WAAAYTOOO

Tony, I would not worry about the fares on any of the cruises that you have booked.  They are "safe".  The only thing that could gum that up would be if you tried to upgrade or change the reservations.  If they remain as they are, you are good.

What COULD happen though is, if you decide not to gamble, [according to  other blog posts] you might lose your status, meaning that you might not be able to get free drinks and waive the 5% convenience fee on cash advances.  ...and it might affect your ability to get a casino rate discount on any future cruises that you book.  BUT there is a chance [according to other blog posts] that we are losing those big discounts and ability to combine certificates, etc anyway.  So, as with all, things Club Royale, I just don't know !

I wouldn't worry about anything that you already have booked though.  I have the same (cruises already booked) and I will not be able to make any changes to them either not only b/c of the craziness with CR but also b/c of the non-refundable deposit bullsh*t.  The RCI glitter is definitely flaking off....

To be honest, the only place where I have seen loungers on JS were in the aft balcony cabins with the extended balcony.  I don't recall the regular JS having loungers.  It's been a while since I booked a JS though.

Tony, you definitely will not have to pay for room service from the MDR.  That much I know for sure.  As long as the food is delivered to your suite you can get as much as you want from the MDR during hours that the MDR is operating.

As for access to the CK/Suites Lounge, I'm not really sure what to suggest to you.  There are 2 Concierges - one in the D Club and 1 on the Suites Lounge but from my experience, there are numerous people at or near the doors of both the CK and the SL so "seeing" the Concierge might not really help you.  It can't hurt to try.  I'm sure that the correct answer is that only suites guests are allowed in the Suites Lounge but I also know that having them go to dinner with you in the CK should be easy to arrange.  The lounge is definitely more problematic than the restaurant.  I would just ask and see what happens but then you're alerting them to the fact that your parents are NOT suites guests so if the answer is not the one you want, then they will know for sure that your parents aren't eligible to be there.

I was in a similar situation last Feb. on Harmony and, in the end, we ended up just not inviting our non-suite guest friends to the lounge b/c we didn't want to make them feel bad that they weren't allowed in and we didn't want to put the Concierge in an uncomfortable position to have to deny them entrance.

One thing I will say....we were in a Star Class suite and our Genie made sure that our [non-suite] friends were always included in any activities that the Genie arranged for us.  They were presented with a bill for specialty dining (we were not) but they were never excluded and they always had reserved seats with us when we went to the theater or the ice show.  I was very grateful to him (our Genie)  for that.

Good luck !!!

Welcome to the blog, Chris.  Glad you found us.

To be honest, I don't even know if Royal Caribbean still has a link to information about the Player's Club.  I couldn't find it...but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

You do not have to join the Club anymore.  It is my understanding that you are automatically enrolled in the program when you insert your Seapass card into a slot machine or have a dealer swipe your card at a table. HOWEVER, I recommend that if you want to be "noticed" and seriously considered for benefits (if you aren't a high roller...as I am not) your best course of action is to make sure that you make yourself known to 1) the casino host/hostess 2) the casino manager and 3) the pit bosses, in that order.  Tell the casino host, the very first time that you enter the casino, that you want to be considered for casino rates on bookings and the other benefits that come with being a member of Club Royale.  IMO there is no substitute for being known by the management.  You will be "known" one of 2 ways (or perhaps, both) - either throw a lot of money around (make large wagers, consistently) or spend a lot of time in the casino with more modest wagering.  I fall into category #2 as I do not make big wagers. 

Undoubtedly, the casino management will tell you that is a function of accumulating points.  As Marc said above, doing that with slots is a whole lot easier than it is with table wagering.  The slot machines tally your wagers very methodically (1 point for every $5 wagered, I believe).  Tracking play at the tables is much more difficult as it is a combination of swiping your Seapass card and depending upon the dealers and pit bosses to track your wagering and win/loss patterns.  ...and in the end, no matter what they tell you, I think it's really a matter of perception - whether management believes you have played a sufficient amount of time in the casino or not.  Obviously, if you have sufficient points then you have sufficient points but there are times, I know for CERTAIN, when neither Dan nor I had sufficient points but we still retained our status.  It's really a fickle program without much structure or metrics.  They will, no doubt, recite the rules to you, but I'm not sure that they actually follow them.  Just my opinion.

10 minutes ago, RBRSKI said:

I wonder what initiated this type of service?

There's a dollar to be made !  What else ?

Now THAT is FUNNY !

I agree with Brian.  Good to know those cannons are onboard JUST in case....

5 hours ago, DAVE(Darkcabbie) said:

Hey all, this is the first i've heard of Club Royale and i love to hit the casino is this a US citizen only thing or can i join it in the UK ?.

Marc or Tony...maybe you know for certain but to my knowledge there is no restriction on club membership.  Just not sure about pricing since UK pricing rules are so different.  I believe that you would be eligible for all of the onboard perks such as free drinks in the casino and waiving the 5% convenience fee (so long as you qualify).  I don't want to steer you wrong though.  Anyone else ?

Sounds like they have definitely made some changes then.  The last time I booked they told me that the purchase window was 18 months.  Now it seems that they have cut that back to 12 months.  Yes, it sounds like they are really reigning in the parameters.  Good to hear that they took your certificate.  That one has me really worried.

I will indulge myself in a small rant (this is not aimed at you, Candie...you just happened to be the one who mentioned it !).  I really do NOT see how reserving the best cabins and then cancelling as the cruise gets closer as a losing situation for them.  #1, they have my deposit money to use for this entire time period.  #2, by the time "...the cruise gets closer"...and I decide to cancel (which rarely happens with me, BTW) the price on that "best cabin" has probably doubled as I cruise almost exclusively in suites and the prices on those NEVER go down.  I just don't see how this is a problem for them.  If I were cancelling 2 days before the cruise....maybe I could see it....but with a suite, especially, they do NOT have a problem selling them and they will end up getting top price for it where I would have sailed in it at the lowest possible price.  If these were rooms that are hard to sell....different story.  But the Grand Suite and above are always the first rooms to sell out on almost EVERY cruise.  This same reasoning also applies to the non-refundable deposit, BTW.  It makes no sense to me.

So...why do I think they are doing this ?  I believe they are trying to minimize the "casino discount compound effect".  1). The rooms are least expensive when the itins are first released. 2).  Add the effect of the casino rate (this is a cascading discount with the lowest % discounts given to the inside cabins, graduating to the largest discounts for the suites).  3).  Add the value of a certificate and you have a pretty sweet deal.  By limiting the purchase window to no more than 12 months in advance they are effectively taking away #1.  I had heard stories that they were also taking away #3 but those stories are conflicting so I'm not sure what is true at this point.

50 minutes ago, crazytaxman said:

Anthem of the Seas March 24, 2018   ---- First time cruiser

Harmony of the Seas February 17, 2019

I'm on this Harmony cruise in Feb. 19 too !!

Same here. Our only rule was "be home when the street lights come on".  Other than that, we were long gone every day.  No helicopter parents in those days !  ...and guess what ?  We all survived !  AND we learned how to entertain ourselves.  Kids don't even leave the house these days unless mommy or daddy is taking them to an organized event - usually at an exorbitant fee.

53 minutes ago, DocLC said:

Scott Stein is a bartender at Disney

So where is Scott ?  I haven't seen him on this site in ages...

I was on it but switched over to the Vision trans-Panama Canal trip.  I will be on Harmony on Sept. 16 and Explorer in June 2018 though !

I am not a slots player but I have never ever seen the "% return" posted for any ship casino on any line.  That makes me think they don't have to declare their return percentage.

Paradise restaurant/dive shop.  That's the best deal in town for snorkeling in GC.

$69 sounds like the full price as $55 is 80% of 69.

If this is true then it seems like they have removed the 20% off the package pricing for your cruise.  I doubt it's permanent.  They've had 20% off the Ultimate Package for so long that it's now pretty much the de facto full price.  I still see 20% off on all of the packages for the cruises I am booked on.

I know exactly what you're saying, Marc.  ...but I will say that, as with all things Royal Caribbean, including Club Royale, it depends on who you talk to.  I was also told that the envelope for advanced booking a CR discount was 18 months (no more than 18 months in advance).  In March 2017 I booked a cruise on Harmony for Feb. 2019 - almost 2 full years ahead and they started out telling me I could not book a casino rate that far in advance, but in the end, they did it anyway.  So the rules are never hard and fast with them, it seems.

Maybe they are getting stricter with these kinds of restrictions.  I know that, for the past couple of years, some people were having trouble applying their earned CR certificates to previously booked casino rate bookings but I was always able to get mine applied - even multiple certificates to the same already discounted cruise...until I couldn't anymore.  So they clamped down on that one, maybe they are clamping down on the 18 month advance thing, too.  So far, I have still been able to combine the casino rate and the value of the certificates but only for new bookings, now.

I'm not going to panic until I am denied combining the cruise certificate with a casino rate...or until I find that the 42 - 50% discount I have previously been getting on suites is reduced significantly.  At that point I will have to make some decisions.  I have 6 cruises [suites] booked - all with casino rates, all with refundable deposits and all with certificates of some kind added on.  This may be the end of my gravy train or it may not be.  I will find out, eventually !

1 hour ago, rjac said:

Thanks Matt. So, on a two week B2B, if I purchase one or two drink cards, can I use them the second week, or do they expire at the end of the first week?

From what I understand, the drink cards expire at the conclusion of every cruise so you would not be able to carry over a card from week 1 into week 2.  

4 hours ago, coneyraven said:

do I make the reservations in advance or when I get on board?

You must wait until you are onboard to make the reservations for your 3, 4, 5 night dining package.  They will make the first night's reservation for you at a random restaurant/time (pf their choice); the other 2 reservations will be left open.  Once you get on board, go to any restaurant and they will tell you where they made your first night's reservation.  If you like it, great !  Just show up.  If you do not like either the location and/or the time, you can change one or both.  Then, you can proceed to make your other 2 reservations at whichever location and time you choose (assuming there is availability...and there almost always is, from my experience).

From what I can tell, the reason for this seemingly odd reservation arrangement is that they have more difficulty filling the specialty dining reservations on the first and second nights than any other nights of the cruise, so they are "forcing" you to eat at a specialty restaurant on night #1.  It's a win-win.  You get a heavily discounted specialty dining package and they don't have a bunch of specialty restaurants sitting idle on the first 2 nights.

1 hour ago, coneyraven said:

If you don't want a particular restaurant at all, can you repeat one of the others so you can still have 3?  She absolutely does NOT want Giovanni's, but we would be more than happy to do Chops twice and Izumi once 

 

Yes, Mark, you can.  On our Grandeur cruise in late May we had the 3 night package and ate at Izumi twice and Chops once.  We could have eaten at Izumi 3 times if that's what we chose to do but twice was enough (for me, anyway !).

As Matt has mentioned, with the $50 per person allocation at Izumi, it is a steal, if you are a sushi lover like Dan.

BTW, I do NOT recommend the lunch special at Izumi.  They advertised it to us as a "buffet" but it was a sit-down, pre-selected menu which neither of us enjoyed at ALL.  The 3 night package, definitely....the special lunch at Izumi, not so much.

I have been to a number of Chef's Tables on different ships and I will say that I have never (to my recollection) seen any "children".  I suspect that this is more a function of price than of an attempt to exclude.  I think that your 14 year old would be welcome, especially if she is a true connoisseur.  I'm sure they would strongly discourage younger children that would be likely to disrupt but I think a 14 year old would enjoy it if she likes trying new things.

Obviously there would be no wine for her and I wouldn't expect any price break but if you're ok with all of that I would say go for it for a dad and daughter date.  I think it's very endearing.

Isn't that interesting ?  I have never ever used all of the hangers that they give us !  I guess I just throw everything in a drawer vs hanging it up in the closet !

I have 6 on the books (all either at significant casino discounts or "free" as a result of certificates) so I will keep doing what I'm doing until those have been exhausted BUT if it turns out that they are no longer giving the [admittedly very generous] casino rate discounts then that will be all for me.

A number of years ago I cruised with NCL for the first time and I received a "free" cruise from them - after just ONE cruise !  Up until now the NCL casino program has not had the same lucrative benefits that Club Royale has so I stuck with Royal but if those benefits are now gone, I will certainly be looking at NCL and other cruise lines again.

I completely agree with Marc and Tony. It's like we're finding some kind of hidden treasure whenever they give you a discount or a certificate.  NEVER have I seen a PROMOTIONAL program so steeped in secrecy, ambiguity and anonymity.  I never seem to know what the rules are from sailing-to-sailing.  Maybe these latest tales are misinformation.  I certainly hope that is the case.  Only time will tell, I guess.

I will never stay out of the casino.  That's the primary reason I'm on the ship....but it may well be the casino on another cruise line or shore casino.

Ok.  To contact the concierge on board Explorer, send an email to

EX_Concierge@rccl.com

The Suites Concierge will probably be Denzil, but that's not a guarantee.  They switch up all the time.  But if you send an email to the generic concierge address someone should answer.

Good luck !!