Jack805

Thanks @YOLO, I wanted to check since the name/address block on my statements is a jumbled mess at first glance, with my short name hidden right in the middle of the block. Next step (once I get the purchase finalized) since most statements have my name and identifying info on a separate (mostly blank page) while the pages with my holdings listed have zero identifying data with my name or account. I appreciate the efforts to help with privacy but adds some challenge when the info together helps more in a situation like the Royal OBC. Something tells me they're likely used to deciphering statements like that.

Thanks to @twangster @mistertomatohead and @billdauterive for the quick responses. I assumed "shareholder" was as specific as it got but am one who always likes to triple check things beforehand for stuff like that. I've got an HSA I've been building up for a while, and if I can put some of that into an RCL investment and get a little extra benefit to use now (while hopefully letting that investment make good for years down the line) that's definitely an added perk.

The emails (like most of Royal's emails leading up to a sailing) I got were completely random. I got one saying my bid had not been accepted yet and may be upgraded onboard about 3 days before, then literally 4 minutes later got one saying I was upgraded. Took two phone calls to get my updated tags though, even though my room number was changed online and in my cruise docs, but luggage tag still showed my old cabin. I stick to minimum booking with a price I'm comfortable paying for a room I might like, figuring if I get an upgrade it's a bonus but completely ready to enjoy the room I've booked. But I also have the thinking that my room is just for sleeping, so I tend to book an interior to save money to enjoy other aspects of the vacation.

I found use of the Key helpful for my last voyage, even if not using every benefit. I got it for just a couple dollars more than the internet package I planned to purchase anyway, so I figured it easily more than covered the embarkation lunch and debarkation breakfast since it was a 3-night cruise. I keep kicking myself for not just grabbing it on the CP the day my upcoming cruise was booked, saw it for $15/day and figured I'd "book it later with something else" and the price went up and hasn't come back down. Still nabbed it for just over the internet package so it fit my threshold for booking but keep checking every day for a drop in price (that likely won't happen I know). Priority terminal access in LA is great though, I went from parking my car to on the ship in 15-20 minutes, easily 45 minutes less than the regular line judging from the size. When getting off the ship I noticed the check in line for the upcoming cruise already looked to be 30+ minutes long, and they were still an hour away from starting check in! Didn't have priority access to Customs, but did get sent right to the shortest line for getting off the ship and was scanned off in about a minute. I'd say it depends on the ship, on Navigator I asked where to go from Breakfast and was directed right to the shortest line (going toward the gangway instead of snaking away then back on the promenade deck).

Random question relating to the shareholder OBC benefit: Does anyone know if the RCL shares have to be part of a "regular" individual portfolio (traditional brokerage account), or can they be part of a tax-advantaged one like a retirement/HSA portfolio? I definitely can add some RCL stock to my tax-advantaged portfolio easily (looked it up and see an option to purchase from my account), but if it needs to be a "regular" individual one for Royal to apply the OBC I'll have to wait longer to do that. My name is included on the statements but lists the account custodian as the first line and mine as an "FBO" second line. But if it doesn't matter what account type it is I'll probably try to add some to hopefully use for an upcoming sailing in a couple months! Any extra OBC I can get my hands on is great (already have NextCruise and MyVEGAS OBC applied!).

@LanceRomance The suggestion by @KristiZ is spot on! I've used the same tactic myself recently. Only thing I'll add is sailings closer to today will have more information, and more than 3 or so itineraries out the listings really start to drop off be almost completely generic in nature.

I don't think there would be any problem with that. It's a service they offer (and a competitive one like most of the things they offer). I believe it can be booked through your club's AAA website (though each is set up different, so you'd have to explore your site). I think even if you had to end up talking to an AAA TA if you needed help with travel insurance they'd help you out, I've always found AAA more focused on giving you information and meeting your needs than getting one more sale (and had this happen before when I was shopping auto insurance and travel as well many years ago, but not completing a sale at those times). And I think a good TA should always respect the fact that you have a good relationship with your current TA, but you may need help for a situation just outside the scope of what your current TA might be able to offer.

@Luly you could do whatever option feels more comfortable to you (you know yourself best), but if you want to do traditional and sit alone, I think you should have no problem requesting that. While things have definitely opened up post-COVID, there are still lots of small tables for two (or one) in the dining room for solo seating.

The $50 free play could very well be less restrictive (aside from where it can be redeemed on board) than the $100 OBC since it's over twice the rewards points to redeem, so trade off of more points for less fine print about use.

You'll have to check the T&C, as some booking types are restricted from adding the OBC reward to the cruise. Since it's a casino add on to apply the OBC, a comped cruise through them might be a restriction to the T&C

Probably one of the better things about this hack is seeing the beverage/dining packages. Could help decide if UDP would be a good option (and then choosing MTD for seating), and also see what the "base" drink package price is, especially since the Navigator ones seem to be quite higher than a lot of others at $102/day+gratuities on board pricing for all I've seen

In this day and age, travel insurance seems more like a must than not. But each policy can differ widely, even within the same company depending on where/how it was bought. I use my local AAA TA for booking, and they use Allianz as their travel insurance provider, and pricing is by age of all covered individuals. I learned that one of the AAA benefits with the plan is a "missed port of call" for if a scheduled port on the itinerary is skipped for any reason comes with a $100/port benefit up to $300/trip. TA said she's had many customers who have benefited from that and little to no documentation requested when filing the claim. If there is an annual plan that includes that benefit and I start bumping up my cruising more per year I'd definitely consider the annual plan.

I'm an introvert too, but open to breaking out of my introvert shell a bit too and meeting some people on my weeklong trip in November (60 days out, but who's counting!?!) For my cruise last month, I wanted My Time Dining but wasn't an option at booking. Talking to RC reps they put a request in for table for two (seated solo). Ended up getting put into My Time Dining so wasn't an issue, was seated solo each time. For the upcoming one I'm doing traditional at 8 but didn't put in any requests for table size. I've decided to leave it up to fate, and if at a table with others maybe it will help me meet some others and enjoy the experience with regular people to dine and chat with.

Brought my card (and proctored test results from the day prior just in case even though short enough before the recent extension to not be required - there were a few rumored cases at work the couple weeks prior and wanted to make sure to cover my bases). Didn't need either of them when I got to the terminal - was asked about being vaccinated (including if 14+ days prior and booster) and started to pull out my card to be told "don't worry I don't need to see that". I'd still bring the documentation to be sure, but RC doesn't seem to want to see it unless visiting a destination that requires it.

Best to check the RC site using the link at the top for the most up to date guidance. If in the combo of vaccinated and less nights (or no itinerary stop at location requiring test), you just have to self-attest during health questions and at the terminal. Along with that, because it's an ever-changing situation recently messaging from RC can be contradictory to what posted official guidance is. For example, before my cruise last month I was reminded to upload a copy of my vaccination, but they removed that requirement just before I checked in and there was nowhere to upload it. Had no issues with check in or boarding. Additionally, my next sailing is 60 days out, and get push notifications every other day reminding me to put my SeaPass payment method into my account - but check-in has not opened up yet to be able to even attempt this. In summary - if you meet the requirements but there's no place to upload to show you meet them there's nothing more you need to do at the moment.

You can try [email protected] - it's the general-purpose email address for the casino.

That's awesome! I'm sure moving them to an area to be enjoyed like that helps show that you like them and don't want them broken down. Looks like that chair has plenty of room to add to the menagerie.

Found this in a previous topic from a few years back, and OP is sailing on Symphony too so it should fit the inquiry. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9571-stateroom-power-using-sea-pass/page/2/

If flying American (or another Dallas based airline) LAX will probably be your best option. LGB (Long Beach) would be closer airport, but I believe it's just JetBlue flights from there so won't be as many flight options from LGB. Not many regularly scheduled transport options to/from LAX/LA Cruise Terminal from what I've found, so your options will likely be limited to taxi/Uber/Lyft, Royal's airport transfer option, or one of the private airport shuttle services. With 7 traveling, I might look into the private airport shuttle option since after the first passenger additional ones are not much more since the pick-up/stop has already been made. SuperShuttle and Prime Time are the two big ones serving LAX. They both probably have private van/SUV options as well which could be cheaper per person than typical airport shuttle options.

I love the towel animals! And love that Royal committed to continuing delivering them when NCL decided to stop a while back. In an article I read about Royal continuing them they said they deliver them every other night, but the stateroom attendants have discretion to provide them more frequently based on request or "guest enjoyment", so your thank you note likely played into getting them every night. Sadly, my last cruise was a 3 night, so I only got one towel animal, but it was a super cute elephant - and was the highlight of my album when sharing with friends and family. I was already thinking about bringing along things to leave notes for some of the amazing staff (including appreciation for the towel animals that may be left), probably will be a sure thing after hearing of your enjoyment from it.

The bummer I feel mostly comes from the pricing always being marketed as per person. I learned to start just mentally doubling what I saw quoted on the initial pricing shown before even looking into the fares more. But if looked at on a per room basis the pricing is still a pretty good deal considering it's covering not just your room but transportation to the various ports of call and a lot of included food as well. For what I paid (including the "single supplement") it still came out cheaper than a hotel for less nights than the total cruise - and that's just for a room and nothing else! And even if you decide to "splurge" on a specialty dining option or two, you're still usually getting a much greater value of food/experience than the price paid (which could easily be double or more local to home).

The red tickets are for the "bonus" pull machines which I think reward guaranteed XP/chips. Just another and different form of game "currency" but restricted to certain locations to use it.

Can't speak from personal experience of being remembered (since my cruise last month was my first), but definitely saw lots of repeat cruisers getting greeted from staff, asking about families, if they had been on other ships since last time they sailed together, etc. Really stuck out to me how well they remember stuff like that during (and after) the cruise with turnover in the thousands every so many days. So in short, definitely get to know the staff you see repeatedly, and say hello to all of them because they're friendly and love having us on board.

I've found the customer service from RC to be great for stuff like this. They really want to make sure you have a great trip and will do what they can to make things right as quickly as they can so you can enjoy your trip. YMMV depending on the port. I've heard of issues with getting luggage tagged by the porters at the pier, but mostly with the smaller ports with less frequent departures.

Glad my experience could help put you at ease. Like most have said, the whole experience is what you make of it - solo or not - and there are lots of options to make the cruise what you want it to be. I looked at the dining the same as if I decided to go to a restaurant by myself anywhere else, and that has never bothered me so I shouldn't let it on a cruise. Some of my family who are avid cruisers even joked that I should order extra food if I wanted since I was paying for two people's meals anyway booking solo LOL.