bobroo

As a guy from Chicago and its terrible gun problem; I would welcome a walk in Nassau and the far lesser chance of getting killed….or worse.

No trip to Kona would be complete without stopping at the Kona Brewing Company.
Not very sexy, it's just an open sided pole barn which is a restaurant. But because their brews are widely distributed, you'll be able to relive your memories of your time in Hawaii just by visiting your local liquor store. 
 
 

Thanks to the double points promo I reached my second free cruise pretty quickly.  My next milestone free cruise is going to take a lot longer to reach.  With the current state of affairs I am sailing other lines more and can't justify the rates that Royal charges.  
There is a reason to continue earning points but as it has always been, it doesn't make sense to make points earning a priority or the reason to cruise.  Cruise for the love of cruising on whatever cruise line or itinerary looks best in that moment.  
I'm boarding a Royal ship today.  I booked a studio cabin as it was the only semi-reasonable rate I could find.  The rate for a non-studio cabin was ridiculous.  I'm not cruising for points but then again I never did specifically cruise just for the points.  
Who knows, maybe in 2026 or 2027 I'll have reached the next milestone for another free cruise.   Time will tell. 

I have no idea what a “clandestine washroom” is. I do however know what a clandestine slot attendant is when it comes time for a hand pay. 

Congratulations Patti, welcome to the club!
Couple things: I turned a year ago, here is my experience. As others have said you have the free cruise as the C & A footnotes stipulates. The 12 month expiration countdown meter starts on the last day of the cruise you achieve Pinnacle on. The actual sailing date can be long after the 12 month deadline.
For me anyway, there was no cruise certificate issued, even in the Pinnacle box. There was no secret redemption code, no free cruise document, no secret handshake--it really was a computer entry only a Royal booking agent can see. It was still called a Pinnacle Free Cruise Certificate.
My box took 4 1/2 months to receive and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened it. So you have even another surprise to look forward to.
I used my cert to apply the $2500 dollar amount to a balcony. The issue for me is the sailing is over the 7 nights stated in the footnotes, I was happy to pay the taxes, fees, and a few hundred for the extra night. I bring this up because it will be interesting to see if points show up, not by upgrading but by simply sailing on a greater than 7 night voyage. I'll be able to tell you my results soon, I leave on a 8 nighter on Odyssey tomorrow.
 
Congratulations!
 

We were very fortunate.  Our box arrived almost exactly 2 months after the date of our "turning".  Most people are seeing a much longer wait.
One thing to note...you CAN apply your Pinn cert to an already-existing booking.  They told me this and I booked a Wonder cruise in anticipation but I'll be honest.  I was sooo nervous that they weren't going to allow me to use my cert on that pre-booked cruise.  I worried and worried about it....but they did.
Again, congratulations !!

Congratulations Patti, welcome to the club!
Couple things: I turned a year ago, here is my experience. As others have said you have the free cruise as the C & A footnotes stipulates. The 12 month expiration countdown meter starts on the last day of the cruise you achieve Pinnacle on. The actual sailing date can be long after the 12 month deadline.
For me anyway, there was no cruise certificate issued, even in the Pinnacle box. There was no secret redemption code, no free cruise document, no secret handshake--it really was a computer entry only a Royal booking agent can see. It was still called a Pinnacle Free Cruise Certificate.
My box took 4 1/2 months to receive and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened it. So you have even another surprise to look forward to.
I used my cert to apply the $2500 dollar amount to a balcony. The issue for me is the sailing is over the 7 nights stated in the footnotes, I was happy to pay the taxes, fees, and a few hundred for the extra night. I bring this up because it will be interesting to see if points show up, not by upgrading but by simply sailing on a greater than 7 night voyage. I'll be able to tell you my results soon, I leave on a 8 nighter on Odyssey tomorrow.
 
Congratulations!
 

Congratulations Patti, welcome to the club!
Couple things: I turned a year ago, here is my experience. As others have said you have the free cruise as the C & A footnotes stipulates. The 12 month expiration countdown meter starts on the last day of the cruise you achieve Pinnacle on. The actual sailing date can be long after the 12 month deadline.
For me anyway, there was no cruise certificate issued, even in the Pinnacle box. There was no secret redemption code, no free cruise document, no secret handshake--it really was a computer entry only a Royal booking agent can see. It was still called a Pinnacle Free Cruise Certificate.
My box took 4 1/2 months to receive and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened it. So you have even another surprise to look forward to.
I used my cert to apply the $2500 dollar amount to a balcony. The issue for me is the sailing is over the 7 nights stated in the footnotes, I was happy to pay the taxes, fees, and a few hundred for the extra night. I bring this up because it will be interesting to see if points show up, not by upgrading but by simply sailing on a greater than 7 night voyage. I'll be able to tell you my results soon, I leave on a 8 nighter on Odyssey tomorrow.
 
Congratulations!
 

Congratulations Patti, welcome to the club!
Couple things: I turned a year ago, here is my experience. As others have said you have the free cruise as the C & A footnotes stipulates. The 12 month expiration countdown meter starts on the last day of the cruise you achieve Pinnacle on. The actual sailing date can be long after the 12 month deadline.
For me anyway, there was no cruise certificate issued, even in the Pinnacle box. There was no secret redemption code, no free cruise document, no secret handshake--it really was a computer entry only a Royal booking agent can see. It was still called a Pinnacle Free Cruise Certificate.
My box took 4 1/2 months to receive and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened it. So you have even another surprise to look forward to.
I used my cert to apply the $2500 dollar amount to a balcony. The issue for me is the sailing is over the 7 nights stated in the footnotes, I was happy to pay the taxes, fees, and a few hundred for the extra night. I bring this up because it will be interesting to see if points show up, not by upgrading but by simply sailing on a greater than 7 night voyage. I'll be able to tell you my results soon, I leave on a 8 nighter on Odyssey tomorrow.
 
Congratulations!
 

Cruise pricing is dynamic and influenced heavily by supply and demand.  
When a category of cabin such as 4B has ample empty cabins the price for this specific category can be lower than another category such as a 3B cabin which is a cabin that can sleep 3 or more guests.  It's all about how well a specific category is booking.   
"Balcony" is not a category, "interior" is not a category.  Consequently it is very common to see a discrepancy between actual categories such as 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B etc.  
If you had priced this cruise the very first day it opened you would have likely observed that cabins for two guests, such as 2B or 4B would have been lower than cabins for more than two guests such as 1B, 3B, or 5B, etc.  Over time as various categories start to book up the demand factor is applied to each category independently of any other category.  
For your cruise, in a month's time the cabins for 3 or 4 guests maybe nearly sold out (because there are fewer of them) and their price may be much higher than the current rate on that day for a cabin that holds two.  On the other hand if these same cabins aren't being booking the rate can go lower than it is today to stimulate bookings.
There is no fixed price for any cabin.  There is the rate on the day the shipped opened for booking and there is today's rate or what they call the prevailing rate.  
You may see it as "whacked out", I see it as an opportunity to find deals since my schedule is flexible.  Since I am okay in any type of cabin I can play the dynamics across many types of cabins from interior to suites.  They all fluctuate independently of each other and some days they drop rates to stimulate bookings, but they only drop rates for categories that aren't booking as well compared to a category that is booking well.  
The rate you booked was the prevailing rate on the day you booked.  At some previous point in time it may have been higher or lower.  We'll never know.  At some future point in time it may be higher or lower.  You'll only know if you check often. 

Too risky. I'd fly to San Juan 2 days early and enjoy things there before your cruise.

Point well taken. Don’t get me wrong, nobody is going to die on the Crowns Edge. I just feel a better choice could have been made that would be fun, unique, exciting, even thrilling to more people.

I think you might be underestimating the redundant safety measures of Crown's Edge and the company's general risk assessment. 
Nothing is perfect, so I'm not debating that there's a chance, but I think accidental deaths resulting from dumb decisions as opposed to a regulated harness system are not anywhere the same.

Real quick: as a policy-- anything or anybody under no circumstances goes on the other side of the railing of the ship. Even if you paid us $160 for us to dangle you out there in a jumpsuit, helmet, and harness. There have been too many accidental deaths of passengers who went on the other side of the railing for stupid reasons so there has to be a firm policy of NO! Also, this feature is going to induce genuine fear into many people. This is different than a climbing wall or a raft on a water slide. It's the wrong kind of fear, it can become terror. Finally, it's very windy out there and there is going to be some tall, lanky teenager that meets the height and weight requirements but with the wind and their surface area they are going to have a hard time making it back to the boat after the bottom drops out and they are going to get stuck.
I bet Michael Bayley knows exactly what I am talking about.
 

Real quick: as a policy-- anything or anybody under no circumstances goes on the other side of the railing of the ship. Even if you paid us $160 for us to dangle you out there in a jumpsuit, helmet, and harness. There have been too many accidental deaths of passengers who went on the other side of the railing for stupid reasons so there has to be a firm policy of NO! Also, this feature is going to induce genuine fear into many people. This is different than a climbing wall or a raft on a water slide. It's the wrong kind of fear, it can become terror. Finally, it's very windy out there and there is going to be some tall, lanky teenager that meets the height and weight requirements but with the wind and their surface area they are going to have a hard time making it back to the boat after the bottom drops out and they are going to get stuck.
I bet Michael Bayley knows exactly what I am talking about.
 

The studio in Miami is basically a replica of the stage with blocking and lighting on it. It's really cool, and allows for a seamless transition to the cast to go from practice to real life. 

You'll have to settle for the version they're selling on other ships:
 

We are on the Ultimate World Cruise right now. Just heading back to Ushuaia (after visiting a Penguin Rookery). I will post something more substantial and detailed later, but the short course is:
1).  No drama … the experienced cruisers already figured this out. Actually, the cruise so far has been extremely relaxing.  Although we have been a little bit too busy. 
 
2). Thé entertainment overall has been better than “normal” cruises (some of it excellent … rare for a Radiance class ship). The food has been hit and miss (as usual) … however, we did have the best MDR dish in over 30 cruises a few nights ago. 
 
3).  The staff is in over perform mode. They are doing a phenomenal job. 
 
4).  1,600 on this segment is well below capacity. 700+ Diamond and above C&A members.  1,600 only should bring up some questions. 
 
5).  Tons of dancing opportunities … only once did we have to elbow our way around the dance floor 😉
 
I will start a start a separate thread when we get back on board.
 
Curt from Canada
Partial Ultimate World Cruiser 😂

Wow, crazy to to think of a casino as a place with a lack of integrity. Too good to be true. Not exactly goods as promised. A swindle even before you get onboard. 
 
Humph!
 

Wow, crazy to to think of a casino as a place with a lack of integrity. Too good to be true. Not exactly goods as promised. A swindle even before you get onboard. 
 
Humph!
 

Those are honestly all great ships with lots to do for all ages. Galveston departures and Allure are bound to save you the most money, if that's a factor. But, I, like the others here, recommend choosing by itinerary. For example, we're repeating Harmony later this year but it'll be 2 new stops for us and one we like going to. We're excited about the new stops AND about getting to explore the ship more and try new things or do things we didn't take in enough last time (*side eyes mom sleeping through the aqua show*)

I'd love to make it back on a sailing out of NOLA! My cruise card is full up for 2024 and 2025 already, though!

I will not be visiting Celebration Table, so I'm out.  @AshleyDillo?

I will gladly investigate these two! 

Can I request three Mods "investigations"? I saw Matts video the other day and was surprised by a few bright spots that warrant some unbiased, in-depth analysis:
Royal Bling-- Has Royal really just caught on to the amount of dollars spent in St Thomas for contraband Royal Caribbean jewelry??? I'd like to see what Royal Bling has on the shelves and well....would sorta like to see at what price. Warn me if I should be seated.
Aquadome Market-- Wow! Have they really been paying attention to how young people eat in 2024? The menus seem really short but is this goods as promised?
Celebration Table-- This is your reward for your hard work and this is your private party, but my question is: Can the food possibly match the venue?