Snotarni

Agree.  We tried it too and it was surprisingly good.

Last year, Mariner was "testing" an embarkation lunch in the MDR...  we tried it and it was very good, and more importantly, it was quiet and not crowded.  We're going on in a couple weeks, not sure they're doing that anymore, and/if it's still the same quiet/uncrowded experience.

Last year, Mariner was "testing" an embarkation lunch in the MDR...  we tried it and it was very good, and more importantly, it was quiet and not crowded.  We're going on in a couple weeks, not sure they're doing that anymore, and/if it's still the same quiet/uncrowded experience.

Parking at terminal A was no problem. We are parked on the 2nd level next to elevator. Perhaps we got lucky?

Fast spins are your friend. It makes the mind numbing task of pressing a button much more exciting.

We just rent a car one way.

At Port Canaveral meeting today they mentioned new furniture for the terminal coming in time for Utopia

 

We have not had any real issues with parking in Miami (I assume you're talking about Terminal A since you mentioned Icon).  Yes, the parking garage was crowded, but never so much that we couldn't find a parking spot.  In fact, our last cruise out of Terminal A, we managed to park in the closest possible parking space to the elevators on Floor #2 (I have a handicapped parking permit though).  We arrive early - between 9-9:30 and have always found a parking spot within a couple of minutes.  NO WAY would I do the WPB/train thing.  WAAAYTOOO much work.

Awesome!! Thanks!  Person I spoke to last month mentioned that trying to park in A for non-Icon cruises (even if your ship is in A) was difficult, and that they had to park in another lot, and shuttle over...  not worried, this happens in PC sometimes too...  as you mentioned, it's NO WAY as "$ss-painy" as parking in WPB and taking the Brightline.  😉

Headed to a 3-day on Freedom in a week and have heard some grumblings about parking at the Miami terminal since Icon arrived.  Anyone with recent experiences?  I was advised to park in West Palm (coming from Space Coast) and take the Brightline...  seems excessive, but I'm open to any info.  Thanks!

I was on her when she was in Galveston.  Yes they had $5 craps right after the covid lull.  That craps table on Grandeur was the only time I saw Security have to arrest someone.  The shooter was cut off because he was sliding the dice and they asked him to leave the casino area.  He refused and started making a scene.  Security circled him and, well, let's just say he ate from "room service" the rest of the trip, had a "private bodyguard" posted at his door, and was escorted off the ship with a new pair of shiny bracelets.

Maya Chan……you’re welcome!

Too much to see and do for me, lol. I kinda like boring (and of course Oasis class isn't actually boring). We went back on Indy in 2022 for a 3/4 B2B after almost nothing but Oasis class for several years and had a good time mostly chilling in the Solarium and going to CocoCay (now that could be considered boring although I guess relaxing fits better). The only thing I missed was the extra food venues (think I went to ELF everyday last week except for when were off the ship in St. Martin from like 9-4). I wish it were Freedom that was in PC at the time.
Wonder is currently my happy place and we have some Utopia B2B's booked which I know I'll enjoy since it's so similar to Wonder. I'm sure we'll try Star at some point (you know I stick to PC); I'll just feel the need to have a plan in advance since it will be new to us. I like stepping onto Oasis class and knowing exactly where everything is, what our routine will be, etc. Others like winging it. Different strokes...
Enjoy the rest of the cruise and keep the reports coming. You sail a lot more than I do and do lots of shorties but I enjoy your reports as we seem to enjoy some of the same small things (like early AM egg sandwiches, lol) and have some similar opinions.

It really just comes down to cost of the package vs how much you drink. Take into consideration specialty coffees, shakes at johnny rockets, smoothies at the spa. All those things are free with the alcohol package. I just bought the package for myself when it was 35% off. Comes out to about 4.5 alcohol drinks per day. But I will easily have 2 specialty coffees every day, maybe 3 or 4 plus at least 3 cocktails a day. So for me it makes sense paying ahead and not getting a huge surprise bill at the end. Plus I like not to have the worry that I shouldn't have a drink because it costs too much. But everyone is different, there is no right or wrong answer to your question.

Yeah, Norfolk or Bayonne would be my guess. And a whole bunch of charter busses.

I would say this community represents maybe 5% of the cruising world and probably only about 20% of that number is casino players. I don't think the number of people interested/achieving prime has increased, I think the topic is more interesting because of the new way they do comps. An interest in achieving something is not the same as actually achieving it. When I am at the casino more than half the people playing aren't even using their cards.  Do I think a casino subsection would be great, yes, but I don't think the volume of casino players has increased dramatically on the boards.........at least in comparisons to the people achieving higher loyalty status. 

Ask and ye shall (probably) receive

Congratulations on getting to Prime.  It’s an important hurdle.
Yes, the number of casino comp rooms are limited.  Nobody really knows (intentionally) how many rooms of any cabin type are a available on any particular sailing so it’s anybody’s guess.
Yes, everyone will be trying to book as soon as the comp cruises are made available (usually around 4-15 but can be any time after 4-1) so booking ASAP is wise.
Yes, available casino comp rooms will become harder to get the longer you wait.
Casino comp rooms will be very limited (assuming, based on previous experience) on the newer ships….for instance, Icon will be eligible for casino comps sailing after 1-27-25 so everyone and their brother will be trying to book an Icon comp for Feb-Mar 2025.  My guess is that very few cabins will be available for casino comps on those sailings to begin with and they will go quickly.  Maybe Royal will block casino comps from Icon entirely but if they do, that would a dick move.  I hope they don’t.

There are 3 ways to get a “free “ cruise in the casino.
1.  Earn at least 1500 points on any cruise.  This is called an “Instant” reward.  These are the cruises listed in the QR codes found in the casino.  The level of the offer depends on your level of play and your losses.  You can earn an instant reward every time you cruise if you earn the points required.  Certificates earned on the same cruise can be combined (see @Pattycruise comment above).

2.  Earn 2500 points over a 1-year period from 1 April of one year through 31 March of the following year.  This is a tier level (Prime) reward.  You can claim this free cruise any time after ~15 April…or when the new casino year starts. Each tier level player gets 1 of these per casino year.  
3.  A random offer that comes through the mail, email or on clubroyaleoffers.com. These rewards are called “Monthlies”.  Monthly offers are based solely on the level of play and losses from your most recent cruise.

#1 also has some bizarre sub-categories that can be very confusing.  For instance, if you earn  a certificate for less than 1500  points, sometimes there is a complimentary offer associated with it but in order to use it for a complimentary cruise, you must have purchased a Next Cruise Open Booking.  Without the NCOB you will only receive the $$$off associated with the certificate.
Also, ANY instant reward comp cruise, regardless of its value, requires a NCOB in order to receive the “free play” bonus associated with it.  No NCOB, no free play.
Clear as mud ?  Yea, me too.

If I win $10 from my C&A casino cash, I consider that incredibly lucky.

This makes perfect sense within the context of Royal going after families who'd consider vacationing at a major theme park. Cozumel is a popular port with many, many ships calling on it. Providing a beach club option for travelers who are uncomfortable getting outside Royal's bubble through non-Royal resorts is going to make them a mint.

We used The Limo Shuttle in October taking us up to Odyssey.  www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com   Nice ride, shared with 2 other groups who were cruising.  

We haven't seen any mailers show up at our house for you in awhile 😅

We don't get anything from the casino either.  Once, when we were on a TA, the Casino Host(ess) gave us a complimentary specialty meal but that's it.  I don't want anything though....I get enough of the cheap wine/champagne and over-ripe fruit from C&A.  Just send me some *#$@#% offers !

Not to mention less than desired odds on table games like 6-to-5 blackjack payouts and single line odds on craps unless you bet big.  Table games are the slowest way to earn points on board.  I usually save my table play for land-based casinos and just play slots with my wife onboard.  After all -- happy wife, happy life.