WAAAYTOOO

Word to the wise. Do NOT make your investment decisions based on a flighty RC shareholder benefit. You will be sorely disappointed !

Welcome to the SUNNY side. So glad to have you with us !

What a great Star Class attitude ! I know it's a total mind game (one that RC LOVES, I'm sure) but it's very true. I look at the prices for the dining packages and drink packages EVERY day on the SC cruises I have booked and then I just say to myself "I don't have to worry about that !".

BDR, what's with all the facial hair ? When did that happen ???

I've cruised during most all of the US holidays at one time or another. We almost always cruise for Christmas and NY....at least up until this year when they no longer have ANY cruises that cover both holidays ! <mad face> To be honest, there really isn't a lot of difference between holidays and non-holiday cruising. Obviously, during Christmas/NY there will be decorations on the ship and they will do a few things like singing Christmas Carols and Santa will be there but it's really still just a cruise. Where you will really notice the difference is in your wallet ! The most expensive week to cruise is over NY. The second most expensive week is Christmas and the LEAST expensive week to cruise are the first 2 weeks of December. I, like Matt, was on a cruise this past Thanksgiving (NAV) and I will say that the Thanksgiving meal that they served in the MDR was the single worst meal I have EVER experienced on a cruise ship. The food was just awful. Enough said. I will never ever have a Thanksgiving meal in the MDR again. We also sailed during the 4th of July last year (Grandeur) and it was so cool to be coming back on July 4th, cruising through the Chesapeake Bay and seeing all the fireworks along the shore, from the Bay. Of course, that was a function of timing, since we were coming back on the actual 4th of July. Had we been at sea that day we wouldn't have seen ANY fireworks. If it's a major US holiday, expect there to be MANY children aboard. That has never bothered us really, as we spend most of our time in the casino anyway and [lately, anyway] almost always have the Ultimate Dining Package and therefore eat most of our meals in a specialty restaurant. But if lots and lots of kids bother you, I recommend avoiding major US holidays.

Unfortunately, nothing for any of my upcoming cruises is reduced to a level where I haven't already purchased or declined to purchase. ?

So true. As an investor, you are torn between "the bottom line" and "hey...where are my bennies ?". I guess the bottom line is winning ! Ok with me. The trend is going in the right direction, at least !

Sadly, we have not found any way to use our shareholder benefits. They often advertise that you can get OBC for being a shareholder but it rarely works out that the shareholder benefit is the better one and some other offer supersedes it. OBC offers are rarely combinable.

WOW ! How cool is that !?

Why B2B Star Class cruises ? Why not ? Ok...try again. HOW B2B Star Class cruises ? As Prime Club Royale members, Dan and I each get a "free" annual cruise. Since we had never done a B2B before, I decided (Dan never decides ANYthing having to do with cruising...he is a tagalong) that this is the time/way to do it. So I booked 2 consecutive inside rooms on Anthem for 15-23 Feb and 23 Feb - 3 Mar. Wait a minute ! I'm a suite snob ! How can I be expected to cruise in an inside room ? So I upgraded these cruises to Ocean view balcony rooms (careful to make sure that I found a stateroom that was available for both cruises....so we wouldn't have to change rooms, right ? Ha ! Pure folly !)...then to Junior Suites...then to J1 JS with large balcony. By now, we have moved WELL past the option of remaining in the same room on both cruises. All of these upgrades occurred over a period of about 6 months AND I often upgraded one and then a few days later, upgraded another and on and on and on.... If any of you EVER had a question about whether or not Michelle Cunningham is a Saint...wonder no longer. With EACH and EVERY upgrade, she calmly and patiently complied with my schizophrenic requests and each time she was always entirely successful in getting me EXACTLY what I asked for. Side note1: When you book a "free" casino cruise (whether it is one of your annual cruises or some other type of free casino offer) you must pay the entire balance at the time that you book the cruise. Now it begins to occur to me....why not upgrade ALL the way ? Do I dare ? ....then, somewhere in my very noisy mind I hear, "YOLO BOOK IT". Of COURSE, there is not a SC room that is available on both cruises, so I went in, knowing that we would have to switch suites. Small price to pay. F* it. Done. 15-23 Feb Grand Loft Suite 8724. On 23 Feb - 3 Mar GLS 10720. Side note2: This was quite a learning experience for both me and Michelle. Neither of us really realized how relatively affordable it is to upgrade a "free" casino comp cruise. I think this is why I was so emboldened to keep upgrading. In the end, after all of the changes and upgrades, I was able to go from 2 inside cabins to 2 SC suites for around $7500. Now, that's still a lot of money...not sayin' it ain't....but for 2, SC 8 day cruises, that is a STEAL. So for those of you who are [at least] Prime Club Royale members, this is the way to do it, if you have ever considered booking Star Class. The upgrades - even when you start from an inside room - are as cheap as you're ever going to get them.

Well, it's been almost a week now that we've been back from our B2B Star Class cruises on Anthem so if I'm going to do this blog I'd better do it while I can still remember stuff (#oldbrain).... Some of you may have noticed that I tend to be a bit "wordy" <cough, cough> so I'm going to try and keep my posts short(er). Unfortunately, I am the anti-Twangster so I have NO photos at all. That's just the way I roll....so not only will this blog be on the wordy side, but it will be bereft of photos - hince, the shorter, more readable options, hopefully.

Let me answer the easy one first. On Liberty, no Voom package included as a suite perk. Only on ships that have the Royal Suites Program (Quantum and Oasis class ships) is Voom included (Sky and/or Star Class). As for the question about cancelling The Key...actually, yours is the first post I have read indicating that you cannot cancel The Key within 6 days of sailing. That's very interesting. Had not read that before. I really would have no idea whether they would let you cancel last minute but since you say that it cannot be cancelled within 6 days of the cruise, my guess is that they would stick to this limitation. While I know that it's POSSIBLE that you would not know about any RoyalUp bid acceptance until the last few days prior to the cruise, I think that the majority of people are being notified before that. I know that the rejection emails on RoyalUp bids do not come until the very last minute but I think acceptances are usually well in advance of the cruise except in some very rare circumstances. Not sure what to advise you to do here....

Interesting. I had the same concern. I wasn't even sure I would like the Q class but we both really did. I completely concur with comments that I have read in the past about the Esplanade/Via areas being bottlenecks to big crowds but that wasn't such a big deal. The Anthem is SO different from any other ship we have been on that we really, really enjoyed it. Dan particularly loved 270 and the Music Hall. We did not even miss the Aqua Theater but we did sort of miss Central Park. Not all that fond of the Coastal Kitchen setup on Anthem (missed the beautiful views of the CK on the O class) but we aren't huge CK fans to begin with. We ate breakfast there a few times and a couple of dinners. 1 lunch.

Maybe June 2020 !

Technically, you cannot transfer a fully paid booking to a TA but Michelle at MEI did it for me just a couple of weeks ago.

The Residence Inn ! That's what we do, too !!! Such a great plan.

This is almost exactly what we do as well. $5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner.

No, never had it applied as OBC either....

Yes....I had made a special request of our Genie to keep our bags with us (based on some bad embarkation day experiences in SC previously) so she had them scan the bags right along with our carry-ons ! I had no idea they could even do that ! She had a porter bring everything with us as we went through security and check-in (actually, there WAS NO check-in...she already had our Sea Pass cards for us) all the way through to the bedroom upstairs. It was the most wonderful check-in ever ! The B2B SC was unbelievable. I am still planning on writing a short summary but haven't gotten around to it since I've been so busy since getting back. When you take 16 days off while still working there is payback. Boy, is there.... We loved it so much that we are doing the same exact itineraries next February. Dan LOVED Anthem. I still prefer the O class but he really enjoyed Anthem. It may have had something to do with the fact that he was on B2B Star Class cruises...not really sure. LOL

To my great surprise, on our recent Anthem cruises, they ran ALL of our bags through the regular scanner. I was SHOCKED when I saw those big bags go through. I had no idea they would fit....but they did...just barely ! ....but generally, no...they will not allow you to bring your big bags onto the ship yourself.

That's good to know, Matt. It was my understanding that once they had assigned you a room they would NOT make any changes for you. Good to know that they can....

Start booking suites ! It goes quickly when you do that !

Assuming your 4/11 cruise is for THIS year ? If so, it is already past final payment date and you would not be able to use your casino certificate for that cruise. Technically, you can only use the certificate on a new booking BUT I have had mixed results applying a casino certificate to an already-booked cruise. The only thing that is absolutely forbidden is to apply a casino certificate to a booking that already has a casino discount applied (double dipping). If you had a cruise booked for which the final payment date had not yet passed, AND you did not already have a casino discount on that one, you MIGHT stand a chance of using the certificate on that cruise but after final payment date. Nope. The certificates are designed to encourage new bookings so it makes sense that they would require you to book a new cruise to use it....and it is always a "gamble" (see what I did there ???) to try and use it on an already-booked cruise...but I HAVE done it before.

Yes, even with a NRD they will reprice a cruise to a lower fare. The only time they will not is if it is past final payment date.

Shhhh.....that's a secret Star Class perk. Don't tell anybody ! ?