WAAAYTOOO

Hopefully it will stay like that for you guys. Non-refundable only for suites is a huge PITA

No truer words have ever been spoken ! Basically, this plan only works for those of us who were going to be gambling anyway. I would certainly never suggest this as an option for getting a room discount if you were not already going to be gambling. From your OP it appears that you are not booking with North American rules so I'm not sure how the "book a room and hope for the best to snag a good upgrade" scenario would really work for you. Also, recent changes have made it mandatory for a non-refundable deposit on all full suites so booking early and hoping to find a better deal later is no longer an option for suites dwellers. The best piece of advice I can offer is book early but again, with the non-refundable only option, you will have to be very sure that you are going to take that cruise. I would also recommend that if you are considering jumping up to a full suite, you try it first on one of the older and less expensive ships, first. The full suites on the big new ships are very costly even if you DO get a nice casino rate....and those rates are continually going UP, not down. As I've said on a number of different threads, the cost of our first 2 BR Aqua Theater Suite was (and this was not even a year ago...Feb 2017) less than half the cost of the same exact room that we booked for Feb 2019. I don't think they've reached their price saturation threshold yet.

Lucky you. Enjoy and thanks for taking us with you !

Welcome, Paul !

Welcome, Peggy ! I will be on Allure in April so keep her nice and shiny for me !

I agree with your reasoning. If you CAN'T live in Florida then the next best plan is to live near a major airport. If you're going to have to fly, you might as well try and make it a single leg event. There are many downsides to living right outside of Washington, DC but one of the very important UPSIDES is our proximity to 2 major airports (I don't count Baltimore as it's not convenient for us at all). At least when we fly, we can get to almost anywhere in Florida with a 1 leg flight. There's nothing wrong with living in Boise, ID but you're going to have to change planes no matter where you go. Just sayin'

I have never heard of anyone getting a certificate in the mail. I would be very dubious about this statement. A similar thing happened to us last year. While in the casino one evening, the hostess (with whom we have a fairly friendly relationship) told Dan (called him by name) that he had earned a free cruise. He thanked her and we expected to get a certificate on the last day as we normally do. However, the certificate never materialized. When we got home, we called Club Royale and told them the story. The person on the phone said that they would have to get in touch with the hostess in question and resolve the issue. A number of days later, Club Royale called us back and gave us a certificate number to reference when we made our "free" cruise reservation. I have no idea what transpired behind the scenes....all I know is that they made good on their promise and we got our certificate. So, I recommend that you contact Club Royale directly, tell them the story, and see what they say. Frankly, I was very surprised that we got our certificate. I figured that since we did not get it before we disembarked, it was history...but they did make good on it and we were very happy. It sounds like maybe you might not be in North America so I'm not sure that the phone number we use is the one that you would use, but for what it's worth, the Club Royale number is 1-888-561-2234. You might also contact them via email at [email protected] A piece of advice. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS call Club Royale when you make any kind of cruise reservation. Most likely (there's only been 1 exception to this rule for us since we've been members) they will offer you a better deal than you will get using ANY of the Royal promotions. If you want to use a good travel agent who knows how to work with Club Royale and get you the BEST possible deal, contact Michelle Cunningham with MEI. She has gotten us some deals that seem almost illegal. [email protected]. 703-986-0661 Best of luck ! ...and welcome to Club Royale. Things are in great flux with the program at the moment but overall, it is very rewarding. Let's hope it stays that way.

A true upgrade is a no-cost event. An upsell involved paying additional money for upgraded accommodations. The upgrade fairy is a nearly extinct species. GLAD to see that she visited mworkman. At least we know she's still alive. Here's a question. mworkman, if you prepaid gratuities at the regular rate, are they charging you anything more for grats since you are now in a "real" suite ? Also.....how is your room ? Are you thrilled ?

The requirement to prepay grats with MTD changed about a year or so ago....so you no longer have to have prepaid your grats to have MTD. Welcome to the blog and CONGRATULATIONS on your new addiction. You will love it. Enjoy your cruise. Liberty is a great ship.

What's surprising to me is that there are so FEW of these very expensive suites available at the last minute. That means that people are swooping them up early even though they must be purchased on a non-refundable deposit basis. If Royal can keep these $10 - $15K PP suites sold on all of these ships then more power to 'em. It shows that the top end price point has not yet been reached. If it had, there would be more of these high end suites available. These prices just keep climbing and climbing. The 2 BR ATS are now more than double what we paid for our first one back in Feb. 2016.

Yeah, I've heard those rumors of the "gray hairs gone wild". I'm not scurrrrrrred...

We're taking a "scouting" trip to The Villages next month just to see how it is there. We have a number of friends who are going to retire there within the next few years (some as early as May of this year). I have heard good and bad things about it. Neither of us are golfers so I'm not sure if we would use the amenities as much as our golf-loving friends...but we're definitely coming down there SOMEwhere...and soon. It's 9 degrees here in northern Virginia today ! YIKES

Welcome to the site, Nancy ! That sounds like a REALLY nice itinerary. I am envious. If the overnight stops in Europe are the same as they are in the Caribbean and Bermuda, then there is no deadline for being back on the ship and you should be fine. I hope that those who have been on an overnighter in Europe can validate my theory.

YAY !!!! Have a GREAT time.

Just keep saying to yourself...."...we're in a 2 BR suite....we're in a 2 BR suite....we're in a 2 BR suite..." Don't forget to use the complimentary Luggage Valet service on your way back !

I like Billy, too. I must have weird tastes...

I've waited for all of the "haters" to have their say and I will take a stab at standing up for Sorrento's pizza !! I will start out by admitting that I am neither a pizza snob nor a pizza connoisseur but I think the pizza at Sorrento's (at least, on Allure, which is one of the very few times I have tried it) wasn't bad. I have certainly had better but I have had FAR worse, too. Admittedly, we got the pizza when it was very fresh (immediately after they opened) and we were enjoying a nice cold beverage across the way in the pub while they were putting up the Christmas tree on Allure in Nov. but we rather enjoyed it. Not much else to say, really. When you are really hungry and it is right there waiting for you, it's ok. I will make myself an even GREATER target by admitting that I also don't mind the hot dogs at the Dog Shack (or whatever it's called). I love the greasy burgers at Johnny Rocket's too. So there.

Brilliance still has Rita's ? I thought it was just Radiance that still had Rita's.

Woohoo ! That is SO awesome. You won’t know how to act !

We also stick with one airline when at all possible. Same with the hotels. Since we both fly a lot for business we have settled on American Airlines. It seems that, since they merged with US Air, most of the east coast itins are covered best by AA. So even though there are cheaper flights from Washington (DCA) to Fort Lauderdale on Jet Blue (which is an airline I like a lot, BTW), we will usually choose to pay a little more and stick with American BUT American does not fly nonstop from DCA to FLL. So our options are to do a connection (which I HATE and rarely do) or fly nonstop into MIA. My one exception is when I fly overseas. I am Premier Gold with United so I will usually stick with United for my overseas trips so that I retain my Premier Gold status. Overall it saves the government money b/c I don't pay for luggage....but United just doesn't cover the east coast the way that AA does so we rarely, if ever, fly United to FL. Regarding the survey. I went ahead and checked #1 but it really doesn't fit exactly. I do not keep any spreadsheets or really compare prices that closely once I book. I book as early as I can and then I forget about it, usually. I will often check to make sure that the itin hasn't changed (sometimes I get notifications about itin changes from the airlines and sometimes I don't). Like Tiny, we usually fly First Class so there are fewer seats to choose from and I like to get it taken care of and then forget about it.

It's funny how we prioritize things. With a cruise, I am very fussy about my stateroom - where it is and what kind of room I am booking. Price is secondary...and it's the same with flights. I would rather pay a little more but book early and be sure that I am getting the itinerary and seats that I want. Now, obviously, if price is unreasonably high - like it was to San Juan last year for Christmas - then price becomes a discriminator but all things being pretty much the same, I will choose to make airline reservations earlier rather than later. I think the OCD in me also shows. I cannot STAND to have a loose end and a confirmed cruise without a confirmed way to get there is a VERY loose end ! I need to know that I have everything locked in. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE a good deal and I'm very happy when I get one but I need to have my sh*t stacked and my ducks lined up and all of that...

Edit: I just found the page that showed the total price of the excursion. The total cost was $160 of which we paid $50 in advance and $110 at the resort.

The cruise when we used Resortforaday.com was in June 2016 on Freedom. The itin went to Roatan, Honduras and we booked at the Natale Bay Villas. My receipt was for $50 ($25 each) but I don't remember if that was just a down payment or the full cost. I can't imagine that it was the full cost but I don't have any more details about what the total cost was. It was "all inclusive" but I recall that the food was mediocre at best and the drinks were just "ok". All-in-all, I would not recommend this "resort". I certainly hope that other destinations with Resortforaday.com are better than the one we experienced.

We once checked into staying on the Radiance when the weather was an issue getting home. They did have one room available (I think it was an inside room) but there was absolutely NO discount whatsoever. We decided to take our chances with the weather. Ended up staying an extra night in Florida and an extra night in Atlanta due to flight cancellations.

Our Genie has always let us stay on until around 10:30. We just go up to the CK and he has come to get us and take us down. I have always been amazed at how MANY people are still on the ship at 10:30. We have always been FAR from the last people off the ship, even at 10:30. I'm not sure how welcome you would be on other parts of the ship though. My guess is they would be trying to push you out long before 10:30.