Ampurp85

That is some sweet swag. 

1 hour ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

We thought about it but balcony Gty upgrade was only $180 and weren’t sure how much the combined would have gotten us. Thinking more bang for the buck even on a weekender…or if our work will allow something else…

I think Utopia is available, so that would be a nice bang for your buck scenario.

14 days to go......

The luggage tag and my setsail pass updated at 17 days to display the cabin numbers on my first GTY. Since I used the barcode trick at check-in, I already knew the cabins. 

I have a Chase sapphire reserve card. Usually I spend on cruises: paying them off, gambling, etc. then I use the points earned to book my hotels and flights. Some airlines are now only allowing you to earn status if you book directly through them, cough, cough AA. Which sucks because if you book through Chase travel they give you 50% extra. I booked the flights for this cruise through the portal. For my mom, I booked her a nonstop flight home from MIA that left at 6:30. Last week I got an email that, that flight was cancelled, and they rebooked her on a connecting 7:30 flight from FLL that got in after midnight. I was pretty upset because my mother is not the well-traveled woman, she tells her friends she is. Her "brand newness" comes out hard when she has connecting flights and/or have to travel after midnight. Usually with SWA and well most airlines, if they change your flight, you have the option to select another without any fees or cost online. I had to call the travel department of Chase instead. She lucked up, sort of, there was a direct flight from Mia at 8:30pm. She doesn't care about waiting at the airport because she has audiobooks and tablet games to farm. As a nice gesture the rep gave her SWA "business select, " which will give her a nice seat selection and alcoholic drinks. 

I am sorry if the pictures are too big.

So here are a couple of the offerings I made to Bezos:

Amazon.com | riemot Luggage Travel Cup Holder Free Hand Drink Carrier - Hold Two Coffee Mugs - Fits Roll on Suitcase Handles - Gifts for Flight Attendants Travelers Accessories Grey | Travel Accessories

I always have preflight drinks and struggle with finding somewhere to put them, some airports don't have the cup holders. This was recommended to me by a coworker who must have their kombucha and coffee. Plus, it keeps me from having to constantly remove my backpack to access my water bottle. 

Amazon.com: Portable fan Battery Operated Fan USB Desk fan Camping Fan for Tents,Battery Operated portable Fan Personal Fan battery powered fan camping portable fan Outdoor fan Rechargeable Fan with Hanging : Home & Kitchen

Every couple of years I update my travel fan. We did a glamping trip last year and a mutual vintage had this fan. It has an adjustable night light and blows out amazing air. Since I am staying in interiors, that light comes in handy. It is also small enough to fit in a backpack or purse without being cumbersome. 

Amazon.com: Greatever G2 Full Face Snorkel Mask with Latest Dry Top System,Foldable 180 Degree Panoramic View Snorkeling Mask with Camera Mount,Safe Breathing,Anti-Leak&Anti-Fog : Sports & Outdoors

That is the snorkel mask my brother brought. We hit PDCC 3x on this cruise, so it will have paid for itself. 

Amazon.com: Poesie Laundry Detergent Sheets Fresh Scent 160 Sheets Clear Plastic-Free Hypoallergenic Liquid Less Sheets for Home Dorm Travel Camping & Hand Washing Clean No Waste : Health & Household

Since these cruises are shorties, there won't be any D+ laundry perks, so I am bringing a couple of the laundry detergent sheets. They take up no space and I can wash a few things out and hang them in the shower if need be. 

I don't think I have mentioned this before, but not only do I cut my brother's hair, I do mine as well. So, I will be packing sometime later this week, as next week will be too busy for me. There are fur babies to be dropped off, Mother's Days to be celebrated and of course work. Although these cruises can't come fast enough . 

5 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Oh and to accurately reply to this post… Wonder Feb 2, 2025…Balcony GTY… 

One more to use. Hope we don’t have to burn it on a weekend 3 night.. 

J&S

If you had two prime certs, you could combine them for a higher category, if you don't want to waste on a shorty. 

Having been on Oasis last year and plenty of other Oasis class ships with 150CP: I can say there is no six-course menu. There is Chef's table with multiple courses and wine pairings. But 150CP has a pretty paired down menu and in some instances, they don't allow you to order more than one entree. 

I love Harmony, it was my favorite Oasis class until I went on Wonder. I was reading that Dallas is expecting extremely horrible weather. I hope that does extend or affect Galveston and your sailaway.

Rover looks so happy and well taken care of

Happy cruise day!!!!

I was going to say the tier certificates are exempt from any promotional offerings. There was OBC with interior and OV bookings when I booked mine. The rep made sure to say you can't stack promotional offerings. NextCruise is a promotional offer.

11 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

What about news today with Southwest cutting flights and pulling out from some airports 

That doesn't affect me as ORD/MDW aren't included in that announcement. I saw that AA and SWA posted losses and will change their service a bit. However, the news of less hiring and such could affect the service at airports. 

12 hours ago, Rfk said:

Anyone know the difference between 7-Night, Long, and Short Carribean?  

What exactly do you mean?

7night cruise are just that, 7N cruises. Short Carribean cruises are 5N or less either of the Eastern or Western variety, with Long being cruises over 6n of the same Eastern and Western variety. 

I actually went to cosmetology school, so I cut my brother's hair (as well as do my own), he goes over it with a straight razor after. No straight razors for this girl. 

My brother can sew, with or without a sewing machine: I can barely close a hole or thread a needle, hem is Mandarin to me .

How long does the drive usually take? Is the hotel you are staying at close to the port?

I love a bowtie on a doggy.

I have to say I admire how resourceful you are: you teach, bake, dance, cut hair, sew and then all the regular things we mortals do like cook and clean . 

I am with you on "fluff" books for cruises. I always try to find some short stories because that way I don't have to be too invested and can people watch. I gave up on the Wheel of Time years ago and recently Stephen King's Fairy tale because they were just dragging. I was always so sleepy after about a chapter. 

Hopefully the drive down is smooth and uneventful. 

I feel for the OP but blaming Royal is a tad much. It sounds like whatever company the credits are from are at fault. Also, not a common opinion but so is the OP. At no point did they seem to verify anything. If I was spending money on something, I am making sure all my ducks are in a row. Yes, Royal's IT sucks but the onus was on the OP to verify things like name spellings and credits. 

Not every bed can be split, some rooms, particularly suites have beds that cannot be split. 

58 minutes ago, TXCoastPatriot said:

Am I understanding correctly….we both have the UDP.

At Playmakers, we EACH have a $20 credit, 1 visit per day?

So in effect, we can use my $20 credit and share an Onion Ring tower at lunch and go back in the evening and use my wife’s $20 on wings?

 

Theoretically that should work but with Royal you never know. YMMV but they had a list on my last couple of sailings and they checked off the room. I recall somebody doing this and was checked off as used even though they didn't use all the credit. Now they could have each used $10 instead of like you are asking, but they were denied the credit. 

2 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

Good question. We plan to eat the other 1/2 of the week's in specialty.

Then it might be better to get the 3N package, if CK is the main draw. I only say this as it might be financially better. 

I also would imagine that they would prepare all your meals sans salt. Flavors might differ as they substitute and sub out ingredients. 

35 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

I get impatient when I'm waiting in lines so I get hyper observant and notice everything

I think this is me, I feel seen .

46 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

Hello. I've sent an email to special_needs@rccl.com regarding a low-sodium diet. We have the UDP and will eat about 1/2 of our sailing in Coast Kitchen. What can I expect when I dine in this low-sodium situation?

I don't know what to expect but.........why get the UDP if you plan to eat most of your meals in the CK?

I recall reading that if you get caught smoking, they remove you.

It's in the policy that smoking is only allowed in destinated areas and therefore you are breaking the cruise contract and subject to being removed or banned from the cruise line. 

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

On this episode of Windjammer guests behaving badly...

I watched a lady just stand there at the wall next to the condiment pumps and eat her dessert..and then she just left and walked off.

This was after I watched another guest taste test stuff as she put it on her plate..just full on picking it off her plate with her hands.

 

The people (not all) in the WJ are often a special breed. I will never forget that kid sucking that sausage and putting it back, the mom seeing but not telling the staff. 

I am doing my first Alaskan cruise this Sept on Quantum. I too normally cruise regular. We are in Interior VB and have excursions planned for 3/4 ports. So, I am looking forward to this blog. 

I saw that story about the ammo and was like wow. But 12 years seems excessive. 

37 minutes ago, LCWind said:

Wife and I are doing a B2B on Wonder in late January. Casino rep was kind enough to move my Icon Next Cruise reservation ($200) deposit to this cruise without any change fees.

I was able to do the same with my previously booked Icon sailing. I am hoping to do Icon in 2026 with my annual prime cruise. Hopefully 2yrs will be enough

I booked a S2S using mine and my brothers.

Me: Symphony of the Seas Jan 12-19, 2025

Him: Oasis of the Seas Jan 19-25, 2025

Also, thanks to the blog I found out you can do GTY for Freeplay. It was $25 for Interiors, $50 for balcony, $100 for JS and $200 for GS or higher.