billdauterive

On 9/8/2023 at 6:12 AM, PG Cruiser said:

IRISH PEACH
Lite & Refreshing
New Schooner Bar Menu 2023

Although this one is starting to become my new favorite. 

I'm pretty sure the ingredients are missing a splash of club soda as the bartenders always topped it off with the gun before shaking.  One of them also told me an ingredient was some kind of peach liquor, but peach juice/puree on this recipe would make more sense as I don't see how you'd get the sweetness otherwise.

On 9/15/2023 at 6:02 AM, PG Cruiser said:

BEER'S KNEES
Beertinis and Cockt-ales
The English Pub
 

 
Has anyone had "Bee's Knees"?
I haven't. Maybe I should make one to compare it with this "Beer" version

This is my favorite cocktail!  The problem is that no one else must be ordering them except me. 

Over half the time the bartender has never heard of it or has to ask someone (or me) how to make it.  The other times they are usually out of one of a key ingredient, either honey and/or Paulaner Weiss (simple syrup and Leffe are acceptable substitutions in a pinch).  But on the rare occasion I get a bartender that has made it before and the bar is fully stocked: heaven.

Little French Key on Roatan.

They don't have a limit on the amount of visitors so we couldn't find any chairs anywhere on the island.  The bars were at least 3-4 people deep so we couldn't get any drinks or food.  The water was the most crowed I've ever seen (even worse than the pool at perfect day).  We only stayed about an hour before giving up and just going back to the ship.  Granted this was pre-covid so maybe they now have a limit and it's better, but personally I will never go back find out.

@Matt can you share some events that aren't MEI exclusive?  I'd like to try to meetup with the group at some point.

37 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

 

• I always charge a large initial sum of chip to my seapass card which will notify the pitboss to verify. While the pit boss is there they will usually also see your initial 1st bet before the move elsewhere. This is important because they do not check until an hour later or longer, so I would always place a larger than normal minimum bet so they input it into their system. Then I would go back to betting bare minimum.
• Through the entire session/night I would pay attention to the pitboss, they always do a walkaround every 1hour or so to update everyone's current bets and checking to see if they're still gambling or left. So when I know they're making their rounds I would increase my bet above average again.
• I always charge more chips on my seapass card than I actually intend to play with because it seems to help contribute to my points, I always have leftover that I put back into my account after I return home. There is a 5% charge when you charge to your seapass card so ideally I'm trying to at least win 5% to break even.
• If I'm running low on cash or on a tighter budget I would play tables that requires a lot more time per deal/hand because I believe the time spent also contributes to your points. So I would find roulette tables, usually the slowest game they have due to the host having to clear all chips on the board, payout winners, drop the ball and wait for it to land on a #. I also sometimes skip a hand or two to increase my playtime.

 

Good advise.  FYI, prime waives the 5% fee to charge your seapass so I always do this instead of bringing on a bunch of cash (DON'T DO THIS IF YOU CAN'T STICK TO YOUR LIMIT!).  I also do it for the reason you mention of making sure the pitboss comes over to see the initial 1st bet, plus getting credit card reward points.

I think time is also a much larger aspect of attaining table points than people realize.  It doesn't appear to be linear as the rate of points I get seems to grow at a faster rate the longer I'm there, even though my betting pattern never changes.  For example, I might get 50 points after an hour of play, 110 points after 2 hours, 250 after 4 hours, and 600 after 8 hours.  Purely anecdotal but it seems around 6 hours of constant play at the same table seems to be where the points rate really starts to take off in my experience.

5 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

just to clarify, any discounted cruise fare would qualify for OBC just not comp'd cruises in general i.e. BOGO deals, 60% off specials, etc?

Correct*
*at least in all my experiences

4 hours ago, deButler said:

One important clarification is that the OBC is only available for purchased cruises and NOT for any reservations made using any “Comp’d” credit such as Casino Offers. I applied for several booked trips last month which was quickly credited to the one full fare reservation but denied for our Casino bookings. This is clearly stated in the investor FAQs however I figured I would at least list them in case they snuck through.

I can verify this.  Any fully comp'd casino cruises are denied, but "dollar off" casino rates are still eligible just as normal pay ones are.

10 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

Carnival does concern me with that debt. Not that I'm Carnival, but if they go under, their passengers going to other cruise line would really create a supply issue

If you're concerned about Carnival's $32B in debt then you should be just as concerned with Royal's debt which is $21B (but down from $24B 2 quarters ago).  Carnival's debt to asset ratio is currently in line with Royal's.  Both companies are throwing off enough free cash at the moment to easily service and pay down existing debt.  Personally I'm not even close to worried about the viability of either long term.

But I concur the hotel prices are INSANE the day before.  In fact we decided to stay an extra day afterward for sightseeing instead of 2 before.  The same hotel near Faneuil Hall is $300/night less then...

I just realized one of my casino comps is for this cruise.  Guess I won't be able to do some of the group activities but as long as @Matt is at the craps table and it's hot again, I'll survive...

Are you Diamond or D+?  If not, then no, it's going to be better to buy precruise as you should be able to find sales for more than 30% off the on board price.  If you're Diamond or D+, it can definitely make sense on shorter length cruises since you can use your 1 or 2 free days first, then use the prime discount later.  Multiple devices also starts to make the math fuzzy since you will usually get the next devices at a lower rate precruise and I don't believe you get a prime discount beyond the 1st device..  What I do is a mock reservation for all the devices I need to get a total cost that route, then do the math on what it would cost to wait until after I use my free days (using 70% of the non-sale price for the remaining days) to see what that total cost would be.

It can be but not guaranteed.  It always depends on the weather that week.  It's also possible (although rare) to be really cold to the point of needing a coat when outside.  Its also possible to be really warm to the point of sweating even in shorts. 
I would recommend looking at the forecast as you get closer to know if there will be an extreme.  "Normally" you'll probably just need a jacket at night that time of year.

You can enter from either side as you can see in this picture posted yesterday

4 hours ago, crazy4disney said:

Maybe one of you who has parked in one of the North lots can help me out... In this picture is the North Premium lot everything from the obvious division on up, and below that is the regular North lot? I would think so, but then I'm confused because I thought the premium lot was all covered, and there are plenty of uncovered spots in that section. I hemmed and hawed too long over the cost of the premium (it's a lot!) and now it's sold out, but the regular North lot is still available. We don't care about covered parking, though, just distance -- and if those uncovered spots are just considered part of the regular North lot then I'll jump on that while I can. 

 

Yes, the uncovered are the normal North lot spots.  The South lot is across the street at the bottom right of the picture.  Terminal 14 parking is off the screen to the left.
The North lot is definitely walkable from anywhere.  I personally walk from the South lot as well as the distance isn't that far, it just doesn't have a marked cross walk for the street crossing.

Yes, Ovation has been stopping in Skagway this season.

On 6/5/2023 at 1:42 AM, JeffNeedsACruise said:

If I have an 8:30 excursion booked on my own, will I be able to request to be one on the first tender?  Or will royal give preference to those who have booked excursions through them?

0% chance of getting on a tender in time to make a 8:30 3rd party excursion (unless 95% of the passengers are staying on the ship).  I would give AT LEAST 2 hours from tender start time to when you'll actually be able to board one after all the royal excursions and statuses have finished.  I learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago in Belize when I missed my 3rd party excursion that was booked to start 2 hours after arrival.  I didn't set foot on land until 4 hours after arrival even though I was up and in the tender line 30 mins before it opened that morning.

$0

Just off Ovation from last week where the port weather was terrible (rainy, windy and 40s).  You would never have known it inside the ship as the temperature was very much normal inside temperatures.  So if you normally wear shorts inside, you'll be fine wearing shorts on the ship.  If you're normally freezing inside and need a jacket, you'll need a jacket on the ship.  But definitely bring layers as you might be spending time on the outside decks viewing the scenery and wildlife.

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Every company likes to use that "up to" discount wording.

 

Airlines love the opposite case. "Airfare as low as $39 one way!" Then you realize the only tickets at that price are to Peoria or Amarillo at 5am or 11:30pm

Amarillo by morning...

I don't know the answer but personally I would think yes since it's a discount and not a comp.  You should call the casino line and ask your hypothetical to at least get an idea (even though yes different reps give different answers).  I would think worst case you would be able to upgrade to a higher category for no/low cost if prices actually do go down.

22 hours ago, Dan MOnroe temp said:

Wyndham is not currently matching...

https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham-rewards/status-match

 

I wish there were a way to get my Caesar's Diamond back through some sort of tier matching.  I'm MGM Gold currently but Caesar's rolled me back to Gold.

I believe you still can through Wyndham (if you're currently Diamond).  Check the link in the original post.

https://www.caesars.com/myrewards/profile/partners/?id=WYN

On 3/9/2023 at 10:56 AM, billdauterive said:

I've stated my current positions before, but personally I'm looking at the $80s being my probable next level of some profit taking.  And if it crashes back into the $40s, you better believe I'm buying more (barring some new information).

Sticking to my guns...

5 hours ago, Meridian said:

The other lesson I also learnt is never try for round numbers. It will either not go there as is the case here or go way below. 

Very good lesson to learn.  One thing I'll sometimes do is use a random number generator to get the cents portion of the price so that I'm not stuck on a whole number (i.e. random number of 58 means my order would then be for $30.58 or $29.58 in your example)

16 minutes ago, DoomSlayer said:

These are the blackout sailings I see in my offer:

Awesome info, thanks!  So if I'm reading this correct, no Alaska itineraries are affected.  That's really what I was wondering as far as blackout dates.

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

There is a long list of excluded cruises....which is to be expected - summer and holidays.

Are the blackout dates more than in the past?  From what I've read I was under the impression the blackout dates were only for major holidays in the past and not summer as well.  I've never been prime before but I think I've got a good chance to hit it this year.  Since I might be borderline status, I'm just curious if it would make sense to push extra at the last minute if needed.  If all summer is blacked out, it might not be worth it to me.