WAAAYTOOO

14 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Just saying a quick hello here, first time in about four years. I just booked the 12-night Odyssey sailing in Jan 2025, which is an itinerary I've been wanting to do kind of since I first started sailing with Royal in 2018 and learned about it. Seemed like a nice way to celebrate turning 55.

To everyone I haven't spoken with in all these years, hope you've been well!

[que the Twlight Zone music]  I was just thinking about you this morning, Joe.  Glad to hear from you.  Looking forward to that live blog on OY !

48 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

It didn't occur to me that they were selling cruise time shares. Or time shares on a cruise. I mean ... i might be open to buying a cruise time share

 

I do hope @jbrinkm's mom reports back and gives us the juicy deets!

Oops....I guess I misunderstood.  I thought they were talking about the hotel where she stayed pre-cruise.  I'll shut up now...

To find out how many “points” you have, go to the BofA website and click on “rewards” at the top of the page.  It’s not real easy to find as it is in small text.  I guess they don’t like to make it too easy to redeem your points !

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

$150 for an hour without a sales pitch doesn't seem like a bad deal .... to me. 

What makes you think there is no sales pitch ?  The first thing that popped into my mind was, “…timeshare…”.  

The only thing that I use an adapter for are phones and iPads.  They seem to have the best internal dual voltage/conversion capabilities.  I never ever use one for a hair dyer or curling iron….even devices that claim to be dual voltage.

Thanks !  I’m not sure this would work for a casino comp booking that has been upgraded but for one that is a true comp, it sounds like a much easier process than a whole new booking.

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

I booked the Joker's Wild July offer as a solo.

I often don't cruise in July since it's blacked out for the DP340 reduced single supplement.  I saw the casino offer as a means to book solo in July.

The offer was explained to me this way -  the casino player can get a complimentary cabin fare but they must pay for the 2nd guest's fare based on casino friend and family rates.  Since I was solo I had to pay for the 2nd guests fare even though there is no 2nd guest.  

As opposed to free cruise offers based on points the July Joker's offer requires the 2nd guest fare be paid.  

Given that July is a peak month and difficult to book as a solo without paying 200% supplement I chose to pay a modest amount for my non-existent second.  

It came out to about half what I paid for Liberty last week which was a non-casino last minute deal.  So while it's not a free cruise, it's a rate I haven't seen in a long time in a peak month when I can't normally afford to sail.

Casino had to call revenue mgmt to get a GTY authorized for a solo.  I haven't had a lot of success with this lately but the casino team got it approved so I'm getting some extra free play.  I'm also paying port fees and taxes for one.

It did not require a Book Later NextCruise booking.  

I'm glad you got a good deal....but what a lame program that claims to be Complementary Cruise Fare for One !  ....and then forces you to pay for a second, non-existent companion.  I just hate the way they market something and then it turns out to be something different, entirely.  It's gonna be hot in July !  LOL

38 minutes ago, Plasticbrain said:

Hello! Just wanted to update on this.

When it got cancelled I sent them one email, and Later when I did not hear anything I sent a new one. 

About a month after cancellation i got a final NO from RC Norwegian customer service on refund for my flight, even if KLM and travel insurance said RC should refund me. I was not happy but I put it away, however 2 weeks ago the US customer service replied to my 2nd email, and confirmed that they had talked to KLM and that RC would refund me 3900kr (380$) for my flight, and today I got the refund. I must say (sorry If I am prejudiced) that I never thought US customer service would be more pro customer than the Norwegian one, taking in regard we have one of the worlds strictest customer protection acts, however they proved me wrong. And this has definitely made me view RC in a totally different light, and made me look forward to my upcoming cruise with Oasis a lot more than I did, and I am sure I will spend way more than what it cost them to refund me in the future, and ofcourse talk good of them to followers, customers etc. so It will definitely be worth it for them. So a happy ending to a sad story! 

YIPPEE !!  I am so happy to hear the good news.  It took a while...but eventually it turned your way.  AWESOME !

4 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

When those offers first came out, I read a post that they were charging a single supplement, so now every time I get one, I was disregarding it. The wait can be long with club royale, so I didn't want to waste my time. But if it is a full comp, I would be more inclined.

Hmmmm....like I said, it hadn't occurred to me that they would try and charge a supplement for a non-existent second passenger...but nothing really surprises me with Royal these days.  I think it would definitely be worth your time to check into it though, the next time you see one.  When you do, let us know...

2 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Thanks @WAAAYTOOO I was thinking about taking advantage of one of the offers, but I would be solo in the room and was wondering what the price might be. I am fine with interiors, so it would be no big deal. 

Actually, these BOGO offers are perfect for a single cruiser....it's just a straight-up full comp as far as I know.  Do you think they would try and charge you for a second person even if there was no second person ?  I hadn't thought about that....but it's just like Royal to do something that stupid....similar to what they do on a RU... ?

13 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

We may need to start emphasizing breakfast and lunch while downplaying dinner. That does leave more time for snacks, dancing, and shows. Not what we're used to, but we can adapt.

I think this is actually an interesting strategy.  We are pretty "traditional" diners and really never considered just snacking through the day and ignoring dinner altogether....but as we begin cruising more often, I think this might be a direction that we will trend.  I absolutely love breakfast.  It is my favorite meal of the day so I will never be able to skip breakfast....but we are early evening diners anyway, so the thought of having a biggish snack at, say, 3 or 4:00 and then skipping dinner entirely, is actually something that we could do, easily.  I may give this a try on our upcoming extended EX combo.

I guess my only warning regarding excursions in Falmouth is.....since Falmouth is a fairly new port and is located in a more remote area (relative to the more established ports), many of the excursions are a bit of a distance away since they have built up around the older, existing ports.  Just be aware of that before you book and if you're ok with it, cool.

6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

they just needed to be told 2-3 times before accepting that there was a difference between Sky & Star.

Who did "the telling" ?  Was the Genie there protecting the seats or did other helpful passengers deliver the bad news ?

SB is basically a slightly upgraded quality buffet, so it moves very quickly.  As @Ryan79 said, it's a standard 2 hr blackout period for dinner regardless of the venue.  90 minutes will definitely be enough time for a meal at the SB.  Frankly, I cannot recall whether the SB requires a reservation or not.  I don't think we've had dinner there but once.  When I realized it was just a limited buffet, I never bothered again,

3 hours ago, barjpoe said:

So now I never do it. It only takes an extra minute, it that long, for them to take them.

Us too

@Ampurp85, the offer was, indeed, one of the "1 comp guest and the other comp guest gets a casino discounted rate".  I didn't combine anything on this one....it was just a straight-up offer that came through ClubRoyaleOffers.com.  In this particular case, it was Dan's offer which meant that I should have paid a casino discounted rate (in which case I would have declined and we would not have booked) but for reasons which I cannot explain, as long as I stuck with the free interior, both of our fares were complimentary.  I've never seen it happen like that before - ever.

Nothing in this snipped image says that it was a "BOGO" offer (unless you can decipher the offer code, which I certainly canNOT) but you will just have to take my word for it that it was.  When I asked the CSR about upgrading this offer to ANY other cabin category, suddenly they were going to charge me for my fare...but as long as I stuck with the original interior offer (which is what the below is), my fare was also complimentary. As you can see, all I paid were the taxes/port fees and gratuities.

I fully suspect that this was an error on the part of the CSR but I will never know b/c I finally just conceded and kept the original "free" offer that they kept coming back to.  As you know, I will NOT be happy in an interior so I will hit the RoyalUp hard when it finally comes around (this booking is for Indy 6-6-24 so it shouldn't be too long).  In the end, it will probably cost me about the same as it would have if I had just agreed to pay to the upgraded fare (LOL) but it was the principle of the thing....

I was quite surprised to find an email a few minutes ago regarding our 4-14-24 EX cruise, which was supposed to call at Labadee.  I would have thought that they would wait for a while to change the itin but they didn't (wait, that is).

So we will now be going to PDCC vs Labadee.  I think this is considered a BIG WIN.  I don't get off at PDCC so it's a wash for me.  They also [slightly] extended the hours that we will be in Falmouth (the other PoC on this sailing).

IMO the best part of this change is that there will now be a sea day between the 2 PoC.  I really hate itins that have consecutive ports.  I much prefer a sea day in between and we now have that.  YIPPEE !

This (4-14-24 5 night cruise) sailing is sandwiched between 2, 9 night very port intensive cruises so the sea day is even more welcome.  We will be on EX for 23 consecutive days, the longest length of time for us on one ship (it's a B3B) that we have done yet !  Then, we will have 1 day in dry dock, followed by a FR 4 night-er, then 2 more dry dock days followed by a 7 night Wonder cruise.  It's going to be a VERY busy April/early May for us !

1 minute ago, Snotarni said:

We're going on one of those on Freedom in April...  we got a RU to a Spacious Ocean View ($150 RU).  

Oh thank you !  That gives me hope….

4 minutes ago, billdauterive said:

Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard of anyone getting a double comp on one of those offers.  I'll usually ask about one of those offers if I'm already calling in to redeem another just to see the extra amount to compare to full fare and have a good laugh.

I’d never heard of it either….and they had several chances to withdraw it as I kept having them check various upgrade prices….but every time they came back to the interior offer, the price included both of us.  I finally just surrendered and took the full comp.

If you have non-Pinns in your group then that’s a different story….and the check-in times would apply (to them) but for Pinns, the arrival time is entirely moot these days, as it is for Suites.  I have not cruised out of Bayonne since making Pinn so maybe they’re still going by check-in times, but every FL port now just ignores them anyway.  Priority boarding is one of the best Pinn perks.  Enjoy it !

We actually booked one of the “complimentary for one person” offers recently.  It was the oddest thing…so long as we stuck with the interior offer, it included both of us.  When I tried to upgrade to a higher category, suddenly they wanted to charge for person #2.  So for the first time ever, we have an interior booked !  Yikes !  I plan on hitting the RU HARD when it comes around.  It’s only a 4 night on Indy, so I guess I would survive if I don’t get any upgrade….but I won’t be happy !

I agree with @smokeybandit.  In order to file an insurance claim you must have suffered some financial loss that you are trying to recoup.  There is no financial loss in missing a port unless you have a non-refundable excursion already purchased and that’s not even possible on Labadee.  There is no claim to file.  

I always have trouble checking in with the app…so much so that I have ceased even trying.  I just go straight to the website now.

@Pattycruise you do know that now that you’re Pinnacle you don’t need to worry about a check-in time, right ?  I used to stress but now I just wait until I can easily get to the website and whatever check-in time I get is entirely moot.  It’s one of the best perks of being .Pinnacle.

On 3/17/2024 at 6:04 PM, bobroo said:

Just this morning I booked the Hilton New Orleans Riverside for my upcoming January stint on Brilliance. I admit I am paying a premium for this stay so that I do not walk outside on embarkation day and it is essentially kitty corner from Harrahs. I'm over spending by $50 for the night probably because of the free hour of indoor tennis I will never use. If I were you I would look up The Riverwalk on Google Maps and ANY hotel within a couple blocks will make for the easiest embarkation day you've ever had. 

 

@bobroo, just to clarify....the Hilton is directly adjacent to the cruise terminal ?  Slightly confused about your "...do not walk outside..." comment.

@GatorCruiser, do you have any idea if there are any access restrictions for the Pinns ion this sailing ?

Thanks !