Ampurp85

@WAAAYTOOO When you change rooms on a b2B you put luggage tags on the bags? I was only going to print the first set but if this is the case TIA for the info. 

2 hours ago, Cruiser3812 said:

Has anyone tried Giovanni’s on Icon for lunch? I can’t find a lunch menu so I was wondering how different the menu is for lunch compared to dinner. Thanks in advance. 

Odds are it will be missing the steak and I believe the veal option, otherwise it is pretty similar to dinner at a reduced price. 

I believe you should be fine. I have known Royal's IT to strike and remove who restaurants every now and again. Sometimes because they are sold out and other times because their IT sucks . 

If your sailing was in 2025, I would be worried. I think Allure is getting amped in 2025 and the odds of Sabor being turned into a Playmakers is very high. 

Mine showed up 1pm today. I am waiting on my brother to show up so I can book a S2S, I was looking at a Sy sailing and an Indy, with plans to upgrade them both, so thanks for that. 

@Cactus527I have never done deck 2, but it is only for 3 nights so I will hopefully not have too many problems. I did deck 3 on Harmony once and I enjoyed being so close to the casino but hated that the MTD line often stretched to my room. 

It is also not just SWA but UA and AA in Chicago. There used to be a lot of later flights and also, a lot of direct flights. I can find later flights, but they seem to want to connect only and even flying in a day or two before, I don't want to connect flights......that's a lot of hassle. 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Also happy birthday @SweetPea. 

I am hopeful that the weather will be great, my mother is really looking forward to this because she and my brother have never been on Freedom. 

31 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

@Ampurp85 curious if you're seeing the really low price for the OTW Beach Club cabana on your May 20 sailing. 

Well, that's weird.... these are my prices. The pass for Hideaway beach club was $17.99 yesterday and its $22.99 today. 

27 days to go.......

Since I made my brother prime, he gets a nice number of monthlies. Usually, they match with mine but of lesser value. Most of my offers are OVs and my brothers are interiors or "1 complimentary guest." It works out the same for us moneywise, but gets us double point, so we booked 2 sperate rooms for the first two sailings as the upgrade option is just OV when you combine. I hate OV so I will often just take the interiors, in this case the first two sailings are GTY. I normally prefer an aft cabin and to pick my own, but I also like a cheap sailing. I really spend minimal time in my room, so location takes a backseat to savings. My brother was excited about his first B2B and then he decided it would be nice to bring our mother along. She of course is sharing a room with him . But she didn't have enough vacation time to do all three, so she will just join us for the first two. We are gifting this as her Mother's Day present.

For the first cruise, check-in opened on the 28th of March I believe. The earliest slot was 11am, which wasn't a big deal because we are flying in the day of......first flight out as usual. I never recommend this, but I have insurance and live in hub city, meaning there are usually 3-4 flights after mine that will get me there. Which brings me to a side rant: there used to be more flights. I remember when there were flights between 8pm-10pm that went to Mia, MCO and FLL. Now the last flight is often around 6:45 to 7pm, which is not ideal when flying with my mother who has church until at least 3pm and requires another couple of hours to be ready. So 5am flights are what I have to deal with, and the sucky part is my preferred airline makes those the most expensive flights. So even though I complain and say I hope to never fly them again, I am often stuck with SWA...... and their crappy boarding procedure . 

I don't know if 10/10:30 opened up, I didn't bother to check. We will be on the ship for 11 days so I can care less about getting an earlier time. Plus, there are no reservations required for Freedom class entertainment.  My brother brought his own snorkeling gear, the price for snorkeling all day at PDCC is like $50 on sale now . No ecursions are planned.

I used the barcode trick as soon as I checked in and I was able to see our room assignments. For the first leg we are on deck 3 in rooms #3253 and 3251. On the second leg we are on Deck 2 in rooms #2567 and 2569. I chose my own room for the last leg with deck 9 and room #9391. I was happy that the rooms were assigned so close to each other. We have traditional dining for all three legs at 8:30.........which will probably be 8 in most cases. Since the reservations are linked, they should sit us together at a smaller table, if we are assigned to an 8-top I will request a different table. My brother doesn't want people judging him as he eats all his meals. 

I will not be pre-purchasing anything. I get 2 free days as D+ and then can use my prime discount on the remainder. I will also be using my BOGO. There will be the B2B'rs lunch so I will take advantage of that to avoid the WJ. Plus, we will do embarkation day lunch at Playmakers. 

I plan to prepack each leg in its own packing cube. I am also bringing a ton of casino-friendly snacks as I have a 2025 S2S2S or B2B2B to plan. I am following @AshleyDillo advice and bring specific clothes for the casino, so the rest don't get smoky. 

It is time for the shenanigans!!!!

It seems like I haven't been on a cruise in forever, but it's actually been like 90ish days .

These 11 days of cruising are actually 3 shorties combined. It is a 4n, then a 3N, and then another 4N. They are all casino comps in some capacity. The first two are monthlies, which are random offers the casino sends out either through mail or email. The last one was earned on Wonder. I only paid taxes, fees and gratuities for them. Which amounted to a whopping total of $595.05 for all 3, making it only $54/N. I have OBC on some and Freeplay on all. 

Itinerary: Nassau and PDCC X3, I never get off in Nassau and PDCC is a casino day. 

People: myself, brother and mother x2, myself and my brother x1

Flights: SWA and AA

Extras: Chocolate birthday cake $25.99

My brother's birthday is on April 27th and mine is May 21st. I ordered the cake for the 3n to split the difference. My 39th birthday, hence the title name , is on the second day of the last 4N cruise, and we will be in PDCC. This is the first time ever that I will be on a cruise for my birthday. Normally its work or Vegas. I mean truthfully, I don't really celebrate it, but I do acknowledge it. It is also the first time I will be sailing in May, my normal window is September through April, excluding March and Easter sailings. So, I am thankful it won't be too hot but warm enough from Chicago to not have bulky outerwear. 

Sailings not doing the Caribbean itineraries and shorter than 7 nights won't have lobster tails......unless you are willing to pay for it. IMHO it won't be worth the upcharge. 

I think you will miss the suites mainly because you congregate more easily.......maybe also the suite perks. But that second bathroom is going to be a game changer. 

Thanks at least I can plan accordingly now. Looks like Icon will be my prime 2026 cruise

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 

We each had a crispy chicken/mozz sticks sandwich and I had 1/2 of a fried dough ball with powdered sugar on it (can’t think of what it’s called).  Pretty tasty.

Lol funnel cake????? I love this description.

Welcome to the boards,

The only difference is a reduced deposit and some OBC. I guess another benefit is price. Between now and May the cost of this cruise could double, so any "benefits" could be negatable if the price increase. If you want a specific room or category, you also would be better not to wait. 

Thats a good deal with the Ex 10N cruise. Is EN out of Tampa or PE? 

I have a question about whether or not anyone has combined an annual cert with an earned cert. @WAAAYTOOO recently mentioned that she has combined her money off certs earned on a cruise with her spouses earned cruise certs to pay for an upgrade. I was wondering if this might be possible for an earned cruise and annual prime certificate. 

TIA

1 hour ago, dustfsu said:

Hopefully they have that when I go next year. I'm a diamond but it would be nice on sea days to split that up during the week.

Also keep in mind they don't show up until midway through the cruise, if they show up.

You and Dan look so adorable and happy, it must be all the casino luck 

No, the wine/tapas bars are not included in the UDP.

The a la carte option is once at that particular restaurant a day. So, you can go to Playmakers, Izumi's and Johnny Rockets all in one day and use your credits. But you cannot go...say to Playmakers and spend $10 and come back later and spend the other $10.

9 minutes ago, Matt said:

The pricing is not all crazy high.

My May 20 sailing of Freedom of the Seas has the lowest price I've ever seen for an OTW cabana

 

I will be on that sailing. I saw hideaway passes for $16.99 for that sailing.

I would say my current total is about 23 cruises. My first cruise was in 2012 on Carnival. I have done some river cruises in Europe, including one along the Nile. I am fairly young, 38, to have cruised as much as I have. 

I started sailing Royal in 2019 and I have been on 17 cruises since then, I have a B2B2B on Freedom in May that will bring me to 20, it will also be the first time I cruise during my birthday. 

I have 6 cruises scheduled after Freedom, including my first Alaskan cruise in Sept and a Celebrity cruise on the docket for 2025 that will probably get moved to 2026. 

1 hour ago, Mark_A said:

I Called them on this offer and I was told since I am sailing solo, I would have to pay for the second person at the Casino rate.  for 5 nights on Mariner, it would be  578 all in, including taxes, fees port charges, and prepaid gratuities.  

I mentioned that in my post. But that was my experience as well, which is why I don't partake in these offers. I once tried to apply a myVegas (OBC) to the person traveling with me on my casino comp and was told they won't combine offers. That is why I don't believe the OP will be able to pay with the BOA Royal card redemption. 

1 minute ago, Lucky said:

I believe if you pay the child pricing they have to order off the kids menu.

Not really, it's up to the discretion of the staff. 

I was fine until today when I was required to change my password. The old system didn't have a character limit, the new system requires your password to be at least 8 characters long. Mine was already that length but no capital letters, so I just changed the cap and was good to go. 

Most will be but not all. You can check your app for the listed activities available.