DoomSlayer

You do have to book with Next Cruise to get the freeplay and OBC credit offers associated with the certificate voucher. If you look at the itinerary list from the casino, the free play is always in a column labeled "Next Cruise Bonus". If you do not book though Next Cruise while on-board, you will lose the free play. The certificates themselves expire in 30 days. I actually used the casino comp certificate, from my last cruise earlier this month, this morning, to book a suite and I was not able to get the free play bonus because I did not do it on the ship with Next Cruise. I was not ready to book on-board because I had to check with work and family before I scheduled it. Another note about casino vouchers is you must pay in full when you use them. This means you do not have the ability to pay over time for any port fees, taxes, or upgrades. This is another reason I waited until I got home to book -- I wanted to take my daughter and granddaughter for her birthday in January and upgrade my comp to a 2 bedroom Grand Suite. I had to make sure everyone's schedules lined up and it took a lot of back and forth to do so. I did not want to pay for a room upgrade that I would have not been able to use and wait for my money to be refunded and deposits lost.

You can as long as they are sealed.

Why does this make me laugh so hard. This would have so been me and my wife. Enjoy your trip!

Breaking down the questions: Royal does not provide free lanyards. They will have some for sale on the ship, or you can buy your own to bring with you. I bought a package of 6 lanyards and 6 luggage tags pretty cheap on Amazon that we use. Alcohol Free beer and wine contain small amounts of alcohol and are not included in the non-alcohol beverage packages. We usually get the refreshment package which includes everything without alcohol and have fun drinking Moktails, coffes, and other non-alcoholic beverages so there are plenty of drinks to choose from without alcohol. They have been upgrading the internet and I have only seen Surf and Stream offered, they no longer have sold just "surf" on the cruises I have been on, so you may not have a choice here if you want internet. However, someone else may be able to answer better if they have seen just Surf provided recently. There are plenty of restrooms on the ship, but most have several toilets with partitions between them -- similar to most public restrooms. I only know of a couple of single stall restrooms -- Adventure has one by the main theater for example. Hope this helps and have a wonderful time on the trip.

Costa Maya is an odd port to do much. The actual terminal is good and has an ok swimming pool area close to the ship, but excursions are limited. Mayan ruins are probably the most popular excursion. Beach access is nonexistent at the pier itself, but you can go to the beach in town. The beach is lined with restaurants and bars which you will have to buy something at if you want a seat on the beach. Shopping at Costa Maya is not too exciting either but can be fun if you just want to walk around a little. Cozumel is by far better in my opinion on both beach quality and shopping variety.

Tea, water, and lemonade are your choices for "what's included" during lunch and dinner without a beverage pass. Regular juices as well for breakfast -- but not fresh squeezed. Regular coffee too is available for all meals -- but not specialty coffee or espresso.

Or do what I did and sell the Switch and buy a SteamDeck.

You should have received an onboard voucher for a cruise after getting 2200 pts. Just curious what the offers were and if you feel they were worth the effort for you?

Just booked a 2 Bedroom GS with my Wife, Daughter and Granddaughter. It will be my Daughter's birthday. Grandpa(me) is looking forward to taking his Granddaughter to the beach at CocoKay! Hopefully, Son-in-law will be able to join us too after he looks at his work schedule.

Countdown is underway at T-43! Excursions, Dining, and Shows all picked. Leaving on my Birthday to drive down the day before!

Mine just opened recently too for May 14 Allure. Thanks for the reminder, I had been on so many smaller ships lately that didn't have any reservations, I almost forgot to look for this trip.

I'll have to let you know it works out on Allure when I go in May. I picked it up when it was on sale in the cruise planner, so based on what you and others have said, probably worth the cost I paid for something different.

This is what we do.

Don't stress out about it and just use your birth certificates. I just went on a cruise earlier this month with birth certificates for my teens who did not passports. Oldest was over 16 and had to show her driver's license as well, but there was no issue boarding or coming home. You will be fine. And hopefully when you get home, your passports will be waiting for you in the mail.

There was an old thread that recently resurfaced with old cheaper prices. Going rate is closer to what you already stated for 12 bottles, but prices will fluctuate based on ship, sailing, and any sales. I bought a 24 pack yesterday for $64.88. Today, I got an email on a cruise planner sale, and the price had dropped to $48.36. I canceled my order from yesterday and rebought it at the cheaper price. Long story short, exact pricing is volatile and changes up and down often -- even for water. KevinK is right that you can bring on 12 bottles of water and potentially save some money, but I am not a big fan of that because you can't put it in your checked bags and have to lug it around the terminal and on the ship until your room is ready. Imagine taking a case of water with you through security, then onboard, then to your muster station, then to the Windjamer, then to the pool deck or bar, and hopefully finally, then to your room. I am on vacation and am ok paying a premium for not having to lug it around.

The swimmers / bathers don't bother me so much... it is a cruise vacation after all. Sunset would be fun to watch in the background though!

Sounds like you have what you need as long as your driver's licenses are not expired. Good luck and have fun on your trip! Do get the phone number for the US embassy/consulate for wherever you are going though. They will be your lifeline in an emergency if for some reason you cannot return with the ship.

Absolutely. My kids loved getting Moktails and Shakes from Johny Rockets anytime they wanted on their last trip. I had to cut off my youngest though, he had way too much sugar to drink. LOL

I think we pretty much agree on entertainment first! Why spend time doing something you don't enjoy, after all, time has some value to you.

They defiantly do seem to find one another and form clicks and packs. I took my teens over spring break and they found plenty of friends to hang out with. I made a point of talking to their new "friends" and introducing myself to their parents too before I felt comfortable enough to let them hang out together. I did follow them around from time to time to make sure they were all behaving and being safe. Fortunately for my kids, because of my job as a game developer, the other kids thought I was cool because I could talk to them about gaming, streaming, and other things they were interested in, so it was not awkward for my kids when I would just show up out of the blue and say hi. I pretty much let them do what they wanted to do together, but they did know they were being watched by me.

Well, I guess finding a cougar is out of the question for him at 70. LOL. I hope he is able to relax, recharge, and put this behind him on the cruise.

Cruise planner prices / sales for my next cruise just changed today and the Key is now within a few dollars of the internet (marked down about $10 from yesterday). Went ahead and bought it to keep my wife happy. Instead of what was a $260 premium over internet, it is now about a $120 premium as the internet price did not change.

I'll keep an eye out for Sami!

By pennies, I do mean 1cent machines. I do try to play at least 5cent machines because they are typically set with a slightly higher return to player. I do still play 1cent machines sometimes but is usually not my preference. I usually bet $3 to $5 per spin, so instead of doing it at 1cent, I sent the machine to a 5cent denomination if it supports it. I have spent too much time as a developer, and even did some development work for a gaming company in Vegas, so I do not believe in hot machines vs cold machines or moving to another machine if I don't get a hit on the first few spins. Each spin is a new independent event and has no memory of the previous or prior spins. You have the same chance of spinning a jackpot or bonus on each spin. There are a lot of superstitions people have about slot machines, that I typically shrug off and don't try to argue with people about them because they are often convinced that their beliefs are true. But the reality is, your fate is set as soon as you hit the button, it does not matter if you wait for the animations to finish or hit the button again to stop the reals -- the spin will be the same. If I do hit an unusually high line pay on a spin or a jackpot, I do usually cash out that ticket and put that money aside. I save it to tip the steward and dining room staff at the end of the cruise, or just take it home and put it back in the bank. The topic I have been addressing is about getting casino tier points to get to prime status as cheaply as possible. This is not about trying to win jackpots or even coming out ahead in the casino. At the end of the day, they casino will take your money over time if you play long enough. There is no avoiding this fact. But if we can get something in return for the money they take, like free cruises, then it becomes worthwhile as many times you will be able to pick these perks up at a lesser cost than if you bought them outright. Prime is usually achievable with a smaller size bankroll, although you still stand a chance of losing your bankroll. I personally would not go after signature or master status, because those tiers require you to put a lot of money at risk.