foxrunner

That just saved me some cash! I think this is going to be a one and done but wanted to check it out. Maybe the Pizza will be next level.

I agree Royals craft beer game is weak at best, pardon my french really piss poor. On one of the Icon walk through videos I thought I saw Lagunitas Day Time IPA on tap, that would be great. The Stone IPA is OK but gets old.

Wouldn't it be great if some wealthy soul bought the cup and then sold raffle tickets to benefit a charity! Come on RCBlog folks step up to the plate. We will all appreciate you!

@Ditchdoc "Many Diamond member's that already get 4 or 5 drinks a day, it is probably not going to be worth it." I see this reply often in combo with I'm Prime in the Casino so we don't need a drink package. Maybe @Zimmerberg with one post has been on many cruises and is Diamond/Prime in the loyalty programs but likely not. The point the good doctor is making is that everyone's situation is different. I like the price certainty of the drink package as a non Diamond/Prime cruiser. Side rant @loki007"We were just on Odyssey and to get a decent glass of wine it was $14.99 which was a dollar up charge over the package limits." This drives me crazy, the included wine is almost plonk and they get a buck a glass for the solid stuff. Not a wine snob but when I look at the in package included hard booze just doesn't add up.

Inspired by your blog and soon to retire school teachers we would love to go to Antarctica and the surrounding Isles. Did you see a Caracara in the Falkland's? Our book club read this book "A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg" and we now stalk them in our travels. We looked at Silversea in Antarctica and the cost was prohibitive to us given we have other travel destinations on the list. Do you have any suggestions to reduce the cost? I looked at Nat Geo and some other lines and they were in the same price range. TIA

I like your price better we are at $54.99! Icon in April over school vaca..............

By looking at my signature area you can see what ships I've been on and where. We are destination over ship people. Having said that we have sailed on Allure and Freedom. They are more similar to each other as Quantum class is kind of it's own design. I felt like Allure was an evolutionary and bigger Freedom. We do also enjoy the Quantum experience but not everyone does. Cost and number of days are also a factor, if I got more days for less on Indy, I'd jump on that.

Do you have the time to move up to a 7 night cruise on an Oasis class ship? I have been one one 4 nighter and it is like you get on board have a blast and it is time to go. 7 nights really gives a much better feel for the whole cruise experience. Normally I'd not suggest moving to the longer cruise due to cost but because Utopia is new and the overall cost of short cruises are more per day, you might find the cost in the same ballpark. Very few people get off their first cruise and say "I wish that had been shorter". Again a good travel agent like the site sponsors here are invaluable. Unlike other styles of vacations cruise TA don't cost you anything, they are paid by the cruise line. You might get OBC as well as a better fare going through the TA but never a higher fare. You can use the good folks here as your TA and just post questions, we really don't mind. The TA will always get back to you almost immediately and if you have a problem we can't advocate for you like a TA.

Great blog and to all a cruising 2024!

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your experience! We really had great service at Playmakers on Odyssey. I really like the location because of the Seaplex it just makes sense to have it in that themed area. The smell didn't bother us and we much preferred the location compared to the stale cigarette stench we had in Playmakers on Freedom. I would agree the food is a bit underwhelming but the spicy wings are really good. I love spice and rarely satisfied in an American restaurant. Those wings had me crying and sweating! YUM

We are just going to disagree about this. They don't enforce the policy consistently on board and ship to ship. I stated that Royal should charge the fee or not, as is their right. Why give us a cost savings and try and take a piece of it back, because it is nickel and diming. We enjoy the ability to bring wine aboard and not all lines allow it. If Royal would up their wine game just a bit we wouldn't bother. Most of what they serve inside of the drink package is OK but not what we enjoy at home. Trust me we aren't drinking expensive wine but it is much better than what is on the ships.

Although the fee is minimal and rarely enforced, it is very inconsistent. Which puts the staff in a bind and that is unfair. They allow you to bring on two bottles per stateroom and therefore shouldn't charge you corkage or should always charge you the fee. These are the nickel and dime tactics that degrade the overall experience. On a land based vacation we tolerate these tactics as it is part of the adventure. With cruising starting to cost as much as land vacations this becomes irksome. The thing I love about cruising is going away and that is cost certainty. Yes I've only been on 5 RCC cruises but have had a corkage fee once. The thread question was how to avoid the fee. This is a site dedicated to cruise hacks and I wish Royal didn't make us play these games.

We have only been charged a corkage fee once and it was in Chops. We brought in a nice unopened bottle and the waiter blamed the manager for the fee. No big deal. Now we open all bottles before bringing them in, request a corkscrew from your cabin steward. Wine glass should be on the table or nearby. Each ship has it's own rules around these type of situations so it is consistently inconsistent. With the screw top, have a little wine out of the bottle so it looks like it was opened elsewhere. The MDR will also hold your bottle for you if you are returning and we have never been charged for that. Generally we eat in the MDR and bring on two bottles of wine.

We have feeling the Hideaway will be a one and done. We have been to the Beach Club which is nice but needs to be in the $80 range per person for a repeat. We also loved the waterpark with our boys, that might be our next spend on Coco Cay. Of coarse like you we will only go again at a bargain rate. We need to start a nature trail petition, those cheapos higher ups could hardly object to the cost.

I prefer South Beach as it has the swim up bar and the walk there is through tropical foliage. We are going to try the Hideaway next. What I wish they would put on Coco Cay was a running/walking path around the island. I know they have the shuttle roads but those drivers are rightly trying to get somewhere in a hurry. The trail would be much more peaceful.

Please factor in the fact that some people don't purchase the drink packages because of the loyalty drinks. That does cost them quite a bit. I agree with Twangster it isn't a broken system. If most cruisers on a ship are new to cruising Royal needs to find ways to retain them. The current market will change and when it does the loyal members will keep sailing. I don't gamble outside of my freeplay, so I don't know if the Casino program is problematic. I do hear a fair number of folks saying the combination of the Crown & A. drinks and Prime drinks have led them to no longer purchase the drink packages.

Check to see if the Gardens are open that late. We went in the late morning. The ride from the port to the gardens is about a half hour one way. Not sure when you have dinner and if the ship gets in late it could be tight. We really loved the Gardens but if you need a quick free activity go to see the house boats or Beacon Hill Park(walkable not for the 5 YO). As always happy to help, ask away. With a 5 YO, I'd skip the gardens and shoulder cary the precious one along the sea cliff walk to the park. Free is always great to me!

We went in late Aug. and took a Royal Caribbean Excursion. I believe we had about 2 hours at the gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day. Temps in the 70s. We did not do a tour of the gardens. just walked around. The bus driver did act as a tour guide on our drive there and we learned a lot about the woman who created the gardens. I'm sure you could do some research ahead of time to learn the history of the gardens and their creation. Pros to the RC tour, we didn't have to wait in line to get our entrance tickets. Cons: We arrived with about 5 other tour buses and it was a bit of a crush for the first 20-30 minutes or so. It sounds like you have some other plans. If you want to see the gardens quickly, you could probably move through the gardens in a little over an hour. That would mean that you would not visit the gift shops, have a snack/drink at the cafe, or have high tea, which you can do at the gardens. Our bus driver did drop us off in the city center so that we could go to High Tea at the Empress Hotel. Others on the tour also left the bus tour at the city center to explore on their own.

Victoria Go to the Butchart Gardens it is beautiful. I'm confident that the teenagers will be wowed. This is a story our busdriver told us on the ride over. A man and his wife get on the bus and the husband is in a foul mood. He yells out as getting seated "is there any beer at that stupid garden" The busdriver replied yes as a matter of fact they have a full bar. To which he replies well I'm going to have a million beers and not see a single flower. When the couple returned to the bus the driver asked "how was the beer sir" the grumpy husband said I didn't have one that place is incredible. You can take a cab and be on your schedule timewise at the garden, which we would do next time. In town you can go to high tea at the Empress. This may not interest the teens but only about an hourish long and the food was really good. We like tea as well but you do need to dress up a bit. If the teens don't want to do the high tea give them cash to window shop in the downtown shops where the Empress is located. Beacon Hill park is also a nice walk, it has the largest totem pole on Earth. We didn't get over to see the houseboats which are also supposed to be unique. We really enjoyed Victoria and had a similar outlook precruise! We are going cross country in our travel trailer Summer 2025 with good friends and we are going to stop in Victoria to show them around.

Sage advice above! I have never sailed with Virgin but I like the way the drink program works in theory. I wish Royal would presell the 10 drink card in the planner as well as offered the packages.

I have had a similar experience at brunch. On sea days they don't serve breakfast in the MDR. Brunch is just hybrid breakfast lunch menu that starts latter and goes latter in the afternoon. Some advice to everyone about service time, if you let the waiter know that you want to be finished in a certain amount of time they usually get it done. I know we all know how hard these people work and don't want to put extra demands on them. The reality is they want you in the MDR as butts in the seats are part of the matrix.

It seems like it takes folks a bit of time to find the Tw070. Go early in your cruise and it is likely to be deserted. Now I know why they have signs all over the ship directing you to the Two70. Great venue!

Got put a plug in for MDR breakfast, it is a really great start to the day. Lunch on the other hand takes too long and will leave you stuffed. Enjoy!

Well we can count that as a win as I believe B&J's was an upcharge.

Does it cost extra or complimentary?