billdauterive

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.

4 hours ago, BrianB said:

I've found that filling out the actual form, then scanning and emailing it with a scanned copy of my current statement (just the page with RC on it) always works.

I printed the blank Shareholder Request Form and made copies so I always have it.

 

1 hour ago, jbrinkm said:

We were on Allure two weeks ago and it looked like this:

A crew member told us they had done a lot of replanting in mid-March. There were still some empty places - probably where they are putting the plants you showed us - and the trees weren't great. They were all either brown or had no leaves at all. And the trellis wasn't fully filled back in, but the overall impression was green, which was great. 

Already looks much better in that picture than it did back in Feb.

2 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

I like the 5/5:30 time personally. It gives me an opportunity to get my 4th meal in later that night. 

Ditto.  Late night Sorrentos is a must!

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Global Starlink outage recently due to expired certificates.

I assume you'll be going to Roatan and not the mainland.  You dock at the Town Center pier outside Coxen Hole. Mahogany Bay pier is the other one on the island, but it's a private Carnival port.

I believe Maya Chan is closing this summer until Aug/Sept, but the email was so long ago I'm not completely certain on timing.
I'm at least one of the people that have recommended Almaplena as a Maya Chan alternative.  However, I haven't personally been since pre-covid and the price is now significantly more ($96/pp) when it used to be identical to Maya Chan.  It's more secluded and less overall capacity and the travel time is about the same, you just travel on the "highway" instead of the beach road.  Personally I liked the location, beach and structures better at Almaplena, but I liked the food, drinks and service better at Maya Chan.

I think you're right, I didn't see that fine print before.  Oh well, I've already got several comped rooms booked throughout this year so it will still be a major win.  I'll still try the match next year to test for certain if they filled the hole.

I know it's not the information you're looking for, but out of Galveston they are usually in international waters by dinnertime.  So in reality it's only a few hours in which your preferred brand might not be available.  I'll try to remember to get a list of the brands next time, but currently I'm not due out of Galveston again until Nov.

It's about 30 mins (depending on traffic of course).  I'm also going to try for an 11:20 flight this year for the same reason of not wanting to wait until the next available flights that evening.  Last year I remember thinking that I would have made it in plenty of time if we weren't on an evening flight and looking to just kill time.

15 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

At the end of the day, they casino will take your money over time if you play long enough.  There is no avoiding this fact.  But if we can get something in return for the money they take, like free cruises, then it becomes worthwhile as many times you will be able to pick these perks up at a lesser cost than if you bought them outright.

Great post!  I wish more people understood this simple fact.  Gambling is about entertainment, not beating the casino or making money.  I've only ever had one cruise where I ended up with more money from the casino than I came in with, but I almost always at least have a good time.  (Sidenote: Now that I think about it @Matt was at the craps table with me a lot the one trip I was up.  Maybe I need to make sure I'm on the next group cruise and mortgage my house when he's at the table...)