it would be 188. In essence as I stated before, you could cancel and re-purchase for all 3 if it was running like mine at $47. Your bill was originally 120, if it was going for 47. than it would be 141 aka 20 bucks more. Now you may say, that my wife won't be able to be with me, and so I need 4. However, If you read how I see flaws in this system. That is one of them. You can walk in, drop them off and meet your wife at the Oasis pool or on Chill Island beach loungers. I doubt they are going to say, hey, you came in with 2 kids and now those 2 kids must exit with you. Your kids can go to you wherever you desire or 1 of you can go to them and give updates of where to find you. I don't know when your cruise is, but sometimes the sales promotions will change it up. RCCL has a target revenue for everything, including excursions. If they are not selling to their expectations than they may place that item on sale at a lower price for that ship and that cruise date. IE let's say your cruise is Aug 2019 on Mariner, which would be the only ship in port. Come Memorial Day or 4th of July they may drop it to what my current sailing is at 46.99. Hence, see above, you would be paying 20 more for 3 tickets. Do not read more into that than it just being an example. Just like mine right now is $12 cheaper than yours. I understand your frustration, cruising seems at FIRST like a cheap vacation, but than when you start adding in beverage packages, specialty dinners, excursions it becomes a lot more than you ever intended in the 1st place. I hope you don't cancel everything. Coco Cay is an AHHHmazing island. I have been there before when we had to tender. We have done different excursions there, our last one was parasailing and it was worth ever single penny. This time our big item is a cabana on Chill because we did parasailing there, so no need to do the balloon ride. We have done the swim with sting rays and dolphins on prior cruises. We will be doing snorkeling in Bermuda on this cruise. Hence, our splurge is the cabana. I also would again say if you go to FB every ship has their own group page, and many have a group page for that actual sail date. You will be able to find even more info for you and your family. IE many discuss ages of their kids. The Thrill Island says must be accompanied with an adult. You don't know, maybe there is a passenger that is on your sailing and has a 19 and 17 yo. This works 2 ways. 1. You know there will be kids in their age group they can hang with. 2. You can ask them if their 19 yo would walk into Thrill with them since legally the 19 yo is an adult, and now you don't need to buy another pass for Thrill. It is also great because you start to make friendships prior to the cruise. On my sailing we already have a pub crawl set up on the 3rd night for our 8 night cruise.

Time out, I never meant to paint you as a bad parent. I was just saying...this could be some scenarios, and injuries do happen. I have seen many a tweener running around the pool deck by themselves with no parent insight. I am not passing any judgement. If you felt that way, than my apologies. That is a problem when you deal with social media...you can't read intonation, or have the ability to explain in more depth.

Have you checked your cruise planner lately? I know prices vary ship to ship, sailing date to sailing date, but right now for my cruise date in July, the full day Thrill is 47 a day. Doing my math you paid $120 for just the kids. You can pay 20 bucks more, and walk them in without your wife. I am in now way condoning that, but as I stated in the other post this is where I see flaws in the system. Parents with kids, such as, your children's age, I would have no problem saying, Dad and I are going get a bite to eat and will be back in X amt of time. Hence, they are leaving the kids unattended. Are they now going to police everybody exiting for lunch or to go over to Oasis, or Chill,, or Parasailing, etc? IOWS, scan your seapass as you exit, and say....oops you have kids under 18 in here, you need to take them with you. A single parent with 2 children, could take 1 child to the inner tube ride, while the eldest child of 14 decides to do the daredevil. Thus, they will be separated too. It is not a small area. Flip side, I can see the corporate perspective. The insurance for the expansion is probably out the door crazy. By not only stating the rules prior to check out on your cruise planner, and than checking to make sure that there is someone over 18 with the minor (sea pas and photo id) they limit their liability. You choose to leave them alone, than legally they did cover their arse from a liability aspect. I do get the angst, but from a corporate aspect, I get their side more. Where is the line you draw? Draw at 17, and someone will say, but my kid is 16 yrs old 10 mos, let them go. They re-draw at 16, and now somebody says, but my 15 yo …. it really doesn't end. OBTW, I do get it. My 2 oldest, incl. my DD that got injured at Disney were certified life guards by their 16th birthday. They worked for the Y when they were in HS until they started college. Between them they had 23 saves. SO, yeah, it would infuriate me too, because basically at home, they were the ones that would save your life in a pool, but with RCCL they would need Mom or Dad to be there.