Dulis

I'm with you! Tell him about the sinkhole. Right now there's a raging wildfire in NJ near my friend's house and some of the roads are closed. I mean, it's nowhere near the port, but the point is that it's good to pad your time. People plan, NJ laughs.

I live in Brooklyn and the weather at the end of May is usually highs in the upper 70s/lower80s, in the 60s at night - great temps! Are we even on the internet if one of us doesn't warn you not to fly down the day of? Honestly, I'd recommend driving down the day before and staying close to the port that night. Stress-free! Imagine getting stuck in traffic and cutting it close, maybe almost missing the final call to board. A few weeks ago we drove to the western part of Jersey for a wedding, which should have taken us about two hours. It ended up being almost three because of a sink hole. A stinking sink hole during rush hour! Sheesh. I'm not sure if any hotels near the port have a cruise package, but I know of ones in Florida that let you stay parked at the hotel for the duration of your cruise at a reduced rate. In the morning they shuttle you over to the ship. We cruised out of Port Liberty once on the Anthem. It was fun passing under the Verrazzano bridge, the clearance is crazy tight! Make sure you're on the upper decks checking that out. Sometimes I drag my husband out to the waters edge to watch the big boats pass underneath. I love a cruise!

You guys! I booked the Wonder in August! This was a group effort, thank you so much for helping me with it. I learned a lot about Club Royale this past month, you all were great teachers. Also, I found a way to use the Next Cruise certificate - I booked the Harmony in February, as well. Ha! I can't wait to tell the family at dinner tonight

I'll remember this, thanks!! If the casino gods shine down upon us I'll have two cruises to book tomorrow. Fingers crossed - I guess I'm officially hooked.

You know, I did know what we were shooting for, but the point total on our slots would change with each machine. Finally, I said let's call it at 2655, but I guess they totaled it up differently.

We just got off our spring break cruise on Saturday and tried to thread the needle between getting Prime and keeping below 3000 points to get a certificate that included the Wonder in August. The target kept moving every time we switched machines. 2560 points then 2470 in another machine which led to 2550 then back down below 2500 on a video poker game... Naturally, my husband was awarded the 3000+ point certificate, despite his effort to make sure he stopped well before the machine he last played hit 2700. No August Wonder on the list. Cripes. We also put down deposits at Next Cruise. Schnauzers. I learned today that you can't use the NC deposit with your annual benefit, which seems like a better option than the instant cert. So, never one to miss making a batch of lemonade, tonight I will attempt to sell my husband on yet another cruise in February. Lol, wish me luck!

If you're on a 6+ night cruise you change the "A" to a "C", so 15,000 points are 2411C02. I believe that these codes are for Nov 2024, so for May 2025 it's 2505C02, etc.

So if I started the instant cert/NC booking, I could switch and apply my annual, I'd just loose the $200? I guess it would still save me a lot to go from fare for 1 guest to fare for 2 guests.

Hi! I have an '05' instant certificate that would allow me to book a cruise (cruise fare for 1 guest) and I put down the $200 deposit at Next Cruise last week. If I book the Instant Certificate and in a few days see that my annual benefit would give me cruise fare for TWO guests, may I switch the offers? I think I read something about Next Cruise and not being able to switch and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with that. Thanks!

That wasn't my experience. I've been obsessing about this for a while and I found the April ones up in mid March. It looks like the May ones are available, too. Here's the 3A level: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/casino/offers/2505C03A.pdf

You guys are invaluable! Thank you so much!

Wow, thanks - I'm glad I asked. You know, I doubt those two ships have any casino rooms left for those sailings. Is there any way to check ahead of time? If I called CR and asked, do you think they'd be able to look them up?

Hi! It's me again, trying to figure out how to get my family and I on to a 7 day sailing out of FL in early August. Yikes. I have a question, maybe it's silly (ok, it is), but here goes: We're about to get on the Icon and I have a decent guess as to how many points I will earn in the casino. I've checked the April Instant Certificate offers that are out. Our goal is to get on the Wonder or Oasis on August 3rd and I see it offered on the 2504C05 cert (fare for 1 guest). On the 2504C04 and 2504C03A the Wonder disappears and shows up again on the 2504C03. I'm unlikely to earn 6500 points. So, my question is, if I earn, say 3200 points and am awarded a 2504C04 cert but I want to use the 2504C05 code, would they let me? Common sense says yes, but I have to risk possible embarrassment and ridicule and ask here to see if the resident experts had any knowledge or advice. Also, I know that I could just conclude my Casino Royale journey after I hit 2000 points, but... c'mon, we all know that's not gonna happen.

This was wildly helpful! Thank you for sending me the link

Do you think I should I book through the casino or through Royal Caribbean directly?

Someone on our last cruise did just this - he sat down with his wife's card and played for hours. The dealer would refer to him from time to time "Thank you, Elise" and the guy simply replied "You're welcome".

You are always a Raye of sunshine - thank you for your advice, I value it!!

Hi! Ok, so I researched the heck out of this, but since you guys are so helpful, nice *and* knowledgeable, I would really love to run some thoughts past you. I'd like to book an August cruise for my family. We are 5, kids are two teens and a 10 year old. We like to book connecting cabins and they can be really hard to find. I've got my fingers crossed that we could use our upcoming annual tier benefit for this August trip. Both my husband and I are prime, so we should get a free interior offer (right?). So here's what I'm wondering: Can I book a couple of connecting rooms on the Wonder for August 3, 2025 now and apply the annual offer to the booking in April when I get it? Should I book with a different offer that I already have in my Casino Royale account, just to start the booking through the casino? It would just be a trade in value thing because I have no offers for the Wonder. Also, if the Wonder is on the excluded cruise list, could we switch the booking to another sailing on a different boat? If I had patience (I do not) I would just wait until April to see what we get, but I've discovered that there are actually a couple of connecting rooms left on the 8/3 Wonder sailing and I'd like to grab one of them. So, sage friends, what would you do? Any (kind, please?) advice is appreciated!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Have a painless journey home!

What a beautiful boat! Thank you for the great pictures, she really is something. I'm hoping to go on in April with my family. If for some crazy reason, you find yourself on deck 3, would you solve a mystery for me? I'd like to book connecting rooms and Royal insists that 3614 and 3616 connect as well as 3626 and 3628. I'm assuming if they do that they have the 'connecting foyer' doors. The deck plan does not show that they are connectors, so I find that pretty confusing. I don't have faith that calling Royal will give me the real answer. I think I need a 'guy on the boat'... ha! Hope the cruise ends better than you imagined it could!

Hiya! We are on the Harmony 4/21/24 sailing. I've read that entertainment bookings (aqua show, ice show, etc.) might be available the first day of the month before the cruise, so 3/1 for an April sailing. Has this been the case for recent voyages? Does anyone have a ballpark date? Thanks!

FYI - Internet for our cruises was around $20.99 for one, but I booked 4 devices (kids!) and it came down to about $300 total for the week. That means $10.50 per day per device. To keep them entertained. And ~quiet~!

Hmm... there were a lot of kids on the August Wonder cruise we were on. My understanding was that they just grouped them together in the big room. On Anthem last year they had smaller, separate rooms. My guys didn't love that.

Hi! We were on Wonder of the Seas this summer and Adventure Ocean let kids 6-12(11?) run around together. Is it the same on Harmony or do they split them up 6-8 and 9-11 (or so)? I have two boys, one will be 1 month shy of 9 and one is 12. I know that they loved playing dodgeball and Mario Kart together. If they are split up, can I sign a waiver to get them in the same group? Thanks, hive mind!

FWIW, I booked a cruise through Costco and didn't receive an opportunity to Royal Up. I think that's the norm. Perhaps that's why?