Ampurp85

3 minutes ago, Sea Squirrel said:

Hello all. This is my first year receiving an annual certificate and I'm not sure I understand how it works since I am used to the ICs that give me a list to choose from. Does the exclusion list mean I can book anything not on the exclusion list as long as the sail date is before the certificate expiration date?  Thanks. 

Yes. You can book any 7n or less cruise that sails by the 31st of March 2026, that is not on that list. I do believe it is a possibility that you must complete your sail before the 31st: so, if you do 7n it should be sailing on the 24th, a 3n sailing it must be sailing on the 28th, etc. 

Is it their version of cold brew?

I don't eat condiments or salad dressing, so fries are good plain or with fruit......aka ketchup.

How far is paradise beach from the port?

The discount is onboard only, you can only use one. So if you prebook internet, you cannot use the free day as a discount. You can use the free day on an extra device.  if you decide to buy on board you are subject to the remaining days at onboard prices.

Imho unless you are prime/rank in the casino or only need a day of internet, you are better off buying it beforehand.

34 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah I got mine already.. to bad I was only prim so no Icon cruise for me this year.

You can use it on Icon sailings in sept,Oct, Jan and early Feb.

Thanks I just checked and both have dropped so I will be calling tonight.

@Pattycruise what level of prime was your friend? My brother is 2900pts only. So he is part of the last batch.

Oooh that celebrity sailing intrigues me. I might look it up.

But ewww at raisins in a sundae.......I only like them with bran.

Did the hotdogs look bad? Or is it the buffet situation?

I really lucked up that Jan icon is available. My cert comes tonight but my brother's is the last batches.

I see they changed the brisket. When we were on Wonder at MJ, the brisket was more Jewish style in one large semi-tough piece. Now it's more BBQ style in slices. I like the crab beignets, but I only ate the beignets because I can't have mayo, and the crab concoction was made with it. My brother said it was meh. 

4 minutes ago, mistertomatohead said:

Are you saying the two of you got the same annual cruise offer and you combined them for one Junior Suite?  I have a bunch of regular offers, I take it I can't use those to combine with my annual cruise which says balcony and get a Junior Suite going solo.

Not the person but you cannot combine "your"offers. You can combine same offers for different people to upgrade. In this case that person had tier2 and that person had tier2 so they combined two balconies to make a suite. Only same offers can be combined.

@Dulis all of your heartache could have been avoided. The key is to scan the QR codes right at the beginning and play for the certificate you want. I always check the list and point threshold before beginning

I also recently learned they will award you the certificate based on play.

I tried booking icon for last year's annual, but it was in thr exclusion list despite being over a year old. Thank God I booked refundable but I will be booking it for Jan 2026. Icon is just too expensive on its own.

I like that they serve the food more singularly, but it also sounds like they have to do this because "washy-washy" isn't a thing. European-based cruise line and all.

4 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

True dat. Celebrity intrigues me, especially after the excellent live blogs here that have featured it. 

I have my first sailing on Reflection in Jan. I am excited for different food, which is only an issue for me because I tend to do B2B and S3S, which means 2+wks of the same menus can be a bit rough. 

39 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Yes this has been an informative blog so far. Me thinks if we cheat on Royal it will be with Disney (treasure looks sick) or celebrity in the future. 

I would never do Disney because they don't have casinos. But Celebrity is a sister wife/brother husband, so it isn't cheating since they're family.

59 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Really ?  I know that you wouldn't get any bonus OBC but would you really lose your deposit ?

Yes. They consider NC a promotion and won't convert the deposit, at least that has happened to me. The first year I did it the NC deposit was applied to port taxes and fees and then in 2023 when I tried it, I lost the deposit. I stopped using NC when it came to annual certs. Which is why if I wanted to hold a room for my annual cert I book refundable now. But we all know ymmv when it comes to things involving royal. 

5 minutes ago, mistertomatohead said:

This is my first year. I'm Signature and the trade in value is only $1000 (balconies only).The sailings are a disappointment because I was getting offers for some Junior Suites. I'm guessing it's because my play went beyond Signature but wasn't enough for Masters. I see the Masters list has Grand Suites. Is this normal or are things worse than previous years?

Also, is there anything special with the sailings on the list? OBC? Freeplay? Gifts? Special events?

The annual cruises are bare bones and it's always been interiors for prime, balconies for signature and suites for masters. The annual certs are exempt from all promotions because they consider these a gift. I do believe that signature and masters get another cruise that is just special to their tiers. 

Welp, you have turned me off MSC, thank you for taking one for the team. Even my cat looked at that breakfast menu and your subsequent plate and noped out. 

I had to zoom in because I was like there is no way someone is reading "Killer Cruise" on a cruise.......but .

I like the cinnamon rolls that look like that, the frosting can be so overwhelming. During the pandemic I made them from scratch, just once, and I covered my brothers in frosting, while I just glazed mine and they were the best ones ever. 

Thanks @CHart I will finally be able to do Icon when my certs come out tomorrow. Since I want Jan sailings. 

But just an FYI, NC bookings can be switched, those instant certs are bound to the 30-day rule. You can't combine offers but you may remove and add offers. So, to reiterate if you try to apply the annual offer to a NC booking you will lose the $200 deposit. 

You cannot use Next cruise with the annual certificates. The annual certificates are exempt from all promotions. No OBC and freeplay is at the discretion of the rep booking if you chose GTYs. 

I am confused by the presentation of MSC and their edible options. If you had told me those lemon meringue were soap, I would have believed you. 

I love your stuff doggy .

I was literally telling a youth about attending Coachella in the 2000s (2006 to see Tool) and how the tickets were mad cheap. Said youth kindly informed me they were only 2 at the time. Then said I must be their mom's age......and that they heard Beyonce was in a "band" during that time. This is the stuff that makes me feel vintage. 

I had the cinnamon rolls across three ships in Jan, and they all tasted different but not bad. I actually preferred the ones in the SB/WJ over the CL.....but I heard the ones in the SL was the best according to @asquared17