sk8erguy1978

Night before I order a pizza, open a beer and just start tossing stuff in a suitcase. I'm done in about 7 minutes. I will however, double check shirts, shorts and pants maybe a week or two prior to ensure they fit and are in acceptable condition, if not I'll replace them. Also, about a week or two prior I'll go to Harmon and buy a bunch of toiletries.

Yep. I noticed it yesterday for my September sailing on Anthem. I got it at $49 luckily, but the base price I calculated was also $81 or $82 a person. Was difficult to get exact because of that weird thing they do with BOGO half off. 
I was totally shocked. Never thought the base price would rise. I immediately texted a cruise virgin buddy who is joining saying "please tell me you got the package when I said" ... LOL ... He did, phew! 

Yes, when we bought the drink package in the past (we no longer purchase it b/c my husband no longer drinks alcohol) it was always for convenience vs savings.  Neither of us were big drinkers - even when we were drinking alcohol - but it was very convenient #1 to have the expense behind us, having paid it ahead of time and #2 to be able to just order whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it without having to be concerned about a bit bill at the end of the cruise.
We drink for free in the casino anyway so what little I may choose to drink I can either get in the casino or in the Suites/Diamond/Concierge lounge so I do not miss the UDP at all.

Yes. My wife will probably "break even" or better, however, she's the type of person who will want another drink but not get it due to price. So, if it's all included, she has no excuse and can stop worrying about money and enjoy herself.
Edit: with the recent price hikes I don't see her breaking even, but the convenience factor will be added in and we will get it for our 2020 sailings. Our next cruise, a bunch of friends will be with us, hence why my wife will probably break even, but when we purchased, we assumed she wouldn't but the extra cost was fine due to convenience.

I have always bought it for the convenience of knowing it's paid and not something I have to worry about at the end of the cruise. That said, I still want to get what I consider a fair value for it; knowing how much I'm able to drink on average (answer: not that much! ?) and what I like to typically drink, my "fair value" price point is generally under $50 a day. More than that and I'll just bring my two bottles of wine, get the Refreshment Package on a good sale, and get whatever other alcoholic stuff I feel like ordering a la carte. The only real "cost" to me in that case is not being able to try out any new wines at dinner, at least on the shorter sailings where my two bottles are enough to cover the whole trip.

Yep. I noticed it yesterday for my September sailing on Anthem. I got it at $49 luckily, but the base price I calculated was also $81 or $82 a person. Was difficult to get exact because of that weird thing they do with BOGO half off. 
I was totally shocked. Never thought the base price would rise. I immediately texted a cruise virgin buddy who is joining saying "please tell me you got the package when I said" ... LOL ... He did, phew! 

Wow, the last BOGO50 promo just ended and instead of the price going from $52 ($70 on-board price - 25%) to $56 ($70 on-board - 20%), now it's skyrocketed to $65 pp/pn! Since I just got an email telling me it's at the usual 20% off, that means on-board price for the Oct 19, 2019 Anthem sailing just shot up to $81 pp/pn!!
I'm really hoping this is another intern-type screw-up and they accidentally reversed the numbers, where it was supposed to actually be $56 pp/pn. If not, then my decision not to buy the DBP just got locked in and I'm really glad I've already bought one of my two allowed bottles of wine.

Lots of discussions on drink packages...especially lately with the $18 "sale" / "error" and now with the crazy $$$ price.
Royal definitely made money on us with the $18 error.  We had never gotten the drink package before, but when two of our cruises next year had the $18 price (or $23 CAD for us), we jumped on it.  Typically, DH gets the soda package, we bring wine on board and the rest we purchase a la carte.  But for that price, to be able to try any drink + coffees + water + soda for DH, it's a no brainier.
But then it got us thinking...our 2 cruises next year with the $18 cost are with our kids so will definitely watch how much we drink.  But...DH and I have a 6 night cruise in Dec where it's just the 2 of us.  That would have been the perfect cruise to have gotten the $18 drink package.  We did the calculations at $62 CAD and he would break even,  but I would not.  (This was just before the recent price hike)
But kept thinking...it would be nice.  It would let us try new drinks without thinking about it.  There are so many neat cocktails, and can give different wines a try. If don't like anything, then order something else. Or if I've had half of the drink and it's enough, then no worries.  Toss the rest away.  DH also loves beer, scotch and other type alcohol.  I'm the type that would stick to the drinks that I know so would be a nice perk of the package.  And then you have the fancy coffees, etc that we typically wouldn't purchase (DH maybe, but I wouldn't).   Having said all that, I'm not a big drinker...would probably have 3-4 drinks (and fancy coffees, water) + any extras that I tried but maybe didn't love.  But...we went ahead and purchased it.  So now, all because of the $18 error, we have purchased the DBP for 3 cruises.
Anyone purchase the package more for the convenience than the savings?
P.S. - I've started a spreadsheet of great drinks to try. ?

I've seen Zima recently in our local beer store. 

Hard Seltzer= Zima from the 90's lol ?
 

Yes.  That will be more than adequate 

Yes. I've heard that before (years ago) as long as you can communicate back to the ship, they will try and wait, they don't want to leave anyone behind either.

We purposely book Chops (or whatever) on the formal nights so we don't have to get too dressy. We are Jeans and T-Shirt kind of people and at this point in our cruising career, we like to dress nice but over the formal night ordeal. We have also been known to enjoy fine dining in the Windjammer on formal nights :). That's us, we feel like we aren't missing anything different. (For the record, we aren't even really dining room people.)

Be careful to separate rumor from speculation from facts.  
Until the White House announces it, it's not going to happen.  Even if it did, the cruise lines lost so much money on the abrupt short notice changes they will be a lot more careful going back absent of anything that doesn't confirm another whimsical change couldn't occur a month later.  The current administration isn't very business friendly towards the cruise industry.
Even if a new administration were to allow it, the cruise industry would be cautious.  Most cruises are booked over a year in advance.  The cruise industry will always struggle with a flip flop government policy that allows it for a few years then changes it's mind with zero notice. It's challenging to build a business model when nothing is certain and the government can rip the rug out from under you tomorrow.
In the past there were grandfathering clauses that provided some stability.  Those were not offered this time where they could have been. 
Once bitten, twice shy.  

Returned yesterday from the New England/Canada cruise on Adventure. Total wait time at Cape Liberty terminal was about a half hour between entering and boarding. Went right to the Windjammer for lunch. Everything was good, much like it is on Anthem just a little smaller. Had 2 hours till cabin access so we went to the Lyric Theater to kill time. Saw Dumbo. Cabin was found to be clean, plenty of room for 2 (Spacious Ocean View Balcony). Asked for some ice, cabin attendant (Ajay) kept us in ice the whole cruise. Food in MDR was excellent. No complaints. Ate there 5 days, actually went to Windjammer on the last night as I knew they were having "Seafood Extravaganza" and American fare. Overdosed on seafood. All the ports were great, tendering at Bar Harbor was quick and painless. Saint John and Halifax are fabulous places to visit too. Most of our excursions were as advertised and worth the cost. Except one. I will cover that in that section of the blog.Onboard entertainment was well done. Shows by the ships singers and dancers were great. Nice ice skating show.  A Journey cover band named DSB  was the best I've ever seen. They were spot on. So many people at the 7 o'clock show came back to the 9 o'clock show that it was SRO! There were 2 hilarious comedians with both family and late night adult shows. 3 movies were rotating between the poolside screen and the theater. Dumbo, Return of Mary Poppins and Creed II. LOTS of trivia and karaoke going on in the lounges. We were blessed to have perfect weather, hardly a cloud in the sky with temps in the upper 70's. Our total wait time to disembark was about 15 minutes ( it was well organized). All in all it exceeded our expectations. And we are known as being hard to please.

Just to echo, yep, the porters will take just about anything you hand them. We have even given them garment bags with the hangers hanging out and all! A few bucks and start that vacation, let the porters do the hard work for you! ?

I really wish Royal would make that a 7 night sailing with two overnights in Bermuda.

Sorry Travis, but, why? Dragging a suit case though the check in process will slow you and folks behind you down. Give your baggage to the porter and a couple of dollars, keep you important stuff in a backpack, get on board and start your vacation. 

Absolutely.  The Hamilton night was good for the convenience of going into town and exploring the bar scene until the wee hours, but other than that it wasn't a huge deal.  What WAS impressive was watching them navigate into the port.  You could lean over the sides and it sure LOOKED like you were mere feet from the reefs on both sides coming in.  I was still in the Coast Guard at the time, and the thought of being on that bridge gave me palpitations! ?

I believe that if the ship knows why someone has been delayed and it is a reasonable wait, they will wait.  It's those folks who just don't come back on time and haven't bothered to try and signal "we're on our way !!" that get left. If they are aware that an excursion has been delayed (even if it is not one of theirs) I think they will try and accommodate.  I will never know b/c I will never be that brave !

I did that exact cruise on Empress of the Seas (it was still Nordic Empress at the time!) back in 2000, and it included an overnight in Hamilton!  It was a really unique cruise having all of that time on the island with no rush to get back. We absolutely loved it!

I really wish Royal would make that a 7 night sailing with two overnights in Bermuda.

Yes to everything @rjac said, especially the luggage tag holders! 
Something I do with luggage tags also is attach them to my carry on, just in case I leave my bags unattended (not that I would) we can hopefully reunite. I also keep a lose one on me for record.

Welcome to the message board Rick! Feel free to ask away with any questions you may have. There is a wealth of knowledge here from well seasoned cruisers. Here are some of my recommendation:
1. Check out this website for the Serenade's deck plans. Study them or print them off. That way you will know your way around the ship once you board and won't have to spend time wandering around aimlessly.
2. If possible, get to the port the day before, bad things can happen trying to get to the port the day the ship leaves. The next morning get to the port by 10:00 am. That way you can be some of the first to board. Your cabins won't be ready until probably 1:00 pm. and your luggage will show up later. Carry all your important documents, medication, sun screen, bathing suits in a small back pack or two because thee pools will be open. Lunch will be served in the Windjammer starting at 11:30 and it will be a zoo! Just be prepared,
3. Check out thee Main Dining Room and find out where your table is. That way you'll know where to go when it's time for dinner.
4. The Serenade has what is called "The Centrum" and it gets crowded. There is a lot of entertainment that happens here. Check it out and get there early (20-30 minutes) to get good seats. We have been on the Serenade twice. 
5. We enjoy room service bringing us complimentary coffe, fruit and roles/danish first thing in the morning and enjoying them on our balcony. Great on cruise days and enjoyable on ports days. Then we get ready for the day and find a "proper" breakfast. 
6. Get these luggage tag holders. Many of us here use there and they work out great. The luggage tags you will print (much later, like 45 days out from sailing) will be paper and they recommend taping/stapling them to the handle on your suit case. These are heavy duty plastic sleeves with a stainless steel cable for attaching to your luggage handle...and they're inexpensive. Put these on the morning you go to the terminal. https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Tag-Caribbean-Celebrity/dp/B00UR2M5FE/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Cruise+Luggage+Tag+Holder+Zip+Seal+%26+Steel+-+Royal+Caribbean+%26+Celebrity+Cruise&qid=1565387091&s=gateway&sr=8-3
7. As mentioned above, purchase the deluxe/unlimited drink package on the cruise planner. Routinely check the price and if it has dropped, cancel the more expensive and buy the less expensive. It's legal and most off us here do that. Same thing for the specialty dining, if your group is interested.
8. Again, ask us questions about the ship, itinerary, etc. Most important is HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

My sister's and my first cruise was May 2018 on a 5 day Anthem cruise to Bermuda.  I have to say I wished it was longer so I could have done more ?