WAAAYTOOO

Twangster, did you have to go through Customs when you disembarked ?

+1 for this.

I just booked the Marriott Biscayne Bay for points this afternoon (35,000). I know for sure that they do NOT have any shuttles at all. In fact, every downtown Miami Marriott hotel that I checked does not offer any shuttles (including the Ritz, the W and the Courtyard). My guess is that none of them do. You might have better luck with airport properties or even some between the airport and the beach. The majority of the downtown Miami hotels are either 35,000 or 50,000 points. I don’t care about a shuttle to the port b/c they normally do not leave early enough for me but I would have loved a shuttle from the airport. No joy.

Wow. What a surprise. I just received the Genie questionnaire for our 1 Dec Oasis Cruise. I guess this confirms the 60 day/2 months “rule” for first contact. I’m all excited now ! Yippee !!

That's cuttin' it pretty close but FLL/PE is one of the few places that you could do this.

So SMAAAAAT

My how things have changed. Back in my travel agency days (WAAAAAYYYY back. We used Official Airline Guides - BOOKS !!) it was always cheaper to book RT and 1Way. The airline industry is nothing like it was back then though.

I read this super-fast and I first thought it said "tastes like children". I got quite a laugh at myself over that one.

YIPPEE !!!!

This is all very hypothetical since there are no over nights at CC at this time but I could imagine a nighttime party with live music near the pool or beach, night swimming (always fun), eating at the various restaurants. I would think there would be a lot they could do at night. They could even bring special bands along to give concerts at night.

Agree that old Cruise Compasses will give you a good idea of what the showtimes are likely to be but unfortunately there is no way to know ahead of time exactly what your entertainment acts will be or what time they are going to begin. Royal (and all cruise lines, I'm guessing) book their entertainment rather last minute....or at least it seems that way as there are so very often last minute changes to the entertainment lineup. When you get within 2 weeks of your cruise you can email [email protected] and they will give you the entertainment information that they have. Just include the ship and sail date in your email and they will give you what they have BUT there is a very real chance that there will be some last minute changes to that lineup. It's the best you can do though. It's better than nothing !!

I wonder what they meant by "loyalty has already boarded". That doesn't make any sense. You ARE Loyalty if you are Emerald. Confused by this one....

Yes, generally on the last sea day there will be loads of sales items.

Wow. Just Wow.

I've lived that nightmare, myself. We had a friendly ongoing week-long feud with another couple over a table that overlooked the railing. It was always a joke to see which of us would get there first and get "the" table. We all became fast friends but it was ridiculous that they could not manage to secure a table at the SAME TIME EVERY NIGHT. This is one (among many others) reason why we quit going to the MDR altogether. The final deal was the ungodly atrocious Thanksgiving meal we had on NAV 2 Thanksgivings ago. That was the last meal we ever ate in a MDR and we will never go back.

Hard to say since this is a hypothetical situation but my guess is the casino would open at, say, 6 or 7 PM like it does at other overnight ports (i.e. Bermuda).

The UDP will not cover the upcharge items in the MDR. If you eat in the MDR and want the filet or lobster, you will have to pay the upcharge. The only down side to having the UDP on a smaller ship like Enchantment is that you will end up eating in the same specialty restaurant numerous times. If you want true variety, I would recommend you stick with the MDR and just pay the upcharge if you want one of the upcharge items. If you want a filet or lobster every single night then you should stick with the UDP. If I understand your OP correctly, you have paid $590 for 5 UDP packages. $590 will buy a lot of upcharge items from the MDR. Personally, I think your best bet would be to cancel the UDP, go to the MDR and order the occasional filet or lobster if the mood strikes. As a frequent user of the UDP I can attest that you do get tired of eating at the same few restaurants after a while....especially when you throw in lunches on embarkation and sea days.

I agree with you about the tendered port. I had forgotten about that perk !

Honestly, I do not think that Royal has anything called "priority check-in". It seems that the only 2 options for true "priority" are suites/pinnacles and the Key. There are different lines for C&A status but they are basically all the same priority. To my knowledge, only Suites/Pinnacles and The Key get any kind of special handling (exception....Star Class, but not every port even has Star Class).

I really think that the value of the Key is mostly a function of the length of the cruise, the number of people that are traveling, the PP price and the amenities of the ship that will be included (things like North Star, Rip Cord and lots of live shows). If you are on a long cruise with a big family the cost of the Key will be enormous. However, for 2 people on a 5 night cruise, the value, when you consider that it includes internet already (if you were going to be purchasing the internet anyway) makes it quite reasonable. If you really want to take advantage of the flow rider or the North Star or a live concert in 270, the Key will be very beneficial. If you are on a small ship without a flow rider or lots of live shows, it may not be that valuable.

YIKES !!!

...and who says it would be closed anyway ? No reason why most of the island couldn't remain open if there are guests there overnight. Obviously they would not remain open ALL night but I would guess that they could have the water park and most of the restaurants, etc. open until fairly late.

Interesting. I thought I had read that Empress did NOT have a formal night.

This is most definitely our philosophy. My motto is always "let's get to where we're going first" and then everything else is secondary.

Say what ?? ....what a bunch of bumbling morons (RCCL IT). I wonder how many people choose BOGO 50% off for $52 because it's "on sale" and the one for $49 isn't ?