VillainsGin

Those are definitely some very helpful advice i'm going to do some research on, thank you! We're on Jan 4th!!!! Which will come extremely quick since thanksgiving and christmas are right behind!

Similar to being able to take memories/experiences to the grave with you but not your materialistic items.

I avoid LAX with all my existence! We were lucky to get flights out of ONT or john wayne.

hail brood queen

This have to be a forbidden or banned card for sure. Way too OP

Outstanding example of a loving husband! @RickinSTL

Love this. Seemed like just a rollercoaster of events and emotions, glad you're here now though!

That is just so wholesome how you can meet great people and stay connected with them even after the journey has ended. I'm hoping to meet a couple similar to us that we can do the same as you!

I've met a young couple not too long ago who does not work and have a family. Their income is supplied by their wealthy parents, they are very humble and are amazing people though. Just crazy how people from all over with all types of lifestyle comes together in one ship.

I envy you so much to be located near the port! I heard some news about royal caribbean adding ports to California but at the moment there is majority Carnival. Never tried carnival or any cruise ships for that matter but i'm "loyal to royal" Emphasis on slightly for airfare, since it's me and my S/O round trip for the both of us is quite hefty. Close to $1,000 if not more for the both of us round trip. Also want to get there the night before in case of any hiccups so we booked a stay in a hotel nearby. But we work with the cards we're dealt and as long as we enjoy the journey/cruise it's all that matters. I've noticed so far not one person has the same lifestyle for their cruising habits which is amazing. I get a lot of information and feedback on how to make it work with different scenarios.

Efficient and effective even when away from the family. I think that is a great investment of DH's time. It's adorable how you both make it work with the hands you're dealt with.

Thanks for the information, I guess that is where the phrase "loyal to royal" comes from haha. The budgeting and compromises that needs to be made is definitely well worth it for cruising. Getting great perspective into everyone's daily life and how they make it happen is quite wholesome.

That was one of my strategies! My company is very lenient on "OT" so i wanted to push it and use the excess for all my cruises. 320 hours of PTO is insane, I envy you.

That's extremely interesting, guess there is no one right way to go about this cruising lifestyle. First step for me is to start cruising and building up the points to get higher status for the discounts then. Thank you for the input of your life!

Thank you so much for the insight into your cruise life! The key point I got from that is just to budget and finance according to your personal cruising frequencies. This makes a lot more sense than me assuming there was some sort of bulk purchasing haha.

I've been on this board for several months now after I booked (and officially paid in full) my very first cruise! Sailing in Jan,2020 on Symphony of the Seas OVC. After interacting and receiving so many positive feedback/advice/suggestions from this blog I'm already addicted to cruising before it even started. I see A LOT of fellow experienced cruiser with so many cruises under their belt and some with 20+ cruises already lined up for the future. (Back to back cruises as well) I want to also be part of the cruising lifestyle and was curious if there is a better way or something i'm missing in order to afford so many cruises. The question (I apologize ahead of time if it's too personal): Fellow cruisers who have sailed countless of times and have even more cruises booked ahead in the future, how do you afford it? How did you manage to take time off from work? Are most retired therefore enjoying their life on cruises? Is there bulk booking for a significant discount or something similar I'm not aware of? Any tips and advice to integrate cruising as part of a lifestyle when it comes to finance? Sorry if this is too personal, I'm just extremely curious and eager to follow the same lifestyle. Thank you in advance!

Awww what!? what a usually strange and inconvenient rule. I booked this cruise sometime in august-september and paid it off in full for sailing date of Jan 4th. Looks like I have to literally claim my prize in myvegas slot within the same month I book a cruise?

My sail date is not until Jan 4th, 2020. Should I redeem it now and forward it over to casino department? Does this onboard credit show up for me to use on my cruise planner?

I recently started playing MyVegas Slots App on both my phone and facebook when a friend suggested it's a great way to earn prized for my first cruise in Jan, 2020. I saved enough to get both the $50 on-board credit & $100 on-board credit. My question is how do I go about claiming the prize with royal caribbean? (the entire procedure) Does this affect anything or null the reward if I booked with my TA at MEI Travel Agency? (Do I have to let me TA know i want to claim this prize?) Is this something where I can claim and apply on my own? For example do they send you a code in your e-mail and you just input it somewhere in a cruise planner? Can anyone provide me the step by step instructions and detail for completing this as smoothly and simply?

Does anyone know if there are any designer brand stores on-board Symphony of the Seas? For example: coach, louis vuitton, prada, fendi, burberry, michael kors etcetc? AND if there is some designer stores has anyone ever shopped or purchased from the cruise? Is it cheaper or more expensive? Is there limited edition or exclusive designs that these brand name stores carry just for royal caribbean that land stores don't have?

So you would upload or enter the code directly onto your cruise planner? Is there a section on cruise planner to enter a code? Or do you go through a live representative first then it shows on your cruise planner

What is the process when claiming your rewards on myvegas slots? How and where do you get your onboard credit if thats what you purchased via myvegas rewards? Any tips or advice to avoid confusion or mistakes? I just started playing to try and accumulate gold coins to get some onboard credit but have no idea what to do after i claim in on my app?

how does it all work when using myvegas rewards for the cruise? For example if I accumulated enough points and decided to purchase onboard credit. Where do you go to claim that on the ship or how do you go about claiming the onboard credit?

Since I've stumble upon royal caribbean blog I gave their sponsor a try and I have not regretted it at all. I know why @Matt loves and has them as a sponsor. My MEI travel agent is Kelley and she is AMAZING!~ The level of patience someone would need to deal with me is IMMENSE, but Kelley made it look like a walk in the park!