billdauterive

2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

This route coupled with the OA class experience is the best. 

I 2nd that!

1 hour ago, Tropix said:

As you earn and take cruises via casino offers, do you still earn points towards your 'gold/emerald/diamond/' levels while on those cruises?

 

thanks

 

Absolutely! 
I believe the only time you don't get C&A points is if it's a media cruise.

11 minutes ago, Zenra said:

I checked mine and it was just $500 off select sailings on either ship unfortunately. My other offers are far better even on Oasis class ships so I guess I'll be waiting to try Icon class for now haha.

Ditto.  I'm hoping Icon isn't blacked out this year for the Prime cruise.

1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

and the casino.

That's new information to me.  Are you certain you could get one at the casino bar?  I haven't tried in a while, but the answer was always "no, only at Cafe Promenade" for a long time.  I've also never seen anyone actually get one from there, but doesn't mean it's not possible.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But definitely curious so let us know your experience with it.

Basically the same as the Caribbean, minus the places that let the casino stay open when docked.  The casino will be open when the ship reaches international waters and closed when it's in US or Canadian waters.  If you have an overnight somewhere then the casino team gets a break that night.

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

It's better than taco bell and worse than wherever you would go for what you consider good Mexican.

This is the most accurate description I've heard.  Basically a Mexican food Sorrentos.

23 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

@billdauterive thanks for that. I wonder if that only applies to certain people though.

Definitely not based on status as I'm fairly certain we are in the same ballpark points/theo/status-wise.
The casino hosts I've talked to about it all said it's automatic from the system.  They can see your actual losses to date, but won't actually tell you you're going to get a higher cert.  It makes sense because until the casino is closed for good on that cruise, you could always come in and hit a jackpot that now nullifies your losses to date.  However, they'll usually give you a wink or smile if you guess what your cert would be currently.

19 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Another fast instant reward on disembarkation day.

However I only played about 400 points but I got the certificate for 800pts. I didn't buy a NC certificate because I knew I didn't play for many points......but I did lose quite a bit, so maybe pity.

I've found they will usually bump up your reward certificate based on actual losses if it's more than $1/point.  Best guess I have based on my own experiences is that they bump up the cert to the same level or 1 level below the points you would have had based on $1/point.  For example if you had actual (tracked) losses of just over $1200 they would bump you up to either the 1200 or 800 point list, even if you only gained 400 points.

I always make a stop at cafe promenade before they close to use my remaining vouchers on powerade.  You can never have too much help staying hydrated from all the fun to be able to continue the fun...

On 1/22/2025 at 10:46 AM, Ampurp85 said:

I want to add that it was also a fast point posting as they posted this morning, which is Wed,  for a sailing that ended Sunday.

Now that is fast.  I don't think I've had any post in under a week.

I stayed at the Hyatt Place in the seaport district last year and loved the location.  It's only a few blocks from the port and is a block away from a drop off for the Silver Line bus from the airport (that is free).  The Seaport is very up and coming and everything in that area is walkable from the hotel.  You can also take said silver line to the downtown station just a few blocks away from Boston Common for a couple bucks.  I think I spent less than $10 total for transportation that trip.

13 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Mine usually show up the disembarkation day.  I’ve booked a number of cruises waiting to disembark from the ship. 

Ditto.  It's been on disembarkation morning for me for probably at least a year.

Yes, most in fact are round trip by train.  Look for the ones that are just the White Pass Railroad and not the ones that are about the summit.  They should have multiple options for departure times.

On 11/4/2024 at 6:18 PM, smokeybandit said:

Swinging Old Lady. It's downtown, an easy walk from the ship.

Great location/atmosphere, just ok beer.  Definitely will frequent again.

My answer has changed to Aruba and Curacao.

18 hours ago, Sea Squirrel said:

This may be a silly question but I scanned the QR code on my instant cert but I don't see whether it is for 1 or 2. Where do I find that? If it helps my offer codes all end in A03A. 

That's the 4000 point level which are all only for 2 as they have always been.  Currently the new offers for 1 only go up to the 2000 point level (a05).

Pier 10 and 12 are new to me and a appear to be small new additions, but I park at Pier 14 all the time.  Shuttles are plentiful and it's very easy to get in and out, especially if you don't have any luggage to check.  It's also less than 1/2 mile walk to the terminal if the weather is nice and you're physically able.

Also the Perfect Day at Coco Cay tab appears for ALL sailings now, even if the itinerary doesn't include it.

5 hours ago, cdixon22 said:

Went to check for entertainment this morning and the tab has been removed from all my reservations. Anyone else not seeing?

It appears they made change to the website.  From what I can tell that tab will now only appear for ships and dates that have entertainment available for reservations.  All my further out sailings don't have it and all my close non-Oasis/Quantum class sailings don't have it.  I do still see it for my only Oasis class sailing within 60 days that I just reserved yesterday.

Back to the original question, I'm partial to Costa Maya just because of Maya Chan.  Excluding Maya Chan, I probably enjoy Grand Cayman the most overall.  Hopefully my answer will change to Aruba and/or Curacao as well here in a few weeks...

If you want the complete opposite, Ensenada is the perfect example of a day to stay on the ship.  I know it's not the Caribbean but I think the Mexican Riviera is similar enough to what you're actually looking for, North American warm weather ports.

On 10/29/2024 at 1:10 PM, smokeybandit said:

Yes, Aruba is my favorite, though Curacao is #2 after I found a good brewery there.

That said I'm not overly partial to any port. 

Which brewery and where is it?  I'll be in Aruba and Curacao for the first time in a few weeks.

Don't overthink it since this is your first time:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/09/26/best-shore-excursion-every-caribbean-cruise-port

Cozumel - Nachi Cocum or Paradise Beach
Costa Maya - Maya Chan
Roatan - Victor Bodden private tour and monkey/sloths

I've done this itinerary MANY times and I almost always end up with at least some variation of the the above.

6 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said:

40 days out on Oasis and entertainment is open and I am all booked now.

26 days out and mine just opened up today too.  This was by far the closest to sail date I've had before it was open.  Obviously they must open a batch of sailings all at once and not 1 at a time at a regular cadence.

22 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I didn't even think of this for our back to back in May do we have to check in for both with the app? What I mean is we will already be on the ship so there will be no actual check in at the terminal or will there be? Never did this before so have no clue. From what I understand they walk you off the ship and back on fairly quickly? This is from Cape Liberty NJ of that info is needed. 

I'm not sure if you actually have to check in again or not in the app as I always have just to be safe.  Obviously the check in time doesn't matter, but personally I never want to chance something funky happening if they didn't have my passport and other information for the next sailing if I didn't check in.

The rest of the process is really easy as shown in Matts video.  Short version, you'll meet at a specific venue disembarkation morning where they will give you the card for the next cruise.  Then once the ship is almost empty they'll escort all the b2bs off and through customs just as a normal disembarkation, and then escort you right back on the ship (or after a short wait in the terminal until 0 count).