mistertomatohead

The opening poster is questioning whether being able to make reservations before boarding means UDP doesn't have priority. It's possible they give you priority when you do reservations once onboard. I'm fairly certain they hold a certain number of reservations at least for those that pay top dollar for first class accommodations. This is beyond any cancellations that might happen which they will then prioritize as they see fit. So does anyone know for certain UDP doesn't have priority over people who can make reservations before boarding? I can totally see Royal doing it this way to push people to buy each meal separately or pay full price.

I bought $600 OBC through the gifts department via phone call and got the AMEX email confirming I've used the offer. Before getting there I was on the phone with a casino person and they asked if it was with a rewards credit card. They were trying to hint at something but didn't go right out and say it. I didn't even get the chance to answer before they just said oh you just want onboard credit. Anyways, this is my second time doing it with Royal. Take advantage of it while you still can.

The crew might notice the piles of soda you have in your cabin but I doubt they'll do anything about it. HAHA. I have taken 2 liter bottles from ports back on the ship. I figure if they make a stink about it I'll just take the loss. I know the rules.

Does anyone know if this is accurate, complete, or up to date? https://www.cruiseplum.com/solo-supplement-deals

The least they could’ve done is blame it on the weather. On Navigator, the pool screen has been broken for at least six months yet they still list it showing movies. The screen is on but the image is messed up. It looks like you need 3D glasses. I don’t think they’ll fix it until they have a break in sailing but why put it on the schedule?!?! I’m back on it in a few weeks so we’ll see. I guess this is just how cruise lines operate, especially mass market ones.

The policy is 12 up to 17 ounces per stateroom. It's in the FAQ. How strict they are in enforcement depends. You can risk it but you might get someone who takes their job way too seriously. Anyone telling you it'll be fine isn't going to be there with you when you embark. I can tell you they do check as recently as Jan on my cruise. They inspected my bottles individually in January but my other cruise a few months later they just did the x-ray. By the way, they don't have to be the same drinks or packaged together. You can mix and match.

I'd like to see someone bring on 12 one or two liter bottles. I've only tried 16.9 oz bottles. The limit is 17 ounces. It's 12 per stateroom. Their FAQ search is terrible but I managed to find it: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy

They had a my KONAMI group cruise a few days ago I snagged. 7 days Mexico out of LA on Navigator sailing Nov 11. They will have a swag bag, raffle, breakfast and shuttle from a nearby hotel, slot tournament, shore excursion in Cabo, etc. Only 500k pts. It might be sold out because I don't see it anymore. I booked it, paid, and bought the unlimited dining package for $207+gratuities. I'm going to buy onboard credit to make it $1000 on my American Express card to get 25000 pts. The Amex offer expires 12/31/22. I'm going to get a cash refund of the OBC when onboard. If you see a reward sold out you can try checking during the daily refresh times: https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?threads/daily-myvegas-refresh-times.193384/

Based on the pricing I'm leaning towards it's not Maine lobster but as others have said warm water lobster. I'm going in a few weeks on the Navigator to find out myself armed with the UDP. LOL. EDIT: This is what the sample menu says...

I've been pricing some solo cruises and it doesn't give me the option for GTY. From what someone else posted I guess I can use a travel agent or call and do it over the phone with RC directly if I don't see it available online.

Check out the blog post https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/10/24/get-25000-rewards-points-american-express-new-offer It's part of a specific card benefit called Amex Offers.

Check your Amex often! I keep getting Royal, Celebrity, NCL, Holland America and Carnival offers. I’ve double and triple dipped with my friends’ cards. They don’t seem to care I’ve used previous offers. I don’t even spend that much on my cards. I have two of the cards that don’t require annual fees. My friends have Platinum. Just make sure you’re seeing everything by keeping the offers available below 100 and using the website instead of app. I didn’t see this mentioned in the blog article. There are also airline (Jetblue, Delta, Alaska, etc.) and hotel offers out there. It’s kind of ridiculous (in a good way).

On my recent Navigator sailing they just wanted the knees covered. One kid wore his brother’s shorts which were long enough to cover his knees but not much beyond that. They even said pajamas were okay.

It's one thing to target JUST new customers but they might be now devaluing loyal players. Casinos have typically given much better offers to NEW players given the same coin-in, even ones that haven't put in any coin or just matched. It's clear by them matching new players and apparently making it harder to those that just played a little. In the industry these are called teaser offers. Take advantage of them while you can. Carnival has their Funmatch, now it seems Royal is doing something similar. The general rule is when they match and/or you are new to them, it's better to hit that sweet spot and don't over spend to get their teaser offers. The problem is finding the sweet spot. It's a lot easier when they have a match program. As a brand new player they know nothing about you other than the match and your potential losses, you can take advantage of that honeymoon period without ever committing.

Are the offers all free cruises or at the 200 pts level they are just discounts? Hopefully discounted more than on the website. If I could get 200 points for a free cruise with just being down $100 that's very lucky to me. You also need the discipline to walk away when you're down or made the 200 point level. That doesn't apply to me.

Meanwhile NCL has always maintained they never lowered their prices. If anything they've raised prices due to inflation recently. I only started cruising this year and took advantage of the low prices. It's starting to look too expensive to continue. Unless I can find some really good deals, I'm done by March eight cruises later with Royal, Carnival, X, and NCL. I'm glad I got them in while it was still affordable.

My IRA statement which had my name worked fine for my upcoming December sailing.

Itinerary changes are one thing but what’s the actual experience like? Are the seas rough? Things closed/cancelled due to rain or wind either onboard or in port? How are flights impacted? On the upside, are there noticeably less people onboard? Anyone get great last minute deals or free upgrades due to others cancelling?

I don’t think you should worry. What’s done is done. If they have evidence of it, there’s not much you can do about it. Who’s to say they didn’t save it for some other unrelated reason and happened to just have it.

This is also true with myVEGAS casino comps. I’ve done two of them solo this year. The real question to me is how does it impact your future offers? Do they attach a dollar value to your comps like land based casinos and therefore value it like double occupancy?

https://abc13.com/houston-woman-stuck-in-montego-bay-jamaica-carnival-vista-cruise/12217285/ Recent story of someone who is stuck in Jamaica. It was going to cost $40k to evacuate from Jamaica to presumably Houston. 50k coverage sounds like it’s cutting it close.

It was probably a timing issue. The crew seems very careful because it’s their lively hood. I guess it was probably spread before they knew. But of course you never really know. Once they know they will do whatever they can to prevent further spread. To not do so hurts their bottom-line. Let’s face it, it’s a corporation trying to make money. It sucks but it’s reality. I got COVID on an Alaska cruise before they dropped most of the protocols. I had to cancel my next cruise. There’s still a possibility of cruising getting disrupted by COVID but it’s not stopping me.

They got back pretty quick and said I was already eligible since I’ve been on their cruises. Eligible doesn’t mean I get anything since I only messed around and got 133 points. Now I wonder if I should even try to get offers or just throw my money away at some other casino.

I tried the offer match with my Wynn Platinum status. It says you have to have not sailed since 2018 (and no existing booking) but I'll see how it goes. My only bookings have been twice this year with myVEGAS comps and an upcoming Celebrity one. I haven't gotten even close to 200 points so we'll see.

If you see a reward sold out, there is a daily refresh schedule. Just check around that time. I’ve seen the cruises become available after being sold out. https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?threads/daily-myvegas-refresh-times.193384/ New rewards can come at anytime but existing rewards will refresh with the schedule. I’ve been on two free cruises this year. The last one was a 5 day Cabo one that cost 2.5 million points!