ElmoHongZito

We just got back from our trip. In St Thomas the gateway time to get back to the ship was 2:30pm in order to make it on time to Cococay the next morning. We chose to do a morning excursion with these really cool underwater mopeds. It was allot of fun. Apparently it used to be an excursion offered through RCI however the company did not renew their contract with them because they would not survive on what RCI wanted to pay them. If you want to book here is there site. https://www.bossusvi.com

Any suggestions of any good excursions that are not through the ship? We have to be back to the ship by 2:30pm that day. I was thinking perhaps a snorkeling excursion.

What recommendations do you have for St Marteen and St Thomas? We enjoyed doing an all inclusive day pass as a resort at one of our port stops in cozumel. Was thinking of doing that again but wanted to see what others have to say. Thanks in advance.

By “volatile slots” are you referring to all slot machines or specific ones?

Is it the same free play that the other passengers get to use within first 2 days? Or is it something more aggressive?

I guess it depends on your lifestyle. My wife is a teacher and my kids are still in grade school so a free family cruise during off peak dates is no value to us. I’m also not a big drinker so free drinks is not a big deal for me either.

Can someone save me the time and explain how this works and if its worth it? We are a family of 4 (daughters are 12 and 14) and we currently have 2 adjacent central park balcony rooms reserved on Harmony of the Seas in March. We would have preferred connecting ocean balcony staterooms but I found the price difference to be too much (like $3000). Would it make sense for us to explore this RoyalUp option? I don’t know how it works. Here is the info in the email they sent me.

I apologize in advance for my illiteracy on this topic. I’ve only been on one cruise so far (last month) and we booked directly through Royal. We just booked our second cruise, which will be in March and again we booked directly through Royal. How would we potentially benefit from transferring our reservation to a travel agent? And how would you go about finding a good travel agent?

Free drinks does not interest me too much as I am not a big drinker. Free cruises is what I would be targeting.

When I was on an oasis class ship last month it appeared to me that one side of the casino was smoke free (port or aft? the side where the entrances are). I only smelled cigarette smoke when I went to the other side.

Fun read. I’m curious…where do you spend your time in the cruise casino? Using your slots strategy posted above, if both me and my wife walk into the casino with large enough bank rolls we can both get to Prime and hopefully not be down more than 2k each so that we can hopefully get free cruises for our family of 4 (2 rooms). However if those free cruise dates are never during times when my daughters are off of school (as mentioned in another post above) then I may just be wasting my time trying to earn free cruises. Bummer!

So if I get to prime in one sailing I don’t earn 2 free cruises anymore? On our sailing last month we met a couple who’s daughter of only 12 was on her like 35th cruise and they don’t remember the last time they paid for a cruise all thanks to Club Royale. They mentioned sitting at tables where you don’t feel obligated to play every hand claiming that your time at the table carries most of the weight as to the offers you receive. I don’t know how much truth there is to that as it does not match up with any insight I have read on these message boards. However I figured that it is worth exploring. Maybe I throw $100 into a slot machine a few times and see how many $1 spins on average I get per $100. I think $1 is the the highest bet per spin those machines allow. Am I right? Again, I don’t even understand them. Those slot machines are so darn confusing. Good thing there is absolutely no strategy involved.

Family of 4 with teen and preteen. Just did our first cruise last month during Thanksgiving on Oasis of the seas. We got 2 side-by-side ocean balcony staterooms because I could not imagine us 4 sharing one stateroom. I just booked a 7 day cruise on Harmony of the Seas for the girls spring break and just the sailing alone (not including gratuities or any add-ons) is costing us $5646. These are central park balcony rooms. Ocean view balcony was significantly more expense. Would be nice to be offered a free cruise now and again like I read so many people here have taken advantage of through the Casino Royale Club. Are those cruises usually just for me + 1? In other words would I still have to pay full cruise fair for my 2 daughters if I ever get a free cruise offer? I do not gamble but I’m not against it either. Was thinking of trying to get to Prime status on this upcoming sailing in March so I can hopefully earn 2 free cruises. How quickly do you think I can get to 2500 points on the highest per spin slot machine I can find? The idea is whether I am up or down I at least break even on what the free cruises would have cost me had I not earned through the casino. Hopefully come out ahead. I do not want to spend an excessive amount of time in the casino either because I am there to enjoy time with the family. Thanks in advance for any answers to my questions.

Can you share any tips on gambling strategically to optimize all the perks without going broke? Going on my 2nd sailing in March (7 nights) and would like to reach prime level in that sailing without living at the casino or losing my behind. Based on what I read I think slots are the “quickest” way to get there but its also more likely to cost me allot more to get there. Thoughts?

We decided not to go to Bacalar because the drive is around 90 minutes each way and the weather was not looking to great when we made it off the ship (a little late too). We ended up going to Mahahual Beach and to be honest I did not like it there one bit. Very crowded, very persistent vendors everywhere trying the pull tourists in different directions, the majority of restaurants looked pretty run down, and the beach itself not very appealing (too many long chairs in a small space). Not my definition of a tropical beach experience.