WAAAYTOOO

If you are staying on Deck 17 and plan on spending a lot of time in your suite, then the access to the Suites Lounge and its complementary beverages would probably serve your drink needs. If, however, you plan on being out and about on the ship most of the time, or you are in a suite that is not located on Deck 17, you may find visiting the SL to grab a coke or a bottle of water or even a beer or glass of wine, to be inconvenient. As @twangstermentioned, it's difficult to be spontaneous and get a drink when and where you want it if you have to stop what you're doing and run to the lounge every time you want a drink. I am not a big drinker....but I do like a canned coke (hate fountain cokes) and bottled water. I always purchase a DBP and even though I'm sure I pay more that way, I am able to get whatever I want to drink whenever I want it. I find that to be worth whatever financial penalty I might pay. Neither of us drink wine (much) and Dan will get the occasional beer, but sticks primarily to high end single malt scotch which is rarely rarely rarely available in the SL. Even during the SL "Happy Hour" most, if not all, of the lounges do not have a blender, so a blended cocktail isn't normally available in the SL. With the DBP, however, if I feel like having a mud slide or a pina colada with Amaretto (yum) then it's included. You'll never get either one of those in the SL at ANY time.

I agree with @sk8erguy1978. It's all about personal choice. Whether you choose to tip anyone is completely arbitrary. It's a matter of debate as to whether the Genie's tip is included in the cruise fare for Star Class. Most people say that it is not. ....but you're not going to get a bill at the end of the cruise if you choose not to tip the Genie...or anyone else.

Just sign into your account, get into your cruise and open the Cruise Planner. If you have OBC, a banner will pop up and tell you how much you have.

Thank you !!

Joe, I owe you an apology. Apparently you did the math and I didn't bother to. You are right ! If all of these cruises sail, I WILL be Pinnacle in April ! It sounded too good to be true, but I did the math, and you're right ! It will take me 48 nights to accumulate 190 points (actually 192) so we should make P on the second half of our Liberty B2B (April 18-25). I, however, do not really believe that those first 4 cruises will sail (Oasis X2 and Symphony X2). At any rate, it should be some time next year unless things go terribly wrong. My goal was to reach P before we did our TransPacific on Ovation in April 2022. That shouldn't be a problem....fingers crossed.

I might. I will wait and see if it's there tomorrow.

Has anyone else had mystery OBC posted to their CP accounts ? This morning, while doing my morning perusal, I noted $100 OBC show available on 3 of my upcoming cruises: Serenade, May 23, Allure, Nov. 13 and Symphony, Dec. 31. In all 3 of these cruises, the "OBC banner" popped up and said that I had $100 OBC available. I did not spend any of it...prices are "up" at the moment, but if they are still there when the next "sale" starts, I am going to gobble it up !! Needless to say, no, I have not applied any OBC to any of these cruises myself. They just mysteriously appeared this morning.

I look at this as an opportunity to make an additional 25% on my money. Make final payment and then, once they cancel the cruise, get your extra 25% FCC. I think of this as a "buying opportunity". ?

YIPPEE !!! 4X points on suites ! That is SUCH great news. Makes all of that work, booking all of these cruises, so worth it. Oh wait....I didn't do ANY work. That was all on @michelle. So, Thank you, @michelle. Your hard work is really gonna help us make Pinnacle. Not by April, Joe....but some time this year, assuming the cruises start back up !!!

Thank goodness. I was able to delete those awful emoticons once I got to the laptop.

Actually, making final payment on or before the payment deadline is the ONLY way to get your money back as a cash refund. If you cancel before final payment or before the cruise line officially cancels the cruise, you will only be eligible for a Future Cruise Credit.

Well....the latest on this....I turned the job down, after all. When it’s time to retire, it’s time to retire. We head to FL mid-Nov for real ! ....and the truth is, I booked those cruises anyway ! Even without the salary and the signing bonus !

I tried to get those stupid heart-eyes-creepers off my last post but they won’t delete. Makes them even creepier.

We have 100 night booked in 2021, all in suites. Not sure how the “C&A discount” clause is going to affect them. We rarely use the C&A discount anyway. Some random promo discount usually pushes the C&A Discount out. Many of these bookings are casino comps so no C&A discount was applied. SO...if all of them Sail and are awarded an extra point, we would accumulate 300 points in 2021. We currently need 190 points to make Pinnacle. It’s looking good !

Over on CC they are reporting that a FB post indicated that Royal is extending the "double points" offer to those with already-booked cruises. I don't know how accurate that is...but that's what they're reporting. Hope it's true !

Bummer. Not worth the hassle (for us) to rebook....too many CP purchases already made. Would have been nice though !

Wow, I sure hope it applies to already-booked cruise AND quad points for Suites. That would be SOOOOper.

Wahoo ! So glad you found us, Stacey ! Enjoy that OS.

You’re welcome

No. Only the cruise fare itself is included in the 125%. Everything else (including grats) will be a cash refund.

No, there is no way to reserve meals prior to boarding with the UDP unless you’re in a suite (GS or higher). The trade-off for getting the reduced price for specialty dining is that you cannot make advance reservations. Those who pay full price get first choice. If you are staying in a full suite, the Suites Concierge can make dining reservations prior to boarding as they reach out to you a few days prior to boarding. Aside from the Suite option, you should make reservations as soon as you board at one of the specialty restaurants or at one of the special kiosks that are stationed around for that express purpose. My feeling is that reservations are going to be both precious and necessary with COVID protocols in place. No, the upcharge items at Chops still require an upcharge, even with the UDP. The only time that upcharge items are included is for Star Class.

Looks like we will just miss each other, but you will be on the same week as @PaulRC

We'll be on Allure Oct 3-10 and 10-17.

That's an oldie bug goodie.

Yikes ! That IS high. I don’t blame you