Rackham

At the moment, it's taking over Anthem's Cape Canaveral, Nassau, and CocoCay itinerary.

Looks like Caesars was anticipating this. "Please Note: You must have earned Tier Status with your current loyalty program in order for your status to be matched. Members must re-apply if qualified for a status match starting on 2/1 of every year. Caesars Rewards will not grant status to WR members who came into the WR program from a tier match promotion with other programs or who previously had recent Caesars Rewards status that was about to expire, and vice versa. " https://www.caesars.com/myrewards/partners/wyndham_resorts

Since it's a private island, she'll need to purchase a beach day/break/other to accompany you to the island.

Typically multiple appetizers and deserts are allowed, but only one entrée. Basically, ask your server and see what they say if you're interested in multiple entrées. I will say that the appetizers and desserts are often closer in portion size to land-based restaurants than the MDR.

I can't tell you about the wine, but I can say that aboard Anthem last month the Aperol spritzes kept coming for no additional charge. YMMV.

If you're concerned about views, I wouldn't bid on a RoyalUp. It's a blind auction where you're bidding on whatever comes available in a category, not too dissimilar to a GTY booking. It's possible your RoyalUp bid gets you a cabin with worse views or locations than wherever you were initially assigned.

I'll be there and drinking through Royal's bar menus in the name of research.

If Royal's IT was better, and this would make the process easier for everyone involved with a dining package including their staff, is when booking the dining package passengers choose their preferred restaurants and times blocks (ex. Day 3; Teppanyaki; 6:00pm - 7:00 pm) then reservations are assigned and sent out closer to the sailing. On 3-5 night packages, Royal could guarantee the day, restaurant and time block; with UDP they could guarantee the time block and that you'll be able to visit each restaurant selected for a reservation at least once during the sailing. Or Royal could go for broke, turn the dining packages into a Restaurant GTY, and have purchasers select which restaurants they'd like to use the package at, then assign dining times between 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and which day the reservation is happening on. Toss in a comped MDR lobster tail, during specialty dining, if the reservation falls on lobster night to keep people happy.

Running the numbers, that's not a bad deal if traveling with a group who's not receiving drink vouchers and didn't buy the DBP or if someone with vouchers wants more wine than they have vouchers for. Otherwise, paying the difference between the voucher benefit and the per glass cost was cheaper on the bottles I ran the numbers for. Though there are bottles that Royal doesn't sell by the glass, so there's that too.

The host/waiter for Chef's Table on Oasis was saying it's 5 glasses to a bottle with their pour size.

Look for the b-series of treatments in the spa. Though Royal's asking $159 to $299 for the IVs on Allure. From the company who's making the product: https://thebiostation.com/nutrient-iv-therapy/

Hadn't heard this before, but apparently it's not a chemical reaction between the fats and alcohol, it's the fat sticking to the stomach lining slowing the absorption of alcohol into the body. "If you eat before ingesting alcohol, your body will thank you later on. The fat in something like a greasy burger actually sticks to the stomach lining longer, which slows the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. In parts of the Mediterranean, swallowing a spoonful of olive oil is even a thing." https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/the-science-behind-why-drunk-food-eaten-before-getting-drunk

Not to my knowledge. This sounds like something to add to Wikipedia and let the masses keep it up to date.

Nope. The discount should apply to non-alcoholic beer if you'd like one.

Breakfast, coffee, and fresh air. With that said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hangovers/symptoms-causes/syc-20373012 Three large takeaways which people can easily incorporate shipside without much thought: Don't drink on an empty stomach. Eat frequently. Drink water frequently while indulging. Partake in your alcoholic beverages slowly. Savor the drink instead of slamming it back. Mayo recommends no more than one an hour. My suggestion is to also add in a rehydration beverage to sip on between boozy liberations, if you're really going at it, because you're going to be urinating more, which means losing salts quicker, which will contribute to dehydration and more intense hangovers. Liquid IV is popular, though I skip these sorts of flavored powders and bring WHO formula ORS to mix with water aboard.

I doubt that based on what they've said during investor earnings calls. Royal feels that they're too much of a good value and are slowly working their prices to where they'd like them to be when it comes to fare. On cruise planner purchases, it's what people are willing to pay. So many people feel that they need internet and a drink package that Royal still hasn't hit the price ceiling on these items yet. They may or may not be close, but there can always be another sale if purchases drop off. Edit: Black Friday pricing is to capture the market segment who waits for Black Friday for their purchases and those who can't or won't pay more. If Black Friday pricing ends up cannibalizing full-priced sales, I expect Royal to reduce the discount being offered during the sale. Much like they've changed around the discounts on last-minute bookings due to reduction in people booking earlier, at a higher price point, when there was sharp cabin discounts a few weeks before sailing.

Looking forward to the trip report on Cruise Critic.

Least favorite has been Oasis (Oasis-class) due to how it felt the ship's design limited ocean views from many of the passenger decks, but at the same time, Central Park was impressive. The number of live entertainment venues and performances was nice. Royal completely nailed the ship as a destination with this class. Most favorite has been Adventure (Voyager-class) from the combination of things to do aboard, the itinerary with the feeling that we're going on something like an adventure, and how the ship felt like a ship with the ocean views. Honorable mention for Anthem (Quantum-class). Felt like a mix of Oasis and Voyager with its own unique thing going on. I don't know if it'd be my first choice for warmer water sailings, but for a winter sailing from New Jersey, the indoor public space design was really nice. There's really not a bad ship in the fleet. It's what you're looking for on a particular sailing that should guide your choice.

I'm curious as to what was on the menu? Any chance there's a picture of it? As it sounds more like jealousy at this point than a lousy MDR lunch menu.

Can anyone chime in who's recently done a B2B if the MDR lunch is still being offered? https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2826602-no-more-dining-room-lunch-for-b2b-passengers-fleet-wide-change/ Reading through the thread first is important. From OP over there on page 4. "The officer in charge of in transit guests was checking us off her list as we showed up for testing. I mentioned the B2B letter did not say anything about lunch and she confirmed since there were so few doing B2B it was decided not to have one. The F&B manager told me they have a cutoff number and if that number is not reached or close, the lunch is not scheduled." Edit 3: Page 4 has a picture of what the B2B MDR menu looked like in early 2022.

https://www.bunkerspot.com/global/58588-global-first-engine-started-on-lng-fuelled-icon-of-the-seas "GLOBAL: FIRST ENGINE STARTED ON LNG-FUELLED ICON OF THE SEAS" Short story shorter. The first of six multifuel diesel/LNG engines aboard Icon was started on March 15 using diesel. Bit of a major milestone with its construction. Here's to successful starts for the other five engines.

Let me try to remember how these have worked on other ships. Royal Mystery by Puzzle Break: A packet is provided to each 5 person (or so team) with a bunch of pages. Pages contain the clues needed to solve the puzzles and the puzzles themselves. There might be additional clues/puzzles located in the room where the game is taking place (such as printouts of footsteps) needed during the game. Game shows. 1. If you know it, dance it. Contestants will have to dance to a popular song that has "official" dance moves correctly. Host may or may not be easy with the judging on how close contestants need to be to stay in the game. 2. Majority Rules. Teams write down their answer to a multi-answer question posted by the host. Teams are awarded points if their answer was the most frequent answer given to the question. 3. 60 seconds or less. It's "Minute to Win It" games hosted by Royal. 4. Battle of the Sexes. Trivia competition of men versus women. 5. Friendly Feud. Royal is the official cruise line of Name That Tune, not Family Feud. It's Family Feud renamed for the lawyers.

Royal's execs have mentioned that's the demographic that they're targeting along with a general nod towards being 20% cooler less expensive. Multigenerational families who would consider vacationing at Disney or Universal or similar and don't have a problem paying the asking price. And there are plenty of potential customers who meet this description even if families and individuals are priced out along the way. The AARP article mentioned at the start is making a bad comparison just based on where the c-suite at Royal is attempting to position the company.

Since you went there, here's my take. For most people, based on message board postings, they're better off financially paying as they go instead of purchasing a package due to drink fatigue and opportunities for use. It seems most frequently people break even on a drink package (that includes the Refreshment package) versus paying out of pocket. The DBP at current pricing makes the most sense for people who really enjoy premium cocktails and cruisers who don't want to think about the cost of what they're ordering while on vacation. While it might seem silly to overpay to not think about drink costs, there is a certain value to just going and having a good time without worrying about the bill at the end (not something I'd personally do, but I can understand where people are coming from who do).

Got the invoice for payment when they reversed the $100 OBC. Called customer service, was told the wait time would be longer than the typical Disney animated film, hanged up, and then canceled all cruise planner purchases which OBC was used (including those with OBC earned from booking the cruise). Once the $50 OBC hit, gave it a resting period then repurchased only the DBP.