billdauterive

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The prices are pretty good (considering the upward trend for specialty pricing)

I've noticed the pricing plateau as well the past several months.  I think we may have finally hit the ceiling on dining (and beverage) package pricing.  Now if only internet and shore excursion pricing would finally top out too...

Symphony seems like a popular choice.  I also chose Symphony for Dec 1-8, upgraded to a gty balcony.

I actually tried to sneak in an 8 day on Oasis for the same week but 3 different reps weren't having it.  I'll usually try something 3 times with different reps (like upgrade prices) before I go to plan B.

Thanks for the heads up.  Next week is my first cruise of the new casino year so I'll make sure to keep some record of points just in case.  I'll let you know once the points post if they are correct.

I wouldn't expect to see dividends in the near or medium term (less than 5 years).  I even have doubts if it will ever pay dividends again. 

They still have over $20B of debt on the books.  Even after a blockbuster year last year, they only retired about $2B of that long term debt.  In fact their long term debt actually GREW the last quarter (which I assume was mostly from Icon so not really too worrisome).  Now companies will (and should) carry at least some debt, but Royal was consistently between $7-8B in long term debt pre-shutdown.  Their debt to equity ratio was usually less than 1 (closer to 2/3) and is now about 4. 

This isn't even including all the new long term debt they will keep accruing for revenue generating things like new Icon-class ships, potential restarting of delayed amplifications, and new beach clubs.  All that new debt is probably good debt as the long term ROI should be pretty significant for those items as we're seeing today from things like Coco Cay and Icon.  However short to medium term means there is a TON more uses for any available free cash flow (investments to grow or repayment of debt to more normal levels) before a dividend payment would even begin to be considered.

TLDR; no dividends anytime soon or maybe ever again

11 hours ago, Robert M said:

Last July when we were on Liberty the Captain said they were looking at 2025 for an amplification but it wasnt set in stone yet.

Liberty is definitely showing some major wear and tear compared to other ships in the fleet.  They don't necessarily need a full amp with new venues since it already has the water-slides but it could REALLY use some new furniture and paint.  I mean the dining room still has the original green chairs and oval tables on the top 2 levels!

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I was fully prepared to have to pay at $200 fee to move this cruise but it had to be done.

You shouldn't have any worries there, since it's a full comp there isn't any change fees. You can't pay a penalty on a $0 rate since you have no money invested for them to withhold from and they have to return port fees and taxes (I think it's a law but don't quote me).  The only "penalty" for canceling or changing a full casino comp is you may not be able to use the code for a different sailing if it's expired.  But in this case since it's the prime cruise, that code doesn't expire until March next year.  You could technically change that sailing with that code many more times over the course of this year.  As long as the sailing you're moving to has available casino comp inventory you'll never have to pay any change fee.  Now upgrade payments are a different story, especially after final payment date...

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I made the rookiest of rookie mistakes.  I double-booked (overlap) cruises !  I still can't believe I made such a stupid, rookie mistake but I sure did !

I'm surprised this was even possible.  I almost did this one time when I told the rep the wrong date and he told me the system wouldn't let him book it because I was already booked on another sailing that date.  I wasn't meaning to try and book that date, I just misspoke.  But I remember thinking how I wasn't surprised the system wouldn't let him double book me as obviously no one can be 2 places at once.

It's been a while since then so maybe it was just my rep noticing the possible double booking and it wasn't actually the system preventing it?

FYI this definitely works. 

I booked my prime cruise yesterday by having the rep apply the prime cruise code to an existing comp sailing I had that I had been planning to cancel for a while.  The ship and sail dates were completely different and I upgraded the prime cruise stateroom type so that was different as well.  I was also going solo on the original booking and they were able to add someone to the new sailing.  The amount I already paid on the old sailing was credited to the new sailing and I just had to pay the difference.  The booking number is the same and the website now shows the new sailing instead of the old one.

So I covered just about every possible scenario in one shot (except per-purchased cruise planner items) and it was completed without any hassle or issue other than a brief hold by the rep to make the changes on their end.

35 minutes ago, DoomSlayer said:

Glad you were able to save some money.  One thing I learned too is to ask if they have GTY incentives when you call in.  Last trip on Symphony, they gave me about $300 for doing a GTY ocean balcony instead of picking my own.  GTY's are not too bad in my opinion for the higher category rooms.

Good advice as well.  When I try this it's very hit or miss on the amount.  Most sailings are $25 or $0 extra FP when I ask (which definitely isn't worth it imo) but I've hit one that was $200 extra FP.

I completely forgot to ask about FP this time though since it was the prime cruise and not an online or instant offer.  I guess I just went completely brain dead when I booked this morning because I didn't ask about the GTY or FP, which I almost always do.  Let me know if you are successful getting any FP this time and I may have to call back in (again).

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I am not a huge fan of ANY kind of GTY but in this case, it will be worth it, no matter where our OV balcony is. Yes, we will have to change rooms but we saved probably $1000 by opting for the XB over a chance to choose our cabin.  ANY balcony will beat ANY interior !

So be sure to check and see if the cost of an upgraded category is actually less than the interior fare, which is most likely what your offer is based on, if you are Prime.

Great advice.  I didn't think to specify just a gty this morning and the upgrade prices to a balcony were outrageous for the 3 we were targeting.  Normally we're fine with just an interior but I made the mistake of saying we would get a balcony for the prime cruise a few months ago when I was wanting to win a different cabin argument (oops...).

I just got off the phone after calling again and the gty upgrade was almost $1000 cheaper as well.  I didn't get it free like you did but one of our sailings was less than $400 total for 2 so that made the pill a little easier to swallow at least.

You can use offer code 24Tier3 if you want to go ahead and see the full exclusion list.  http://clubroyaleoffers.com/CertificateOfferCodeLookUp.asp

Summary:

No Icon at all (even Feb/March)

No Christmas sailings

No New Years sailings

No Thanksgiving sailings

A lot of Summer exclusions

A few very random exclusions (like 1 Oasis and Odyssey in Sept)

17 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Just wondering for those of us that have bad backs do they have chairs at the craps table available?

Last cruise someone just pulled up a chair from the neighboring table but the pit boss later told him he couldn't sit.  When he really pressed that he had a bad back they let him sit, but they made him move to the stick man side for some reason.  So I've actually seen it done but only very reluctantly from the pit boss.

...but then again it is Club Royale so ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

12 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I do not have a certain answer for you but I will cite the rule that has always applied to combing certs….and that rule is that the offer codes must be the same for them to be eligible to be combined.  So my first instinct is to say “no””, your annual cannot be combine with an instant reward b/c the offer codes will be different.  But having said that, the truth is, I have never asked that question.  I’m thinking “no” but who knows ?

I would tend to agree.  Even though they are only "money off", they are still in the same offer code family.  i.e. combing 2404a06 (1500 pt comp) and 2404a08 ($250 dollars off) should work the same as combining 2404a06 (1500 pt comp) and 2404a05 (2000 pt comp) since they are all part of the 2404a "chain".

18 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

As a pre-vintage I would love to sail Celebrity but between my casino and loyalty status, there is an issue of finances. It's not as financially feasible to sail celebrity when my sailings on Riyal are discounted heavily in the casino and come with discounted internet and free drinks thanks to loyalty. 

You're not alone.  This is exactly my issue.

13 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

The 1500 certificate was full of 3 and 4 night party trips to the Bahamas out of Florida or to Mexico out of LA. 

I feel like the 1500 options have gone downhill the past few months.  I used to be fine with that level (at least on short cruises) but you're right that it seems like its mostly just 3/4 night interior sailings out of Miami or LA now.

13 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

I was sad that there was nothing out of Galveston as that is my homeport.

Yeah I don't get why there aren't more Galveston options available.  The prices and occupancy rate seems the same or lower than most of the itineraries that are on the list.  The only thing I can think of is they want to keep the "lower" level offers to just 3 night weekend or 4 night weekday and Galveston is mostly 4 night weekend / 5 night weekday sailings for the shorter itineraries.

5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We’ve been browsing the 2,000-3,000 lists and it’s very clear that they are holding all of the big ships for 3,000+…at least, for FL departures.  It’s not clear to us quite yet whether or not Dan will push through to the 3,000 level or not.  The offers are definitely much better at 3,000.

Yep, I've found that 2000+ for short sailings and 3000+ for longer sailings is usually the point where the offers start getting significantly better.  I definitely have the same ongoing struggles of whether its worth it to push to the next level sometimes if the casino isn't treating me well that sailing (and most times it wasn't worth it when I do push through...)

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Thanks, just to clarify your post to others. The C is put in when you are sailing 6+ nights and the A when its shorter than that. 

Here's a more detailed post about generating the offer code I made a little while ago.

Yep, Maya Chan is always closed in the summer for hurricane season (and to give themselves and staff a break).

Personally I always liked Almaplena as well.  I haven't been there since covid though so I can't speak to how it's been recently.  It's smaller than Maya Chan and less to do, but has a more isolated feel.  The last time I was there only 2 other people were there that weren't part of our party of 4.

https://almaplenabeachresort.com/beachclub/costamaya-beach_break.htm

I checked in last night after midnight for Grandeur and got 11 am as the earliest slot.  So the check in times are definitely ship and/or port dependent and not a fleet-wide standard.

Yes it's still there for now.  But after the upcoming amp, who knows.

I know I've mentioned it before but I play craps to get my points.  Yes the tables are much more variable as far as the points you earn go, but if you can stay on top of the pit boss for average bet and see the casino host to ensure your time at the table is accurate a lot of the volatility is negated.  Personally my overall average was around 3 points / dollar this past casino year, but like slots it was very volatile on individual cruises.  Anywhere from plus money or break even to 1/2 point per dollar on a really bad luck sailing (@Matt was on that one so I blame him...)

If anyone is interested in playing craps for points, I recommend watching Bryan at the Holy Rollr on youtube.  I'll play variations of his Light in the Darkness strategy if I'm just concerned with earning points and not necessarily trying to win big.  https://www.youtube.com/@holyrollr

I'll report back about my experience next month (as long as my 4th attempt at attending the beach club isn't cancelled like my 3 previous attempts...)

I'm finally doing my first B2B next month and curious how the lunch works.  From my understanding there is a dedicated B2B cruiser lunch in the main dining room.  Do you go straight to the dining room after being led back on the ship or do you just meet there at a certain time?  (Or did I hallucinate everything and I'll be stuck with the hoards at the Windjammer?)