TXCoastPatriot

I’ve used Port Canaveral Transport. Prompt, friendly, local service. We spend the night near the port at Stay at Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral. No stress in the morning worried about traffic delays. Bonus, there is an outstanding Italian restaurant a short walk down and across the street.

Our last transatlantic plus B2B was on the Odyssey. The SeaPlex was used as a holding area for all the B2B sailors. Must have been 200 and it was packed!

I’ll trade you the Allure (Galveston ‘26) for the Odyssey and a ship to be named later.

I totally agree @billdauterive. I track my casino points daily and record them for each cruise. My “points/dollar” range from .61 to 3.66 points earned per dollar spent (lost). On average my ratio is ~1.75 points/dollar spent. I try to hit the 6,000 point mark each cruise when building points or wanting a decent Instant Cruise Certificate, so take a bankroll north of $3000. I found my points/dollar ratio vary wildly from ship to ship. My worst experience is on the Wonder and Harmony. My best ratio was on the Voyager. Unfortunately, my home port is Galveston and the Harmony is there until March ‘26. Will try to change my luck on the Harmony April 14 for the start of a new casino season.

Congratulations again KevinK! It’s a great club to be in. Here is slot tournament we have been invited to. It might be regional, we live in TX. Unfortunately, I can’t make it, I’ll be on a mission trip to Ghana and won’t make it. 2024 SLOT TOURNAMENT SERIES - HARMONY 08/17/24 A cool thing about Signature, an Assistant Casio host will find you at a game your first evening in the casino and introduce themselves and welcome you. They remember your name and check in with you during the week while you are playing. All the casino host(ess) are beneficial to be very kind to. Perks from Club Royale as a Signature dwarf the C&A perks by miles. Lots of free cruise offers…about two per month. Club Royale is a major reason we are loyal to Royal.

Congratulations on Signature! That is AWESOME. Just under the wire to start over April 1st. Sorry, I did not mean to mislead you. Normally, my wife and I each get a bottle of wine or a champagne from Casino Royale for our points status. We’ll get a bottle of wine & strawberries from C&A for D+. Typically we get another bottle of wine along with daily fruit plates, cheese plates, cookie plate, or petit fours from Beverage or Guest Services, I assume for being Suites guest. Often they just arrive without indication who it’s from. in total, 3-4 bottles of wine in our suite during a 7-N cruise.

Thank you Captain, I am aware, however there are two similar topics posts. In addition it was posted prior to the confirmation of the Allure. I apologize to all for being redundant and superfluous.

Personally, I love the Allure. My first sailing on her was a transatlantic to Barcelona March 2020. We got off the ship into an entirely new world as the pandemic shut the globe down. The Allure ended up back here in Texas and we did many more cruises on her. As with others, I was just anticipating a different ship, something new and exciting. What does excite me about the Allure is to see her AMP'ed changes. Hopefully some new restaurants.

I assume the $1 and $5 is tip cash? I tip all bartenders and beverage server $1 per drink and the $5-$10 goes to the waiter in specialty restaurants, room service, or porters. My bank roll is limited to ~$500/day $3,500/week. The $5k/day is safely avoided.

Pure genius. I’m embarrassed I didn’t recognize this sooner. Thank you

Brilliant and very wise. A lightbulb moment. It is all about 1) purchase points earned and 2) redemptive value? So practically speaking, instead of taking cash for casino play, I am better off charging my casino play (slots) to my Seapass card, which is charged without fee, to my new 3% cash back credit card? In effect, the $100 room charge is theoretically $97. Ashley, I owe you a dinner at 150 Central Park. I’ll put it on my Sailpass card for a 3% discount!

Today, I feel your anguish. The news of the return of the Allure is deflating. The Western Caribbean is not really a “destination” location, so why not give us a “destination ship” to compensate? Make Galveston great, not mediocre.

I’m a bit underwhelmed with the news of the Allure coming back. As a Texan whose home port is Galveston, I was expecting a ship fitting the glory of our new terminal. As the 4th largest cruise terminal in North America, I was hoping for the Wonder or a Quantum, or Quantum Ultra-Class. After all, Royal’s competitors have their two newest ships in port and Port of Galveston will host its 5th cruise line shortly. Galveston is apparently still the step-child. Does the AMP’ed Allure at least have a Playmakers and Hooked Seafood?

We are Stuart and Lisa from south Texas. Our first time on the Rhapsody and looking forward to getting back on a smaller ship. We’ve heard good reviews from passengers and crew.

What CC is that, and can you redeem OBC on Royal Caribbean?

You are correct, US$ only. At least in the Mediterranean and Australia.

Here is the Instant Credit Next Cruise Desk awards from late February…

I believe these type of tournaments are by invite only based on slot play history. I’m Signature and received mine a while ago.

Here is the offer I received a while back. Harmony sails out of Galveston and I’m only 3 hours away, but I’ll be in Ghana Africa on a mission trip and cannot make it. 2024 SLOT TOURNAMENT SERIES - HARMONY 08/17/24

Isn’t the Brilliance puttering around Australia and the Coral Sea (on one prop) for a while longer? We did a B2B Oct-Nov last year out of Brisbane. Love every where and every moment there. Going back despite the 18 1/2 hour flight from DFW.

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Ha! Definitely not premium wines by any means but I don’t complain. Often, between C&A Society, Club Royale, Beverage Services and Suites comp’ed wines, we end up giving bottles away. The Asst. Casino Hosts are usually VERY generous, but I do tip all the crew in the casino throughout the cruise.

As Signature with Club Royale, we will typically get at least 1 bottle of wine, a bottle of champagne, and a plate of fruit from Club Royal on a 7-N. Right now I have 7 distinct free cruise offers. I typically get a mailer every other week showing a specific offers and what ships & dates apply. Even though we sail about every 6 weeks and earn 5000-7000 points, our free offers have been cut back mostly to 4/5 nights from 7-N on far fewer ships. I noticed in February the Instant Cruise Certificate points for a Jr Suite went up from 6500 to 9000 pts. 6500 was very doable. 9000 will be a stretch in April on the Harmony. These are certainly dis-incentiving my future play.

We use our Casino Royale instant certificates we get on board for a Jr. Suite (9,000 pts) then upgrade to a Grand Suite or Owners Suite. The difference is typically less than paying for a balcony.

A very good lesson to learn. Don’t take for granted the green light, it may not be registering your points until you see your name.