Ampurp85

Just getting caught up and I believe you had the right amount of luggage. A carry-on and backpack plus one checked bag is appropriate. I can spend hours in a bookstore but I have become a kindle convert. I love the smell of a fresh book but with all the things I carry, it's not always feasible to carry them. I am excited for the room pictures after your hotel photos. But what you are experiencing is my nightmare. I often use my hotel loyalty or travel rewards for my hotel stay. I am always anxious that despite having confirmed plans and numbers, I won't have a reservation. I hope everything works out. Just one more day until cruise day.

@RichRe01 Ship, capacity and sailing length/date will determine the price of the DX, so what someone pays will hardly match what you pay. In fact even the same ship and itinerary will differ based on these factors. I am doing a B2B2B on Freedom in May. The first 4n and the 3n with no sea days has the same price for the DX. The last leg which is a 4night is the cheapest. Someone on an Anthem sailing before and after you probably has a different price. Which is to say reprice if you can but find a price you are comfortable paying and don't worry about others.

So there is a cancellation policy, it can be 24-48 hours, so you can prebook hibachi but whether you get a refund will depend on whether you can cancel. They won't allow you to call beforehand and book/cancel anything. The tradeoff for paying a reduced price is you have to wait to board to book with the UDP. If you prebook, you have to wait until you board and have them switch the reservation and try to get a refund.

Anything that is nonrefundable, stays that way and the deposit on a suite is nonrefundable.

You have to be in a suite to dine at CK, as a JS guest the option is a maybe. In that it is up to the CK host on whether you will be accommodated to dine. So, your wife would have to be in the suite with you in order to go.

My GTY are casino, and I am a couple of months out and still not assigned. So, it seems if you book GTY on your own/TA they seemingly get assigned faster.

I find it nuts too, I asked the crown concierge this on Wonder and she was just as baffled.

The suites and crown concierge can make reservations for all the restaurants. It is the restaurants trying to reserve Izumi that seems to be the issue.

The only reason you cannot be because you have traditional dining. Check your invoice.

They can be combined but it goes up one category, so the two interiors for prime will be an Oceanview, which is the only cabin type I never sail, so not worth it. Two balcony rooms will get a JS. But often the cost to upgrade to a balcony is better spent so you can use the other certificate for another cruise.

I used to travel, and cruise solo a lot. As a woman I am always on the lookout. I used to believe because I was plus size, I didn't have anything to worry about and I was very wrong. I am also weird, and sort of germaphobe. So not only do I wipe everything down, but I also always check if anything looks weird. I had a weird experience at Labadee and won't go to certain areas alone. I was very shocked when I boarded Allure the end of Jan and the cabin doors were open on embarkation day, I truly hope this is not a thing going forward. Because open cabins give anyone the ability to do anything.

The top tier event is for platinum and up. The only thing is when there are too many higher tiers, diamond might not have access to the Crown lounge during happy hour.

You need to go to Izumi's for hibachi or sushi. I don't know why this is a thing......but if you utilize the specialty dining kiosk when you board, they will be able to call and do both. You cannot book Izumi at another restaurant.

The RLS sounds amazing and I hope you scored a deal of a lifetime. I know you are counting this cruise as special since it will be the last time in a while you get to sail with all the freeloaders. And I hope your dad is doing well. I started including my mother on more cruises because being with family is awesome, and sharing a cruise is even more so. The suite life is wasted on her, and I will always be the one paying but it is nice to experience these types of sailings through you and the rest of the suite lovers.

As not a suite snob, I have been trying to guess the suite........is it the RLS?

I didn't either, I think this is why the manifest is important. I think they are doing it at the embarkation ports and not as a whole throughout the company. They could be using software to flag, anyone.

Yes Royal does background checks. There was a thread where a person cruise was cancelled because of her husband's criminal record. However, keep in mind that more than 50%, yes that high, of sexual predators, rapist, etc. aren't convicted.

Ever since the check-in dates started appearing on the website, mine has been off a day. I just chalked it up to the website being based in a different time zone and check-in on the app. Even if I have to use the website, it matches the app when the actual time comes.

Prime and I had made prime for the new year all in one go on that cruise. It was an April 17/18 4-night Freedom sailing.

I believe it is, I think the major issue is that Utopia, Icon and Star were designed with the sky class JS and then they tried to add them to the other ships that have a suite class.

I'm in the process of planning my Oct vacation and I will either do a B2B on something or a S2S out of cape liberty, all of these blogs are bad for people's wallet. But I think all luggage is an investment. The older I get, the less I can get by with a carry-on and backpack. I have done a conference and then cruises and the clothes can't overlap no matter how hard I would try. But mixing and matching helps to bring less. Which is why I buy my clothes in a color scheme.

Last year I was on a cruise when the annual prime cruise became available, I was on hold for 4hrs. Freedom has some good voom as this was a wifi call. I was able to book Wonder and get the room I wanted. I am hoping for Icon, so I'm setting my alarm. But take this with a grain of salt. The rep said they can see how long you have been prime, what you sail, and what you play. So they award rooms and upgrades based on that. I say that because I was able to book Wonder when plenty of others were denied

It won't show up until you actually book a cruise. Since the NC certs in the app last a bit longer, you have 30-60 days to book in order to get the OBC, which will vary based on sailing length and cabin type.

OK I will give you how it works for me. I love to gamble but I never spend more than I would on a cruise. Now they have the QR codes. So at the beginning of the cruise I look at that list. It has offers of instant certificates which if you book at NC gets extra freeplay. I believe they go up to 10k, usually at 3k you get balcony and at 5k you can get some JS offers. Since I do S2S, I keep it at the 2k point or less threshold which will net me between $150-250 freeplay, an interior/ov/balcony and the NC OBC. Each of the certificates has a trade in value. In Jan on Wonder I spent $1130 to get a little over 2k points, I can usually do better but the machines were somewhat tight. However I scored a 4n freedom sailing in an OV with $25 OBC and $150 freeplay. I had already made prime and wanted this particular cruise to add on to comp offers I received from casino royale through the mail/online. Since I was going to gamble anyway, even if i don't minus what I was going to play and factor in the freeplay. I got a 4n cruise or about $700pp, which is less than the going price for that cruise. I only play slots. Since you win, you can cycle through the winnings to get points. As I said I enjoy gambling, I don't go in thinking I'm going to hit big, it would be nice, but it's entertaining for me. Getting the casino comps are a trade off.

The option to prebook has not rolled out. They said early 2024, hasn't happened yet. The credits only apply to a la carte restaurants. So It is $20 for JR or Playmakers, $39 for Izumi. The rest are flat rates of you order whatever. You can only visit the a la carte restaurants each, once a day. Since they require reservations, you can visit as many restaurants as possible that can accommodate you.