billdauterive

If there is a consecutive cruiser lunch it will be at 11:30. I have been reading, and told, various stories of the lunch not happening. I think there has to be a threshold of consecutive guest. I have also read and been told that on some sailings consecutive guest can enjoy the Key lunch. I have a B2B2B next month and I am hoping the lunch will be available. 

So far, every B2B that we’ve been on has had a consecutive cruiser lunch.  In the distant past I think there were occasions when they did not have the luncheons, presumably due to there being too few B2B’ers, but I think with the onset of the Key program, they have simply combined the B2B’ers with the Key folks if the B2B numbers were low.  I have been to one such combined event recently.  Frankly, you would not even know the difference as the menus and seating/arrangements are very similar.
So I would definitely expect a consecutive cruiser luncheon of some kind.  They will give you a paper with B2B information as to when/where to meet for the consecutive cruiser parade and then also info on when and where to go for your lunch.  It’s a great perk, IMO since embarkation day lunch is such a PITA without some kind of organized event.

This is my go to move as well.

This is my go to move as well.

There's too many variables and unknowns from Royal to really answer this question fully.  But if you limit the question to trying to earn about 1500 points per cruise by slots you can get an semi-realistic answer.  1500 points on slots would be $7500 of coin in across the entire cruise.  Obviously slots will pay back a certain percentage of coin in.  No one knows the exact amount as it varies by machine and Royal isn't exactly going to give out that information but I believe the best guess from people more knowledgeable about slots than me is around 80%.  So on average, your coin in of $7500 would have an expected payback of $6000 which means it would cost about $1500 on average to get 1500 points (on 80% payback machines).  However, average payout doesn't mean it will actually cost you that amount as there are extreme outliers factored into the average.  It's possible (though unlikely) that you could got through all $7500 coin in and not win anything, so it would actually cost $7500 to get 1500 points.  You could also win on every single spin so then it would cost you $0 (and in fact you would win more money than you put in) to get to 1500 points.
TLDR; average is probably around $1500 for 1500 points (assuming 80% payback), but could theoretically be net positive or cost up to $7500 every cruise.

I see this confusion a lot so I'll try to clear it up some.  Offers aren't based on your status, they are based on your average daily theoretical loss (or THEO).  Think about it this way, which player is more valuable to the casino?  Player A who goes on a single 3 day cruise but gains 25,0000 points (extremely high theo), or Player B who cruises 100 days a year at 500 points/day average (much lower theo)?  Both are signature players and Player B will actually have twice as many total points (50,000 to 25,000), but Player A will have a theo that's approximately 15-20x Player B.  Therefore the casino expects to make 15-20x more money per day from the play of Player A, hence they will be willing to spend more to try and get Player A onboard (i.e. more and better comps).
TLDR; don't compare your total points (i.e. status) but your average points/day for a better comp comparison.

They can ask for any amount they like.  What would be bonkers is for one of the excursions to also have this:

New high score(s)






There's also plenty in the $700-$999 range.  I'm pretty confident nothing will beat these except potentially something in Europe.

They can ask for any amount they like.  What would be bonkers is for one of the excursions to also have this:

Just for comparison, here's the most expensive Mexico ones I could find.



And most expensive Bahamas:


 
I don't have any Eastern or Southern Caribbean booked at the moment so I can't compare those prices.

New high score(s)






There's also plenty in the $700-$999 range.  I'm pretty confident nothing will beat these except potentially something in Europe.

They can ask for any amount they like.  What would be bonkers is for one of the excursions to also have this:

US

New high score(s)






There's also plenty in the $700-$999 range.  I'm pretty confident nothing will beat these except potentially something in Europe.

New high score(s)






There's also plenty in the $700-$999 range.  I'm pretty confident nothing will beat these except potentially something in Europe.

This is always the case on every ship.  You may have a few that are really good and could work dice in any casino on land, but the vast majority are obviously new to the game and learning.  So I would recommend not to play craps on the ship if it's your first time or if you don't at least know what the payouts of each of your bets should be for each roll.  I don't know how many hundreds or thousands of dollars I would've been short payed over the years if I just took the dealers payment without verifying the amount.  In fact, I usually have to argue with a dealer and/or pit boss about a payment amount at least once per cruise on average (and they've always conceded that I'm correct in the end...)

It's not that it's a ship to be avoided, it's that it was already home ported in Galveston last year. It seems like a step back going to the same ship (even if it really isn't because of the upcoming amp).  I think even having Oasis home ported in Galveston instead of Allure would've been received better since it would be a different ship.
Michael Bayley also really screwed up this deployment imo by implying the next ship would be Wonder.  Any ship other than an Icon class or Utopia was not going to be received well after that.  I know I was extremely disappointed after the official announcement when I probably wouldn't have been without thinking Wonder was next.

Just in case anyone is curious, you can look up the current (and previous) instant reward certificates to see what's available for yourself.
http://clubroyaleoffers.com/CertificateOfferCodeLookUp.asp
The code format for instants certs is: (2 digit year) (2 digit month) ("A" - 5 or less night cruise, "C" - 6+ night cruise) (07 - 1200 points, 06 - 1500 points, 05 - 2000 points, 04 - 3000 points, 03A - 4000 points, 03 - 6500 points, 02A - 9000 points, 02 - 15000 points, 01 - 25000 points).
So for example, if you want to look up the 1500 point for short sailings ending in Feb '24, the code would be 2402a06.  If you want to look up the 4000 point long sailings ending Jan '24, the code would be 2401c03a.

Agreed that if you're just concerned with points then table games are not the way to go because it is so variable.  However, I just can't bring myself to push a button to ask a machine if I win several thousand times...

From my understanding even upgraded bookings would work.  She said they just take the total amount paid, regardless of which line item the money is associated with (taxes or upgrades), and apply it to the new offer code.

I just learned something today I thought I'd pass along in case someone else doesn't know.
Previously whenever I would find a better casino offer I wanted to use instead of an existing comp sailing, I would always book the new offer and then cancel the existing sailing in the same call.  I thought you could only modify an existing sailing with a new offer code if it was the same ship and sail date.
Today the casino rep told me the better way is to just apply the new offer code to the existing reservation number regardless.  She said it works for all situations like different sail dates, ships, ports, cabin categories, etc.  Then they just apply what you've already paid on the existing booking to the new offer and refund any overage or take payment for just the difference.
Doing it this way you don't have to pay the taxes/fees for a new offer upfront and then wait for the full refund from the canceled old offer for 7-14 business days.

Are you calling the club royale prime number?  I don't think I've ever waited more than 5 mins since I made prime and started using that number.  In fact the vast majority of the time there is no wait.  I usually call late afternoons (in fact I just booked another offer today about an hour ago after a less than 1 min wait).

This was exactly my experience with the bogo offer when I tried to get around it by booking solo once too.  I was quoted full casino fare for the non-existent person, but taxes/port fees for 1.
You do make a good argument for their usefulness as a solo cruiser during a high demand time though.

I booked the Joker's Wild July offer as a solo.
I often don't cruise in July since it's blacked out for the DP340 reduced single supplement.  I saw the casino offer as a means to book solo in July.
The offer was explained to me this way -  the casino player can get a complimentary cabin fare but they must pay for the 2nd guest's fare based on casino friend and family rates.  Since I was solo I had to pay for the 2nd guests fare even though there is no 2nd guest.  
As opposed to free cruise offers based on points the July Joker's offer requires the 2nd guest fare be paid.  
Given that July is a peak month and difficult to book as a solo without paying 200% supplement I chose to pay a modest amount for my non-existent second.  
It came out to about half what I paid for Liberty last week which was a non-casino last minute deal.  So while it's not a free cruise, it's a rate I haven't seen in a long time in a peak month when I can't normally afford to sail.
Casino had to call revenue mgmt to get a GTY authorized for a solo.  I haven't had a lot of success with this lately but the casino team got it approved so I'm getting some extra free play.  I'm also paying port fees and taxes for one.
It did not require a Book Later NextCruise booking.  

The free picture (per person) is a very underrated perk.  I forgot about it my first couple of times but now it's a nice little souvenir to remember each cruise or port individually.  Now I have pictures taken at every opportunity and then just pick the best 1 or 2 to download free on the last night.